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Free Monday Night Combat DLC brings two maps, tons of changes
We're sure there are plenty of Monday Night Combat fans that were pleased at all the changes implemented by the recent title update. Taking a gander at what Uber has planned for the first (and free) DLC pack -- scheduled to release this November -- there are a lot more fixes and changes where that came from. First and foremost, the 'Spunky Cola Special' DLC will add two new maps. Crossfire mode gets the very purple Spunky Cola Arena, which offers up only one lane of attack, which should lead to some hot and heavy battles right from the start. Blitz mode also gets the new Survivitol Arena. In addition to the new maps, the DLC will introduce a whole host of fixes, changes and balance tweaks. It's not just the classes either, as the arenas themselves will be fixed and rearranged in various ways. The most important addition, however, is still veiled in mystery. Bacon is easily the most sought after (and most delicious) power-up in Monday Night Combat, but apparently a new one is on the way. Referred to only as "tasty pickup," all we know is that it rewards players with "something awesome." Find the DLC change list after the break. Get yourself something to eat, because it's long.%Gallery-106197%
Monday Night Combat title update goes live
Uber Entertainment's fantastic XBLA game, Monday Night Combat, has finally received that desperately needed title update. According to the developer, the update was submitted to Microsoft for certification over a month ago and got caught up in "a perfect storm" that delayed it until now. Allegedly, the first DLC pack, which will be free, should be out now "sooner than later." The title update fixes several technical hiccups and also addresses the exploits that plagued the game shortly after launch. We're looking forward to jumping back into the Monday Night Combat arena and really hope future exploit-fixing updates don't get caught up in cert -- losing isn't fun, but losing to cheaters is the worst. Check out the full list of changes in the title update after the break.
Castlevania HD, Lara Croft, Monday Night Combat sales analyzed
Gamasutra has posted its Xbox Live Arcade sales analysis for August, and the results appear mixed for the final three Summer of Arcade titles. While the piece notes that every 2009 Summer of Arcade title managed to garner 80,000 players in their respective first weeks, this year's batch is less consistent. Based on leaderboard data, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair had only 44,601 players in its first week, with sales declining each following week to close out the month with just over 75,000 players. Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light -- perhaps due to the lack of online co-op -- befell a similar fate, acquiring 44,733 players in its first week and adding 22,498 more the following week to cap off August with 67,231 players. Meanwhile, Monday Night Combat -- which launched between Castlevania and Lara Croft -- debuted with over 86,000 players, followed by strong additions the next two weeks for a total of nearly 172,000 in August. Granted, these numbers are all culled from leaderboards and don't necessarily translate directly to sales, it seems like this year's Summer of Arcade failed to drum up the same interest as last year's event, which packed in the likes of Shadow Complex, 'Splosion Man, and Trials HD. Check out the full article on Gamasutra for more stats than you can shake a slice of bacon at.
Monday Night Combat patch, free DLC pack incoming
Uber Entertainment has announced that a big Monday Night Combat patch has entered testing and will soon be ready for certification. The title update is set to fix several issues with the game, notably the ability for players to damage Moneyball shields, and host migration problems. Several classes will receive tweaks as well, with the brunt going to the Support and Assassin. Devious Support players will be displeased to know they won't be able to hack through walls anymore, while Assassins will be happy to hear that grapples won't take as long to recharge after a whiff. The updated version of MNC will be playable at PAX this week, and Uber is also bringing along plenty of swag, including the T-shirts above. Furthermore, Uber will soon release the first of three DLC packs for the game that will contain "new content, gameplay adjustments, and more bug fixes." According to Uber's Chandana "Eka" Ekanayake, the studio is "very invested" in the MNC community -- as such, the first DLC pack will be free. Hopefully we'll hear more details about the DLC at PAX. In the meantime, head past the break for the full list of fixes in the title update.
Monday Night Combat grabs XBLM charts by the Moneyball
Following the trend of Summer of Arcade titles landing in the top spot on the XBLA sales charts during their release weeks, Monday Night Combat was top dog on last week's chart, which was released by Major Nelson. The online shooter also placed a respectable 11th on the Xbox Live Activity chart, leaps and bounds ahead of all other XBLA titles. Additionally, Limbo held its own with a second-place finish on the sales charts, one spot ahead of the more recent Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. Meanwhile, Baby Maker Extreme slipped to fourth on the Indie Games chart. Now we're going to be worried about it all week. Click past the jump to see how the rest of the console's offerings fared.
Joyswag: Suit up for Monday Night Combat [update: giveaway closed]
Update: That's it! The giveaway is now closed and the winners have been notified. Check those inboxes! Dear readers, we understand your confusion. After all, it's obviously Wednesday and not Monday. It's very unorthodox, we'll admit, but maybe this will help: We're giving away five copies of Monday Night Combat for Xbox Live Arcade. It's pretty great -- just read our review -- and you should really enter the giveaway. Winning would be almost better than bacon. Almost. To enter: Leave a comment on this post telling us about your greatest bacon-related experience You must be 13 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec). Limit 1 entry per person. This entry period ends at 6:00PM ET today, Wednesday, August 11. At that time, we'll randomly select five grand prize winners to each receive a download code for Monday Night Combat (ARV $15). [Code requires an Xbox Live account to redeem.] For a list of complete rules, click here.
Monday Night Combat 'on the fly' updates explained
We mentioned in our Monday Night Combat review (you should read it!) that the game would feature the ability to make balance tweaks "on the fly without needing to do a patch." Considering most Xbox 360 games require a full title update even for the most rudimentary fixes, this makes Monday Night Combat something of a standout. Now, thanks to Penny Arcade, we have an explanation. According to Uber Entertainment's John Comes, the magic comes courtesy of "Title Managed Storage" (TMS), an amount of storage space on Xbox Live servers that Microsoft allows for its developers. "So what we did," said Comes, "is put a text file with all of our balance numbers up there [on TMS] and when the game starts up it overwrites the balance numbers with any numbers it pulled down off of TMS." As an example, Comes noted that if Uber were to discover that Snipers earn ability-enhancing Juice too fast, the company can easily adjust the corresponding number in TMS. The next time a player boots the game, the adjusted number overwrites the original. Voila, instant balance fix. Now, if someone would just turn the Assassin's cloak ability up to "infinite," we'd be much obliged.
Review: Monday Night Combat
It's dangerously simple to refer to a new product as an amalgam of other known quantities, but in the case of Monday Night Combat, it's the most effective sell. Here's the pitch: Imagine the class-based, team-oriented play of Team Fortress and then mix it with the escalating play of tower defense. Toss in a bright, campy sports entertainment aesthetic and you've got Monday Night Combat. And it's a blast. %Gallery-99028%
Video: Monday Night Combat is all about Support
While the first Monday Night Combat developer walkthrough introduced us to the Tank, today's video shows off the Support. As his name implies, the Support ... erm ... supports the team by hacking turrets, healing teammates and calling in air strikes. See him in action after the break.
Monday Night Combat gameplay walkthrough is full of bacon
Monday Night Combat, out next Wednesday, will be the penultimate game in the XBLA Summer of Arcade promotion. The video after the break features a pretty good overview of the gameplay and, well, BACON! Who doesn't like bacon? Even vegetarians love bacon. It's true.
Monday Night Combat's Assassin will stab you in the back, slap you around a little
Don't sleep on Monday Night Combat's Assassin character -- aside from being incredibly quick and deadly, she has the unique ability to cloak herself, giving her ample opportunity to plant pointy things in your soft, flabby back. Sure, maybe if you worked out you'd have a tougher back, but we both knew when you bought that gym membership you'd never go. Now you see where you're at? You may not be able to change the stabability of your back, but you can know your enemy and, remember, knowing is half the battle. So put some wrinkles in that noggin of yours and head past the break to watch the Assassin in action. Then maybe check with some doctors about undergoing a full-on stainless steel backiotomy, if you've got the cash -- your back is home to, like, 30 different vital organs. We read that somewhere once. Monday Night Combat will be available on Xbox Live Arcade on August 11 for 1200 Microsoft Points ($15).
Monday Night Combat trailer schools us on sniping
Aside from having to deal with a grumbling tummy, we can't imagine there's much to being a sniper. But according to both Tom Berenger and the latest trailer for Monday Night Combat just past the break, there's plenty more to it. Aside from being a bit off, every good Monday Night Combat sniper should have a repository of skills to call upon -- including traps that freeze your enemies in their tracks and a rather neat grapple skill that allows for some flashy melee maneuvers. Whoever said snipers never get their hands dirty?
Summer of Arcade XBLA games dated and priced
Microsoft's suggestion for how to pass those hot summer afternoons: spend 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), repeatedly. The company released the official dates and prices for the XBLA games in this year's Summer of Arcade promotion -- or, rather, dates and price, since they all share the aforementioned 1200 MSP price tag. Like last year's Summer of Arcade, purchasing all five games in this year's lineup entitles the buyer to a 1200-point rebate (essentially buy four, get one free). Additionally, if you buy three of the five, you'll get 400 MSP back! As for the release schedule: Limbo: July 21 Hydro Thunder Hurricane: July 28 Castlevania: Harmony of Despair: August 4 Monday Night Combat: August 11 Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light: August 18
Castlevania: Harmony of Despair announced via Xbox Live 'Summer of Arcade' 2010 promo
It appears Konami's leaked-pulled-and-then-leaked-again Castlevania: Harmony of Despair is very much a real thing. The rumored 2D multiplayer Castlevania game is part of the Microsoft's returning Summer of Arcade promotion. The junior year's games include: Castlevania: Harmony of Despair Hydro Thunder Hurricane Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light Limbo Monday Night Combat The press release hasn't mentioned any added bonuses for purchasing all of the games, but previous years promised a refund of 800 Microsoft Points ($10) with purchase of all five participating titles. It's likely this year's Summer of Arcade will do the same, but we'll follow up. [Thanks, mrmbado!]
Monday Night Combat video highlights 6 character classes
After the break, we've posted a 4-minute video from the upcoming XBLA multiplayer shooter, Monday Night Combat. You've read our hands-on with the assassin, but this trailer showcases all 6 character classes (in the following order): Assault, Gunner, Sniper, Support, Assassin and Tank. After watching the video, comparisons to Valve's Team Fortress 2 will seem all the more warranted -- but that's certainly not a bad thing. In addition to the various classes, the video also highlights the in-game upgrade menu. By using cash that you earn throughout a match, you'll be able to upgrade the various skills your character has access to. It's a lot of information to take in, but the video does a great job of explaining how diverse the gameplay of Monday Night Combat is.
Hands-on: Monday Night Combat
Why are so many good online shooters hitting XBLA? Monday Night Combat is Uber Entertainment's upcoming arena shooter, made exclusively for XBLA. Like Lead & Gold, it evokes a Team Fortress 2 vibe, thanks largely to its cartoon graphics and focus on squad-based play. Yet, it manages to have a unique flavor of its own, thanks to its satisfying close quarters combat, and original tower defense-inspired gameplay. Monday Night Combat was one of the most populated booths at PAX East, an impressive feat considering the high-profile competition offered by the bigger publishers. Perhaps the long lines could be attributed to Gabe and Tycho's glowing endorsement of the game at their first Q&A panel. Or, it might be because the game is, put simply, fun. I jumped into a round and chose the Assassin class. I've always preferred speed and stealth over gunplay, and this class was perfectly suited to my play style. Like the Scout class from TF2, this character is very agile, and can jump long distances. The Assassin has the special ability to cloak for a brief period of time, and can also launch smoke grenades. The cloak isn't infallible, as players will notice a shimmer where you're located; however, in the middle of a frantic firefight, it'll be relatively easy to sneak up behind a player and brutally stab him in the back.
Get caught up in this Monday Night Combat 'Crossfire' trailer
Monday Night Combat sort of came out of the blue when it was announced earlier this year. At the time, we were impressed by the game's visuals and the promise of class-based shooter action all contained in a bite-sized XBLA form factor. Now, a new trailer has been released and, thankfully, the gameplay is more complex than it appeared at first glance. The mode showcased in the trailer, called "Crossfire," plays out something like a capture the flag or king of the hill mode with a few twists. Each side attempts to breach its opponents' defenses and destroy their "Money Ball" in order to win the match. In order to do this, players upgrade their abilities, place defensive turrets and push through with the help of AI-controlled robots. The trailer shows off several different classes, including a deadly sniper, lithe assassin/scout and a 'heavy' wearing some mean looking mech armor. Unfortunately, the trailer fails to answer the most important question about Crossfire mode: Will you get caught up in it? [Via XBLA Ratings]
Monday Night Combat announced for XBLA
Uber Entertainment has announced a brand-spankin' new Xbox Live Arcade title by the name of Monday Night Combat. Just what is Monday Night Combat, you ask? Paraphrasing our own JC Fletcher, it looks a bit like Team Fortress 2 ... if Team Fortress 2 were a game show. Presented as a game show and "sport of the future," Monday Night Combat is a class-based third-person shooter, in which teams compete for "the real American dream: cash, fame and endorsements." The game sports six different character classes, a create-a-class feature and two gameplay modes, the co-operative Blitz mode and the competitive Crossfire mode. This one really came out of nowhere, but if it's anywhere near as good as the trailer makes it out to be, we could be in for a real treat. Expect it to arrive later this year.
