PS Vita Game Reviews
Review escapeVektor (PlayStation Vita)
The great escape
Part of what makes escapeVektor so charming is how wonderfully simplistic it is. The title's Pac-Man-esque gameplay sees you navigating minimalistic mazes in order to open up an exit, all the while avoiding deadly traps that threaten to thwart your progress. It's a really basic idea, but despite its lack of complex mechanics, the...
Review Uncharted: Fight for Fortune (PlayStation Vita)
Poker face
Uncharted: Fight for Fortune was always going to feel like a letdown compared to the epic adventure of Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Billed as a classic card game, the title lacks the explosive attraction of its parent franchise. But can the cheap and cheerful digital title succeed on its own merits, irrespective of the property that it's...
Review Persona 4 Golden (PlayStation Vita)
Vita's Golden Hand
Persona 4 Golden is a stunning game that’s arguably the most essential release in the PlayStation Vita’s catalogue thus far. An upgrade of the already outstanding PlayStation 2 title, developer Atlus has extended the adventure with new content, characters, and story. This is the definitive version of an incredible RPG, and you...
Review Chronovolt (PlayStation Vita)
Marble sadness
As part of the opening salvo for PlayStation Plus' expansion to the PlayStation Vita, Chronovolt received plenty of pre-release coverage. The lure of a modern take on the seminal Marble Madness, tailor-made from the ground up to show off the system's wealth of control schemes, was an attractive bait. Unfortunately, Chronovolt displays...
Review Sine Mora (PlayStation Vita)
Without delay
The side-scrolling shooter genre, so prominent in the 8-bit and 16-bit eras, gradually began its demise with the advent of 3D. The newfangled technology rendered the format passé, before refining its DNA into its spiritual successor, the first-person shooter. Those forerunners, however, tested lightning reflexes and memory skills,...
Review Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward (PlayStation Vita)
Nine is a magic number
Taking place in the not-so-distant future, Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward puts you in the role of Sigma, a young man who’s removed from his normal life and forced to take part in the ‘Nonary Game’ – a sick and twisted creation that ponders whether you're willing to betray in order to survive. Virtue’s Last...
Review Need for Speed: Most Wanted (PlayStation Vita)
Portable octane
Need for Speed: Most Wanted takes place in the beautiful city of Fairhaven where the most notorious street racers call home. As you attempt to make a name for yourself, you’ll have to climb your way up the list of most wanted drivers by earning speed points. To do this, you’ll have to prove that you have some serious chops behind...
Review Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified (PlayStation Vita)
Black mark
Has there ever been a more maligned handheld title prior to release than Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified? Reviewers (not all by any means), unabashed and damning in early preview criticism, seemed primed to deliver literary blows to the PlayStation Vita itself with the first-person shooter's release, yet gamers posting user reviews...
Review Ragnarok Odyssey (PlayStation Vita)
RPG oddity
After a great thunderous sound, the people of Rune Midgard find themselves under attack from mysterious creatures from the Millennium Peaks. It’s up to you and the residents of the kingdom to fight off these giants and survive. The story doesn't sound like much – primarily because it barely exists. Between missions, you’ll interact...
Review Assassin's Creed III: Liberation (PlayStation Vita)
Aveline in chains
You can’t fault Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation’s ambition. Ubisoft Sofia’s sprawling PlayStation Vita exclusive not only faithfully repurposes the free-roaming elimination escapades of its console counterparts, but through the corrupt recollections of mysterious protagonist Aveline de Grandpré it also attempts to imbue...
Review Smart As (PlayStation Vita)
Mind games
Smart As appeals to your egotistical side. The PlayStation Vita puzzler is rewarding, challenging, and supremely satisfying – but the game’s key ingredient is the way in which it provides real-time information on your achievements compared to other players. Whether it's your friends, co-workers, neighbours, or even strangers –...
Review Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz (PlayStation Vita)
Tasty treat
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Splitz almost represents a return to form for this troubled series. Returning to the original's simplicity, it recaptures a lot of the charm and magic from when the series first rolled into our hearts over 11 years ago. Indeed, its sickeningly cutesy aesthetic is as delightful now as it's ever been. But this is...
Review LittleBigPlanet PS Vita (PlayStation Vita)
The whole world in your hands
Sony is often criticised for shrinking its home console franchises down to handheld size – but, despite the best efforts of its detractors, that commentary doesn’t always hold weight. Sackboy’s maiden craftworld campaign may have been animated by the DualShock 3, but LittleBigPlanet PS Vita is one of those...
Review New Little King's Story (PlayStation Vita)
Watch the throne
Our little king is all grown up. After rising to power in Wii's Little King's Story, New Little King's Story sees King Corobo lose his kingdom during one heck of a party. After escaping with a small cadre of loyal subjects, Corobo must prove once more why he deserves to rule by rescuing lands and princesses alike from the clutches...
Review SunFlowers (PlayStation Vita)
Bright spark
The Game Atelier knows a thing or two about putting together a visually pleasing experience. The developer’s previous endeavour The Flying Hamster served up a kitschy twist on the classic bullet hell shooter. Armed with acorns as opposed to artillery, the agonisingly undervalued PlayStation Mini prompted an experience able to warm the...
Review Sound Shapes (PlayStation Vita)
Don't stop the beat
Ever since we first played Sound Shapes last year, we've not been able to shake off the feeling that something special was inbound. And here it is. Sound Shapes is inventive, imaginative and creative. It melds music, visuals, simplistic gameplay and robust creation tools into a package that's exactly the sort of game that Vita...
Review Foosball 2012 (PlayStation Vita)
Fun with the foos
It’s not often that we get to take the game of foosball seriously anymore. As many carefree teenagers do, we went through a two month love affair with the table-top sport during our heady college days. But our dreams of a glittering professional career were promptly quashed when we were informed by our haughty peers that we had...
Review Puddle (PlayStation Vita)
Splash damage
You could never accuse Puddle of lacking ideas. The Vita version of Neko Entertainment’s award-winning fluid-based puzzler is brimming with variety, from a tense jaunt across the test tubes and pipettes of a functioning scientific laboratory, right through to an underground romp as a single droplet of deceased rat discharge...
Review LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (PlayStation Vita)
Let’s talk LEGOs
If you’ve played one LEGO game, you’ve essentially played them all. It’s a phrase that’s been heard a time or two since Traveller’s Tales started recreating blockbuster movie hits into block-buster video games since LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game released back in 2005. Their ease of play and whimsical storylines are told...
Review The Pinball Arcade (PlayStation Vita)
Balls of steel
Zen Studios’ Zen Pinball might be the current king of the pinball ring on PSN, but experienced pinball developer FarSight Studios wants to take a shot at the high score table with The Pinball Arcade. Instead of tackling Zen Studios's arcade-y stylings head-on, FarSight's steel balls have something special that sets their title apart...
Review Gravity Rush (PlayStation Vita)
Daze dreamer
Games such as Gravity Rush are getting rarer. The Japan Studio-developed handheld adventure eschews committee design and instead coalesces on a consistent creative vision. Driven by the surreal imagination of former Silent Hill director Keiichiro Toyama, the title is a thoughtful exploration of original gameplay mechanics and cultural...
Review Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (PlayStation Vita)
A clone of a clone of a clone
Metal Gear Solid is one of the most iconic stealth/action games in the genre to date. The franchise has won a plethora of prestigious awards and is acknowledged by some gamers to be one of the best game series of all time. As it was made popular on the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, there's no surprise that the...
Review Resistance: Burning Skies (PlayStation Vita)
Axed at the knee
Insomniac Games left a strong lasting mark when it stepped away from its Resistance series after the atmospheric and emotionally gripping Resistance 3. With Insomniac Games now hard at work exploring new avenues for us to enjoy, Nihilistic Software has stepped in to send us back into the Chimeran infested world once again, with the...
Review Mortal Kombat (PlayStation Vita)
Goresome
Warner Bros. and NetherRealm Studios released Mortal Kombat on PS3 last year, returning the series to its über-violent 2D roots and right back into the top tier of fighting games. The lengthy story mode and robust online options were only the start of what the game had on offer, and that’s before the DLC started rolling in. With the Vita...
Review Dynasty Warriors Next (PlayStation Vita)
A welcomed new touch
Omega Force gets plenty of stick for sticking too closely to the same old template with its Warriors titles, and while the aptly titled Dynasty Warriors Next sticks to its tried and true basics, it also shakes up the formula by making creative use of Vita's control inputs. The real-time hack-and-slash feudal warfare is further...
Review Pure Chess (PlayStation Vita)
Pawn shop
With an extensive range of tutorials tucked beneath its board, Pure Chess is set to make a grandmaster out of the freshest chess newbie. There are unforced errors in its approach, however, that prevent it from matching up to the age-old game's traditional quality. Pure Chess is the work of VooFoo Studios, the team behind Hustle Kings, and...
Review Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention (PlayStation Vita)
No absence of depth
The Disgaea series has surged in popularity in recent years, mainly due to its nearly limitless degree of combat depth and heaped amounts of content. Disgaea 3 was originally released on PS3, along with a vast selection of downloadable content, so rather than create a brand new game for Vita from scratch Nippon Ichi decided to...
Review StarDrone Extreme (PlayStation Vita)
Spinster
StarDrone Extreme should be a mess: the game has a longer list of influences than an experimental electronica band. But somehow developers Beatshapers and Orb Games have managed to fuse the title’s extensive list of disparate inspirations into a cohesive package, and against all odds produced a tremendously enjoyable action puzzle...
Review LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7 (PlayStation Vita)
Block-tastically magical
There’s no question that Vita's gaming experience can be called “magical,” but with the release of LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7, the enchanting experiences of the final films in Harry Potter’s epic adventures are charmingly downsized LEGO-style and placed right upon your fingertips, allowing the magical series to...
Review EA Sports FIFA Football (PlayStation Vita)
Transfer listed
The portable FIFA titles have come a long way since the days of Game Boy Advance, when pitched down versions were the norm. These days EA takes the portable market a little more seriously, going on PlayStation Vita from day one and launching FIFA Football alongside the new system. If you've played a home console FIFA title in the...
