It would seem that the merest mention of premium loot crates is enough to raise hackles these days, least considering the recent slew of games either having completely excised them (Battlefront 2) or are in the process of doing so (Middle Earth: Shadow of War). The next game to step up is Freejam's free-to-play build n' shooter Robocraft, which is returning to the tech-tree based progression model of its early days, with nary a dice-roll in sight.
]]>In new battle royaler Robocraft Royale, players are scavening for whole new vehicles: tanks, planes, mechs, cars, and hovercraft, through stranger creatures like mechanical chickens, sharks, and dinosaurs, and even the odd massive Mario on his kart - bristling with different weapons and abilities. That's what happens when the foundation for 100-player rumbling is the silly bot-building battler Robocraft rather than a serious shooter. Today, after a stretch in public testing, Robocraft Royale has entered paid early access, aiming to launch properly in a few months.
]]>While some battle royale games send players scouring levels for such thrilling treats as backpacks and off-brand energy drinks, Robocraft Royale will have us scavenging for mechs, hovertanks, fightbikes, planes, spiderbots, warwhales, and other big smashy vehicles. Robocraft Royale will enter early access as a paid standalone game later this month, developers Freejam have announced, following a short stretch of public alpha testing. Freejam initially described this spin-off from their bot-building battler Robocraft as an "experiment", and evidently the results pleased them.
]]>I'm not good at Battle Royale shooters. Most of my time spent playing usually involves crawling through long grass or hiding in bathtubs, hoping desperately to make it to the final 15-20 players simply by being a no-show to combat encounters.
My second round of Robocraft Royale (a spinoff of Freejam's construction-combat sandbox Robocraft) saw me taking control of a railgun-equipped giant robot catgirl maid, ferociously bullying a rocket-equipped truck (which escaped, albeit totally disarmed) and later switching up to pilot a WW2 bomber to defeat a rival mecha-catgirl that had cheekily blown a hole clean through my pretty robot head.
What I'm saying is that Robocraft Royale might just be on to something special, and you can try it right now, free.
]]>Playerunknown's Battlegrounds has a lot to answer for. The explosive rise of the competitive sandbox shooter has changed the face of competitive multiplayer gaming on an unparalleld scale, with countless studios moving to capitalize on the new big thing, and capture a fresh audience of millions.
Sadly, many of these retrofits and hastily assembled games just look bland, doing little to differentiate themselves from that pack. Hear me out on this one, though. After reading Freejam's plans to adapt vehicular builder/shooter Robocraft to the Battle Royale template, I think they might just be onto something interesting.
]]>The build-your-own-warcmhine battling of Robocraft [official site] is almost ready to launch in full, after three years in early access. It'll hit version 1.0 and launch on August 24th, developers Freejam Games have announced. If you're the cautious sort who'd rather not play even a free-to-play game until it's done, hey, it's almost here.
]]>Robocraft is a free-to-play multiplayer game in which you build vehicles which drive or fly and then pit them against other players' creations in online battles. It's been in alpha for over a couple of years now but has just entered beta ahead of a final release this summer. We're giving away 10,000 Starter Packs for the game, which includes 6 Protonium Crates containing in-game items and a cosmetic Holoflag.
]]>Maybe you're a veteran of the RPS Social Club or maybe you're preparing to travel to Rezzed hoping to meet some fellow RPS readers for the first time. Either way, if you're going to be at the show, you'll be able to meet friends old and new, and some RPS writers as well, at the RPS Mixer in Association With Robocraft. As the name suggests, the event is sponsored by Freejam, creators of Robocraft, and we'll be gathering from around 7PM on Friday at The Captain Kidd pub, a short walk from the Rezzed venue.
]]>Rezzed is heading to London again this year and if you're lucky enough to be there, you'll see the best in gaming. There will be loads of games to play, loads of talks and panels to attend, and loads of cardboard conversations to be had. Below, you'll find some hand-picked highlights, including appearances from team RPS, talks from the likes of Larian, Campo Santo and The Creative Assembly, the RPS games room, and an evening in the pub with some of our writers.
If you're down at Tobacco Dock during the show, do say hello. We promise not to bite, provided Helsing's Serum does its job between now and then.
]]>Robocraft is a free-to-play, early access multiplayer game in which you build your (robo)craft - vehicles which drive or fly - and then control them in battle against other players. We're giving away 5000 Starter Packs for the game, which includes three-day premium membership, an instant boost to level five, and the Mech Trooper Robot pictured above.
]]>Robocraft is an early access mash-up of World of Tanks and voxel building, letting players build land and air vehicles and then take them into online arenas to do battle. Chris thought the "tinkering is actually more fun than the tankering," when he played it back in July, though both are likely better after the latest update added wall-scaling, crawling vehicles to its already hefty number of customisation options.
]]>Each Monday, Chris Livingston visits an early access game and reports back with stories about whatever he finds inside. This week, building, driving, and flying robotic cube-tanks in the free-to-play Robocraft.
My robotank, Killdeathinator -- named for all the killing and deathinating it's been dishing out -- has just entered its 5th iteration. Killdeathinator Mk 1 had four wheels, a couple guns, and was made of weak plastic cubes. Mk 2 added more wheels -- ones I can steer, which I've found to be fairly important -- and a radar dish to track enemies. Now, lined with gleaming copper armor and bristling with cannons, its become a fairly durable ground assault vehicle. Time to kick it up a notch. Killdeathinator wants to fly.
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