This Tuesday, Sony will be taking a crack at Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. formula with PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale, a game that’s set to have players brawling across both the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita, utilizing the systems’ Cross-Play techniques.
From what we’ve played thus far, the game has various techniques that you can use for each character, as well as a variety of backgrounds, each with their own specific traps to watch out for. What’s more, you can hop into tournaments, take part in quick matches, or delve into the story mode to get more background information on each character.
But who should you play as once you start up a game? Well, over the next two days, Prima Games will deliver a character breakdown for each of the 20 included fighters, as well as a list of downloadable fighters we want to see in the game, coming this Monday. For now, though, check out these helpful tips to see who might be right for you.
Let’s start with the first side!
Big Daddy
First introduced years ago in the classic 2K first-person adventure Bioshock, Big Daddy is a character that moves somewhat slower than other characters (due to his size), but is still quite fathomable in damaging them, thanks to a running ram attack, various uses of his drill hand, and more. For his supers, he can do a number of things, including calling upon his fellow Little Sister to jump forth and knock an enemy into obliteration, or submerging the entire stage in water for his level 3, and killing everyone who’s stuck in slow motion.
Cole McGrath
Originally introduced in Sucker Punch’s PlayStation 3 series Infamous, Cole McGrath is a delivery boy turned electrical current machine, able to generate lightning bolts and other supercharged attacks to leave opponents devastated. He’s moderate on speed and power, and just right for those looking to stay in the fight. His highlighted supers include a levitation attack that grabs a nearby opponent (or more) and slams them into the wall, or the ability to jump off the stage entirely and destroy everything in a distance with an Ionic Vortex, a very dangerous level 3 attack.
Colonel Radec
One of the main villains introduced in Guerrilla Games’ Killzone series, Colonel Radec isn’t exactly the hardest hitting characters if you get close to him. However, with a gun in his hands, he’s vicious from a distance, able to hit multiple enemies and lock onto them with incoming attacks. For his level 1 super, you manipulate a reticule and fire a lock-on missile at an enemy, obliterating them completely. However, we like his level 3 super even more, where he jumps into first-person mode, and the player guides an on-screen cursor to shoot opponents rather quickly.
Dante
Though this particular Dante may be based more on the forthcoming DMC: Devil May Cry reboot coming from Capcom (rather than the one from the classic PS2 games), there’s no denying this guy is the last person you want to get into a tussle with. Armed with guns and a powerful sword (along with heavenly and hellish powers), he’ll leave opponents lying in their wake. His supers allow him to slash away at enemies with blinding speed, while his level 3 specialty has him slowing down time for those surrounding him, enabling him to run up and easily chop ’em down.
Evil Cole McGrath
To call Evil Cole McGrath a mere copycat of his good twin is a mistake. He’s absorbed evil energy that allows him to perform a different set of moves over his good half, including firing tripwire rockets and nailing someone with a thunderous firebird strike. For his supers, he can perform the same levitation throw as Good Cole, as well as an Ionic Drain that takes out foes in his vicinity. For his level 3, he’s able to call upon the power of the Beast, allowing him to fly around and destroy at will. Watch out for this one.
Fat Princess
The rotund royalty that first appeared in the downloadable PlayStation Network game of the same name may have been somewhat useless there (save for rolling around), but in PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale, she’s much stronger. She can use her belly and butt to really do some damage to foes, while also being able to summon mage fires for projectile attacks. For her supers, she can actually chase after a piece of cake she throws, or ride around on a large chicken that can somehow deal with her size. As for her level 3, she can call upon her loyal villagers to charge forth and run over anyone in their path.
Heihachi Mishima
The main man behind the Tekken tournaments – no matter how many times he’s seemingly killed – is still able to whoop just as much here as he does in Namco’s iconic fighting brand. He can easily nail someone with a Demon Uppercut and a Bowling Pin Toss, and also occasionally sprouts Demon Wings to give him additional height, so he can smack folks that are above him. For his supers, he can slam someone to the ground, or call upon fellow Tekken fighter Kuma to wipe people out. But his super is something special, as he straps his opponents to a rocket and sends it flying, easily scoring kills.
Jak and Daxter
This tag team, who first made their appearance in the PlayStation 2 trilogy produced by Naughty Dog, should definitely have an eye kept on them. Between the combination of high tech weapons at their disposal and the ability to use Dark Eco, they can clean up on opponents rather quickly. For the first pair of supers, both light and dark Eco energy find usage, between a jump surge attack and a bomb maneuver. But for level 3, Jak can fly all over the stage and attack enemies, using a disruptive field of energy.
Kratos
You’d be a fool to deny the God of War his chance to do battle with others. He’s a fierce warrior who isn’t afraid to back down from any fight, as he’s proven through a number of adventures over the years. For his first two supers, he calls upon the Blades of Olympus to do some major damage to all those surrounding him. And once you activate his level three, all others will be finishes, as he dons his Ares Armor and grows to an enormous size, crushing all that are beneath his boots.
Nariko
Finally, we turn to the wielder of the Heavenly Sword, who appeared in Ninja Theory’s game of the same name a few years back on PlayStation 3. Thought to be dead, this warrior princess is very much alive and well, devastating opponents with deadly combos and a nimble speed. For her first two supers, Nariko calls upon heavy firepower, between Kai and her quick-shooting crossbow and a cannon that can do some major damage – as it has to various armies. As for her level three, she transforms into a glowing deity that pretty much tears through anything it touches. Good luck with that.
We’ll see you tomorrow for part two of our character guide!
