However, my browser can't seem to find the word "revolutionary" in this thread before your post, so I'm not sure of the context 
Yes, yes, I misinterpreted all of the ball-washing about how awesome this game is with the word revolutionary. What I mean to say is, it's the same thing we been doing all along because it's a remake. What is with the shock and awe? I have played the game, and it feels worse than the original. It's a step backwards in my opinion.
Which makes no sense, because it was made for one of the most change-averse, picky playerbases in existence.
Well just because it feels like a step backwards to one, apparently heavily-biased person, doesn't mean that ex-DotA vets aren't happy with the sequel. Personally I think they've done a fantastic job.
Also, once again I'm amazed that we're getting so caught up on this "remake" business, as if a remake of something can't be revolutionary.
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy was a film remake to an already successful book series. It didn't NEED to be done, but it was absolutely fantastic, even though it probably cut out a huge amount of content in the process. Most people will agree that those movies will go down in history as classics.
Counter-Strike was a revolutionary modification when it came out - it redefined First-Person Shooters into what we know and love today. 7 years after the quite disappointing Counter-Strike: Source was released, CS:GO is an absolute beast of a game, and a complete reincarnation of what made Counter-Strike such a wonderful and unique game to begin with. Is there any major changes from the original formula? Not really, it's just a whole slew of minor improvements. But after buying it recently, I think it is a much superior game to any of the Battlefield, Call of Duty, Halo, etc. games that have come out in its absence. Revolutionary? For its time yes, and because since then, its formula has not been successfully replicated.
If you don't understand what makes DotA revolutionary, then you either didn't read the article, or you didn't understand it. We're stuck in an age full of video games that many gamers hate. The "formula" and "genre standards" that are constantly used, and re-used, about how you always have to cater to the lowest common denominator, make the game simple and intuitive, and never do anything "anti-fun" or add mechanics that could possibly piss anybody off, have, in many people's eyes, ruined the gaming world. If this wasn't the case, then why do we have to rely on Indie Companies, such as Arcen, to make quality games which the mainstream companies are refused to make, which exist outside the formula?
What makes DotA revolutionary in our current age is that it takes all the mainstream design formulas that have ruined the gaming world, and throws them out the window. DotA is designed around the well-being of the game, not the player. Anything that will improve the game, like a well-oiled machine, will be added. Where in other games, the player enters into Disneyland where you have a nice fluffy mascot holding your hand and guiding you along the way, entering DotA is like entering a hostile, beautiful, unexplored planet. The planet doesn't care about you, it wasn't designed with you in mind. If you want to understand the planet, discover its riches, and ultimately conquer it, you will have to scale its treacherous mountains and endless valleys. You'll have to choke on its toxic gases, and breathe its fresh cool air. You'll have to know which parts to cherish and which parts to avoid, and eventually become master of your dominion, which you can share with others.
How many games offer this experience? How many games nowadays aren't like that Disneyland mascot, taking you by the hand and making sure you never go off path? Some people may like that, but some of us miss cutting through the forests of danger and discovery on our own even more.
What the reviewer is saying is that DotA does this in a way that games these days no longer offer. What's more, it does it for
free, and with 9 other people, for better or for worse.
Take caution, the journey is not for everybody. But for those who are tired of being coddled, and courageous enough to brave the dangerous unknown - the rewards cannot be matched.
