After the success of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series, it was inevitable that Sony or Microsoft would experiment with a similar concept. Sony will jump into the fray this fall with Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale, a game in which major Sony mascots duel it out on Sony themed stages. But don't expect this to be a Smash Bros copy as Sony has implemented a series of its own elements to make the game fresh and new.
Smash Bros. is all about knocking opponents off the stages using special attacks and strategies. Each player has a number of stocks, or lives, and when their character lose all those lives, they are eliminated. The more hits a character takes during battle, the higher the percentage goes on their respective health meters and more susceptible they become to being knocked off the stage.
This is not the end goal with All-Stars Battle Royale. In fact, there is no life bar in the Playstation All-Stars and the winner is decided mainly on who has the most kills by the time the game clock reaches zero. During the course of the battle, players will receive orbs as they damage opponents. These orbs build a power meter, which when filled, unleashes one of three levels of super moves that can defeat opponents to earn points.
The Super Moves in Sony's fighting game is akin to Nintendo's Final Smash Move. In Brawl, the last installment in the Smash Bros. series, players had the chance to unleash a special attack with their characters if they unlocked the Smash orb. Whereas each character was only limited to one Smash move in Nintendo's game, Playstation All-Stars gives each character three different Super attacks, with varying power and range. The first Super is the weakest, and the third, which is hardest to achieve, can practically kill every character on the stage. In Smash Bros, the Final Smash was only an enhancement to the player's battle, but not necessary to win the fight. In fact, during most competitive play, this move is seen as unnecessary and usually turned off. In Playstation All-Stars however, opponents can only be defeated with the Super Moves. This forces the game to be more attack-oriented and creates a faster overall pace and more frenetic gameplay.
Sony has announced 20 characters thus far. Here is a list of the roster and games that they have appeared in.
Kratos (God of War series)
Fat Princess (Fat Princess)
Cole MacGrath (Infamous)
Evil Cole McGrath (Infamous)
Heihachi Mishima (Tekken)
Toro (Doko Demo Issyo, Mainichi Issho)
Parappa (Parappa the Rapper)
Coronel Radec (Killzone 2)
Big Daddy (Bioshock)
Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
Sweet Tooth (Twisted Metal)
Sly Cooper (Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus)
Jak and Daxter (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy)
Sackboy (Little Big Planet)
Dante (Devil May Cry)
Ratchet and Clank (Ratchet & Clank)
Spike (Ape Escape)
Raiden (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)
Nakiro (Heavenly Sword)
Sir Daniel Fortesque (MediEvil)
For more information on the roster, check out the official website.
Sony Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is slated for a November 20 release date in North America and should be a major holiday success on both the PS3 and PS Vita. With cross play, up to four players can face off in a real-time match across the Vita handheld system or PS 3.