Preview: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (PS3, PSVita)

It's understandable that many understood the initial announcement of Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale as Super Smash Bros.: Sony Edition because that's the easiest comparison to make. In short, Battle Royale is a Sony mascot brawler, in the same way Super Smash Bros. showcases its pantheon of characters and memorable environments.

Of course, the immediate question centred on "What characters does Sony have for this game?" It turns out that's actually not much of problem, especially because they've gone outside the Sony universe by snagging the likes of Big Daddy (BioShock), Raiden (Metal Gear series), and Heihachi Mishima (Tekken).

The real problem is trying to tie these characters together. With Smash Bros. it's as if all of the characters could be from the same universe, somehow. But the angry and blood-covered Kratos trading blows with PaRappa the Rapper? Nathan Drake vs. Sly Cooper? LittleBigPlanet's Sack Boy vs. Cole McGrath from inFamous? And then stick any four of them in a environment modelled on Hades? That just doesn't feel right even if does look pretty good at this point in terms of the varying backdrops and move sets exhibited by the characters. It's just difficult for me to reconcile in my brain. The part of my brain that says Fat Princess should not be fighting Heavenly Sword's Nariko.

Because of its November release, the wait will be short to see how it all comes together on both Playstation and PSVita. As part of Sony's "Cross Buy" program, both versions of the game are one price. You buy a Playstation 3 copy and it's yours on PSVita as well so you can take your beffudlement of fighting Ratchet & Clank with Sweet Tooth on the road.

Expected Release: November 20, 2012

- Aaron Simmer