I've seen very little chatter about the game on here, although it seems to have a pretty high profile on Reddit and a lot of the major game streamers have been playing it virtually non stop for a month. I got a bit hooked on watching it, and then eventually annoyed that all I could do is watch and not play. And now that I have the beta (which is basically a soft release, there will be no card wipe) I can barely bring myself to stop playing it. Addictive little time waster, it is.
For anyone unfamiliar with it, it's basically a stripped down Magic The Gathering. The "stripping down" has removed some of that game's myriad of tactical considerations, but has also significantly improved the pace of the game. Where Magic can occasionally feel ponderous and bloated, Hearthstone is positively zippy. CCG grognards may find the game too streamlined to hold their affections for long, but I think it strikes an excellent balance between feeling zippy and accessible and offering enough meat to be compelling.
The real joy/coup is the Arena. Constructed deck and ranked play is like a chore you do to earn enough gold to play the Arena, where you draft a 30 card deck from random selections and try to win your way to 9 games. Lose 3, and you're out. The more you win, the richer your eventual reward. Past 6 wins I've always got enough gold back to pay for another Arena and then some, along with other baubles.
Anyone playing this? Anyone liking it? Hating it?
Here's RPS's glowing review of it from a couple of weeks back, most notable because the excellent Kieron Gillen returned to write it.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/09/19/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft-beta-impressions/
For anyone unfamiliar with it, it's basically a stripped down Magic The Gathering. The "stripping down" has removed some of that game's myriad of tactical considerations, but has also significantly improved the pace of the game. Where Magic can occasionally feel ponderous and bloated, Hearthstone is positively zippy. CCG grognards may find the game too streamlined to hold their affections for long, but I think it strikes an excellent balance between feeling zippy and accessible and offering enough meat to be compelling.
The real joy/coup is the Arena. Constructed deck and ranked play is like a chore you do to earn enough gold to play the Arena, where you draft a 30 card deck from random selections and try to win your way to 9 games. Lose 3, and you're out. The more you win, the richer your eventual reward. Past 6 wins I've always got enough gold back to pay for another Arena and then some, along with other baubles.
Anyone playing this? Anyone liking it? Hating it?
Here's RPS's glowing review of it from a couple of weeks back, most notable because the excellent Kieron Gillen returned to write it.
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/09/19/hearthstone-heroes-of-warcraft-beta-impressions/
