Over at the Playstation Bloggers’ Lounge at GDC I managed to score some hands on time with Fat Princess. If you ask me, this is one of the top 10 games PS3 owners can look forward to in 2009. Some folks might see Fat Princess and think of it as a simple and casual game however this is far from the truth. Fat Princess features deep multi-class team play and off the wall sense of humor. If a “TF2 light” game intrigues you then Sony Fat Princess is for you.
The main premise of the game involves two teams of 16, fighting to rescue their Princess who is held captive at the opposing team’s base. Sounds straightforward enough, however, in addition to the rescue component to the game, players pick-up slices of cake scattered throughout the map to feed to the captured Princess. With each slice of cake she becomes larger and larger until she’s Jabba-sized, making rescue slow and cumbersome for the opposing team, hence the early brouhaha surrounding this game early on; I for one think it’s hilarious.
Players in Fat Princess can select one of five different character classes by donning different hats produced by hat machines. Selecting a hat alters your player abilities and at any point in time during the game you can switch hats to take on other class characteristics.
The five character classes in Fat Princess include the Warrior, Ranger, Mage, Cleric, and Worker. The Warrior/Cleric team work similar to the Heavy/Medic combo however the Mage can also be pretty potent offensively with a dark class option. The Ranger provides ranged damage and the Mage can freeze members of the opposing team, immobilizing them while your team inflicts additional damage. The Worker class is one of the unsung heroes of the game and is important in the early stages of the game. Workers gather wood and ore to upgrade the hat machines to improve player stats, add defensive structures to your castle and build additional paths into the opposing castle for your team.
Teamwork and strategy are fundamental to winning this game; as a result there is also an unofficial player class called the Director who is entirely tactical, coordinating the battle from the safety of the castle. Fat Princess features 32 players, 16 players per team, and throws in bots in the event that there aren’t enough real players.
I also got some hands on time with the game which solidified my stance that this is a must have game for any PS3 owner in 2009. I was already hooked with the off the wall premise of the Fat Princess and a huge FPS and RTS fan which the game manages to combine to great effect.
The noise levels in the lounge didn’t promote too much communication and teamwork and so it was every man for themself. Despite this, playing was a blast. Fat Princess is pretty intuitive for folks used to FPS or RTS games and just in case you aren’t, it also has an in-depth tutorial menu. I happened to pick up the red team and we weren’t doing too well and so I focused on the Worker class, leveling up the castle defenses and hat machines by collecting wood and ore. Workers don’t get much love in the way of health and ore is often placed in contested territory. The enemy bots do not go easy on you and so it took more than a few tries before I could complete my upgrades. I wrapped up my hands on time with the Worker class with the Warrior hat machine. After this was completed I donned the Warrior hat and brought on the pain, unleashing the angst from so many Worker deaths and partnering with a Cleric to eventually push the blue team back to the castle doors. For a game with a cartoony look and feel you kind of feel bad when the cute little guys go splat. My work complete, just for good measure, I had to track down some slices of cake or two to feed to the princess.
Fat Princess is due out on PSN in Summer 2009.
~Bawdyjane
The main premise of the game involves two teams of 16, fighting to rescue their Princess who is held captive at the opposing team’s base. Sounds straightforward enough, however, in addition to the rescue component to the game, players pick-up slices of cake scattered throughout the map to feed to the captured Princess. With each slice of cake she becomes larger and larger until she’s Jabba-sized, making rescue slow and cumbersome for the opposing team, hence the early brouhaha surrounding this game early on; I for one think it’s hilarious.
Players in Fat Princess can select one of five different character classes by donning different hats produced by hat machines. Selecting a hat alters your player abilities and at any point in time during the game you can switch hats to take on other class characteristics.
The five character classes in Fat Princess include the Warrior, Ranger, Mage, Cleric, and Worker. The Warrior/Cleric team work similar to the Heavy/Medic combo however the Mage can also be pretty potent offensively with a dark class option. The Ranger provides ranged damage and the Mage can freeze members of the opposing team, immobilizing them while your team inflicts additional damage. The Worker class is one of the unsung heroes of the game and is important in the early stages of the game. Workers gather wood and ore to upgrade the hat machines to improve player stats, add defensive structures to your castle and build additional paths into the opposing castle for your team.
Teamwork and strategy are fundamental to winning this game; as a result there is also an unofficial player class called the Director who is entirely tactical, coordinating the battle from the safety of the castle. Fat Princess features 32 players, 16 players per team, and throws in bots in the event that there aren’t enough real players.
I also got some hands on time with the game which solidified my stance that this is a must have game for any PS3 owner in 2009. I was already hooked with the off the wall premise of the Fat Princess and a huge FPS and RTS fan which the game manages to combine to great effect.
The noise levels in the lounge didn’t promote too much communication and teamwork and so it was every man for themself. Despite this, playing was a blast. Fat Princess is pretty intuitive for folks used to FPS or RTS games and just in case you aren’t, it also has an in-depth tutorial menu. I happened to pick up the red team and we weren’t doing too well and so I focused on the Worker class, leveling up the castle defenses and hat machines by collecting wood and ore. Workers don’t get much love in the way of health and ore is often placed in contested territory. The enemy bots do not go easy on you and so it took more than a few tries before I could complete my upgrades. I wrapped up my hands on time with the Worker class with the Warrior hat machine. After this was completed I donned the Warrior hat and brought on the pain, unleashing the angst from so many Worker deaths and partnering with a Cleric to eventually push the blue team back to the castle doors. For a game with a cartoony look and feel you kind of feel bad when the cute little guys go splat. My work complete, just for good measure, I had to track down some slices of cake or two to feed to the princess.
Fat Princess is due out on PSN in Summer 2009.
~Bawdyjane