Awesomenauts

Developed by Ronimo Games, who brought you Swords and Soldiers HD, Awesomenauts is one of the first in the this new genre blend of 2D platforming and MOBA (Multiplayer online battle arena).

Graphics
The game takes a satisfyingly fresh step away from other MOBA games by allowing its art style to take more from the platforming genre. This choice allows the game to create wacky and unique environments, characters, and an overall feel to the game. That being said, the games eight characters, soon to be nine with the addition of Gnaw,  are unique in their own ways. Leon is french, sword-wielding, chameleon that relies on stealth and his long, sticky tongue to overcome his foes. Clunk is self-destructing robot that shoots missiles out of his arm and he has a mohawk!

Each of these characters are filled with character and keeps the game feeling fresh. However, the level design is less than brilliant. I'll start off by saying that there are only three maps which is downright horrible for a MOBA game and these three maps all have similar design. Although, each of the three levels have different middle areas, the outside (by the bases) are very much the same. This is a disappointment while being alongside such amazing characters. Each level has a unique backdrop that differentiates the three from each other and these are surprisingly nicely detailed. Also, throughout my 18 hours of playing, I never came across a bug.

Colorful, quirky, and hectic. A nice change of pace.

Sound
The games soundtrack and voice acting match perfectly with the tone set by the game. Each character has their own theme song that plays in that character's menu or when you get three kills in a row while playing. Two memorable ones include Froggy G's catchy hip hop song and Leon's smooth and very entrancing French melody.

In game music is also very upbeat and high tempo to match with the games fast paced action. The main theme is also one to be remembered. Now the voice acting in the game isn't necessarily the best and is quite cheesy sometimes, but it does tie the entire package together nicely. It feels nice to taunt someone in a French accent.

So....Much...NOSTALGIA

Gameplay

The game stays akin to its MOBA roots by having you destroy droid minions, turret towers, and bases all the while you are fighting the enemy team. Doing all of these things allows you to accumulate solar, the in-game currency, and level your characters up. Each character has two unique skills and a base weapon that can be leveled up. All classes have a another skill branch that levels up health, speed, and speed at which you accumulate solar over time.

Some skills also have multiple tiers to level up such as damage dealt or attack speed. While you gain solar in-game, this also levels up your overall level which unlocks new skills, characters, and maps over time. The problem with this is that early characters will have to deal with beginning skills and have no room for customization.

One of the major problems that plague the MOBA genre is gone in this game, which is the learning curve. In this game it is very easy to become a decent player within a few hours (for one character) and then maybe another game or two to learn other characters. This is helped by the games insanely easy to learn combat. The default controls have normal attack as left-mouse, one skill as middle-mouse, and the second skill as right-mouse and you don't have to bother with fumbling with the number keys while fighting.

However, with the introduction of platforming, the game has times where you won't be able to jump away in time or you barely miss a platform and will cause problems throughout your experience with the game...damn that worm (Players will understand).  With all of the customization that goes on, there could be even more by allowing us to change the look of our characters or something along those lines.

Finally, it would also be nice if there were more game modes other than the basic destroy base mode and bigger battles such as 5 vs 5 instead of only 3 vs 3.

Example of character skills and amount of choice.

Story/Content
Straight from the games description, " The year is 3587. Conflict spans the stars as huge robot armies are locked in an enduring stalemate. in their bid for galactic supremacy, they call upon the most powerful group of mercenaries in the universe: the Awesomenauts!" and that's it. The content of the game isn't even all that great when you look at it, but its charm and fun gameplay, like all MOBA games, will keep you playing for a while.

The game also gets much more fun when you have friends to play with and if you play online, while bots are an option, it isn't the most fun one. The developers are very nice to include local co-op to create a fun little party game for you and two friends.

Overall
The game is very fun and very addictive and is worthy of your ten dollars. The combination of unique graphics, sound, and gameplay all make you want to come back and keep on playing. The developers are already planning a new free character alongside other DLC which will give even more reasons to play this game. If you enjoy games like Terraria

Overall Rating
Graphics:8.5/10
+Unique characters
+Overall pretty looking
-Not many maps and they look similar

Sound:9.5/10
+Amazing OST
+Great Character themes
+Cheesy, but appropriate voice acting

Gameplay:9/10
+Very easy to learn
+Good amount of customization
+Each character feels different and has different strategies
+/-Platforming

Story/Content:7.5/10
+Addictive
+Local Co-op
-1 Game Mode
-3 Levels

Overall: 9/10