Despite the game’s name, Fat Princess is more about class-based action gameplay  than anything else.

Fat Princess has a nice cel-shaded, cartoony look to it. It definitely fits the game’s nonchalant tone. The game is full of little touches that add to the overall charm of the game, and the very “cute” presentation of the characters doesn’t hurt either. 

You have two teams of 16 players on each team, as players work together to complete different objectives based on the game mode. However, there is no local multiplayer of any kind, or any way to play with friends on the same system online, which is a bit of a disappointment. 

There are several modes of play, including Rescue the Princess (in which you have to rescue your own princess from the enemy castle), Snatch ‘N Grab (capture the flag but with a princess), a basic team-deathmatch mode, and Invasion (control the most territories on the map). All four of these main modes are incredibly fun to play, and they all require plenty of different strategies to win. 

There are five classes you can pick once you spawn, and each class can be upgraded as the match progresses. You have the mage (the magic user), the priest (the healer), the warrior (the close range attacker), the ranger (the long range attacker), and the worker (who is used to upgrade your home castle and your classes by gathering materials). Each class plays a very important role in the game, and while everyone wants to play as an attacker class, it’s good to have people play as priests or workers to help your team win. As long as you have the right team, you should stand a chance in the multiplayer. 

There is a single player mode called “The Legend of Fat Princess,” which is basically the game’s main story mode. It acts as a tutorial to get you get you ready for the game’s multiplayer. And while it seems fun at first, you’ll soon realize that it’s nothing more than a bunch of matches with bots. And near the end, it can become infuriating due to the fact that your A.I. teammates don’t do much to actually help you complete the objectives. The enemy team seems to focus solely on setting up a defense, which makes matches last way longer than they should.

When it’s not frustrating, the single player is downright boring, and it won’t show anyone just how fun the game can really be when playing multiplayer. And while the online player has been a bit spotty during the first two days of its launch, it seems to be running just fine now, leading to many hours of enjoyment. Get a group of your friends together and you can have plenty of fun wasting time in the multiplayer modes. 

Overall, your purchase of Fat Princess all depends on if you plan on playing the game online. If you plan on playing just for the single player experience, you will be sorely disappointed, as it’s a rather lackluster effort. But that is just a warm up for the multiplayer, which is addictive and definitely makes the game well worth the cash. 

ESRB: T for Teen; Has a lot of violence, blood, and gore, but it’s all presented in a childish, cartoony manner. 

Pros: A strong multiplayer component; plenty of different maps and game types to keep you busy; You can play with up to 32 people in a single match, which can lead to some fun times

Cons: A very lackluster single player experience; some hiccups in the online component; lack of split-screen or same system multiplayer is disappointing