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.
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| 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.
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.
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| 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
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
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