Does Sony's All Stars compete with Smash Bros.?!

Developer(s) SuperBot Entertainment, SCE Santa Monica Studio, Bluepoint Games (PS Vita)

Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s) Omar Kendall
Producer(s) Chan Park
Designer(s) Seth Killian
Platform(s) PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita
Release date(s) NA November 20, 2012

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale brings together the biggest names in Playstation’s history to duke it out for supremacy. The game is Sony’s answer to Nintendo’s popular Super Smash Bros. series which features iconic Nintendo characters. Characters from Sony games such as God of War, PaRappa the Rapper, and Heavenly Sword and third-party games like BioShock and Killzone are brought together by the game’s antagonist Polygon Man, who was Sony’s former mascot before he was dropped just shy of the release of the first Playstation. Like most other fighting games, All-Stars features an arcade mode which follows the story of each character up until the final boss, Polygon Man. Multiplayer allows up to four players to compete in timed battles and Versus Mode lets you take on your friends in a free-for-all or cooperate in Team Battles.

Along with the host of varying playable characters, All-Stars also comes with a range of items and levels influenced by various PlayStation franchises. The game features fourteen different arenas for battle, with elements in each one that can damage characters and cause them to lose Ability Points. Each stage is based on a combination of two games, such as "Sandover Village" (based on Jak and Daxter and Hot Shots Golf), "Dreamscape" (based on LittleBigPlanet and Buzz!), "Stowaways" (based on Uncharted and BioShock Infinite) and "Hades" (based on God of War and Patapon).  In addition, there are several item pick-ups that can be utilized by players, such as the Rocket Launcher from Killzone, the Hedgehog Grenade from Resistance, the Divinity Spear from God of War and the Razor Claws from Ratchet & Clank. These items can be used to give your character a power boost or bring the hurt to an opponent.

PRO: All-Stars gives us a nice trip down memory lane by reviving past characters such as PaRappa and Toro. Each character’s stage is just as vibrant as you remember. It is really fun to watch a big, angry God of the Underworld stomp around in the bright, cheery background with characters from Patapon. Graphically, the game is amazing. The characters work well together despite their various time periods in gaming. As a fighter, All-Stars is well-balanced with immediate response controls. If you’ve been playing the various Street Fighter IV games, the control scheme will seem alien at first, but not hard to adjust to.

CON: As tight and precise as the controls are, there are times when there may be a hiccup. Dodging pass your opponent does result in a momentary pause that will leave you open to attack. It is not enough to annoy but it is enough for you to get clobbered. There are a couple throw-in characters just purely for nostalgia. Sony Japan's mascot Toro is one of those characters. He is difficult to use and most of this karate cat’s attacks do not land cleanly (think Phoenix Wright from Marvel vs. Capcom 3…same deal).

OVERALL: Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale is a unique fighter that gives us Sony fans who want to play a Smash Bros. without running out and buying a Wii as well as provide us with a trip down memory lane. It is a joy to see the characters such as Parappa and Toro that have given Sony a solid footing in console gaming. Many fans still want to see the company’s original face Crash Bandicoot grace his presence in this game. But if we know Sony well enough, there will be DLC characters coming sometime in the future. I’m looking forward to see Lara Croft and Nathan Drake finally throw down. Wishful thinking…

Until next time, see you on the next level!

Top 10 video games that need a comic book

Before I continue with this let me point you guys to my previous list the Top 10 Fighting games that need a comic book. http://thebrokeninfinite.blogspot.com/2012/08/top-10-fighting-games-that-need-comic.html So here are the rest of the games that need a comic book.

Here we go!

Number 10.

Darksiders

You'd buy this right? I mean look at this

With Darksiders you actually have a comic book creator that did the designs for the game, Joe Madureira. So how is it that this does not have a comic? People that are into comics like Spawn would love this take on apocalyptic events with a unique take on the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

Number 9.

Medievil

A quirky horror-ish comedy

This game with it's quirky storyline about a hero that was supposed to be great but ended up being the very first warrior to die and then resurrected as an undead hero with powers would be a great read. Matter of fact it's always been the writing in the game that's what drew to me to the game in the first place. So having it's writing shine in a comic would be fantastic.

Number 8.

Parappa The Rapper

Chop!

Not all comics need to be dark or for adults, last time I checked kids love comics too. Parappa The Rapper would be perfect for the younger crowd to read and for adults who are nostalgic. The story is lighthearted but also charming enough to be a series of comics.

Number 7. 

Actraiser 

All kinds of stories

So, it's all about Go-- I mean the "Master" fighting sat- I mean "Tanzra" and a comic based on this would be one heck of an epic story. Large battles and miracles being performed and the like, if done by a great artist would be an eye catching comic that would be hard to put down.

Number 6. 

Twisted Metal

Sometimes just having something be crazy is good.

Twisted Metal's wackiness can work for fans of violence, destruction, and grindhouse movies. Get a great mechanical designer, especially one with a knack for drawing cars and this would not only be a fun read but an eye catching.

Number 5.

Syphon Filter 

Tactical Espionage..., oh wait that's another game

People know Metal Gear Solid and they know Splinter Cell those games are still going on and Metal Gear is even getting a movie. But Syphon Filter is another good mercenary/military video game but with it hardly getting any new games and the best remembered games being on the first Playstation. But it would appeal to fans of military espionage and action.

Number 4.

Threads of Fate

People know Mana, Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest but what about this one?

Oddly enough there was a manga planned for this game. It was being done by none other than Ken Akamatsu of Love Hina and Negima fame. But it was scrapped. This was one of those games that had an interesting story but unlike the more famous games done by SquareEnix it didn't get any extra attention. I think this should get another shot at being adapted into printed form.

BONUS: check out the opening for the game here The game is also known as Dewprism in Japan.

Number 3.

Elder Scrolls series 

Who doesn't want to read about how people fought tough mudcrabs? eh? eh?

The Elder Scrolls series does have novels but with it's lore it would also make great comic books. Being able to see the stories you read or hear about in the games on the printed page would be cool. If I had to choose a storyline to be adapted I'd like to see the rise of Tiber Septim as a comic.

Number 2.

Legacy of Kain series

This just begs to be made into a comic

How does this not have a comic? Just, how... does... this... not have a comic!? The Legacy of Kain series has a lot of lore and each game, or at least most of the games had an interesting story. Like Darksiders it seems like this was made to be a comic in the first place yet somehow it isn't. Plus, not only is there a great story and great characters and character designs there's a very devoted fan base that would gobble these comics up.

Number 1.

Shenmue 

For anybody that knows me know that this is no surprise at all

This is my favorite game of all time, so... yeah... But if you want a bit more of a reason the game's story is not done even after a decade and a lot of us Shenmue fans are so desperate for the game to continue it's story that we'll take a comic. At least I will anyway. The story of Shenmue is really captivating for a lot of people and if it has a great artist, especially one that can draw fight scenes well, I would not be able to put a Shenmue comic down.

So that's my top ten list of games that aren't fighting games that need a comic book. What are yours? Let me know.

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