E3 2012 Hands-On: PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale

I was playing the Fat Princess and I dominated one round of PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale, deceiving my enemies with my apparent clumsiness while taking them out with specials and a wand attack.

My enemies included Kratos, who was quick and had his trusty chains to throw around, Nathan Drake, ready to punch people and slide around before throwing gas canisters around and blowing them up, and the Big Daddy from BioShock, lumbering and slow but able to deliver incredible punishment close up with his drill.

All this happened while Hades was throwing his chains around and an army of Patapon soldiers was parading in the background.

At other times during my E3 2012 hands-on time with PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale, I played on a Little Big Planet inspired stage that constantly evolved as the round progressed and that included one trivia moment that handed characters an advantage for the rest of the fight.

Some might dismiss it as too little, too late, but PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale could be a killer game for the last few years of the PS3, drawing together fans of a variety of franchises and allowing them to raise mayhem and challenge their friends.

The game is always smooth, even when special powers and weird attacks rain down from one player to another and the stages are large enough to allow four players to engage in one-on-one duels or gang up on the player that’s closest to launching his special.

There are three levels of specials for each character and deciding whether to unleash a lower one or just try and land more punches and get the strongest attack you can is a constant tactical challenge.

Sony has promised that more characters will be revealed before PlayStation All-Star Battle Royale and, judging by its current shape, the game will be a success with the core fan base of the PS3.