Kresnik said:
What I like about the mechanics are many of the things I've seen listed as flaws by other people/reviewers. I've seen it mentioned on numerous occassions that it "never feels like you're building up to something" with PSABR compared to Smash, which just isn't true at all. In Smash, you're making other people's meter go up. In PSABR, you're making your meter go up. So in that respect, the feeling of the game is very similar for both. What sets them apart - at least at the very early levels of play that I'm at right now - is the feeling of certainty you get from PSABR over Smash. In Smash, there would be so many occassions when I'd hit a player with 2xx% meter, only to have them fly off the stage but not far enough to actually ring out them, so they'd get back on. Then conversely, I'd hit (or they'd hit me) people with 1xx% meter with the same move and they'd go clean off in one. I'm not sure if there's some trick to it that I'm not aware of which makes this more certain, but it just seems random. Compare that to PSABR. If you hit someone with a super, it's +score to you. No question about it. If they dodge it, you don't get points. It's absolute. I think Playstation All-Stars might have a slight edge in my personal tastes with that, but again, I'll need to spend more time with it. In addition, supers in PSABR add just a slight extra edge of strategy which makes things just that more interesting. Again, in both Smash & PSABR you're using regular moves to add to either your meter or their meter, the level of thinking is the same for both. And again, in both games, you look for opportunities to score points. So in Smash, you're looking for that opportunity when an opponent is defenseless enough that you can hit them with a big smash to knock them off. In PSABR, once you have a level 1, you're looking for an opportunity where the most people are standing in range of whatever your level 1 is that you can hit them all for maximum effect. But you're also considering "Is it worth using this now and maybe hitting two of them, or should I wait to get my Level 2 and have a better chance of hitting 3 of them?" It's just another strategic thought that I think adds an extra layer of depth. All just my thoughts anyway. I'll let o.O_q tell you what he thinks. I just find it amusing that the mechanic which has been so widely mocked since being announced for the game has actually turned out not only to be adequate but actually a success, at least to me. edit: I see he's already replied, I clearly spent too long typing this wall of text! |
Thanks for your input. A few things.
1. There actually is some logic behind what moves KO you and what doesn't in Smash. First off, different characters have different weight. Secondly, you can influence which direction you fly after getting hit to some extent via what is called directional influence. For instance if you hit UP as soon as you're attacked your trajectory will be altered. That's a basic explanation, but it's a pretty important thing in high level play.
2. I wouldn't call what you described as more depth. It's a differnt strategy to be sure, but I wouldn't say it adds more or less depth than Smash. If you enjoy the system though, that's cool.
@o.O_q
Sadly I haven't really gotten much out of the combo system. I haven't really gotten to play 1v1 (which is annoyingly not available online in either game unless you're playing with frends) and multiplayer is really too chaotic to do more than basic combos.
As for character diversity IDK yet. So far I've been sticking to Cole and Raiden (who I think will be the best character in this game hands down when the dust settles). Haven't messed around with many other characters except for a little bit. Overall they all feel pretty mashy to me, but that may just be because I don't know the ins and outs of each one yet.
Thanks to both of you for answering. I'd like to play more 1v1 to get a better feel of the game, so if either of you (or anyone else) wants to play, feel free to PM me. It really sucks that there is no 1vs1 online mode with randoms :( Kind of kills the value of the game for me.
