Indie stealth action game achieves major milestone

Sales of stealth action game Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine have surpassed the one million mark, developer Pocketwatch games announced this we?ek.

Monaco was the big winner at GDC's Independent Games Festival in 2010, taking home the Seumas McNally Grand Prize? and Excellence in Design awards. The project then underwent a lengthy development process before launching on PC and Xbox 360 in the spring of 2013.

Pocketwatch Games [Twitter]

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Heist, heist, baby

Developer Pocketwatch has announced Monaco: What's Yours is Mine crossed half a million sales following recent inclusion in the Humble Indie Bundle. According to the update, it's sitting?? at about 520k sold, with only half of the HIB sales included.

Well earned. Monaco is absolutely fabulous and I suggest you go pick it up, provided you have friends to play it with (especially locally). Especially because every game in the new Humble Indie Bundle is amazing. The Swapper! Guacamelee!

It seems XBLA sales for Monaco never picked up following early reports that they were disappointing. It apparently sold only 36k on the system.

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The co-op heist game is currently 80% off in the Steam sale

Whilst it was well received by critics, sold over 275,000 copies and I did enjoy my first hands-on experience with the game, Monaco sadly never hooked me in. Maybe it was the lack of regular co-op buddies or some confusing level design but I wish I could give the game another shot. A big, free update will maybe encourage me to do exa??ctly that. 

Developer Poketwatch Games has posted an update on its blog showing some interesting stats, specifically a breakdown of how many players were reaching the end of Monaco's chapter??s and indeed finishing the game. Realizing it may have had some issues in communicating its mechanics to the players, Pocketwatch has gone back and streamlined levels in a new enhanced mode.

Players who enjoyed the original Monaco levels can still play the Classic mode but I'm certainly happy the developers went and had another look at Monaco and worked out what could be done to encourage players to keep playing. It's interesting to a developer take the scalpel to its own creation and do some editing and tweaking after release. There's also new leaderboards and PvP options included too and Monaco is curr??ently 80% off in the Steam sale at £2.39/$2.99 so even with my reservations, it's still worth ??purchasing.

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No hints as to what that content could be though

I had a great time with Monaco for weeks on end after launch, and was kind of disapointed that it didn't seem to catch on with a mass audience. Was it the Xbox Live delay? Or perhaps it was the learning curve, preventing people from jumping in online on PC? We may never know, but it's nice that the game is still being ??suppo??rted.

The Monaco team has officially announced that the Linux version is dropping on Monday, and with it, a "ton" of free and new content is arriving. There aren't any hints as to what that content may be, but the mystery is enough for me to boot my gam?e up again come next week.

Monaco [Facebook]

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Mac version also available

Pocketwatch Games has introduced The Mole's Workshop for Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine on PC and Mac. Powered by Steam Workshop, this feature will allow players to craft their own levels/missions with ?"all the tools used to build the actual game." The Workshop had previously been in beta, so there's already a library of user-made levels begging to be played??.

And speaking of Monaco for Mac, why yes, that version is now available. Those who bought the game on Steam for PC already will get the newly-released Mac port for free. If you've got com?pa??ny over for the Fourth of July, why not spend some time pulling off heists?

Here's a quick overview of the editor by Monaco level designer Andy Nguyen:

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Andy Schatz wants to make sure it works at launch

Monaco has been out for nearly a week on PC, and I'm loving it. As one of the most fun four player co-op games in a while, it?'s just as enjoyable to play while you're screwing up a mission as it is when you're succeeding.

Sadly, Xbox Live fans will have to wait a bit before they can get in on the action, as the game has been further delayed past the initial launch issu?es. Pocketwatch Games' Andy Schatz stated that it was a "minor but important bug" that causes online play disconnects.

He submitted a fix, but it wasn't enough, and he's working on anoth?er one now -- the dates are out of his control due to Microsoft's patch approval process. Andy also stated that a Mac version is in the works for a potential three to four week target, but nothing is set in stone.

Monaco [Facebook via Joystiq]

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Heist, heist, b?b?

Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine sure has come a long way si?nce winning the Grand Prize at the 2010 Independent Games Festival. Here we are, three year?s later, with the finished product finally hitting digital retailers on both PC and Xbox Live Arcade.

Though it may look like it, Monaco is not a simple stealth game about stealing money. Oh no, it's much more than that. This is a heist game, a game that will require players to be seen and create distractions in order to get in, get the loot, and get out. Creating and executing plans is an important gameplay facet of Monaco, and watching those plans fail horribly? is an even more impo??rtant one.

Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine (PC [reviewed], Xbox Live Arcade)
Developer: Pocketwatch Games
Publisher: Pocketwatch Games (PC), Majesco Entertainment (XBLA)
Release Date: April 24, 2013 (PC) / TBA (XBLA)
MSRP: $14.99 (PC) / 1200 Microsoft Points (XBLA)

The plot of Monaco begins with four characters escaping prison and then, naturally, looking to get the hell out of Dodge�err, Monaco. The events are narrated by The Locksmith, one of the escaped prisoners and soon-to-be heist party member. Before fleeing, however, the group decides to make a few pit stops to pick up extra crew members and, unsurprisingly, rob everything wit??h a foundation. Four ??extra characters are added, making a total of eight completely distinct party members, both in personality and gameplay.

Allow me to take a quick roll call: The Locksmith is able to open locks quicker than anyone else; The Lookout can see the locations of enemies across the entire map while sneaking or standing still; The Pickpocket has a monkey named Hector who picks up gold automatically and is otherwise just adorable; T??he Cleaner can temporarily knock enemies unconscious after an unnoticed approach; The Mole can dig through walls, creating new paths; The Gentleman has a regenerative disguise, allowing him to pass by enemies in ful?l view for a short time; The Hacker can turn any outlet into a computer to disable electronics; and finally The Redhead can distract a single enemy with her sultry looks.

Everyone is b??ound to have a favorite or two to play as and each character is always useful. Occasionally, certain levels will favor specific characters (??The Mole doesn't do too great on levels mostly outdoors, for example), but any character can thrive in any level with the appropriate, adapted play style.

The crux that makes playing Monaco so inherently satisfying is its accessibility. With the exception of items, everything from hacking computers to lock picking is done by holdi?ng a single direction. By coming in contact with an obstacle, whatever it may be, and holding the direction of the obstacle, a radial dial will begin to fill. Once the dial is complete, the action is performed.

This concept is well-introduced and incredibly easy to grasp, making Monaco a game that anyone can pick up and play. Buttons aren't completely neglected, so all you button-lovers out there can stop your worrying. For example, holding down the sneak button will make the character move slowly, creating less footstep noise and making the characters seem less suspicious to ?onlookers.

The other pushable button uses an equipped item. Useable items consist of a vari?ety of guns (which need to be aimed), smoke bombs, EMPs, bombs, wrenches, and bandages. Knowing when to use each of these items plays a huge role in staying alive during a heist. Need to bypass a lot of security doors and lasers? Shut down the power with an EMP before you storm in. Has the shit hit the fan and you need to lose notoriety? I hope you have a smoke bomb and an escape route!

Collecting ten coins scattered around the map will replenish one use of?? the equipped item, so it is important to budget item use accordingly, especially in multiplayer as ??the same amount of coins must be divided among a greater number of collectors. Luckily, a quick button press will display the game's HUD, showing character health, item count, the objectives, and remaining gold coins for each floor.

Each of the 33 missions has one central objective to complete in order to advance. Early on, rescuing new characters or collecting specific loot are the more common objectives. Completing the objective doesn't end the mission, however, as you need to escape in a getaway vehicle first in true fashion. Thi??s usually requires traversing previous floors to get back to the starting location, which is definitely easie??r said than done.

The last thing you want to do is complete a mission to a T only to die with your getaway car in plain sight, and with all of your senses heightened and adrenaline in your blood, you’ll have to fight to keep your head on straight. The best part about Monaco, though, is that if that scena?rio does happen, it’s all on you.

It is also possible to "cle?an out" a mission by collecting every last piece of gold scattered across the map. The game does a great job of telling the player exactly how much gold is left and when the entire level is cleaned out to prevent useless searching. Besides the obvious completionist element, cleaning out missions also works towards unlo??cking a second campaign which consists of much more difficult missions, as narrated from a different heist member's perspective.

These missions are a reflection of the standard campaign maps and story, but have slight alterations like extra areas and more hazards, based on how the new narrator saw the events, to make them more challenging. It is an extreme??ly clever way to include this second, tougher campaign and is totally justified. This second set of missions is meant to challenge players and put them to the test. All eight characters are available from the first mission (a detail which is cleverly tied into the story element) and the only impossible plans are the ones you haven't thought of yet.

While both single-player and multiplayer technically offer the same exact levels, the experiences are polar opposites. Single-player feels, by and large, calm and collected, even when plans are conceived and executed on the fly. Items are more?? plentiful, considering that all of the coins are collected by a single player, instead of being spread out among others. However, only one item can be held at a time, making plans both more open and restricted at the same time.

Multiplayer, on the other hand, is a fantastic ruckus with all sorts of unpredictability, both locally and online. Executing a multiple-person plan to perfection is easily one of the best "John Bender from The Breakfast Club fist-in-the-air" moments in all of videogames; many high tens were exchanged as well. On the fl?ip side, having a seemingly genius plan blow up in your face because a stupid guard wasn't where you thought he would be creates such a frantic and chaotic situation which immediately becomes hilariously unpredictable.

You know what they say: ??"The best laid plans of psychotic sociopaths often go hilariously awry."

There's even a competitive mode, consisting of only one map, which manages to not feel totally ham-fisted into the game. The mode has a clever design that still follows the heist formula and can get quite intense towards the end, since everyone is a greedy bastard. Additionally, both daily and online leaderboards are included for single- and multiplayer and seem to be an amalgamation of the time it takes to complete a mission and the amount of coins collected. Protip: bring The Pickpocke?t when going for leaderboard scores!

After playing single-player, multiplayer local, and multiplayer online, on the bustling PAX East show floor and alone in the comfort of my quiet home, not once have I been disappointed. I can assure you that Monaco offers an all-around good time no matter how you play, each experienc?e with its own unique characteristics and challenges.

There were a few rare occasions in which I was reminded that I was playing a videogame, as minor bugs crept up while playing. For example, if The Cleaner is hiding in, say, a bush, he will unintentionally knock an enemy out if the enemy comes within “cleaning distance�of him even if no input is issued by the player, which unfortunately results in him being thrust out of hiding and becoming vulnerable. Also, there was one moment in which an AI enemy got stuck walking into walls after giving chase, only resetting after he was disturbed again. I didn't come across an?ything game-breaking by any stretch of the imagination, but these small little annoyances can mess up t?hose awesome plans we were totally cooking up.

Monaco is one of those games that looks great in screenshots but looks absolutely gorgeous in motion. The lighti?ng system combined with the beautiful colors makes exploring a map feel like skimming on top of a rainbow. This is only intensified by the contrast that the dark gray fog of war and clean, crisp white lettering provide. The character art, both for th??e playable characters and NPCs, are just precise enough to give everyone a healthy dose of personality, including the endearing, synchronized head bobs that each NPC exhibits when trying to get a better look at a disturbance they heard in the other room. I can't get enough of it!

The music is equally sublime, perfectly fitting the heist-movie aesthetic with ragtime piano that ramps up as the action heightens and calms down as things subside, and will get stuck in your head from the moment the game boots up. I would expect no less from the Grammy-nominated Austin Wintory, as he hits yet another home run with the Monaco soundtrack.

Not only does Monaco have a delightful and satisfying amount of worthwhile content included in the game itself, a map editor is planned for the probably-near future, ensuring that the content can and will keep on flowing. I'm still discovering small intricacies as I continue to play, and every repeated mission feels completely different depending on the chosen characters and the players contr??olling them. I experien??ced a few minor hiccups, but nothing that felt egregious or devastating to the point where it took away from the overall package.

Monaco: What's Yours is Mine truly is a game for anyone and everyone. It is simple enough to pick up and immediately understand how things work, while at the same time offers the complexity to have multiple players spend a few minutes sitting still, devising a self-titled "Best Plan Ever" complete with tracing the plan on the screen with fingers, saying “Ready? GO!� only to see it backfire in seconds. Regardless of whether you plan on flying solo or with some buddies, do yourself a favor and go play Monaco. I know I'll be doing the same for a long time into the fut??ure.

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Last-minute issue is to blame

It's been a long road leading up to the release of Monaco. For those hoping to nab the ??X??box Live Arcade version tomorrow, you'll have to continue waiting a bit longer. An issue was found that's resulted in the game being pushed back on this platform and this platform only.

"We've already submitted an update to Microsoft to fix the problem, and as soon as we know that the issue is fixed we'll have a new release date," writes designer Andy Schatz. "I know our fans have been waiting a long time for the game, and hopefully they'll have the patience to wait just a little while?? longer. What's mine will be yours very, very soon!"

The Steam release is, again, still set for tomorrow. We'll have our review of Monaco going up then as well.

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Old timey piano fun meets musical stars from the internet

By Jesus, I of course mean Viking Jesus. He's maybe not a God, but he's musician, one of many to be featured on an album of music inspired by the upcoming videogame Monaco. The soundtrack to the game was composed by Grammy nominee Austin Wintory, best known for his work on Journey. You can pre-order the Monaco OST and The Gentleman's Collection of Monaco themed songs right now, featuring raps from MegaRan, stri?ngs from the Videri String Quartet, controversy from Laura Vall, and a lot more.

Like the game, the album is?? about mixing different styles and strengths to create something larger than the sum of those parts. Let's pay tribute to the sweet power of collaboration!

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What's yours is mine

Monaco: What's Yours Is Mine is now available to pre-purchase on Steam,? and there is a fancy new r?elease trailer to help you decide to buy it. If you do decide to get it early, you'll save 10%, making the game only $13.49, or $40.49 for the four-pack.

It's a sweet-looking game that we have been waiting forever to actually get our hands on, and I couldn't be more excited to play the full game at the end of the month. Monaco is coming out on April 24 for PC and Xbox Live Arcade, and a Mac version is on ??the way soon.

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