awesomenauts
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Awesomenauts blows up Steam next Wednesday, Aug. 1
Ronimo Games' plucky little MOBA, Awesomenauts, will launch on PC via Steam next Wednesday. While the game's Steam page still hasn't listed a price, we assume it'll be roughly in line with its $10 console price tag.As evident in the screenshots below, the PC version launches with the game's recently released character DLC built right in. No word on a release date for the Mac version of Awesomenauts, though Ronimo's last update on the subject said it'd be out "shortly after" the PC version.%Gallery-161277%
Awesomenauts XBLA update is live, adds Derpl and Coco
The long-awaited Awesomenauts update is now live on Xbox Live Arcade. Along with some changes and balance tweaks, the update brings with it two new characters: Coco, the hoverboard-riding harasser, and Derpl, the tank-riding defender.The update is free and should be automatically applied the next time players boot up Awesomenauts.%Gallery-160908%
Awesomenauts coming to PC and Mac soon
Back in March, developer Ronimo Games told us it was in talks to bring Awesomenauts, its 2D MOBA title, to PC. Now, a scant four months later, Ronimo has announced that Awesomenauts is indeed coming to PC very soon. Interested players will be able to grab the game from Steam "within a month," and a Mac version will launch "shortly afterwards."Check out the announcement trailer above, which includes the first look at Awesomenauts' new PC interface. If you haven't been keeping up, you can also read our review, which was rather positive.%Gallery-160458%
Awesomenauts update out soon, adding new characters and balance tweaks
The Awesomenauts update that Ronimo has been teasing for two months is "almost ready," according to a post from the developer on PlayStation Blog. The update will make some tweaks to the game's balance and items, and add two new characters. The new combatants, first discovered in May, are Coco Nebulon (complete with hover-board) and Derpl Zork, a slug who utilizes a walking tank.Coco uses electricity attacks that are good at harassing enemies and punishing those who chase her. Derpl, meanwhile, seems to be an area-control specialist and is able to turn his tank into a stationary turret.There's no specific launch date for the update just yet, though Ronimo promises it will be "very, very soon." The update, characters included, will be free on both Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network.%Gallery-160188%
Awesomenauts soundtrack now available, win it on vinyl
The Awesomenauts soundtrack, created by Sonic Picnic, is now available separately. The entire soundtrack can be sampled for free right here, and you can purchase a download of your own for the pay-what-you-want price of $2 or more. In addition, those who spend at least $5 will get a chance to win the Awesomenauts soundtrack on vinyl (as seen in the video above).That won't be your only chance to win a copy of the vinyl soundtrack either. We managed to snag a few copies ourselves, so keep your eye on Joystiq for a giveaway soon.
Get the Awesomenauts theme song for free now, soundtrack next week
The Awesomenauts theme song is made of the stuff of legend -- love, money and cheese -- and now it's available for free right here. Well, free as in it doesn't cost any cold, hard cash, but it does involve payment of a more modern kind: social network sharing.Anyone can download the theme song after tweeting the link or sharing it on Facebook through the service Pay with a Tweet. Or, you can wait until Friday, June 1, to download the entire soundtrack from Bandcamp, from artist Sonic Picnic.
Rumor: Awesomenauts DLC character info discovered
A GameFaqs forums user by the name of MirrorB appears to have unearthed information detailing two forthcoming Awesomenauts DLC characters, one of which was already teased officially two days ago.Sprites (above) and character sheets recovered from the game's system files outline two new Awesomenauts: Coco Nebulon and Derpl Zork. Coco, also known as "the cosmic waveblazer," rides a hoverboard and attacks with various ranged and melee forms of electricity. Her hoverboard jump also has a chance to randomly result in a completely wicked front-flip.Meanwhile, Derpl Zork, aside from being the nephew of the president of Zork Industries and having an IQ "under the level of plankton in the official galaxial IQ test," is a slug in a walking tank. Zork's "combat walker" has been outfitted with traps, turrets and the ability to "Mew enemies into oblivion by shooting explosive holocats."Of course, none of this is officially official until Ronimo Games makes some sort of announcement, but we're cautiously optimistic that this'll all play out. We really want explosive holocats to be a part of our lives.
First Awesomenauts DLC teased, update incoming
Given the financial state of Awesomenauts publisher DTP, the fate of the game's promised downloadable content was somewhat nebulous. Thankfully, developer Ronimo has revealed that both the first patch and downloadable character are on the way. As you can see in the teaser image above, it's a lady, which makes her the first female Awesomenaut. We don't know anything officially, though she appears to be wielding some sort of energy ball, has a Medusa hairdo and is clearly riding a hoverboard.Furthermore, Awesomenauts' first update is coming down the pipe. The update will include balance fixes suggested by community members, though Ronimo adds that "so far the consensus appears that the game is already fairly well balanced, which is great." Indeed. Patch notes for the update should be coming next week.Finally, Ronimo states that the launch went smoothly, with over half a million games played since launch, though some users have reported connection errors. The studio is working to resolve the issue, which seems to be related to NAT settings, and advises affected players to reset their routers and consoles as a temporary fix.%Gallery-155265%
PSN Tuesday: Awesomenauts, Mortal Kombat
Nothing can prepare you for this week's nostalgic update on the PlayStation Store ... save for a succinct summary such as this one. Awesomenauts brings a faux-retro flair to the MOBA genre today (for free, if you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber), while Mortal Kombat reduces its depraved fighting to more diminutive form on Vita.PlayStation Plus subscribers receive some other freebies this week, including Trine 2, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Chronicles. The PS One Classics lineup is bolstered with The Legend of Dragoon, and moving up a generation to PlayStation 2 gets you the original Max Payne.Check the PlayStation Blog for a full list of new store items, if you please.
Awesomenauts review: Feel the magic, hear the roar
The theme song for Awesomenauts' Leon Chameleon goes like this: "Donnez-moi ton argent. Donnez-moi ton fromage. Je donne tu mon amour." My high school French teacher, Madame Rose, would probably take issue with the grammar, but it translates to "Give me your money. Give me your cheese. I give you my love."I mention this to make a point. While Awesomenauts was certainly inspired by the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre, it is by no means merely derivative. It cobbles together a strong identity of its own, accomplished in part by translating a familiar experience into a new format, and in part by cribbing from the memories of the 1980s to create a Saturday morning cartoon that never existed.%Gallery-141159%
Awesomenauts to launch as planned on PSN tomorrow, XBLA naut known [Update: XBLA now known!]
Awesomenauts will launch as scheduled on PSN in North America tomorrow, Sony announced via Twitter today. The future of Awesomenauts was thrown into disarray yesterday when news broke that its publisher, dtp entertainment, had filed for insolvency. Developer Ronimo said it was working with dtp to get Awesomenauts published.Awesomenauts will be free for PS Plus subscribers, Sony said. It was scheduled to launch on XBLA on May 2, but that release is still unconfirmed. We've contacted Microsoft for clarification.Update: Ronimo has confirmed to Joystiq that Awesomenauts will launch as scheduled on XBLA, on May 2. Microsoft has yet to respond, but this is heartening news for potential Awesomenauts fans everywhere.
Awesomenauts may not launch as planned, publisher files for insolvency
The German publisher of Awesomenauts, dtp entertainment, filed for insolvency today, potentially stopping the game's XBLA and PSN launch on May 2. Developer Ronimo Games isn't sure what dtp's financial problems mean for Awesomenauts, but both companies are attempting to work out a resolution that gets the game published, IGN reports."Insolvency" is the European equivalent of bankruptcy and dtp now faces liquidating or reorganizing its assets, IGN writes. We've contacted Ronimo for comment about dtp's insolvency and the status of Awesomenauts.
Here's how to play Awesomenauts
This latest trailer from Ronimo Games and dtp entertainment runs through the basics of a match of Awesomenauts, imparting crucial wisdom by letting the viewer live vicariously through the experiences of a hyper-stereotypical cowboy caricature named Lonestar.
PS Plus offers free Awesomenauts, Rock of Ages, Symphony of the Night, more in May
PlayStation Plus members are going to be busy in May, frantically trying to play all of the free content that is being dumped on them. Awesomenauts, which hits PSN on May 1, will be free to PS+ users right away. It's accompanied by Trine 2 and Rock of Ages.Two of the best PSOne Classics are being thrown in as well on May 1: Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Castlevania Chronicles, a remake of the original 'Vania. Saints Row: The Third ... isn't free, but it is 20% off for Plus users when it comes to PSN May 15.For more, including free Minis and discounts on more upcoming PSN games, check the PlayStation Blog. For the answer to the tough question of whether relatively cheap access to all these games is worth an ongoing subscription, when you know you'll lose them when your subscription lapses, check your heart.
April Fools' Day 2012: And the rest
It was a fairly lively April Fools' Day this year -- not only did we manage to make it all day without being duped, deceived or disillusioned, but at times we were genuinely entertained by what the technology and gaming companies of the world were able to dream up.On the other hand, the stuff invented for April Fools' Day is often times way, way cooler than the products that actually get made, which is sort of depressing when you stop and think about it. It's like the news cycle on April Fools' Day is glimpse into a world where magic is still alive in the hearts and minds of millions. Sigh.Anyway, we've taken the liberty of compiling the gags and goofs we haven't already posted about into this specific chunk of Internet, so head on past the break for a look at realities better than our own.
Awesomenauts: Fake nostalgia, real action
For a solid day or so, I could have sworn that Froggy G was a real character I remembered from my childhood. I looked at his green skin, his (original) Vanilla Ice haircut and his sweet goggles, a memory tickling the back of my mind. Of course, Froggy G never existed before now, and was created solely to join the '80s Saturday morning cartoon-inspired cast of Awesomenauts."There's a bunch of ghetto hip-hop frogs out there, apparently," Olivier Thijssen, Ronimo Games co-founder tells me. "We thought it was an original idea, then we looked it up and ... it wasn't." Ronimo's Jasper Koning chimes in, saying that any direct inspiration for the '80s pastiche of Awesomenauts was "mostly subconscious," though keen-eyed observers will certainly spot hints of Galaxy Rangers and Bucky O'Hare. "When we started out, we wanted to do something like Earthworm Jim," says Thijssen, "that was our main inspiration in the beginning." As development continued, the retro atmosphere began to reveal itself. "It wasn't a conscious decision at first, but it became that later."But simply playing on a generation's nostalgia isn't enough to carry a game (Matt Hazard says hello), and thankfully Awesomenauts delivers something unique yet familiar: a console-friendly, 2D multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) experience.%Gallery-141159%
Awesomenauts descends on PSN May 1, XBLA May 2 [update: Priced at $10]
Awesomenauts will be hitting PSN and XBLA in only one month. Ronimo has announced a May 1 release date for PSN in North America, with the worldwide PSN and XBLA releases to follow on May 2. Awesomenauts takes the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) genre -- think DOTA, League of Legends, Monday Night Combat -- and infuses it with 2D gameplay and nostalgic, 80s cartoon goodness.The game will be playable at PAX East next week at booth 754. Be aware that you might have to knock a few Joystiq staffers out of the way if you want to play. Check out a new trailer above and keep an eye out for an Awesomnauts preview later today.Update: Ronimo has informed Joystiq that Awesomenauts will be priced at $10.
Ronimo hoping to bring Awesomenauts to PC
Ronimo Games is currently working toward bringing its upcoming 2D MOBA title, Awesomenauts, to PC. Speaking to Joystiq, Ronimo's Jasper Koning and Olivier Thijssen revealed that the company is actively pursuing a PC version to follow the XBLA and PSN releases later this year. "It is our number one request, actually," said Thijssen, noting that the MOBA genre is very popular on PC. He added that Ronimo is "not 100 percent sure yet [that] we are going to do it, but we definitely want to do it."Koning stated that Ronimo is in talks with Awesomenauts' console publisher DTP regarding a possible PC port. The biggest hurdle for a Steam version would be rebuilding the game's backend, something the studio doesn't currently have the capacity to do, though it is currently talking to Valve about the issue. Ronimo is also working on mouse and keyboard control schemes in order to support a broad range of players. "If we go to PC, we want to do it full on," said Koning, referencing League of Legends, which receives new content on a regular basis and has plenty of unlockable content to begin with.The jump to PC would certainly make sense, as we've already seen other other downloadable titles find success after making the jump from consoles to PC. Recent examples include Monday Night Combat and Dungeon Defenders, both of which see copious downloadable content and frequent updates on PC, something rarely seen on PSN and XBLA thanks to costly and lengthy certification processes.Stay tuned for the rest of the interview and an Awesomenauts preview later this week.
Watch this Awesomenauts split-screen trailer with a friend
More and more games these days opt for online multiplayer rather than the more personal and intimate "couch" variety. Ronimo Games, however, knows that people have roommates and siblings, and as such has built split-screen multi into Awesomenauts for up to three people/talented pets.
Awesomenauts unveils Voltar the Omniscient
The final Awesomenaut has been revealed. Brace yourselves for Voltar the Omniscient, a floating healer whose head is a brain in a jar. You can find out everything else you need to know in these two new videos.
