PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

Developer(s)

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

Publisher(s)

Sony Computer Entertainment

Designer(s)

Omar Kendall (director)
Chan Park (producer)
Seth Killian (designer)

Composer(s)

John King

Engine

Bluepoint Engine

Platform(s)

PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita

Release date(s)

^NA November 20, 2012
^EU November 21, 2012
^AUS November 22, 2012
^UK November 23, 2013
^JP January 31, 2013

Genre(s)

Fighting, platformer, crossover

Mode(s)

Single-player, multiplayer, online multiplayer

Rating(s)

CERO: A
ESRB: T
OFLC: PG

Media

Blu-ray Disc, PlayStation Vita card, download

Input methods

DualShock 3, PlayStation Vita

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (プレイステーション·オールスターズバトル·ロワイアル) is a crossover fighting game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It was released on November 20, 2012 in North America, November 21, 2012 in Europe, November 22, 2012 in Australia, November 23, 2012 in the UK, and January 31, 2013 in Japan. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was developed by SuperBot Entertainment in conjunction with SCE Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game was announced in April 2012 on an episode of GameTrailers TV.

Game development began in 2009 with a creative team that included members from several Sony and former third party development teams. Omar Kendall, formerly a designer on the UFC series, the Backyard Wrestling franchise, and X-Men: Next Dimension, assumed the role of director for PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale after joining SuperBot Entertainment.^[1] After three years of development and being delayed from its initial October 2012 release, the game was released in November 2012.

Gameplay[]

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a fighting game, similar to the style of Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series. Up to four players can battle each other using characters from various Sony franchises such as God of War, PaRappa the Rapper and Sly Cooper, as well as third-party franchises like BioShock. There are, however, differences in how opponents are defeated. During the game, players damage other players to receive "AP" orbs that build up a power meter at the bottom of the screen (these orbs can also be found on the stage over the course of the match). Earning enough power allows players to use one of three levels of special attacks named "Super Moves" which can be used to defeat opponents and earn points. The game features cross-platform play between the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita versions.^[2]

The game features a traditional single-player arcade mode, in which players must defeat several randomly selected opponents, followed by a character-specific rival battle and, ultimately, a battle against the game's main antagonist and final boss, Polygon Man.^[3] Multiplayer modes include time-based matches, where players compete to achieve the most kills within a time limit, stock based matches, where players attempt to be the last one standing, and kill-limit matches, where players compete to be the first to reach a certain number of kills. The game also features a single-player challenge mode, in which players attempt to complete specific objectives.

Stages and items[]

Along with the host of varying playable characters, PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale also comes with a range of items and levels influenced by various PlayStation franchises. The game features 14 different arenas for battle, with elements in each one that can damage characters and cause them to lose AP. 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).^[4] As time passes, a stage's second representation takes hold, usually introducing a map hazard into the level. In addition, there are several item pick-ups that can be utilized by players, such as the Hedgehog Grenade from Resistance, the Gravity Shield from Wipeout, Baumusu's Axe from Rise of the Kasai, and Razor Claws from Ratchet & Clank. These items can be used to augment a player or do damage to an opponent.

Pre-announcement[]

Eric Ladin's tweet[]

Eric Ladin, the voice and motion capture actor for Cole MacGrath from the inFamous series, tweeted that he was pleased to be part of the game's cast alongside David Hayter. The tweet was later removed.^[5]

Major leak[]

During July 2012, beta codes were given out for the game.^[6] Inside the game code, files for unannounced characters, stages, and more were found.^[7] Concerning the Metal Gear series, Raiden was found as a playable character and Samuel Rodrigues was found as a minion. No stages were found.

Official website leak[]

In early August 2012, a picture of Raiden fighting Cole appeared on the official PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale website. This was taken down in a matter of seconds.^[8]

Official announcement[]

PlayStation®_All-Stars_Battle_Royale™_-_Raiden_Trailer — PlayStation® All-Stars Battle Royale™ - Raiden Trailer

On August 29, 2012, a trailer was released officially confirming that Raiden would be a playable character in the game.^[9] His appearance is based on how he looks in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. During his level 3 super attack, cardboard boxes also appear and trap other characters for Raiden to find and eliminate. Additionally, Sam appears as Raiden's minion, and part of the Franzea stage is set in the African city from the prologue of Metal Gear Rising, with Desperado's Metal Gear RAY attacking the players.

Allusions to Metal Gear[]

Further information: Metal Gear in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale

Like other crossover fighting games (such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl), there were several allusions to various characters original games:

Gameplay[]

Further information: Raiden

Raiden appears as a playable character in his cyborg mode, specially as he appears in Metal Gear Rising, being a full-melee character. His in-game rival is Cole MacGrath. He has two additional costumes, his Sneaking Suit used during the Big Shell Incident (called Blue Raiden) and his appeareance during the first chapter of Metal Gear Rising (called White Raiden). To avoid spoilers (both games were launched about the same time), Raiden's gameplay lacks of some moves he displays in Metal Gear Rising, like the Ripper Mode or the Winds of Destruction weapons.
Raiden's Level 1 super, Stormbringer, alludes to the break-dance maneuver that Raiden used to take out various Gekko in Act 2 of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, as well as a trainable move in Metal Gear Rising.
Raiden's Level 2 super, Blade Mode, is also the name of the game mechanic in Metal Gear Rising.
Raiden's Level 3 super, The Box Revengeance!, alludes to several aspects from the Metal Gear series.
- Raiden cutting the box to locate his opponent is based on the ending of one of the first trailers for Metal Gear Rising, where he cut open a box to find a soldier pleading for mercy, and to a lesser extent the Men In Boxes in the game itself.
- Choosing the wrong box will show Raiden finding a watermelon inside, alluding to both how Solid Snake eluded Gekko in Metal Gear Solid 4, and the watermelon cutting demo back when Metal Gear Rising was titled Metal Gear Solid: Rising.
- Raiden's expression immediately after undergoing the Super 3 mode is taken directly from the beginning of the VGA 2011 trailer (specifically, where he says "Let's have some fun!" when about to fight Sam).
Ocelot is referenced in the 2v2 title "Revolving Ocelots". Solid Snake is also referenced in the title "Soul Hid Snakes".

Story mode[]

Raiden's distrust about being sent on a mission by an unknown individual in the intro to his story mode alludes to his being deployed to the Big Shell Incident in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, where he was used as a guinea pig by the Patriots for their S3 Plan.