So many colons for one title!
This weekend was full of different gaming experiences, and I'll tell you all about them :)
To start out, the game I had the most experience with - Playstation All-Stars. Before PAX, I was under the impression that this game is just a blatant Smash Bros. clone. Nevertheless, the gameplay is similar, but the differences really make it shine on its own.
At the convention, the demo was limited to three-minute timed battles, leaving short lines for people to get in, play the game, and leave with a big smile on their faces. Players pressed start and picked their character based on the roster so far: Big Daddy, Good and Bad Cole, Kratos, Raiden, Dante, Parappa, Nathan Drake, Ratchet and Clank, Jak and Daxter, Fat Princess, Radec, Heihachi, Sackboy, Sweet Tooth, Sly, Spike, Toro, and the newly announced Nariko and Sir Daniel Fortesque. From what I experienced in the demo, the only way to change a character's color was to select the same character as someone else. Hopefully this changes in the final product.
The next screen, once everyone was ready, was the map selection. All the maps were in preview screens along the left side with a larger image of the map on the right. Only seven maps were playable, with the Time Station map excluded in the demo. There's was also the all-important random button, for when you and your buddies was to just jump into the game.
I can't really make up my mind on which map was my favorite. That would be a tie between Dreamscape (LBP/Buzz) and Sandover Village (Hot Shot/J&D). The first map builds upon itself as the game goes by, expanding to it's full size by the two minute mark. Then, randomly, Buzz pops up and asks a question. The answers are then labeled to five different spots on the map. This really adds to the gameplay, where all the characters are rushing to the correct answer not to get penalized. Sandover Village is nice because it may end up being the "Hyrule Castle" of Allstars, being the largest map available in the demo.
Now, the gameplay on all of these maps is really fun. All the characters have their own little intro when they arrive on the field, and then the battle begins :) The controls were a tad bit difficult to pick up, as they are more to that of Street Fighter than Smash Bros. The X button is the dedicated jump/drop button, but the other face buttons are all for combat. Each button can be pressed independently or modified with the left stick, leaving each character with at least 15 different moves. The one difficult thing was understanding what each button was going to do when you pressed it. When I press Square, will it be a longer range attack? A heavy attack? Having this kind of notification would be nice. The right thumb stick is for grabbing and throwing character, R1 is for picking up items, L1 is block, L2 is taunt, and R2 unleashes your Super Attack so you can start scoring.
Scoring in Allstars is a little different than Smash Bros. There's no "ring-outs" or percentages. Each hit on an opposing character builds your AP gauge. This gauge lets, once it reaches a level, allows you to perform Super Moves, which then allow you to kill the other characters to score. Each level stacks on each other: the more you save up, the more powerful you will be. Every kill counts for two points, and every death is -1.
Each different character has a different play style to them. My personal preference of characters in fighting games are ones that have good speed and range, and being able to get in, out, and leave your mark. I first played as Nathan Drake, because I love Uncharted. He wasn't too terribly fast, had pretty good range, but his move set was too reliant on guns and staying at a distance. I then tried Raiden, hoping he would be better. He has a fairly limited range, but is incredibly fast and does a bunch of damage. Dante is fairly similar, but preforms better in the air with long combo juggles between his guns and blades. But then, after going through the demo several times, I found my ideal character.
Kratos.
This game fully encompasses the badassery of being the f*cking God of War. Kratos is moderately fast, and his move set uses several of the different weapons featured in his games. Nariko is marginally faster moving, but doesn't quite pack the same punch as Kratos. He seems to be the only character with a distance grapple, when he throws his swords forward into another character, and pulls himself in to deal some damage. I stuck with Kratos for the rest of my playthroughs.
The same faults with this game arise as they did with Smash Bros. Sometimes, the action can get a little hectic and hard to follow on screen, especially when people use the same characters. With the additional power of the Playstation 3, though, there's never any chugging whatsoever. I'd also like to point out the map Dojo, the Parappa and Resistance crossover. Although some purists may like it for one-on-one duels, it's tiny and just a flat platform. I think I'll avoid it when I pick up this game this fall. The map count is also kind-of lacking. I hope more maps are unlockable in the final game. The character count is moderately sized, but it could be added on to with in-game unlockables or DLC, or kept just the way it is to ensure balance. The character models also looked a tad lacking, but this wasn't the final build of the game.
I really like this game :) It's fun, satisfying, and it'll be great to play with some buddies on the couch. I recommend you pick it up this fall, because I'm sure I will.
Playstation All-Stars Battle Royal fights its way out on November 20th in the US, November 21st PAL, November 22nd Australia, and November 23rd UK and Ireland.
-Frankie Out.
No comments:
Post a Comment