14 Reviews! Developer Features! Latest News!
The Vita Lounge M A G A Z I N E
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The Vita Lounge M A G A Z I N E
www.thevitalounge.net THE VITA LOUNGE TEAM EDITORIAL Executive Editor / Paul Murphy @pmurphy1978 Editor-in-Chief / Kyle Wakeling @teflontactics Deputy Editor / Charlie Large @charlielarge Deputy Editor / Brad Gruetzmacher @vongruetz Podcast Editor / Tyler Olthoff @imsohappy77 NORTH AMERICAN TEAM Lateralus1082 @lateralus2801 Will Hernandez @PlayStationator Zach Price @MyrishMartyr EUROPEAN TEAM Liam Langan @liamhangover Colin Byrne @ColinJByrne CONTRIBUTOR Jimmy Champane @jimmychampane MAGAZINE DESIGN Jhonatan Carneiro @JhoCarneiro Original TVL logo designed by Buramu SPECIAL THANKS Curve Studios @curvedigital Behind the Stone @behindthestone Rain Games @rain_games Dan Marshall @danthat Greg Miller @gameovergreggy PRINT EDITION If you want to pledge and aid The Vita Lounge financially and also get a print copy of future issues of The Vita Lounge Magazine delivered worldwide and to your door please head over to www.patreon.com/TheVitaLounge and consider supporting us!
Hello Vita Gamers!
Welcome to Issue Four of The Vita Lounge Magazine! Another month means another jam-packed Vita magazine, and we are full of the latest Vita content to keep you in the know! As you'd expect by now we have more great developer features for you this month, and in this issue we grabbed a chat with Rain Games, who told us all about the Vita version of Teslagrad. We also managed to speak to Rob Clarke from Indie publisher Curve Studios about working with the Vita. Paul Murphy Coincidently we also spoke with Dan Marshall, the developer PMurphy1978 Founder behind cover title The Swindle, which Curve published for the Vita. Rounding off our developer content we have Behind the Stone, the German creators behind the upcoming title Sir Eatsalot. This issue also features 14 Vita game reviews squeezed into our 48 pages, with an import review of Moe Chronicle alongside many other games such as Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3, Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3, J-Stars Victory Vs Plus and the aforementioned cover title, The Swindle. With the latest news, an update to our hottest games list and a great community feature with Vita in Paris we are sure that you will really enjoy this issue! If you are reading this digitally and think it would be awesome as an actual magazine, why not support us on Patreon? From $10 per issue you can have it delivered right to your door every time! Simply head over to www.patreon.com/ thevitalounge to find out more! Thanks for reading and we hope you enjoy this issue!
BACK ISSUES You can buy previous print issues of the magazine from www.thevitalounge.net/shop ADVERTISING Want to get your game featured in the magazine and read by more than 4000 PS Vita fans? We can discuss any and all magazine advertising opportunities, for a very sensible price! Send us an email at advertising@thevitalounge.net COVERAGE Are you a developer? If you are working on Vita content and want to get it covered in either the magazine or on the website, then we would love to hear from you! Please send an email to press@thevitalounge.net and add us to your press lists. If you have a game coming out soon and want us to tell other Vita owners, get in touch! DISCLAIMER The Vita Lounge is an independent PlayStation Vita enthusiast website. All content featured is used with permission, and is used to promote existing and upcoming titles for the PS Vita. We are not endorsed or affiliated with Sony or PlayStation, or any of the companies featured. Š 2015 The Vita Lounge
2 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
meet the TEAM...
Kyle Wakeling
Charlie Large
Tyler Olthoff
Brad Gruetzmacher
I've been playing Hatoful Boyfriend and Squares
I've been playing Squares, Geometry Wars 3 Dimensions Evolved, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 3, Super Exploding Zoo
What I've been playing: - J-Stars Victory VS + - Reel Fishing: Master's Challenge (for review) - Mind Zero
I've been playing The Swindle, Unit 13, Another World, and Helldivers (among others)
teflontactics
Chaz3010
ImSoHappy77
vongruetz
! Latest News! eloper Features 14 Reviews! Dev
Contents 04 NEWS TO GO
17
06 EDITORIAL
18 20 22
24
08 JAPANESE REVIEW LATERALUS PLAYED THE RUDE AND LEWD MOE CHRONICLE, SHOULD YOU IMPORT IT?
10 INTERVIEW
26
28
CURVE STUDIOS ARE THE LARGEST INDIE PUBLISHER AND THEY TALK TO US ABOUT THEIR GAMES AND THE VITA
12 INTERVIEW
TESLAGRAD WILL SOON BE HITTING THE PS VITA AND RAIN GAMES TELL US ALL ABOUT THE JOURNEY TO THE VITA
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14 INTERVIEW
DAN MARSHALL FROM SIZE FIVE GAMES EXPLAINS ALL ABOUT THIS MONTH'S COVER TITLE, THE SWINDLE
Z I N E M A G A
The Vita Lounge Magazine | Issue 4 | August 2015
16 REVIEWS
THE LATEST VITA NEWS AND BIGGEST STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
PAUL LOOKS AT THE GROWING CONCERN OVER A LACK OF RELEASE PARITY WITH VITA TITLES
ge The Vita Loun
36 37 38
39 INTERVIEW
BEHIND THE STONE TALK TO US A LITTLE UBOUT THEIR UPCOMING TITLE SIR EATSALOT
Reel Fishing: Master’s Challenge J-Stars Victory VS+ Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 Dustforce
40 DEVELOPER DIARY BEHIND THE STONE TELL US ABOUT THE JOURNEY SO FAR WITH SIR EATSALOT
The Swindle
42 HOT TEN
WE TELL YOU WHAT WE THINK ARE THE HOTTEST UPCOMING PS VITA TITLES. HOW MANY DO YOU WANT, AND DO YOU AGREE?
Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved
44 COMMUNITY FEATURE
Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star Squares
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation Whispering Willows Sparkle Unleashed 2013: Infected Wars
VITA IN PARIS ARE A FRENCH COMMUNITY DEDICATED TO PLAYING MULTIPLER VITA TITLES, ONLINE AND IN PERSON. FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THEM!
46 PATREON STARS
THESE INDIVIDUALS MAKE THIS MAGAZINE POSSIBLE. IF YOU SEE THEM ONLINE, GIVE THEM A PAT ON THE BACK!
47 DIRECTORY
THE HIGHEST SCORING VITA GAMES FROM 2015, CONVENIENTLY IN ONE PLACE. HOW MANY HAVE YOU BOUGHT?
Lateralus1082
Colin Byrne
Liam Langan
Will Hernandez
Zach Price
What I've been playing: - Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star - Senran Kagura: Estival Versus
I've been playing NekoBuro Catsblock, Sparkle Unleashed, Dustforce
I've been playing J-Stars Victory VS +, Senran Kagura: Bon Appetit and Sword Art Online Hollow Fragment
Just to mess with people. I've been playing Breach & Clear.
What I'm playing: - Spelunky - Danganronpa 2 - Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved - One Piece Unlimited World Red
Lateralus1082
EnterCole
liamlangan
I_AM_NOT_A_FISH
MyrishMartyr
The Vita Lounge Magazine | 3
NEWS TO GO Vita Version of Volume to Be Ported by Just Add Water The PlayStation versions of Mike Bithell’s newest game is being managed by UK Studio Just Add Water. Just Add Water is best known for their work on the OddWorld Inhabitants titles New ‘N’ Tasty, Stranger’s Wrath HD and Munch’s Oddysee HD, as well as Gravity Crash Ultra. Volume is set to launch on August 18th on Vita and will be published by Bithell Games.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth Coming West in 2016 Bandai Namco Games has announced the localized release of Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth -- due out in North America and Europe sometime in 2016. Bandai Namco games is no stranger to Vita and localizations, having brought us quite a few in the past. That said, it’s also worth noting that not many have been as asked for as much as Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth -- which (as it stands) has over 65,000 signatures in a petition to bring it West. Latin America and Brazil will be getting the game as well.
Criminal Girls 2 Confirmed for Vita Now that the cat’s out of the bag thanks to an Amazon Japan leak, Nippon Ichi Software has officially announced Criminal Girls 2 for the PS Vita. According to Dengeki Online, the punishment and battle system will remain the same, but there will be changes to the strategy and hints that the punishment will be more extreme. A new cast of girls will join the fray, too. Criminal Girls 2 will be releasing in Japan on November 26th. There has been no word on a Western release yet. 4 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
Galak-Z: The Dimensional Cancelled for PS Vita 17-Bit have revealed via Twitter that they will be ceasing development on Galak-Z for PlayStation Vita. Originally announced at Sony’s Pre-E3 press conference in 2013 and described as “modern Halo and Far Cry 3 combat in a 2-dimensional shell” by CEO Jake Kazdal. It’s been a long time coming for Galak-Z: The Dimensional on Vita… which makes this news a little bit of a downer to those in wait.
Ao No Kanata No Four Rhythm Coming to Vita
Nova-111 to Launch in August
Developer Sprite has announced that its PC visual novel Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm is headed to the Vita. The visual novel takes place in a world where humans fly and participate in competitive sports where the “Flying Circus” reigns supreme. Protagonist Masaya Hinata suffers a humiliating defeat and decides to quit the sport for good. He later meets a student named Asuka Kurushina who he then teaches the ins and outs of Flying Circus. The Vita port will include extras such as new scenes, scenarios and will have various adult scenes censored in order to meet rating guidelines. Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm will be seeing a 2016 release in
Hand of Fate Cancelled on Vita The Hand of Fate Facebook page was updated with a rather depressing message a couple weeks ago; there will be no Hand of Fate for Vita consoles. Originally announced for release on PlayStation Vita back in March of 2014, Hand of Fate has already released on many platforms earlier this year -- however many people were starting to notice that the Vita version was still nowhere to be found. The Facebook page stated how the work cut out to get Hand of Fate on Vita was much larger than they originally anticipated. And how, as an indie team, they need to choose the appropriate situations to apply their resources to, and the Vita just isn’t the smartest place to do that.
Resident Evil Revelations 2 Dated for August Resident Evil Revelations 2 will be hitting PlayStation Network stores (yes, both in North America and Europe) as a digital download on August 18th. For the price of $39.99 at launch, you’ll get all four main episodes of the Resident Evil Revelations 2 story, Raid mode, and two bonus episodes on Vita called “The Struggle” and“Little Miss.” Are ready to face this round of Evil? The wait is almost over.
We are happy to announce that Nova-111 will be landing on Vita on August 25th! Developed by Funktronic Labs, and brought to the PlayStation by the awesome team at Curve Studios, Nova-111 is a turn-based adventure title mixed with a twist of real-time action! In your quest to restore the flow of time you will explore alien worlds and defeat “fiendish alien creatures” -- all in the name of science! The Vita Lounge will be sure to have more coverage of Nova-111, both on the website and in magazine format. Stay tuned!
Digimon World: Next Order Coming to Japan in 2016 Hot on the heels of Cyber Sleuth getting announced for the West, we have learned of a new Digimon game… and this one’s headed to Vita too. According to a scan from this week’s V Jump magazine, we’ve now learned that Digimon World: Next Order is coming to Japan in 2016 -- appearing to have an open world component alongside character designs by the artist behind Lords of Vermilion III. Not much else has been revealed yet, but we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any (likely imminent) news on Next Order -- and keep you informed when it drops.
Severed Has Been Delayed DrinkBox Studios’ next game, Severed, has been delayed.
Severed is a touchbased game that is being developed for Vita and was supposed to release for the handheld this Summer. Players take control of a girl that awakens to find her family – along with her left arm – missing. The game is her quest to get them back. DrinkBox has said that they need “a few additional months” to playtest and tune Severed.
The Vita Lounge Magazine | 5
TVL MAGAZINE
Vita fans are a very resilient bunch. It seems that every so often, a new challenge is thrown in the way of their pursuit of system satisfaction, and the latest bone of contention revolves around release dates; or more specifically release parity.
It certainly seems that Vita owners are getting the short shrift of the situation. Now don’t get me wrong, of course I would much rather have these games than not - only a fool would say otherwise, but I can’t help but think that delays only impact the effectiveness of the title in the long run.
Perhaps we have been spoilt? After all we have been very lucky and a huge amount of titles, and more to the point, indie titles enjoy simultaneous release dates (and crossbuy) with their PS4 and PS3 counterparts, thanks in no part to the talented and experienced studios working with these titles.
The most noise seems to be made for the PS4 version, and you can understand that to a degree. It’s the far more successful and popular system and, if you want to maximise the impact that your game can make, you are going to want to push it on the more prominent device; it’s simple business sense and gamers - and especially Vita owners - often forget that gaming is a business. The problem is, however, that usually these games (particularly indies) are cross-buy enabled. When the Vita version finally arrives, it’s going to be released with very little fanfare or mention and can very easily slip under the radar. Prominent gaming websites are already not discussing Vita options of games, and when it does come out they will already have covered it, and not be all that interested in covering again; for them it has had its day. With many gamers not taking up the offer to grab the Vita version of the game, it is effectively wasting however much money was ploughed into continuing development.
In recent months however, there have been quite a few notable Vita absences. Teslagrad, Bastion, Axiom Verge, Oddworld: New ‘N’ Tasty and many others have all been subject to delays for their Vita versions and I’m not so sure that Spry Fox’s Road Not Taken is ever going to come. Nom Nom Galaxy has been canned altogether, whilst the upcoming Mighty No. 9 is also not going to release at the same time as its console equivalents. It doesn’t stop there either, with Vita versions of Borderlands 2, Minecraft, Disney Infinity 2.0 and Resident Evil Revelations 2 failing to arrive at the same time as their console counterparts, and as I started writing this piece, Galak-Z was also essentially cancelled. 6 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
For the most part I can sympathise with developers. With limited resources and time available, developing for multiple platforms at once can be very difficult, and that is before the lack of horsepower that the Vita has compared to some of these other systems is accounted for. As these games become more ambitious, I suppose it was inevitable that the Vita would begin to struggle. Regardless of any understanding for the circumstances of delays, I personally feel that by releasing versions separately you are ultimately impacting the future performance of the title. By the time you eventually release the game, will it have lost its relevance? Will it be released at the same time as something more high profile and therefore lost its chance? Or worse, people will already have played it on their PS4 and won’t fancy playing it again, cross-buy or not.
AXIOM VERGE
ODDWORLD
TESLAGRAD NOM NOM GALAXY RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS 2
That last line is also true of Resident Evil Revelations 2. After we were told at December’s PlayStation Experience that it would be Vita-bound, Vita owners the world over were bemused as the episodic content was released for other systems and it was only when it had finished the chapters elsewhere were we told of the handheld versions fate.
GALAK-Z
will it have lost any momentum it could have built up? And with no disrespect to Frima Studios, are people already doubting how good the port will be? Not only that, with an 18th August release date it’s going head-to-head with one of the most anticipated independent titles this year in Mike Bithell’s Volume – which has the Vita version releasing at the same time as the PS4 version… The Vita is struggling in the marketplace, this is not brand new information. It’s just frustrating and ludicrous to me that something that has found its niche as a haven for indie titles and specialist games is now starting to have them delayed and put on something that already has the titles that the Vita does not. What is the aim here, to make the Vita even more irrelevant? We would all of course prefer that developers take their time, we would all rather get a working and effective game rather than something rushed to meet a deadline, but as many other developers do manage to release multiple editions at the same time is it too much to ask that everyone tries to do the same? If not for the sake of the Vita’s library, but for the performance of the game itself.
This “Summer” and not developed in house, but ported by a studio best known for indie titles. When it finally arrives,
After all, you still want the Vita version to sell, you don’t want to have developed it and then have it flop, right?
Paul founded The Vita Lounge in 2012 and can be found on Twitter via @PMurphy1978. With a preference for Action/RPG games, Shooters, and Racing Games (despite not being able to drive) and is always up for a game of FIFA. 14, obviously.
The Vita Lounge Magazine | 7
TVL
JAPANESE REVIEW MOE CHRONICLE MAGAZINE
Reviewed by Lateralus1082 There are many people who say that Moe Chronicle is the spiritual successor to last year's fantastic PS Vita card game, Monster Monpiece. Besides sharing the Japanese Genkai name, the only similarities is the fan service and rubbing. And oh boy, there is a whole lot of rubbing!
wiped when looking for that coveted point. With that being said, as long as you are prepared with goods from the vendor and plenty of MP, you can travel through each level with confidence that you won't lose hours of progress.
In Moe Chronicle, you are thrust into the role of Io - an extreme pervert who cannot stop thinking impure thoughts about any female that he comes across. Because of this, Io is completely oblivious about everything around him and has no interest in anything other than sexual thoughts about girls. Eventually, Io is pushed into the "real world" which is inhabited by Monster Girls.
These Monster Girls are generally calm by nature and are, usually, normal. But something in the world has changed and Io must now prevent these Monster Girls from turning into evil beings that will kill off the human race. It's the tried and true 'save the world' story line that is quickly forgotten because there's so much tits and ass in this game that it would make a porn star blush!
Moe Chronicle is your standard dungeon crawling RPG that features a five-member party system with one block at a time crawling and random battles. Each labyrinth is separated by story chapters and multiple floors and of course, there are hidden doors and treasures to be found along the way. There are multiple difficulties for players of any skill, but once you are leveled enough, the gameplay becomes a face roll on auto battle. The random battles come fast and often and usually hover right above the annoying levels - where auto battle comes in handy. Another plus is that each floor usually has a save area to prevent frustration as more than likely your party will be 8 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
Each level is filled with Monster Girls who are under the influence of a spell that makes them go wild. These enemies are particularly different from the run-of-the-mill enemies that litter the world of Moe Chronicle. Each Monster Girl has a health bar for the various pieces of clothing that they are wearing. The goal to beating these girls is to attack each article and ignore everything else. Once the clothes are torn, you are to start... wait for it... wait for it... yes, rubbing! Not only rubbing, but pinching and poking various parts of a mostly naked girl.
Like with Monster Monpiece, you need to hold the Vita vertically to look for places on the body where the girl likes to be poked and prodded. To do this you will use
other than lewd fan service. While it's got that down to s tee, the battle system and story seem to suffer because of it. Compile Heart is known to churn out PlayStation Vita games at a breakneck pace and, perhaps, this is one that fell between the cracks. In my opinion, I do not believe that this game will see the light of day in the West, but Compile Heart know that there's an audience for these games and releasing a translated Asian version is the way to go. The fan service didn't bother me one bit, but the bland game play and so-so story did. While Moe Chronicle won't please the most hardcore of dungeon crawling RPG fans, those who like light-hearted fun and crude jokes will have a good time with this.
the touchscreen, touch pad and the right analog stick - this can get a bit tiresome and annoying (especially when you can't find the sweet spots). There really is no need for this, but, what the hell, if you're gonna go big, you might as well go all the way! Once you have successfully gone through the molestation process, that Monster Girl is now available for your party. This is really helpful since they are usually more powerful than what you already have and they can be a helpful boost for future enemies. Visually, girls in skimpy bras and panties are bright and vibrant, but the graphics leave a lot to be desired. While DRPGs aren't known for jaw-dropping graphics, I feel that the visuals were an afterthought (other than making girls half naked). The monsters aren't anything special and neither are the dungeons. Only one word can describe them: meh. The game is voiced in full Japanese and while hits and battle sound effects come across as dull, that's not the case with the moans during rubbing. The sound had been set to 11 to make sure that every knows you're a dirty pervert when you play this in public. Being an Asian-English version, there had been concerns that it would meet the same fate as Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment. I'm glad to say that Compile Heart have taken great care and delivered a fantastic translation that's worthy of being officially released in the West. The jokes and writing flow really well and it helps when trying to follow the game's average story.
Moe Chronicle suffers from not knowing what exactly it wants to be,
Moe Chronicle's strong point is its humor and it's too bad that it is not enough to carry the game. With games such as Demon Gaze and Operation Abyss out right now, you'd be better off to pick one of those for a pure dungeon RPG experience.
Presentation
Gameplay
Lasting Appeal
The Vita Lounge
Execution
2.8
TVL MAGAZINE
IN THE LAST FEW YEARS, CURVE DIGITAL HELPED A LOT OF COOL GAMES TO COME TO VITA, SUCH AS STEALTH INC 2, THE SWAPPER AND VELOCITY ULTRA. ROB TALKS WITH US ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES AND WHAT IS COMING NEXT!
Hello Rob/Curve! It's been a while. How's things? They are great! Since we last talked to Vita Lounge we’ve grown the company at Curve quite a bit, we’re making more games on more formats than ever, and we’ve got a much bigger publishing team now helping to manage and run things. It certainly looks like you have been busy lately, we count four planned Vita games to go with the two already released this year. With these games also on other systems, how do you manage your time? Well a bigger team helps! We split our time in the publishing side of things essentially in two ways, half our time is spent with press and fans, and the other half of the time is spent with the platform holders. All of the games that you have upcoming are quite different to each other. Is this something that you look for when you are approached by other developers or something that happens through chance? We look at loads of different games, and we don’t have an exact type or genre of game that we look for, but we do like to keep an eye on the types of game we have planned and try to keep a healthy mix of different genres! There’s a few we’d also really like to do, I personally love to do a racing game of some sort in the future, there’s not too many indie racing games out there and I think there’s a big audience for an indie take on something like Micro Machines or Motorstorm. Out of all the games you have worked on so far for the Vita, which has been the best experience for you? I think the earlier games, Lone Survivor and Proteus, were two of my favourites. Firstly, they some of the first Vita titles I’ve ever personally worked on and so of course they are going to be close to my heart, but they also both had new content and, in the case of Proteus, Vita specific features which made them more exciting to take to shows and work on. You've developed and ported quite a few games for the Vita now. What is it about the handheld that you love so much? It’s an obvious answer but the Vita is a portable system, 10 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
and many of the games we create make great portable experiences. By their nature indie titles tend to be shorter, more focused experiences which work well on say, a morning commute compared to a larger triple-A game. Cross-buy also remains an awesome option. There must be something that you don't like. What's the most irritating thing about the Vita for Curve as a developer? I’m not a developer but I’ve spoken to Stu Miller one of our core tech guys. He said the Vita is genuinely one of his favourite consoles due to the excellent tools and support, but the GPU on the Vita makes it tricky to produce the kind of graphical effects that have become a standard these days, which means sometimes we have to ship games without the full range of effects they might have on other systems, even older systems like the PS4. Though that does mean it allows us to bespoke things on the Vita that often end up looking just as good! It was recently announced that around 30% more power was available to developers on the Vita. What does this mean to you, and will it help with anything? Funnily enough we found this out because of you telling us! I went to ask our programmers if it would help and they had no idea about it at all. Turns out it’s absolutely going to help! The more memory we have, the easier it is to port a game, and of course everything we do on Vita right now is a port, so that’s really important. When you aren't busy making games, what Vita games are you playing? Why all the excellent Curve games, of course! That’s a cop out though; my Vita is basically a Persona machine right now, I finally caught on to the series with 4 only a few months ago so I’m about five years behind the rest of the world with this, but I’m loving the game and the universe. Andrew House's recent comments are well documented. As a prominent developer for the Vita, how do you feel about them, or is it business as usual? At what point would you consider ceasing support for the Vita - or does cross buy make it worthwhile?
The status, official or not, of the Vita doesn’t really change our own attitude towards support. All that matters for us is that people are still buying and playing games on the Vita. Cross-Buy is likely going to extend the life of the Vita considerably from this perspective. I’d go as far as to say Cross-Buy is probably the reason why we can still support the PS3; people are happier to buy digital games even on an older console if they know it will work on their PS4 one day. You recently lost your Design Director, Jonathan Biddle, who took his new project with him and his new indie studio, OneBitBeyond, but you are still working with him to get it onto consoles. Is there any chance that White Space could end up on Vita? We still work very closely with Bidds and his new projects, things are still way too early to decide on formats yet though, but as always if we can do Vita, we will do Vita. Many people may not realise that you actually develop your own titles in addition to porting other studios games, with Stealth Inc. the obvious example. Are you working on anything new internally, or do you plan to in the future? We’re not working on anything new right now from an original dev perspective, as we have so many different projects to work on this year already! We like to keep the creative side of the company sharp though, so we’re doing Game Jams and generally keeping our minds open about the next steps! We'll leave you with one more question. If you could change one thing about either the Vita itself or its interface, what would it be? I wouldn’t change a single thing about the hardware to be honest, but I’m always really vocal about my personal dislike of the interface. I’ve always loved the old PSP/PS3 interface and how customisable it was, and the bubbles on the Vita always feel at odds to me with the look and feel of the system as a whole.
UPCOMING GAMES!
THE SWINDLE
PUMPED BMX
NOVA-111
FOUR SIDED FANTASY ACTION HENK
TVL MAGAZINE
TESLAGRAD IS A 2D PUZZLE PLATFORMER WITH ACTION ELEMENTS, WHERE MAGNETISM AND OTHER ELECTROMAGNETIC POWERS ARE THE KEY TO GO THROUGHOUT THE GAME, AND THEREBY DISCOVER THE SECRETS KEPT IN THE LONG ABANDONED TESLA TOWER. IT HAS BEEN RELEASED INTO OTHER PLATFORMS AND IT'LL BE ARRIVING SOON ON VITA.
Hello Rain Games, thanks for talking with us! Can you tell us a little bit about your studio? Hi! We are a small team creating games from Bergen, Norway. Teslagrad is our first “big game�, though the team has plenty of experience on media and other sectors, and we also we have more than a game jam experiment in our pockets. Now we are preparing the PlayStation Vita release of Teslagrad, and also our second game, tentatively called World to the West. You are busy working on Teslagrad for the Vita. What is it about? If you pointed a teslamancer staff at me and urged to explain Teslagrad in just a few words, I'd say it is a puzzle platformer. However, I honestly think it goes beyond way that; it is an adventure game with a solid and very characteristic mood and atmosphere, and an open invitation for the player to discover a world and a story with multiple layers, which is told by purely visual means. In that sense it is very much like the classic metroidvania games that we loved to play, as it is its level of challenge. It is also a game where platforming skills are as important as the ability to solve puzzles based in electricity and magnetism, probably the other element that explains the game the best. What games, if any, did you use as inspiration for the game? Hundreds! We at Rain are lifelong players, and being in our late twenty and thirty-somethings now, you can guess which games have influenced us the most. We've grown up with the 8 and 16 bit consoles, and certainly those games are crucial to understand what Teslagrad is, and thus who we are as players and, no less important, as developers.
shows how important it is to have a strong move set in a game, and this we have also taken with us, translated to the boy that you play. Undeniably physics-driven platformers has been really important too. Games like Limbo, Braid and Trine (two of winch are made by fellow Scandinavians) have three very different approaches which have shown what can be done with the old rules and aesthetics of platformers, combined with modern techniques and technology. What can gamers expect to see and do in the game? Changing polarity of different objects to solve a number of varied puzzles. Turning platforms into electromagnetic elevators. Facing and beating steampunk-ish bosses and obtaining incredible new powers. Becoming a magnetism-powered human hamster ball. Discovering the many secrets that the mysterious Tesla Tower keeps. Even finding a cat sitting on a pile of gold, or traveling through a magma pool in the head of a weird, weird robot. Lots. Of. Stuff.
We've taken inspiration from many of the incredible NES and SNES 2D platformers, and there are two sagas that must be mentioned above all the others: the 2D Castlevanias on one side, and Metroid games on the other. Their focus on exploration could create a sense of mystery and wonder that many in the team feel was only ever rivaled by the The Leged Of Zelda series.
You documented difficulties during development squeezing the game onto the Vita. What sort of compromises are you looking at making? There's a lot of small changes in the Vita version. The most notable one is that there are short loading screens at the boundaries between every 3-4 scenes. It is a small compromise that we had to make in order to make the game run smoothly after going from one scene to another. It also makes everything fit much easier into the memory.
On the pure platforming side, games like Mega Man X
We're also making a ton of optimizations that
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doesn't compromise the content in any way. All level geometry has been revisited, the physics engine has been upgraded and we have even written our own event triggering system which lightens the burden that we put on the physics engine. We also have revisited a ton of textures in our scenes, in order to reduce the rendering cost on the GPU side. This was mostly to reduce overdraw, which has an especially strong impact on mobile GPUs. Did you know that Sony have apparently freed up more memory to developers for the system, and has this helped with development? We've just briefly read through the documentation, but this change is too recent to have an impact on Teslagrad for PS Vita. Our levels already fit within the size of the standard memory. There is also a set of restrictions for that extra memory, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been a problem. What made you want to bring the game to Vita? Is there any chance we would see a retail version? As usual it is due to a number of reasons. First, we feel the platform is the perfect home for the game. I can hardly think of a platform for which indies games are as important, and it's clear that there's an audience for us on Vita. Secondly, Unity allowed us to deliver a port with guarantees, and working both on PS3 and PS4 versions make working on Vita kind of a natural step to follow, even if it also meant to cope with a number of expected and unexpected difficulties. And of course, for us as a company the most platforms we can be in, the better. That includes retail too! We'd love to see Teslagrad for Vita on
shelves, but that doesn't depend on us, but on the partners we are working with. They have made an awesome job distributing the physical versions of Teslagrad for other platforms worldwide (including both PS3 and PS4) and we're sure they'll do the same with Vita if they have the opportunity. In fact Vita was planned for retail practically at the same time as the other PlayStation versions, but unfortunately the delay on porting forced us to change the plans. Are there any differences between the Vita version and the PS4 version, like using the Vita’s inputs? The PS4 has the advantage of having two sets of buttons on the back of the controller, but Teslagrad actually had two spare buttons on the front that we will be using instead. Other than that, we're proud of the two versions being very similar. When we started the porting job for the PS Vita, we went with the assumption that "it should fit, in theory", and now in the end we can conclude that it did, given around 6-12 months of hard work. That's probably worth the effort, so we're quite satisfied. What are your favourite experiences on the Vita, and is there anything coming that you are looking forward to? That's OlliOlli2. I don't want it to sound clichÊ but OlliOlli2 is probably that perfect game for short play sessions, meant for just having fun but also being more than hard to master in case you want to shift from that casual play session in the bus to a finger-breaking, mental skate-boarding experience. Totally nuts! As for future games, I'm personally looking forward to Volume by Mike Bithell. It looks really promising. What’s next for Rain Games? Fortunately there's a more than exciting future ahead. We have recently moved from our tiny office to a brand new place in the Bergen Games Collective, and there we are exploring side projects to share with some incredibly talented developers working close to us. Also, we are expanding the universe that we first showed in Teslagrad on a new game, the aforementioned World to the West. Totally looking forward to showing it as soon as possible! The Vita Lounge Magazine | 13
THE SWINDLE IS A STEAMPUNK CYBERCRIME CAPER ABOUT BREAKING INTO BUILDINGS, HACKING THEIR SYSTEMS, STEALING ALL THEIR CASH, AND QUICKLY RUNNING AWAY AGAIN BEFORE THE POLICE SHOW UP. BRAD GRABBED A CHAT WITH SIZE FACE GAMES' DAN MARSHALL TO FIND OUT MORE.
For those who don't know you, could you tell us a bit about yourself and the kind of games you make? What are the kind of games you like to play? I tend to make quite silly games, really. Funny stuff, I guess. I'm technically a one-man-band indie dev, but I surround myself with freelancers who are WAY more talented than I am, and that helps make me look more competent than I really am. I like playing a lot of stuff, but I've always had a soft spot for platformers, it's what I grew up with, from BBC Micro games to Sonic and beyond, I think that's where my real passion lies. But I like trying my hand at playing/ making as many different types of thing as I can. Your studio, Size Five Games was established at a time when the economy of the world was... well, let's say it wasn't so great. What made you decide to set up your own studio? And how big is the team? Hah, the opportunity was there. I'd pretty much finished Time Gentlemen, Please!, and the contract to make Privates was nearly finished, and I was made redundant from my job about a week before I was going to quit, so I got kind of lucky and lunged at the opportunity with full-force.
The Swindle is now coming out for the PlayStation Vita (as well as other consoles), but for people who haven't heard of it, how would you describe the game? It's a procedurally-generated burglary simulator, in a Steampunk/ Cyberpunk world. You break into buildings, hack their computers, steal their money and run away again 14 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
before the police catch you. You can then spend the cash you've stolen on new kit and upgrades, to take on bigger and more-dangerous heists.
The first time I saw the trailer for The Swindle, the two games that immediately came to mind were Steamworld Dig and Stealth Inc. What was your inspiration for creating this game? It's actually based on this old game I started making *decades* ago, when I was a kid. When I'd finished Privates and my mind turned to what I was going to do next, that idea had always kind of stuck out and I went for that. It's embarrassing to admit, but The Swindle was actually started sometime around 2010, before either of those games, I think? It's more inspired by the fact I like the idea of stealth, but stealth game tropes really piss me off. It's my way of making a stealth game that I'd enjoy. The game was first announced a few years ago but then went on hiatus for awhile. What kind of problems were you having with the game and how did you manage to overcome them? The game had a couple of key issues. The main thing was that the buildings were hand-built, but encouraged you to re-visit them and improvise new routes by having an AI director patch up the areas you'd been to and adding more security. It was one of those ideas that sounded great on paper, but just didn't kind of work properly. The other thing was the human guard AI, which never really gelled with the rest of the game properly. I was playing Spelunky and
realised that predictable guards and procedurally-generated buildings would fix all the issues with The Swindle, so I knocked together a prototype. The core gameplay's exactly the same, but those two elements really helped it shine. You're working with Curve Digital to bring The Swindle to the PlayStation Vita. Were they a studio you sought out or did they approach about doing this game? How has the development process been working for you? I know one of the founders of Curve pretty well, and he approached me, I think? Honestly it seemed a pretty sensible way of getting the game on consoles: I love my job, I like designing explosions and tinkering with game design, but messing around getting it running on different hardware doesn't interest me at all, so getting someone else to do that was a no-brainer. Working with grown-ups is WEIRD, they want things to a schedule and you have to think through some stuff like showing characters smoking, or rude words in the random name generation stuff. Now that things have wrapped up on The Swindle, what are your plans going forward? Any new big projects you'd like to talk about? Maybe The Swindle 2: Even Swindlier? Ha ha, as my mind's wandered after wrapping up development I've had some ace ideas for things to do. Whether that's a sequel or as a DLC update or whatever, I don't know. Might just leave it as-is, rather than endlessly tinkering. After 5 years though I think I'm done with this Universe for a bit, ready to try something different, for a while.
One of the main goals in The Swindle is to steal as much money as possible. What has been your personal best heist in the game? What is the benchmark that players should try to beat? I haven't been keeping track! The real high score is now quickly you can complete the game - I think I did it in 70 days once, but I could probably do better than that if I tried. Before we go, is there anything else you'd like to say to the Vita audience? Anything you're dying to get off your chest but I wasn't brilliant enough to ask? I don't think so, you were brilliant in ALL your questions. I'd like ask the Vita audience to keep supporting the console, though. It's an amazing bit of kit and I love playing games on it. Like most people, I just want to see more and more stuff for it, it's wonderful. Thanks for talking to us Dan! If you like Dan's games and enjoyed this interview, why not follow him on Twitter? @ danthat
Outside of your game, what other games are you looking forward to playing? Oh, the same as everyone else. XCOM2, mainly. No Man's Sky, obviously.
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REVIEWS 17
Reel Fishing: Master’s Challenge
18
J-Stars Victory VS+
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22
Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3
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The Swindle
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Squares
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Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy
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Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation
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Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved 36
Whispering Willows
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Sparkle Unleashed
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2013: Infected Wars
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Dustforce
Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star
OUR SCORING POLICY:
5 OUTSTANDING
Full marks indicates an almost perfect game- or at least as close as it can be. It will almost certainly be the best example of what can be achieved on the Vita and simply must be in your collection. It could also be argued that these games are worth buying a Vita for. That’s if there were loads of them, it will also be very rare to see a game get this score.
4+ EXCELLENT
Scoring above 4 means that this is something that should definitely be in your collection. These games are very good indeed, and serve as great examples of what can be achieved on the Vita.
3+ GOOD
On a five star scale a three is slap bang in the middle and above average. We class these games as good. Perseverance will yield some some fun. These games may suffer with slight presentational issues or have cut back features.
2+ POOR
1+
Hardcore fans of the series or genre may find something worthwhile but generally speaking this is one to avoid.
RUBBISH
The genre may be to your tastes but try as you might you will struggle to enjoy the game.
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REVIEW REEL FISHING: MASTER’S CHALLENGE When I first started playing, I found that tapping the circle button only makes it quite easy to keep the line break meter from hitting it’s break point (which would mean the line snaps and you lose the fish). Another way you can keep the line from breaking is to decrease the tension Reviewed by Tyler Olthoff of your line by hitting the onscreen prompts, which are either left or right 1 3 8 185 MB – and always the opposite direction of the fish. Using these two methods I pushed through the first few levels and Reel Fishing: Masters Challenge is a game by Natsume which is all earned some in-game currency with which to upgrade my fishing rod. about fishing (with a bit of story). Starting off, the game gives you a little story to sink into about a son’s mission to follow in his father’s footsteps as a great fishermen. The game delivers this story in a journal entry format, and before each mission you get a short sentence about what the son is thinking as he gets ready to fish. After returning, he then talks a bit more in depth about what he said before he went out. After awhile of doing this same thing over and over I got quite bored; I wanted to skip all the story parts (which you can luckily), but since I reviewed this I also wanted to get the full experience – for better or worse. Though I made myself endure the whole thing, the story never really did anything to grab my attention – and to be honest I was a bit curious as to why they even included it. If story is your thing I don’t know why you’d ever think a fishing game would deliver in that aspect, but this one attempted it and failed horribly.
As stated, you can use that in-game currency to get upgraded rods that help with speed, power, and durability. After I was able to upgrade to the best rod (in my opinion) it was easy to start doing my tapping method with the quick (and more likely to break a line) method. This really just made each mission a big drag as I found the game never challenged me any further. The only time I would consider there being a slight challenge at that point was when the mission was timed. Speaking of missions being timed, they can also vary in goal/rules by focusing on how many fish you need to catch and the minimum size of fish you need. After completing missions you’re given a score and awarded the game’s currency – which you can then use to buy bait, and aquarium decorations, or the already mentioned rod upgrades.
better as at least you have a set task you must complete, making it a tad bit harder in some cases. If you’re one of those people that likes to always beat a record you can check your best caught fish within the records menu. Here you can see each species of fish listed, and the measurements of the best caught fish for each of them. It’s a nice little touch that helps make you want to jump back in and do better, but at the same time it’s really not the greatest motivator when paired with this game. Graphics are never really a deal breaker for me in games, and this one is no exception. Reel Fishing is a decent looking game which doesn’t do anything special to “wow” you. The fish look as they should though, and I’d say that’s the most important thing – but the environments seem to be a little empty. The sad part about it being empty-looking however, is that even with the lack of items on-screen a couple fish (or some seaweed) in the background can cause the game to slow to a chug while reeling in a fish. This drop in frame-rate is very noticeable and definitely seems out of place in such a sparse environment. The sound in the game is what you would expect for a fishing game. It does offer some music to enjoy while you’re fishing, but of course it’s just generic. The sound is definitely not the issue with this game though, so don’t worry about the audio aspect.
The game also offers a few other modes (aside from the story), including aquarium and free play. In the aquarium mode you simply put fish Putting the horribly boring and and decorations into a fish tank. As unnecessary story aside, let’s get into Reel Fishing: Master’s Challenge the main aspect of the game – catching for free play mode, you choose your location and time of the year and then is not a game I could see myself some fish. It’s quite simple really; you go fishing. Free play is pretty much the recommending to anyone. If you’re into hold the circle button to cast and you fishing then maybe this game could same as the story missions, but with then use either the square (quick), satisfy that itch (in short bursts), but triangle (medium), or circle (slow) button no story and no restrictions (you can catch whatever you like). Unfortunately with a boring story and the fact that to reel it back in. they completely missed the ballpark since this game doesn’t offer much of Once you get the attention of a fish (and a challenge free play mode isn’t all that with the word “challenge” in the name… this one falls quite short. exciting. I feel like the story mode is it grabs a hold of your bait), you then hit up on the d-pad to start the battle. Now I say battle, but to be honest I’m thinking that’s a bit misleading as after a few missions I realized this game isn’t Reel Fishing: Master's Challenge did nothing at all challenging. to hook me. I found myself bored within the first few missions and it just dragged on throughout my whole time with it. If you're really into fishing then maybe you can find some joy in this one, but as it stands I won't recommend anyone dive into this one.
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REVIEW J-STARS VICTORY VS+
Reviewed by Brad Gruetzmacher Welcome to Jump World! J-Stars Victory VS+ transports us to this magical world where the wild warriors and crazy characters from the Shonen Jump universe laugh, love, and fight together. Well, mostly they fight. A lot. It’s where an enormous cast of manga characters gather to fight for the chance to be the Jump Battle Tournament Champion. The story is thin. The action is repetitive. But just like the summer popcorn flicks we rush out to see every year, J-Stars Victory VS+ a whole lot of dumb fun.
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camera as it would lag just a beat behind where I wanted it. Or if your buddy happens to be in the same room with you, the game also features ad-hoc play (up to four players) which also works fairly well. There’s no shortage of ways you and your friends can endlessly beat up each other while sending your favorite Jump character flying through a couple of buildings.
For the single player, J-Stars offers the J-Adventure, which is a series of four different stories in which you guide the Jump stars across different locations to build up a team and compete in the Jump Battle Tournament. Each of the I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not a big fan of manga. The four stories are relatively the same with the main difference characters in J-Stars are unknown to me, and while I don’t being a change in which characters you get to play. The know the stories of Son Goku or Monkey D. Luffy, there’s something really satisfying about teaming them up together main action is once again the fights with a fun little map you get to sail around to get from one location to the next. in the ultimate battle arena.
J-Stars Victory VS+ is at its heart a fighting game. Teams of two face off against each other in an attempt to be the first to score three knockdowns. The 3-D battle arenas provide the perfect playground for combat, and since the buildings are fully destructible, the chaotic fun is soon showered under a mountain of debris.. There’s no better feeling than punching your opponent so hard his body knocks down the walls of a house. Each battle plays out in much the same way. The characters will change. The environments will look different. The fights however will stay constant. It does get a bit repetitive at times but thankfully each of the characters are given their own unique set of fighting skills that do keep things fresh. And while they all have the same level of attacks (light attack, heavy attack, special move), the specific way they’re carried out are all varied. For the expert fighting game fans out there, you might be a little disappointed with the level of depth to the fights as they do mainly play out as button mashing contests. Since I am not a fighting game aficionado, I really appreciate the more approachable gameplay style. It’s the kind of stupid, crazy fun you have when you get some friends together and just hammer away at each other. Speaking of getting together with friends, J-Stars offers a few different ways to play multiplayer. It offers an online battle mode where you can search for a fight or host a room of your own. It works very well, though I did experience some problems with controlling the camera at times. It almost felt like I was having latency problems with the 18 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
The story is absurd, and the dialogue is corny and laughable. That’s not to say it’s all bad, as I found myself chuckling on occasion, but as with any fighting game, you’re just looking for reasons so the characters can go at it. You can’t just hire a guy to help you on your boat. No. You need to defeat him in battle first! If you want to skip the story, you can jump right into the action with either the Arcade mode or Free Battle. These,
(Note: J-Stars Victor VS+ does not allow the PS Vita to take direct screenshots. The images in this review are representative of how the game looks but are not from the Vita)
along with Victory Road, dispense with the attempt at a story and instead just throw you straight into the action. I found them to be fun and challenging, but since I’m not as familiar with the characters, I appreciated the J-Adventures more. This gave me a best of both worlds approach since I was able to learn more about the different characters while also being
able to fight in a seemingly endless series of battles.
J-Stars is also surprisingly a very good looking game. The character models and animations are all very detailed and fluid. The environments look fantastic, and while the destructible buildings may not be highly detailed as they collapse, they look good doing it. The colors in Jump World really pop which gives the game a true anime feel. I was extremely impressed with how the game looked and sounded so close to its source material. My biggest problem with the game overall was the repetitive nature of the combat. This isn’t exactly the kind of game you want to sit through and
marathon for hours at a time. But in small doses, with a fight or two here and there, I thought it worked quite well. Each fight only takes a few minutes to complete, so the pick up and play aspect is well in tact here. I find myself wanting to go back to the game constantly, but after 15-20 minutes I’m ready to put it down.
J-Star Victory VS+ is the epitome of fan service. It collects a large number of characters from across a number of different story-lines and allows them to battle each other in the search for the true Jump champion! It’s a game that is as accessible as it is fun, and while the hardcore fighters might sneer at its lack of depth, to me it fits the bill just right.
J-Stars Victory VS+ is a fun fighting game that is great in small doses. While the repetitive nature of its fighting formula does get tiring after awhile, it packs enough energetic excitement to keep you coming back for more. Fighting game experts will be disappointed by its lack of depth, but for the uninitiated, it provides the right amount of chaotic craziness to provide hours of fun. Presentation
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3.9
REVIEW SAMURAI WARRIORS CHRONICLES 3
Reviewed by Liam Langan Dynasty Warriors, Warriors Orochi and Samurai Warriors, all of these series’ equate to one thing – mindlessly slashing your way through up to thousands of different enemies on screen at once whilst attempting to complete many of the objectives that the game throws at you. While these games don’t usually offer much in the way of a story, Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 attempts to mix things up a bit in the hopes of giving players a true and reachable goal to attempt, the result however, is not good.
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The controls here are simple, Square (which is the button you’ll use most) is your basic attack, Triangle is your strong attack, whereas Circle activates your Musou gage which unleashes a strong attack which can take out a significant amount of enemies at once and the X button is jump – which I managed to strategically incorporate into my playing style when I found myself surrounded by perhaps too many enemies.
Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 doesn’t expect you to complete every objective that it has to offer – in fact this is where the game gains it’s replayability factor. It’s highly The game starts off with something of a first for the unlikely that you’ll find all the objectives in a mission Samurai Warriors series, a character creation screen. For the on your first go, in fact missions trigger under certain conditions, such as characters dying, enemy Generals first time the game allows players to craft a more personal escaping or you taking long enough in the level for them to story around the games world, and doing so with quite a appear. good and concise character creation toolkit really set me in good stead with the game. Which brings up the next interesting idea that Samurai Once your character is created the game sets up it’s Warriors Chronicles 3 brings to shake up the foundations story, you start off as a mere soldier in the army of noted of the series – character swapping. This happens when you Japanese General, Nobunaga Oda, and over the course of have more than one playable General selected in a stage the 60+ year time span, you work your way up the ranks to and by simply tapping the character on the bottom leftbecome a higher ranking member of his army – speaking to hand corner of the screen, you’ll jump to them wherever many different notable figures from Japanese history. The they may be on the map and take control over their part of way the story builds up is fun and interesting and is well the battle. written.
Then it happened, after initially impressing, the game then became what it was destined to be – another repetitive hack and slash game. I found that all it really consisted of was pressing Square constantly to batter your way through wave after wave of enemies whilst characters give you random objectives to tackle. 20 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
In between battles, cutscenes unlock for players to watch, and these are interactive in a way that allows players to respond to whatever situation the cutscene presents. These cutscenes allow for your created character to bond with the games main cast and form relationships, which can in certain cases, turn the tide of battle when needed. One of the worst things about this game is that as you continue to slaughter masses upon masses of enemies, you soon forget that there is a story to be told. It’s hard to keep track of what’s going on, and in some cases, you can actually downright skip any story elements that the game has to offer. And that’s basically it in regards to the gameplay, it never changes throughout it’s 10-15 hour story campaign, which is possibly one of the biggest drags I’ve ever experienced in a Vita game. After countless missions I was sat thinking to myself, surely this one is the final mission, surely it’s finally over after
this one, but nope, it kept giving me more and more to do. Graphically the game looks OK, there’s nothing special in the way of graphics here, but it doesn’t look terrible – my main problem here though is that the game suffers from some awful slow down when there are quite a
lot of enemies on the screen. In my opinion, for a series such as this where they have been making these games for quite a while, I felt that this was inexcusable. The game’s soundtrack is one of the plus points of Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3, using classic Japanese instruments to give an authentic sound to the events of the game, as well as using faster rock music in the more action orientated parts of the stages – such as defeating the boss in the levels.
Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 really had everything it needed to shake up the foundation of the Warriors (or Musou) series of games, but it falls flat on it’s face by including a story that is uninteresting and can be easily ignored. Fans of the series may find something enjoyable within all of it’s nonsense but newcomers should consider sitting this one out. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I need a new Square button for my Vita.
Samurai Warriors Chronicles 3 is a tedious and repetitive game that will see you mindlessly slash your way through thousands of enemies without a care for the story that it tries to create around the main missions. With a 10-15 hour story mode, you'll be wishing it was over by the end of the first 5 hours. Presentation
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2.8
REVIEW DUSTFORCE
Reviewed by Jimmy Champane Dustforce is the Hotline Miami of 2D platformers. Originally released for PC in 2012, Hitbox Team’s Dustforce is an extremely tough 2D platformer that couples intelligent level design with momentum-based platforming. The product is a game that demands perfection, and uses a beautiful artstyle, serene indie soundtrack and a just-weirdenough concept to stop you from swearing off video games forever when you’ve been stuck on the same level for hours and it’s four in the morning. You control one of four janitors who each have their own tool for cleaning and bashing. Their one ambition in life is cleaning up the world around them in style. That’s all the story you’re given, and I think that the game is better for it since trying to flesh the core idea out would break Hitbox’s focus on gameplay. This focus on gameplay is deeply ingrained in Dustforce all
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the way down to its progression system. If you die or take too long between scrubbing sections, your combo goes away. Each area only starts out with about half of its levels unlocked. To unlock other levels, you need keys and the only way to acquire said keys is to increase completion rate on already unlocked stages. At the end of each level you’re graded on completion (how much dirt you’ve brushed away) and finesse (how long you keep your combo going). It’s a smart system because by the time you unlock the more challenging levels, you’ve had to master the ones before, improving your skills without you noticing. Levels are broken up into themed worlds, and while all of them look great my favorite is the first. It’s a forest in the middle autumn, and instead of dirt you clean piles of leaves and remove them from forest creatures like foxes and bears. The backgrounds are detailed, and the animals have a lazy nature to them once they’re saved that calms you down when you’re ready to throw your Vita through a wall into a
swimming pool full of acid from dying so many times. A feature that’s been showing up more and more in challenging indie titles is a button dedicated to an instant restart, and its absence in Dustforce is sorely missed. I appreciate that there’s a checkpoint system in play for when you die because it helps a lot when you’re trying to learn the level. I just think a separate button to restart the stage entirely would cut down on frustration when you have to keep restarting the level you’ve been stuck on for hours. Nailing the control scheme is difficult at first, and using the joystick to maneuver your character is very finicky. Dustforce’s tutorial level doesn’t inform you that you can use the d-pad for movement, but I tried it out of frustration with the joystick and I was surprised to find that it worked – and much better too. It all boiled down to deaths feeling like the game’s fault with the joystick and deaths at the same spots feeling like my fault with the d-pad. Other than that potentially major annoyance, the rest of the controls are spot-on. Multiplayer is split between a mode where one time spreads dirt and the other cleans it up, all while trying to murder each other with cleaning supplies, the other is a version of
king of the hill. I found it difficult to find a match, but when I finally did I wasn’t too impressed. The multiplayer doesn’t take away from the overall experience, it just doesn’t add much, if anything to it. Whether or not Dustforce is for you centers on the question “Do you like
incredibly challenging platformers?” If the answer is no, stay far away. If the answer is yes, you’d be hardpressed to find a more rewarding experience than the one Dustforce provides. It’s not only one of the best platformers I’ve ever played, but one of my favorites of all time.
Dustforce was great when it came out in 2012 for PC, and in 2015 it’s just as awesome on Vita. For $10, you really can’t go wrong – unless challenging platformers aren’t your thing, of course.
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4.5
REVIEW THE SWINDLE
Reviewed by Brad Gruetzmacher It’s London, 1849. Those cheeky detectives at Scotland Yard have created an amazing new piece of technology which has been codenamed “The Devil’s Basilisk.” Once activated, it will give the police surveillance capabilities on an Orwellian magnitude. That’s great news for the security of the average citizen, but to a group of master burglars it spells the end of their careers. Now this group of master thieves have but 100 days to build up their skills and bank accounts to gain access into Scotland Yard and steal The Devil’s Basilisk for themselves.
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ground or hack the computer for a bigger payoff. The whole time you will need to avoid the robot guards, the flying cameras, and the lethal trip mines. Death comes easily in The Swindle, and being detected means the police will be arriving shortly. But you don’t need to steal every bit of cash in the house. Once you’re satisfied with your haul and don’t want to take anymore risks, you can choose to hop back in your rocket and head back to your airship.
The Swindle is a steampunk, cybercrime heist game that lets you control a master burglar to break into a series of well guarded buildings in the hopes of swiping as much cash as possible and leaving undetected. The more cash you grab, the more upgrades you can purchase which in turn gives you ability to go after bigger prizes. But it isn’t going to be easy.
If you’re killed, you lose the loot you just stole and continue on the next day with a new thief. Every successful heist is a day well spent, while each death ticks off another day closer to doomsday.
You start this 2-D side-scrolling game in a large airship that acts as your headquarters. From there you can choose to either purchase new abilities or jump straight to a heist. The missions begin with you flying in on your rocket propelled transport and landing just outside of the building you’re about to rob. Starting in the slums, it’s rather easy to sneak past the rather light security. Money is scatter throughout the building, and you can snatch it up off the 24 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
It’s fast. It’s frantic. It’s dangerous. And it’s a whole lot of fun. Oh, and it’s hard. Really, freakin’, swear-out-loud kind of hard. It’s also doesn’t hold your hand as the game gives you little information on how to play. Most of the game is trial and error. You don’t know how to kill certain guards or use certain abilities until you’re in the heat of things, and then it’s probably too late. But you learn and the next heist will usually go just a bit better. As things progress, the challenges get sharply more difficult. Stealing from people in the slums can be a bit easy, but security at the casinos is a bit more advanced. Of course, the payout also increases along with the challenge. The key to the game is finding the balance where your skill and your greed can meet to result in a successful heist… hopefully.
impossible to pass. The only thing to do when this happens is quit the heist and hope the next day goes better. At the end of the day the issues I had were minor in the grand scheme. The Swindle is able to create an amazingly fun experience that injects the “just one more time” feeling after each heist. It’s also the perfect fit for the Vita as a heist can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. The game is at its best when played in quick bursts to try and get a bit more cash in your account.
The Swindle is not only a difficult game, it’s also a beautiful one. The muted tones of its color palette paint a grim, dirty world that can seem as drab as any ever created. But given the time period, the style works perfectly to enhance the dreary atmosphere of the world. The colors also help to bring alive the environment which is filled with vibrant characters set against a softly painted background. The music is also something of beauty and a dichotomy in itself. The Swindle is mostly a stealth game which calls for patience, and yet it’s soundtrack is often pulsing with an intense rhythm that drives you to move as quickly as possible. It’s not until you’ve been spotted and the red lights are blaring does the intensity of the music match the mood of the situation. Still, I couldn’t help but be impressed with the work that was done to create an absolutely enthralling audio landscape. Unfortunately it’s not all sunshine and lollipops as there are some issues with the game that creep in from time to time. I found that the controls could be a bit problematic at times, which hurts when the game is so set on precision. I found there would be times when I’d try to jump or open a door and nothing would happen. The game has an issue when you’re standing too close to a wall because it wants to grip the wall instead of allowing you to move. Sometimes this can be remedied by backing up and trying again. But I found it a pain to patiently wait to make my move, only to have the
game block my attempt. I also ran into the occasional bug where I could jump through the ceiling or into walls. I have a feeling this may be a side effect of the procedural generation of each heist. This also creates situations of an uneven balance in the world. Sometimes the building would have a layout that couldn’t be penetrated unless you had some specific tools. Or it would create a situation where the guards would be
I often found myself screaming loud obscenities at my Vita every time I would die, and I’d watch my money fly up in a cloud around me. I came dangerously close to chucking the console across the room on several occasions. Yet, I always felt compelled to try it just one more time… knowing that I’d be a bit better on my next heist.
The Swindle is a challenging, frustrating, and fantastic game that constantly had me on the edge of my seat. It may have a steep learning curve but the payoff is worth it. If you’re looking for a challenge (and aren’t afraid to curse a little), look no
The Swindle is a frantic and frustrating heist game in all the right ways. It's a challenging crime caper that will test every one of your skills as you try to avoid detection and make off with the most loot possible. Your own greed may turn out to be your biggest adversary in the end as wanting too much could result in you getting nothing at all. The quest for the ultimate swindle is a long and challenging one, but it's ultimately an extremely rewarding one as well. Presentation
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REVIEW OPERATION ABYSS: NEW TOKYO LEGACY
Reviewed by lateralus2801 The first-person dungeon crawler RPG genre is going through a PS Vita revival thanks to games such as Demon Gaze, Moe Chronicle, and Mind Zero. NIS America’s newest entry, Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy, arrives on the scene whilst throwing a nod to classics such as Wizardry and Etrian Odyssey.
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that a great opportunity was missed.
Operation Abyss takes place in a future version of Tokyo, Japan. Your character has just awoken from a blackout around what appears to be a murder scene. A mysterious person arrives to save you from your impending doom after you are accosted by a gang of blood thirsty zombies. Sounds like a regular JRPG trope, right? Well, it kind of is.
Upon the start of the game, you are given the choice of Basic Mode – which gives you a randomly generated party of six characters (who are lifeless and have no bearing on the story other than obeying orders), or the Classic Mode – where you have full customization on how your party looks and which class they are. Either choice still gives you full control on stats, which is extremely important when it comes to RPGs.
You are recruited by a stubborn leader named Alice Mifune and she’s part of the Xth Squad. This squad is an under the table government fighting group that’s formed to fight the ‘Variants’ and is composed of high school students (which seems like a tiring theme in most JRPGs). This array of youngsters are put in the limelight to rid the world of evil beings – including the ones that crossed your path. Throughout the game you are thrown into situations where you may need to rescue someone or just wipe out an entire dungeon full of Variants.
For RPG fans, stat customization will be overwhelming to even the most seasoned dungeon crawlers. I found that the tutorials and notes regarding stats were lacking to a point and it didn’t immediately click as I went through the game. For the micro-managers out there, taking charge of six characters will make you feel at home. But for many, including myself, an option for auto-leveling would be more than welcome in this game and in no way would it take away from the experience.
The heart of any dungeon crawling RPG is the battle system and exploration. Sadly, the battle system is where I believe that this game falls flat. As with any traditional DRPG, Tokyo Abyss, is as pure a turn-based RPG that you can find To be honest, that’s pretty much all there is to the story. The right now. But that does not mean it is fun. I found that the premise of the game seems like this universe could deliver battle system was repetitive and found no other reason to a solid story, but ultimately, it falls flat on its face. The not mash the attack and guard actions to persevere through writing in the game leaves much to be desired and doesn’t the random battles I came across. As with most RPGs, you add much to the story. It’s forgettable enough to think that have a front row for melee characters and the rear row for there’s no story at all, which is unfortunate because with casters and ranged-weapon members. dark themes such as murder, zombies, and monsters, I feel 26 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
There’s just one flaw though; the lack of magic points and currency. First off, on my play through, I was basically fighting with only 3 characters, one healer and two casters that were only good for about 3 or so turns each before they ran out of magic and were worthless to me. That’s right, there is no way to reload on magic points unless you go back to home base to rest! This means that you are put into a position where you must choose to save the magic attacks for stronger enemies or just have your character do nothing. Once you run out of magic attacks, that’s it. There is nothing much that you can do unless you already have weapons for everyone! In the latter stages of the game, this isn’t in a problem, but during the earlier parts this can be extremely frustrating and can lead to a party wipe, potentially losing hours of progress. To add to the misery, the same points used to heal and restore magic to your characters are the same that are required to buy weapons for the party. So for a while, you’ll be grinding to gain enough points to buy ranged weapons so the back row isn’t completely useless to you!
Dungeon crawling is done in the first person, one step at a time. Each labyrinth provides its own challenges, but in the end, it’s all the same. From floor to floor warps, electrical traps and hidden doors, Operation Abyss is not a game-changer when it comes to the genre. Traversing the dungeons takes some thinking and luckily, a Demon Gaze staple makes an appearance in Operation Abyss. That’s right, online signs are out in full force to help (or troll) you! I found that these were especially helpful when lost or looking for hidden doors. The in-game map is helpful with letting you know where you’ve gone and where all the hidden doorways and traps are once discovered. It’s absolutely essential to pay attention to your map in case you are stuck- if you see a blank spaces it means an area hasn’t been
discovered and possibly holds the clue or item you need.
Leveling up your characters is an expensive adventure on its own. As with every other game, there is a set number of XP per level that each character needs to earn in order to level up. The same concept applies in Operation Abyss, but the difference is that you must travel back home and spend points just to level up. Yup, that’s right. In order to level up, get stronger and hopefully gain XP, you have to leave your hard work behind to save and improve your party. I understand the design choice, but I feel that it kills the immersion of dungeon crawling because of the constant need to level up, recover and stock-up on healing items.
On top of that, the item and equipment menu system is muddled on so many levels. From the strange naming system to an expensive “discovery” cost on identifying items, it’s more
trouble that it should be. There should be a way to compare equipment before spending your hard earned bucks, but sadly, there isn’t. This means that it is mostly trial and error and you’ll usually end up buying something you don’t need or can’t use because of this. Upgrading weapons and armor is all standard here, you need to find parts out in the dungeons so you can complete the recipe for the +1, 2, 3 etc of your particular weapon. Nothing special here and it all falls to the usual Random Number Generator that everybody knows and loves.
When announced, Operation Abyss sounded like it could be something special. There are bits and pieces here and there that had the makings of being a spectacular game like Demon Gaze was. Instead it looks like Operation Abyss is trying to be brutal like the Wizardry series but it lacks the charm that made this series great. While the most hardcore of dungeon crawling RPG fans will enjoy this, I feel that most will be frustrated by the lack of story and boring characters.
Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy has all the makings for a great RPG, but there are many design choices that prevents it from succeeding. For many dungeon crawler RPG fans, Operation Abyss will be enough to wet the lips, but not quench the thirst.
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REVIEW GEOMETRY WARS 3: DIMENSIONS EVOLVED
Reviewed by Zach Price Some things go well together: Peanut butter and jelly, DeLoreans and time machines, and twin stick shooters and the Vita.
Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved feels right at home on the Vita and is one of the most addictive games in its genre. It’s a great port of the console version, which is surprising considering some developers skip out on features when porting to the Vita – it barely has load times and runs at a smooth framerate of 60 frames per second. Dimensions features a multitude of modes for players, anywhere from Adventure to Ultimate to Hardcore game modes. There is something for everyone in the game, and new players can easily find something they will like. Each mode has a series of levels – some with bosses, which I’ll get to later – and each level implements a different style of play, from only having one life to a time limit.
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However, the structure of the modes is worrisome. For example, adventure mode is setup where there are five levels followed by a boss fight, repeating until the 50th level. Logically, you would think that the levels would increase in difficulty as you progressed, but the way Geometry Wars actually does it seems random and inconsistent. Many times I would play a level that was incredibly easy – and this occurred throughout, including at the end of the game – and would be followed by a level whose rules were impossible and took hours to beat. It’s a good thing the twin stick shooter is so addictive, otherwise I would have dropped it before completion. There is also a ton of customization in Geometry Wars 3. Before each level, you choose which drone and super ability you want to use. Different drones and supers unlock after earning a certain amount of stars are achieved by hitting high scores on levels. They can also be upgraded with your
multiplier shards that you get from destroying enemies in levels. The drones and supers really make you think about what is the best method to achieve the high score necessary to pass. Sometimes having the “attack drone” isn’t the best option, and you’ll need the “collect drone” so you can build up your multiplier faster. The gameplay is truly where Geometry Wars 3 shines. The movement and shooting feel fluid, like they are a natural extension of your body. It’s very addicting and will keep you attempting to beat it again and again no matter how frustrating it is. However, my favorite parts were the six bosses in Adventure Mode. Each makes you really think, study and devise a plan to overcome them. Unlike the other levels that could be frustratingly difficult, the boss levels feel like they merit their difficulty, culminating in a ridiculous final boss. And get used to the music you hear in these difficult levels because you’ll be hearing it a lot. Thankfully, the game has a stellar soundtrack and really suits the amazing color palette and great gameplay. Sadly, the game’s roughly combined three single player modes only last for about 15 to 20 hours. The only encouragement to replay the levels afterward is to collect all the stars in the level and maximize your high score. Many players won’t be up for this, and their only options to
continue playing Geometry Wars is through one of the endless modes or the multiplayer/coop. The endless modes would be fine if you could choose what geometric shape the world you’re playing on is, but it is already predetermined and always the same. Some variety would be nice. Multiplayer would be nice, but my time attempting to find players to play with proves to be worthless since I could
never find many other players online. Overall, Geometry Wars 3: Dimensions Evolved is a magnificent experience. Even though a natural difficulty curve is absent, you’ll want to keep playing until you beat the last boss. With barely any load times, you won’t have to wait long between failures and when you finally do achieve victory, it will feel very well-deserved.
Geometry Wars 3 is one of the best twin stick shooters on the Vita. Even with some minor flaws, it warrants a buy for fans of the genre.
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REVIEW AR NOSURGE PLUS: ODE TO AN UNBORN STAR
Reviewed by lateralus2801
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Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star isn’t your typical PS Vita JRPG. It doesn’t contain needless fan service, a silly plot, or a complex battle system in order to market itself to fans. Instead, it relies on its deep story with interesting character development to keep you hooked for the long haul. The game starts off as the protagonists are stranded in outer space, thousands of years after their home planet, Ra Ciela, has been destroyed. As time goes on, winged creatures named the Sharl have invaded their quiet spaceship and started to kidnap humans to ship them off to a different planet. With fear in their minds, the population has split into two factions: those who want to exterminate the Sharl and those who have decided that the Sharl aren’t so bad after all.
Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star is a direct sequel to the Japan-only title, Ciel nosurge. You heard that right, Koei Tecmo decided to bring over a story heavy title to the West that has direct ties to its prequel. This move can and will confuse players during the first few hours of the game. It tries its best to fill in the deep backstory through a glossary of terms that are highlighted during conversations, but in my opinion, it kind of ruined the immersion for me. The entire foundation of the game was based on the events from Ciel nosurge and with that missing, it’s hard to follow along without searching the Internet for a synopsis of what went down (which is what I did).
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A huge part of the game consists of relationships. We all know of that other game that promotes friendships and even love (cough, cough, Persona 4: Golden). But Ar nosurge Plus goes deeper than that. It features a mechanic called “Genometrics” that lets players dive into the characters’ inner thoughts to unlock abilities that are used in battle. In addition, it helps develop a close bond by finding out how each particular character ticks. When inside their mind, you can explore the darkest corners of their souls to figure out secrets they may hide or to knock down the personal shield they may put up while in public. Doing this can strengthen your bond and relationship with that particular character. This is probably the best part of the game because every character has a purpose in the game and plot. You can go as deep as you want or just do the bare minimum to advance the story. Either way, it gives great insight on the characters you are paired with.
Ar nosurge’s battle system can be described with one word: simple. But don’t worry, simple isn’t bad and it works surprisingly well. When out in the field, there is an enemy counter at the top of the screen that indicates that an enemy encounter is near. Once the random battle starts, you face waves of enemies that are in different rows and have several abilities. The placement of these enemies are outlined at the top, and that’ll give you an edge on how you want to approach each set of enemies. Once you’re in the rhythm of battle, each tile will shrink as you destroy the enemies in front of you. With abilities mapped to the face buttons, it’s easy to rattle off combos to make the most out of your limited turns. When the enemy bar is empty, there will be no more random encounters for that particular area unless you leave and return. One downside that I see with the game is the apparent frame rate and minor performance issues. While I do not write for Digital Foundry, these untrained eyes can notice that the frame rate isn’t running at 30 fps, and it isn’t stable. This is noticeable when running around the field and in some cases during Song Magic. In no way does this affect the enjoyment of
the game, but I felt that it was worth mentioning. Visually, the graphics are clean and colorful, and it is a great looking game. Considering that Ar nosurge was originally a PS3 game, we have to give Gust kudos for a great port even with the small performance issues. Fans of Japanese voiced games will be pleased to know that dual audio is included in Ar nosurge. I played the game in English and the voice work was superb…when the characters actually spoke. For many important scenes, I was wishing that they were
fully voiced, but to my disappointment they were not. In addition, the localization has quite a bit of spelling and grammar errors (but not as bad as Sword Art Online) that left me scratching my head. I could only think that it was a rush job. Going into a direct sequel with no knowledge of the previous game is not ideal, but do not let that deter you. With a long campaign, heavy storytelling, and a deep character progression system, Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star is a title that no JPRG fan should miss.
Ar nosurge Plus: Ode to an Unborn Star is a fantastic game that blends in heavy story telling with a character development system that will let you go as deep as you want. Minor flaws aside, many JRPG fans will enjoy this game.
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4.1
REVIEW SQUARES
Reviewed by Zach Price
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Squares is a simple reflex game where you have to turn squares light grey and avoid tapping the red blocks all while under a time constraint. There are multiple ways to do so, but synching your thoughts and actions together is one of the main challenges of the game. Even for its simplistic-sounding nature, I love the challenge Squares delivers.
because there’s enough going on that anything else would distract and take away from the experience.
The presentation of the game is great and certainly something you’d expect out of a puzzle/reflex game. The inclusion of a bar for time instead of numbers counting down adds to the haste and daunting nature that some of the puzzles present. Again, the game is simple and so is its design. However, the level selection screen is not as intuitive as I would like. You have to scroll through the levels to find the one you want, while it would be much simpler (and faster) to have the left and right buttons serve as navigation tools that skip back or ahead ten levels. Besides that, there is not much on the screen and it’s a good choice
The campaign starts with a few intuitive, instructional levels that are very smart and feel in no way as a chore. When it’s done introducing some of the game’s basic mechanics, it just opens it all up to you (which I like best). There are some limitations on what levels you can play however, due to having to achieve a certain number of stars on levels to continue.
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The music is also very good – it’s upbeat and fast, and it almost puts you in a trance while tapping away. Everything is fast in the game and it just makes so much sense because, obviously, that is the objective of the game.
The game does have a weird difficulty curve. You’ll plow through some levels back-to-back before hitting a difficult one that is insanely hard – and that’ll happen over and over
again. This isn’t as much of a problem, though, because the game lets you choose any level you have unlocked to play – and trust me, you will definitely be utilizing this feature when you get stuck and just have to keep playing Squares due to its addictive nature. Squares’ gameplay is where the game really shines. It uses many mechanics to vary the type of puzzles you will encounter on each level; sometimes you’ll be using the touchscreen on either side of the Vita to solve the puzzles, while others you’ll be using the tilt motions to turn the squares grey. It’s a brilliant mechanic that makes you think. When all the mechanics are finally introduced to you, you’ll find yourself trying to figure out how best to complete the level – because sometimes the order does matter. For example, you could have the pinch, sliding, double tap and motion squares all on a single puzzle; and the motion squares won’t be eliminated unless you have turned the squares in front of it grey. It really makes you think on your feet. Even though I adored Squares and loved every minute of it, I found that its 91 levels were over fairly quickly, which for me was a span of two hours. I didn’t feel much motivation to return to the campaign other than to cleanup some missing trophies I had left over, and this was my main problem with the game.
That said, the game does come with a level maker – which LEAP Game Studios does a brilliant job of implementing and explaining how use – however, the levels are only playable by the creator at the moment. We asked LEAP Game Studios about this and they told us that they do plan on including online level-sharing one day, however it isn’t included day one and the game feels like something’s missing without it.
Squares is fantastic. I had so much fun playing it and even though I failed (a lot) I never once blamed the game; that blame was all my own. The game drew me in easily and I wanted to find a reason to stay with it, but there isn’t (and won’t be one until they patch in online level-sharing). It is easily worth your money – just as long as you expect it to be a solid, short experience.
Squares is a fun, challenging game that is worthy of your time. As long as you don't expect it to hold your attention after completion, you won't be disappointed in the experience.
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REVIEW HYPERDIMENSION NEPTUNIA RE;BIRTH3: V GENERATION
will find that you will complete a great deal of them just by exploring. I would highly recommend this because if you do tackle them one at a time you will find that the game will become pretty repetitive.
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Being new to the Neptunia series I was a little wary of what I was in-store for when I was given Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation for review. With no knowledge of the storyline so far from previous titles in the series I decided to just dive straight in and hope that the game would be welcoming for a newcomer like myself.
You will tackle these quests with familiar CPUs Noire, Vert and Blanc – with a new CPU in the form of Plutia making an appearance in Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation. Using these characters in battle will be familiar to anyone who has played a turn-based RPG game before, although this game does allow for you to move around in the battle area allowing for you to throw some tactical placements into the mix. The other staple in this series is that each of the characters can transform into their CPU mode. This sees the girls transform into an armoured (often bustier) version of themselves when they activate HDD (Hard Drive Divinity) Mode – a life saver when you need to take on tougher opponents due to the boost it gives these girls in their abilities.
Idea Factory and Compile Heart’s third entry in the Re;Birth series is a remake of the PlayStation 3 title Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory that originally released in 2013. The game’s story remains pretty much the same in the PlayStation Vita version but there are also some new features, such as an improved RPG battle system, more scenarios and a lot more of the fourth-wall breaking humour that the series has become renowned for! In the opening sections of Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation Neptune gets sucked into an alternate dimension. This happens after a meeting with a timid girl, and sees Neptune sent back to the year 1989 – where the world’s CPUs are just starting to find their feet. Falling from the sky and landing on Noire, Neptune arrives in this alternate Gamindustri stripped of her CPU (Console Patron Unit)powers. It is here that she meets Plutia, a new character in the series and the CPU that is in charge of this reality’s Planeptune.
After managing to make contact with the dimension that she came from Neptune learns that the only way to get back to her world is by working hard in this universe to ensure that each country’s shares rocket. To do this you will need to complete the quests that you will find in Guilds that are located in each of the countries. These quests tend to task you with travelling to the various dungeons that are located in each land and collecting a set amount of items or defeating a number of a certain enemy type. It is worth noting that these quests can be all activated at once, allowing for you to just carry on with the story and you 34 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
There are many quests available to choose from and you can activate many at once. Although these quests are not part of the main storyline, some of them do need to be completed in order to advance the game’s story. You can also advance the story by looking out for ‘Events’ that are dotted around the world. Looking at the World Map you can spot areas that contain events (these events will generally trigger a cutscene that will progress the story) as they have the word ‘Event’ just above the title of the area or dungeon that contains them. The dungeons that you will traverse during the course of the game do vary in difficulty, but the game does not give you any indication of this. You will find at times that you can get through a dungeon with relative ease but then find that the next one that you try to take on will see you brutally executed within minutes of arriving in an area. The one downside to this is that the game does not have any form of an auto-save feature, with the game only prompting you to save at the end of each chapter. This can mean that if you do enter a dungeon and your party does get wiped out you will be sent back to the title screen, meaning that you have to replay great chunks of the game if you do forget to manually save – which happened to me a few times but I soon learnt the importance of saving! You can save anytime you like from the main map screen and some dungeons will have a save point located within them – usually right before you approach an area that contains a boss battle!
You will be able to spot enemies in a dungeon before you enter battle, as they are visible on the on-screen map as little red dots. You can sneak past enemies if you wish to avoid battle, but if they see you they will give chase and will earn the first attack if they do catch you. There are also mini-bosses in the dungeons that you can challenge if you feel brave. These are highlighted by orange dots on the mini-map but you will not miss these creatures as they are absolutely massive and will provide a tough task to your team of CPUs. Unlike the smaller enemies that you will encounter, these large enemies will not chase you and you will only enter battle with them if you are the one that initiates the fight.
Another interesting feature in the game is the use of the ‘Plan’ system. Plans are dotted around all of the dungeons in Gamindustri, with others earned by interacting with NPC’s or completing quests. These plans, when collected, will allow you to modify the game to allow you to unlock certain items, add extra dungeons or even modify existing dungeons to add more challenge. This feature allows for some interesting additions to the game, and also provides a novel way for you to unlock items in the game. As each plan will require you to clear certain criteria in order to activate it. Other features include the game’s Coupling system and Stella’s Dungeon. The Coupling system lets you pair up CPUs to boost their ‘Lily Rank’. Doing this will allow your CPUs to perform EXE Drive moves in battle. These are extremely powerful attacks and,
with the right Lily Rank, characters can team up to perform these moves together – making for some awesome attack animations! Stella’s Dungeon returns from Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth2: Sisters Generation and is a 2D mini-game whereby you will equip Stella with items and then send her off to make her way through the floors of a dungeon. Doing this will see her gather two sets of items, one set to use in the mini-game to help her progress further through the floors and another set that can be transferred to the main game to add to your inventory. Each floor takes a set amout of time to traverse, but you can set the parameters for this mini-game, send Stella on her way and then return to the main game, with a notification system letting you know whether the mission was a success or not. I found this mini-game to be a good way to gain items, but I also feel that it could have been explained a little better when it was introduced as I didn’t even know how to activate it until I stumbled across it amongst the plans that I had collected!
some of the cutscenes to be a little long (the most important scenes are fully voiced), these parts of the game is where the humour of the series really shines through. It is great to see a game that doesn’t take itself so seriously, with nods to other games made throughout and even self-referential digs at other games in the Hyperdimension series you will soon realise that Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation breaks right through the fourth-wall – which is something that not many other games attempt to do. The fact that this game does this and does it so well is testament to the writers and adds a whole deal of humour to a story that does well to keep you interested throughout the forty-plus hours it can take to see your way through to the end of the game.
Overall I was found myself pleasantly surprised with my first experience of the Hyperdimension series. This game kept me interested throughout and I found the story to be fun and enjoyable. Although the dungeon I found that the world of Gamindustri crawling did get a little repetitive at was easy on the eye, with the 3D times, I found that I didn’t need to grind models for the characters (both CPU too much in order to be able to proceed and enemy) very easy on the eye – with to the next part of the story – which is a wide range of colours making the something that has been a turn off in game really standout. Away from the other RPG titles. Even though I have dungeons that you navigate the game’s never played any of the other games artstyle also translates well from 3D in the Re;Birth strand of the franchise to the 2D CG’s that are used for the I found that Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation did a good job Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation‘s narrative. If you’ve ever of not making me feel alienated and it has definitely opened my eyes to played a JRPG or a Visual Novel you one of the bigger franchises on the will be familiar with this type of story PlayStation Vita right now! progression, and although I found
With a story that is packed with video-game references, humour and interesting characters, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth3: V Generation is a game that I would recommend to any fan of RPG's. Although it is by no means perfect, this game kept me hooked throughout and I think it is safe to say that I may frequent the world of Nep-Nep more often now that my eyes have been opened to this franchise! Presentation
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3.9
REVIEW WHISPERING WILLOWS
Reviewed by Brad Gruetzmacher 0
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a variety of different servants who once worked at the mansion before they met their untimely demise. Through them, bits and pieces of what happened begin to be revealed. This spirit form is also handy when trying to bypass locked doors by slipping through cracks or holes in the walls.
extremely interesting, it’s over. The slow build up to the story’s climax takes far too long, and then inversely, the moment of reveal happens so quickly that it’s shocking when it’s over.
To progress further through the story you need to aid these ghosts with their unfinished business. These come mainly in Well, I don’t, but Elena Elkhorn, the main character of the puzzle/adventure the form of fetch quests. There game Whispering Willows does. Thanks are some minor challenges throughout the game, but to the magical powers of an old family heirloom, Elena has the ability to speak nothing too difficult that will with the spirits of the deceased. And as push you into frustration. It’s a story driven game with a few “gaming” I was hoping for more adventure she enters the grounds of the Willows or exploration in the game. Since Mansion, she’s going to quickly discover elements tossed in to try and keep everything is very linear, there’s little things interesting. Everything is very there are more ghosts than normal at left for the player to try and figure out straight forward, and the chances of her father’s place of employ. on his own. Interacting with everything getting lost or confused are minimal. you can and talking to every spirit will Elena’s father has been missing for sometime. Unable to take it any longer, The controls are simple since there are get you through with no problems. one night she grabs his old jacket along only a few actions you can perform. Thankfully the game’s art is attractive Buttons are assigned to interact with with the family amulet and rushes and provides a pleasant backdrop for game objects, switch into the spirit to the mansion of Wortham Willows, the events as they unfold. It’s not my form, and bring up the inventory. where her father works as a grounds favorite, but I can’t fault it either. The keeper. What she finds is a decrepit old The shoulder buttons can be used to world isn’t very big, but what has been make Elena run, but only when she’s house… along with ghost after ghost created looks very nice, especially in after ghost. Something bad went down outside (no running in the house the background environments. The here, and Elena needs to speak with the kids). Otherwise she will move at an music is also… pleasant. I know, I’m alarmingly slow pace. This makes spirits to piece everything together. damning it with praise. It’s mellow, moving through the world a bit of a haunting, piano heavy, and like chore. The situation makes me feel like I everything else in the game is so slow arrived at end of a Shakespeare play; it’s almost lulling me to sleep. everyone is dead but the reasons why Whispering Willows isn’t a very long are unknown. It’s an interesting place game and would probably be even to begin a story, and a great place for an shorter if Elena didn’t crawl across the The quest to help Elena Elkhorn find her father and discover the mysteries adventure game. However, I felt like the screen at such a slow pace. Running of Wortham Willow’s mansion may story in Whispering Willows never fully can quicken things up a bit, but you’re limited as to where and when that can not be long, but it can feel like it at develops, and the slow pacing with an uneven story left me feeling unsettled. take place. I get the feeling that this is times. There are a number of moments Then, just as it was getting good, it was deliberate in order to build atmosphere when things briefly pick up, but overall and provide a layer of suspense to the the game just falls a bit flat. It ends over. with a bang, but unfortunately it’s not story. For me it only had the effect of satisfying enough to justify the rest of pulling me out of the experience as it Whispering Willows is a 2-D, sidethe experience. became a chore to move from area to scrolling adventure game that allows area. you to explore the grounds of an old mansion. You get to rummage through Whispering Willows is a… pleasant Pacing aside, the real disappoint in a number of locations, from the guest game that has hints of a decent story, the game is that just as the story gets but in the end is mostly forgettable. house, gardens, and even the family crypt. Whenever Elena comes into contact with something in the spirit world, her amulet glows and her spirit can leave her body to interact with Whispering Willows is an interesting adventure the other ghosts. You get to speak to game that is over much too quickly. The story takes some time to get going, and the pacing is a bit slow throughout. Just as things start to get exciting, the end credits are soon rolling. The game mainly falls flat and never achieves to be anything more than a pleasant ghost story.
“I see dead people…”
2.8
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REVIEW SPARKLE UNLEASHED
Reviewed by colinjbyrne 1
4
7
331 MB
whole new dimension to the gameplay, I did find it created a greater sense of urgency, with being able to move the shooter across the screen when a snake of marbles was centimetres from its target portal. Returning from previous games in the series is the ability to aim using the joysticks or using the touch screen. Though both ways work well, using the joysticks remains the best way to play, as although taping the screen can give you a more accurate shot, having your finger block the screen can hinder your progress in a game where you are constantly thinking ahead to your next move.
a time, others give you more time to battle a worryingly close marble strand. Each one can come in handy, and you’ll find yourself constantly trying different combinations to explore different ways of tackling each level. Colour blind assist mode once again makes an appearance from previous instalments, and for me personally it really was a massive help. If like myself, you suffer from colour blindness of any severity, then this mode really will be a lifesaver. With this mode enabled, each coloured marble will have a different symbol, making it much easier to decipher which marbles are from the same ilk. You can enable this anytime in a level, which really is a nice addition.
It is a difficult thing to create a unique spin on a much-loved classic puzzle game to make it feel fresh and rejuvenated. It is even more difficult to create a trilogy on that classic game that still feels unique. Yet 10Tons LTD have attempted it, but have As you begin your marble shooting they succeeded? journey, things are timid as you are slowly eased into the game. But very Sparkle Unleashed, like its quickly you will find yourself trying to predecessors, is based on the classic reduce the size of multiple strands of marble shooter Zuma. For those not marbles, constantly finding yourself familiar with the premise, a snake only just avoiding the Game Over of different coloured marbles slowly screen. This intensity really made make their way towards a “portal” and completing a particularly gruelling it is your job to make sure the rolling balls of terror do not reach their target. level extremely satisfying, and kept me coming back for more time and time You do this by shooting more marbles again. to match three or more of the same You may be starting to see a trend colour. This will lead to those marbles with this review. Sparkle Unleashed is disappearing, with the level continuing A particular highlight of the Sparkle until all marbles have been removed series so far has been its bright, fun and addicting just like the previous from play. colourful and unique art design as well games… but it is all just a bit to similar. as its fantastic audio. You get more of There are no drastic new additions, It’s a simple premise that has quite the same in Unleashed, with each level with the design and gameplay literally been done to death. The match- bursting with colour as well as having remaining almost exactly the same. three puzzle game genre has taken on That is not to say that there aren’t any a soundtrack that wouldn’t be out of many different appearances over the new additions. Chained and Rock orbs place in an epic fantasy Hollywood years on a variety of different platforms, blockbuster. I would definitely thrown into the mix do add an extra yet their popularity is still as strong sense of strategy to how you play, with recommend playing with headphones as ever. The main reason? They are in as even though the tracks do repeat, survival mode and extra difficulties addicting, they encourage you to play they are such a joy to listen to that this settings to unlock giving players a under pressure and most importantly reason to keep coming back. is quickly forgiven. they give the player that feeling of ‘just one more go’, leading to hours and Similar to previous instalments, as you But are those reasons enough to hours of frustration and satisfaction in progress through each level you will encourage people re-enter the world equal measure. unlock new power ups to assist you on of Sparkle? For the price of admission your marble destroying journey. You you do get a lot of content and it is So what do we get with Sparkle can mix and match three power up at a just as addictive as it has always been, time, and as you play increasingly more but it does all just seem a little too Unleashed? Well pretty much more of familiar. You can’t help but wonder the same, but is that really a bad thing? difficult levels you will be extremely thankful of these aides. Some assist whether creating a whole new game The most noticeable difference right you with destroying more marbles at was justified. out of the gate is with your shooter. Whereas in Sparkle 2 the shooter was in a set position, you can now move it from left to right along the bottom of the screen to aim at different marbles. Sparkle Unleashed may offer little in terms new Though this change doesn’t really add a ideas, but theres no denying its winning formula of addicting gameplay and eye-catching visuals.
3.3 Presentation
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REVIEW 2013: INFECTED WARS out by a blue circle” and then pressing the square button in that area to activate the next objective.
Reviewed by Liam Langan 1
3
8
773 MB
Action Mobile have brought their third person zombie shooter, 2013: Infected Wars, to the Vita. We all know the Vita could do with a few more shooters, but should they have left it where it was? The year is 2013 and the world as we know it is dead. Playing as one of the last surviving humans your aim is to attempt to keep a small group of survivors alive. On your path through the game you will come across several different types of Zombies and be tasked with tackling the various objectives that the game throws your way. The problem is that these zombies aren’t very well animated and they seem to be a little bit broken when it comes to AI. They also seem to get lost on the map instead of heading straight toward you like you’d expect them to. The game kits you out with several different weapons ranging from AK-47s and Pump Action Shotguns to both Missile and Grenade Launchers. These projectile launchers aren’t as powerful as you’d expect them to be though, meaning that when you come to use these weapons to take down bigger enemies you will be underwhelmed by the effect that they have. While I understand that most games in this genre generally offer the same kind of goal, this game manages to keep you locked on the idea of killing several waves of enemies before being able to complete an objective, which mostly consists of “find an area that’s marked
One of the better parts of the 2013: Infected Wars however was the leveling up system. Before starting each mission you can pick a class for your character, who can then be leveled up by using the weapons that are associated with your chosen class. Although this was one of the game’s stronger points, I found that leveling up these classes seemed to do nothing in terms of making the character feel more powerful.
I felt that the game’s cutscenes are forced upon you at silly times as well. To me it seemed like the whole purpose of these cutscenes is to spawn in a new wave of enemies while a voice actor tells you what your next objective is – and this got tiresome and repetitive to hear/watch. Each of these cutscenes lasted around thirty seconds but there was at least five in every level, and I found that instead of helping me understand the game, they were more often intrusive to play. While I don’t want to spoil too much in case you make the decision to try out the game for yourself, I found that even on the easiest difficulty the final boss of the game was extremely overpowered and near enough killed me instantly no matter what weapon I fired at it. At times I felt like I was being cheated out of completing the game which was highly annoying and took away from my enjoyment of the gameplay.
Another thing that the game is missing that would have possibly made it a little better is a multiplayer mode, which may have made the game actually fun. Even without a multiplayer mode though, some other sort of variety in gameplay would’ve also been a good idea.
One thing that I’ve always felt the Vita needed was a good zombie shooting game; one that really took advantage of the Vita’s hardware and capabilities. Instead of that though, we’ve been exposed to a game that does the exact opposite – providing a broken and dated experience that I would find hard to recommend. If you’re ever looking for an example of a game that has potential but falls flat on it’s face then I believe that this is without a doubt one of the best examples on the PlayStation Store. UK gamers can pay £4.49 to buy this, and if you ask me, I’d tell you to spend that money on any other similarly priced title on the PlayStation Store – or maybe hold off on this and pick up a game in a sale instead.
2013: Infected Wars is one of the weaker digital titles to hit the PlayStation Vita, it's too obvious at times that this is merely a port of an iOS game, and an old one at that, I'd recommend looking elsewhere for a cheap and enjoyable experience.
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As for the graphics, they are far from the best graphics I’ve seen on the Vita and you can quite easily tell that this is a port of a mobile title. If you ask me, the graphics have improved just slightly over the iOS version of the game, but they certainly have been bested by many other titles available on the platform.
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TVL MAGAZINE
SIR EATSALOT IS A STORY ABOUT A CHUBBY KNIGHT, STRIVING TO SAVE HIS KINGDOM FROM THE INTENTIONS OF AN EVIL WITCH. WE SPOKE TO GERMAN DEVELOPER BEHIND THE STONE ABOUT THEIR UPCOMING PLATFORMER.
What kind of gameplay mechanics feature in the game? The game is not your typical platformer like Super Mario Bros. or Kirby's Adventure (which are great of course!). The important thing in Sir Eatsalot is adventuring. You might be tempted to try and rush through the game, but that won't get you anywhere. We want you to pay attention to We're “Behind the Stone,” a very small indie studio from your surroundings, to closely examine the level. Sir Eatsalot Hamburg, Germany. Our team consists of two and ¾ people: is heavily focused on level exploration, and there will be my name is Slawa, I'm the programmer and the studio's various puzzles to solve and quests to complete in order to co-founder along with Monika, our 2D artist; Maurice is our second programmer, and we've also got two students on the progress. The level design allows players to backtrack, but Sir Eatsalot is not strictly speaking a Metroidvania, even it team with Marco in charge of sound design and Monique borrows elements from that genre. For example, there's a doing graphic design. Slawa and Monika are essentially quest in Level B where you have to travel back to Level A the only ones who can work full-time on the game, since and once completed certain passages of Level A will open Maurice has another full-time job and Marco and Monique up you had not access to before. The levels are connected in have to focus on their studies. It's a challenge at times, but a specific way. for now we're making the best of it. Hello Behind the Stone! Can you tell us a little bit about your studio and why you got into games? Hey Vita Lounge! Thank you for the opportunity to introduce ourselves and our game.
Why games? We love them. We grew up with them. Video games can be more than simple entertainment, and the incredible influence that games have on people and society is proof of that. That's why we got into games: to be a part of it. What is Sir Eatsalot about, and what was the inspiration for the game? Sir Eatsalot is about a chubby knight who must save Gluttington Kingdom from Hysterica, an evil witch who has poisoned the lands with sour lemonade. In order to find her and put an end to her machinations, our hero has to travel across the kingdom, defeat her minions, solve puzzles, and interact with a host of funky characters. The game is a 2D adventure platformer with a strong focus on level exploration. To be honest, there wasn't any obvious inspiration for the game. Almost twelve years ago I was bored in chemistry class and drew (with my terrible drawing skills) two circles, a head and a belly, and called it "Sir Eatsalot." My original idea was to make a comic strip out of it just for fun, but I couldn't draw so I gave up on the idea. Years later I was studying game development when I met Monika, who was studying graphic design. We teamed up and decided to make games together. I told her about my idea of a chubby knight who loves to eat, and now three years later we're doing it for real.
How are you making use of the Vita’s functionality? Lots of games for the Vita use nothing more than the front touchscreen. As Vita players, we always think its kind of sad when that's all there is to it, so we set the bar higher for ourselves. We thought, “If we're developing this game on a platform with such cool hardware features, we'd better make good use of them!” The whole game is built around the hardware features, especially as it relates to input. You control the character using the D-Pad, the analog sticks and the action buttons, but apart from that you've got to use the front and rear touchscreens to interact with your surroundings. If you're in a cave and its pitch-black, hold the PS Vita camera up to a real-life light source such as a lamp or the sun and it will illuminate the level. Needless to say, the boss fights will also feature the use of certain hardware features! How is the development going? Do you have a rough idea of when you want to release the game? Development is going steady, generally speaking. Since the game is asset-heavy and Monika is the only artist who can work full-time on the graphics, it will still take some time. We're hopeful that we can finish the game by the end of the year. The actual release date will probably be sometime in Q1 of 2016, since we can't (and don't want to) compete with all the big titles coming out at the end of the year... er, I mean, we don't want to steal the show from them! The Vita Lounge Magazine | 39
DEV DIARY The idea for Sir Eatsalot came up around 2012, back when we had no clue about game development and decided that we needed to start as simple as can be with a basic Super Mario clone. Monika and I were also gaining experience through various other projects at the time, and we quickly found out that Sir Eatsalot was more than just a simple Platformer. Once we had the basic idea, we began to think about distribution. We may not have had much experience back then, but we did have a plan. At the time we had ruled out a release for PC, let alone the consoles. Bringing the game to iOS was of distribution. We started to revise our game terms in easy was it because do to thing natural the confident that the game could be successful pretty were we and iPhone, the to it adapt to design nagging us about Sir Eatsalot, something always was there minds our of back the in But there. just didn't feel right. After lots something wrong; was what tell couldn't we time long a for although design, even the platform game the style, art The right. felt nothing clear: became it discussions of appropriate. really not was We wanted the game to look great, but it didn't. We didn't want the game to be just a simple platformer, but that's what it was. We were going for an adventure where the player has to interact with the level while moving through it freely, but smartphones were imposing hard limits on our input features. There would be nothing but problems if the player had to touch objects on-screen while also tapping the directional buttons to move around. So we sat down and talked about what we should change. Our first point was that the art style should complement the game design, which we wanted to be in-depth. We had a flat, two-dimensional art style, which we sort of liked but we weren't in love with it. We thought it should look more appealing, with lots of details so the player feels immersed in the level. As Monika created different mood boards and shaped a new art style for the game, it became clear that the new art style (seen in the screenshots) was the way to go.
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Now that we knew what the game should look like, we had to recognize that a different platform was needed to make it feel right. Mobile was out of the question, and PC wouldn't really fit oles the game design. It was down to cons the that ded then, and we quickly deci PlayStation Vita was exactly what we wanted. It has hardware buttons (and we sure love our buttons!) – And all that e fancy hardware is predestined for a gam to rols cont basic the like this. We could map nd arou fool to free the buttons and still be with all the other hardware features. rice This was around the same time that Mau , and we're incredibly mer ram prog nd seco joined the team as our 't have itional IT industry, and although he didn happy that he did. He works in the trad made a huge r, he knows how to code and that has too much experience as a game develope difference. t the game with power, we agreed that we shouldn't bloa Despite the influx of programming man in a meaningful We wanted to implement each feature hardware features just because we can. we could get to be annoying, so we thought about how way. The mechanics are not supposed touchpad. Pretty they're using the gyroscope or the rear the player to think, "This is fun!" when the Unity engine in the works, and thanks to PSM and soon we had several interesting concepts g on PSM had its otypes on our retail PS Vita. Developin we were able to make some quick prot didn't have potential of the PS Vita (GPU/CPU) and limits, though: We couldn't use the full PSM game. We ures. Also, we didn't want to make a access to the full range of hardware feat be featured in ged game for the PS Vita that would felt confident enough to make a fully-fled in some littlethe actual PlayStation Store and not contact known category. The time had come to actual dev get SONY and pitch the game in order to ing as fund e kits and maybe, with a little luck, som well.
which we We got the DevKits but not the funding, e will still still need to be honest. However, the gam faith in have be exclusive to the PS Vita because we and in e, war the dedicated community, in the hard the PS as seen our game. We hope it will come to be 's Vita the of Vita game that gets the most fun out hardware features.
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DANGANRONPA: ANOTHER EPISODE: ULTRA DESPAIR GIRLS The increasing excitement for Ultra Despair Girls as we get closer to that September release has taken Another Episode to the top of our list. Bridging the two existing stories and tasking you with a whole host of new riddles, challenges, puzzles you'll see some familiar faces as they attempt to escape the city of despair. If you loved the other Danganronpa titles this must surely be on your wish list.
SEVERED Dropping a spot in our chart doesn't take away from the fact that we are still very excited for this Vita exclusive from Drinkbox Studios. With an amazing art style, touch mechanics to remove enemy body parts and unleash offensive and defensive manoeuvres and featuring a "fully stylised twisted reality" it's still one of the games that we are excited for the most.
VOLUME Depending on when you are reading this, Mike Bithell's reimagining on the classic Robin Hood story will either be out very soon or already out. If it's already out, why are you reading this and not playing it? With over 100 levels and a level creator there's lots to keep you occupied and has a great story and voice cast which includes Andy Serkis. If you love stealth and a challenge, you'll love this.
NOT A HERO We don't actually have a date for Not a Hero, but it still isn't stopping us from being excited. Serving an anthropomorphic rabbit by the name of Bunnylord, you are needed to rather violently clean up the city during his campaign. A 2.5D sidescrolling cover shooter with the same reaction based game play you would expect from those Roll 7 chaps.
SUPER MEAT BOY Many gamers were resigned to never experiencing Team Meat's challenging platformer on a PlayStation system and then out of nowhere we were told that it wasn't only coming later this year, but it will launch on PlayStation Plus too! Acclaimed and revered elsewhere when it originally launched, we can't wait to get it on the Vita!
NOT SURE WHAT'S COMING FO WHAT WE ARE EXCITED FOR THE GAMES THAT ARE EXCITIN WAIT - ARE YOU LOOKING FO
OR THE VITA? WANT TO KNOW R? HERE IS A SELECTION OF NG US THE MOST! WE CAN'T ORWARD TO THESE TITLES?
DIGIMON STORY CYBER SLEUTH We all thought that it would never happen. Even an extensive campaign on Change.org seemed to have fallen on deaf ears but in an amazing twist Bandai Namco showed that they were listening and this will arrive in 2016. Set in the near future, the line between the real and digital worlds is blurred. Logging into cyberspace is part of everyday life. For one teenager, a harmless on-line chat spawns a chance encounter with a mysterious hacker.
HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER An action RPG which is considered to be a cross between The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past and Diablo, Hyper Light drifter is presented in a 8/16 bit art style and features modernised mechanics. You'll explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with unknown dangers and lost technologies. Inspired by nightmares and dreams alike.
AXIOM VERGE Right now we don't even know when this will make the journey to the Vita, development seems to have stalled but we really hope it does. A retro-styled 2D “Metroidvania” actionadventure, inspired by such classics as Rygar, Contra, Bionic Commando, Blaster Master, and, of course, Metroid the game gives you power over glitches like those found in classic games, allowing you to scramble enemies, corrupt environments, and enter hidden areas.
PERSONA 4: DANCING ALL NIGHT Still hanging around our most anticipate games, this rhythmic spin-off from the Persona 4 is set a short while after the events of P4G and boasts more than 30 tracks, with many remixed from the original title. Musical fans and Persona lovers will no doubt be excited. It has performed quite well in Japan and boosted Vita sales whilst it was at it too. But you'd expect that, no?
SENRAN KAGURA ESTIVAL VERSUS Staying on our chart for a second month and due out later this year, this game has the biggest roster in the series’ history, and features more moves, more story, more attitude, and more destruction online with matches that can support up to four players.
VITA in Paris is a French PS Vita community that primarily plays multiplayer Vita titles online and in real life. If you are a French speaking individual or if you are in Paris please come and join in! vitainparis.fr
/vitainparis
Frédérik Maillard – also known as Drake and DrakeFromParis for PSN ID – is the creator of the VITA in Paris community. He told us about his objectives and the inspiration for founding the website. I bought my first PS Vita in August 2013. Despite the special offer price of €150 instead of €300 I was wary due to the limited amount of games on store shelves. I was still not sure if the Vita would satisfy my gaming appetite, and it was hard to find information on Vita games online. After playing some of the games that were available – such as Sonic & All-Stars Racing, Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Soul Sacrifice, Dragon’s Crown, Virtua Tennis 4 and many more - I immediately saw the potential with this handheld to participate in multiplayer events, both online and in real life. A couple of months later in October I created the VITA in Paris French community as a website to bring together like-minded gamers and play multiplayer Vita games together. I was mainly inspired by the DS in Paris website which I was part of, a French community which participated in gaming for Nintendo handhelds. Ever since I started to play games I liked to play together with other gamers, from video games on Amstrad CPC, to card playing like Magic, or miniatures like Heroclix, and now video games again on PS2, PS3, PS4 and PS Vita. It seemed natural for me to share my love for this handheld console, with its amazing graphics and controls and very cool games. Some very good followers helped me out to keep a very fun and relaxed atmosphere in our events and to find great ideas for our community and to share our love for the Vita. Five of 44 | The Vita Lounge Magazine
@vitainparis
contact@vitainparis.fr
them - Popolulu, Kisuzuke, LtGlloq, Younz and Weekings33 - are the pillars of the community, they are frequently present at the events. They are my counsellors, they like to share information on their preferred games and they participate for me when I am not available for an event. Thank you my friends! Other gamers have become very good friends too, and we are very pleased to have met so many, all with a mutual interest for the Vita. The three objectives of VITA in Paris
OBJECTIVE 1: MULTIPLAYER GAMING The primary function of VITA in Paris is to arrange multiplayer sessions, either online or in real life to adult French speaking Vita gamers. People come to chill, play, laugh, and meet other people that love video games just like they do. The homepage of our website has the details for the meetings in the current month. For each meeting a link also leads to its announcement on the French PlayStation Forum, so people can say there if they will come and to tell what game they would like to play for fun or which objective they want to reach with the help of other players. For online events we meet up in a Party on the PS Vita from our homes, generally every Wednesday evening. People can propose before the event to host a lounge in Party on a specific game with a starting time, so other people can apply to these lounges and
connect at the same time to play together. For real life meetings we generally meet on Thursday evenings, in cafés and restaurants in Paris, so we can relax, eat and drink whilst talking and playing together, and take advantage of the free Wi-Fi if there is any! In my experience, Video game stores do not want to host our meetings because they want to focus only on selling games. They do not want to sell drinks and food and to manage special areas to invite customers, but cafés and restaurants are perfect to hold meetings for handheld consoles and are very welcoming. We play PS Vita games in multiplayer or solo, but also on PS TV and on the PSP. We have also been offering demonstrations of new games in partnership with distributors, like Toukiden Kiwami from Koei Tecmo and J-Stars Victory VS+ from Bandai Namco to allow players to test new games before their release date and to possibly even win a copy under certain conditions! We also arrange tournaments for titles such WipEout 2048 and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 and many others, making for some competitive events and even allowing participants to win a copy of a game of their choice from those offered to VITA in Paris by the PlayStation Forum Community Managers Mad_Lily and Vince_Tee. Whilst we are there we talk about new games or incoming new releases on the Vita, and we share information, tips and hints about solo or multiplayer games. The multiplayer games we like to play the most currently are Spelunky, Freedom Wars, Toukiden Kiwami, J-Stars, Helldivers, Earth
Defense Force 2017 Portable, and many more! Here is below a picture of frequently played games during our online and IRL events; green text is for IRL number of players, blue text is for online number of players, for each game. I wish it will encourage other people to do the same in other big cities !
OBJECTIVE 2: SHARING INFORMATION The second aim of our community is to inform Vita gamers about the upcoming and existing games for the PS Vita, and to share information, tips and hints about these games. Because there is very little advertising for the Vita and its games, many gamers do not know that the PS Vita has plenty of titles. Today there are more than 400 released Vita titles, and more than 300 PSP compatible games Sony may not be producing AAA games anymore for Vita, but we still want to encourage third party publishers and independent studios to produce games for the Vita. Many people are still expecting big licences they already know and that was ported on PSP, like Monster Hunter, Grand Theft Auto, Gran Turismo, Motorstorm, Soul Calibur, and so on. Whilst it is unlikely that these games will arrive anytime soon for the Vita, the PSP versions of these games are still available on the
Store and are compatible with the PS Vita with their local multiplayer, and it is always nice to play them. We believe that the PS Vita has something special to offer, even today.
All PS Vita games are very fun to play everywhere on the go, with dual analog sticks, touchscreen, precise controls and HD graphics, instead of being played on a computer or on a home console.
The PS Vita is currently for the gamers who like RPG, action and adventure, monster hunter likes, fighting, arcade and scoring games, but not for those who wants only well-known big licences. However, saying the Vita has no games is nonsense. It has already plenty of well-known big licences with HD new games and HD remakes, but it has some very good exclusives and new licences and independent games are completely new to the large audience, because they have very poor media coverage. It would be great to have more Party games playable in local ad hoc, to make the Vita more appealing to the general public, like Puzzle Bobble / Bust-aMove or multiplayer rhythm games for example. The Japanese market for the PS Vita is in very good shape, and many Japanese-only games are translated later into English, and many more are now being localized in multiple languages, like J-Stars Victory VS+. We hope this will continue, because we like Japanese games, with games like Gundam Breaker 2, God Eater, Taiko Drum Master (hello Bandai Namco !) and Puyo Puyo Tetris for example.
OBJECTIVE 3: EXPAND THE COMMUNITY
The third goal of this community is to expand. With the help of those that like our community, we hope that by talking about VITA in Paris whenever they can, like in their forum signature, or in a comment of a web site, or a tweet, or talk about us to other Vita owners and by any means that can help us to find new players to come and join in with us play together. It would be also amazing if we could inspire other Vita communities to emerge from elsewhere in the world, to propose their own meetings in cafÊs or restaurants or in any place that can fit to this purpose. If we could inspire other gamers to find each other around the world to meet on a regular basis it would be magnificent. My dream is to see other communities – imagine VITA in Nice, VITA in Toulouse, and in other big cities such as VITA in London, VITA in Berlin, VITA in New York, VITA in Tokyo!
The PS Vita is not region locked, so we play some Japanese games when text is not necessary to enjoy the gameplay. We also support some petitions, like Thanks for reading and I hope to speak the one on change.org to get Freedom to you soon! Wars localized and in retail version.
The Vita Lounge Magazine | 45
The love for the Vita that some of our fans has is incredible, but the belief in us and this magazine that the following readers have shown is truly incredible. Thank you for your support guys! If you see them on your online adventures, please say hello!
Curtis
While not as passionate or devoted a fan as some, I'm nonetheless very fond of my Vita. I am in desperate need of a life, a haircut and more SRPGs to feed my crippling addiction - an addiction the Vita feeds quite nicely with access to older games and the new. Since it's on the smaller side, I feel right at home as a part of the community too. The Vita has everything I like in gaming and lacks most of the things I find irksome - if you ignore the community outrage after every Sony press conference, that is.
Liam Allen-Miller
@2BFLiam or SuperBestFriendsPlay.com I'm Liam from Super Best Friends Play, and I've been a huge fan of the Vita since day one. I love handheld games, and Vita is the absolute cream of the crop. My favourite Vita games are Freedom Wars and Danganronpa!
Todd
Patrick Albrecht
Cowlauncher @Cowlauncher I love Danganronpa, Gravity Rush, Guacamelee!, Unfinished Swan, Limbo and Uncharted.
Tom Grinnell
@Updated8Seconds youtube.com/Updated8SecondsAgo (Youtube Commentator) Featuring PS Vita, PS4 & PC Games. Home Of The Series One Night Stand.
@albrechtpatr I'm loving Japanese games since I had a PSvita. Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment and Phantasy Star Nova are my favourites.
Kody Storm
TomNinetyTwo @ TomNinetyTwo Favourite Vita games: Unit 13, Toukiden, Killzone Mercenary. Playing this month Borderlands 2.
Lorenzo Samaniego
@ZoSamaniego I have been an avid Vita supporter since the slim version was launched. The main reason I love my Vita is because of its versatility. Great Vita games, access to PSOne Classics, and Remote Play make it a beautiful trifecta! My favorite games include Freedom Wars, Velocity 2X, and P4G.
Jens Brinkmann
Jens Brinkmann generously pledged to appear here but we could not get in touch with him to fill this section. Thanks for your generous support Jens!
Adam Klarich
Adam Klarich generously pledged to appear here but we could not get in touch with him to fill this section. Thanks for your generous support Adam!
Carl Jennings
almighty-slayer @PooWithEyes My favourite Vita games are Tearaway, Velocity 2X and Gravity Rush. I'm trying to get back into Persona 4 Golden but always get distracted. Interviews! es! ! Developer est Gam iew13 Reviews! Devel 18 Reviews! Lat Interv ope
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SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON AND GET A COPY OF THE MAGAZINE DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR! WWW.PATREON.COM/THEVITALOUNGE
Also, a big thanks for all you who supported us and made this forth issue possible! Lars, Daniel, Jonathan, Brian G, John B, Andreas, Carl J, Kevin, Holt, Dmitry, Andrew, Mohammed, Liam, Adrian, Matthew, Chris, Wilson, Richard, Stephen, Wictor, Joe, DeathMoJo, Kelvin, Thulsa, Rick, Richard F, Devin, GadgetGirlKylie, Tim G, Daniel, Lori, Jan-Hendrik, Brian T, S. Frappier, Britta, Shelley, Kyle, Juha, Brad, Stephen T, Gomez, Ben, Conor, Chris, Benjamin, Shabbir, Gary, Bradley, Matt, Daniel S, Juan, Erick, Tom L, Gabe, Steven B and Greg Miller
DIRECTORY THE BEST 2015 VITA GAMES SO FAR
5
1.5 GB 2 16
23
4.9
OLLIOLLI 2: WELCOME TO OLLIWOOD
KICK & FENNICK
4.6
4.6
436 MB 6 8
12
3.7 GB 2 16
26
4.6
2.8 GB 10 5
20
4.4
3.0 GB 2 7
38
HOTLINE MIAMI 2: WRONG NUMBER
808 MB 1 1
13
2.9 GB 4 10
4.6
403 MB 8 6
14
3.2 GB 2 11
36
TOUKIDEN: KIWAMI
26
4.5
GEOMETRY WARS 3: DIMENSIONS EVOLVED
SHOVEL KNIGHT
FLAME OVER
4.5
4.9
144 MB 1 4 7
ATELIER AYESHA PLUS: THE ALCHEMIST OF DUSK
BROKEN AGE
4.6
GRIM FANDANGO REMASTERED
TETRIS ULTIMATE
STEINS; GATE
465 MB 3 6
28
4.4
71.4 MB 4 17 9
The Vita Lounge Magazine | 47
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*All content subject to change