to having poured 100 hours into the game himself. "Dota 2 is ultimately about two teams of players in something like fantasy five a side football going at each other. Each player controls a hero who supervises entire automated armies. The object is to destroy the enemy base, and get into enormous scraps with other enemy heroes." It sounds simple, but the bewildering variety of heroes you can control (108 and counting, all with different bonkers abilities) makes it incredibly complex. But the fact that it's a free to play game, with live streaming of matches available right inside the Dota 2 application means it's destined to be the Next Big Thing. "I think it's going to be a big spectator sport," says Smith. "Everyone I know who plays it also watches it, and you've got these super talented commentators [already]." There's some serious moolah to be won if you get particularly good, too. The top prize for Valve's The International competition, which took place in the US last week, was a cool million dollars (628,000): Chinese team Invictus Gaming scooped the jackpot, splitting it five ways. Not bad, not bad at all. Halo 4 Halo 4 isn't out yet, but it's already a confirmed fixture on the Major League Gaming (MLG) circuit. The next installment in the legendary Xbox shooter series goes on sale on 6 November, but the weekend before, will make its professional eSports debut at the Fall championship in Dallas, Texas. You can expect this to