PAX East Review: Shoot Many Robots

A new game from Demiurge Studios, Shoot Many Robots was available for preview at PAX East.  Sunday afternoon, Kayhynn sat down and played it.  Check out her thoughts on the game.

While I have been to PAX Prime, back in 2009, I didn't really focus on console games, but rather on MMOs.  This year, since we now have an Xbox 360, I decided it might be a good idea to pay attention to new and upcoming games for the consoles.  One of the games that caught my attention was Shoot Many Robots by Demiurge Studios.

While the graphics are very much 2D, the game play itself was fast and fun.  The goal of the game:   to kill the robots before they kill you.  There are a couple of modes to play the game in, the mode we were playing in was survivalist.  In this mode, you face wave after wave of robots, gaining XP and power with each robot you kill.  While the game is called Shoot Many Robots, and you do shoot many, you also have the option to melee the robots and via melee you can ricochet rockets back at the robots that shoot them at you.

You start the game in what appears to be an RV where a collection of weapons is found, which is stocked by the starring character, P. Walter Tugnut.  As you play, you collect nuts to spend in the RV dressing room (aka the toilet).  You can use nuts to upgrade your equipment, buying better guns, headgear, leg gear, back gear etc.

There's even an option of pink fairy wings for your back. 

As you level up, you unlock more weapons and gear to spend nuts on.  Gear can improve your stats and abilities.  For example, a jetpack will let you glide over the top of chasing robots.  A tutu will help you to jump higher.

Walter is a bit of a drunk hillbilly.  To replenish health, you drink beer.  So when you’re running low on health, chug a beer to replenish your health points. 

Up to four players can work together, and against each other in some aspects, to defeat all the robots.  Players have to work together to defeat wave after wave of robots, but you’re also competing for the most kills and, since players are awarded nuts based on the number of robots they killed.

When I played...well I'll admit it, we died miserably because we were still trying to figure out the controls for the game.  I kinda felt sorry for the Enforcer who was my partner because I'm old and I'm still used to the standard Nintendo controller and all those buttons confuse me. 

However, despite my inability to remember what buttons did what and how, I found the game to be enjoyable.   Even though it's a simple shoot-em-up strategy game, it has the potential to be played for fun for hours and is a great game to play with your children or friends as well.  It’s something I plan to download for my family to play when it comes out later this year.

Shoot Many Robots was played at PAX East on Xbox 360s, but from talk there and on their forums, it looks like it may be released on several other platforms as well, yet to be determined.

Check out this game play trailer:

For more information on Shoot Many Robots, check out their website at: http://shootmanyrobots.com/

About Demiurge Studios:
Founded in 2002, Demiurge is one of the leading independent studios within Boston’s thriving video game development community, making a name for itself as a straight-forward, service oriented production house built upon an amazing breadth of creative talent. The studio has been retained by industry leaders like Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Gearbox Software, Irrational Games, THQ and more to help deliver over twenty titles for the PC and every major console since the studio was founded in 2002. Demiurge’s first original IP, Shoot Many Robots, is planned for digital download in 2011. For more information please visit www.demiurgestudios.com.here.