[ianfreddie07]

I used to play some DotA before playing other high-profile PC games. At its current stage, DotA is a map with an original idea with a lot of thrilling moments, but gameplay is a bit on the shallow and repetitive side. And IMO, it's also on the overhyped side.

Graphics wise, it's Warcraft 3. Which means you'll be seeing special effects galore.
Score: 7.5/10

Sounds are also the same, but added commentary from Unreal Tournament makes this a good sound package.
Score: 8/10

Gameplay wise, Hmmm... This is a tough one. Let's start with the pros. First, there are over 90 heroes, with half of them divided in 2 factions, the Sentinel and the Scourge. There are also a lot of items, and you can try out different item builds for the hero. Icefrog did a good job on that. Once you pick your hero and add the initial items, you're good to go. The premise is simple. Destroy the opposing side's main building (World Tree, or the Frozen Throne). What blocks your path are enemy heroes, creeps and towers. Then the gameplay gets a bit shallow and repetitive here. At the first few levels, you mostly kill creeps and inflict damage to the 1st tower until it goes kaboom. Then you move to the 2nd. This hack-and-slash like style is addressed by hero-hero fights. Sometimes, it comes down to be a "first to use skill wins" contest, other times a battle of numbers, and in other times it's a tense showdown of who is the better player among the pack. One player could change the outcome of the game. Overall, the gameplay has a lot of thrilling moments regardless of being a bit shallow and repetitive.
Score: 7/10

Replay Value: Well, the going gets tough in the early stages where you're still a noob, and that might turn some off. But this is a map with a good replay value for those who stick to it.
Score: 7/10

Total: 7.2/10