[REVIEW] Heroes Arena. Here comes a new challenger to Mobile Legends.

I've been playing Mobile Legends on Android since it's season 1 launch. It's been a roller coaster ride to say the least with improving game play tomorrow then a sudden barrage of endless bugs the next. I'm not that addicted to it as I was before and that got me back into my old habit of lurking around the Playstore and APK sites to try and find some new games to play. And that's how I found Heroes Arena.

Heroes Arena, just like Mobile Legends is a MOBA game for Android and iOS. It features almost the same modes you'll find in your generic MOBA and a little bit more. One thing I noticed is that it's somewhat a mix of the two biggest PC MOBA titles: League of Legends and DoTA 2. If I was to put this in layman's term:

Mobile Legends = League of Legends

Heroes Arena = DoTA2 + League of Legends

THE GAME:

Compared to Mobile Legends, Heroes Arena looks fantastic. Character models are great. Something we got used to seeing in PC MOBA titles. Character animation is is a lot better than Mobile Legends. Most skills have their own unique animation. And speaking of skills, Heroes Arena gives you the traditional 4 skill set instead of the 3 you get in Mobile Legends. The maps looks are similar to LoL's recent map changes. Main lobby interface is a bit confusing at first but it's easy enough to understand. You earn gold, runes, special skils, and other materials by opening chests. Every once in a while you get chests that are free to open but you need to wait for their timers to finish. You can also get chests from winning matches. These too also have timers on them. You can instantly open one by using gems. Purchasing a hero will give you two modes of payment: By gold or by gems. One thing I found lacking is the background story of the Hero roster. People like to know the stories behind the characters they're using making them liking it more (or not). Another thing that's missing is the in-game chat. You only get a set of shouts and calls but you're unable to send a personal message although you can edit those pre-set messages to suit your needs while in a match. A real time chat system while in a match is something the game really needs.

THE MAPS:

The game provides you with different maps to play in. There's your standard 5 vs 5 map, 3 vs 3 map, and even a 1 vs 1 map. There's also the single lane 5 v 5 map.

RUNE SYSTEM:

Just like in League of Legends, you get a rune system that you can customize for your heroes. Whether you want them to dish out fast attack speed, or a huge life steal bonus, or a tough as nails setup if you like a tank role, or maybe a glass cannon class that deals huge amounts of damage with magic type heroes. It's really up to you and the rune system can create hundreds of possible combo builds.

VIP SYSTEM ON A MOBA GAME:

To my surprise Heroes Arena has a VIP system. A lot of my gamer friends know I HATE games with VIP systems cause majority of those are just cash hogs trying to earn quick a quick buck from their games and making big spenders too OP. Seems it's not the case for Heroes Arena. You do get a VIP status but it doesn't really make the player over-powered. You gain a lot of gems (premium currency) and gold, some runes, and a hero. All of these a non-paying player can get by playing as much as they can and winning of course. Luckily MOBA games are based on skill, not on how much you spend on it.

IN-APP PURCHASE:

Heroes Arena actually has cheaper IAP than Mobile Legends. Their hero package is around $4.99. That's only have of Mobile Legend's package which practically has the same contents.

"Don't mind me. Just Hunting a dragon. With playing cards."

PROS:

• Game looks great, character models looks awesome, and animation skills are eye catching.
• Lots of maps to play in, with deep strategic game play.
• You get the traditional 4 skills instead of 3.
• Game runs great and is fully optimized for android and iOS.
• Game has graphic settings you can adjust for more smoother game play.
• In-App Purchase are surprisingly more cheaper then Mobile Legends.
• Dedicated region servers.

CONS:

• VIP system on a MOBA game makes you think if this will be balanced or not in the future.
• Still has a lot of bugs to fix.
• Servers are pretty stable but you get the occasional lag from time to time.
• Team balancing is a bit wonky. 
• For some reason half of the rounds I played, I always end up with a teammate that's AFK or moves like an AI controlled character.

Heroes Arena is free to download in Playstore and App Store and is published by UCOOL.

PLAYSTORE LINK: Heroes Arena