The roster for Sony’s upcoming brawler PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale continues to grow. When the game was initially unveiled before E3 (confirming that, indeed, Superbot Entertainment was working on a Smash Bros.-esque fighting game for both PlayStation 3 and Vita), it unveiled a roster of six characters thus far – Colonel Radek from Killzone, Fat Princess, Kratos from God of War, Parappa the Rapper, Sly Cooper and Sweet Tooth from the Twisted Metal brand. Since that time, the roster has doubled, with six additional fighters added and many more to come before the game’s release on October 23rd.
With that, we’ve decided to take a closer look at the newer characters introduced for the series to see how they would measure up in terms of combat style and what they bring to the table for this battle. One thing’s for sure though – fans have a lot to look forward to. Let’s get started!
Big Daddy (Bioshock)
One tremendous surprise that came out of Sony’s pre-E3 press conference was the unveiling of Big Daddy, a primary adversary that’s part of 2K’s original Bioshock release. In the game, he’s a protector of Little Sisters fending off enemies with his immense strength and a huge power drill. And, as you might guess, he brings an equal amount of strength to All Stars. He’s a slow character, about on the same level as Sweet Tooth, but get within his attack range and you’re asking for trouble. His supers are also noteworthy as he can charge into enemies and deliver even more damage once he stores enough energy. We could easily see him becoming a favorite to those who prefer a slow and steady attack style – kind of like Zangief in Street Fighter II, but without the spinning piledriver. (Does a drill-driver count?)
Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
The adventuresome hero from Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series was added to the All Stars roster around the same time as Big Daddy, being unveiled as part of Sony’s pre-E3 press conference. While his punches and kicks may not look like much in terms of attacking his enemies, they’re actually pretty solid when it comes to the damage they can do. He’s also nimble enough that he can reach power-ups fairly quickly, provided that someone doesn’t smack him away from them first. He can also throw explosives with his super and level up to do additional damage if the player is patient enough to wait for the opportunity. Fans who love the Uncharted series will be happy to see Nathan make the cut in PlayStation All Stars – though they might be wondering when Elena Fisher might drop in. You never know…
Toro Inoue (Together Everywhere!)
Over on our shores Toro Inoue may not be much of a household name, but over in Japan he’s quite the popular mascot. Sony felt inclined to add Toro to the roster of another fighting game, Capcom’s Street Fighter x Tekken, as a bonus playable character and that was just the beginning of his fighting antics as he’s officially joining the ranks of All Stars thanks to a recent reveal at this year’s EVO fighting event. Toro may be small but he’s very capable of holding his own with speedy attacks and various transformations into new outfits, including some based on fellow combatants. He can also transform into a mega caveman and crush everyone on the screen with a club, one of the most devastating super attacks in his arsenal. He might just grow on some people once the game releases…
Heihachi Mishima (Tekken)
Heihachi, a powerful old man with hair-horns growing out of the sides of his head, is no stranger to fighting games, as he’s been brawling with the best of them in Tekken games for years (including this September’s forthcoming Tekken Tag Tournament 2). But Namco was gracious enough to add him to the roster for PlayStation All Stars and he brings every bit of his hard-hitting power to the game – and that hair of course. Imported into the game in younger form, Heihachi moves incredibly fast using balanced punches and kicks to get the point across to his enemies. He can also air dash, allowing him to get out of harm’s way and in some cases, get behind opponents to strike hard. His super attack is one of the most outlandish yet; he ties his opponents to a rocket and sends it flying into deep space. Overkill? A bit. But effective? Absolutely.
Cole McGrath (Infamous)
Infamous’ super-charged anti-hero Cole McGrath is one of the latest additions to the All Stars roster, introduced this week during the game’s panel at the Comic-Con International at San Diego. As expected, Cole brings plenty of his electric destruction to the game and he’s capable of whipping out all sorts of damage with his bare hands or using his primed tuning fork, which he utilizes as a weapon. He can create electrical projectiles and is also able to set timed bombs from afar or shoot at enemies from a distance if the situation calls for it. His supers are shocking (sorry), including a supercharged wave of electricity that fries anyone in his path as well as a powerful tornado, which he controls by standing right next to the camera giving players full hold over its movements from side to side. Oh, yeah, Cole’s definitely in charge (sorry again).
Jak and Daxter
Finally, Naughty Dog’s heroic duo make their debut in PlayStation All Stars, announced this past week at the Comic-Con International event. While Daxter is more of a secondary character aiding Jak, his teaming up with him is quite effective when it comes to sliding and jumping attacks. In addition, Jak also carries a massive gun that helps out for blasting enemies and changes depending on power-ups. Jak can also channel Dark Eco at times, enabling a supercharged (yet darkened) version of himself to slam and fly around the screen eliminating anyone in his path. Though Daxter may not seem like the most charismatic type, he and Jak make quite the pair.
Look for more character analysis in the months ahead, leading up to the game’s release this October!
