The Walking Dead

Telltale Games

"The normal question, the first question is always, are these cannibals? No, they are not cannibals. Cannibalism in the true sense of the word implies an intraspecies activity. These creatures cannot be considered human. They prey on humans. They do not prey on each other - that's the difference. They attack and they feed only on warm human flesh. Intelligence? Seemingly little or no reasoning power, but basic skills remain and more remembered behaviors from normal life. There are reports of these creatures using tools. But even these actions are the most primitive - the use of external articles as bludgeons and so forth. I might point out to you that even animals will adopt the basic use of tools in this manner. These creatures are nothing but pure, motorized instinct. We must not be lulled by the concept that these are our family members or our friends. They are not. They will not respond to such emotions.

They must be destroyed on sight!" - Dr. Millard Rausch (Dawn of the Dead)

Robert Kirkman's zombie comic book epic that's not actually about the zombies, The Walking Dead, has been deftly transformed into a critically acclaimed AMC television series. Now Telltale Games has taken Kirkman's opus into the interactive realm of video games. Those familiar with the television show may begin the game a little disoriented. Those familiar more with the comic will feel more at home, if only because of the art style. The game occupies the same universe as both the comic and the TV show, but follows a different set of survivors. You won't see Rick or Shane in this game. You will see a couple of familiar faces, however.

Lee and... Glen?

The story follows Lee Everett, a convicted murderer, on his way from Atlanta to his home town of Macon, GA. Along the way, Everett is carrying on idle chit chat with the police officer charged with delivering him to prison, when Lee notices several police cars (and a helicopter) speeding by in the opposite direction. The officer takes his eyes off the road to look Lee in the eyes while regaling him with his stories, when a slumped figure appears in front of the car. The officer hits the figure and swerves off the road, plowing through a barrier and crashing into a ravine below. Everett is rendered unconscious in the crash and when he comes to, he realizes that he's still handcuffed in the car, while the officer has been thrown clear and lays motionless several yards away. The player's first real goal (there are some conversation choices to make during the car ride) is to get Everett out of the car. Once that is achieved, the player is to check on the police officer. After grabbing the keys for the handcuffs, the officer stirs to life and attacks Everett. Assuming the player is able to blow the officer's head off, Lee is then faced with a group of walkers (the comic, TV show, and games' name for the zombies in the story) and is chased to a suburban home on the outskirts of the woods. Here, Everett will encounter the second constant character in the narrative, a little girl named Clementine, whose parents were in Savannah when all hell breaks loose, leaving her alone for Everett to care for.

Lee and Clementine

Graphics

As mentioned above, the graphic style in The Walking Dead apes the art style of the comic book. And, outside of perhaps the recent Naruto games, this is the most successful attempt I've seen at transferring the art from a different medium into game graphics. The line work is gorgeous and really does harken to Charlie Adlard's pencils in the comics. The color palette is also reminiscent of the covers from the comics. In short, this is as close as you'll currently be able to come to "playing" a comic book. The characters are expressive and the animation, while not silky smooth, fits the art style perfectly. The game is dark, but not overly so. In short, the game is pretty, if not in the traditional sense. This is an example of graphics serving the story and game.

Sound

In any horror-based game, sound is of utmost importance. Fortunately, Telltale knew this and the sound design is excellent. The atmosphere is solid all the way through and gives the universe a sense of solidity. But what really shines here is the voice acting. There are the occasional instances where it sounds like an actor was reading his lines alone in a booth (which I'm sure is actually the case, since that's standard operating procedure for VO work), but those examples are few and far between. The actors are nearly pitch perfect in every scene. The quality of the VO is near the top of the of the heap in games. Often approaching Uncharted. If the quality in the first chapter is any indication of the rest of the series, you're in for a treat.

Something ain't right with the babysitter

Gameplay

If you're familiar with Telltale's other adventure games (eg. Back to the Future), you'll be somewhat familiar with The Walking Dead. But this isn't a clone of their previous games at all. The premise of the game play is similar, much like a point and click adventure, but there is more actual action involved. You control both your character and an on-screen reticule. The reticule is context sensitive and allows you to interact with other characters, items, and the environment. You directly control Lee with the left analog stick (PlayStation 3 version and, I'm assuming, 360 version as well) and the reticule with the right. When you move the reticule over an object, options reveal themselves as to how you can interact with them. Pressing the corresponding button on the controller (up=triangle, left=square, down=cross, right=circle) performs the action indicated. That can be something as simple as "examine," or something as active as "attack." Many of these activities are timed.

In addition to the active reticule interface, there's an interface for actual conversations with characters. Many of the conversations give you an opportunity to choose from several options, some of which are flat out lies. You must decide whom to trust. Tell someone about your real past and it may come back to bite you in the future. You can choose to stay silent, but that just hasn't seemed like a real option to me through chapter one. More than a few of the conversations are timed events, so, just like in real life, you must sometimes choose your answers without the time to give them much thought. So you have to stay on your toes.

Using this interface, players follow Everett's story as he meets new people, kills new zombies, solves new puzzles, and protect Clementine. Decisions you make along the way fundamentally affect the way the story plays out. It's not yet clear how they affect the story on a broad scale (only chapter one has been released thus far), but they can dramatically change the game on a smaller scale. Before I had the full game (well, again, chapter one), I played through the demo a couple of times and chose different options when they were presented. On my first play through, I found myself with a completely different set of companions than in the second play thorough. In fact, one of the people I left town with the first play through turned up as a walker in roughly the same spot in the second.

If all of this sounds a little complex, trust that it's only complex in the best sense. It's not as simple as a straight up point and click adventure, but it's not so complicated as to get in the way of the story. Players that are new to this type of game should pick up on things rather quickly. Which makes this perfect for fans of the comic and/or the tv series that want to explore more in Kirkman's undead universe.

I think Lee made his point.

Bottom Line

The Walking Dead revives the point and click adventure genre for the modern generation. It propels players along an alternate path in the comic book universe. You'll meet new characters, see what's going on in other parts of Georgia, and even run into a couple of characters you recognize from the comics and tv show. You'll have to make quick decisions and think on your feet. All of this makes this a compelling entry not just in the video game world, but in the world of The Walking Dead as well.

I'll revisit this review when the entire series has been released. Something I truly look forward to.

Pass, Rent, or Buy? Buy

The Walking Dead
Telltale Games

$4.99 (or you can buy all five episodes up front for $20 and get them as they're released)
PlayStation Store, X-Box Live, and Steam

Postscript - An iOS version has been announced, but has not yet been released. I'll update this review when it has.

Treasures of Montezuma Blitz

Alawar Entertainment, Inc.

“I confide to your care my beloved children, the most precious jewels I can leave you. The great monarch beyond the ocean will interest himself to see that they come into their inheritance, if you present before him their just claims. I know your master will do this, if for no other reason, then for kindness I have shown the Spaniards though it has occasioned my ruin. For all my misfortunes, Maliche, I bear you ill will.” - Emperor Montezuma

A few weeks ago, Vita owners were tossed a nifty little bone when the free to play Treasures of Montezuma Blitz was released on the Playstation Network. This little (pardon the pun) gem is completely free. Gratis. No strings attached. Well, almost none. But we'll get to those pesky little threads in a bit. Treasures of Montezuma is a "match three" game in the vein of Bejeweled. I've been playing the original on my EVO 3D Android phone for months now and enjoy it greatly enjoy it. In fact, I consider it the best of the "pure" match three games available. I don't really consider Puzzle Quest as part of that world, since it's driven by story and RPG elements rather than simply being about the puzzle game. ToMB takes the gameplay of ToM and compresses it into bite sized, timed chunks.

For those not familiar with the basic premise, the goal is to match three of the same color gem either horizontally or vertically. This causes those gems to be removed from the board and new gems drop in from the top. Normally, the goal is either a score target or to keep playing as long as possible without running into a situation where there are no available moves. Blitz eschews these goals and replaces them with a timer. The goal is simply to amass as many points as possible within the the allotted time limit.

When you start out, the game is very straight forward. Outside of combos, there are no available bonuses. You must earn bonus items by playing the game. As you play, you earn experience points. As you gain experience, you gain levels. As you gain levels, you gain access to bonus items that you can use to enhance your score when certain conditions are met in-game. Using these bonus items costs crystals, which are collected during game play by matching gems that contain crystals. One can also purchase crystals from the PlayStation Store with real money (and so we arrive at string number one).
 

 Other twists on the traditional formula are Frenzy Mode, which kicks in when you perform enough matches back to back quickly and adds bonus points for matches made while the mode is active, Knockout Mode, which is activated when six or more gems of the same color are matched in one move and allows gems to be cleared using the rear touch panel, and Dark Mode, activated at the end of a round if both Frenzy and Knockout Modes are active. Dark Mode clouds the playing screen with dark clouds which the player must clear using the rear touch panel while also making gem matches. Dark Mode is a real pain in the ass. The upshot is that it puts a reasonable amount of time back on the clock.

There's one more string. When you first launch the game, you're granted five plays, represented by hearts. Each time you play, a heart is taken away. Once you've used up the five hearts, you can no longer play until they have regenerated. Each heart takes roughly five minutes to regenerate. In my play time, I've found that by the time I'm finished withe the fifth heart, one more has regenerated. So I basically get six plays per session, but your mileage may vary. Hearts can also be purchased from the PlayStation Store for real money.

There's a built in, weekly tournament system in ToMB. You and your top two friends from your PSN friends list show on the game's title screen. Each players score is indicated and the list is in order from highest to lowest, top to bottom. Every week, the tournament scores reset. This is a nice little motivator to play the game often, assuming you have friends that are also playing.
 

 Graphics

There isn't much to say here. The graphics serve the game and that's the most someone should expect from such a puzzler. Everything is brightly colored and has an Aztec motif. But this won't be pushing the limits of what the hardware can produce.

Sound

The same goes for the game's sound. It is serviceable, but nothing to write home about.
 

Bottom Line

Treasures of Montezuma Blitz is a match three puzzle game cut into bite-sized chunks. As such, it's highly suitable for a handheld gaming system. The built-in weekly tournament makes repeat play compelling. Hearts regenerate quickly enough that you can play many times during the day without having to spend any money purchasing replays. But the kicker is the price. Unless you've found some way to get people to pay you to play games (which would totally rule), you just can't beat free. Fun and free is a pretty good combination.

Pass, Rent or Buy? Buy (well, download... it's free, after all)

Treasures of Montezuma Blitz
Alawar Entertainment, Inc.

Free on the PlayStation Store

Super Stardust Delta

Housemarque

Sony Computer Entertainment

"My God... it's full of stars..." - Dr. David Bowman

Being that I'm a former Amiga enthusiast, Super Stardust HD served as both great fun and a bit of warm, fuzzy nostalgia for me. Housemarque formed out of former Amiga developer Bloodhouse. Their biggest hit on the platform was the 1994 Asteroids homage, Super Stardust. It took until 2007 with the PlayStation 3 update, Super Stardust HD, until they found substantial commercial success. They released a PSP version (which this reviewer avoided like the plague, due to the control scheme limitations on the PSP) in 2008. But Super Stardust HD was still the benchmark of the series. I love Super Stardust HD. It's a beautiful game that runs at a silky smooth frame rate, has a stellar soundtrack, and has been continually updated since its release. So it was with great anticipation that I booted up Super Stardust Delta, Housemarque's first attempt at a PlayStation Vita game.

I could not be more pleased. Delta distills the gameplay of HD into its core necessities and the game is better for it. That's right, Super Stardust Delta is actually a better game than Super Stardust HD. The fundamental game is the same, you pilot a starship around a spherical play field, shooting asteroids and enemies. That, the visuals, and the soundtrack are all that Delta borrows from HD. You won't feel like you're playing a clone of the PS3 title on the Vita. In Delta, asteroids come in two flavors, ice and fire. The rock asteroids from the PS3 game are gone. Since there are only two types of asteroids, there are only two variants of weapon. The fire weapon operates like the gold melter on SSHD and the ice weapon acts like its PS3 counterpart. Enemies come with one of three weaknesses. They can be weak to fire, weak to ice, or weak to either. The goal is to destroy everything in sight on each level, including bosses at the end of each. The game play is fast and if you enjoy twitchy games, you'll be right at home.

Fire

Graphics

The graphics on Delta initially wowed me to the point that I thought they were equal to those on the PS3. I eventually fired up SSHD, however, and that's not entirely the case. There is more going on on screen on the PS3, so it's not exact, but what there is on the Vita is gorgeous and not far off from SSHD. The visual style is identical. All of the objects that make the transition from the PS3 to the Vita look like they were lifted directly from the PS3. That's a good thing. The play field fills with asteroid chunks, enemies, enemy fire and particle effects. And the game never slows down. It runs just as smoothly as SSHD. If you're looking for a game that shows off what the Vita can do, even considering it's a launch title, Super Stardust Delta will fill that niche nicely.

Sound

The soundtrack makes the leap from the PlayStation 3 (both "Arcade" and "Orchestral") to the Vita as well. There are two extra tracks, however. "Delta" is an all new score written specifically for SSD. And it's every bit as good as the original. A special treat for me (at least when I can manage to unlock it) is the "Retro" soundtrack. Retro is the music from the original Amiga version. In order to unlock the extra soundtracks (Arcade, Orchestral, and Retro), you play through the game and hope that you have people on your friends list that are doing likewise. Soundtracks are doled out piecemeal through Vita's Near application. As you play through the game, you upload snippets of the soundtracks to Near, allowing people on your Friends list access to said snippets. Likewise, as they play through the game, you'll be able to download snippets they have uploaded to Near. Initially, the snippets flow pretty freely. I, however, have been stuck with roughly half of the Retro soundtrack for a while now. And I really want that soundtrack. The sound design in SSD is also spectacular. If you've played the PS3 version, you'll recognize everything here from the sounds of the weapons, to the enemies, to the female voice that lets you know what weapon you've changed to and what powerups you've picked up.

Special Weapon

Gameplay

Gameplay, as mentioned above, is fundamentally the same as the PS3 version. It's a dual-stick shooter like its big brother. And Housemarqe has nailed the calibration for the Vita's stubby sticks. In fact, when I went back to the PS3 version, it felt sluggish and unresponsive by comparison. The Vita's special control surfaces haven't been ignored here, either. By default, the rear touch panel is used for something called a "Black Hole," which slows down the action and attracts enemies to its event horizon. Touching the LCD screen launches special weapons. Finally, shaking the Vita sets off an EMP burst. Controls are, thankfully, configurable. I changed the black hole and special weapons to the square and circle buttons respectively. This allows me quicker access to these weapons, particularly the special weapon. Boost makes a return to the game, but I'm not clear on whether it's as important as it is in SSHD. The main campaign consists of five levels of five phases each. Each phase ends with a boss fight, all of which are reminiscent of the boss fights in SSHD, but they're not clones. In addition to the campaign, you'll unlock mini-games as you play through the game. These consist of challenge levels with specific goals and control schemes. Some of these are more successful than others. For instance, one of the mini-games has you dragging a ship around the screen, picking up objects with a tractor beam, and smashing the objects into enemies. This is accomplished using the front touch screen. The problem is the same as many other touch screen-based games - your finger/thumb obscures what you're trying to control. This would have been significantly more successful had Housemarque used the rear touch panel instead. Overall, though, the mini-games are fun and a good option for those times when you only have a few minutes to play.

Bottom Line

Housemarque has repeated and improved on the winning formula they created on the PlayStation 3 with Super Stardust HD. Super Stardust delta is a fantastic game that will provide the gamer with hours of asteroid blasting fun. The graphics are stellar, the music is outstanding, and the game play is exciting. If you enjoy twin stick shooters, the original Super Stardust, and/or Super Stardust HD, you'll be ecstatic with Super Stardust HD. If you have a PlayStation Vita, you need this game. There is an expansion pack that adds four more modes (endless, bomber, impact, and twin gun), which I will review at a later date.

Pass, Rent or Buy? Buy

Super Stardust HD
Housemarque
Sony Computer Entertainment

$9.99 on the PlayStation Store

Nintendo's Unintended Consequence

When Sony announced the PlayStation Vita at E3 2011 (June) at a price of $249, there was a palpable sense of positive surprise. After the system’s specifications were released, people were expecting Sony to do a repeat of the PlayStation 3, which launched at a near crippling $599. What happened next was out of Sony’s control and something that they will have to address in one way or another.

Nintendo released the 3DS at $249 in March of 2011 and  no one bought it. So many no ones bought it that Nintendo panicked and reduced the price dramatically mere months after its release, in July of 2011. This spurred a buying frenzy. The software lineup that followed the price drop helped to maintain the momentum the system had suddenly built. The unforeseen consequence of this has been an expectation by some gamers that, if a system doesn’t fly off the shelves coming out of the gate, the manufacturer will simply panic and institute a massive price cut.

There are several issues with this expectation. Nintendo historically sells hardware at a profit from launch day. Coupled with the known tech in the 3DS, one can assume that, at $249, Nintendo was making a hefty profit on the device. Cutting the price down to $169 probably sent the bean counters at the House that Mario Built into a tizzy, but it’s reasonable to assume that they are still making a profit at that price point. It’s simply the way Nintendo operates. And the 3DS isn’t exactly cutting edge from a technology standpoint, Even with the 3D aspect taken into consideration, it’s a mundane device. Sony, on the other hand, tends to adhere to the industry norm of selling hardware at a loss and relying on software sales to recoup money spent on R&D and lost on hardware until such a time as the hardware becomes cheap enough to manufacture that it starts making a profit on its own. The idea that Sony will follow the path that Nintendo took with the 3DS is probably not realistic. Sony simply can’t afford to take a bath on Vita hardware. And that’s what a massive price drop would mean for the company.

As mentioned above, the 3DS isn’t terribly advanced on the hardware end of things. The same doesn’t hold true for the Vita. While this means that the cost to produce each device is wildly different, it also means that we, as consumers, should expect the devices to have different price points. When the 3DS and the Vita were the same price, people were proclaiming how much of a value the Vita was. The 3DS getting a price drop didn’t change the value of the Vita. It brought things more in line with where they should have been from the start. Nintendo had wildly overpriced the 3DS. The Vita is said to be at a break even point or a slight loss. There is clearly enough difference in the tech in the Vita to warrant the price differential between it and the 3DS. In fact, the Vita is still a tremendous value when compared to even the most advanced mobile phones on the market. Phones which, off contract (which is the only fair way to compare the devices), cost upward of six or seven hundred dollars.

Thus far, the Vita hasn’t been tearing up the sales charts. That much is true. The software available for the device is very good, but there aren’t a lot of titles to choose from yet. That much is also true. People seem to be overlooking that, after the price drop on the 3DS, software finally began to flow regularly. That hasn’t happened yet with the Vita. And one could argue that the software library was as important or more so than the price drop on the 3DS. That library didn’t really start to kick in until many months after the release of the device. After the price drop, even. Granted, Sony hasn’t announced much, and that is a bit concerning, but E3 is just around the corner and I think it’s prudent to wait until then to see what they have in store for the Vita.

But this business of waiting or hoping for a price drop any time soon is probably wishful thinking. For the Vita to survive in the current reality that is Sony’s financial situation, it has to break even or come close. Sony can’t afford to give the Vita away and hope that software sales follow. They are much better served by building up a compelling stable of first and third party software titles and letting that drive the platform. It’s what people will buy the device for, anyway. A $199 Vita with very little software is still a $199 device without much to play.

Nintendo has inadvertently set expectations to an unrealistic level by attempting to sell outdated tech at a premium price, failing, and panicking into a quick price drop. That was and is abnormal in the industry. Don’t expect it to happen often. And certainly don’t expect it to happen on the Vita.

The Cabin in the Woods

(Going a bit off-topic today with a movie review. Stay tuned for our regularly scheduled programming)

Having not been to the local cinema in a while, I decided it was high time to go check out something on the big screen. The initial idea was to finally go catch The Hunger Games. So it was off to Rotten Tomatoes to check local show times. I took a detour, however, when I noticed the Tomatometer rating for The Cabin in the Woods. I was aware of the existence of The Cabin in the Woods, but had assumed that it would be a schlocky horror flick that I’d catch were I in the particular mood to see such a thing. But when I saw that it had garnered 92% on Rotten Tomatoes, I decided to look into it a bit further. What I discovered was that this isn’t simply another Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Friday the 13th - far from it. After watching the trailer and paying closer attention to it, I decided I’d see The Cabin in the Woods rather than The Hunger Games.

The Cabin in the Woods was co-written and produced by Joss Whedon and directed and co-written by Drew Goddard (writer on Buffy and Lost). Whedon is most well known for his TV fare, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse. All of which I enjoyed greatly. But he’s also directing the upcoming Avengers film from Marvel Studios. If Cabin in the Woods is any indication, Marvel’s Super Hero group is in deft hands. The story starts off in a high-tech lab replete with lab coats and panels covered in buttons, knobs and switches. Hadley (Bradley Whitford) and Sitterson (Richard Jenkins) are preparing for their work day at the lab by engaging in idle smalltalk. Lin (Buffy and Dollhouse’s Amy Acker) asks them about more serious work issues, which they shrug off and hop into a golf cart to go to their office.

Cut to a college aged girl (Dana, Kristen Connolly) in her dorm room, packing for a vacation. Shortly, a friend (Jules, Legend of the Seeker’s Anna Hutchison) arrives and starts giving her grief about her recently terminated relationship with a professor and her nerdiness. Jules is followed by the arrival of her boyfriend Curt (Thor’s Chris Hemsworth), the stoner of the group (Marty, Dollhouse’s Fran Kranz), and the intellectual (Holden, Grey’s Anatomy’s Jesse Williams), with whom they’ve set Dana up for the weekend. The plan is to spend the weekend at Curt’s cousin’s cabin in the woods, away from technology and distractions. Before arriving at the cabin, the group (one could be forgiven for referring to them as “The Scoobies,” after Whedon’s group of teens in Buffy, since all of the requisite character archetypes are present) stops at a creepy gas station, where they’re met by Mordecai (Tim De Zam of Lost and Madmen) who is actually creepier than the decrepit gas station. Foreboding warnings are given and ignored and the group embarks on the final leg of the journey to the cabin.

It’s at this point where the audience is made aware that this is not your typical slasher film. Despite having all the tropes of the genre firmly in place, something is very different here. As the group’s Winnebago passes through a tunnel, an eagle enters the frame and flies past the tunnel. Until it hits an invisible wall and is vaporized. The group arrives at the cabin, picks rooms, and unpacks. Holden notices a large, gruesome painting in his room and decides to take it down, only to discover that it hides a two way mirror peeking into neighboring Dana’s room. The group does a bit of swimming, then, at night, plays a harmless game of truth or dare. During the game, the cellar door flies open, leading Dana (on a dare) to investigate. The cellar is filled with very old knick knacks. Each member of the group is drawn to something that appeals to their particular interests. Dana finds a young girl’s disturbing diary, Curt finds a puzzle sphere, Jules finds a music box, etc… Dana is the first one to call everyone else’s attention to her discovery and she starts reading aloud from the diary. It’s a horrific account of redneck, religious fanatics obsessed with pain. And it ends with a few lines of latin, which Marty vehemently argues should not be read aloud. Dana ignores his pleas and reads the lines aloud.

Cut back to the lab, where the staff has been placing bets and the winner has been crowned. The maintenance staff chose the redneck masochists. And the game is afoot. The rest of the film plays out as the zombies of the redneck family described in the diary arise from their graves and hunt down the teens, while the staff at the lab controls certain aspects of what’s occurring at the cabin. There is a larger scheme at work here, but I won’t ruing it with spoilers.

The writing in The Cabin in the Woods is, as one would expect from Whedon, snappy and witty. There are the requisite allusions to cultural memes both old and new. The characters are, on the surface, cliche. That’s intentional and central to the story. It’s also not entirely as it seems, which is also intentional and central to the story. The direction and pacing are spot on as well. There isn’t a frame of film where I wasn’t captivated and engaged. The performances (from the main cast all the way down to the incidental characters, many of which you’ll recognize from the Whedonverse if you’re a fan) are great. The only pieces that fell short were some of the special effects. Most of the makeup and effects are perfectly fine, but there is the occasional example of something that looks a little cheap. I can’t explain in any more detail without giving away a huge plot point, so I’ll just leave it at that.

The Cabin in the Woods is not a horror movie. It’s more of an homage and satire of the horror movie or, more specifically, slasher movie genre, with a little bit of conspiracy theory thrown in for good measure. But it’s also not in the vein of, say, Scream, which parodied horror while, at the same time, was horror. There are plenty of horror elements in The Cabin in the Woods, but it never takes itself seriously in that regard and often is self referential, almost to the point of breaking the fourth wall. I assure you, you’ve never seen a movie quite like it. That, in and of itself, would almost be a recommendation. It’s rare to see something truly original (even if it does owe its entire existence to other movies). But The Cabin in the Woods deserves your attention for more than just being original, you should see it because it’s very good and highly entertaining. And if The Avengers brings the goods like this does, I’m going to be one happy camper in two weeks.

PlayStation Vita Review

Sony Computer Entertainment

"May not a Million of Angels fit upon a needle's point?" - William Chillingworth (paraphrase)

Released December 17, 2011 in Japan, the PlayStation Vita made its debut in the rest of the world in February of 2012. The followup to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) landed with a bit of a thud in Japan. A perceived high price point and a a lack of titles friendly to the Land of the Rising Sun were blamed for the soft launch. To date, the Vita has sold roughly 1.2 million units. And while concerns are still prolific among the gamers of the Internet, it would be folly to write the system off quite yet.

The Hardware

The heart of the Vita lies in a pair of chips - a four core ARM Cortex A-9 CPU paired with a four core SGX543MP4+ GPU. This bifurcated heart supplies life to a pair of touch panels (a five inch, qHD AMOLED front touch screen and a five inch rear touch pad), SIXAXIS motion controls, a three axis electronic compass, a standard D-pad, a full array of PlayStation buttons, and, much to the delight of gamers everywhere, a pair of analog sticks. In addition, there are two cameras - one front facing and one rear facing. Both cameras are a relatively low VGA resolution (0.3MP). These aren't cameras you'll want to use to replace even the lowest end camera phone. But they do offer some interesting gameplay options via things like Augmented Reality and Facial Mapping. The system is the most connected PlayStation ever released as well. In addition to 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, and USB, there is also a 3G version that rides atop AT&T's data network. The Vita has 512MB of RAM and 128MB.

There are a variety of ports and connections on the Vita. The two that will get the most use are the proprietary power/data transfer connection and the memory card slot. The memory cards for the Vita are also proprietary, presumably to deal with piracy, which was and is rampant on the PSP.  Memory cards are available in 4, 8, 16, and 32 GB capacities. And they're a bit pricey. Though, compared to MicroSD cards of similar speed, they're not nearly as outrageous as they've been made out by detractors. There is also a game card slot. Again, this is proprietary, but that's to be expected. All Vita titles can be purchased either on a physical game card or digitally via the PlayStation Store (at a small discount). Another anti-piracy measure is the battery. The PSP's battery was used as a back door into the device for piracy and home brew applications. The Vita's battery is safely tucked inside the machine with no user-accessible means of replacement. The 3G version also includes a SIM card slot. Finally, there's an accessory port adjacent to the game card slot. There is no known use for this port as yet, but it is reminiscent of the accessory port on the PSP, which was used for things like cameras and GPS attachments.

The Experience

When you first power up the Vita, you're presented with a simple, classy white PS logo on a field of glorious black. It's the first glimpse into how amazing the screen is on this device. That may sound peculiar, since there is no color on screen at boot, but that's the point. Like my Bravia 55HX929, the blacks on the Vita are inky. That leads to exceptional contrast which leads to great color fidelity. The Vita screen appears to leap out of your hands. You may have heard how great the screen is, but you can't fully appreciate it until you see it in action.

After the initial configuration, you'll be presented with top home screen. But don't expect to find the familiar XrossMediaBar from the PS3, PSP, and other Sony consumer electronics. The Vita OS has a touch-focused interface. Icons are "bubbles" that can be moved around by long pressing on them then dragging them around one of the home screens. If you've ever used an iOS or Android device, you'll feel right at home. The interface is quick and responsive - shockingly so. I've had two high end Android devices and they don't come close to matching the smoothness of the Vita's interface. The only drawback to the UI is that Sony has plunged in with both feet on the touch side of things. There is no way to manipulate the UI with any of the buttons. It's completely touch controlled.

Installing applications is accomplished in one of two ways. You can either download and install software directly from the PlayStation Store or, if you prefer, you can download them to a PlayStation 3 and install them via a USB connection. While this may sound like a familiar process if you're coming from a PSP, the only similarity is the USB connection. With the PSP, you would download the software to the PS3, install it on the PS3, then transfer it to the PSP. All from the PS3's interface. None of that applies to the Vita. Applications are downloaded to the PS3, but not installed. When you connect the Vita to the PS3, the PS3's screen goes dark and a Vita icon appears, effectively locking the PS3 until you've finished the operation. All interaction with the PS3 is done straight from the Vita itself. You can transfer Vita applications, Vita games, media, some PSP (Sony has released a list of compatible PSP titles, but there are some not on said list that also work) games and some Minis. There is currently no support for PS1 Classics. The PSP games that are supported need to be in their uninstalled "capsule" form on the PS3 to transfer them to the Vita. When you're finished, you disconnect the Vita from the PS3 and you're good to go.

At least, that's how it's supposed to work. Occasionally, when you connect the Vita to the PS3, the Vita doesn't recognize the connection. It's infrequent, but happens often enough that it warrants a mention. The solution is to disconnect the Vita, power it down, then repeat the connection procedure.

The supplied charging/sync cable has a standard USB connection on one end and a proprietary connection at the end that connects to the Vita. It is used for charging the device with the included power adapter or connection to any powered USB port (a computer or car charger, for instance). Although, I can't fully confirm the charging capabilities when connected to a computer. When the Vita is connected to the included charger, the battery indicator icon changes slightly to show that the device is charging. This change doesn't occur when connected to my MacBook. At the very least, the Vita doesn't charge as quickly when connected to a computer USB port as it does when connected to the charger. It's possible that it charges just as quickly when connected via USB 3, but I don't have a device with USB 3 ports to confirm this, but USB 3 does supply more power than USB 2 or 1.

Much like a cell phone, you'll leave the Vita powered on most of the time. When not in use, the Vita will stay in sleep mode. You can wake the Vita with either the power button on the top or the PS button on the face of the device. It comes out of sleep relatively quickly. The PS button also serves as the way to exit games, list which applications are currently running, etc... One of the nicer features of the Vita is, when you're running a game or application, the PS button takes you to the application's "LiveArea Screen." Every application and game on the Vita has a LiveArea Screen. It's the first screen you see when you launch an application and the first screen you see when you move to quit. When hitting the LiveArea Screen, the application goes into suspension and you're given several options. You can quit the application by dragging down the dog-eared corner at the top right, you can swipe over to the home screen and launch another application (some applications can be run simultaneously while others will close any other running applications if you confirm the action). There is also a list of application specific messages that can be accessed by swiping up. There is a link to the PS Store on some applications, the user manual, and the web page for the application in question.

One feature that sets the Vita apart from not just its PlayStation stablemates, but every other gaming system, is Near. Near is a social media system of sorts. It allows you to see other Vita players in your immediate vicinity, see what others are playing, what they think about the games they've tried, and exchange "gifts" that are earned in games. My initial reaction to Near was one of befuddlement. And that is probably what most new Vita owners will feel at first. But after using Near for a few days, I got the hang of it and it has become an integral of my Vita experience. If Apple could have done as well with Ping as Sony has done with Near, people might actually know what Ping is. As with everything, there's room for improvement, but Near is a compelling application that you'll go back to regularly. As mentioned above, some PSP games and some Minis are compatible with the Vita. Sony has a constantly updating list of digital games that will run on the device. Supposedly, PSOne Classics will eventually be compatible as well, but at the moment, they are a no-go.

Near

Applications

In addition to gaming, the Vita is a capable tablet device. The initial round of applications (some preinstalled, some available for free from the PlayStation Store) include Facebook (after a bit of a hiccup on launch), Foursquare, Twitter, Flickr, and Netflix. The Facebook application is mediocre, though useable. But Facebook doesn't have a great track record with their apps. The Twitter application, however is excellent. It's called LiveTweet and is one of the better Twitter applications I've used. The Netflix app is also quite good. Though, despite having a phenomenal AMOLED screen, I don't get the attraction of watching video on a five inch screen. But it's probably great for plane flights or car rides. The remaining apps are adequate. Which is more than I can say for the web browser. I don't know what it is about Sony and web browsers. They can't seem to put a decent one together. Despite actually being based on WebKit (which, of course, is the browser used on Android devices - like the phones and tablets that Sony manufactures), the browser on the Vita is quite bad. While it's nice to actually have a web browser on the PSP, PS3, and now the Vita, they're not especially useful. In fact, the Vita browser is actually worse than either the PS3 browser or the PSP browser. The primary reason for this is that it doesn't support Flash. Which wouldn't be a deal breaker if it supported HTML5. But it doesn't. That means no YouTube. And no YouTube is inexcusable. On top of that, the browser simply isn't fast enough. With all the horsepower in the Vita (more than any cell phone on the planet at the moment), it can't push around HTML on a web page without redrawing the entire screen when scrolling. Sony needs to get their web browser strategy straight.

Also included are a music and a video application. These are what you would expect. The interesting thing, however, is that the music app multitasks with games. That's right, the Vita has OS-level custom soundtrack support. Something even the PS3 doesn't have. Which calls to mind something else the Vita supports that the PS3 doesn't - cross game voice chat.

There are two communication apps on the Vita - Group Messaging and Party. Group messaging is a text messaging application that allows you to send and receive messages over the PlayStation Network. Party is where the magic happens, however. Group allows you to create a chat room and invite friends from your PSN friend list.

Games

It's always great to see Drake!

Specs and Internet apps are fine, but a gaming device is only as good as the games. The Vita launched with possibly the strongest lineup of any system ever. The golden child of the lineup is Uncharted: Golden Abyss. But the rest of the lineup is formidable as well. The game I keep going back to over and over is Super Stardust Delta. If you've ever played the PS3 incarnation, you'll be familiar with Delta. But it's not a clone. Delta has been refined to Super Stardust's basic elements and touch controls (configurable) have been added. Visually, Delta is spectacular. Though it isn't running at the same resolution as its PS3 counterpart, the fact that it's on a smaller screen would lead you to believe that it is. There is no apparent drop in visual fidelity from HD to Delta. The only real giveaway is that there are fewer effects on screen, however, unless you've just played the PS3 version, you wouldn't even notice that. From an audio standpoint, Delta is actually beyond HD. It includes the music from the PS3 version while adding a new soundtrack as well. You unlock these soundtracks during the course of playing the game. You can also get (and give) snippets of the soundtracks via Near.

Super Stardust Delta

Hustle Kings is also a pleasant surprise. If you've purchased the PS3 version, you'll have access to the Vita version for free. The reverse is true as well. Outside of a steep difficulty curve, the game is exquisite. You can play asynchronously with other Vita owners or PS3 players as well as directly. The graphics and sound, like those of Super Stardust Delta, are nearly indistinguishable from the PS3 version.

Another free game is Motorstorm RC. Scion decided to sponsor the Vita version of this radio controlled racer. If you purchase the PS3 version, you also get the Vita version. Any way you get it, it's well worth the download. It's not truly Motorstorm, in that it doesn't play or feel like the other Motorstorm games, but it's quite fun. And the progression ladder keeps you coming back for more.

Other launch titles of note are Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, Rayman Origins (which is absolutely gorgeous), Escape Plan, Hot Shot Golf 6, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom, and Touch My Katamari.

Finally, Sony has provided three augmented reality games for free on the PlayStation Store: Table Soccer, Cliff Diving, and Fireworks. All require one or more of the provided AR cards. The most successful of these is Fireworks. It's an interesting diversion for a few minutes. And it only requires one of the AR cards. Just don't plan on spending too much time with it.

Bottom Line

The Vita is the most powerful handheld gaming system ever released. It addresses almost every complaint gamers and developers had about the PSP. It's fast, has a beautiful screen, enough raw horsepower to push that screen, and more control options than you could possible desire. The initial round of games are there and more games from big name developers are in the pipeline (notably a Bioshock Infinite game, Call of Duty, Gravity Rush, and Metal Gear Solid HD Collection). Near, Sony's first real foray into a social network that's not specifically the PSN, is actually very compelling. Outside of the underwhelming web browser, the available apps are quite good. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. You won't regret it.

Pass, Rent, or Buy? Buy!

PlayStation Vita (WiFi): $249.99
PlayStation Vita (3G): $299.99Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment