Free-to-play Friday: Dota 2

Free-to-play Friday is a weekly series that showcases some of the best and most interesting free-to-play games currently available for everyone to try. Did we miss a favorite free-to-play game of yours? Post your favorites in the comments and we'll be sure to give it a try for ourselves.

This week's edition of Free-to-play Friday highlights Valve's highly popular multiplayer online battle arena game, Dota 2. The Defense of the Ancients game concept focuses around two teams of players that aim to destroy each other's base, while also defending their own. The genre today has grown widely-popular across the world with other titles such as League of Legends. What's especially great about Dota 2 is its wealth of options available to both genre veterans and newcomers. Beginning players are introduced to the game's many concepts with a wealth of helpful tutorials as well as narrated demonstrations of matches. Yet, an assortment of tournaments and competition matches are available to veteran players looking for more of a challenge.

One important game feature that seems to be oddly missing from other multiplayer online battle arena games is the addition of bot matches. As someone new to the genre, it was refreshing to play a variety of matches with bots and not have to worry about angering other players. It's also a great way to experiment with the wide assortment of heroes available for selection. As Valve demonstrates in its other games, it has a great talent in creating memorable and interesting characters. Dota 2 follows the formula by providing some of the best fantasy characters found in games.

Another major feature of Dota 2 is the ability to spectate live matches that are happening around the world. The spectator mode also provides a great way to study and learn the tactics of professional Dota 2 players. Many of the professional competition matches are also streamed through Twitch. When players are confident with their gameplay skill, Dota 2 allows easy connection to various online matches that are guaranteed to provide many hours of entertainment.

Dota 2 is available now on Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Read the latest news and development updates on the game's official blog.