Tag archive: Vita

This review is going to be short and to the point: Dungeon Hunter: Alliance is an upgraded version of an iOS game. But it costs $40. Wrap your head around that for a moment. Gameloft’s Dungeon Hunter series is a bright spot in mobile gaming. The hack-n-slash dungeon crawling Diablo-clones push the limits of what a game on a mobile device can be. It is at the tops of the technological pyramid. But only compared to other mobile games. Dungeon… Read More

It took me a moment to realize what it was, but from first time I saw the FIFA Soccer box, I knew there was something missing. The cover art was the same as EA Sport’s most recent soccer release, the in-game menus were identical, and it looked exactly as I would expect. Then I realized what it was — the “12” was missing from the title. That might seem like a minor quibble, but it turned out to be a telling omission. FIFA Soccer is not a port of… Read More

Of all the launch-window games for the Vita, ModNation Racers: Road Trip was one of the titles I was most looking forward to. It is also one of the games I am most disappointed with. If you have played ModNation Racers on the PS3, then you know what to expect in terms of gameplay. The Vita controls do the series justice, and there are even a few new teaks to the races that are welcome additions. The ModNation kart racing series is easily the… Read More

One of the great things about the PlayStation Vita is its ability to play somewhat faithful ports of existing console games. There is a bit of an asterisk on that — the Vita won’t be playing massive games like Skyrim anytime soon — but titles like fighting games that don’t need much power to generate static backgrounds, are relatively easy. So too, apparently, are 2D scrollers, even ones that look amazing. Rayman Origins is a port of a… Read More

Although Uncharted: Golden Abyss will undoubtedly be the poster child for the launch of the PlayStation Vita, Capcom’s Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 should be held as an example of how good it can look. The Vita has an impressive GPU, and UMvC3 is a faithful port of its console counterpart, including the graphics. It also dragged along the same tired format that has needed an upgrade for a few years, but that doesn’t take away from what the game… Read More

Asphalt: Injection doesn’t come close to fulfilling the Vita’s potential, but it's still entertaining. Deep too. Since the Vita is new, does that give it a bit of a pass to fall short on technical marks?  Injection comes to us thanks to Gameloft, a developer that is best known for its mobile games, but it also has a fairly lengthy history with handheld devices like the DS and 3DS. The Vita, however, is something different. The Asphalt… Read More

Little Deviants isn’t so much a game as it is a series of demos that allow you to see what the Vita can do. If ever there comes a time when we return to the days of new hardware including a game, Little Deviants should be the game with the Vita (there is a bundle that you can buy with the game included, but it is part of the cost). Bigbig Studios and SCEA designed games that are specifically for the Vita, and could only really exist on that… Read More

Of all the launch day titles for the Vita, few push the hardware’s GPU quite as much as Wipeout 2048. Visually, it is impressive. The graphics themselves are around the level of late PS2, maybe very early PS3 games, but the impressive part is the detail you can see in the backgrounds while burning through futuristic cities. It is a sight. But putting aside the look, Wipeout 2048 is the type of game where you hold down the gas and rarely use the… Read More

If you are not a fan of electronic music, then the name of this game should serve as a warning. Every gaming system, from the high-powered consoles to the low-powered “dumb” phones, needs a puzzle game. It is an unwritten law, and an unbroken one as well. Ever since Tetris showed us how it's done, the puzzle game genre has been consistent. None have come close to hitting the heights that Tetris hit, but neither have most games, regardless… Read More

Michael Jackson: The Experience is a game for fans of Jacko. That might seem somewhat obvious, but it is truer than you might think. The previous incarnation of this game for the consoles was a dancing game, so even if you were only a mild fan of Jackson, you could still get into the dancing mechanics of the game. You didn’t need to even have a familiarity with the music to get some enjoyment out of it. Like the 3DS version before it, the Vita… Read More

As reported by Kotaku earlier today, Sony is ditching plans to allow new Vita owners to download PSP titles that they currently own on UMD disc. Sony rolled out this program in Japan at launch during December 2011 and all Japanese owners can register their UMD titles on the Vita by paying a fee based on the value of the game, thus Japanese owners can avoid having to repurchase the titles at full cost on the PlayStation Vita digital download… Read More

Launching nearly ten months after the Nintendo 3DS hit North American shores, Nintendo is rolling out support for demos that can be downloaded through the Nintendo eShop. As of January 19, Nintendo 3DS owners can download a trial version of Capcom's Resident Evil: Revelations, a title that's launching in North America in approximately three weeks. During the following week, 3DS owners will be able to check out Sega's Mario… Read More

Sony confirmed at E3 last year that AT&T would be running point for 3G service on the PlayStation Vita in the United States following the handheld's release. Things have been quiet on that front since the initial announcement until this week, with the veil finally being pulled off of the company's Vita data pricing. As it turns out, things are looking pretty familiar if you're already an AT&T customer. Two no-contract… Read More

By the end of next month, PlayStation fans in North America will be able to carry Uncharted around in their pockets. Those pockets will need to be rather large and awkward, since the PlayStation Vita is a bit larger than your average smartphone, but don't be a jerk about it. You know what I'm saying. The Vita is turning Uncharted into a portable adventure with Uncharted: Golden Abyss. I picked up my imported Vita earlier this week… Read More

Mentioned by Bloomberg earlier today, sales of the PlayStation Vita have fallen by nearly 80 percent during the week that ended on December 25 according to tracking firm Media Create. Sony sold approximately 325,000 Vita units on December 17 and 18, but only sold about 10,000 units a day during the following week. Sales of the PlayStation Portable beat sales of the PlayStation Vita by approximately 25,000 units. In addition, Nintendo saw… Read More