9 Reviews | Developer Features | Latest News
The Vita Lounge M A G A Z I N E
Welcome
Hello Vita Gamers!
issue of our Welcome to another Vita-packed s have released title Vita t grea e mor n Eve magazine! issue we bring this in since the last time we met, and Stranger title er cov g udin you many highlights - incl more about on of Sword City, which you can find out page 14.
REGULARS Paul Murphy PMurphy1978
Founder
our opinions on In addition to that, you'll also find nt, Rocketbirds Giga Ray g udin incl es, another 8 gam . 2. and Trillion: God of Destruction new developer interviews, and this Inside this issue you will also find ry Dino Dini - creator of the fabulous time we caught up with the legenda are e to speak with Kitfox Games - who Kick Off series, and also found tim ure feat l fina our In . ters g Moon Hun responsible for the fantastic-lookin , who many of you will know are dios Stu Ska at team we spoke to the ctuary. San behind the eagerly awaited Salt and some words from Planete Vita, a new Also in the following pages you'll get Vita in Paris, the latest in news and Vita project from the team behind for! releases, and what we are excited lack of mainstream coverage, there Despite the constant negativity and each month on the Vita, and we will is still plenty to get excited about t bits in any form we can! continue to bring you all of the bes e, and I hope to see you here again I really hope that you enjoy this issu next time on July 11th!
04 BITE-SIZED NEWS
BITE-SIZED NEWS
THE LATEST VITA NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD!
06 NEW RELEASES ANYTHING FOR YOU FROM THE LATEST RELEASES THIS MONTH?
07 HOT TEN THE UPCOMING VITA GAMES WE ARE MOST EXCITED FOR
36 COMMUNITY FEATURE WANT TO JOIN OUR AWESOME PSVITA TEAM OF ENTHUSIASTS? WE ARE LOOKING FOR NEW TALENT FOR THE WEBSITE AND THE MAGAZINE! IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, PLEASE VISIT WWW.THEVITALOUNGE. NET/JOBS FOR MORE DETAILS!
PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING OUR PATREON – IT WOULD REALLY BE APPRECIATED AND WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO SUPPORTING WHAT WE DO! FOR $9 PER ISSUE YOU WILL GET A PRINT COPY OF THIS MAGAZINE DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR! YOU CAN FIND OUR PATREON PAGE AT WWW.PATREON.COM/THEVITALOUNGE 11 Re 11 Re 13 Re 10 Re 10 Re views views views views views ! Dev ! Dev ! Dev ! Dev ! Dev elope elope elope elope elope r Fea r Fea r Fea r Fea r Fea tures tures tures tures tures ! Late ! Late ! Late ! Late ! Late st Ne st Ne st Ne st Ne st Ne ws! ws! ws! ws! ws!
WE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT PLANETE VITA AND THEIR VITA COVERAGE
37 THESE ARE THE BEST GAMES SO FAR THIS YEAR. HOW MANY DO YOU HAVE?
39 PATREON STARS
T T The V T T ita Lo he Vita Lo he Vita Lo he Vita Lo he Vita Lo unge unge unge unge unge M A G A Z I N E
9 Reviews | Developer Features | Latest News
The Vita Lounge M A G A Z I N E
5
M A G A Z I N E
M A G A Z I N E
M A G A Z I N E
The Vita Lounge Magazine EDITORIAL TEAM Executive Editor / Paul Murphy @pmurphy1978 Editor-in-Chief / Kyle Wakeling @teflontactics 8 6 7 Deputy Editor / Charlie Large @CharlieLarge Deputy Editor / Jenny Jones @Kitty_has_Klaws Podcast Editor / Tyler Olthoff @imsohappy77 MAGAZINE DESIGN Art Editor / Jhonatan Carneiro @JhoCarneiro
THE MAGAZINE WOULDN'T BE POSSBILE WITHOUT THESE AWESOME PEOPLE
M A G A Z I N E
Issue 14 | June 2016 WEBSITE TEAM Colin Byrne @ColinJByrne Timmy9 Garrett @timmygarrett40k Reece Heyworth @rheyworth07
@PSVitaMag CONTRIBUTORS Artie Fox @ArtieFox Liam Langan @LiamHangover Planete Vita @PlaneteVita
to your
Magazine!
DEVELOPER FEATURES
08
DINO DINI'S KICK OFF REVIVAL
10 MOON HUNTERS
WE SPEAK TO LEGENDARY DEVELOPER DINO DINI TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIS UPCOMING FOOTBALL TITLE
12
IF YOU LOVE BEAUTIFUL PIXEL DESIGNS AND ADVENTURE TITLES YOU'LL WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MOON HUNTERS
SALT AND SANCTUARY
FEATURING ON MANY PEOPLE'S MOST WANTED LSTS, WE FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS GAME FROM SKA STUDIOS
REVIEWS 14
Stranger of Sword City
23
Ray Gigant
30
Tachyon Project
17
Rocketbirds 2: Evolution
26
The Sun & Moon
32
Trillion: God of Destruction
20
MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies
28
Neverending Nightmares
34
Azkend 2
thevitalounge.net SPECIAL THANKS Kitfox Games @kitfoxgames Dino Dini @dndn1011 The Digital Lounge @TheDigitaLounge Ska Studios @skastudios Limited Run Games @LimitedRunGames and Play-Asia.com @PlayAsia
@TheVitaLounge COVERAGE Are you a developer? If you are working on PSVita content and want to get it covered for FREE 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!
patreon.com/TheVitaLounge DISCLAIMER The Vita Lounge is an independent PlayStation Vita enthusiast website and magazine. 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. © 2015-2016 The Vita Lounge
BITE-SIZED NEWS FREE DLC for Minecraft introduces new mode
Western release for Dragon Quest Builders announced
Team Minecraft have announced that new DLC will arrive for for the block-building hit this month, introducing a free-forall death match mode. In this mode, players will have to use randomly generated resources to win, which are found in chests within specially-designed PVP maps.
If you've been excited for Dragon Quest Builders then you'll be pleased to hear that the game will be released digitally this October. Gameplay wise, you can expect Dragon Quest Builders to combine the classic Dragon Quest RPG formula with the endless possibilities of the crafting available in Minecraft to make a sandbox action RPG where only your imagination is the limit.
The last man standing is victorious, but if you fall, you’ll still be involved in the action. After being defeated, players will return to the battlefield in the form of a bat! This allows you to fly freely around the map, even distracting players if you are in to such dirty tactics.
Steins; Gate 0 confirmed for western release Set in the same time period as the original, Steins;Gate 0 will be heading to the west in 2016. The original Steins;Gate had many bad endings, and the sequel follows Rintaro Okabe after one of the games less than positive conclusions. Upset by what has happened in this ending, he discovers he may have a second chance thanks to an AI program named Amadeus.
Little Deviants Each month, those with a PlayStation Plus subscription will get at least two titles for their Vita as part of their Instant Game Collection. In June, Vita gamers will be able to download Little Deviants and God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP).
4
The Vita Lounge Magazine
Essentially a tech demo of what the Vita can do, Little Deviants was a launch title full of ideas frustratingly marred by poor execution. It does have some enjoyable moments, but for the most part is best avoided.
thevitalounge.net
10 Second Ninja X dated Curve Digital and Four Circle Interactive have announced that we’ll be able to get our hands on this nimble ninja title on July 19th worldwide, with all six worlds and sixty levels of it available at your fingertips for quick bouts of Vita-based ninjitsu. Each level is a puzzle which you must be quick, smart, and skilled to solve in just 10 seconds – and doing so will earn you either one, two, or three stars based on the outcome.
SteamWorld Heist hits PlayStation Vita this June
Airship Q updated with English translation Miracle Positive has released their version 1.02 update for Airship Q, and it just got a whole lot more attractive to importers as a result. Those looking for English PlayStation Vita titles to import can add another to their list of possibilities, as pixel art platformer Airship Q has just gained English – as well as Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Korean – language options as a result of its latest update.
Four Sided Fantasy might not reach the Vita
Originally set to release before the end of May, SteamWorld Heist has now been confirmed for a June 7th release in North America, and June 8th release in Europe. A followup to SteamWorld Dig, Heist has you playing in the same universe - but takes things to a different perspective as you take to the skies on a space adventure. Board, loot, and shoot your way through ships to progress!
Developer Logan Fieth recently posted news about his upcoming title Four Sided Fantasy, and made no mention of the Vita version. When pressed he said "Unfortunately we had a change of plans (and publisher), which means that currently we can only confirm the PS4 and PC versions of the game. We’re not ruling it out yet, though".
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
Polls Apart!
For the second month in a row, we get a PSP God of War title rather than the native HD Collection. Nevertheless, with a 91% Metacritic score it is one of the best PSP titles as you play as Kratos, carving through mythology's darkest creatures including Medusa, Cyclops, the Hydra and more!
We asked on Twitter if you were happy with these titles for the IGC. The results are:
Yes 41% Both 18% One 23%
No 39%
Not sure 20%
Source: Twitter Poll, 607 votes @PSVitaMag
The Vita Lounge Magazine
5
One Piece: Burning Blood June 3rd EU
WE KNOW THAT VITA GAMES CAN APPEAR WITHOUT MUCH NOTICE, BUT HERE ARE SOME OF THE GAMES WE SHOULD BE SEEING THIS MONTH!
SteamWorld Heist
June 7th NA / June 8th EU
Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book June 7th NA / June 10th EU
Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir
XBlaze Lost: Memories
Grand Kingdom
God Eater: Resurrection
LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens June 28th NA & EU
Zero Escape 3: Zero Time Dilemma June 28th NA & EU
Lumo
June 21st EU
6
The Vita Lounge Magazine
June 21st NA / June 17th EU
June 7th NA / June 24th EU
June 28th NA
TBC June
thevitalounge.net
Ho eN THE VITA GAMES WE ARE MOST EXCITED FOR!
NEW DANGANRONPA V3
DARKEST DUNGEON
darkestdungeon.com @RedHookStudios
@spikechunsoft
SALT AND SANCTUARY
ska-studios.com/salt @skastudios
LEGO STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
lego.com/en-gb/starwars/games/videogame @LSWGame
YIIK
ackkstudios.wordpress.com @ackkstudios
ATTACK ON TITAN
@koeitecmoeurope
DRAGON QUEST HEROES 2
dragonquest-game.com/heroes @SquareEnix @PSVitaMag
DRIFTER
celsiusgs.com/drifter @celsiusgs
WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY
worldoffinalfantasy.square-enix.com @square_enix_eu
HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER
heart-machine.com @HeartMachineZ The Vita Lounge Magazine
7
Dino Dini
facebook.com/KickOffRevival @dndn1011 Hello Dino, Thanks for taking the time to talk to us! Can you tell us a little bit about how you got into developing games? From an early age I was into technology, playing around with electronics at the age of five. I wanted to make games that seemed alive. When I first saw video games, I did not just want to play them, I wanted to make them. My parents bought me an Acorn System 1 when I was 13, and I started spending all my spare time making games and performing experiments with technology. You've been out of game development for some time, what was the motivation for you returning to make Kick Off Revival? Making video game is what I was born to do. Since the mid 90's I have tried to find a way of making that possible, but the industry made it very hard for indie developers to earn a living. This has changed now and it has become possible again to earn a living making video games as an independent developer. So, the way I look at it is that I am just carrying on from where I left off 20 years ago. 8
The Vita Lounge Magazine
IF YOU LOVE FOOTBALL AND GREW UP IN THE 1990S THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU WERE A FAN OF KICK OFF, WHICH WAS AROUND BEFORE THE GAME BECAME SENSIBLE OR COMMERCIALISED. WE CAUGHT UP WITH LEGENDARY DEVELOPER DINO DINI TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIS UPCOMING REVIVAL OF THE CLASSIC FRANCHISE. Kick Off was a huge part on many gamers lives in the early 1990s, but many gamers may not know that your ties had long been severed with the franchise. Is this you reclaiming what was rightfully yours? What did you make of those Kick Off games that you weren't involved with? I reached the top of the industry as a nobody, then I became a nobody again, because I was unable to capitalise on what had happened. What did I do? I had problems with Anco, and I had to leave - and they kept the Kick Off name, which was a disaster. It's like I'd written a best-selling book, and then was unable to continue my best-selling series. It just doesn't happen to authors! But it happened to me. Many versions of Kick Off were done outside of my control, in some cases with my source code used without permission. I never even looked at these versions. The only true versions were ST, Amiga and the Mega Drive, as well as the PC conversion of GOAL! by Chris Sawyer. Everything else I do not trust as being a faithful reproduction of my designs.
Kick Off Revival is very much a reimagining of that classic experience, and it looks and plays just as remembered - including that single button mechanic. Was this essential to your vision? I almost made it two buttons and two sticks, but this was just the voices of detractors from the 1990's confusing me, which is another story. I was trying to fix problems with my game that were not actually there. I realised my mistake at the 2015 Kick Off 2 World Cup in Dublin. I decided to go back to the purity of the original design, realising that it was not a limitation, but a crucial identity forming constraint. The important things will be retained: The ball is not stuck to your feet; you can shoot the way you want; aiming and swerving the ball will be 100% under your control. The game is going to be in 3D, but only because it is actually easier to make games like that these days. I may offer different camera views, but the default views will be the classic top down approach of Kick Off 2 and GOAL!, thevitalounge.net
perhaps with small adjustments. The spirit will be that of the old games, but designed with the modern hardware in mind. It’s easy to pick up and play because you only use one the left joystick and one button to control gameplay. But it’s also hard to master. I wanted to keep that. For those that have never played one of the classic Kick Off titles before, how would you describe the game? Many people who have seen Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival have spontaneously mentioned Rocket League. Dino Dini's Kick Off Revival is a fast paced football (soccer) game where you need fast reactions, precise touches and control in order to beat you opponent and the goalkeeper. It is not about the glitz and glamour of football; it's about you and the field being able to score when it matters. It is a sport in itself.
@PSVitaMag
What game modes can players expect to experience from the start? Practice mode, player vs AI, local PvP and Netplay. Other features are planned but may not be available from day 1. When we spoke at EGX you indicated plans to offer additional content post launch. Can you share and ideas on what could be added to the game? It is likely that we will follow a similar path that Kick Off took.. With the game being improved over time, but with the feedback of the fans and players. Will you be offering cross buy or even cross play with the PS4 version? That would be nice! What do you make of the Vita as a system, and what inspired you to make Kick Off Revival for the Vita? The Vita is a very nice system. And I am aiming to make the experience very similar between PS4 and Vita. I started on the Vita because Shahid at Sony sent me a kit, which is how Revival began.
Are there any games that stand out to you on the Vita? I can't really comment on that as I have not had time to play any! Jeff Minter reimagined his classic Tempest series for the Vita in the form of TXK, but Atari's lawyers cried foul and the game is no longer available. Is there any risk of this with Kick Off Revival? This is Dino Dini's Kick Off. Our final question is a tough one, there are two Vita models available, the OLED and the Slim. Which do you think is best? I have not tried both out, so I cannot comment.
We would like to thank both Dino for his time and Anne from The Digital Lounge for making this possible. Are you looking forward to Kick Off Revival? The Vita Lounge Magazine
9
Kitfox Games
moonhuntersgame.com @kitfoxgames
HAVE YOU BEEN KEEPING AN EYE ON MOON HUNTERS? THE GAME IS A "MYTH-WEAVING ADVENTURE" FOR UP TO FOUR PLAYERS AND TASKS YOU WITH SOLVING ANCIENT MYSTERIES AND BUILDING MYTHOLOGIES IN A RANDOMLY GENERATED HAND-PAINTED ADVENTURE. WE SPOKE TO CANADIAN DEVELOPERS KITFOX GAMES TO FIND OUT MORE. Hello Xin! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us today! Can you give us a little background into Kitfox Games? Hello, sure! My name is Xin Ran Liu, art director and co-founder of Kitfox Games, an indie development studio based in Montreal. We've released two titles so far, Shattered Planet and Moon Hunters. You are currently working on Moon Hunters. Can you tell us a little bit about it? Moon Hunters is a 1 to 4 player co-op personality test adventure, set in an occult Ancient Mesopotamia. Every action and choice your hero makes will change their reputation and alter the way they will be remembered.
What was the inspiration behind Moon Hunters? The setting is heavily inspired by Ancient Mesopotamia. We did a lot of research on various mythologies of Antiquity and reference many of those in the encounters. The gameplay, especially the alternating is influenced by Dungeons of Fayte, a small indie title that our creative director Tanya created with her partner Brent Ellison.
With the game encouraging multiple plays, is there any lasting effect from previous completion? Yes! Each play through rewards the players with at least one constellation, in memory of their heroic deeds. Certain special conditions can also unlock special The game is procedurally generated each constellations that have lasting effects time, and encourages you to replay the on all successive play throughs, such adventure to uncover new parts of the as 2 unlockable classes, the ability to story. How long will each play through understand animals and communicate take? with spirits, unlocking new areas and Typically, a single play through lasts about biomes, etc. The ingredients discovered in 45 minutes. The player is encouraged a finished play through will also carry over to play the game over and over again, to the next, allowing the player to prepare unlocking new content and discovering more and more refined dishes when new stories. camping. 10
The Vita Lounge Magazine
thevitalounge.net
Exactly how much is there to discover in Moon Hunters? I would say that an average player would have to spend at least 6 hours to go through all the procedural content, and more if they wish 100% the game. Moon Hunters features many different characters. Are their any differences with the way they play? Each character class plays completely differently, each with a unique set of skills. For example, the Druid is primarily a ranged class but can shapeshift into a wolf with melee attacks, while the Songweaver fulfills a support role, and has a unique "combo" system with 12 different attacks and buffs triggered with up to three musical notes.
but we haven't guaranteed it (yet?). Has development on the Vita edition started yet? Will there be any notable differences between the PlayStation versions? We had a character running around on a Vita, but we can't comment on this yet, as development is still in very early days for Vita. Will the Vita version arrive at the same time as the PS4 version, and will you take advantage of Cross Buy/Save or Play? It will arrive some time after PS4, and we don't know yet whether we will support cross buy or cross-play.
What are your thoughts on the Vita as a system? Are there any games that stand Moon Hunters is very much an experience out for you? The Vita is a really beautifully crafted to be played with others. Will the system, it just feels so fancy when multiplayer aspect make it into the Vita you hold it in your hands! And to me, version? We don't know yet! We certainly hope so, Tearaway is the #1 reason to buy a Vita. @PSVitaMag
What's next for Kitfox after Moon Hunters? Who needs a life after Moon Hunters? Can't we just keep adding more and more things forever like Dwarf Fortress? No? Hm. Well... we do have a prototype one of our guys is working on, but it's Super Secret, sorry. All I really know for sure is that we're going to keep making games for years to come! Finally, of the two Vita versions released, the OLED and the Slim, which do you think is best? I would pick the Slim version, for its form factor!
We would like to thank Xin for taking the time to talk to us! We will have more news on Moon Hunters later this year. Do you like the look of the game? The Vita Lounge Magazine
11
Ska Studios
ska-studios.com/salt @skastudios
Hello Ska Studios! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us! Can you tell us a little bit about your studio and how you got into developing games? Ska Studios was officially formed in 2007 when James won the Dream-BuildPlay contest for a contract to make The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. Before then, James was a hobbyist game maker and went to school for computer science. About the same time the first Dishwasher was being developed, Michelle had graduated with a BA in Fine Arts and got a foot-in-the-door QA job and ended up being a tester on James’ game. Michelle also worked at WB Games and ArenaNet. We met in person at PAX 2009, kept in touch then Michelle moved out to upstate New York to join Ska Studios in early 2011. Finding a much bigger and friendly game industry scene in Seattle, we both moved back to Washington in 2013 and now love it here. We both love games and have found a dream come true in making games together. 12
The Vita Lounge Magazine
SALT AND SANCTUARY IS THE FIRST PLAYSTATION TITLE FROM SKA STUDIOS AND IS ABOUT A DOOMED SAILOR ON A SHIP-WRECKED ISLAND, AND WILL BE OUT LATER THIS YEAR. WE CAUGHT UP WITH THE STUDIO TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE GAME. Your first PlayStation title is Salt and Sanctuary, which is out now on PS4 and coming later this year to Vita. What is it about? Salt and Sanctuary revolves around exploration of a mysterious island. The player is a shipwrecked survivor, stranded on an island full of strange magic and murderous creatures, searching for an escape. The player meets other survivors along the way, some helpful, some hostile, and we’ll certainly meet powerful lords and monsters, whose only aim is to consume the salt of hapless adventurers. The remainder of the story is to be discovered by the player. What was the inspiration behind the game? Salt and Sanctuary was inspired in equal parts by Castlevania (SotN, DoS, PoR, OoE), Dark Souls, and our own The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile. We’re very much staying true to our style and gameplay, while aspiring to hit standards in exploration
and role playing we loved in Castlevania and Dark Souls. Thematically, Salt and Sanctuary is inspired by House Greyjoy from Game of Thrones as well as medieval castles, armor and imagery. The game is described as a "2D hardcore action RPG". Exactly how much is there to do in the game? A first play-through tends to get people 20-40 hours of play and over 20 bosses, some of which are optional. There are many, many armor pieces, weapons, spells and character builds to play with. There are upgrades and transmutations. There are NPCs to talk to, skill nodes and item descriptions and the bestiary to read to glean the lore from the world. The game has a very impressive art style, how did you settle on the look and design for the game? Our overall style comes from James' way of drawing while Michelle style matches. The de-saturation of colors can be seen thevitalounge.net
from The Dishwasher games and we wanted to utilize that to emphasize gloom and danger in the world outside of sanctuaries. The sanctuary utilizes color and warmth to indicate an area of refuge and safety. The creature design comes from a love of medieval,gothic and horror monsters. Obviously the Vita version did not release at the same time as the PS4 version, how far along is the Vita development? Another development team is handling the Vita port so we’re not sure just yet. We’ll keep everyone updated once we know.
What are your thoughts on the Vita as a system? Did you always plan a Vita version of Salt and Sanctuary? We did plan on having the Vita version as soon as we started work with Sony. There are a number of people really into the Vita which has been surprising. For us, it’s ideal as travelling entertainment but we don’t tend to pick it up at home with all our consoles and PCs around.
Salt and Sanctuary is your first PlayStation title, but is not your first game, with many notable (and wellreceived) titles available on the 360. Would you ever consider re-releasing your previous games on PSN, or do you Will the game be cross buy/save with the prefer to look to the future? Possibly! We only have so much PS4 version? Yes to cross-buy, probably not cross-save. bandwidth though. It may be something we get help from a porting company to handle. Can you give us any indication when the Vita version will be in our hands? What is the future beyond Salt and We hope sooner than later but we don’t Sanctuary? know when yet. Firstly, we’re working on our Steam release then the older games we’ve been @PSVitaMag
planning on launching on Steam for far too long. After that, only time will tell! Are there any titles on the Vita that have really impressed you? Is there anything coming out that you are excited for (or want to avoid releasing with)? James got really into Bravely Default and Persona 4. We tend to only play handhelds when we travel so the Vita is very useful for in-flight entertainment. Finally, there are two versions of the Vita available, the OLED and the Slim. Which do you think is the best? We only have the Slim so we’ll have to say that one!
We would like to thank Michelle and James for their time with this interview. Salt and Sanctuary is one of our most anticipated Vita titles - are you looking forward to getting your hands on it? The Vita Lounge Magazine
13
Company which is run by Alm. All three faction leaders are Vessels, each of them linked to a different God and they can absorb the blood crystals that you obtain. By giving these crystals to one of the Vessels you gain access to powerful Divinity Skills that can be used in battle. It’s your choice which of the Vessels to give blood crystals to and each has different skills.
Written by Jenny Jones
@Kitty_has_Klaws Deathskitten
2 15 27 PSTV 541 MB Publisher
nisamerica.com
@NISAmerica
Developer exp-inc.jp
@CHIKAMI_EXP
Released
NA: April 26th EU: April 29th
14
The Vita Lounge Magazine
Experience Inc has definitely been busy lately with the Western releases of both Stranger of Sword City and Ray Gigant being in quick succession. Whilst Ray Gigant was really fun and brought some great new things to the table it was definitely geared more towards newcomers to the genre and was a little bit too easy for my liking. So will SoSC be enough to satisfy my dungeon crawling itch? Let’s find out! The game begins with a news report about the disappearance of a plane. The plane was travelling from Japan to Alaska when it disappeared over the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, as you can probably guess, it’s the plane that you were travelling on! You wake up, as the only survivor, in a dingy old ruin. You have somehow crashed in a dark fantasy world filled with strange races, fierce monsters and dangerous labyrinths. You soon find out that there are many other people from your world who have somehow ended up here. You are one of the chosen few who has the rare ability to defeat and take blood crystals from fearsome monsters known as Lineages. There are three factions in this world; the Stranger’s Guild lead by Riu, the Kingdom headed by Marilith, and the Medell
Your overall goal in SoSC is to try to find out why people keep getting pulled from our world into this other strange realm and to try to find a way back home. The story is an interesting and intriguing set up, but as with a lot of dungeon crawlers it’s fairly slow to unfold and takes a bit of a back seat to the action. When the game begins you’ll get to create your own protagonist and shortly afterwards you’ll also be given the ability to create a team of allies to journey with. There are a lot of options to choose from – you can choose a character portrait, gender, class, race, voice and age. If you wanted to you could create a 99 year old female warrior who looks like a spell caster but sounds like a young man, it really is up to you.
SoSC is a fairly typical first person dungeon crawler but with one feature which really does ramp up the difficulty. Perma-death. If one of your characters dies in battle and has no more life points then that character is dead for good. Age is not just a number in this game; the younger your character then the more life points they have and so they can be revived more times before they permanently die. Older characters on the other hand will have less life points but thevitalounge.net
have better statistics and are therefore stronger. The age you decide to make your characters will definitely depend on your preferred play style. If you want you can create a stronger party of older men and women and hope that with their better stats they’ll destroy any monsters that dare to confront you, and in the unfortunate case they die then just replace them like the mad cackling dictator you’ve always wanted to be (or is that just me?!). Or you might prefer to be a bit more careful by banding together a group of young heroes who, although weaker, can be revived. As long as they still have at least one life point then you can leave them in hospital for a week or so to recover. It takes roughly a week of in-game time to revive someone and recover a life point. This can feel frustratingly slow at times, the only way to pass time is to fight battles but when you’ve just lost your best fighters things can be really tough which of course can lead to more death and therefore an even weaker party. There is however one benefit to losing access to some of your favourite party members however, it really does get you to experiment more with different classes and different party set ups. I played around with different set ups far more than I ever did with Demon Gaze which overall greatly improved my understanding of all the various classes.
ability to use bows from the back row or a knight that can hide and assassinate then now you get to create one! By talking to Riu in the Stranger’s Guild you can change your class but can still use the skills learnt from your previous class. This adds a whole new depth to character creation as you can change classes up to five times and so I had great fun plotting out exactly how I wanted my characters to grow and what skills I wanted them to learn. The downside to changing classes is that your level reduces by half so you’ll have to spend a little bit of time to get them back to the same level that they were originally at.
If you’ve played one of Experience Inc’s previous DRPG’s then you’ll be familiar with the various tricks and traps used in the dungeons like one way water streams, hidden doors and poison/lava floors. Although this all feels a bit familiar you’re also given a fair bit of freedom which helps to alleviate the familiarity. You’ll be given access to a number of different dungeons at any one time and it’s up to you to decide which Lineage to hunt down first. It’s really refreshing to play a dungeon crawler with a bit of freedom. You can make your way through one dungeon, realise that you don’t have quite the right skills or aren’t high enough level and instead start working on a different dungeon and hunting different Lineages before returning back to the first. Hunting down Lineages is fun and you’ll need to do different things to get them to appear. Some will only appear if you have certain items in your inventory whereas others will need you to ambush in certain locations or stay in a battle for a certain number of turns. By talking to various people in-game you’ll get given hints on what to do or where to try to find them so if you ever get stuck then it’s worth heading back to the Stranger’s Guild to get some hints.
Speaking of classes, a really great new feature is the ability to change your class. If you’ve always wanted a wizard with the
@PSVitaMag
The Vita Lounge Magazine
15
I’m not going to lie, I actually found SoSC to be pretty tough. It can feel really unfair at times to have enemies with 1-hit kill abilities in a game which also has permadeath. The lack of save points in-dungeon and the re-appearing Lineages can sometimes make the game feel a bit of a drag. I did rage quit a few times after losing certain favourite characters but I found it difficult to keep away for long. There’s definitely something about SoSC In some dungeons you’ll come across that keeps you coming back for more. You Magical Stones which act as warp points can’t help but think that maybe if you tried in and out of the dungeon. This saves a slightly different party setup or different you from having to walk all the way back Another cool feature is that you get to weapons that maybe, just maybe, you’ll through a dungeon, unfortunately though choose the visual style of the NPCs; you get slightly further next time and kick the they aren’t always available. Lineages can can either go for Yoko Tsukamoto’s art ass of the Lineage that just 1-hit killed revive and when they do you aren’t able work or a more anime inspired style by En your favourite Samurai. to access the Magical Stone until you’ve Okishiji. I mainly stuck with Tsukamoto’s walked all the way through the dungeon Overall, SoSC is a damn good dungeon style as I found it suited the gritty style back to that Magical Stone and defeated of the game much better but it is a fun crawler, it’s beautiful to look at and will it again. It can be a bit of a drag to leave a option to be able to switch between the keep you playing for quite a while but be dungeon to recover and save but then not two whenever you like. I really liked the forewarned that it is tough. If you’re a be able to warp back to where you were. artwork of all of the monsters and the newcomer to the genre then I’d suggest dungeons but think the battles would trying Ray Gigant first. If you’re already have looked a lot better if all your attacks a fan then I would definitely recommend were actually shown instead of just being you give this a try as it is really engrossing flashes of light and text boxes to describe to build up a kick-ass team and go hunt what happened. down all the Lineages. There aren’t any save points in the dungeons so, especially with permadeath, running from battles and playing things safe is definitely key! It can feel awesome when you get through a boss fight with no deaths but then, mere moments later, deeply frustrating when the next battle you get into you end up losing half your team and haven’t been able to save.
Things will feel pretty tough at first, there are no save points in the dungeon and you start off with pretty crappy equipment. But there are certain places in every dungeon where you will be able to hide and ambush monsters. These monsters will be protecting a chest and if you defeat the monsters before they can run away then you’ll get to keep whatever is inside. This system works a bit like the Demon Circles in Demon Gaze and it can be a great way to get new more powerful equipment as well as grind a few levels.
VERDICT Stranger of Sword City is great fun but be warned that it is tough. However even if you die you'll soon come back to it, you can't help but think that maybe with a slightly different party or different weapons you'll get slightly further next time. Just try not to get too upset if your favourite Ninja meets a sticky end...
16
The Vita Lounge Magazine
4.3 thevitalounge.net
“Putzki’s Pork”. He will bird-brainwash guards with a smartphone, and then blow them up. Our fearless fowl will scuba dive, infiltrate bases, and take to the skies. He absolutely will not stop until he puts a bullet in Il Putski one more time…for the last time.
Written by Artie Fox
@ArtieFox ArtieMichaels
6 9 13 PSTV 2.6 GB Publisher ratloop.com
@ratloop
Developer ratloop.com
@ratloop
Released
NA: April 26th EU: April 26th
@PSVitaMag
It is difficult to write negative things about a game with as much presentational polish as Rocketbirds 2: Evolution. It’s also hard to write particularly positive comments about a game that at times was so personally rage-inducing. Somewhere in the middle of those two statements are my true feelings about independent developer Ratloop Asia’s latest digital offering.
Rocketbirds 2: Evolution is a darkly comical action-platformer about a special agent rooster named Hardboiled, the original “Cock of War.” His nemesis, the evil penguin despot, Il Putski, is seemingly back from the dead after the events of 2011’s Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken. With his reemergence, chickens everywhere have begun to disappear, never to be heard from again. Hardboiled reads about this turn of events in a newspaper that goes on to call him a liar for “claiming” to have killed the megalomaniacal Putski. Our stoic hero sets out to right this situation, reclaim his honor, and bring down Il Putski for good. Along the way, he will blast his way through armed fortresses, gigantic submarines, and strange temples. He will stand against penguin soldiers, pigeon bodyguards, chicken cultists and space owls (yep!) to find out the truth behind the chicken disappearances and the new food product
I was immediately floored by how much more went into the graphical design for this sequel. The art style and character designs haven’t changed at all, but the level of detail on all art assets is genuinely stunning. Characters and environments can, at times, seem almost three-dimensional with the extra layers of shading involved in the finer details of their design. The lighting plays off of everything. Firing a gun lights up the surrounding area with every burst. Metallic surfaces shine and deep shadows cut all the way down into individual elements of the character’s attire. The backgrounds move from side to side as you travel through every area, creating a very effective illusion of room depth. All these subtle touches come together and highlight a truly great looking game. All those flashy visuals come at a price, however, with the total install being a sizeable 2.7 gigabytes. That’s huge for an indie download, so those with smaller Vita memory cards may need to free up some extra space. I also noticed that while playing the game’s campaign, the network features of the Vita were disabled. I can only imagine that came down to the level of detail present in every aspect of Rocketbirds 2: Evolution‘s design. Load times weren’t extremely egregious, but they were lengthy enough to be a bother when I had to retry after yet another hapless death. The The Vita Lounge Magazine
17
hapless death. The game plays smoothly, regardless of the graphical intensity, with only the occasional slowdown in hectic moments. It never really detracted from the experience, in fact, it often seemed like it could have been a “bullet time” design choice if the developers had ever chosen to call attention to it. The controls, however, took some serious getting used to. The inventory management and map, controlled by the d-pad, felt odd all the way to the ending credit sequence. I found myself falling off of ladders I was climbing, due to having to use the incredibly sensitive Vita analog stick for movement in what is a traditionally D-pad oriented genre. Aiming was always a little touchy and I often found myself shooting just above or below the enemies I was aiming at. Hardcore players may appreciate the level of precision the game allows, but with the already slightly twitchy Vita analog sticks, I feel like an auto-aim feature would have been helpful. The crosshair for your weapon is located extremely close to the end of your weapon, making it difficult to determine the exact angle of your shots. Moving the targeting reticle out from the end of the gun barrel at least another few centimeters, or even a laser sight, would have benefited this game immensely. Maybe it would have helped with the handful of times I found myself cursing the game’s extreme difficulty spikes. In every level, I managed to find a couple of rooms where the sheer number of enemies that would spawn from all directions, the finicky aiming, and the ridiculous amount of ammo required to
18
The Vita Lounge Magazine
kill the bullet-sponge avian scum, would combine into a perfect maelstrom of frustration. These rooms would eventually be cleared with the “strategy” of running around and jumping like crazy, spraying bullets in the enemies general direction (sort of), and praying to the video game gods that I wouldn’t get stunned by another shotgun blast, because the burning anger I was feeling would likely cause me to throw my Vita directly through the nearest wall if I had to start over at the last checkpoint AGAIN! I managed to brute force my way through all of these situations eventually, but no matter how angry I got, I found myself compelled to get to that next area…that optional gun I saw earlier…that next story scene. When you start to feel like you are getting things done in Rocketbirds 2: Evolution, it feels absolutely great.
New World Revolution’s Bandcamp page after I wrapped up the game, and I would highly recommend others do the same. I need to talk about the characterizations a bit too. Some of the dialog and banter you will witness is truly dark and funny stuff. The entire game is voice-acted, and the performances, for the most part, are hilarious and right on point. Il Putzki is appropriately skeevy and cowardly while still managing to get maniacal when he thinks things are going his way. His penguin troops are also highlights, with their often inane ramblings about their lives, annoyances, and even calling their boss a “dork” behind his back.
The only character I was lukewarm about, was Hardboiled himself. His short-spoken, blunt dialog felt out of sync with the rest of this bizarre world. He came across as more of a brutish “John Rambo” character New World Revolution, who composed the soundtrack to Rocketbirds: Hardboiled when I couldn’t help but feel that the game needed a witty “John McClane” Chicken, are back again to compose and style protagonist. I still found myself perform the game’s music. Their musical sympathizing with Hardboiled’s mission chops were immediately obvious, but and his reserved feelings as more of the the actual soundtrack, for me, was a plot became unveiled. The entire story mixed bag. I really enjoyed some of the background music, but the majority of the mode wasn’t extremely long (I played for 8 hours, but I died a lot), but with everything actual songs seemed to clash somehow with the atmosphere I felt the rest of the else on offer, I wasn’t bothered by the game was conveying with the art direction short length. and personalities of the characters. The story mode is only half of this wellThis feeling lasted with me throughout rounded package. An all-new single or the entire game, and because of that, I multiplayer “Rescue Mode” allows players never felt completely connected to the and their friends to explore randomlyworld as a whole. That’s not to say that generated environments together to Rocketbirds 2 has a bad soundtrack, perform a wide variety of rescue missions. far from it. Outside of the immediate context of the game, there are some truly This mode is available from the very beginning and has a completely different awesome tracks. I made my way over to
thevitalounge.net
(albeit simpler) story and different controllable characters. Up to four players can connect locally or over the internet to tackle these rescues. With every successful rescue mission, you will add a new completely customizable soldier to your overall character roster. These troops can be switched as your playable character between missions in your headquarters, which functions as the main hub in this mode. As you attempt to rescue your target, the enemies you eliminate will drop coins and money bags that provide funds to buy more provisions. New weapons, surplus ammunition, even hireable duck mercenaries for support when you next deploy, are all for sale back at your Headquarters. Add to these purchasable upgrades costume pieces you can find in the field, and you have yourself a satisfying reward loop that can keep you hooked for a good amount of time.
bottom remains in control of movement and is harder to stagger when under heavy or persistent gunfire. Your totem teammates are free to concentrate on aiming and taking out enemies. A fourman high tower of online teammates, or AI mercenaries, is a real force to be reckoned with. I, unfortunately, had to rely on playing with the AI controlled mercenaries, as I was never able to find another person playing online, and no one ever joined my public games.
latest escapade.
Rocketbirds 2: Evolution is available now in all regions as a digital download on PlayStation Network for Vita and PlayStation 4 consoles, with cross-buy support between the two platforms.
I’m coming away from Rocketbirds 2: Evolution no better off, but certainly no worse for wear. I can’t say I know who exactly the audience for this game is supposed to be, but it’s a finely polished game with a strange, humorous world and story. The game’s mechanics are solid even if a bit TOO annoyingly precise and the whole Whether playing with friends or experience is slightly mercenary waterfowl, characters are uneven in difficulty, but encouraged to stack on top of one fans of old school another, creating a kind of “Tower of action-platformers will Power” formation, up to four players high. find a lot to love in When stacked together, the player at the Hardboiled Chicken’s
VERDICT Rocketbirds 2: Evolution is an explosive and humorous take on the action games of yesteryear. Combine that with the visual sheen of a modern title and it sounds like an instant win. However, uneven characters and the hit-and-miss soundtrack wear it down its charm. Extra finnicky controls for precise aiming, large difficulty spikes, and bullet sponge enemies hold it back even further from greatness. @PSVitaMag
3.6 The Vita Lounge Magazine
19
Written by
Kyle Wakeling
@teflontactics teflontactics
5 10 20 PSTV 1.6 GB Publisher ideafintl.com
@IdeaFactoryIntl
I am not a Hyperdimension Neptunia fan, and by that I mean that I’ve never played one long enough to retain pretty much any information. The series has always been somewhere on my to-do list, but never quite near the top as I was unsure if I’d even like it. That said, I picked up MegaTagmension for review – mostly because I’d heard it could be played standalone, and that it was sort of like Senran Kagura in play style. Unfortunately, I don’t think it quite comes close to the Senran series on Vita with regards to fun and polish, and it’s not really as fanservice-y as I’d expected either. What you do have here however, is a decent game that serves as a good introduction to the characters of Neptunia games, as well as a good introduction to beat ’em up style action games in general. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though, first you’ll need some background.
Developer
compileheart.com
Released
NA: May 10th EU: May 10th
20
The Vita Lounge Magazine
MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies starts out by introducing the characters and idea behind the story, which pretty much begins with our two title characters – Blanc and Neptune. Neptune is looking to make a movie in order to gain popularity for their school Gamacademi, and therefore entice more kids to want to come there. Blanc of course gets dragged into this movie-making business, as she’s orders of magnitude more suited to directing and writing the script than the alternatives.
From there, things get a little weird though. The movie is supposed to be a zombie movie – as per Neptune’s original idea, but instead of simply acting out a fake zombie movie real zombies show up. So do the girls cancel the movie? Hell no! They decide that they’ll simply use the real zombies as movie zombies to give it a more authentic feel (and to fill in for their lack of fake zombie volunteers). Things spiral downhill from there, as the girls improvise, kick some zombie ass, and attempt to act their way to a good movie. If you can’t tell from my description, the story is pretty damn lacklustre, and it’s definitely all over the place. There are some funny moments, a few fanservice moments, and some semi-interesting plot points – but overall it’s a story that could’ve been crunched down to a much smaller size had it not been filled with a bunch of nonsense. The story is where most of your time will go in single player, and so that’s not really a good thing. The gameplay however, is of a much higher quality – though it’s still flawed. It has you fighting enemies on a boxed-in battlefield, taking the two girls of your choice and pitting them against zombies, dogoos, and other weird enemies with a tag-team style swap-out system. You beat up all the enemies, and you get to continue; simple. The action on the battlefield is carried out much like any other beat ’em up game, though at what seems to be a slower speed. Basic attacks are carried out with square, heavy attacks with triangle, dashes with circle, and jumping with “X.” thevitalounge.net
On top of those basic options however, you also have the abilities you gain via EXE Drive charge. The “swap character” function is pulled off with the triggers and circle, HDD transformation with the triggers and “X,” ultimate attack with the triggers and square, and tag-team attack with the triggers and triangle. Depending on the choice you’ll need a certain amount of EXE gauge to pull it off, which varies between choices.
Lastly, there are items that you can use – and it seems you’re not at all limited in what you can take into any single mission (I’ve added up to ten items to my “take in” list as a test). Items include many of the same offerings as the support characters, but usually aren’t as potent, and are certainly not renewable.
Pulling together the two layers of attack types, support characters, and items you have at your disposal are the things that will ensure your victory in action. That Those attacks – both primary and EXE – said, they’re not all necessarily needed – are the bulk of the actions and functions and as a veteran of Senran Kagura and you’ll be using in the battle bits, but they aren’t all your options. You’ll also have the Valkyrie Drive I rarely needed any of them ability to choose two support characters, aside from in the later levels. This leads which “charge” and are invoke-able me to the idea that the game is rather when filled. Support characters include easy compared to those “hard” examples, buffs like EXE gauge recovery, temporary and therefore might not be a good place invincibility, and attack power up – though to go after playing them. there may be more as I’m sure I didn’t take the time to gather them all.
@PSVitaMag
Speaking of easy, this game makes it incredibly easy to enhance your character though experience points. You’ve only got four categories to upgrade; HP, Defense, Power, and Combo. HP is obviously a way to upgrade your base health, Defense is a way to upgrade your base defense (the amount of damage you take from attacks), Power deals with your base attack power, and Combo will net you new attack strings for use with your non-EXE gauge based attacks. These things (as well as your loadout) can be upgraded from the “Setup” option on the ready page, which is the default page when you enter Story Mode. Other options available at the ready page are links to “Action” (mission select), “Treasure” (collectibles which can net you costumes and transformations), “Shop” (where you can buy items, upgrades, and weapons), and “Config” (your basic options menu). All fairly basic options for a game of this type.
The Vita Lounge Magazine
21
So those are the basics of single player gameplay, but the game doesn’t stop there – there’s also multiplayer. This is where those who enjoy the battle bits of single player will thrive, as it’s basically back to back attack missions with no visual novel filler. You can level up your characters quickly, gain treasure not found in the single player portions, and best of all; you can do it all with friends. MegaTagmension supports up to four players in its online multiplayer mode, and that’s a good thing because it’s also a bit harder than single player. Missions range from a single star difficulty, right up to five stars – with the harder missions containing the hardest bosses in the game. If I had to guess where the replayability was, I’d guess the bulk of it was right here – and the best part is that you can even do it solo if you wish. Best of both worlds? Yep! Aside from straight up “online multiplayer” however, you’re also offered ad-hoc, as well as a way to check your ranking – though it looks like it’s easy to max out as there’s a bunch of people tied at #1 with all 9’s in their score.
Graphically, MegaTagmension is a fairly pretty game for what it’s offering. Areas are mostly “boxes” with sparse decoration around the outside to denote barriers like walls and hallways, the enemies and the ground being the only things inside said boxes other than the characters you’ve picked. That said, everything you see is fairly crisp, clean, and colourful – so it’s not like you’ll be complaining about the scenery. It also happens to run quite well, with motion never seeming choppy to the eye despite the plethora of enemies and “shiny” actions on screen. As for the audio, this one’s well stocked. Not only do you get both English and Japanese voice options, but you also get them in one package with no extra downloads and no hassle. You can swap at any time, and while I prefer the inflections of the Japanese version, the English version is more than serviceable.
VERDICT If you're looking for an introduction to the beat 'em up genre, look no further - as MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies is a prime choice for just that very purpose. That said, anyone else may have a hard time finding a challenge, and the story just isn't all that cohesive or memorable.
22
The Vita Lounge Magazine
So now let’s get down to my verdict, which (quite frankly) is good, but not great. While MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies can be a fun game to experience and play, it’s also not much of a memorable one. The story line is all over the place other than a few key points (and some fanservice I’ll never forget), the gameplay is “wham, bam, thank-youma’am” over in less than two minutes for pretty much every single player mission, and it’s very basic in its options. That said, those are the absolute worst things I can say about the game – so if you’re looking for an easy beat ’em up style game, a first jaunt into the Neptunia universe, or simply a game that you don’t have to take too seriously, then you might want to jump in. This is not a bad game at all, it’s just not much of a stand-out game either. That shouldn’t hold you back from experiencing it though, as I think even those with a mild interest can find some fun here – I certainly did, and I don’t regret a minute of it.
3.6 thevitalounge.net
storyline then some of Experience Inc’s previous work.
Written by Jenny Jones
@Kitty_has_Klaws Deathskitten
3 14 24 PSTV 1.3 GB Publisher acttil.com
Developer
bandainamcogames.com
@BandaiNamcoUS
Released
NA: May 3rd EU: May 3rd
@PSVitaMag
Experience Inc. is the developer behind well-known dungeon crawlers Demon Gaze and Stranger of Sword City. They’ve now partnered up with Bandai Namco and Acttil to release Ray Gigant on the PS Vita. Personally, I loved Demon Gaze but appreciated that it had a lot of faults, uneven difficulty, bland dungeon graphics and repetitive combat. So has Experience Inc. done anything new or is this just another standard dungeon crawler? Let’s find out! The game begins in fairly dramatic fashion with a young man describing what has happened in the world recently. A terrible monster known as a Gigant appeared and began to attack Tokyo and other major cities across the world. Humanity fought against it but to no avail. All hope seemed lost but as suddenly as the Gigant appeared, it disappeared. A boy named Ichiya Amakaze succeeded in defeating the monster where all the world’s military had failed. Ichiya, with the help of a mysterious lifeform known as a Yorigami defeated the Gigant, but the power of the Yorigami overwhelmed him and caused great destruction to Tokyo. After this great battle, humanity found a way to artificially create this union between Yorigamis and humans. The people selected to defend the human race became known as Kamibito. It’s definitely an interesting opening story and the game has a much stronger
The game is broken up into chapters and you initially view the game from Ichiya’s perspective. He is sent to Outer Academy to learn more about fighting the Gigants. Unfortunately, defeating the first Gigant was only the beginning and more have been appearing. It is the role of the student Kamibitos from Outer Academy to defeat them. Ichiya is not the most loveable protagonist, he begins the game as a bit of a selfcentered coward – he fears his bond with the Yorigami and the power that it has given him. He gets put in a team with two other students Mana & Kazuomi who don’t particularly like him. As you play through it’s great to see their relationship change from one of distrust to truly relying on each other. Along with Ichiya there are two other character arcs. In the second part of the game you view the story from Kyle Griffin’s perspective. Kyle is a much more serious and grown up protagonist compared to Ichiya. The last character arc you play through is as Nil Phineus. Each character arc takes place in a different setting but is a continuation of the main story. The way that new characters are introduced breaks the pace of the game slightly. The storyline ramps up to dramatic levels only to be suddenly halted and a new set of characters introduced. It just feels odd to finish an intense boss fight and then get introduced to a new set of characters who talk about the most inane topics. The Vita Lounge Magazine
23
Nil’s character arc was definitely my least favourite and frankly it’s a bit bizarre that the game’s writers couldn’t come up with anything more interesting for Nil and her sisters to talk about other than cooking, laundry and other chores – particularly as Ichiya and Kyle seemed to have much more interesting beginnings.
Fortunately the dungeons in the second half of the game are more tricky with various obstacles to overcome such as lever puzzles, trapdoors, portals and spike pits. I definitely had a few very satisfying ‘ah ha!’ moments when solving puzzles and getting to the end of the harder dungeons.
All of the game’s story is told in a visual novel style, the character portraits and backgrounds are crisp and beautiful. The game has Japanese voice overs but is only partially voice acted, some conversations are text only. I thought the voice acting was really good and the actors and actresses really brought their characters to life. There are occasionally grammatical errors and typos in the text but nothing that impacts the game too much. I did however notice that some of the menu screens cut off the end of words. Thankfully this doesn’t happen too often.
Somewhat unusual for a dungeon crawler, there are no random encounters – instead all battles are in fixed locations. This means you only need to enter battle when you are ready for it and can try to avoid as many battles as you like. When in battle characters and enemies look detailed, they all have a few frames of animation which really helps to bring them to life. When your characters or enemy attacks you don’t actually see the attack, instead you just get a text box to say what the action is and numbers flash up on the screen to show how much health is increased or decreased by. I’m really hoping that in future games Experience Inc. starts to show animations for some of this!
a balancing act to try to maintain your AP level throughout the dungeon. Your health on the other hand is fully restored at the end of each battle. If you’re a veteran of dungeon crawlers you’ll probably find that this can make things a tad too easy. As each turn passes the Parasitism rate increases and once it reaches 100% your party enters Parasitism mode. During this mode instead of each action consuming AP you will use your HP. This mode will change the way you fight as it’s much more important to play it a bit safer and focus on keeping your health up. Parasitism ends when the battle ends or by using SP points (more on that in a little bit).
Every couple of chapters you get a boss battle against an enormous Gigant. These are great battles and definitely a feast for the eyes. Every character stands in a different location so you get to see the Gigant from different camera angles. The main action of Ray Gigant takes These boss fights are tougher than place in grid-based dungeons called normal fights and are also where you are Megalosites. Compared to the visual novel style scenes these dungeons are definitely The battle system is interesting. It’s turn- most likely to take advantage of the Slash based but you can select upto five actions Beat Mode (SBM), when you have between a bit bland looking. What is also quite for each character before the round starts. 50 – 100 Slash Points (SP) you can enter disappointing is the number of dungeon a rhythm based mode which (if you time What stops you from just selecting five designs, there’s only really one per your attacks correctly) can unleash a character arc (plus a crystal design which strong attacks every turn? Well, you’re devastatingly powerful attack. This was limited by the number of action points is used frequently) which makes a lot of a fun mode but I would have liked this to (AP). Every action uses up a number of the dungeons look and feel repetitive. have been expanded on and been given AP and this is only replenished when an The early dungeons also have simple layouts which adds to the repetition. Once enemy acts or you use a ‘wait’ command. more rhythms to master. This brings in a bit of strategy as you you find the save point in the dungeon don’t want to use up all your AP in one all uncovered areas in the dungeon get round and then be a sitting duck in the revealed on the map making it a bit too following round with no AP left to defend easy to find all treasures. or heal. Some battles are more costly in terms of AP to fight and it can be a bit of
24
The Vita Lounge Magazine
thevitalounge.net
Another thing to consider is your character’s weight. Their weight changes based on item use, in-game events and battles. The heavier the character is the stronger their physical attacks but the lighter they are the easier it is to evade attacks. There’s no downside to being too heavy or too light so while it is a cool mechanic to initially play around with I pretty quickly found myself ignoring it and just leaving all characters as underweight.
What I didn’t like though was that every set of characters you play as start off low levelled and have really similar Evolve Trees. It would have been much more interesting if some of the supporting characters had more unique skills and Evolve Trees.
There’s lots of little things to criticise about Ray Gigant but that doesn’t stop the fact that it’s actually really fun to play through. It’s great that Experience Inc. have tried some new things like the SBM, Evolve Tree, Parasitism and weight system. These all make the game feel unique and help to make this dungeon crawler feel fresh in an occasionally stale genre. It’s just a shame that the way some of these features are used makes the game more repetitive. A bit more freedom, more diverse dungeons and a hard difficulty mode available from the beginning would have made this a true classic. As it stands it’s still a really good game and I would definitely recommend you give it a go, especially if you’re already a fan of the genre.
Unlike most dungeon crawlers you don’t gain experience points at the end of battles. Enemies drop various resources which can be used in each characters Evolve Tree. You learn all attacks and increase your character’s statistics through this system. You also use it to gain new items, shields and weapons for each character. There are no shops in this game and therefore no need to manage your inventory, I really liked this approach and found it made the game much more streamlined.
VERDICT Ray Gigant is a beautiful dungeon crawler with a strong focus on story and it's characters. There are some interesting new game mechanics but the game is let down slightly by some repetitive dungeons. Overall it is really fun to play and a very welcome addition to the PS Vita's library of dungeon crawlers!
@PSVitaMag
This is probably one of the easiest dungeon crawlers that I’ve ever played and veterans of the genre will probably get through Ray Gigant in quite a short amount of time – especially as there are no side quests. It has some re-playability in that new difficulty modes are unlocked after completing the game but as it is so linear I do wonder how many people will replay it.
3.9 The Vita Lounge Magazine
25
which you are travelling continues, yet the gravitational pull is reversed. Using this physics-bending ability will allow you to dive into the ground and fling yourself high into the sky to attain hard to reach targets and complete each of the game’s 150 stages.
Written by Charlie Large @CharlieLarge Chaz3010
1 4 7 PSTV 39.1 MB Publisher
digeratidistribution.com
@DigeratiDM
Developer
managore.itch.io
@Managore
Released
NA: April 26th EU: April 26th
26
The Vita Lounge Magazine
Winner of Ludum Dare 29, a game jam that tasks creators with making a game in a set time limit based on a theme suggested by the community, The Sun and Moon is a game created in 24 hours based on the theme ‘Beneath the Surface’. Ludum Dare 29 took place in the Spring of 2014, and since then The Sun and Moon has come on leaps and bounds – releasing on the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 two years after its initial inception. Daniel Linssen’s platformer is brilliantly simple, yet at times excruciatingly difficult – drawing similarities with platformers such as Super Meat Boy, N++ or Sound Shapes due to its challenging nature. Controlling a small blob-like being with eyes and a tail of sorts you must navigate the game’s many levels collecting orbs before you can exit through an end-level wormhole. This sounds simple in premise, but obstacles such as spikes, huge drops and impossibleto-scale heights will come between you and the exit hole, making the execution that little more difficult. Here is where The Sun and Moon comes into its own. The game has a unique dynamic that allows you to dive into the ground. When you do this the speed at
Controlling this little blob is extremely intuitive, with the analogue sticks or directional pad used for movement, the X button used to jump and the dive mechanic activated using either of the Vita’s shoulder buttons. Other than these three, the only other button you will find yourself using on a regular basis is the Triangle button, which acts as a quick restart that resets the level instantly and allows for you to attempt the stage again – something you will be doing often! Platformers of this ilk need to keep the audience’s attention and not break momentum, so the fact that there are no loading screens between levels and deaths is a bonus. The levels themselves are basic in appearance, and gradually introduce new obstacles (such as moving characters to evade and rows of spikes to dodge) for you to overcome as you progress through the stages. These levels all share a similar template, but are separated into groups that are distinguishable by both colour scheme and theme. The aim to these stages is to beat them as fast as possible, with awards handed out for beating certain times. The typical bronze, silver and gold awards are replaced here with a crescent moon, full moon and sun – giving us the inspiration behind the game’s name. There are also boss-like stages that can be played towards the end of each area where you thevitalounge.net
have to collect the orbs and head for the exit as per the normal levels in the game – with the added challenge of avoiding an enemy blob-like character that chases you about the level. Although difficult in parts, you will learn everything you need to in order to progress in The Sun and Moon by simply playing through the levels. There are times where you will get frustrated or stuck on a single stage, but in The Sun and Moon you can simply exit out of that stage and go and tackle any one of the other stages that are open and available on the game’s sprawling, interlinked level select screen. This made the game a lot more enjoyable for me, as when I found one stage that was causing me frustration I simply moved to another stage and then returned to the one that was causing me hassle once I’d had some time to think it over. There was never a time when I felt that I couldn’t progress any further – which is a testament to how well the open structure of the level select works.
Another thing which I think works really well is that the game doesn’t force the need for high scores down your throat. Although there are a trophies that are dished out for completing 100 levels with full moon medals and 100 levels with sun medals, these are not necessary in order to progress. Levels can be completed in seconds, but some of them will take you a little longer as you try to figure them out and may see you needing to return if you are going to be chasing high scores. The one thing that didn’t particularly hold up well for me was the game’s soundtrack. The Sun and Moon appears to use the same track on a continuous loop during play, and although at times it does help you to get into the zone when playing it does start to grate on you. The audio is reminiscent of the wonderful 16bit era but it is a shame that more wasn’t done to add variety to the tune that accompanies your playthrough – meaning the soundtrack soon becomes repetitive.
VERDICT The Sun and Moon is an excellent platformer that will make your brain work and give players a challenge that is often missing in modern games. Although the game looks simple, the no-frills approach means that you can focus on the gameplay - and trust me, you'll need to!
@PSVitaMag
Don’t let that take away from what The Sun and Moon gets right, and definitely don’t let looks deceive you! Although aesthetically simple, The Sun and Moon is a great platformer that focuses on the basics and gets them right. Sure there are other games on the Vita that come with all the bells and whistles when it comes to graphics, atmosphere and character design – but when it comes to gameplay and challenge, The Sun and Moon absolutely nails it!
3.9 The Vita Lounge Magazine
27
or not you have died and restarted at a checkpoint or if you have just made progression in the game. A mechanic used very effectively to make the players own perception of reality as uncertain as that of Thom’s.
Written by Timmy Garrett
@timmygarrett40k fitzfarseer
3 1 0 PSTV 274 MB Publisher
infinitapgames.com
@InfinitapGames
Developer
infinitapgames.com
@InfinitapGames
Released
NA: May 3rd EU: May 4th
28
The Vita Lounge Magazine
Lead designer of the Kickstarted horror title Neverending Nightmares, Matt Gilgenbach, has successfully created one of the most macabre, mature and emotionally effecting survival horror titles not only to grace a handheld system, but any system full stop.
Neverending Nightmares is a stellar example of the genre and also an incredibly personal and thought-provoking journey. Gilgenbach has explained in many interviews during the production of the game that he not only wanted to create a desperate and bleak horror experience, but also use the game as a vehicle for him to explore some of his thoughts, experiences and emotional responses to his own psychological battle with OCD and mental health. In both regards the game is an exemplary success. Encouraging the ‘flight rather than fight’ gameplay permeating contemporary survival horror games, you assume the role of Thomas – a young man doomed to wake up again and again in an inescapable, hopeless nightmare. Every time Thomas dies or witnesses some of the game’s truly shocking ‘intrusive thought’ moments he will wake with a start either in a new location or one of the game’s many, generous, checkpoints. It’s a very unnerving and effective way of keeping the player off guard as you are never truly sure whether
As you tentatively explore the oppressive corridors, the eerie silence being occasionally broken by distant chilling screams and laughter, you will often come across the other main character of the game; Gabby. Introduced as Thom’s younger sister, Gabby acts as the main crux of the narrative and is Thomas’ only anchor to anything resembling sanity. The whole game is essentially a quest to find out who or what Gabby is (or maybe was) and what her relationship is to Thomas. However as the game progresses and Thom begins to question what is real and what is not, who Gabby is and what she means to Thomas becomes very blurry indeed.
Neverending Nightmares does a pitch perfect job when setting the scene. As you explore the environments and the wallpaper starts peeling and bloodstains start appearing so too does Thom’s mental state begin to unravel. Jump scares will have you on the edge of your seat as Thomas starts to hallucinate and lose his grip on reality. Even though Neverending Nightmares maybe relies a bit too heavily on established horror tropes such as spooky china dolls and desolate mental asylums, it still manages to create one of the most psychologically uncomfortable environments I have played in a horror title since Silent Hill 2. thevitalounge.net
The tension is further exemplified by the amazing sound design. Music is kept to a minimum and the game is all the more unsettling for it. Apart from brief string crescendos whenever a jump scare takes place, or the chilling sound of a distant music box, the only other noise permeating this hellish dream is Thom’s ragged nervous breathing – a nice detail that is exacerbated whenever Thom tries to run. These short bursts of speed are to be used sparingly however, as sprint for too long and Thomas will have to stop, pausing to catch his breath leaving you open to attack. This encourages you to take your time exploring as you never know when you will need to draw from that limited pool of stamina to escape an enemy. Speaking of enemies there are only a handful of designs in the game and they all have the ability to extinguish Thomas’ life very quickly if given the chance. However they are used sparingly throughout the game making each encounter feel a bit more special and nerve-wracking than if you were swamped by hordes of them. Each enemy
type is nicely designed though (especially the hulking baby ogre you encounter early in the game) and they all have their own different strategy when it comes to avoiding them making each encounter feel almost like a mini puzzle. Longevity wise Neverending Nightmares is a rather short affair with your first playthrough clocking in at no more than a couple of hours before you see your first ending. I rather welcome this as it means the game manages to maintain a brisk pace without ever overstaying its welcome unlike other games such as Alien Isolation which was long to a fault. Even though Neverending Nightmares is a rather linear affair in which you will mostly be walking from left to right, upon completion of the game you are rewarded with a screen that shows where your journey could have branched off resulting in different endings. This enticing challenge to see the games multiple conclusions plus its short length encourages numerous playthroughs and is made all the more attractive by the fact that it won’t take long to get from A to Z.
VERDICT Neverending Nightmares is a game that gets under your skin. It crawls in the shadows after you turn out the lights and will pervade your dreams if you dare to play it just before you go to sleep. A true gem in an oversaturated market of third person horror titles, Neverending Nightmares is a game that deserves your attention.
@PSVitaMag
In conclusion Neverending Nightmares is an original take on the horror genre both visually and narratively and the perfect fit for the Vita. It plays beautifully smoothly with no technical hiccups to speak of and if played in the right conditions (i.e headphones in and lights off!) it is one of the most rewarding survival horror experiences you will have played in recent years. Even though it is on the short side it is a game that begs you to peer into the darkness beneath your bed more than once in order to see all of the horrors lurking within. Anyone with a Vita should pick this game up and support it, survival horror fans doubly so!
4.5 The Vita Lounge Magazine
29
Finally, no cross save… Seriously?! C’mon Eclipse, this game is made for cross save! Patch it! Patch it in now!
Written by Timmy Garrett
@timmygarrett40k fitzfarseer
Vita owners get your thumbs ready!
0 4 11 PSTV 531 MB Publisher
eclipse-games.net
@EclipseGamesSC
Developer
eclipse-games.net
@EclipseGamesSC
Released
NA: March 29th EU: March 29th
30
The Vita Lounge Magazine
Twin stick shooter Tachyon Project made its way to the Vita a little while ago and it is my absolute pleasure to report that apart from a couple of hiccups this game is a blast to play.
TP is a twin stick shooter visually reminiscent of Geometry Wars, in which you take control of Ada, a software programme designed by two hackers which is capable of hacking and breaking into some of the most advanced security systems on the planet. Unfortunately the story in TP remains one of its greatest weaknesses. The cutscenes are poorly presented and inexplicably washed with a very violent red hue. The art is also inconsistent and ranges from fairly detailed character portraits to very blurry close-ups of random pieces of scenery. My other tiny gripe is that mechanically TP can stutter a bit here and there with a frame rate that does dip a little during the busier sections of the game. There is also the fact that the Vita version is not as bright as the PS4 version. Admittedly most of the time this is not a problem but during the stealth sections of the game (a mechanic which I loved by the way) it is a lot more difficult to see what you are doing on the Vita than it is on your TV.
But I don’t want to get too hung up on this, as these problems are relatively unobtrusive and won’t ruin your overall experience with the game. For the couple of things TP does wrong it gets about one hundred other things right! So let’s talk about the main game itself shall we? Where you will initially be spending most of your time when first booting up the game is undoubtedly in the story mode. The campaign is comprised of ten stages, each consisting of six bite-sized objectives. These missions can vary from defeating a specific amount of a certain type of enemy to surviving for a predetermined amount of time. Combining the short length of the missions with the variety thrown at you means that TP is not a game that rests on its laurels, not once did I ever feel bored or tired of what the game was asking me to do. The people over at Eclipse understand that variety is the spice of life and that ethos really shines through here. Another aspect in which TP differs from its contemporaries is how it deals with time. There is no health bar to speak of, instead it is time that is your tether to staying alive. Take a hit and a few precious seconds will get knocked off the clock. Get cornered by a group of enemies or a boss and it is game over sonny Jim. Unless, that is, you have been taking advantage of the vast yet simple customisation options at your thevitalounge.net
It would also be remiss of me not to mention the stellar job done in the music department. The sound design is absolutely phenomenal! I recommend The customisation in TP is really where playing this game with the best and this game comes into its own. As the upgrades start unlocking you will have the bassiest headphones you have to hand! The music in TP thumps away relentlessly, option to change up your main weapon, two sub weapons and two perks. The starting off mellow and sombre in the variety is impressive and encourages early stages of a level before racking up experimentation and switching up for the tempo to perfectly match whatever certain levels and bosses. Will you go manic swarms of enemies or screen filling for the slow but powerful rockets or the bosses you may be trying to dispose of. faster yet weaker machine gun? Does the immediate destructive capability of Finally there is also a lot or replay value a screen filling bomb appeal to you more to be found in Tachyon Project. After you than the strategic option of being able to have completed the campaign mode you place a defensive turret? Would you like gain access to not only new upgrades but your ship to enjoy increased health? Or also a new game plus mode in which you would you rather experiment with some can replay the campaign with tougher of the other perks such as ricocheting settings. There are also a plethora of or heat seeking bullets? Seriously there challenge modes available to you ranging are so many possibilities and it is so from the endless challenge (does what rewarding when you find a combination it says on the tin and my go to mode at that suits your play style. the moment) to the excruciatingly tough one hit challenge (again no explanation needed). fingertips and taking the time to upgrade your ship accordingly.
VERDICT Tachyon Project is a fun, meaty, twin stick shooter with a fantastic soundtrack, a great amount of content and a top array of customisation options. It's not a perfect port and a few issues do hold it back from being a 'must have' title, but if you only own a Vita and are looking for something fun and cheap to pick up and play you really can’t go wrong with this game. I had an absolute blast playing it and I hope you do too! @PSVitaMag
I really had, and continue to have, a lot of fun with Tachyon Project. It is a shame that it doesn’t feel quite as polished as its home console counterparts but the core gameplay has made the transition mostly in tact and as such I can wholeheartedly recommend picking up this game if you’re a fan of the genre.
3.8 The Vita Lounge Magazine
31
stats and give them enough equipment to prepare them for battle. While that may seem like a quite a lot of time in order to get yourself ready for battle, if you try to face Trillion after your first cycles you’re basically leading a lamb to the slaughter.
Written by Liam Langan
@LiamHangover liamlangan
4 14 17 PSTV 3.2 GB Publisher ideafintl.com
@IdeaFactoryIntl
Developer
compileheart.com
Released
NA: March 29th EU: April 1st
32
The Vita Lounge Magazine
There’s always that one boss in every JRPG or Strategy game where, no matter how hard you try, you can never seem to defeat it unless you spend countless amount of hours grinding and levelling up your party. This can often turn off a lot of players and can either make or break one of those games, however this is exactly the premise of Trillion: God of Destruction. Described by publishers Idea Factory International as a groundbreaking SRPG, Trillion: God of Destruction is a game which sees you spending the whole time training six female warlords and servants of the great Lord Zebalous so they can eventually take on and hopefully defeate the titular beast – whose main goal is to destroy Hell, which is ruled by Lord Zebalous himself. The game starts off with a prologue, where you take control of Zebalous. It teaches you the main controls of the battle system and introduces you to the mechanics of fighting Trillion, ultimately you’ll lose the battle. Luckily, a strange being named Faust finds Zebalous and rebuilds his body. Unable to fight again, he assembles 6 of his best warlords to train up and hopefully destroy Trillion – who has laid dormant since his victory over Zebalous. You’re given five cycles (which last seven days) to train your warlord, increase their
Thankfully you’re able to retire your character if you feel that the battle isn’t going in your favour, which will give you a reduced amount of time than initially given to train your character up even more and get better equipment before Trillion once again awakens from his slumber and tries to make another attempt on working his way through the seven circles of Hell. While it all may sound confusing in concept, playing the game will give you a better idea of how it works. While waiting for Trillion to awaken the game gives you many options to train your character. This includes participating in one of seven training activities which will give you various XP points which you can allocate to your characters stats to increase your chances in battle. These stats include attack strength, magic and HP as well as others. But training isn’t the only thing you can do, in fact you’re given a stamina bar and excessive training will cause the bar to fill. In some cases this will cause your character to have an injury which means they’ll not be able to train for three days, so resting is recommended, as is conversing with the overlords as they will also give you items to help you on your quest. There’s a blacksmith who can power up your weapons and apply Devil Envoy’s to them (which can give you many different thevitalounge.net
stat boosts) and there is also an item store where you can spend your hard earned cash on healing items and various other pieces of equipment that can help increase your chances in battle. Speaking of battle, you’ll certainly be doing a fair amount of it here in Trillion. The battle system is quite unique, it plays out on a grid based system and is turn based – every time you make a move the enemies who are on the field at the time will also make a move. While battles are normally between yourself and Trillion, he can also summon in monsters onto the field as well as various other obstacles which can make approaching him a bit more of a challenge. With enough patience you’ll eventually get close enough to Trillion in order to damage him, but this is normally the point where he gives up summoning in enemies and tries to attack you head on. This is where most of the levelling up and practicing comes into play, as his attacks are devastating and without the right levelling up you’ll likely be killed in one hit. I found that for the first few times I had to go up
against him with a new character that I’d normally escape from battle at this point, meaning I had a chance to back out of battle and level up my character more before facing him again.
The graphics and art style of the game are beautifully designed and Trillion looks as menacing as you’d expect a boss of this strength and power. The Actually managing to deal damage to game’s soundtrack is full of orchestrated Trillion can be quite rewarding, but it’s melodies whilst you are training your likely that he will eventually get the better characters, however the music changes of you and eventually kill you. Thankfully, to more guitar-fuelled tunes when facing death is not the end, as with their last Trillion as if to create a more atmospheric breath your character is able to either do a and menacing vibe to the battle, almost massive amount of damage on him which as if you’re in danger and are most makes it easier for your next warlord likely going to die. I personally loved the to kill him, or you can encapsulate your suspense that the soundtrack built up as I warlord as a soul who’ll then be able to went into battle. help out your next warrior. In conclusion, I really enjoyed my time The game’s difficulty the one thing that with Trillion and found it to be one of the makes it so unique. I always felt (even if more unique and interesting titles on the I’d lost a warlord in battle) that I’d be able Vita, it may not be for everyone, and while to do even better in my next encounter, there is a story, it often feels forced and is and for the most part in each encounter overshadowed by the instant thought of I did manage to perform better against death that looms over the character you him. Trillion: God of Destruction has the are training for battle. However, if you’re ability to absorb you in and encourage you a fan of difficult games, or you’re looking for a unique JRPG style game then Trillion: to keep going with the hope that you’ll eventually accomplish the seemingly God of Destruction comes recommended impossible task of destroying Trillion and by me.
VERDICT Trillion is not a game that will be to everyones tastes, it is unique and fun to play, but many players may find that it's trying to hard to be too different and therefore complicates itself, but if you're looking for a JRPG or SRPG with a unique spin then Trillion is definitely worth a look.
@PSVitaMag
clearing the game.
3.9 The Vita Lounge Magazine
33
Written by Reece Heyworth @rheyworth07 CHEAT07
0 4 12 PSTV 58.6 MB Publisher 10tons.com
@10tonsLtd
Developer 10tons.com
@10tonsLtd
Released
NA: May 3rd EU: May 3rd
34
The Vita Lounge Magazine
Azkend 2: The World Beneath is nicely summed up as ok. It does what it does competently but no more. The premise is simple, you’re given a game board with various different symbols on, all you have to do is connect 3 or more of the same symbol to clear it from the game board. Each level has different objectives for you to complete but it all builds upon this base concept. The game features two modes: adventure mode and challenge mode. Adventure mode is where you will be spending the bulk of your time, the game has a nice story which was actually a lot more interesting than expected for a game of this type. Each chapter will have you completing several levels in order to assemble an object and progress to the next chapter. Each chapter only has three to four levels so you’re always making noticeable progress. Between each chapter there’s a mini game to complete, which if you do well can help with the next set of levels. The mini game is simple enough, you’re given a large background and you have to find set locations based on a small snippet of an image. These start easy but quickly become frustrating distractions as the small clues given get ridiculously vague later in the game. Each chapter you complete also earns you a new power-up. These come in two forms, passive and active. Passive
will grant you a bonus throughout the level such as making 15% more powerups appear during a level. Active powerups, however, will appear as symbols on the game board that are activated when matched. You can only have one active and one passive power-up at a time though you are free to switch which ones you have equipped between levels. However, I never felt the need to switch powers which suggests that while all power-ups are viable that the game never really takes advantage of the unique traits of each power and gets you to strategize which powers to take into each level. Each level has its own objective that needs completing and as the game goes on more new objectives are introduced. The game starts simple by only asking you to clear fog by making matches next to it on the board, however objectives become tougher later when you need to extinguish an ever growing fire by matching around it or stopping bugs from reaching the top of the game board. These new objectives help keep the game from getting too stale, just as you think you have the hang of it a new game mode keeps you on your toes. Some of the game modes are better than others however, stopping those bugs reaching the top? Complete pain in the ass that feels like it relies more on luck than any real skill. The puzzle levels though are good fun and are a nice change of pace to the rest of the game.
thevitalounge.net
On the whole Azkend 2 is competent at the match 3 formula and the little variations are welcome, but even this game struggles at times. As per any match 3 game, sometimes your success in a level is as much dependant on luck as your own skill which can be very frustrating. To add to this the board layout is hex based and so when pieces are matched and start to fall it’s hard to judge where pieces will finally land, again it feels more like luck than skill.
The game does feature some nice artwork in the scenery for each level, though you’ll only get to admire it between levels as the game board covers it all up during the level – which is a shame as it would have been nice to see more of the locales in the game. The symbols you’ll spend so much time matching up are pretty basic icons of objects, there doesn’t seem to be any reasoning for the symbols chosen, a starfish, a dinosaur skull and some purple thing… for example. It’s not an issue but on the smaller screen and larger game boards it can some times be difficult to Challenge mode is a small diversion for after adventure mode or fancy a change of quickly spot matching symbols when pace. Challenge mode offers two options, under pressure. Most levels will feature a timer, this is displayed to the player in the ability to replay adventure mode the top right corner of the screen. As time missions competing for good times and medals, or a timed score attack mode. It’s passes the clock hand will turn and more a little disappointing choice wise, the score of the clock will turn red, once its filled up its game over. It does the job though it attack mode is fun but other challenge levels built upon the puzzle game type or would have been helpful to have a clearer idea of exactly how long I have left such other game variations would have been nice. As it is there really isn’t much reason as a little timer underneath the clock as opposed to guessing if I have 10 seconds to come back to the game after beating or 2 to finish the level. Again its only a adventure mode the first time. minor niggle but could help improve the playing experience.
VERDICT Azkend 2 is a decent match 3 puzzle game with a short but interesting story to play through, there's nothing really adventurous here and ultimately a lack of interesting content makes it hard to keep coming back.
@PSVitaMag
All in all, Azkend 2: The World Beneath is an ok puzzle game, it doesn’t push the boundaries in any exciting way but it doesn’t do much wrong either so if you like a decent match 3 puzzler then you could do worse than to show some love to Azkend 2 and its interesting albeit brief story.
2.8 The Vita Lounge Magazine
35
Planète Vita, and its web site PlaneteVita.fr, is the brainchild of a group of passionate players, to share news about the PS Vita with the largest number of French speaking players and to promote it among players of video games in general.
Our team combines active french actors of PS Vita community: DrakeFromParis, editor and administrator, also creator and community organizer of VITAinParis.fr that propose games sessions, online and in Live in Paris, and its Youtube channel youtube.com/DrakeFromParis; LtGlloq, editor and podcaster, expert of the Earth Defense Force license, his blog LaDropZone.hd.free.fr; Jahkusa, editor and expert of the Earth Defense Force license; Lolmortlilol, editor and expert of the Sword Art Online license;
We are bloggers, YouTubers and animators of the VITA in Paris community who, over their exchanges on Twitter, have joined their efforts to develop a common web site that aims to be the french portal of news about the PS Vita. As fans already know, the PS Vita has not much publicity from Sony PlayStation. It even has bad reputation among the public, shops and video games websites, most for even say that this console is abandoned and dead. But yet this console has now more than 3 years, over 500 games and numerous new international releases each month.
Mr. Sushi, editor and expert of sexy games, his blog theVitaStation.wordpress.com and his Youtube channel youtube.com/SushiTV; Panzerodin, editor and podcaster; Rasz, editor and web designer, his blog WhatsUpVita.com; Sebgob, editor, his blog sebgob.com; Tentacle Blue, editor, podcaster and coordinator, his blog TentacleBlue.wordpress.com; Younz-, editor and podcaster.
Its main strength is to play quality gaming anywhere, anytime, and thus enjoy its games as long as possible. As Sony executives have said, this console has found its audience, who are mostly hardcore gamers who love quality video game in nomad, and who seek themselves information about this console. At Planète Vita we consider it is crucial to gather the PS Vita news to bring them to the public. Each day brings informations and surprises around the PS Vita, as the announcement of new releases, like occidental games (Resident Evil Revelations 2, Assassin’s Creed Chronicles, …) and Japanese games translated into English or French (Gundam Versus, Gundam Breaker 3, God Eater, ...) but also great independent games (Geometry Wars, Bastion, …), or the release of games on the PlayStation Store without announcement (XCOM Enemy Unknown Plus, Civilization Revolution 2 Plus, ...).
PlaneteVita.fr provides online news, informations, reviews, articles, wallpapers and a podcast named Vitapéro, led by a team of merry people !
36
The Vita Lounge Magazine
The team members live all over France and Switzerland. If you are a french speaking editor who loves the PS Vita, we can invite you as a guest or more! We are in collaboration with publishers and distributors of video games to promote new releases on PS Vita. If you want to contact us for your games release, please send us a mail to PlaneteVita@gmail.com If you consider to release a game in France, you can consult us to know if this game will be successful!
FOLLOW US! PlaneteVita.fr facebook.com/PlaneteVita twitter.com/PlaneteVita
THANKS FOR READING AND VIVA LA VITA! Team Planète Vita
thevitalounge.net
DIRECTORY A RECAP OF THE BEST GAMES THIS YEAR
AXIOM VERGE
4.8
RISK OF RAIN
8 0 21 372 MB
CRYPT OF THE NECRODANCER
4.5
7 5 16 1.0 GB
ODDWORLD: NEW 'N' TASTY
4.5
5 9 22 1.2 GB
CROIXLEUR SIGMA
4.4 @PSVitaMag
2 1330 816 MB
4.6
SEVERED
0 6 9 81 MB
VOLUME
4.5
8 6 10 904 MB
3 1 0 274 MB
SENRAN KAGURA: ESTIVAL VERSUS
4.3
6 12 6 225 MB
DIGIMON STORY: CYBER SLEUTH
NEVERENDING NIGHTMARES
4.5
4.5
1 1434 3.1 GB
4.5
1 7 48 1.5 GB
DAY OF THE TENTACLE REMASTERED
4.4
1 3 53 1.0 GB
STRANGER OF SWORD CITY
4.3
2 1527 541 MB
The Vita Lounge Magazine
37
Interested in
A new venture brought to you by the team behind
?
The love for the Vita that some of our fans have 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!
SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON AND GET A COPY OF THE MAGAZINE DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR! WWW.PATREON.COM/THEVITALOUNGE
Lates Lates 10 Vit 11 Re 11 Re 13 Re 10 Re 10 Re 10 Re Enth t Rev 9 Rev t Rev a Gam views views views views views usias views iews iews iews! t Vita | Dev ! Dev ! Dev ! Dev ! Dev ! Dev e Rev | Dev | Dev | Dev elope T elope elope elope elope elope elope iews elope o p 10! elope r Fea r Fea r Fea r Fea r Fea r Fea r Fea &5D r Fea r | F tu tures eature tures Comm tures tures tures tures tures evelo res | | EGX | Late ! Late ! Late ! Late ! Late ! Late s! | C C per In unity omm Roun s olin & tervie st Ne st Ne st Ne st Ne st Ne unity Top 1 d-up ws! ws! ws! ws! ws! Greg! Conte ws! 0! n
The V The V The V The V The V The V The V The V The V The V The V ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo ita Lo unge unge unge unge unge unge unge unge unge unge unge t
M A G A Z I N E
M A G A Z I N E
M A G A Z I N E
M A G A Z I N E
M A G A Z I N E
Andrew
M A G A Z I N E
Tom Grinnell
TomNinetyTwo
MuggleMind
My PSN isn't related to Harry Potter, honest. 5 7 It was6 the name of my first D&D character way back in 1976. I'd meant to use "muddledmind", but wrote it wrong (I was only 11, so that's my excuse). Vitawise, I play mine every day, usually travelling to and from work.
M A G A Z I N E
@TomNinetyTwo
M A G A Z I N E
M A G A Z I N E
BE V I TSAT GA MES
9
@2BFLiam SuperBestFriendsPlay.com
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
Curtis
Thulsa
Matthew Wolfman
Todd
Adam Klarich
Jens Brinkmann
Holt Slack
Salvador
Rick Salas-Velasquez
Lorenzo Samaniego
Liam Allen-Miller
unknownwolf123 @ unknownwolf7
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
kanon8891
Nathan King
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
Cowlauncher @Cowlauncher
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
ZoSam32 @ZoSam32
Charles Foulk
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
M A G A Z I N E
Support us at this level to see your name and Bio here!
Favourite Vita games: Unit 13, Toukiden, Killzone Mercenary. Playing this month Borderlands 2. 8
M A G A Z I N E
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
Bryan
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
Nicholas Petit
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
Brian Goygochea
Thanks for your generous support and belief!
Also, a big thanks for all you who supported us and made this issue possible! Wictor, Miguel, Wilson, Chris, Mark L, Michael, Reckoning, Gary, Matt A, Daniel S, Juan, Erick, Tom, Mark D, Gabe, Steven B, Richard, Gadget Girl Kylie, Daniel H, Andreas, Britta, Seth, Juha, Brad, Jared, Dmitry, Liam, Jose, Ben C, Ryzo, Judit, Johnnie, David J, Troy, David D, Hayden, Jon, Billie, Curtis, Lei, Shawn, Benjamin, William, Tyler, Skip Ryan, Christian, Nelson, Joshua, Pierre, Andre, Ethan, Brett, Devin, Serpico699 and Jennie! @PSVitaMag
The Vita Lounge Magazine
39