The first commercial lane-pushing game to experiment with the z-axis, Paragon (Epic Games, 2016) introduces us to a variety of new takes on familiar 2.5D mechanics. It also flaunts some of the best graphics of its era: a rare treat in the lane-pushing genre!

During its early days, Paragon's gameplay took place on a map known at the time as Agora. A year later, the battleground changed to a new map and associated features called Monolith. We'll be examining both in detail.

Jack of all trades and master of few, Master X Master is a playfully presented game with lots of modes, features, and character customisation options to tinker with.

Among its many modes is a 5v5 lane-pushing battle called Titan Ruins, which will be the main focus of this review. The game has been announced to close for the last time on 31st January 2018, so if you haven't taken it for a spin yet, head on over to the official site while you have the chance.

Keys of Sealing is a rare example of an AoS whose gameplay is formally divided into stages: imposing a structured path to victory rather than the blurred lines of "early-game", "mid-game", and "late-game". It also has a special victory condition that is more teamfight-oriented than the familiar "destroy the main base".

In this review I'm going to cover features from both early and later versions together, as there aren't too many differences.

Overdrive is one of those AoS maps which delivers a surprising amount of emergent gameplay by introducing a single twist.

The twist in question is using the Overdrive mechanic from Final Fantasy X to give heroes their ultimates, rather than the usual method of granting them at level 6 and having lengthy cooldowns.

In this map's implementation, a hero's ultimate becomes available once they have taken a certain threshold of damage. Once cast, the ultimate vanishes and the hero must again take damage up to the threshold to re-enable it.

A hero with their ultimate available displays a

Scars of War (Skar, 2009-2011) is an unusual combination of a relatively recent map using 2005-era scripting. It draws loose inspiration from DotA, and is mostly comprised of minor to moderate twists on familiar ideas. The map includes more features than it needs, and many of them aren't integrated well, but among the clutter lie a few interesting concepts.

Comfortably one of the most refined AoS experiences in the genre, Desert of Exile is 6v6 map built on the premise that simple, elegant systems can produce complex and engaging gameplay when their parts are allowed to interact.

It is the first AoS to adopt this philosophy seriously, and it is executed with confidence and discipline. There are no half-baked systems, nor any peripheral mechanics that don't quite tie in with the rest.

The game features a fresh approach to hero design, clear and satisfying objectives, and a unique flavour of teamwork and synergy that distinguishes it from its

In a world of mobas which are aiming for the skies, it's nice to see a project that executes well with a smaller scope. I was recently introduced to AoS Sunken Ruins (Quillraven, 2008-2010), which manages to provide a surprisingly complete AoS experience despite having less heroes, items, and supplementary mechanics than its peers.

The simplicity of the map objectives, and transparency of gold-spending options make Sunken Ruins a game to be played, rather than solved.

Early in its development cycle, Sins of a Dark Age was reportedly going to merge the genres of RTS and MOBA to create something greater than the sum of its parts.

Their plan was to follow in the footsteps of Demigod, by dividing players into commanders who play a full-scale RTS, and heroes which play a MOBA under their commander's supervision and direction. Each team was to have a singular commander, who decides which troops to build, where to send them, what locations warrant the protection of towers, and which expansions to capture.

Commanders would also be able to issue instructions