Back in 2012 saw the release of Awesomenauts on the PS3, 360 and PC, featuring mercenaries fighting for territorial supremacy in the galaxy, and received mostly positive reviews. As a Multiplayer online battle arena game, or more commonly called MOBA, the action featured 3 versus 3 battles on a 2D map, where the goal was to destroy the opposition’s solar core. For the Ps3 and 360 owners this offered a chance to play this type of game, something which PC games had an abundance of. Now though a new generation console (PS4) sees a new version of the game, called Awesomenauts Assemble.
Developed by Ronimo Games the game still features the same side view, 3 versus 3 gameplay as the original version, however this is not just a simple port to cash in on the lack of games on the console. In fact this version of the game has been re-coded with twice as many characters, refreshed graphics and a new map. Add in to the mix that the controls are more responsive with the DualShock 4 controller with the ability to use the analogue stick to move and aim your fire in a different direction, you have the making of good game especially for the low retail price on the PSN store.
The additional characters have given the developers the reason to look in to the balancing of the cast, and from talking to others that have played both games it has lead to a more even game play. Allowing the player a larger array of characters has given everyone a better chance of playing well, and if you decide that you do not want to play as a gun toting hero you can select to be a healer. As the name suggests this enables you to follow your team mates keeping them alive, thus allowing you to mix up your game play.
Now I’ve mention team mates I think it is worth bring to your attention that you don’t have to play this online as you can play against the AI in a practice match allowing you to select the difficulty of the team you play again, whilst still allowing you to unlock the progress bar and opening new maps and characters. Should you venture online, as with the game primarily focused for this, you can either play against your friends via the party mode or jump in to a online game against the general public.
As mentioned before the goal of the game is that your team of 3 needs to destroy the opposition’s solar core. Whilst that sounds simple, add in the opposition being able to fight you, droids that zap your life, and finally there are 4 enemy turrets that are very tough to destroy and these have laser fire power, you can see that this is no walk in the park. That is not to say that a game will take you hours to play, as with the unlimited respawns and fast moving action games will tend to last between 10 to 25 minutes. This allows you to play 2 or 3 games in under an hour, which is great news for those with busy lives.
The game will also make you think of your playing style when you choose your character, as each has three abilities that make them unique. However even before you think that this is all, players need to choose another three upgrades for these abilities, such as increasing fire power or the rate of healing. Don’t think that each character will play the same way if you pick the same upgrades either, because they don’t which adds to the appeal of the game.
With Awesomenauts Assemble being a multiplayer game this will put a few people off, however hopefully the low asking price will have mean the majority of PS4 owners will buy it. This game really needs people working together and with your friends you can have a laugh with this, as communication is a must. Only once when reviewing this did I have a team that wanted to speak, so playing in silence is a bit soul destroying. Therefore if you have a far larger friends list and a majority of those want to play the game then you will have a great time and get the best out of the game. Sadly I did not have this luxury therefore my game play was hampered by playing on my own, though it was still entertaining enough for me to want to go back on to (mainly offline against the AI).
In closing if you had the previous game and enjoyed it, this should be an instant buy, as it should be if you want a fun game that you do not need to play for hours in one sitting to rank up slightly. The more of your friends that have this though, the better you will find you gaming time.
A worthy addition to your console’s library.
Reviewed on PS4
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