Prices: $39.99 (Vita), $59.99 (PS3)
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (Vita) Review
You can check out our PS3 review of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale by heading to this page, but we wanted to give a separate review for the PlayStation Vita version. Rather than being a full-blown review, this one will focus on the differences (or similarities) between the two.
What I Liked
It’s The Exact Same As The PS3 Version
Rather than scaling down the PS Vita version, everything you can find in the PlayStation 3 version is present here. All 20 characters are selectable, every single unlockable is unlockable, and every single stage is chooseable.
It Looks Really Good
While the PlayStation 3 version isn’t the best looking game on its platform, the Vita version is easily one of the better looking games on the handheld system. The OLED screen makes everything pop, with the game running as smoothly as you could hope for. And remember those bland menus I complained about on PS3? They’re still here, though they’ve added a couple of effects to make them slightly more appealing.
Playing On The Vita
Having the screen right in front of my face allowed me to get a better view of what everyone was doing and I found myself really enjoying playing on the Vita, even using it more than my DualShock 3. When it comes to four player action couch action, I always switched to the PS3, but when I was solo, the Vita was my go to.
Also, the ability to use the touch screen to select your characters makes getting into your matches much quicker, with the presentation of the menus presented in a better manner than its console counterpart.
What I Didn’t Like
Using The Touch Screen To Pick Up Items Is Weird
The title says it all. Since the Vita only has 2 shoulder buttons, picking up and dropping items is mapped to the touch screen. When you’re in the heat of battle, moving your finger onto the screen, effectively covering up a spot you may need, just doesn’t work very well. It’s not like they could have put this onto any other button, though using rear touch may have been a better option.
The Load Times
You only need to wait about 10 seconds or less when on PS3, yet when it comes to Vita, your wait time increases anywhere from 10 to 40 seconds depending on the situation. As you can expect, getting into an online match also takes a little longer, though lag rarely happened once I actually began fighting.
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Final Word
Since every PS3 copy comes with a free downloadable PS Vita version of PlayStation All-Stars, suggesting you buy this one over the PS3 is difficult to recommend. What I can recommend though is that you take that Vita copy and use it to play solo because it comes with a second set of trophies and just feels better to play with.
PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale was reviewed with a copy provided by Sony.
