Review: 'PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale' Is No 'Super Smash Bros.'

November 21, 2012 - 5:14 pm by VIBE Pop Culture

Superbot Entertainment held lofty expectations for their game in hopes that they would be able to mirror the mega-blockbuster success of Nintendo's "Super Smash Bros." The four-way scrapper took the blueprint established by Nintendo and added PlayStation's most recognizable players and set pieces in an attempt to differentiate itself from the frenzied fighting game.

For better or for worse, "PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale" delivers a sincere pantomime of its predecessor. Full of charming appeal (despite some flawed execution), this latest addition to the PS3 library finds gamers stepping into the roles of Colonel Radec, Nathan Drake, Sackboy and other memorable characters. But with the game itself sticking to a very safe blueprint, is "PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale" more novelty or necessity for gamers?

You can click through our review of the game in the slideshow above!

"The single-player campaign is a mix of nostalgia and character-specific story." — The arcade mode excels on all levels, as gamers can battle against their rivals to work their way up to defeat the Polygon Man (PlayStation's first, if short-lived, mascot). The dialogue and art before and after each character's match will make long time PlayStation fans enjoy the nostalgia factor while bragging about all those W's. Equally enjoyable is the level design within "PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale." The giant mash-up reflects a wonderfully crafted expertise, with each level including elements from two franchises together. Take for an example, Metropolis, which is a standard "Ratchet & Clank" city level that is fine to battle upon... until flood waters rise and you're now fighting in a level ripped right out of "LittleBigPlanet". The thing that most gamers will enjoy in this title are both the character-specific combat trials and the general challenges. Boy, these really help you get a feel of every character through these challenges, making "PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale" an entertaining experience for novices and hardcore gamers alike.

"Despite its efforts to differentiate itself, this game is not 'Super Smash Bros.'" — One of the major flaws in "PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale" is that the much ballyhooed roster falls a bit on the weak side. Characters such as Big Daddy ("Bioshock"), Colonel Radec ("Killzone") and Fat Princess ("Fat Princess") are heavy hitters, and are pretty useless in the game. With 22 characters from the PlayStation universe to choose from, where are the classic PlayStation characters? No PlayStation 1 franchise players (Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, Lara Croft), or superstar franchise talent (Cloud Strife, Solid Snake) are anywhere to be found. Those elements make "PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale" not have a strong roster of players to choose from, which actively works against the game. Equally frustrating is the fact that there's an annoying delay when dishing out your own brand of attacks. The shifting set pieces can also result in gamers losing track of who or where you are while fighting in a blur. "All-Star" also feels a bit unsure of what it wants to be, as the camera is the chief culprit behind the game's most troublesome features.

"An enjoyable 'Super Smash Bros.' clone, but lacks the raw ingredients to stand on its own." — For all of Superbot Entertainment's attempts to create an adept fighting game, you cannot play "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale" without noticing how crucial elements are lacking. Out of 20-plus characters, the roster comes off as short-sighted and with so many classic PlayStation franchise players missing in action, this game makes it hard to stand out against your typical fighting games. Presentation-wise, "PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale" suffers from a distracting color scheme, distracting camera and distracting set-pieces. While you may be able to customize your experience through the usage of unlockable icons, backgrounds and titles, the presentation behind these things leave much to be desired. Despite it's hefty flaws, "PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale" presents a lofty goal for both the console's company and fighting fans. Our suggestion would be to rent this title, but for fighting fans this would make a decent addition to add into your collection. Don't take our word for it, you can watch the trailer for yourself below: [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

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