2d

Awesomenauts, upcoming 2D MOBA game from Ronimo Games, is paving the way to an entirely new way to play MOBA games without abandoning all the things we love. However, with a change of dimension comes several other things. Arguably games like League of Legends are actually pretty simple to understand and can be very accessible. However, getting good, or passing the “barrier of competency”, is a very long, uphill battle requiring either tons of gameplay experience or a lot of research. Awesomenauts seeks to simplify and streamline the mechanics surrounding the depth that MOBA games are known for without removing any of it. In that effort, Ronimo Games has employed a simple, understandable and customizeable “item”, or rather upgrade, structure and shop system into Awesomenauts. How exactly that lofty goal will be achieved is, in short, explained below and after the jump.

Skullgirls has been around lately, very around, going from convention to convention to fighting event to fighting tournament, all the while having all sorts of updates made to it …
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While we were bummed to hear about Major Nelson’s mistake, we now finally have a release date for long-awaited Sega Saturn classic Guardian Heroes. The new date is now …
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The long-awaited brawler Guardian Heroes is set to be released this fall, and word has just gotten out that it’s gone gold and ready to be distributed. We still …
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Ronimo Games wants you, the fans, to decide which character makes it into the spotlight for Awesomenauts next. First was Froggy G and recently released Sheriff Lonestar, but it …
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Two friends are on an adventure, one finds a gem and one finds a hat. But Hatty wants the gem, so his unnamed friend gives it to him and Hatty starts to cry. Everyone wonders why. The confusion is interrupted by giant cat guards that arrive to send the unnamed friend to prison. Oh, and we’re in a theater. On an island. That’s the setup for Behemoth’s upcoming game, Battleblock Theater.

Battleblock Theater will be a 2D platform puzzle action game, otherwise known as a plactuzzleformer, featuring four player couch and online co-op as well as an online arena for adversarial play. Players can also play solo, but the game is definitely intended as a co-op experience. Levels scale to fit the amount of players to ensure that the difficulty is always appropriate as you advance the story. On the multiplayer side, there will be plenty of different gametypes, ranging from the casual to the hardcore (five have been announced and there are more to come).

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Update: The trading system does not actually involve ripping off faces of any sort. The Behemoth has clarified that rather there is a trading post in-game where players can view their other players’ inventories and select what they want and the other player can do the same.

The Behemoth, developers behind XBLA sensation Castle Crashers and upcoming title Battleblock Theater, were kind of enough to meet with me at San Diego Comic Con. During that fantastic interview with Dan Paladin he revealed and explained Battleblock Theater’s unlock and trading system. (Link to interview forthcoming)

Fans and players of Castle Crashers will recall the massive frogelope (antler laden frog, I don’t know) wherein all the weaponry was stored was sometimes more trophy case than armory as players without the unlocked weapons could not access them. To circumvent that players would take the weapons into levels, swap them for easy to find weapons and allow newer players to pickup the rarer weapons they didn’t have. Dan says Behemoth got get rid of all that convolution and put in a full-fledged trading system into Battleblock Theater. Read More

It’s been three weeks since Ronimo Games released details on their first Awesomenaut mercenary, Froggy G. Well the jig is up, because there’s a new sheriff in town: Sheriff …
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Awesomenauts, 2D MOBA-styled platformer from Ronimo Games, has finally announced the details on the first of their six character roster, Froggy G. Froggy G’s tale tells of a checkered past:

The amphibious B.I.G., also known as Nate Frogg or Froggy G, comes straight out of the marsh pond ghetto’s of planet Ribit IV. Growing up in the baddest part of town, struggle and incarceration surrounded Froggy from an early age. Taking part in his first swim-by shoot out as a tadpole, Froggy seemed destined for a life of crime and prison. After a bloody gang war with the neighboring Toad-unit posse ended in a 5 year jail sentence, Froggy G vowed to end his gangsta ways. Instead, Froggy G started earning his keep as a beatboxing streetdancer and rapper, hoping to be picked up by a major record label. Unfortunately, his tracks, titled “Pond Pimpin'”, “Froggin’ Dirty” and “Motherfrogger Bounce!” didn’t earn him much. In order to make some money, and then make some mo’, Froggy G became a hired gun. Combining his shoot-out experiences with lethal watery dance-moves and beatboxing techniques, Froggy G now spins and dashes across intergalactic battlefields.

Each character in Awesomenauts has four moves that make them unique, as well as various upgrades allowing players to customize their playstyle. Froggy G’s moveset suggests he might be a “Carry”, or a character whose abilities make him valuable at the end of the game. His basics consist of a fish that shoots water bullets and a jump-pack he can charge, allowing for varying jump heights to get out of or into battles. Froggy G is also equipped with a Whirlwind (you’d think it’d be a whirlpool) ability which when activated damages all enemies around him for as long as the ability lasts, and a Dash ability which is omni-directional, damaging and stunning enemies caught in its watery wake. Some upgrades included in the reveal suggest both statistical and functional improvements, for instance the Hammer Pants give the Dash a “ground pound” feature when aimed into the ground, whereas the Mutant Worm Cartridges simply increase the firing rate on Froggy G’s fish-gun.

Anxious to see Froggy G in action? Check out the Awesomenauts Froggy G Spotlight after the jump and stay tuned to see the upcoming character reveals. If the site ordering is any indicator, perhaps Lonestar, the dynamite-hurling sheriff, will be next. Not sure what Awesomenauts is still? Check out our interview with co-founder of Ronimo Games, Jasper Koning, on the details of Awesomenauts. Read More

“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.

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