Originally released as a full-price game in May 2010, Heroes of Newerth has just gone free to play – and that means no subscriptions or retail costs whatsoever. Read on to find out whether it’s set to become your next hopeless video gaming addiction.

Inspired By Warcraft

Introducing Heroes of Newerth, or HoN for short, a fairly brisk-paced multiplayer RTS that takes its inspiration from the hallowed Defense of the Ancients Warcraft III expansion map. Those of you who remember the original map, have played the fan-made tribute Defense of the Ancients, or are enjoying League of Legends will instantly recognize HoN’s style of play.

The game pits two teams against each other – the Legion and the Hellbourne – each beginning the match at opposite sides of the map. On a standard map there are 3 main avenues known as “lanes” that lead to the opposition’s base, and these are where much of the action takes place.

Each team has a primary structure in their base which they must defend (the Hellbourne’s Sacrificial Shrine and the Legion’s Tree of Life) at all costs or else it’s game over. These are the basics, and they’re easy to grasp – of course there’s much more to HoN, as any seasoned veteran will tell you.

Download & Register

To get HoN up and running you’ll first need to download the client for your particular operating system from the official downloads page. Download sizes vary, though all are around 600MB.

With your client downloading you can now register a new account. Install the game as per your usual methods (Linux users will need to execute the .sh file, which may require root), launch it and login using the account you just created. That’s that, you’re good to go.

Note: This was tested on a 64bit Windows 7 system, and at first I encountered repeated crashes on the desktop. I later learned that his was an issue with my nVidia graphics card and updating to the latest drivers at nVidia.com resolved the issue.

Gameplay, Heroes & Experience

After logging in, you should see an info-packed menu with news, several options and the lobby chat room. The easiest way to get a game is via the Play Now button, simply choose your map, game mode and player locations before hitting Solo Matchmaking to join up with some strangers or Team Matchmaking if you’ve already got friends who play the game (you will be prompted to invite them). At this stage you may have noticed a few limitations with the free account, which will be “basic” until you reach level 5 and buy some “goblin coins”, the in-game currency.

Once you’ve done this your account will change from basic to “verified” and you will be able to choose to play only against other verified accounts and have access to other game modes, though you can continue to play with a basic account. On the right hand side of this screen there’s a tutorial available, which is undoubtedly the best place to start.

There is actually quite a lot to master in Heroes of Newerth, so don’t skip the tutorial as it’s the quickest and easiest way to learn by example. On a standard 5v5 map there are 3 lanes, and non-player characters called “creeps” will spawn and run along these lanes until they encounter enemies to attack.

It is up to the (human-controlled) heroes to play up to their strengths and abilities without getting quite as involved as the creeps. Experience is gained simply for being near enemies when they die, with gold awarded for damage inflicted and bonus gold for getting that all-important final strike on a foe.

Accompany your hordes of creeps up the lane, killing enemies, destroying structures and earning experience and gold along the way. It is also possible to kill any creatures you encounter along the way (that are not allied with you or the enemy) for additional experience and rewards.

Winning a match will credit your account with goblin gold (which you can also buy, remember) which is used to unlock further characters, of which there are 84 at the time of writing. On average you’re looking at spending 40-50 minutes on a single match, with the option to surrender (4 out of 5 required) after 15 minutes.

Any resemblance of resource or base management (mining and so on) has been removed, and gold is the only commodity you can spend in-match. It’s a strategy game with a twist, though a familiar format to many.

Conclusion

If HoN strikes you as a game you might enjoy, then you should probably start downloading it right now. The game still feels like a full-price retail product, albeit with a few restrictions on free accounts, with fluid graphics, a fitting art style and hordes of players waiting for a game.

If you don’t like magic and goblins then maybe you’d be more at home with a free shooter instead?

Have you played Heroes of Newerth? Did you like it? Did you pay for it? Will you be playing in future? Cast your judgement in the comments, below.

Developers can take the engine and use it as they please, without having to pay the creators any money for the licence. This has helped the Spring engine build up a roster of games that will please even the most seasoned RTS fan.

There are also a selection of commercial projects, but it’s the free ones I’ll be focusing on in this article.

The Engine

Licensed under the GNU GPL, the engine is free to download, use and adapt upon. The development team comprises of community members who have surpassed the project’s initial aims of bringing Total Annihilation into 3D, with support for all the mods and third-party extras the original could handle.

Spring is a desirable platform for developers as it has evolved to support some fairly advanced features and is limited solely by the hardware you have available. Within one arena there is support for up to 30,000 units with 250 players taking part with deformable maps, realistic weapon trajectories and varied units, economy and maps.

In order to play games that make use of the Spring RTS engine, you’ll need a minimum of: 1GHz single core CPU, 512MB of RAM and a graphics card with 64MB of VRAM. The minimum install is 200MB, and this depends on what else you’re after (be it extra maps, units or add-ons).

If you really want to get the most out of the engine then these requirements shoot up to a 2GHz processor, 1GB or more RAM and a 256MB GeForce 6600 or better. Your install directory can also reach several gigabytes if you’re determined to try the lot, so make sure you’ve got space.

Installing Games

For Windows the install process is fairly straightforward. You simply need to download the Spring installer executable, run it and you’ll be able to choose from a selection of games to install as optional components during the install procedure.

You are also able to download maps and mods from a link within the Spring client. This community-made video explains the ins and outs of getting to grips with the Windows setup procedure and the client in general:

For Linux users there is a setup guide to follow, and if you’re using Ubuntu or a package that uses Synaptic then you only need to punch a couple of lines into the console before you’ll be playing.

Note: Linux users will need to add the Spring repository and install (or update) from there to use the latest versions.

Ubuntu users can open Terminal and use:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:spring/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Some games have their own individual installers, but for most you’ll simply need to place the main game files in your Spring “mods” folder and maps into the “maps” folder.

Whilst many of the games are focused on pure multiplayer mayhem, some have single player campaigns and full support for bots so you can play on your own if you feel like it.

The Games

Here’s a selection of four of my favourite Spring derivatives. Some of these are stable and popular titles whereas others show promise and demonstrate what the Spring engine is really capable of. You can download more at SpringFiles, or check out the official Spring games page.

Balanced Annihilation

Currently the most popular game utilising the Spring strategy game engine, Balance Annihilation provides players with a very in-depth, tactical and competitive online battlefield. The game is home to many refugees from the original Total Annihilation and new players are encouraged to read this guide before jumping in.

Regarded as a mature and well-developed game, updates now only include minor tweaks as opposed to big upgrades. Tactical options open to each player invariably shape the way each game is played out, with strategies focusing on map control, air superiority and aggression amongst others.

Spring: 1944

Still under development, the only World War II themed Spring game to date has a keen following thanks to the aspirations of the development team. Eventually the team would like to create four playable sides (Britain, the US, Germany and the USSR) with historically accurate units and attributes.

At present you can play with German and British troops, which is good enough for a very tactical game of toy soldiers. Like many of the other Spring games, 1944 strives for realism so you might benefit from reading the documentation first.

Zero-K

Once known as Complete Annihilation, Zero-K is another dynamic and action packed RTS that promises to provide hassle-free tactical gameplay. Perhaps the most impressive aspect are the hundreds of available units that shape your tactical choices, and the game’s eventual outcome.

Whilst continuing to be a very in-depth game, aspects are simplified like the streamlined economy which requires careful monitoring of resources but little in the way of micromanagement. Zero-K makes for a very balanced and approachable game in an often over-complicated genre. As always, if it’s your first game you’ll probably benefit from reading the guide.

Star Wars: Imperial Winter

Completely free and unofficial, this non-Lucas Arts RTS is set in the politically unstable post-Return of the Jedi universe and should keep even the most dedicated Star Wars fans happy.

With more than a hundred units available for either the Rebel Alliance or Galactic Empire, this free community-driven project attempts to provide more units than any game released under the Star Wars guise yet.

Currently in beta, this one’s worth keeping an eye on if you’re a strategy-obsessed fan of the Force.

Conclusion

Whilst many of the games on the Spring strategy game engine are still in need of time, developers and refinement ““ some are ready for you to play right now. If you are an avid RTS fan, longing for a decent multiplayer effort to latch onto then there’s bound to be something using this engine that ticks the box. Hopefully the Mac version will be stable enough for a proper release soon.

Do RTS games do it for you? Have you got any favourite Spring based games and maps? Let us know in the comments.

You can purchase these real-time war strategy games for Playstation, Xbox or your computer – but did you know that the popular Warzone 2100 is open-source?

That’s right, as of 2004, Warzone 2100 was released under GNU Public License. You can download and install it on your PC right now – and enjoy hours of knee-biting, edge-of-your chair war-gaming for absolutely free.

Since the game was coded and distributed on a commercial level, you can expect high quality digital imagery, professional sound effects and music, and a gaming environment that is captivating and interesting to play. I burned through at least two full nights just testing the game in order to write this article. These are the chores that writers must suffer through.

Playing The Real-Time Strategy Game Warzone 2100

From the menu alone, I knew that I would love this game. I was an avid Command and Conquer fan for many years, and immediately I noticed the same look and feel of this game, albeit with slightly lower quality graphics and controls. On Warzone 2100, both single player and networked multiplayer game modes are available. The plot of the game is a post apocalyptic world that is rebuilding after nuclear destruction. You are a builder – but there are those out to destroy you.

In single-player mode, you start out with a single base and a few vehicles. Nothing is built yet, but you have available funds, and usually defensive vehicles to keep any initial wave of attackers at bay while you try to establish a base of operations. Whenever you select any object, the controls pop up just above your command navigation “star” with the nuclear symbol in the middle.

The first thing I noticed is that the learning curve isn’t very steep. Hover your mouse over any of the icons and it’ll tell you what it does. For example, here I’ve selected the “build” tool, and each icon represents a building that I can establish as part of my base.

The construction vehicles take care of new construction with an interesting focused blue “build” ray that either constructs a building from the ground up, or it’ll repair any buildings that have been damaged in an attack. You’ll notice at the bottom of the screen, in the center is a bar representing your funds, and on the left reads “CAM-1A” and the time – presenting the feel that you are observing and controlling your base from a surveillance satellite.

Once you have a few important structures built, you can start producing vehicles and exploring the land around you. At the beginning, you won’t be able to build much because you haven’t completed any research. For example, all I can build here is a construction truck or a machine gun Viper vehicle.

At the lower right side of the screen, you’ll notice that you have a radar display of the entire game area. Your forces and your base is represented as green areas or dots. Approaching enemy forces, or enemy bases you discover, show up as red areas or dots.

You can select one or multiple vehicles, and then place the mouse over the enemy you want them to all attack at once. You can also tell vehicles to defend a particular area, fire at a specific spot or retreat back to base for repairs. Keep a close eye on the status bar under the vehicle – when it turns red, you need to get it out of the fight.

Each battle is pretty cool – with decent explosions and sound effects for the machine guns and other weapons. However, I didn’t feel that this version could even come close to comparing with the commercial version of Command & Conquer or similar games. With that said, for a free real-time strategy war game, it’s fairly impressive.

Multiplayer mode is available when you enter the lobby. You can see what current games are available and how many there are. Multiplayer gameplay is nearly identical to single player, except instead of waging war against the computer, you’re battling it out against real people. If you really want to have fun, create two teams and fight a world war.

I’ll be honest, I’m very selective with free games that I choose. I can’t stand low-quality flash games, and I usually avoid most open-source games because the quality usually isn’t there. I can say that in the case of Warzone 2100, the quality is there – and if you enjoy strategy games like this, it’ll surely keep you up building and battling until three or four in the morning.

Have you ever played this or any other free war strategy game? What is your favorite? Share your insights in the comments section below.

Image credit: Stephen Davies