November 27th update: SuperBot Entertainment is developing Title Fight.  First screens, James Bond update, and more info within.

On October 31st, Paul Gale Network was finally able to reveal a major upcoming game that’d be exclusive to PlayStation 3, in which I simply referred to it as “Sony Smash Bros.” Today I’m happy to present you with a lot of gameplay details.

Visuals:
– Graphics at this point are similar to Brawl, but with higher polygon models and displayed in high resolution.
– Characters look like themselves. Kratos is as you remember him in God of War 3, Parappa is completely 2D, Fat Princess looks like her real self, Nathan Drake is similar to the build in Uncharted 3, Sly Cooper is cel-shaded (a bit like Toon Link), and so on.
– The characters don’t look out of place alongside each other at all. And in fact, it’s really neat in that Smash Bros. kinda way to finally see everyone on screen, together at once.
– Characters have a glowing ring around them while moving around, to help the user identify where they’re at.
– Only HUD elements are your super bar and character icons.
– A lot of the art/menus, right down to the design of the game’s name are still in what I call “placeholder mode”.

Controls:
– Use the left analog stick to move your character.
– Triangle, X, Square, and Circle are used to jump and attack.
– R2 shoulder button is used for pulling off “supers”.
– Use your recovery move to get back on stage if knocked off.
– Moves are pulled off more similarly to Super Smash Bros. and not Street Fighter.
– Characters have the ability of double jumping.

Characters:

– Colonel Mael Radec is a playable character and not Rico. Radec primarily uses guns in combat.

– Kratos will make people who like Pit from Super Smash Bros. Brawl, happy to play with. Kratos’ primary attacks are his chains. He also has a charge attack with his spear and shield that’s powerful, yet rather unwieldly. Kratos has a Level 1 bar attack where he plunges his chain into the ground and sparks fly. Kratos’ Level 3 super is him turning into his giant, armored super-self and using his huge sword that’s a 1-hit kill. His recovery move are his wings.

– Parappa seems to have his original voice actor behind him. He yells out some of his popular phrases during battle. He kicks, has a boom box attack, and uses a skateboard as well. His Level 3 super involves him shouting, “I gotta believe” a few times which damages opponents to the point of dying. He also talks while re-spawning.

– Nathan Drake’s moves involve him punching up close, but for most of his attacks, he’s an all-range fighter: he uses a pistol, grenade, and rifle. He’ll probably be the character that most resembles Solid Snake from Brawl. His Level 1 bar attack is him pushing over a statue onto his opponents. His Level 3 super is turning enveryone into defenseless monsters where he can then beat them up. His recovery move is a zipline.

– Sly Cooper uses his C-shaped cane for most attacks. His Level 3 super is like Snake’s Final Smash from Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The super begins with Sly disappearing from the screen, followed by an aiming reticule popping up. Bentley (yup, our turtle friend) shows up and gives you pointers to take out your enemies.

– Sweet Tooth has different nasty attacks with his Level 3 super being him turning into the mecha clown ice cream truck you all have come to love, and is equipped with a powerful gun.

– Fat Princess’ Level 3 super involves a bunch of little elves coming out and throwing fireballs at everyone on screen.

– I will reveal more characters that are planned in the future.

Stages:
– In the LittleBigPlanet stage, Buzz! pops up on screen when triggered (you pick up a Buzz! remote and use it) and asks you certain trivia questions and there are different platforms that appear that you can jump on, with each having a different answer. Get the answer wrong and it’s bye-bye by pie in your eye (KO’d).
– In Jak and Daxter’s “Sandover Village” stage (not Misty Island), there’s a fish swimming at the bottom that will eat you if you don’t hop onto a higher level.
– In Sandover Village, there are characters from Hot Shots Golf in the far background. When you pick up a flag, the camera zooms to the background where the golfers will begin swinging flaming golf balls at the stage, damaging all in their path…so you have to move quickly to get out of the way.
– I won’t be sharing any more stages at this time, but know that they are all very interactive.

Super moves:
– There’s a three level bar that gradually fills up throughout the match as you pummel your foes.
– The first bar that gets filled allows you to release a strong attack.
– The second bar gives your character a cool, more damaging attack.
-The third bar when finally maxed out gives the player what’s the equivalent to a Final Smash attack in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. These above all else, are really character specific in looks and function and are quite nice.

Items:
– RPG Rocket Launcher = a one hit kill.
– Quick Boots = you run around faster.
– Stage exclusive items like the Flag on Sandover, Buzz! Remote in LittleBigPlanet, etc.

Other details:
– If you fall/get knocked off a stage without recovering back onto it, you’ll die. On stages without ledges, you’ll die by a big enough attack or enough back-to-back damage (or environmental death).
– A bunch of attacks, followed by a pause, and then more attacks won’t necessarily KO you. To be knocked out, it seems like you have to suffer something a bit more devastating.
– Characters drop orbs when they’re killed. You pick them up. The more you get, the better off you are.
– The game is expected to be a 2012 title.
– 4 players fight at once on screen.
– The game’s name is still not set in stone, either, but I have been given a couple of different tentative titles…of which I’m recommending one over the other.
– The standard match is 3 minutes long (likely extendable).
– There will be online play.
– PlayStation Move controls have not been added to the most recent build, however that may change.
– The development team said that they’re still working on making the cast and stages a varied one and are looking at plus or minus 20 playable characters.
– The game won’t be littered with half a dozen playable characters from one franchise, rather, supporting characters from these games will have cameos (like the previously mentioned Bentley).
– A few no brainers that I haven’t seen yet but assume will make it are the pair of Ratchet and Clank and Jak and Daxter.

This was the first hint given about what PlayStation 3’s next big game would be. Some guesses were pretty impressive, while others were way off. Hopefully now you see where I was going and I’m looking forward to sharing with you more information when I’m permitted to. Yes I could reveal the tentative title and other details, but have to refrain for the time being. Stay tuned for future updates!

Tentative title revealed

Your questions, answered on November 12th

Here is the New Q/A for Title Fight, Sony’s Smash Bros. competitor (November 18th)

External testing update

Share your ideas on Title Fight