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Awesomenauts is a 2d DOTA-like (or MOBA game, whatever you call it). If you're new to Dota-like games, the game consists of destroying turrets with the various heroes in the game, and eventually reaching their base which you need to destroy to win the actual game. Of course, it's really not that simple in reality, but that's what it all boils down to. The real difference made in Awesomenauts is that this is not set in an isometric perspective like most Dota-likes, and is not even in 3D anymore. Everything is set in 2D.

A lot of your time in Awesomenauts will go like this:

'Team - You fail.'
'WTF are you even doing...'
'omg stop using that cheap OP hero' etc.

Like most MOBA games, this game seems to absolutely infuriate absolutely everybody playing it in a way not seen in other games, probably due to the mechanics in the actual game - For example, if you die, the entire of the enemy team gains Solar (the in-game currency), so your death not only inconviniences your team, but actually directly helps the other team, and could even potentially win the game for the other team in some circumstances since the currency is used to upgrade your character, which is essential to have any chance at winning the game. For example, my favourite hero, Clunk, has an ability called 'Explode', which allows you to explode, damaging yourself a bit, but your enemy more. When this move has recieved no upgrades, it can do 60 damage, which is still pretty powerful, however when fully upgraded, you can do 100 damage, which when combined with Clunk's other ability, can kill off some of the other much lighter Heroes, such as Froggy G and Leon, instantly, provided they haven't bought themselves HP upgrades.

Speaking of Heroes - They are some of the most unique characters and interesting character that I have seen in a long while. Ranging from Froggy G, the gangster frog from the ghetto's of his planet, to Yuri, the Soviet space monkey, every character has some sort of funny story behind their existence in this place which I very much reccommend that you read for everybody. Every character feels very different from the other, however there is still no clear definition of some characters purpose on the Battlefield. Many of the characters feel like simple harassers for people looking to rack up cheap kills whilst their team playing more important heavy damage characters (like Clunk, Derpl, Zoltar and Lonestar) do the actual damage against the turrets. Another dissapointment is that there is only one consistent healing character, Zoltar (although other heroes like Yuri have abilities that give them the potential to do the same). This means that in every single successful high level team, a tank and Zoltar are nessecary, severely limiting the amount of actually viable heroes in higher level play.

The game itself plays extremely nicely. Kills are satisfying, and the entire game is skill and team-based. If you die, it is generally your fault - You pushed up too far, you didn't heal at base, you tried to take on an enemy who does higher damage and out-levels you, and so on. But again, Leon and Coco ruin this feeling since their kills are extremely cheap. Leon comes out of nowhere and slashes you to death in seconds, whilst Coco can fire high damage energy-balls through walls and detonate at will, and neither character requires any skill whatsoever.

The game contains a League system to try and match up players of an equivalent level, however the entire system is fundamentally flawed in that it seems to measure how good your teams have been recently and your win streak rather than actual skill. Through my 30 hours of play I have catapulted from League 9 up to League 2, and then back down to League 8, and so on. Fortunately, between League 9-5, there really is not that much of a difference because everyone seems to suck equally, so the problem with the league system is not a major as it could be.

You may think that I dislike this game, however I really, really like it, and I would recommend it to any fan of MOBA games or to anyone new to the genre to at least give it a go, as I feel this game is great, and I had a hell of a lot more fun with it than I had in my ten or so hours in League of Legends.
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User Comments (5)
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atvelonis
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Thursday, November 29 2012, 2:29 pm EST
Apocryphal Ruminator

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Cool concept, I'm probably getting the game...

It would seem that it would get a little frustrating if people on your team died, though


'jellsprout' said:
As a kid I always thought tennisballs looked delicious and I liked biting them. I still remember the feel of the fuzz on my teeth and tongue.
FlashMarsh
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Saturday, December 1 2012, 7:15 am EST

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Any advice on style of writing? I should probably get some pictures next time...

Anyhow, I've got a reasonable list of games which I could review next, so let me know which game seems most interesting:

Binding of Isaac, Super Meat Boy, Darksiders, Just Cause 2, Dead Rising 2, Saints Row the Third, Metro 2033, Rock of Ages
Jorster
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Saturday, December 1 2012, 1:45 pm EST
mfw

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I'd like a darksiders review


Livio
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Monday, December 24 2012, 5:13 pm EST

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'FlashMarsh' said:
Any advice on style of writing? I should probably get some pictures next time...
Pictures would really be nice. As for writing style, I'm personally not a fan of the comically cynical style that you seem to be going for, even if it is a pretty popular style, so I'm probably not a good fit to be critiquing it. Although it'd be nice if you could explain some more things and if you could explain them better. For instance, I still don't really understand what a MOBA is, even though you tried to explain it.

As for the humor, it seems to work best when you're using it to point out a legitimate problem of the game, but you have to be careful with it because you can confuse people with it. For example, you made it seem like the game was really bad at first because of your second paragraph, and it would've been better if you clarified your opinions immediately after the joke rather than at the end of the review.

I liked your descriptions of their various character classes, and I think that would've been a great spot to put in a picture or something so that the reader can "see" what you're talking about.
Isa
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Monday, December 24 2012, 5:35 pm EST
No. I'm an octopus.

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