Hearthstone - Game Review
The trick is 1) never to clear your hand, not when your opponent still has some on hand, 2) making your opponent run out of cards.
I was playing against a priest. He had 6 hitpoints, I burn out at -3.
His hero power had kept him suriving well. This is one of those games you look forward to - hard-fought, tense, down to the wire. Both of us had no cards on hand, lucky enough I had a card left in play, he has none which means each turn is a bet, cards that my opponent placed can't attack immediately unless its a "charge". He needs to do direct damage with spell cards if he wants to end the game this turn. If he doesn't, I may stand a chance of defeating him. To make the game more nerve wrecking, we both ran out of cards, and that does not do me any good, since I had lesser hitpoints left. Each turn when we draw a card will instead result in damage — called "fatigue" that increases incrementally over time. The first time you hit "fatigue", you'll take one damage, then two, then three and so on.
"Holy son of a bitch! ...
Hearthstone is a digital collectible card game with an excellent strategic gameplay, but if you're the type to get frustrated by games of chance, it will find a variety of ways to get under your skin. Players can choose from a number of game modes and start the game with a substantial collection of basic cards achieved by getting your heroes to level 10. Rare or more powerful cards can be gained as rewards for completing Arena runs or simply by purchasing packs. Hearthstone is supported by micropayments for booster packs, Arena Mode entries, Adventure Mode wing access and alternate hero skins. Hearthstone replaced the trading card system to "disenchant" unwanted cards into "arcane dust", which can then be used to "craft" new cards of the player's choice. Cards are the main substance of Hearthstone, representing the abilities, characters and effects which each player is able to make use of during the match. There are 698 unique collectible cards in the game, with more planned to be added in the future through additional expansion packs and adventures. The first adventure, Curse of Naxxramas (Naxx), added 30 cards. The first expansion, Goblins vs. Gnomes, added 123 cards. The second adventure, Blackrock Mountain (BRM), added 31 cards. The second expansion, The Grand Tournament (TGT), added 132 cards, and the third adventure League of Explorers (LoE) adds 45 cards.
There are five game modes available to play in Hearthstone.
1) Play mode matches players against other human players of similar skill. Players can choose to play casual 'friendly' games, or take part in ranked play, earning medals to reflect their skill and standing within the community. Ranked play features a 26-tier rank system, with wins allowing the player to progress to higher ranks, and losses causing them to descend in rank. The highest rank is called Legend. This rank cannot be lost until the season ends and the rank features the exact ranking in the player's region. All ranks are reduced substantially at the start of each season, with each season lasting for about one month. Participation in ranked play can earn players special cosmetic rewards, including additional card back designs and animated golden hero portraits. At the end of each season, Blizzard has awarded a card back for reaching at least rank 20 and bonus rewards, that include golden cards and arcane dust, the higher the player ends on the ladder.
2) Solo Adventures are single-player modes against computer-controlled opponents that are either practice matches or Adventures. In practice mode, players can learn the basics of the game against 'basic' opponents that only use basic cards in their decks, or can play against 'expert' opponents that use a larger pool of cards. (ps: I haven't manage to clear a single match -.-) Players can also choose which class to play against. In Adventure mode, the player attempts to defeat bosses in order to unlock new cards. The boss encounters feature dialogue elements. Each adventure wing is purchasable as a one-time transaction for 700 gold or real money and to access a specific wing, the previous wing must be purchased. Bundle discounts are offered if purchasing all remaining locked wings at one time using real money.
3) Arena mode costs gold or real money to play, and lets the player draft a deck of 30 cards by choosing between 3 random cards at a time. Players use their drafted deck to compete in a series of games against other arena players. Each arena run lasts until the player has reached three losses or twelve wins, or chooses to retire their deck, at which point they are granted a number of rewards determined by the total number of games won. While constructed decks have limits on the number of copies of the same card, arena decks have no such limits.
4) Tavern Brawl mode features one-on-one play against a player from the Battle.net friends list or random player in a match where the players have to deal with a specific set of challenges involving specific guidelines or use of preset decks and the challenge changes each week. Playing matches in this mode counts towards quest completion and is restricted to players that have at least one level 20 hero character.
5) 'Friendly Play', allows a player to challenge players on their Battle.net friends list in unranked matches. However, it offers no rewards, but allow players to play games outside of the other game modes.
Additionally, for new players, the game features a tutorial that is a limited starting experience designed to introduce players to Hearthstone, in which the player is matched against a series of character opponents that includes substantial dialogue elements. The tutorial may be played only once by each account in each of the Battle.net regions.
As it is, Hearthstone's competitive potential is hindered by the sense that you're never quite on a level playing field with your opponent - that a little money or time or luck could always tip the odds in your favour. Hearthstone goes from good to great, I think, by embracing the idea that luck isn't everything.