Okay, let’s get all of this out of the way: PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale looks a lot like Super Smash Bros. It does not, however, play like it.
When first officially announced, the comparisons were obvious: a 4 player fighting game starring Sony’s most famous cast of characters fighting it out on some pretty extreme arenas. But after playing it, the difference is pretty obvious.
Where as Smash Bros is more of a fast and frantic affair, All Stars is a bit slower and more strategic. There’s no constant attempts to knock people off the stage since that’s not how you’ll score kills. Instead, you’re going to be building up your special meter, which will then, as you can probably guess, allow you to perform a special attack. You are able to stack your meter and, at times, it is encouraged, as higher meters lead to better specials and more kills. Use it wisely though, as after your special attack is over, your meter is emptied.
Naturally, you’ll spend most of your game attacking willy nilly to help build the meter, but the attacks don’t really do much; enemies aren’t really damaged, per say, and the animations aren’t as clear and visible as Smash Bros. Characters themselves, while on paper are an excellent idea, don’t always execute properly. I know both characters are extremely large, but if Big Daddy is unable to jump up platforms with ease, an issue all upon itself, why is Fat Princess a mobile character in the right hands? Furthermore, why is she so damn strong? Character balance is currently an issue we’re hoping will get resolved before the game’s launch.
Still, it’s a nice that Sony’s doing something different than simply copying and pasting the Smash Bros. formula, but if it ain’t broke, why fix it? So yes, it’s not Super Smash Bros, but I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing just yet. We’ll see if everything can come together, as well as see what new surprises we have in store in terms of the game’s line up, which has not been fully announced just yet.
