Written by: PlayDevil.com

 

 

 

Awesomenauts is a 3v3 game in the vein of DOTA or League of Legends, but played from a 2D perspective, and is coming soon to XBLA and PSN, making it a very accessible and more simple take on the increasingly popular genre, whilst also opening it up to a whole new audience.

 

I spent a good time playing the game at Eurogamer, trying out single player and split screen over 2 of the 3 maps that will ship with the game when it releases (either later this year or early next year, depending on when it can fit in the schedules). 3 doesn’t sound like a lot, but they are all pretty sizeable, and have a variety of unique features, such as a low gravity area, different minions, and a pit with a giant monster lurking in it.

 

The core gameplay will be familiar to fans of the genre, although now the gameplay plane is 2D, you’ll need to jump around and use some basic platforming skills too to traverse the levels.

 

Gravity is pretty light though, so it’s nice and easy to get around, and you can use jumping tactically to your advantage. Anyway, you need to destroy enemy turrets and defences in order to reach their base, before destroying that too. However, you can level up your dude every game by using cash (gained by collecting it from platforms and killing enemies), and restore your health by killing neutrals.

 

Every game also gives you XP, which unlocks new abilities to buy in the shop- an interesting premise, as at least everyone starts off equally at the start of a match. There are also a variety of classes to play as (with more promised as DLC).

 

Interestingly, the game will default to playing online if you are connected to Xbox Live or PSN, although bots will join in if players are not present, and the game features drop-in, drop-out gameplay. You can also play with 3 players locally on one console and still go online, although you will be limited to the same side. It’s a fast paced game, with most matches taking 10-15 minutes, and it’s really easy to pick up and learn the controls.

 

Before I played, I had no idea what the game was about- I thought it was more like Smash Brothers, but at the end of my 45 minutes of gameplay, I came away with an overwhelmingly positive experience, and I’m really looking forwards to when this game hits- so look out for our review when it does.