Awesomenauts

[LordDon]

Is anyone else interested in picking up a copy of this? If you go for the 3-pack they're $6.66 a copy. It's a side-scroller MOBA by the same guys who made Swords & Soldiers, and they've given it an 80's cartoon motif, even down to the theme song.



and some gameplay footage:

[DoctorFinger]

I've played a bit of this on the 360 and it's a lot of fun. A lot less complicated than most traditional MOBAs.

[Ink Asylum]

Originally Posted by DoctorFinger

A lot less complicated than most traditional MOBAs.

That's good to hear. I enjoyed the original Monday Night Combat, but didn't enjoy the more complicated sequel.

[Camel]

I'd be interested in getting in on a 3-pack! Just let me know.

[Sl1pstream]

I'm probably getting this when I get my paycheck next week. I liked what I played of it on 360 and I don't mind getting this on PC as well.

[Ten19]

Count me in for a 3 pack if you're starting one LordDon.

[LordDon]

Played a killer round with Ten and Lint last night. I think I may prefer less players and simplified levels in my MOBAs.

[Ink Asylum]

Originally Posted by LordDon

Played a killer round with Ten and Lint last night. I think I may prefer less players and simplified levels in my MOBAs.

How are the heroes?

[LordDon]

I've only had a chance to play two so far, Lonestar who kind of pushes with his dynamite and his bull attacks, and Clunk, the big robot tank that eats mobs for health and has mostly close range attacks.

[Lint of Death]

I have all the heroes thus far released, they're all great in their own way. Except Lonestar, maybe, I haven't learned to like him yet. I'm most successful with Voltar - the master of healing and support-pushing - personally. He's also surreally similar to Dr. Cerebro from Krater. As far as character concepts go, Derpl Zork is probably my favorite, while Froggy G has the most earwormy theme/killing spree music.

Ten and I have played this a lot on PC, definitely get an XBox controller and DEFINITELY buy this game! It's great. Don't take it too seriously, you get dropped in mid-match too often to fret. Just remember you're a merc doin' your job fighting the enemy q8^)

[LordDon]

I've actually had no issues using mouse and keyboard, due to their awesome mapping of abilities to left, right, and middle mouse.

[Lint of Death]

Can you shoot while running backwards with the mouse? Because it doesn't seem possible with a controller.

[LordDon]

Oh yeah, and I'll drop a bull, double-jump backwards and toss a handful of dynamite to catch enemies trying to avoid the bull all the time.

[Lint of Death]

What! Shooting backwards is OP, reserved for Yuri and Derpl Zork!

Speaking of which, I just stayed up waaaaaaay too late playing this game. Had a lot of fun times with Coco and Mr. Zork especially. You really unlock some fun perk options as you progress! For instance Coco gets lifesteal on her attacks, and Froggy G can make his tornado explode at the end or reflect projectiles throughout. Just had a lot of success with a new Derpl option to dramatically reduce the cooldown on his turret mode.

Edit: And for those who believe the healing's not as rewarding as the hurting, you can buy a perk to turn Voltar's healing beam into a damaging one (but it won't earn extra Solar).

[LordDon]

I just couldn't get the hang of Voltar. Maybe I'll have to try him again.

[Lint of Death]

Voltar is quite weird; his drones are very difficult and awkward to control, but his ability to augment a push is hard to beat. I avoid the perk that gives every other attack knockback because it prevents him from killing enemy bots and those can really pile up. The range boost is invaluable.

[Camel]

After messing around for awhile, I've definitely settled on Yuri as my favorite. He's not amazing at anything, but has super long range and is great at supporting the team.

I am loving this game. I tend to find MOBA games extremely stressful and not all that much fun when playing against other players. One mistake early in the game sets the whole team back as you slowly and miserably lose for the next 30-45 minutes. I don't get that impression at all in Awesomenauts. I just played a match where my team was getting slowly pushed back the entire game, only to pull out the victory at the very end as the enemy team was bashing on our base. Great stuff.

I also love the idea of upgrading your skills in various ways rather than buying items. I definitely don't feel like I need to go look up a guide or something on how to play the characters. All you have to do is pick the skills that seem fun to you and then go play with them. Definitely got my money's worth with this game already!

EDIT: Also, for anyone feeling impatient with unlocking characters (not that it takes all that long anyways), just play some bot matches with Voltar. His ability to push is awesome, and the bots tend to not focus you down enough to really interrupt you. You can win a ton of matches in a really short amount of time this way.

[Lint of Death]

Originally Posted by Camel

EDIT: Also, for anyone feeling impatient with unlocking characters (not that it takes all that long anyways), just play some bot matches with Voltar. His ability to push is awesome, and the bots tend to not focus you down enough to really interrupt you. You can win a ton of matches in a really short amount of time this way.

That's pretty much what I did until somewhere in the teens levels, though now I've gotten good enough that I can regularly get a zillion solar in online matches. Tip: Play Leon and take every opportunity to dip into the jungle to kill all the monsters, including the big fat ones if you've got a few damage upgrades. Also nab lane bots wherever there's nobody around, and try to only fight when you are sure to succeed (lol Sun Tzu).

[Camel]

I wasn't doing so well with a laser/supportish Yuri, so I decided to just go all bombs. SOOOO MUCH FUN! I am a colossal pain in the ass, and have led so many enemies into traps (usually unintentionally...they just keep following me, hoping to kill the squishy monkey).

It doesn't happen often, but I love getting to hear my theme song play during the match! It sounds wonderfully menacing.

[GrrSnort]

I have it on 360. It's great fun. May pick it up on Steam now.
Because that's what I do. Buy games twice for some reason.