Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale sounded like a fake game. For a while there, noone really expected to see it announced for real, but now Sony CE have announced that we will indeed get to play the cross-over fighter that will reportedly bring all of the best and most beloved Playstation characters under one fight banner, and have them square off to the death. In anticipation of the day that we can pick up controllers and smash Sony's finest brawlers to pieces, and of the full reveal of the game's roster, we thought it might be fun to offer some of our own picks from the PS annals. We already know of six characters - thanks to early previews of the game - for certain (and a
seventh one appears to have leaked since then) but the final roster of playable characters is bound to be much bigger. So, which Playstation heroes do we want to see featured in the game's talent pool?
1. Kevin Butler
Since the Masterchief joke went down like a lead balloon, I've replaced the Halo protagonist with fictious, but no less awesome executive Kevin Butler. There has to be a comic choice after all (if Pacman can be a playable character in Marvel vs Capcom franchise, there's got to be something here to challenge).
2. Nathan Drake - Uncharted
Like having a younger, lither Indiana Jones in your locker, with high agility points, an impressive score for close combat, as well as weaponry use, and a handsome face for the ladies. In terms of Playstation characters, Drake is pretty much queen to Crash Bandicoot's king of the console, and any game with "All-Stars" in the title which over-looks either of them needs to a good talking to.
3. Sack Boy - Little Big Planet
Imagine a playable character with the ability to potentially change the architecture of the fight arena to his benefit... Sign me up.
4. Ratchett & Clank
The first buddy team-up on this list, and an almost certain inclusion in the game, the cartoony duo would bring Scrapheap Challenge style customisability and ingenuity to their fighting, and that spells a win for me.
5. Specter - Ape Escape
Antagonistic commander of an army of frenzied, intelligent monkeys. What's not to love? Special attack could be calling upon his simian hordes to swamp the enemy and carry them off screaming.
6. Jak & Daxter
And the other buddy team-up. It would be cruel to leave Daxter on his own, and Jak's lack of obvious charisma works better with the annoying sidekick helping out, sort of like Chris Tucker's relationship with Jackie Chan in Rush Hour. Jak could boast his customisable Morph Gun as well as his speedy physical style. Either way, I fully expect these two to appear in the game somehow.
7. The Protagonist - Demon's Souls
Thanks to his inclusion in one of the most infamously fiendish games in all of Playstation history, the unnamed protagonist would presumably find the prospect of fighting Parappa the Rapper a breeze by comparison. The endurance fighter's choice - though his shiny armour is aesthetically appealing as well.
8. Neptune - Hyperdimension Neptunia
She's a God, she's fearless and she's hyperactive. Three yes votes from me. AND she has a split personality, potentially switching to Purple Heart during battle for a whole new fight style.
9. Crash Bandicoot
One of the first Sony CE published characters to really have an impact on the original Playstation, the spinning Bandicoot is probably a very strong bet for inclusion in the game, and thanks to his physical style, and iconic status among PS fans, he's also likely to be a quick favourite. He also has weapons experience (remember the Wumpa bazooka) and a ready made special attack thanks to the presence of Aku Aku, Crash's magic floating mask companion.
10. Kazuma Kiryu - Yakuza
Why wouldn't you want to be able to play as the most famous and infamous yakuza from gaming history? Something of a weapons expert thanks to his colourful life, Kiryu would also offer hand to hand combat skills and hard wood resilience. As a bonus, he looks bad ass too. Did I miss anyone that you think should be included in the game? Let us know below.
Have you ever wanted to write about video games? Get in touch to find out about our contributor programme. Email our Gaming Editor on Simon@whatculture.com for more info.