Awesomenauts

Just a few days ago we were all sent spiraling away from our computer screens, cringing at the news of DTP’s insolvency announcement. Luckily, one way or another, Awesomenauts has pulled …
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Update: According to Jasper Koning of Ronimo Games, Awesomenauts will be releasing as planned. Expect our guide and review to be up in the following week.

We hate being …
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After a brief hiatus, Weekly Roundup is back!
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Awesomenauts comes out next week on May 2 and we here at XBLA Fans couldn’t be more stoked. Ronimo Games has posted a new trailer for the game that …
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While everyone knows what strategy games are, and role playing games, and massively multiplayer online games somehow the multiplayer online battle arena genre remains confusing and mysterious. Perhaps this is because, despite being a combination of strategy, RPG and MMO (aka SRPGMMO, but nobody liked that acronym) being something everyone can understand, it in no way adds up to MOBA. However, like every other genre, MOBA is branching out, growing and adding elements from other beloved genres, so before things get out of hand let us explain what MOBA is.

Okay, so what is it?

The Multiplayer Online Battle Arena genre is a micro-MMORPG experience with strategical elements surrounding it, hence the combination of the three. MOBA combines some of the key features of each genre, and bakes a peculiarly delicious cake. First and foremost, however, MOBA games are team-oriented, with one team competing against one other team. Each team has a core (or something like one) which they must protect. If their core is destroyed, they lose. Read More

If, like many of the XBLAFans staff, you are eagerly anticipating the release of the 2D MOBA game Awesomenauts then you may want to take a good long look at the screens below. Ronimo have just posted these images on their Facebook page of the three maps that will ship with the game in two weeks.

The three maps are Sorana, AI Station 404 and Ribbit IV. Aside from having different layouts and visual styles each map also has a unique element such as AI Station’s anti-gravity field which will allow players to float around the area. AI Station 404 also has “Creep Releasers” on each side of the map, allowing teams to reinforce their attack. Ribbit IV has a “Solarboss” on each side of the map, which is an extra tough neutral enemy for teams to tackle and reap the rewards if they succeed. In the center of the Sorona map there is a giant worm who has taken up residence in a mineshaft, players can call on it by pressing a button on the map, causing trouble for anyone in the vicinity.

You can check out the maps for yourself below and be sure to head over to the Awesomenauts Facebook page for more info. Awesomenauts will be released on May 2 for 800 MSP. Read More

Ronimo Games‘ forthcoming Awesomenauts won’t just feature colorful, cartoony graphics; the names of many of the games 12 achievements harken back to Saturday-morning classics of the 1980’s as well. …
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Awesomenauts‘ zany 1980s look is immediately appealing. Inspiration for the graphics was drawn from Galaxy Rangers and the Earthworm Jim and Bucky O’Hare franchises. The bright shades and disparate characters that clash in the outer-space battlefields send a message that the game is something fun and ridiculous. Aside from everything playing out on a 2D plane, though, nothing felt especially exciting when I first took the controller in my hands at PAX East. My options were pretty much limited to jumping or shooting in the early-going and death came swiftly. That all changed after building up some coin and getting the hang of what was going on. It was then that I began experiencing the joy and gratification the game’s silly character design and pretty colors had initially implied I would.

Playing as a cowboy character named Sheriff Lonestar I ran into the thick of things at the outset and began firing his laser blaster at the mindless drones marching ceaselessly towards my team’s first turret. Someone on the opposition was playing as the heavy robot class and he was relying on his thick armor and powerful weaponry to shred up poor little Lonestar. There are multiple levels to platform between in each map, but the side-scrolling nature of Awesomenauts still made it feel like there wasn’t much room for evasion. That coupled with the fact that there didn’t appear to be any way to recover from damage was making the situation look grim for our team of XBLA Fans writers.

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What we are playing is a weekly column published on Sunday. Various members of the team let the world know which games have had them hooked over the past week …
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Abilities Breakdown [springboard type=”youtube” id=”uuANt_OoID4″ player=”xbla001″ width=”640″ height=”360″ ] Special 1: Time Warp – Yuri’s Time Warp, as it is now, is strange. By default it’s a relatively short aura …
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