'PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale'
Sony
Sony PlayStation 3 (PS Vita)
$59.99
ESRB rating: Teen
Review rating: 3.5 stars
What would happen if Parappa the Rappa, Kratos, Big Daddy, Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank and several other well-known video game characters created their own free-for-all fight club? Sony's latest brawler, "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale" aims to answer this intriguing question with panache and style. It's OK to talk about this fun-filled fight club but it's much more enjoyable to enter the fray and lay the smack down.
Twenty cool characters ranging from Raiden to Jak & Daxter to Sweet Tooth come together in pugilistic style. However, simply having familiar characters in the same game isn't enough to satisfy me because I also want to incorporate cool moves. This is one area where "PS All-Stars Battle Royale" KOs the competitors, as each character has several maneuvers that mimic their original roles. For example, Nathan Drake tosses grenades and summons stone pillars while Dante attacks enemies with his signature speed and grace.
Like most fighting games, the single player mode is really just practice for playing against real opponents, and this game is no different. I appreciate how the combat requires more than simply knocking opponents off of each stage. Players must build up their own Super Move meter by attacking enemies, and then only landing Super attacks can actually defeat them. Additional variety is added by having three different levels of Super attacks at the player's disposal.
Another bonus is the ability to take these interesting brawls online, where a limitless pool of cyber-pugilists waits to humiliate and embarrass all who stand in their way. Believe me, it's fun to fight other people online until you discover that you were just schooled by a preschooler.
Add plenty of worthwhile unlockable bonuses to the surrealistic mix and "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale" becomes an enjoyable party game that's also fun to play on its own!
'Hitman: Absolution' Square Enix
Microsoft Xbox 360 (PS3)
$59.99
ESRB rating: Mature
Review rating: 4.5 stars
Living the life of a professional assassin isn't nearly as glamorous as Hollywood wants you to believe. Dead people don't drop to the ground in tidy, bloodless mounds of clothes, beautiful women aren't always one sultry look away from being seduced and enemies definitely don't look like Antonio Banderas. Fortunately, the "Hitman" series forgoes this unrealistic nonsense.
In "Hitman: Absolution," players once again take on the role of the cloned assassin, Agent 47, as he takes out enemies using inventive means. This time around, his decision to befriend and protect a young girl makes him a target of both his employers and the powerful man that sent him after the girl. If this sounds eerily similar to the plot from "The Transporter," then you're not alone.
What sets this series apart from other stealth games is the immense freedom offered to the players. Sure, it's easy to wait until a target is alone for a moment and eliminate him with the trusty garrote, but it's much more rewarding to make their demise look like an accident. With some simple exploration and observation, it's possible to fry enemies with an electrified gate, set them on fire with "faulty" fireworks and even drop a disco ball on their head.
It's just too bad that the developers felt the need to "mix it up" by forcing players to endure monotonous levels where the only goal is to escape the area by avoiding enemies. There's no real reward for these levels and players have to constantly switch between using their mini-map, regular view and enhanced Instinct view to make it through undetected.
Despite a few flaws, "Hitman: Absolution" is still a great title full of inventive game play and nearly limitless options.
'PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale'
Sony
Sony PlayStation 3 (PS Vita)
$59.99
ESRB rating: Teen
Review rating: 3.5 stars
What would happen if Parappa the Rappa, Kratos, Big Daddy, Sly Cooper, Ratchet & Clank and several other well-known video game characters created their own free-for-all fight club? Sony's latest brawler, "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale" aims to answer this intriguing question with panache and style. It's OK to talk about this fun-filled fight club but it's much more enjoyable to enter the fray and lay the smack down.
Twenty cool characters ranging from Raiden to Jak & Daxter to Sweet Tooth come together in pugilistic style. However, simply having familiar characters in the same game isn't enough to satisfy me because I also want to incorporate cool moves. This is one area where "PS All-Stars Battle Royale" KOs the competitors, as each character has several maneuvers that mimic their original roles. For example, Nathan Drake tosses grenades and summons stone pillars while Dante attacks enemies with his signature speed and grace.
Like most fighting games, the single player mode is really just practice for playing against real opponents, and this game is no different. I appreciate how the combat requires more than simply knocking opponents off of each stage. Players must build up their own Super Move meter by attacking enemies, and then only landing Super attacks can actually defeat them. Additional variety is added by having three different levels of Super attacks at the player's disposal.
Another bonus is the ability to take these interesting brawls online, where a limitless pool of cyber-pugilists waits to humiliate and embarrass all who stand in their way. Believe me, it's fun to fight other people online until you discover that you were just schooled by a preschooler.
Add plenty of worthwhile unlockable bonuses to the surrealistic mix and "PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale" becomes an enjoyable party game that's also fun to play on its own!
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