Sometimes a good idea just takes on a life of its own after spinning off from another, completely separate idea. This happens all the time in television. For example, people tend to forget that NCIS was originally spun out of the TV show JAG. It doesn't just happen on TV though. Even video games sometimes get into the spin-off market, building something new out of a familiar experience. As popular as the Counter-Strike series of games has been, it actually began its life as a player-created mod for the popular first-person shooter game Half-Life. Now, the folks over at Riot Games are hoping to see a similar sort of spin-off success, courtesy of its recently released free-to-play multiplayer strategy game, League of Legends.

League of Legends is the stand alone successor to "Defense of the Ancients" mod first developed for Blizzard's popular real-time strategy game, Warcraft III. Defense of the Ancients took the resource gathering and building element out of the Warcraft formula and turned it into a more action based adventure, with players taking their chosen champions to provide backup for a steady stream of minions marching towards the opponent's base. The mod proved to be a hit with fans, so the guys at Riot Games decided to beef things up and ditch the reliance on Blizzard. The result, League of Legends, gives fans of the original mod a taste of something familiar, while still putting together a new and original experience.

League of Legends is a straightforward game that's simple to learn, but takes a lot of skill to really master. You begin each game by picking one from a number of available champion characters, then creating a team of one to five players. Each team has to make its way across the game map to the opposing team's base, trying to take out its "nexus". Once the battle begins, both sides begin to stream a constant supply of minions, travelling down one of the map's main paths and fighting anything that stands in their way. These guys by themselves aren't all that strong, so they'll need the backup from your team's champions to cause any major damage. They'll also need help to get by the enemy turrets, conveniently positioned along each path. Eventually, with the right support, your team will manage the chip away at the opposing defenses, and ultimately to the enemy nexus ... assuming of course that they haven't gotten to yours first. Given a little trial and error, you'll eventually start to get the hang of things, and find out the best ways for your champion to support your team.

Considering that all other elements are the same for each team, choosing the right champion for your style of play will make the difference between celebrating your resounding victory, or skulking away and licking your wounds. Thankfully, there's plenty of variety in the available champions, fitting whatever type of player you are. Whether you like to fight in the frontlines, hacking and slashing through the opposition, or you prefer to stay in the shadows and cast spells from a safe distance, there's a champion or two perfectly suited for you. Unless you're willing to shell out some dough, though, don't get too attached to any one champion.

League of Legends is a free-to-play game, but it supports itself through microtransactions. Each week, Riot Games has around ten champions available to play for free for players, usually keeping a fair balance of types of champions. If you find one in particular you like, you can either wait until it happens to come up in the rotation again, or you can pay for a champion to have at your disposal anytime. The nickel and diming doesn't stop there though. You can also pay for alternate costumes, magical runes to bolster your champions, and other little extras here and there. None of this is a requirement to play, and it's still a balanced experience even if you never spend a buck in the online store. Of course, if you try out the free experience and like what you see, you can always drop $30 for the retail "Collector's Edition", which includes twenty playable champions, four runes, an exclusive character skin, and $10 in Riot Points to get you started.

If you're looking for a different sort of online game, blending action and strategy in a battle of wits with other gamers, it wouldn't hurt to give League of Legends a go. It's a good looking game that's easy to jump into with a surprising amount of depth. And hey ... it's free. With everyone tightening their budget these days, free is a price we can all appreciate. While the game might have its roots in the classic Warcraft titles, it's grown and evolved to a point where League of Legends is in a league all its own.

Final Score: B