Funny thing about this
post -- it wasn’t supposed to exist.
That is, it wasn’t
going to be a single-game discussion; it was part of a batch that I’d started
working on beforehand. But one thing led
to another, and I noticed that the section for this game ended up being bigger
than the other three combined. So here
we are, in a dedicated post on the game.
Kind of beneficial on my end, because it gives me plenty of space to
focus and talk about my findings -- and ultimately find out where I sit with the
so-called “Smash Bros. Clone”. Which it is; it really is a clone, no matter
how much you try to deny it. That’s not
a bad thing, but there should be no attempts to try and say otherwise.
With that in mind, I
don’t know what to make of this game.
Really, I don’t.
So let’s start with the
good. The game is more chaotic than I
remember, even from the beta a little while ago. This is a game that rewards combos, like any
good fighting game, but I think it’s more important to have “battle savvy” more
than technical skill. Dante can string
together some long and flashy combos, but because this game relies solely on
Supers for scoring points, the effect of that flash is diminished. More to the point, a day-long Dante combo can
be a detriment; a sneaky Ratchet can slip in while he’s busy, power up a Level
1 Super, and score two kills at once as Dante’s combo brings him and an
opponent down to the ground. This game
has more than enough potential to strike a good balance; combo-maniacs can get
in deep with the mechanics and boosh-boosh-boosh their way to maximum meter
gain, while strategists can control the crowd and monitor and affect the flow
of the fight.
It’s a “play it your way” mentality that I
can’t help but get behind -- especially because a lot of the characters are
surprisingly fun to play. Admittedly
this might be because I’ve been playing Smash
Bros. for years and that stable’s gotten stale, but picking up any one of
the twenty-ish characters (except Evil Cole -- seriously, why is he even in the
game?) offers plenty of thrills.
Sackboy’s my favorite because he uses his toolset to great effect, and
as expected Cole has served me well in close-range melees. Imagine my surprise when characters I never
would have touched are ones that I’d gladly add to my crew; Ratchet has useful
moves and combos at any range, while Spike is a shockingly-competent melee
ace.
Now here’s the
bad. I trust by now you’re familiar with
the Ken Flowchart that’s part and parcel of Street
Fighter 4.
Now, I haven’t had
enough time with the game to be certain of its depth; I’m willing to assume
that there’s more than I assumed, even with the week or so I’ve had it. But here’s the thing: even if this was the
most complex and technical fighting game ever created, no one will ever know because
everyone’s too busy hammering the square button with Kratos and Raiden.
I’m not going to call
these characters broken, because it’s more than possible to beat them (thanks
to the guys behind the wheel). But that
doesn’t make fighting them any less of a pain in the ass. Kratos and Raiden players never calm the hell down -- and because
the characters are designed to be whirling blades of death, you can hardly do
anything to them without getting smacked across the stage. Raiden has this sliding attack that lets him
clear a huge amount of distance, and if it hits successfully you’re open for
another combo…but even if he didn’t have that, Raiden will just keep slashing
you and slashing you, whether you’re blocking or not. Meanwhile, Kratos has a long-range grapple
move -- a HOMING grapple move -- that immediately stops whatever you’re doing
and sends you flying. And his range is
already pretty fantastic, so getting anywhere near him means that you’re bound
to eat the Blades of Chaos. What this
means is that Kratos and Raiden’s flurries make them nigh-impossible to grab --
and since the only way to remove meter is by grabbing (or using the occasional
item), that means you can’t reliably stop either of them from getting enough
power for their Level 3s -- and it’s almost a guarantee that Kratos will get
enough meter for a Level 1, a Level 2, AND a Level 3 in a single match. And in spite of that, online players will
STILL lose because they can’t calm down; I’ve won a number of matches because
two Raiden players are busy mashing while I’m building meter for a Level 3.
I can’t help but wonder
if the game is actually a lot more imbalanced than it lets on. Like I said, Kratos and Raiden are beatable
-- though Sackboy and Ratchet may have it easier thanks to their arsenals --
but the rest of the cast leaves me worried and confused. I always thought it was redundant to have
Ratchet and Clank AND Jak and Daxter in the same space (or on the PlayStation
overall), but I have a hunch that the former pair is significantly more
useful. It’s to the point where I have
to ask, “Why play Jak when you can play the much more useful Ratchet?” Sir Daniel is supposed to be a heavy-hitter a
la Smash Bros.’ Ike, but his
usefulness is kneecapped by a lack of traditional health meters, a lack of
speedy attacks, and a Level 1 that you can combo into, but is damn near
impossible to hit with even at point-blank range…and again, he has to deal with
the significantly-faster Slashing Bros.
My brother found out the hard way that Dante isn’t nearly as amazing as
he thought the character would be; he’s got long and stylish combos, but he has
yet to build enough meter for a Level 3...and sometimes struggles just to get a
Level 2. Combined with recovery on his
attacks that lasts for weeks, and it’s enough to make me call him “Donte” once
again.
Reviews for this game
have been all over the place, and I can see why: it treads a fine line between
being incredibly fun and impossibly frustrating. How much you approve of the game depends on
how much you approve of the “kill with Supers” mechanic --and while it is a
bold idea, it’s also a baffling one.
Given my brother’s struggles with Dante, I have to wonder if it’s even
worth it to do extended, super-stylish combos.
Why bother when you’re not doing anything but building tiny amounts of
meter and leaving yourself open for someone to shoot you in the back? Why bother when Sackboy can reliably build
meter by throwing jam or shooting cakes?
What’s the incentive to even learn combos if the basic three-hit string
mapped to Square does its job well enough?
Beyond that, why would anyone want to throw themselves at Kratos and
Raiden if they’re blenders that can’t be bothered to chill out and pay
attention to the fight -- especially when there’s a Radec on the other side of
the screen that can and will snipe his way to a Level 3?
But the biggest issue I
have with the game isn’t one that has to do with gameplay. It’s the sound -- or rather, the lack
thereof. See, if there’s one thing I’ve
noticed about the difference between eastern games and western games, it’s that
eastern games have nailed the “impact factor.”
Basically, a western game will show you an explosion, while an eastern
game will make you feel it.
For example, here’s how
a western game will handle a finishing move.
And here’s how an
eastern game will handle a finishing move.
One of those games was
almost single-handedly responsible for bringing about the fighting game
renaissance of the past half-decade. The
other game sucks.
PlayStation All-Stars has sound, but the problem is that it’s all
so distant and weak-sounding; I know I’m hitting people, but very rarely do I
feel like I’m hitting them hard. It’s
more like I’m knocking on a door instead of sending someone flying. The only exception is when you kill with a
Super, but that only exacerbates how much busywork the basic combat can be (and
in some cases is). Worse yet, the music
is nothing spectacular at best; sure, Drake’s theme pops up at opportune
moments -- and is much-appreciated, as always -- but I have a hard time
remembering any song that pops up, or feeling like I need to go to YouTube to
listen to it. And considering that I’m
listening to a song from a fighting game as I write this, you can bet I’m
chalking this up as a major misstep.
Even the victory jingles are weak; it’s like an approximation of the
songs you know and love, with none of the bombast you’d expect for a
celebration. Also, why the hell do I
have to unlock and equip victory
jingles? Why would the developers assume
that I’m all right with listening to the even blander normal jingle, which is literally called “Generic”?
So yeah, this game has
some serious flaws. Flaws that I can’t
overlook, even if they’re the result of good intentions. It’s a frustrating game that, in spite of the
hype from its crew, isn’t quite as game-changing as it made itself out to be.
But if that’s the case,
why can’t I stop playing it?
It’s barely been a
week, and already the game isn’t as rosy as it was on day one of the beta. And I know for a fact that the luster from
early on is going to be replaced by a business-as-usual mentality; playing as
Ratchet for the hundredth time won’t be nearly as exciting as playing him for
the first time. Depending on the support
SuperBot lends the game via patches and DLC -- and buffs/nerfs, considering
that Sackboy’s about to take a hit -- this game will either flourish or wither;
the online battles will become a slog instead of a pleasant surprise. And yet
in spite of my complaints, in spite of my distaste, and in spite of being able
to point out obvious faults, I still
really like this game.
Like I said before,
this game is chaotic. That’s a bad thing
in the sense that, if you want things to go your way smoothly, you’re in for a
shock. But it’s a good thing in the
sense that there are moment-to-moment skirmishes and happenings that you may
never see again -- that is, there’s a level of excitement inherent in each
match because the game is so
unpredictable. Seeing two Kratos players
and a Raiden on the loading screen may make you feel a bit of dread, but there
hasn’t been a single moment where I thought to myself, “Well, that’s it. I lost.”
If you play intelligently, you ALWAYS have a chance at winning. The skill gate is set significantly lower
than the average fighting game, so there’s no need to master complex inputs or
rely on unspoken conventions -- it all comes down to how effectively you use
the moves at your disposal. And really,
isn’t that what any given fighting game should do? Shouldn’t it reward ingenuity and battle
savvy? Shouldn’t it give you plenty of
chances to outwit your opponents?
Shouldn’t it offer opportunities to steal back your win with a
well-placed attack? Yes to all of those
things and more -- and that’s where All-Stars
shines.
Actually, scratch that;
it shines frequently, and fantastically.
It shines when you’re in a 2v2 match, which is not only satisfying and
strategic, but arguably should become THE standard for tournament play (if it
comes down to that). It shines when you
take advantage of an opponent’s weaknesses and frustrate them so they’ll miss
their attacks and walk right into yours.
It shines when you blast multiple opponents across the stage with a
single rocket-boosted charge, and the hope for victory that comes as your meter
gains dozens of points in one swoop. It
shines when you try to describe the sheer, gleeful insanity at any point, like
smacking an undersea monstrosity into a hail of golf balls with an oversized
mackerel. It shines when you realize
that this game lets you pit Heihachi Mishima against PaRappa the Rapper, or
even have them team up against Nathan Drake and Toro the Cat. Not even the wildest fever dreams could
conjure this stuff up.
So, bottom line. Is it a good game? Pretty much, yeah -- it’s worth a buy if you
haven’t already. Is it better than Smash Bros.? That’s a tricky one. All-Stars
has a more overt combo system and layers of complexity to it, and the random
factor isn’t quite as high as Smash Bros.
(no tripping!)…but on the other hand, Smash
Bros. has a better feel to it thanks to better visuals -- relative to the
systems’ processing power; All-Stars’ graphics
aren’t exactly the most awe-inspiring -- better sound design, and generally a more exciting and glee-inducing
cast. Clones aside, Smash has some of the most notable characters in gaming history,
while I suspect that the developers struggled
to even come up with a list of twenty.
(Big Daddy? Seriously? That’s
an iconic Sony character?) But while
there are fewer characters, there are deeper
characters; having three attack buttons instead of two makes a world of
difference. So who knows? Maybe a few sequels down the line Smash will be eclipsed by All-Stars.
Long post short: if
this game isn’t on your radar, maybe it should be. Christmas is coming up; maybe you can get in
on that hotness…assuming that Santa’s not in one of his moods and gives you a
coal-laden cocktail. Or in other words,
tries to kill you.