Red Versus Blue: Blizzard DOTA

Sometimes games brood, sitting in a corner and calculating their every internal component with a die that has unlimited sides. That can be agreeable, but it's much more agreeable when a new game approaches wearing a jester's hat and jigging merrily into view. Such is the case with Blizzard DOTA, the trailer for which has all the appearance of a wonderful parody. But this is reality and you will indeed be able to play a DOTA-styled game, pitching Blizzard characters against each other, with no regard for lore or legacy. It is to be an officially released Starcraft 2 mod, although you won't even need to buy Starcraft 2 to play it.

Imagine the new Syndicate had a trailer a little something like that.

It's not clear how Blizzard DOTA will be monetised, but it is clear that I hate myself for using the word monetised. From what I can gather, the mod will be free to play for owners of Starcraft 2 but will also run on the trial package, StarCraft II Starter Edition, which includes a basic multiplayer mode of the core game, as well as some single player missions. Playing this way will require "some costs" to be paid, although it's not yet clear what those are.

Owning the full version of Starcraft II will provide advantages and owning liberal wings or swarm-hearts will confer even greater advantages, most likely in the form of characters that are monetised for non-owners. Enough about monetary monetisation though, it's all too nebulous for now. I really need to develop an interest in at least one of these games, as they are apparently 95% of all upcoming releases. Any recommendations for the best place to start?