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"the mechanics shape how the metagame functions? isn't that obvious?"
Yup. So we agree then.
"you mean tilting your analog stick or pressing your dpad towards your opponent won't get you there?
i mean up until now that's how i've been playing games...
should i want my character to move in a particular direction... i use the built in walk function"
When talking about approach options in a fighting game, it's implied that you mean safe/reliable approach options. In general, you can't just walk towards an opponent and expect to break through their defenses, because they can just walk the other way/block/jump around you, etc. If you're talking about casual level play, then sure, just walk towards them. If we're talking about PSAll Stars Battle Royale as a competitive fighter, then walking towards your opponent is not a viable strategy. Things don't tend to be that simple at high level play.
"kratos was by far the dominent character of the beta..."
Right, and the beta was a FFA/2v2 right? In 1v1 matches, I think things will be different. His major advantage seemed to be his excellent lvl 3 super, and his large range. His lvl 3 super will be less useful in 1v1, and his range will be less dominant. People will be able to stay out of it more easily if they only have to worry about Kratos.
"i don't know?
as i mentioned before maybe i'd press the stick in his direction?
if he tries to stop me, what can i say? i guess i'd attack him since that's the point of the game?
that's my suggestion, what would you do if your opponent is moving away from you in a fighting game?"
Ah, if only things were that simple. In fighting games, that's usually what seperated viable characters from non viable characters. Take Hulk for example in UMVC3. He's powerful and can KO a lot of characters in one combo, but that doesn't mean anything because he has no reliable way to hit them. His only options to approach are his gamma charge, which leaves him at a frame disadvantage, his Heavy punch, which is highly predictable, and jump attacks which are slow and telegraphed. So, he sucks because you can't just walk into someone and punch them. Other characters like Vergil or Wesker can teleport, have tons of safe pokes, airdashes, and the like. These are good approach options that can reliably open people up.
The reason that MK is so dominant in Smash is because most characters can't approach him safely. If you just walk towards him and attack, you're likely to take more damage than you deal. His combination of hovering in the air, large hitboxes and fast startup on his air attacks attacks, and his ledgecamping abilities means he shuts down half the cast. Walking towards him just isn't an option.
"are tackles the only moves in his arsenal?
did the devs map tackles to all of the 12 move options available for him?"
No, but it's his only option that moves him quickly in the direction of his opponent. He could stand in a corner punching the ground or swinging his drill, but that's not going to help him against an opponent who is intent on avoiding him. I'm running on the assumption that the metagame will be focussed on the first to three kills mode with some sort of time limit (I don't know if there is a time limit option on those stock matches, but if their isn't, the metagame will struggle to develop.)
"With All Stars, I'm not seeing a large variety of approach options"
can youy give me examples of "approach options" from other fighting games?"
Flying, teleportation, gliding, are all examples of approach options. In Smash Brothers we have dashing, dash grabs, and dash attacks as well. MvC 3 has dashing as well, and in particular wavedashing (which is also available in a differenct method in Melee). There's shorthopping SHFFLing in Melee (short hop, fast fall, l cancel). It could also be something character specific, like Ryu's light air hurricant kick in MvC 3, or Big Daddy's tackle. Jump attacks usually work for approaching, IF the attack can be cancelled into another move OR if the animation ends before hitting the ground. In games like Street Fighter 4, you have things like cross ups, where you basically jump around opponents to kick them in the back, but this only works in games where you have directional guards. You also have high low mixups, where you force an opponent to guess between an attack he has to block high or low, but that doesn't work in games with omni-directional guards. There are also some glitchy/physic exploits that can be used to approach an opponent. Examples of this are Squirtle's hydroplaning in Smash, the aforementioned wavedashing, Snake dashing, and DACUS (dashed cancelled up smash attacks) in brawl. There are also things like airdashing, double jumps or Magneto's Triangle jumps in MVC2. Focus cancels in SF4, super aromr attacks, and so on so forth.
If you have a game where there are numerous approach options that are hard to defend against, like UMVC3 or Melee, you have a very fast paced and aggressive game, with a few exceptions like any time Morrigan gets on the screen. If you have a game with fewer reliable approach options, like SF4 or Brawl, you typically have a slower paced game that focuses on spacing, pokes, and footsies.
In PSAllStars, I don't see a great deal of approach options. Even less than in a game like SF4 and Brawl. This might change as people get better and play more creatively, but as of now the options seem limited to a couple of dashing attacks for each character. This isn't a huge deal in 2v2 or FFA, where characters aren't solely focused on you, but it presents more of an obstacle in 1v1 games. So thats why I think this game will work better in FFA (or perhaps 2v2) than 1v1. Again that's totally not a knock on the game. Like I said a lot of the choices that I think won't make it a great 1v1 game are also the things that might help make it an excellent FFA/2v2 game.
