Let's cut through the bullshit; this is Sony's attempt at Super Smash Bros., one of my favorite video game franchises of all time. And although it's usually unfair to compare a new game to a preexisting and entirely separate franchise, that's exactly what I'm going to do here, because a knock-off this blatant deserves nothing less. The good news is that PS3 Smash is actually a very admirable recreation of just about everything that makes real Smash awesome. It's got the same fast-paced gameplay, the same multi-franchise melting pot feel, and the same sense of a semi-controlled chaos that keeps every match fun but not random. The engine is smooth and the graphics are better than any we've seen from real Smash Bros. to date. The characters are varied and so are their move sets. All in all, I've got to say they really pulled this off, which is fantastic news.
It isn't quite Super Smash Bros. though. This is fine - perhaps even preferable to the game being a total clone - but since I've been playing Smash Bros. for thirteen or fourteen years, I'm automatically seeing the faults of the differences rather than the benefits. In a nutshell, the entire mechanic of racking up kills has been subverted. In Smash, you die by being flung so far from the stage that you cannot make it back; kills are thus achieved simply by knocking other players from the central stage, and the more damage each player has accrued, the farther he will get knocked by attacks from others. That's the basic gist of it, and the most common strategy my friends and I have developed over the years, in its most basic form, is to concentrate first and foremost on avoiding taking any damage and then worry about getting kills. Matches often revert into extremely conservative dodge-and-block-fests, but there's constant drama whenever a heavily damaged character gets knocked far off the stage. Will he make it back? Can he time his recovery moves just so? It's this tension and constant intrigue, as much as anything else, that has kept my friends and I playing Super Smash Bros. through all the years.
In Battle Royale, the only way to kill someone is to use a super move. You earn a super move by filling up your meter, and you fill your meter by doling out attacks on other players. The core strategy is no longer about avoiding taking damage, then, but instead about giving out as much of it as possible. The way to win is no longer to be the guy most capable of returning to the stage, but to be the guy who uses his super moves most efficiently. Can you score a double kill with a Level 1 super move? Did you waste a Level 3 super move on just three kills? There are subtleties and nuances I've yet to figure out, I'm sure, but this is the gist of the gameplay.
So far, I like it. I want to keep playing this game, and I want all of my Smash-lovin' friends to give it an honest shot. I'm sure we'll all forget about it, and with good reason, by the time the new Smash Bros. game comes out for WiiU or 3DS, but for now, I'll push for this one at future gatherings. Oh, and also the rest of the first season of Game of Thrones. That show is fucking awesome.
No comments:
Post a Comment