AWESOMENAUTS REVIEW BABY!

Awesomenauts is a game that came out all the way back in May of this year, but I've avoided talking about until now. It's not that Awesomenauts is a particularly bad game, it just doesn't really move me one way or the other, and those are usually the hardest reviews to write.

So now that I've got you all excited, what exactly is Awesomenauts? Well to start it's got a pretty “Awesome” theme song and set up. No I mean seriously, just listen to this song it's probably my favorite thing about the entire package. 

 The game takes obvious inspiration from saturday morning cartoons from the 80's, and that's not a bad thing. I find myself singing the theme song from time to time, and I haven't played this game for a few months now. It will get stuck in your head, and you will love it. The idea is that the Awesomenauts are space mercenaries who are fighting for rare resources. The character designs are simplistic, yet they are full of character. The characters range from Southern Cowboy, to a Space Chimp. The 2d art is fantastic and really extenuates the goofy atmosphere.

That's about where most of my enthusiasm for Awesomenauts ends, which is surprising because I absolutely adored the developer's last effort “Swords and Soldiers.” Where Swords and Soldiers was a simple tower defense game, Awesomenauts is like a mix of tower defense, real time strategy, and team death match. Some folks have used the term “MOBA” or multiplayer online battle arena, but if that doesn't ring a bell just think of it like a team based game of tug of war.

Yeah that's a monkey, a robot, and a brain in a jar. What of it?

The first thing you do when entering a game is pick your Awesomenaut. This drastically changes the way in which you play as each character comes equipped with his own abilities and power ups. You also can pick which abilities you take into battle, further ensuring that your specific build won't necessarily be the same as your team mates. 

After you pick your dude, you are quickly thrust towards the battle field in a space ship. During your plunge to the surface, you must collect as much ore as possible.These resources act as your currency, and you use them to purchase upgrades and abilities. You can also get money from killing enemies or finding specific drops around the map. Then you run out onto the battlefield and attempt to destroy enemy turrets, ultimately trying to destroy your opponents power generator.

Although you have direct control over the movement of your character, the game is less of a reflex based game and more about planning. Before heading over to your enemies turrets you have to make sure you are beefed up enough to take on any foes, otherwise you will get turned into hamburger meat fairly quickly.

In fact, most things about Awesomenauts seem to go fairly quickly. I was never in a game for longer than ten minutes, and it always seemed as if the victory was fairly decisive. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it does suck when you are five minutes in and you realize that there is absolutely no way of coming back. It doesn't help that the matchmaking server often puts you in games that are already in progress, or nearly done. Although it is neat that when players do drop out of the game, they are immedietly replaced by computer controlled opponents, that way you never find yourself truly alone.

The problem is every match feels identical, and the layouts are so similar that you may not even realize there are multiple maps in the game. Later on you unlock more characters that offer new ways to take on the same challenges, but you may not even feel compelled to keep playing after a few rounds. In short spurts Awesomenauts is some good clean fun, but the game gets tiresome after awhile.

I can't really say “GO OUT AND BUY AWESOMENAUTS IT'S THE GREATEST THING EVER,” but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like it. It's an interesting experiment, and considering it's only Ronimo Games' second title, I'd say that we're going to see some cool things from them in the future. The game is only ten bucks, which is a low enough entry point for those who are a little curious. Personally I would recommend Swords and Soldiers, but picking up Awesomenauts would be far from a bad decision. Just listen to the song again. It's so good. 

So that's that guys. I enjoyed the game enough, and I'm sorry for taking so long to get this one up. It's been a busy time with school starting up again. I hope to get at least another review up this month. I believe this is the tenth review this year, but we are nowhere near done. LET'S KEEP ROLLIN ROLLIN ROLLIN.