http://heroesofnewerth.com/ref.php?r=9LAF7YDHHoN is a DotA clone (literally a clone, half the hero pool is the same, same maps and items etc.), but with improved graphics and UI and all that good stuff. New heroes are added constantly (right now the rate is about one every two weeks), and the company communicates very effectively with the community. It has a rather large competitive following, as well. There are about 40,000 players online at a single time, so joining games doesn't take too long. I recommend trying it out (I mean, $10, it's a steal). I've personally played this since beta, approaching two years now, and I've had a LOT of fun. I pre ordered it for $30, half the price of a regular game, and have spent almost a thousand hours playing it.
For those new to the MOBA genre, the game basically revolves around a player choosing a "hero" character and teaming up with 4 other players to fight an enemy team of 5 players. The game takes place on a certain map. The goal of the game is to slowly push your way into the enemy's base and destroy their buildings, finally destroying their "Shrine".
The game plays like an RTS except you only control 1 character (some heroes can summon pets or w/e). Heroes level up by killing NPC soldiers that spawn regularly from a team's base and travel to the enemy's base. Heroes also gain gold, which can be used to buy items to strengthen their hero. Eventually heroes fight against each other, attempting to kill the enemy hero. A kill results in experience and gold for the killer, and any teammates who assisted him. A dead hero respawns after a while, a higher level hero taking longer than a lower level hero.
The main idea is that players level up their hero and get items and then try and push into the enemy's base. Each hero has 4 unique skills that they use. As of now there are around 80 heroes in the game. Games last about half an hour to an hour. Each game is like a match in an RTS i.e. the levelling up and gaining gold is temporary; each hero starts at level 1 at the start of each game. The only long term effect of a game comes with stats; HoN offers excellent stat tracking, and kills, deaths, assists, gold gained etc. are all recorded. Additionally, there is a ranking system where each player gains points with a win or loses points with a loss, and this contributes to their total rating.
Be warned though that the game has a
very large learning curve (the MOBA genre is often said to be the hardest type of mainstream video game to learn), and due to the competitive nature of the game the community can sometimes be harsh, but it is well worth the effort in the end.
If you're a DotA player, or a fan of the MOBA genre, definitely give this game a try.
I've included some screenshots as well.
