Fat Princess

Overview

Fast-paced and fun, Fat Princess faces two teams against each other in a comical battle of epic proportions. Your goal is to rescue your imprisoned princess from the enemy's dungeon, a la Capture the Flag. Only this time, the flag can weigh in at as much as 300 pounds. You see, to slow your efforts of rescuing your lost leader, the enemy team has been stuffing cake into her mouth, causing her to gain an excess amount of weight resulting in a slower rate of movement for the soldiers carrying her home. Of course, you have been doing the same to their Princess, and it will take a smart, strategic approach for either team to get their Princess home safely.

Features

• Unique Game Modes – After the seven-chapter single-player campaign, enjoy custom games of Rescue the Princess, Snatch 'n Grab, Team Deathmatch, Invasion, and Gladiate.
• 5 Character Classes – Change between Worker, Warrior, Ranger, Mage, and Priest simply by picking up a new hat. There is also an advanced version of each.

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  Unique and Varied Stages – Enjoy eight comical and challenging maps, plus two special arena-style single-player levels.
• Online Multiplayer – Face off in online matches with up to 32 players and in-game voice chat.
• Customizable Avatars – Create your own personal avatar before you charge into battle. Unlock new customization options during gameplay.

Controversy & Issues

The game sparked controversy shortly after its debut at E3 2008 when gaming blog Feminist Gamers expressed dismay that such a promising game would fall prey to the "rescue the helpless princess" cliché (the princess cannot move on her own and does nothing to help save herself) as well as reinforcing negative stereotypes about fat people, namely that people become fat as a result of overeating (players feed the princess cake to "fatten her up"). They further complained that the fat princess could easily be replaced by a box full of stuff without changing the game mechanics at all; and that "when a human character can be replaced with an inanimate object, there is something wrong with the design." Criticism of these design decisions were also written about on Shakesville and Big Fat Blog. None of the sites advocated banning the game.

When the game was first released, many players had difficulty finding an online match. This has since been patched.

Classes

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  Worker – The worker is the resource-gathering and builder class in Fat Princess. He wields an axe that is capable of dealing light damage at short range but is better suited for chopping wood and stone. Additionally, the worker's axe is especially effective at destroying structures. After upgrading, the worker is able to throw bombs in battle. The worker is the fastest hatted class in Fat Princess and has four life hearts.

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  Warrior – The warrior is the melee fighter and tank of Fat Princess. Warriors begin using a sword and shield in battle. The shield is able to absorb projectile damage at the cost of movement speed. On upgrading, the warrior can equip a double-handed spear that enables a charge attack. The warrior moves slowly and has six life hearts.

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  Mage – The mage class deals heavy damage both up close and at the range. At the start, the mage uses a fire attack that can be cast from range or charged to affect a radius around the player. The fire attack sets both enemies and bomb fuses on fire. After upgrading, the mage can switch to an ice attack that slows and freezes enemies. The mage class runs at an average speed and has four life hearts.

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  Ranger – In Fat Princess, the ranger's role is to provide ranged physical damage. The ranger comes equipped with a bow and arrow that can be switched out for a black powder rifle after upgrading. The ranger's arrows can be set alight using torches for additional damage, while the rifle fires more pellets with charging. He is faster than the warrior and has five life hearts.

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  Priest – The priest class fills a buffing and healing role. Before any upgrades, the priest uses his staff to heal, or, after charging his attack, to buff allies with a magical shield. An upgraded priest can opt to become a Dark Priest who leeches health from enemies, but cannot kill. The priest runs at an average speed and has four life hearts.

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  Villager – The villager is the base class that the player assumes before putting on any of the other class hats. The villager attacks with a slap that stuns enemies and forces them to drop anything they are carrying. Unlike the hatted classes, you cannot become a villager through any action other than death, switching teams, or starting a new game. The villager has a faster movement speed than any other class and only has two life hearts.

Special Classes

• Reaper – Although not a playable class during the match, you get transformed into this murderous class if you're the player with the most points and you win the match. While the class isn't invincible, it has around two to three times the amount of hearts that the warrior class has and comes equipped with a scythe, killing almost everyone in one hit. You can also play as the Reaper in the single player Gladiate arena during the credits roll.
• Giant Chicken – Similarly to the Reaper class, you'll transform into this class if you have the most points at the end of the match. This class only activates when you're on the losing team. It hasn't got as many hearts as the Reaper but still has a lot more than the warrior class.

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  Ninja - The ninja is only available through the Fat Roles DLC. The ninja can turn invisible and has a fair amount of hearts, 6 and it's charge attack is throwing stars.
• Pirate - The Pirate is only available through the Fat Roles DLC. The Pirate packs a sword and a gun, the gun can only be used by charging it. Again it has 6 hearts.
• Giant - Like the other two, the Giant is only available through the Fat Roles DLC. It's much stronger then the rest of the classes. It's charged attack slamming it's fists into the ground. It has 6 hearts but unlike eating cake to get health, you eat players.

Game Modes

• Rescue the Princess – The most basic mode, the one the game is built around. A team must break into the enemy castle, pick up their own captive princess, and return her to the throne of their castle. Once a team's princess is on the throne while the other team's princess remains captive, a timer will start; should the team hold the princesses for the full length of the timer, they win the round.
• Snatch 'n Grab – A team must break into the enemy castle, pick up their enemy's princess from the throne, and deposit her in the holding area of their own castle. Once captured, the princess will respawn back at her throne. First team to three captures wins.
• Team Deathmatch – Each kill removes one ticket from the other team; first team to lose all their tickets loses the round.
• Invasion – Both teams start with an accumulation of points. Points are removed from the other team when you capture more than half of the outposts on the map. Capturing more outposts makes the point total decrease at a faster rate. The first team to lose all their points loses the round.
• Soccer – A special mode only available on the designated Soccer map. You play a game of soccer with the typical rule of getting the ball into the other team's goal without picking it up to score a point for your team. However, that is the only rule. Hats and building materials randomly drop, as well as large bombs and additional balls. Workers can build springboards and static goalies.
• Gladiate – A single player only mode; players are allowed to choose their class and then must fight 12 waves of enemies in an arena setting.
• Legend Of The Fat Princess – A single player story mode with seven chapters that encompasses most of the other game types.

Additional Content

New Pork (level)

At PAX 2009, Titan Studios unveiled a new city-themed level they will be adding to Fat Princess soon. The map seems to have multiple planes in which players can use to attack each other. The map features multiple sewer shortcuts, for the subterranean players, a slew of barricades players can blow up for those that prefer ground level, and rooftop access, allowing players to take to the sky to get the job done. The name appears to be a pun on the popular city "New York," fitting with the game's cartoonish and satirical aesthetic. This became available for free as part of the 1.03 update.

Brownie Town (level)

Announced on January 20, 2010 on the US PlayStation Blog that a village-themed level would be released as part of the 1.04 patch. The level along with the rest of the patch was released on January 21.

Patch 1.05

Patch 1.05 was released on March 25, 2010 and includes two new snow-themed maps, “Candy Mountain” and “Frost Bite". The new maps also contain new gameplay features including slippy ice physics and destructible pathways.