On October 27, 2009 American video game developer Riot Games introduced a new addition to the gaming community, one that would change the world forever. That was the day League of Legends was born. Played by 27 million people daily, this game features a multiplayer-online-battle-arena (MOBA) style of gameplay. It eventually became the most played PC game in both North America and Europe by July 2012. Riot Games has made way for a new star of the show, a world where you can be your own superstar and have a marvelous time of your life destroying Nexus after Nexus, leading your team to victory.

In this addicting and phenomenal game, the objective is very simple. Most League gamemodes are like Capture the Flag, but you need to destroy the flag, or in this case, the Nexus. There are quite a few gamemodes, but Summoner’s Rift is the most popular. In Summoner’s Rift, there are five players on each team, each choosing a different champion (or character) to utilize and call a role or lane in the pre-game lobby. They can call top, or Top Lane; bot, or Bottom Lane; mid, or Middle Lane; and jg, which means Jungle.

One of the things that most gamers find notable about League is the interchangeable controls and gameplay. This game is only available on a desktop or laptop, but despite the limits of compatible devices, there aren’t any boundaries to the controls you can use. To play League, you use hotkeys to activate certain abilities or exploit certain functions. Diversity is paramount in League, especially playstyle. Playstyle is varied with what champion you play. For example, assassins like Master Yi have a high-risk-high-reward playstyle, while Fighters/Tanks like Garen focuses much more on aggression through absorbing high damage and dishing out your own damage to send the enemy Recalling (teleporting) back to base in frustration and panic. With diversity in the game, playing with others can be much more challenging and enjoyable.

Even without a decent PC, mine holds its ground pretty well against crashing when I play League. This just goes to show that League is not one of those games that frequently crashes “low-class” PCs and almost anyone can play the game. The evolution of League is very evident. Now, every particle and plant is much more vividly illustrated versus a few years back. Adding on to the topic of performance, the sound effects are very vibrant and suit the environment of the game well, on top of the limitless options of skins to purchase and use. With skins, you can change how a champion appears or sounds to your preference, making the gameplay even more sublime. There are also voice actors for each champion and the announcer of the game. A minus of the game is the toxicity (flaming) in the community. Some people curse at you in chat or try to irritate you by stealing your kills or ruining your farm. There is also smurfing involved, which means high-level players play with and/or against low-level players and attempt to mess up their experience. Luckily, you can stop toxicity by reporting players and even though smurfing can be aggravating for the smurf’s teammates or the opposition, it makes it a challenge for everyone else to do better and to get better at the game.

Despite these negatives, overall, League is still out of this world. With the incredible sound quality and dynamic, Riot Games really has created a prodigy. Whether you are all hyped up from getting a Pentakill (a five killstreak) or laughing to death with your friends, League is the game that you should play, as it becomes the best that rises to the top. So what are you still reading this for? Go and get this free game, for this might be a free ticket that will force you to stay up at night pushing in lanes and spamming your hotkeys playing this well-crafted masterpiece.