Freejam, the developer of free-to-play robot-third-person-MOBA Robocraft, is developing a new version of the game in partnership with Microsoft. It's called Robocraft Infinity. I was able to play the game on the first day of E3.
Robocraft first came into my sphere when I was a freshman in college. I remember going to friend's room one night, and they were playing the game. I wanted to join in on my low-end, good-for-Microsoft Word-only laptop, so I did. What followed was a laggy but fun experience where my robot was constantly blown up.
Now that experience is in development for Xbox One and Windows 10. I can say that, at the outset, this is the same old Robocraft that its fans have been playing for as long as it's been in open beta on PC. And that's a good thing. This version has four modes: Arena, an objective-based multiplayer mode; Team Deathmatch; Player vs AI; and player-vs-player. The only mode that was available at E3 was player vs AI. Since it was an alpha build, the bots were necessarily clunky and pretty much ineffective at killing anything.
But it was still fun.
Some features from the PC version have been streamlined for the new release. Now, for instance, it's pay-to-play. This makes sense, as the original game has been in open beta for at least three years. Freejam's representative at E3, Communications Manager Andy Griffiths, said that the tier-based leveling system from the PC version will not be in Robocraft Infinity, but that the cooperative interaction with the fans to produce new mechanics in the game will.
A lot of the robots in the video above were present in the demo, specifically the scorpion, mech, and the buggee with the huge wheels. I destroyed all of those in the demo, using machine guns, guided missiles, and lasers. The feel and influences of the original PC version, specifically the wacky physics and combat. I looped around and around in my big blue truck, all while taking the tiny arms off a big mech and the tail off a scorpion.
Robocraft Infinity is expected to release in early 2018.
