After a slightly premature launch, Super Monday Night Combat is now in open beta and welcoming new gladiators to its arenas. If you never played the original, not-so-super version, don't worry: This free-to-play revision is different enough that you'd have to re-learn much of it from scratch anyway, or at least get used to some very different rules. If you've played other MOBAs, though, you'll be in good stead for its surprisingly complex action -- and one of the funniest, most energetic free-to-play games around.
No Money Down
SMBC isn't as complicated as the likes of Dota 2 and League of Legends, and it's much easier to get into. It follows firmly in their footsteps though, from how it handles its F2P mechanics to the nature of its one and only game mode. Two teams face off on assorted arenas, each made up of crazy specialists ranging from a simple soldier to a cultured gorilla in a pin-stripe suit to the cloned reincarnation of Leonardo da Vinci.
SMNC's monster-filled "jungle" offers sniper posts and shortcuts.
Recasting MOBA as a shooter works pretty well, though victory is at least as much about the RPG side as the gunplay. Endorsements and Products act as talent trees and in-game bonuses, respectively, being built up over the course of maps. Like in a MOBA, the order you upgrade abilities is critical, with plenty of builds already posted on the main forums. And also like in MOBAs, rushing into battle and getting killed all the time just means you're helping the enemies level up and continue kicking your team's ass. Yes, yes, I know -- that's all part of the genre -- but I must point out that Team Fortress 2 doesn't feel as punishing.
The good news is that as a free player, I didn't feel at much of a disadvantage. Upgrades can only be purchased via in-game currency (or won as Prizes after some battles), with real-money purchases reserved for new characters, booster packs, and cosmetic changes. Five Pros are available free, on a rotating basis. The only catch is that only one person per five-man team can use each character -- called Pros -- so you're unlikely to get to be the one you want unless you're very quick on the trigger. In addition, right now there are only 15 to choose from anyway, though more will of course be on the way before you can say "Steam Wallet."
You can tell it's a sport because it has girls in skimpy outfits for no reason.
As a community, I've found SMNC players more laid back than the average MOBA crowd, to the point of not even really noticing if players are letting the side down. That will almost certainly change over time, and there have been a few jerks who prefer going "I can't play with these noobs" instead of saying "Hey, despite the name, Combat Girl is more of a support character. Maybe try Cheston if you want to get in someone's face?" but for the moment it's as easy an in to the genre as a new MOBA player is likely to find.
Much like Team Fortress 2, SMNC is played completely for laughs.
Largely, this feels like a product of the atmosphere. Much like TF2, SMNC is played completely for laughs -- wacky characters, silly weapons, and a goofy partying approach to its sport that makes it hard to take failure too seriously. If you're not taken off edge by a snooty gorilla who fires banana peels, the constant narration by a pair of enthusiastic sportscasters will do it. Their jokes get repetitive very, very quickly, but they also serve as a way of getting feedback on what's going on, where opportunities in the map might be, and even a way for new players to understand what they're supposed to be doing.Insert Coin
The first thing that stands out when I opened my wallet is that all purchases are made in real money, not some crazy future funbucks. You want to be Leonardo da Vinci? He'll cost you $2, paid through Steam Wallet (with currency conversion for other countries shown before you click the button). That does admittedly mean loading up your account with at least a few dollars/local equivalents, but at least money in a Steam Wallet is more useful than points trapped on some service you may never, ever use again.
Death-and-glory charges are a bad idea.
Individual Pros currently range from $2 to $7.50 in price, with the ones ranked as more difficult to play currently costing the most. That seems fair enough, though with the proviso that you're not actually guaranteed to be able to play your character if someone else on your team leaps in and snags them first. You can also purchase them for in-game currency, which takes a long time and is probably better spent on upgrades once you've got them, but racks up fast enough to actually be a possibility.
Beyond that, all purchasable upgrades (with the exception of Boosts, which give you more in-game credits or XP) are purely cosmetic: new uniforms, weapon skins, and animated taunts. Uniforms are the most interesting because they're split into multiple pieces. Want to combine Megabeth's Rocket Demon Head with her Shevil torso and special PAX 2012 pants? No problem, as long as you're willing to buy them individually or in packs.
The Moneyball. It's the pinata Scrooge McDuck would have for his birthday.
The fact that your character is much more in enemies' faces than many MOBAs, as well as in victory scenes, makes the customization more fun than usual -- though you're still stuck with character-specific wardrobes. It's also worth noting that while SMNC is hardly afraid of fan-service -- hell, every round starts with a shot of two sexy Pit Girls -- at least two of its four female Pros turn up for battle sensibly dressed and can't be stripped down.
Free or Flee?
SMNC is a game that feels like it wants me to enjoy myself rather than obsess over defeat, and a different take on the MOBA genre that's well worth giving a shot -- especially for free. While SMNC is technically only in beta, anything you buy will remain yours going forward. You won't lose out by not bothering though, and the worst a free player has to worry about is not having access to their favourite Pro. There's certainly no reason not to jump in and try your luck with any week's gaggle of freebies.