TheGameReviews writes: "Have you played Defence of the Ancients? As the mod phenomenon for Blizzard's classic strategy game Warcraft III continues to gain momentum, it's clear that a huge, ever-growing number of people have. DotA provides a unique gaming experience, fusing real-time strategy with role-playing, and transplanting the resulting hybrid into the competitive, team-based multiplayer arena. It pits two teams of players against each other, tasking each team with the destruction of the opposition's base structure. Players fight each other and AI "creep" units to accumulate the experience, cash and items needed to secure victory. Despite its mod origins, some of its fans regard DoTA as so innovative and distinctive that they refer to it not only as a game scenario, but as the vanguard and chief representative of a new gaming genre. This concept has been strengthened by the emergence of commercial games featuring very similar gameplay. But does DotA actually represent a new genre? The claim is so lofty that it deserves examination. After all, if it were true then the industry repercussions would be vast."
