“The year is 3587, conflict spans the stars. Huge robot armies are locked in an enduring stalemate. At the center is a team of elite mercenaries fighting for the spoils of war: The Awesomenauts.”

Awesomenauts takes classic MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) gameplay and tosses it into the juicer along with 80s cartoon inspired 2D graphics and an extra large dose of personality; the resulting smoothie looks rather appetizing. As it’s a fairly recent genre, Awesomenauts will be the first 2D MOBA (games like Defense of the Ancients, Heroes of Newerth etc.) game and it looks to be remaining remarkablly faithful to the genre’s key components.

  • Awesomenauts will bring the popular MOBA genre to the 2D plane with rich, detailed environments!
  • Adrenaline-pumping action with up to 3 players staining your couch, or 6 players online!
  • A roster of unique playable mercenaries, each featuring their own set of skills and upgrades!
  • Advanced matchmaking options, which allow you to queue up for online matches without forcing you to wait in a matchmaking lobby!
  • Unlock over 100 unique items to beef up your abilities and customize your personal playing style for each match!
  • Facemelting battles across multiple exotic planets and alien spaceships!

No details have been released as far as a final roster count, but we’re guessing… high. Ronimo, developers of Swords & Soldiers, hope to spread info-jelly on characters and other gameplay evenly until the game’s release later this year. Stay tuned for our impressions from the E3 show floor, however until then we’ve got some awesome screenshots for you after the jump. If you missed it, you can find the debut trailer here.