Freedom Wars PS Vita Review

(Editors Note: This review will differ from the traditional review style of the VitaBoys due to the game currently only being an Import for North American, and European Regions)

Story- Freedom Wars is the newest action RPG game from SCE Japan Studio and it is set in the year 102013 where the human race is imprisoned in areas known as Panopticons (47 total to match the 47 Japanese Prefectures) which are in constant war against one another. Panopticon is an area that provides security for its citizens in exchange for time off the million year sentence that all newborns are given. In addition to the million year sentence, all citizens must obey the strictest of laws and if they are broken (by the way, you are automatically guilty), you are given additional years for every offense. This goes for resting, running, talking, etc. By performing various tasks, you can buy certain freedoms and this is essential for advancing the story and game.

Gameplay- Freedom Wars is the standard team action RPG that that many Monster Hunter and God Eater fans will recognize. All offer online and offline play that take place in different areas of the game world fighting huge monsters and defeating them before the set time expires. In Freedom Wars, the player is fighting huge weapons named Abductors because, you guessed it, and they abduct civilians. And it’s up to you and your merry band of misfits named Accessories which provide you with support and attack abilities during the fight. For the most part, they are helpful, but usually you’ll be let down by their subpar AI and the inability to get out of the fire. Many times I’ve seen my whole crew get demolish because they will not get out of the way of attacks while the enemy AI is spot on and will kill you with authority while your team is picking daisies on the other side of the map.
 

 When the AI cooperates with you, the game shines. With various guns and sharp weapons, you can play the way you like. Whether you like hand to hand combat or sniping from a rooftop, Freedom Wars has what you need. Sharp skills in both areas will guarantee that you will succeed in this game. In addition to the melee and ranged weapon attacks, you are introduced to the “Thorn”. The thorn is a type of whip that the player can use to scale building, enemies and abductors.  Using the thorn effectively on an abductor can yield positive results like tripping over the weapon to get free melee hits as well as scaling the abductor to try and rescue the abductees.
 

Once you perform the rescue, it’s a mad chase to the rescue pod. When this happens, the Abductor will go and chase you down preventing you from performing a successful rescue. Rescuing is a part of the game that’s essential in ending a battle early but it’s also the most frustrating as once you hold down X to sprint, there’s no way to control your character. If you are being chased down and run into a wall, you will be knocked down and drop the person you are carrying. So you must slow down and speed up when appropriate and you should be successful. If not, you’ll probably be one or two shotted and will have to either get revived or respawn at a checkpoint.

Graphics/Sound- Freedom Wars is one beautiful game. While most of it is dark and brown, there is still plenty of detail that makes the game shine. From the abductors to the accessories, you can tell that plenty of time was spent on the looks of the game and it shows.  The game looks to be running at native resolution but it suffers from massive frame rate dips as it struggles with maintaining 30FPS when the action gets busy. It’s not game breaking but it is noticeable especially when trying to time your attacks and/or getting the hell out of the way. But once you look past those flaws, there’s a pretty game that looks great on both the OLED and the LCD vita.

The game is fully voiced and it sounds fantastic. From the accessories to the robot PA system, the voice acting was really well done. Good news is that the localized release will keep the Japanese voices with English texts. I was a little disappointed with the gun sounds as they sounded a bit muffled and not as loud as I hoped they would be. Other than that, the sound effects sound great and helps with the immersion.

Ease of Import- This isn’t as straight forward as most Japanese hunting genre games go. There are certain events that must be triggered before moving on. While the majority will give you an indication of where to, but most times it won’t be there because you need to gather materials or buy certain freedoms before moving on. There’s a certain point in chapter 2 where many non Japanese speaking players will hit a major wall and would give up. Luckily, GameFAQs has a large Freedom Wars audience where you can be helped when stuck. Most of the time, you’ll be buying various freedoms with the credit you’ve earned and eventually you will unlock what you need. Also, taking a screenshot and comparing with what you are missing will help tremendously. Other than that, the game doesn’t need a lot of Japanese knowledge, just a lot of patience and time. But once you get through that hurdle, the game will flow and will have hardly any problems language wise. If you don’t know any Japanese and are eager to play it early, it’s a fun time. Other than that, I suggest to wait for the localization coming this fall to enjoy it as it was meant to be played.

 

 

Overall-

8.5/10

 

 

 

1001 Spikes PS Vita Review

Have you ever played a game so unbearably hard that it wasn't even possible to enjoy playing it? A game where as hard as you tried you just couldn't get past the extreme difficulty to truly appreciate the quality of the game itself. After initially hearing of 1001 Spikes, a game where you only have 1001 lives to complete the game, I concluded that this would be one of those unenjoyably hard games. However after I got my hands on the game I realized I was completely and utterly wrong. Now don't get me wrong, the game is extremely difficult and probably not suited for rage-quiters. However 1001 Spikes has a hidden quality about it, that even after dying 50 times in 1 level you still just cannot put the game down. Nicalis managed to get just about every part of this game perfect, and well suited for the PS Vita.

Gameplay- 9/10 The gameplay in 1001 Spikes is where the game truly shines. We have already explained that as the player you will only have 1001 lives to complete the utterly difficult game. Initially sure 1001 lives sounds like a lot, but once you delve into the game you realize that perhaps even 10,000 lives wouldn't be enough. Well, at least that was the case for me.
      1001 Spikes puts you into a 2D world and expects you to platform your way to the end of each level. Of course there are multitudes of traps awaiting your arrival in an attempt to move you one life closer to defeat. Death of course, is inevitable in the game. You will find yourself falling off ledges, dropping into pools of lava, and being impaled by spikes that only show themselves after you are lying on the ground lifeless. For the impatient gamer, this game isn't for you. However for those seeking a challenge I am here to tell you, 1001 Spikes is your game.
     

The only big problem I have with 1001 Spikes is the multiplayer, or lack thereof. On the PS4 version of the game up to 4 players can sit on the couch together and take on the perils within the game together. This takes the game from being extremely frustrating to being hilariously fun to play with your close friends and family. On the PS Vita version however, multiplayer was completely removed from the game. After having played multiplayer, playing solo just didn't have that same appeal. However if this doesn't bother you as much as it does me, then the gameplay is absolutely perfect.
         The last thing I'd like to mention about 1001 Spikes gameplay is the butt-load of extras they threw in for our pleasure. The game contains several unlockables to truly enhance the game and its replay value. As the player you will be able to unlock several costumes in game. Many of the costumes have a familiar theme, such as a blue jumpsuit for the original Ninja Gaiden. Each of the costumes have a unique ability to enhance the gameplay experience. For example one costume I used gave me the ability to do a wall grab, or another let me do double-jumps. Having the option to change costumes truly adds great value to an already great experience.

Story- 8/10 As to be expected with a game of its genre 1001 Spikes doesn't have much of a story to offer. This isn't necessarily a negative thing. In fact the game "not having a story" helps the player to focus on the games true star, the gameplay.
       The player takes on the role of Aban Hawkins, an Indian Jones wannabe whose absolute hatred of his father leads him on a quest through extreme perils. Yeah, that's pretty much the entire plot. Like I said though, the game doesn't need a Last of Us type of story. The story is comedic, and perfect for the game. You will get a few good laughs out of it, but the only memorable part of 1001 Spikes will remain its hardcore gameplay.

Replay- 9/10 What can I say, this game is close to perfect. I personally couldn't put it down for the first playthrough. If you actually have the patience to make it through the first playthrough, you will almost inevitably find yourself wanting to go back for seconds.
         You will want to hit the game up for a second try for three reasons. First of all you will earn plenty of unlockable costumes which make the difficulty more bearable. Secondly you will want to go back and finish getting those trophies. Finally, you will just be way too addicted to quit after just one playthrough. The game truly is worth your fifteen dollars.

Graphics/Sound- 9/10 1001 Spikes is your classic 8-Bit 2D platformer that would look perfectly normal running on an NES. There is nothing extremely special here to talk about, but that's just it. 1001 Spikes achieved exactly what it wanted with regards to how it looks, and sounds. So, like I said there isn't much else to say here. The game has a few graphical hiccups throughout the game, but nothing that you will notice while you are impaled with spikes again.

Overall 1001 Spikes is a must own on the Playstation Vita system. I continuously hear PS Vita owners complaining of the multitudes of 2D platformers that fill the PS Vita store. However this game is different, this game is unique. 1001 Spikes offers gamers a fun, albeit extremely frustrating, platformer to take on the go with them. 1001 Spikes has amazing gameplay mechanics, and awesome replay value. You can't go wrong purchasing this game. The only fault is the missing multiplayer, which is perfectly overlookable. However after experiencing the multiplayer hilarity you truly miss not having that on the go. Otherwise 1001 Spikes is another great entry in the PS Vita library.

Gameplay-9/10

Story-8/10

Replay-9/10

Graphics/Sound-9/10

Overall

9/10

 



PS Vita Pets Review

There are plenty of games out right now for the PS Vita that can suit anyone’s tastes. From visual novels to first person shooters, there’s a game for everyone.  But there is one genre that’s missing: a pet simulator. The Nintendo 3DS has one in Nintendogs, so where is Sony’s answer? It’s right here with Playstation Pets. There’s a difference though, as these dogs can speak, don’t need a leash, and did I mention that these dogs can talk?? It’s a fresh take on a simulator game that offers exploration, training and a chatty dog.

 

Gameplay – 5/10 Playstation Vita Pets is a part simulator, part adventure game, and part system demo.  You start off the game with your brand new adopted puppy and you can choose from a Collie, Dalmatian, Husky, and a Labrador. During the initial tutorial, you are taught how to play fetch, feed, buy clothes, toys and bathe your dog all using the PS Vita’s touchscreen, gyroscope, microphone, front and rear camera. All of these are used hand-in-hand to level up the skills of your pup in the form of mini games. This in turn will provide your dog with the necessary skills to actually progress through the game. This all sounds great in theory until it’s actually time to start playing the game. The voice commands (You give your dog a name), sometimes work. Protip: the dog will come to you even if you don’t call his/her name which in my opinion, defeats the purpose. The touch controls are hit and miss as well. Petting your dog for buddy points can get frustrating as the game doesn’t register right body part when you think you are scratching the dog the correct way. Buddy points are one form of currency that will let you buy abilities/toys/clothes/accessories from the shop. A lot of them are essential for progressing through the game. This leads to a grind fest that I wasn’t in the mood for, especially in the beginning of the game. In order to move on, 500 BP is needed and you can only fetch and scratch your dog so many times before it becomes a boring mess. Unfortunately, this is a major part of the game and there’s no way to avoid it. Another negative for me is navigating the camera. The game is played in the first person and the right and left stick are used for camera motion. I can’t count how many times where I can’t look to where I want and I have to force to look one way by pointing at a door or ball.  It sometimes detracts from the experience and for the most part, it affected my experience.

 

Story - 3/10  The story is based in the world of Castlewood, an area that’s completely beautiful and lush with greenery, castles and a wide open world where you and your pet can run around and cause trouble.  The story is told through a pop up book in your house. Once you’ve leveled up your pet enough, more of the world will open up to you. But the further you advance the story; you end up back at the house to level up your pet. I think I’m pretty tired of the house. In the end here isn’t much of a story as I would like and being as this is aimed for younger children, I’m ok with it.

 

Replay- 7/10 Being that the game is a part simulator, part story driven game, there are plenty of reasons to come back for more. With lots of accessories and plenty of time to max out the skills of your pup, one can come back to the game and grind those buddy points for some good loot. Although, all dogs play the same, there’s really no need to try another dog unless you want to start over with Lassie or Rin Tin Tin. 

 

Graphics/Sound – 8/10  Vita Pets is a beautiful game, dare I say it’s one of the best that’s available on Sony’s portable. The colors are lush and eye popping and beautiful. A lot of work was put into making this a visual pleasing game. You’ll come to appreciate the small details that were included in the game ranging from the cute outfits to bathing your dog. While the game is a looker, I wish I could say the same about the audio. While the music is generally enjoyable, the dog’s voices made me turn down the volume. Lines are repeated and a little too upbeat for my tastes. No matter what you do, your dog is toohappy. I wish there was more variety in the dog’s lines and delivery. After playing for a bit, I’ve felt that I have heard every line in the game times two.

 

 

Gameplay-5/10

Story-3/10

Replay-7/10

Graphics/Sound-8/10

 Overall-6/10

 

Mind Zero PS Vita Review

     When it comes to choosing an RPG to play on your PS Vita, you have so many classics to choose from. With several entries from the Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger and it's sequel, Persona, Alundra, and so many more, it's difficult to put your faith into trying something new when you can go with something you already trust to be good. You may not have heard much about it, in fact maybe nothing at all, but Mind=0 is definitely a new game you can trust to fill your RPG needs. Mind=0 may have it's flaws, but it's definitely a game any RPG fan will be glad to have in their collection. It starts off slow, but once it gets going, it's difficult to put down.

Gameplay- 8/10 Mind=0 is an RPG/dungeon crawler, and while a lot of your time will be spent leveling up and preparing for battles, it seems a lot more of your time will be spent talking. The game takes quite a bit of time to get going, and the beginning is full of long stretches of dialogue. This may be a turn off for some, I myself wondered when some action would take place, but it will pick up in time. Once Mind=0 does open up you will be treated to a map with several locations you may choose to visit, with new ones opening up frequently. Most of these are more dialog events, some to just get to know your friends a bit better, and some that will open up side missions. These are, for the most part, optional, and are indicated by green markers, while the story progressing mission is marked in red. There are shops to stock up on items and armor, and stations to travel between different sections of a larger map. Then there are, of course, the dungeons(referred to as the "inner realm"). Once opened, you may freely visit them as much as you like, and I recommend doing so often to level as much as possible, this game picks up in difficulty by the second dungeon. I played on the normal difficulty setting and found it to be a nice challenge. So if you aren't into grinding, and the satisfaction of strengthening and gearing up your characters, this may not be the game for you. There is no real walking around or anything, unless you're dungeon crawling. You choose a location on the map and are either treated to a cut scene of dialog, a shop to buy and sell things, or a dungeon to explore. Exploring dungeons is done in first person, very reminiscent of the Persona games. The majority of battles are invisible random battles, with a few key fights being marked on the map. I found the random encounter rate to be very considerate in how frequent they occur, never feeling like it was too ridiculous, a problem many older games suffered from.. Actual battles use the good old turn based system and are both in first and third person, with you being able to see your characters attacking. The enemy encounters are both fast and fun. You are able to fight physically or by summoning your MIND(Major-Inner-Node-Displacement), which will battle in your place. You may summon or dismiss your MIND at anytime it's your turn, as long as you have the appropriate points to do so(MP-Mind Points). There are a few meters to learn and techniques(skills) to choose from, and while it may seem confusing at first, you'll get the hang of things once you get going. There is plenty of strategy to be found in the battles, learning to utilize your MINDs, since they can only remain in battle for a limited time, is a key part in overcoming the numerous enemy encounters and the key to survival. The same goes for deciding what skills to equip for each area, some adding elemental bonuses that certain enemies have a weakness against. The game does a pretty good job at teaching you each new thing that comes up, and you can review these tips at anytime. You are also given the option to switch to an auto mode in battles, letting the cpu do the work for you. This is really only a smart move for easier fights, as the cpu doesn't always make the best choices, but it is a nice option to have for those long dungeon crawls. When not traversing the corridors of the "Inner Realm" you will be completing side missions and doing more character building(talking). Did I mention there is a lot of chatting in this game? While some of this talking is story related, a lot isn't, besides getting to know characters better, and if you aren't into pointless 5 minute stretches of babble about shopping and such, these parts may seem tedious. Like I said, most of these events are optional, but you may miss out on an item or two if you choose to bypass them. Stores offer a number of items and accessories to purchase and equip, and there is sufficient amount of customization with both armor and skills, giving plenty for the player to do outside of battles.
   
     Control wise I appreciated that you can use both buttons or touch screen anytime throughout the game, leaving it totally up to you to choose what you feel comfortable with. Personally, I felt menus were better navigated by the touch interface, while battle commands and the like were better suited for old fashioned button use. Having the option is really nice, and you don't have to go through menus to change it up.
   The game plays and controls great, and it somehow makes all the grinding seem as if it isn't a chore with fast and exciting battle mechanics. While it still may get tedious, Mind=0 offers a good balance between dungeon crawling and story development, as long as you don't mind learning about the characters you have on your team through long stretches of dialog scenes.

Story- 7/10 The game tells the story of Kei Takanashi and friends as they discover the existence of another world parallel to our own, along with uncovering the truth about the mysterious MIND occurrences happening throughout the city. While the majority of the public believe MIND to be a drug that messes with the conscious and causes hallucinations, Kei and his crew learn the dark secret of what is really happening. These MINDs are inhabitants of the "inner realm" and are very violent and strong beings that most humans from our world(the "outer realm") would not stand a chance defending against. After certain events unfold, each of our heroes find themselves in the shop of the mysterious Undertaker(not the WWE legend). They are given the task of choosing a weapon among a large arsenal in her unworldly store. Choosing the correct weapon(and there is only one that is correct) will allow them to go on living, but choose the wrong one and it means instant death. One by one the heroes find they have chosen wisely and are allowed to continue on living, but with a catch, these weapons come with a hidden contract. The group now find themselves somehow connected with a MIND of their own, becoming what the game refers to as "Minders". With so many unanswered questions, Kei and friends eventually find themselves helping out a peculiar private eye with the task of defending their world, the "outer realm", against an increasingly number of folks being possessed by these MINDs from the "inner realm", as well as learning more of what is happening around them from him. The game is very story driven, and I don't want to ruin anything for you. Just know, it may start out very slow, but gets pretty interesting with some play time. The story does take many breaks to build character development and to help you learn about everyone a little better. Some of these pauses don't make much sense and could have been timed better. Why would someone want to go shopping for socks in the middle of a mission to track down a MIND terrorizing a park? Some of them do work into the story much better, such as a character wanting to test out equipment in a nearby dungeon.
   
The characters you will come to know throughout the story are very typical anime personalities, but are all very likable. You get the brooding teen, who seems older than he is. The high school girl that sounds and acts like a 10 year old. Don't forget the wacky teen male who's all about the fun in life, contrasted by the serious, hot headed teen girl who is strong and tomboyish and likes to smack him every now and then for being a fool. It's all there, and while you've seen the types before, I personally found all the characters to be rather fun and enjoyed the interactions they have with each other. The story is very well written, and even at it's silliest moments, keeps you interested enough to continue on. Story and characters are two of the most important parts of any RPG, and Mind=0 delivers well on both of those aspects.




Replay- 2/10 The game is definitely worth a play through, but there isn't much to make you want to continue after that. There are plenty of trophies to find if that's your thing. I found the game a bit too dialog heavy to want to play it again anytime soon, but having a good RPG in your library is always nice to come back to at some point. It's a RPG,  a good one will take time to play through, and Mind=0 is one of them. Replay really comes down to how much you enjoyed it and how soon you want to experience it again. I feel replay with any game of this type is rather low, even with a Game+ option. An RPG should last long enough as it is, very few invoke an immediate replay. The real question is will this stand the test of time, will you come back to this as you would Chrono Trigger or Xenogears? Personally, I say no. While I really enjoyed playing through the game, I can't see myself one day ever saying, "Huh, you know what I feel like playing... Mind=0". This feeling doesn't effect my score though, as some games are just like that. Mind=0 is still a great game, especially if you're looking for a new RPG to get into, it just isn't legendary.

Graphics/sound- 5/10 I found the graphics quite lackluster in this game. Characters outside of battle are just cardboard cut outs, with very little to no animations. While they are very nicely drawn, the lack of movement does stick out. This annoys me in these types of games, while they work, it just seems a waste of what the Vita is capable of. When a character says something like "look at this" and is supposed to be showing you something, there is nothing on screen. That really bothers me, if someone is supposed to be holding, say a hat, then draw a hat in, I don't see why that's so difficult. There are times when a character will hit another character, except they aren't, they're just standing there, I guess you're just supposed to use your imagination... When you do see your team battling inside the dungeons, they are nicely animated, along with the enemies they battle. The graphics still aren't up to Vita standards, but at least they are moving around, with all the attacks and skills being satisfying to watch as the battles play out. Dungeons themselves are severely lacking in detail. We're talking early PS2 here, barren corridors with no life, and very little detail. Graphic wise, the only thing that separates this from a PSP game is the touch control, and I expect a bit more than that on the PS Vita.
    On the other hand, the music is quite good, with a lot of catchy tunes. I was really surprised by this, anime type soundtracks usually aren't my thing. Don't get me wrong, there are those quirky obnoxious tracks, but for the most part the tunes are very fitting, especially during the dungeon parts, and that's where you'll be spending a lot of gameplay time. The sound effects are typical of a RPG game, nothing too special or anything that stands out. The voice work, I thought, was really a highlight. Speaking of, I highly recommend choosing the Japanese voices over the English ones, I found the English voice work not as well done and somewhat silly at times. It's not horrible by any means, just, I felt the Japanese voices were much better acted. Whichever you choose(you have the option every time you start up your game), you'll be treated to fully voiced dialog throughout the game, which is always nice. Both, the English and Japanese voice cast put a lot of care into this game, especially considering how much dialog there is. A nifty little feature I really appreciated was the ability to have the dialog scenes auto scroll through so you don't have to press the button or tap the screen to keep the scene going. Even with all the dialog, as the game went on I didn't mind it so much, there were even scenes I found myself laughing out loud.

   In the end, while I am annoyed by so many details left out of the stale graphics, Mind=0 offers enough in other departments to make up for it, and keep you playing. It's an RPG, in a genre that commonly uses super deformed sprites, I guess I can't complain too much about looks. The music isn't Final Fantasy quality, but it still does the job and sets the mood just fine.

    Mind=0 is a very enjoyable game, if you can get past the first hour or so of the slow story. It's a solid game to have in your collection and if you enjoy leveling up and outfitting your team with the best gear you will get a lot out of playing it. The game picks up in difficulty rather quickly, and by the third dungeon you will find yourself needing to grind to get your chosen team up to par. If this doesn't sound fun to you, you may want to skip this game. I loved it, and found I missed a nice challenge.  With more and more games of this type making it simple to get through without much effort on leveling, it's good to see some true old school grinding games still being made.The story is just intriguing enough to keep you interested, even if there are a number of seemingly pointless dialog scenes, they are still well written and nicely voiced. Like I said, most of those are optional, so you could skip them, but to get the most out of the game I suggest sitting through them. Sometimes you'll be rewarded with an item, but most times they are for character development only, and maybe a chuckle or two. If I have any complaints, it's the lack of detail in the graphic department. I know it's a pet peeve, but little things such as objects on screen add so much to a game, especially when the graphic style isn't much to begin with. If you are a fan of RPG's and dungeon crawlers, I highly suggest picking this game up, as you will not be disappointed in what it has to offer. It can get tedious at times, but fans of the genre know exactly what to expect. This is not an easy game, and it will take a good amount of time to play through. That's a good thing considering there isn't much replay value here. While it may not take advantage of the Vita's power, it still is a great game in it's expanding library, and if you're looking for a lengthy, challenging adventure, this is a solid buy. I love these types of games and I'm glad to have come across this. It may not be epic in the world of RPGs, but it's definitely worth a play through.

Gameplay- 8/10

Story- 7/10

Replay- 2/10

Graphics/Sound- 5/10

Overall- 7/10

The Sly Collection Review For The PS Vita

(Editors Note- This review will not match the format of previous reviews due to the game being a remaster, it was unnecessary to cover the story or replay value)

It seems that almost every game ported to the Vita has its flaws. Whether it was The Jak and Daxter collection with its frame rate drops, or the Metal Gear Solid collection with its buggy gameplay, rarely do we get to see a perfect port. However The Sly Collection has achieved that, and so much more. Now understand that the Collection does have a few small flaws, but nothing of significance, and nothing that alters the gameplay experience in a negative way. The Sly Collection is the closest thing to perfect the Vita has seen, with regards to ports or remastered games.

The port was handled by Sanzaru Games, the same developer who handled the PS3 Sly Collection, and developed the most recent entry into the Sly Cooper franchise, Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time. Clearly they went into the project of porting the games to the Vita with a great understanding of the franchise, and more importantly with experience of developing for the Vita. This helped them achieve a nearly flawless port.

The Sly Collection's gameplay remains the amazing 3D platformer that we all enjoyed back on the PS2. In fact, it might even play better than the PS2 version, which is a huge compliment towards remastered games. This version of The Sly Collection felt perfect. It didn't feel as if anything had to be trimmed or taken away. The gameplay didn't have to be compromised in order for us to enjoy Sly Cooper on the go. Finally Vita owners could actually experience what a true remaster is, a classic game that we all loved but.... better.

I experienced absolutely no frame rate drops, no buggy gameplay, no flaw with the gameplay whatsoever. I was truly blown away with the amount of perfection achieved by Sanzaru Games. When it comes to a platformer one wrong move and you could be falling to your death. When playing the Jak and Daxter collection the buggy gameplay, and poorly placed buttons, caused me to die again and again. However, I never experienced this when playing the Sly Collection. Not only is the gameplay near perfect, but the button placement is superb.

Finally, I would like to point out that the games look so good on the PS Vita. The colors are so vibrant and just pop on the Vita's screen, whether you are playing on the OLED or LCD screen. The visuals are amazing, albeit not as great as the PS3 visuals. However that is nothing to fret over, and it is hardly a downgrade. Overall the visuals are amazing. It is the sound that is an occasional mess. I often noticed a litte sound compression, and a few times the sound would go out all together. Neither of these are problems to truly fret over though.

Overall the Sly Collection is the closest to perfection any attempt at porting PS2 classics has come. The remaster does not hold anything back in attempt to fit it on the Vita. Instead the remaster serves its purpose well, that is to take the games we loved and make them better and more enjoyable on the go. I would recommend buying this game to everyone, whether you have played any of the Sly series before or not.

Overall-

9/10

The Walking Dead: Season 1 Review

    As I write this, Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead just released issue 127 of the comic series. With reprints, trade paperback, and even a television show, the zombie craze has allowed The Walking Dead name to be recognized by a much larger audience than just comic fans. It was only a matter of time before someone would make a game of the increasingly popular franchise. When it was Telltale that stepped forward with the announcement that they would be  handling the game, there were all around mixed views. Their previous game, Back to the Future, got lukewarm  reception, while Jurassic Park did not fair as well. The game was released in 2012 for various platforms including the PS3, Xbox360, and ios devices with great reviews. It later found it's way to the PS Vita, and in my opinion, it's one of the best platforms to experience it on. Grab some headphones, turn off the lights, power up your Vita and get ready to experience one of the most thrilling adventures the system has to offer.

Gameplay- 9/10 The Walking Dead game is what you would call a graphic adventure. There are a lot of QTE like situations, decision making, and exploring different environments, it's kind of a new age point and click/choose your own adventure game. The choices you make actually matter in this game(well, most of them), determining what will happen next, and at times,even who lives and dies. How you treat people will determine who will be there to help you in the time of need, and who won't be so quick to respond. Some choices have immediate results, and certain decisions even carry over to later episodes, making them all the more important. You aren't given much time to make them either, so you have to think quick, sometimes under great pressure. It's something that I really enjoyed about this game, the feeling of almost freezing up at times with all that is happening around you, cause it can get hectic. Walking around environments, which can either be done by touch screen or use of the analog, allows you to click on items and people to investigate or speak. All of those actions, including the choices made in conversations, are mapped to the Vita's touch controls, and it works wonderfully. This game was, for the most part, made for a touch interface, and I feel it's what makes this version better than the console ones. I actually began playing this game on a PS3, all the way up to episode 3. As much as I loved it, the controls just never felt comfortable, resulting in "game over" more than a few times. It all just feels much more responsive on the Vita, though there were a few instances where I swear I did the correct swipe, or was certain I tapped the screen at the correct time, yet I died, but these easily could have been my fault, and the checkpoint system is pretty generous, so it didn't matter too much. One thing that did bother me though, was that second analog just sitting there being unused. Camera control or "looking around" is done by touch screen. While it does work, being able to adjust your view using that second analog stick everybody begged for, would have been real nice. Still, the game is very playable as is, that's just me being picky.

Story-10/10 This game is based on the world from the comicbook and not the television series. It is separated into five episodes all taking about two to a little over three hours to complete, depending on how you play. You play as Lee Everett, a man recently convicted of murder. While being transported to prison, the outbreak is just beginning, and a related accident sets the story into motion. You soon meet up with Clementine, a young girl who has found herself all alone during this horrific event. Not having the heart to tell her that her parents probably will not be coming home again, Lee sees it as his responsibility to look after her for the time being. Lee and Clementine set out to escape this nightmare and seek safety, beginning your adventure in The Walking Dead. Throughout your journey you will meet new friends, come across and even make enemies, witness death first hand, and experience some unspeakable events, both from the undead and the survivors. When all is said and done, The Walking Dead's story is what will keep you playing to see how all of it will end, and while I won't spoil anything, I will say it is one memorable ending. There is also a sixth stand-alone episode included in season 1, titled 400 Days. It follows the story of 5 different characters, all at different times during the breakout. Each of these stories are fairly short and can be completed in any order, with a wrap up story to tie it together. It's included in your purchase on the Vita, and is just as enjoyable. I'm a fan of the comic, and I feel one of the main reasons The Walking Dead has lasted so long is because of it's story, and this game was written with much respect to that fact. The undead are quite a problem, obviously, but this series has always done an outstanding job at focusing on the more intelligent threat. That being what becomes of the human psyche after such a catastrophic event. Cannibalism, rape, murder, twisted new world orders, some of the worst, most unspeakable acts that mankind is capable of, this series has never shied away from confronting these subjects and more. The translation into a game is no different, they didn't hold back. While most zombie games are just shooters that happen to have zombies in them, this game is so much more. There are times when I had to pause and set the Vita down, just to fully take in everything that just occurred. The story will have you actually disliking certain people, but more importantly, caring about others. It will affect you as people die, and not in the cheap videogame way of forcing you to take notice and develop feelings for certain characters only. It's all your choice whether to build better friendships or not, who you will get attached to, or who you will act negative upon. Each character has their own way of dealing with what is happening, and some of them you just won't agree with. Nobody is perfect, even Lee himself isn't your typical "hero" character. 

    The idea of zombies, themselves, isn't really that scary. In fact, they always seem kind of like a joke, especially when not in large numbers. It's the feeling the threat can invoke though, and a great zombie story knows that. It's the thought of your little brother, your wife of 20 years, the people you care about getting bitten, knowing what is going to happen. It's the horror of watching your mother or father being eaten alive, it triggers an emotion, something unthinkable, unimaginable. Nothing in this game portrays that better than the feelings you will develop for young Clementine. She is, perhaps, the best done child to ever grace a videogame in my opinion. I have no kids, but the feeling I had to protect this child was unreal. Hearing her scream, cry out in fear, stopped me dead in my tracks, quickly scrambling to figure out how to rescue her. It is something I have never felt in a game before. Something as little as responding to her in a way that made her feel uneasy or frightened made you feel bad, wishing you could make that last choice over. Simply put, outside of RPG's, games rarely contain a story this thought out and well written. There are times when it could be considered slow, but it works well with the game, feeling more like a time to relax a bit before the next heart pounding, game changing event.

    While all of this doesn't hold true as much in 400 Days, you will still find yourself feeling a bit of all of these emotions, just not as deep. With each of the 5 stories being very short, you won't have the time to connect with the characters presented to you like you were able to in the main game. You still have the choices that you must make quickly, and those choices do still have consequences, but without the time to develop any real affection towards anybody, those consequences just don't have the same weight. It's all just as enjoyable to experience, and I liked 400 Days very much. It was a different feeling though, being tossed in situations without much back story, it made your choices uncertain, not really knowing any of the characters around you. From survivors holding up in a diner, to ex-convicts, you are forced to just kind of "wing it" and hope for the best. It's a more instinctive type of game, will you agree with that person because she is attractive, maybe side with an elderly person because he reminds you of your grandpa, it's a separate experience that feels different and holds it's own.   

Replay- 7/10 Whether or not you care to see the various outcomes of making different choices throughout the game ultimately determines the replay factor, at least the immediate one. I, myself, played through the game twice and enjoyed it both times. There are many different choices and outcomes depending on them, if you care to see them all. Other than that, there isn't much reason to play it again, besides the experience. The trophies are all unlocked as you play through the chapters(easy platinum) and there aren't any hidden or bonus trophies in the main game. 400 Days does have a few you might not get the first time through, but the problem with this is you have to keep the entire game on the Vita just to play it. With memory cards being so pricey, and space being a valuable thing on the system, it's a fairly large game to keep on it just to play one part. That being said, I did find it much easier to replay 400 Days, with the stories being shorter and a bit more self containing. The great part is, you can play, or replay, the episodes in any order, picking and choosing as you like. So if you just wanted to experience a certain part of the game again, you can freely do just that. It should be noted though, you can not skip anything. Cutscenes, dialog, even the beginning recap of the previous episode, everything must be played out, there is no way to skip through them. If not right away, this is definitely one of those games you will wake up someday in the future and want to play again, and that makes it a keeper.

Graphics/Sound- 8/10
The game has that Telltale look, a bit cartoony, hand drawn graphics. That doesn't mean they shied away from blood and gore though, by the end of the game, main character Lee looks like he just stepped out of a Die Hard movie. The zombies come across as creepy, and they will be tearing various people to pieces, this is definitely a mature title. The game is all really well drawn, with the characters noticeably loosing weight, and looking quite a bit unclean as the game progresses. The various environments are all gorgeous, whether it be a destroyed town or a abandoned mansion. Everything just looks right, like something definitely happen. There are plenty of times you will walk into someplace and just think, "whoa, I do not want to know what happened here." Things like flies buzzing around, blood stains and trails, and scattered trash and debris all add that all important detail needed in a game like this. There are some parts where the animation becomes choppy, with the game itself kind of clipping, but I also found this to happen in the PS3 version. This game in no way pushes the Vita graphically, but what is here is all done beautifully. The sound is also just as impressive, with every line of dialog being spoken, and the cast did a spectacular job. There are no outlandish or overly done stereotypes, even the most annoying of characters are well voiced. All the sound effects are appropriate(I was going to say, dead on) and the soundtrack is outstanding. Moments of tense action, scenes of heroic sacrifice or losing someone you came to know as a friend are all made even more emotional by the chilling score supporting the scenes.

    One of the main flaws of this game is not even the game's fault, and is why I didn't mention it in any of the previous scoring sections. It's the fact that the Vita's screen dims so quickly when there is no "activity". This happens in any game with longer dialog or cutscenes. You will find yourself continually tapping the analog, or gently touching the screen during conversations and movie type events just to keep the screen lit. It's not game breaking, but it is annoying, and I wish Sony would address this problem. Again, this is not the game's fault and it shouldn't, in any way, be held against it, but I do feel it is worth mentioning because of the number of times it will occur. The Walking Dead is simply a must have game. I found it very difficult to find much flaw in the experience of playing through it. The few times it could be considered slow, actually adds to the game. Like I mentioned previously, it feels like a much needed down time, like a roller coaster ride. After going through five death drops and four 360 degree loops, it's nice to have a slow period for a bit before the next heart pounding climb. The few instances of choppiness is found in other versions as well, and can't be counted against this one alone. The amount of gameplay and the time it will take to complete, not to mention the curiosity of "what else could have happened if I made a different choice", to inspire at least a second replay at sometime, all make this well worth the price. The added 400 Days story is just icing on this sweet cake. I cannot recommend this game enough. With season 2 just being released, you will have quite a story to experience, one of the best, well written stories a gamer could ask for. It's a zombie game that's about more than mindless shooting, covering the aspect of what it might be like to survive in an event like this. It's a nice change too, besides this, State of Decay, and a few others, there aren't many zombie games willing to explore more than blasting heads off.  I am not a fan of these QTE, clicking around the screen type games usually, but I am so glad I gave this one a shot, it offered me an experience that very few games are capable of giving. With the touch controls, everything just felt smooth, as I would have never finished it on the PS3. This is the perfect game for the PS Vita, and should be in everybody's library. Walking Dead fan or not, I highly recommend picking this game up.

Gameplay- 9/10

Story- 10/10

Replay- 7/10

Graphics/Sound- 8/10

Overall- 9/10

Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse Episode 1 Review





In 1996 the Broken Sword franchise was introduced to the world. A classic point and click type adventure, it must have gained quite a following. I say this because this latest adventure was saved by raising funds from both Kickstarter and Paypal, over $823,000 in funds to be exact. Topping several charts for one of the most anticipated games of 2013, there were many people who looked forward to this game's release. Past entries in the series have all been fairly well praised and are looked upon quite fondly by fans all over. Five sequels, a few remakes, and some switching back and forth with graphic styles and gameplay, the Broken Sword series has finally found it's way to the PS Vita with the release of Broken Sword 5: The Serpent's Curse. With it's vibrant screen and touch interface, the PS Vita seems like a perfect choice for such a game, and in many ways it is. Unfortunately, while a good game, there are a few issues holding it back and it leaves you wondering where all that money went to.

Gameplay- 5/10 Throughout the game you will take control of series' stars George Stobbart and Nicole Collard as they try and solve a murder and catch an art thief. While games such as The Walking Dead and Danganronpa have reinvented the feel of these types of games, the gameplay here definitely has an old school point and click feel. Any fan of classic PC games will feel right at home here, well, besides the controls. Unlike most Vita games, you have no choice in the control inputs, it's all done by the touch screen. The only thing the buttons do is scroll through text faster. That means walking, interacting, and going through menus are all done by touch interface. For the most part it's not a huge problem, but the type of touch screen the Vita uses is not known for it's precision. You slide your finger around the screen searching for little blue pulsing circles, which indicate you can interact with an object or person. Many times these are cluttered together very closely and tapping the one you are aiming for can sometimes be difficult. Maybe it was my fat finger, but I found this interface very clunky at times, making me wishing I had a stylus. Walking around is as simple as tapping on the screen where you wish to move to. There were many times I was trying to interact with something but accidentally just kept moving my character around, and they tend to stand in the way and block your view. As you travel from location to location you will come across several items your character will put into their inventory for later use. Tapping this inventory(represented by a suitcase icon) will allow you to drag an item around to use onscreen or combine two items together by dragging them into each other. These items will also be used to activate specific conversations when interacting with NPC's. This menu also allows you to save/load, and access the all important hint icon. The majority of this game consists of searching areas and solving puzzles. Anyone who doesn't play these types of games often may find some of the puzzles and situations pretty tricky. Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing, for the most part, it's the only challenge in the game. While there are a number of brain teasers, there are also times where the game is just confusing, not quite being clear on what you are expected to do or not being able to activate the next event because you haven't fulfilled the necessary requirements. This is where the hint option becomes extremely handy. It allows you to just get a vague hint of your next objective, or you can choose just to have it straight up tell you what to do. You have the option of turning this feature off if you really want the challenge, but I personally found it very helpful. While the games description does remark that your character can die or fail at certain times, I found no instance where this happened. The entire game is simply trial and error, and it seems there are no real consequences for mistakes, regardless of the above mentioned description. The game may insinuate a sense of urgency at times, such as finding the right clues before someone discovers you, but it's all a facade. As far as I can tell, nothing will happen until you correctly gather all the necessary clues to activate the next scene. The same goes for items, as using an incorrect item at the wrong time merely gets you a snide remark. You are free to continue until you stumble across the correct choice. With some of the more confusing puzzles, I just found it easier, and a lot less time consuming to just spam the hint option. Some may find this "cheating", but this game tends to leave you more than often confused as to what exactly your goal is with little to no explanation. All in all, I found the game to play and control awkward, leaving you with the feeling of uncertainty at times. The touch controls in no way make the game unplayable, but I would have liked the option of having an analog controlled pointer, as it would have helped some of the investigating sequences feel a bit more precise, as tapping the screen can feel clumsy at times.

Story- 6/10 The story offers quite a intriguing mystery involving murder and theft. After a brief intro movie(which you have the option to skip), you will find yourself in a small art gallery exhibit in the shoes of George Stobbart. After the gallery is suddenly robbed of a single painting and the owner shot dead, it is up to you to unravel this murder mystery and find the stolen piece of art. With the help of "Nico", Nicole Collard, you will both traverse a number of locations around London, looking for clues and questioning suspects in order to piece this case together. As you progress you will find yourself dealing with a bumbling detective, questioning shady characters, searching seedy locations, and meeting up with friends both old and new. The story does a fairly good job at bringing all of this together, and tries it's best to include humor and suspense. It's quite linear, and even though you are, at times, given an option of where to go next, nothing will progress until you complete the part that the game wants you to complete. There's nothing wrong with this, as a mystery, being allowed to stray too far would only add confusion. While I found the game to start out very slow, it does pick up toward the end, though not by much. One of the biggest problems I had with this game was the cliffhanger. This is a two part game, though nowhere in the title does it say "Part 1", so if you are not familiar with it you would never know. The whole experience ends with the feeling that it was just a long, drawn out prologue. Still, as far as mysteries go, this game has all the necessary parts including, clues, twists, and multiple suspects. It's all up to you to find everything and put the pieces of the puzzle together, the plot unfolds very nicely, albeit a bit slow.

Replay- 2/10 As far as reasons to want to play through multiple times, there are none besides 2-3 trophies you might miss. One of those trophies can be missed due to a bug, and it happened to me. Apparently, it's completely random whether you'll get it or not, and as of this being written, there is no way around it besides a smart save right before the scene and replaying it until you get it. Does that make me want to play through it again just to grab that last trophy? Not at all. There are no branching paths, nothing you can do differently, and there is only one correct answer for every scenario. The story is just too slow, and having to deal with the tasks more than once would just be tedious, especially since nothing changes. The game is bare bones, no extra modes, mini games, or features, it gives you no reason to keep it after completing.

Graphics/Sound- 6/10
Graphically, the game is set in a static world with 3-D character models that are pre-rendered as 2-D sprites, and while it is all very nice and colorful to look at, the character animations leave a lot to be desired. All of the background are like paintings, and even though there are only a few settings in the game, they are all very nicely detailed and in beautiful HD. Little things like handing a character coffee or a slice of pizza, and the items are actually there, onscreen, are nice touches, but the actual interactions between characters felt quite robotic and stiff. After initiating dialog with someone, there were too many times where there were long pauses, it felt as if you had to press a button and wait for an animatronic puppet to activate and respond. While the cartoon look does work for the game, everything just felt a bit dated. Movements were at times extremely choppy, and smoother character animations would have done wonders. Obviously, most of the funds went to the voice cast, because it's one of the best parts of the game and the reason why this category scored so high. The dialog may be long and at times boring, but it is all wonderfully done, with all text being spoken. There is quite a lot of it too, show someone an incorrect clue or use the wrong item and you'll get a quirky or snappy response, it adds quite a bit of charm to the game. The problem is, a lot of the conversations are pointless, as you don't really need to speak to most of the characters at times, for it adds nothing to the story and you can just skip it. There is music in the game, but nothing you will really take notice of, and certainly nothing you'll remember. That's a shame too, a good music score would have made some of the longer, more drawn out parts of the game much more tolerable. 

 

 

    I had to consider a few things while reviewing and scoring this game. One being that, from what I've seen on Youtube and read about in various places, this is just like the majority of the older Broken Sword games. That means, to the fans of the series, this is probably exactly what they expected and wanted, and those are the main people who will be buying this game. I had no choice but to keep that in mind when giving the game it's final scores, would a long time fan enjoy this? The answer to that is yes, this is what these games have always been like. That being said, to anybody else, I simply cannot recommend it. I admit, I went into this with no clue of what to expect, I have never heard of the series, and after playing this game, it didn't make me a fan. With dated graphics, a clumsy touchscreen interface, and some really confusing puzzles do to the lack of direction, this game just wasn't very fun and the absence of any type of consequences when making mistakes just made it all feel kind of pointless. It tells a nice story, but the narrative is just way too slow for the majority of the game, and when it does pick up, it leaves you with an unsatisfying cliffhanger. While the voice cast did a splendid job, it's not nearly enough to save this game, the whole thing leaves you with a feeling that it's unfinished. It definitely would have helped if they had waited and just included the second half, at least you would have gotten a complete game. Perhaps someone looking for an old school PC like point and click adventure will find some joy in it, but Broken Sword 5 was pretty much made for Broken Sword fans, after all, they did provide the funds to have it completed. For the rest of us, there are just too many great games being released for the Vita, I have to say skip this one and save the space for one of them.

                                                                       

Gameplay- 5/10

Story- 6/10

Replay- 2/10

Graphics/Sound- 6/10

Overall- 5/10