The characters from
Playstation’s finest get together for a Battle Royale!!
Creating
a crossover fighting game featuring Playstation characters is definitely long
overdue. The mouth-watering prospect would finally settle the debates as to
which character is better. As Harry Hill would say, there is only one way to
find out, FIGHT!
Over
20 fan favourites are bundled in the game including Jak & Daxter, Rachet
& Clank, Sly Cooper and of course Sackboy being some of the big names on
show here. We also have some characters from some past classics like Parapper
The Rapper and Spike from Ape Escape. There is a little problem that will have
plagued this title from the moment it was announced no matter what and that is
it’s comparison with Nintendo’s crossover title Super Smash Bros.
Playstation
All-stars Battle Royale (PABR) is a strange affair as in one way, it is similar
to Super Smash Bros (SSB) but in another, it’s completely different. Let me
explain, when you look at everything featured on PABR, it’s basically the same
as SSB and is obviously inspired in many ways by the Nintendo counterpart.
Apart from the obvious character selection in both games and the combat definitely
features a number of noteworthy comparisons. For instance; up to four
characters can play at one time, they include platforming elements in the
stages, the array of combos include the same button mashing combinations and
you can use items. The only real difference which is a game changer and puts
PABR in a league of its own is the way you win. You can’t knock your opponent
out of the arena like in SSB but instead you need to charge up your AP
(All-star Points) gauges to perform a super attack to inflict a kill. To build
up your gauges, you need to cleverly attack the enemies around you. The super
attacks are split into three types of blows with the first being the quickest
and easiest to dodge and the third meaning you possess killer blows for longer
and can rack up more points. It’s a clever and unique way to decide a match but
it does take getting used to after playing SSB for 15 years.
The
campaign mode is entertaining but is the same for every character and gets a
bit too much like Groundhog Day after a couple of times and is only good for
getting used to the controls and dynamic of the game. What is really
entertaining is the multiplayer feature as you can play anyone who owns the
game online, no matter what console you’re playing the game on. I have the game
on the PS Vita and I am to believe that it is no different to the PS3 version,
including graphics wise. With more ways to challenge a fellow gamer always
means you’re less inclined to put the game down.
Another
reason to own this game is because the PSN are still continuing to release new
data for the game including new characters from Gravity’s Rush, Starhawk, Dead
Space and God of War and new stages that freshens up the game. Hopefully they
will continue to design and release new content as that might be a new way in
increasing the life span of the fighting crossover. When you think of the
Playstation and the amount of great characters whom have appeared on one of the
5 consoles, the opportunities are endless. A few favourites I would just love
to play with on PABR include; Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7, Hana Tsu
Vachel from Fear Effect or Ico from… well Ico of course. Hopefully the people
at Sony won’t stop improving this game for a while as the opportunities to make
this a classic are somewhat endless.
Though
PABR is something of an anomaly and is not on the same level as its comparison
sake SSB, it is still a solid Beat ‘Em Up title that will always be a hit with
the fans because it includes the established characters the people at Sony know
the fans love due to sales and research. A new style of gaming takes time
before getting used to and it’s suggested you do that before you challenge the
world online otherwise you will probably give up after getting handed a beat
down a number of times. Playstation gets a huge thumbs up for finally paying
homage to their mascots, it’s been too long! Now we just need to wait until
Xbox does the same. How cool will it be to see the Master Chief and Marcus
Fenix go head to head? Only time will tell...
The Verdict: A strong roaster opens a new style of gaming for the Playstation
community. Not a very good title to play alone but a must have to play with
fans or online. 82/100
No comments:
Post a Comment