I have been procrastinating on writing this blog, but for once, it's not my fault (at least not entirely.) You see a few months back I was accepted into the beta for Hearthstone, the newest game from Blizzard Entertainment, the company that brought us such titles as World of Where the Hell Did the Past Two Years of My Life Go, and Deckard Cain's Bogus Journey. Yet, Hearthstone is not your typical Blizzard title. It's not about finding loot, leveling up skills, or even sending your roided up Marines to their death against hordes of angry Zerglings. No, on its face Hearthstone is just a simple and easy card game, but much like the large pile of fast accumulating clothes in the corner of my room, there is something much more surprising hidden deep inside.
Hearthstone is Blizzard's attempt to break into the casual gaming market. It's the realm of gaming mostly reserved for birds with anger issues, social networking farmers, and some game where you pulverize pieces of candy and then pay money (for some reason.) However, unlike those other games it is done with a flair that is unique to the company who created such classics as Chess II: Chinese Chess. In five simple words, this game is addicting. It's so deceptively simple that you find yourself getting hooked in relatively no time. Built on the world of World of Warcraft, it is fun an colorful, and requires no special knowledge of WoW to play. There is a twist, because unlike card games like Magic: The Gathering, Pokemon, or that other game that wants to be Pokemon, Hearthstone offers nine different types of decks with nine different types of characters. You can choose from being a Hunter, Priest, Warlock, Shaman, Druid, Mage, Warrior, Rogue, or Paladin. Each character has cards unique to his or her own deck as well a special power they can use once a turn. For instance the Paladin can summon a 1/1 soldiers, but the Mage can hurl a one point damage fireball to any enemy or player they wish. These special cards and abilities are further enhanced by the presence of a pool of general cards which a player can choose from. It's hard not compare a game such as this to Magic: The Gathering, as both games use a pool of mana to play cards, but unlike MTG a player's mana pool in Hearthstone naturally increases by one point every level until reaching a maximum of ten. Additionally, with the exclusions of interrupts, instants, or other "play at any time" cards, Blizzard has created an equally infuriating and enjoyable experience by streamlining the game down to its simplest form.
Now, that is not say that there is not a lot of strategy and complexity involved. Each character lends itself better to a different play style. A Warrior will tend to be more aggressive, with many cards that utilize charge and weaponry, while a Priest may emphasize a deck geared more toward controlling the board and his opponent. Yet, even with that said there are a myriad of possibilities, tactics, and combos that can be made just by rearranging a few cards in your deck. Do you want a rush Druid or a direct damage Warlock? It may not always work, but the game will not stop you from trying, and better yet if you pull it off you're going to surprise the seven hells out of your opponents, and really isn't that what's it all about? Creatively beating some poor sap into submission with a combo of cards he or she never saw coming?
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| An example of a game that can still go either way and leave one player kicking in his computer tower with impotent rage. |
Ultimately, there is no other point of the game except to beat whatever poor schmuck you get randomly paired against. It's not like Diablo III where there are side quests (there are daily quests, but that's not the point) or monsters to slay, with the occasional interaction with other players. No, Hearthstone is more akin to the PvP arena in WoW, (and we all know how calming of an experience that can be.) It's competition at its most basic level. You see, as fun as the game gets it won't be long before you find yourself wanting to put your fist through the drywall because some jerk on the verge of death pulled out an amazing epic card that saved his half-charred butt at the last second. Of course, sometimes you will be that jerk and then you may find yourself putting your fist through the dry wall in exhilaration, (On a side note, I just realized I'm probably not getting my security deposit back on my apartment,) and that is where Blizzard gets you. Hearthstone is a lot like gambling in that you quickly find yourself getting swept up in the highs and lows of this deceptively simple game. The analogy is only enhanced by the fact that you also win coins for completing quests or winning consecutive games. You can then use that gold to buy new cards or to pay entry into the arena, where you are literally competing for more gold.
I'm not saying this bad, but I am saying it is genius on the part of Blizzard. It is also the reason why I can no longer write on the same computer that Hearthstone is installed on, because I can't resist playing "just one more match." You see the games last less than fifteen minutes, so they don't feel like they are eating up your day, but after four or five games you look up and realize an hour has passed, your pizza is laying burnt in the oven, your loved ones aren't talking to you anymore, you haven't showered for days, and you haven't posted a blog in two weeks. Unlike WoW, where, when you log onto the game, you have the expectation of wasting several hours, Hearthstone's format and quick succession of games can eat away your day before you realize it. This is a testament to the power of Blizzard, and a trouble for the rest of us that are trying to get work done. Even worse, with Hearthstone coming to tablets and phones, I don't know if there will be any place that will be left for me to hide.
Overall, it's hard for me to find anything particularly bad to say about this game, other than its addicting properties, (but you expect that with any title released by Blizzard.) Perhaps, some of the epic cards are a bit overpowered to the point where they can destroy even the most creative and effective strategies of an opponent, but I would also have to say that is kind of the point of epic cards. If you are looking for a fun casual game to fill time in your life, download Angry Birds, but if you are looking for an epic card game that allows you to harness a world of endless card combinations, creative strategies, and lets you compete against other players then Hearthstone is for you. It is a game that has something for video and tabletop gamers alike, and best of all you don't even have to expend brain power to keep track of hit points and mana costs.
I give it 8.5 Billion Stars out of 10 Billion Stars. Download it for free and say goodbye to the next few weeks of your life. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to... something else I was doing.
[I will taking the month of July off, as I will be visiting Asia. I promise I will have plenty of embarrassing stories and halfwit observations when I get back, so stay tuned, my friends. It only gets better form here.]
