Vitamag #16

DEVELOPER FEATURES INCLUDING WIN LIMITED RUN GAMES WITH US! INSIDE!CYBERTHREAT, NUCLEAR GOLF & MORE!WIN! FIND OUT MORE ON PAGE 39!

Filled with the latest PSVita news, reviews, features and content!

‘s

Vitamag

REVIEWED!

Welcome

Hello Vita Gamers!

all relaxing and It's the summer! No doubt you are er way to enjoy enjoying the weather, so what bett r issue of our the ano yourself than to sit back with magazine?

REGULARS

Paul Murphy in with the Our latest issue is packed once aga d, sse gue PMurphy1978 ably prob e v ' you newest Vita reviews, and as nder Fou a s It' a. mm Dile e Tim Zero is this issue's highlight e mor read really special experience and you can game we cover this month, and only the not s t' Tha 16. e pag on it ut abo ce Leifthrasir, LEGO Star Wars: The For you'll find reviews of Odin Sphere w, kno all will you As ers. oth y ng man Awakens and Grand Kingdom amo ld! dhe han es flowing to our favourite there is still a steady supply of gam

and l also find new developer interviews On top of numerous reviews, you'l Star O LEG ut abo ion Fus TT er from this month we spoke with Pete Gom catching up with Touchfight Games as l wel as s ken Awa ce For The Wars: Golf. Those of you interested in the about their upcoming title, Nuclear y also enjoy the latest developer diar upcoming CyberThreat Game will from Conor McKenna too! l a Community Voice from Last Rea This month's community feature is hmuc the on ing gam multiplayer Gamer, who tells you more about g can play locally with others by usin you w kno you Did V. PST maligned it in port sup es You'll find out which gam multiple Dualshock 4 controllers? this feature! news, hot game picks and latest As always we also have the latest sit back, grab a cold one and enjoy releases to peruse, so why don't you the rest of this issue! e, and I hope to see you here again I really hope that you enjoy this issu next time on September 12th!

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!

04 BITE-SIZED NEWS

BITE-SIZED NEWS

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 VOICE PSVITA SUPER-FAN LRG EXPLAINS MORE ABOUT THE PSTV LOCAL MULTIPLAYER FEATURE IN IN HIS COMMUNITY VOICE FEATURE!

38 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

DEVELOPER FEATURES INCLUDING WIN LIMITED RUN GAMES WITH US! INSIDE!CYBERTHREAT, NUCLEAR GOLF & MORE!WIN! FIND OUT MORE ON PAGE 39!

Filled with the latest PSVita news, reviews, features and content!

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

THE LATEST VITA NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD!

M A G A Z I N E

Issue 16 | August 2016

THE MAGAZINE WOULDN'T BE POSSBILE WITHOUT THESE AWESOME PEOPLE

@PSVitaMag

‘s

Vitamag 5

REVIEWED!

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

WEBSITE TEAM Timmy Garrett @timmygarrett40k Reece 9Heyworth @rheyworth07

CONTRIBUTORS Colin Byrne @ColinJByrne Brandon Crisp @crispyn64 Gareth Smith @spritesnbytes Benjamin Kolz @LastRealGamer

to your

Magazine!

DEVELOPER FEATURES

8 NUCLEAR GOLF

10

TOUCHFIGHT GAMES TELL US ALL THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT THEIR UPCOMING TITLE, NUCLEAR GOLF!

LEGO STAR WARS

12

DUNGEON PUNKS

14 CYBERTHREAT

THE FORCE IS STRONG WITH THE THIS TEAM BASED FIGHTER IS OUT LATEST ENTRY IN THE LICENSED LATER THIS MONTH, AND WE GET TO LEGO SERIES, SO WE FIND OUT KNOW MORE FROM THE TEAM AT MORE FROM TT FUSION! HYPER AWESOME ENTERTAINMENT!

BEEN FOLLOWING THE PROGRESS OF CYBERTHREAT GAME? CHECK OUT PART TWO OF OUR DEVELOPER DIARY!

REVIEWS 16

Zero Time Dilemma

22

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

28

Spy Chamelon

30

Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault

18

LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens

24

Skullgirls 2nd Encore

32

10 Second Ninja X

20

Grand Kingdom

26

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VS-Force

34

Paranautical Activity

thevitalounge.net SPECIAL THANKS Touchfight Games @TouchfightGames TT Games @TTGames Warner Bros. Games @WB_Games CyberThreat Game @cyberthreatgame Dungeon Punks @DungeonPunks Limited Run Games @LimitedRunGames and Play-Asia.com @PlayAisa

@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 Macross Delta Scramble detailed Bandai Namco have updated us on what the recently announced Macross Delta Scramble will be bringing to the table; detailing the game further and showing off some new screens.

Macross Delta Scramble will feature main missions based on the first thirteen episodes of the Macross Delta anime, and will feature extra missions with guests from across the Macross series (such as Hikaru Ichiyo and Alto Saotome). It’ll see players let loose with variable fighters and three stages of transformation, taking on dogfights like a real maverick.

Dragon Fantasy: The Black Tome of Ice releasing via Limited Run Games Muteki Corp has announced that they’ve partnered with Limited Run Games for a physical run of their newest Dragon Fantasy release.

Based on the previously released Dragon Fantasy Book II, Dragon Fantasy: The Black Tome of Ice is a revamped version of the title that looks to include those who never played Dragon Fantasy Book I, as well as improving things from its last iteration in every way.

New Game! to get its own game Summer anime New Game! is officially getting a PlayStation Vita title thanks to 5pb.

Based on the anime – which sees young Aoba venture into the workforce for the first time, taking a role at her favourite game studio – New Game! Challenge Stage is currently destined to hit PlayStation Vita early next year. It’ll have you taking on the creation of DLC for the fictional game “Fairy’s Story 3” as well as getting closer to your co-workers; all in Aoba’s shoes.

Ultratron 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 August, Vita gamers will be able to download Ultratron and Patapon 3 (PSP).

The last human has been slain by evil killer robots. You are the one remaining humanoid battle droid. Your mission: avenge the human race!

Blast your way through 40+ glowing neon levels, avoiding Chasers, Turrets, Spawners, Minelayers, bombs, and bullets, and take on the four giant boss ‘bots of the Apocalypse – Ieiunitas, Bellum, Lues and Letum!

3.6 4

The Vita Lounge Magazine

thevitalounge.net

The Nightmare from beyond coming in 2017

Developer Domaginarium are bringing their third person horror platformer, The Nightmare From Beyond, to PS Vita in 2017. The game’s IndieDB page describes itself as ‘a cosmichorror third person platformer inspired by the works of H. P. Lovecraft‘ asking you to imagine a cross between Tomb Raider and classic cosmic horror.

In The Nightmare From Beyond you assume the role of Sanja.

The game’s protagonist is from a tribe of people known as D’nyg and Sanja must explore the mysterious and terrifying land she inhabits in order to find her sister, Dajana.

Dungeon Punks announced for August release

Hyper Awesome Entertainment has announced that its tagteam brawler RPG Dungeon Punks will be coming worldwide to PS Vita on August 16th. The game will also be crossbuy with the PS4 version which is due out on July 26th.

You’ll be able to recruit a crew of six mutant heroes who you can use to blast your enemies senseless with their magical spells and combo attacks. Real-time party play will allow you to take control of any of the heroes fighting alongside you at any time.

You can also have a friend or two tap in and join you on your adventure.

Psycho Pass: Madatory Happiness gets ESRB rating

The ESRB has recently revealed its full rating description for the upcoming hard-boiled Vita title Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness and lots of gritty details have been unleashed!

The visual novel has ended up with a Teen rating from the ESRB as it contains contents relating to blood, drug references, language, mild violence and suggestive themes.

Psycho-Pass: Mandatory Happiness is set to release for both PlayStation 4 and PS Vita on September 13th in North America, and September 16th in Europe.

Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni gets a western release

Rice Digital has announced the release date for PQube’s localization of Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni, and alongside that they’ve announced their exclusive limited edition offering.

Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni will be releasing in both North America and Europe on September 16th, coming to us both digitally and in physical form as well.

Rice Digital will be selling an exclusive “Liberator’s Edition” of the game. The Liberator’s Edition will include the following items: Eight gorgeous Art Cards featuring the ladies of Valkyrie Drive, A PlayStation Vita Peach Skin Case, The Official Soundtrack, The Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni Artbook, and a high quality Presentation Box, Designed by Kenichiro Takaki.

Valkyrie Drive: Bhikkhuni is due out in the West September 16th.

Patapon 3 (PSP)

Polls Apart!

Patapon 3 is the third installment in the Patapon series.

It focuses on the Patapons stopping the Seven Archfiends and, of course, the Patapons’ continued search for Earthend.

During their journey, they come across multitudes of enemies and problems barring their path. Will the Patapons finally succeed in locating Earthend?

We asked on Twitter if you were happy with these titles for the IGC. The results are:

Yes 40% Both 16% One 24%

No 36%

@PSVitaMag

Source: Twitter 613 votes

Not sure 36%

The Vita Lounge Magazine

5

Gal*Gun Double Peace August 2nd NA WE KNOW THAT VITA GAMES CAN APPEAR WITHOUT MUCH NOTICE, BUT HERE ARE SOME OF THE GAMES WE SHOULD BE SEEING THIS MONTH!

August 2nd NA & EU

Mutant Mudds: Super Challenge August 3rd EU

August 16th NA & EU

Read Only Memories

Alone With You

Attack on Titan

God Eater: Resurrection

God Eater 2: Rage Burst

August 16th NA

August 30th EU

6

Dungeon Punks

Laser Disco Defenders

The Vita Lounge Magazine

August 23rd NA & EU

August 30th NA & EU

August 30th NA / August 26th EU

Hatsune Miku: Project Diva X

August 30th EU

thevitalounge.net

Ho eN THE VITA GAMES WE ARE MOST EXCITED FOR!

WORLD OF FINAL FANTASY

worldoffinalfantasy.square-enix.com @square_enix_eu

HYPER LIGHT DRIFTER

NEW DANGANRONPA V3

@spikechunsoft

SWORD ART ONLINE: HOLLOW REALIZATION

swordartonline-game.com @BandaiNamcoEU

heart-machine.com @HeartMachineZ

ATTACK ON TITAN

nisamerica.com/games/psycho-pass @NISAmerica

@koeitecmoeurope

DARKEST DUNGEON

darkestdungeon.com @RedHookStudios

COSMIC STAR HEROINE

zeboyd.com @ZeboydGames

YIIK

ackkstudios.wordpress.com @ackkstudios @PSVitaMag

PSYCHO PASS

DRAGON QUEST HEROES 2

dragonquest-game.com/heroes @SquareEnix The Vita Lounge Magazine

7

Touchfight Games

touchfightgames.com @TouchfightGames

Hello Nathan, thanks for talking to us!

Can you tell us a little bit about Touchfight Games and how you got into developing games?

Absolutely! Our motto at Touchfight Games is "quirky games for quirky people," and our projects definitely skew towards the weirder side of the spectrum. We're a small indie studio run by three strange dudes in the rural foothills of southern Vermont. Cue the dueling banjos.

Touchfight Games is a part-time thing for all of us right now, but we really enjoy making games and hope to be able to carve more time for it in the future. We founded the studio two years ago. Prior to diving into indie dev, I was a long-time member of the games press (Nintendo Power, GamePro, IGN, GameSpot, etc..etc.. etc.), and I also make solo/personal side project games in my spare time.

You are currently working on Nuclear Golf, can you tell us a little bit about it?

Nuclear Golf came out of left field for us.

It's essentially post-apocalyptic 2D golf mayhem featuring explosions, destructible terrain, death-by-irradiation, and boss battles--among other ridiculousness. Blowing things up and trying crazy trick shots using special balls (that gain experience and unlock powers as they level-up) is as much fun as actually trying to collect coins, earn trophies, and beat par to unlock secrets.

Golfing your way through each 18-hole course isn't a cakewalk, though. The longer your take to complete a hole, the more radiation you soak up. If you smash open too many cans of toxic sludge, take too long to get to the end of the course, or get clobbered by the game's gnarly meat bosses, then you wind up melting into a pool of your own steaming innards.

So...golf, basically. :D 8

The Vita Lounge Magazine

NUCLEAR GOLF IS A SOMEWHAT CRAZY GOLFING AFFAIR WITH ALL SORTS OF RIDICULOUS AND FUN MECHANICS, WE CAUGHT UP WITH DEVELOPERS TOUCHFIGHT GAMES TO FIND OUT MORE. What was the inspiration behind the game?

When we were first brainstorming the game concept a year ago, I really just loved the idea of "golf, but with HUGE EXPLOSIONS." The idea evolved beyond that early concept in some very cool directions as we kicked it around a bit more. Somewhere along the line "huge explosions" turned into "huge explosions with face-melting radiation in a postapocalyptic cityscape." Plus, I loved the way Nuclear Golf rolls off the tongue and the mental imagery those two words evoke together.

There are a lot of secrets hidden throughout the game, and a ton of different ways to play. We have coursespecific goals for collecting coins, trophies, and high scores, and the game features 20 in-game achievements (many of which will be tied to PSN trophies). That's not including unlockable bonus content, modes, and outrageous secrets tucked away.

To add some spice to the basic trajectory golf mechanics, all of the balls in Nuclear Golf have different abilities and powers that level-up the more you use them. The game will feature six balls at launch, I've never been into sports in general, but I ranging from an explosive ball that destroys terrain and send debris flying to LOVE trajectory-style games in digital a jet ball that has mini jet boosters on it form-- things like golf, mini-golf, pool, and a deployable parachute. You can bowling, etc. The thing I love about unlock balls in the game's shop using Nuclear Golf's skill-based trajectory gameplay is that it's super satisfying and collectible coins, and leveling them up unlocks more powers. Yeah, we're sort of fun to tinker with, whether you're a golf RPG nerds. fan or you hate sports.

The starting "normal" ball, for example, is anything but normal. Once you hit the ball, you can trigger a "boost" mechanic that ignites the ball and gives it a boost in the direction its moving. Aside from burning What gameplay mechanics can gamers grass and wrecking other junk it collides expect to see in Nuclear Golf?

We've designed Nuclear Golf for maximum with, this mechanic is vital for adjusting your ball's trajectory mid-shot, and you replayability, and it's definitely a game can pull of some crazy shots once you that we've seen people get better at the master it. Leveling-up the ball lets you more they play and experiment. Most players get their face melted off mid-way backspin mid-shot and do other crazy things. during their first run, but the mechanics give you lots of wiggle room to try your Beyond that? We've internally joked that own approach and improve your shot this is the Dark Souls of golfing games, skills the more you play. That push to go but it's more about figuring out how the back and do better on the next run definitely drives Nuclear Golf's momentum game works, experimenting with its feel, and makes its sometimes steep difficulty and then leveling-up your skill. Mechanics like boss fights, radiation gauges, and more digestible. Once you get good at it, it's possible to plow through the game in a obstacles (saw blades, crushers, pits, spikes, and more) keep things interesting. few hours, but some of the unlockable modes and tucked away goodies are well worth trying to uncover.

The layers of absurdity we pile onto that simple arcadey formula also makes it a pretty wacky, wild ride.

thevitalounge.net

Can you tell us anything new about Nuclear Golf?

One thing we haven't talked much about yet is the world building we've done in the game. The core game itself is pretty ridiculous, and it's easy to just hop in and play. But we wanted the irradiated landscape and demented world the game is set in to have a lot of personality, even if there's no clear-cut "story" per-se. The flow of the game and it's level design certainly adds to this: you start off in the outskirts of the golf resort in dusty plains and swamplands, then work your way deeper into the city and then beyond into the sewers in later courses. There's a definite progression to the journey beyond just throwing more craziness at players (we do that too, though). Each course has about 4-5 visual zones you golf through.

Most of the atmospheric setup and world building is subtle, but if you're paying attention you'll catch lots of funny and weird tidbits. The game's shop keeper, for example, has a radio on the shelf, and we've recorded about 30 minutes worth of fake commercials, skits, news broadcasts, and wacky vignettes that you can listen to at your leisure. It's all goofy stuffy we voiced and came up with on the spot, and aside from being good for a few laughs, it helps give a sense of what's going on in the game world beyond the fact you're risking life and limb to golf through the irradiated wastes.

this game has been a lot of fun, a big challenge, and a great learning experience.

It's only our second project as a studio, and we've learned a ton (both what to do and what not to do) in the year or so we've poured into the game.

What are your plans beyond Nuclear Golf?

We're never in short supply of crazy ideas to try out, but we haven't quite picked what comes next game-wise. We'll be launching Nuclear Golf on Vita and PS4 this summer as a timed exclusive with Why did you want to bring it to the Vita?

Sony, and we'll be spending the following How have you found developing for the months to prepping the game to launch Vita? on PC and potentially other platforms in We're all big fans of handheld gaming and early 2017. indie games in general. The Vita is a great platform for playing cool and interesting Depending on how things go, we're indies, and it's definitely something we're interested in the possibility of creating excited to be developing for. We're going some add-on content for the game down to be making Nuclear Golf cross-buy, so the road, but that really depends on folks can check it out on both PS4 and whether players want more craziness. If Vita if they grab it, though we've always launch goes well, that's something we'll planned for it to be on the Vita from explore as we figure out what our next day-1. game will be.

Right now we're finishing up a few last things, adding final polish and bug fixing, and getting everything running smoothly in prep for launch in the coming months.

We recently got the game running and optimized on Vita, and it's indescribably awesome to sit down and play this crazy thing we've been making for the past year on the handheld. We're really happy with how it's coming together, and I think we're definitely going to do more on the Vita beyond Nuclear Golf.

Are there any Vita games that stand out to you? What are your favourites?

How is development going? Do you have a I've enjoyed some of the bigger Vita games over the years, but 99 percent of release window in mind? what I play on Vita is indie games, and We're pushing hard to get the game wrapped up very soon. We're aiming for a that's a big part of why I enjoy it so much.

I'm a huge fan of Vlambeer's work, so Summer release window, though it's Super Crate Box, Luftrausers, and Nuclear realistically looking more like an end of Throne are in heavy rotation. I recently summer launch on PS4 and Vita. Making @PSVitaMag

picked up Severed, and absolutely love it, and I'm also really excited to play upcoming games like Alone With You and the vita version of Darkest Dungeon and some other PS4 projects.

Finally, of the two Vita models released - the OLED and the Slim, which do you think is best?

Wow, that's a tough call. I really love the OLED screen on the original Vita, but the form factor of the Slim is pretty sexy. I have and play both models, so it's often a matter of which one is handy when I'm looking to unwind.

We would like to thank Touchfight Games for their time with this interview.

Does Nuclear Golf look like something you'd want to play?

The Vita Lounge Magazine

9

TT Fusion

lsw.wbgames.com/lsw/us/2 @LSWGame

Can you tell us a little bit about TT Fusion and how they started developing games?

Well, TT Fusion started off many moons ago as another company (Embryonic Studios), however we were acquired by TT Games in 2007 to develop the handheld versions of the LEGO videogames, starting with LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga.

Since then it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, as we’ve made a bunch of really great handheld titles, but have also developed a fair few console games, including LEGO City Undercover and LEGO Jurassic World.

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is our latest game, and it is one that we’re all very proud of.

We are here to talk about the latest LEGO title, based on Star Wars: The Force Awakens. How long ago did work start on the game?

The development for LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens began a long time ago in a galaxy far far away… roughly the middle of last year. We always wanted LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens to be the biggest and best LEGO handheld game out there, as such we built in some extra time to really try and fit in as much content as possible. We’ve got about 200 collectable characters in the game, which is a massive increase from any other handheld LEGO game, along with four free play HUB environments and a variety of levels, some of which cover extra content that takes place in the time leading up to the film. We even managed to fit in a loading screen minigame, which I think everyone in the office found quite addictive! And of course we have three big new features—Multi-Builds, Blaster 10

The Vita Lounge Magazine

WITH THE RELEASE OF THE MOST COMPLETE LEGO TITLE ON THE VITA SO FAR, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LEGO STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS SO WE CAUGHT UP WITH PETE GOMER, DIRECTOR OF HANDHELD AT TT FUSION. Battles and new flight sections—similar to the console version.

The game very closely follows the story of the film, across a large number of levels. Was it important that you got that balance right? How do you decide which parts actually make it into the game?

Essentially, we identify the key scenes and then work around that. For example, anyone who saw the film would see the bit where Finn, Rey and BB-8 escape through the Jakku markets and would know that there could be a really cool level there. You know there needs to be a part where they escape through the markets, you know there needs to be a bit where they get chased by TIE fighters and you know there needs to be a flight section at the end where they eventually leave the planet in the Millennium Falcon.

Once you’ve got those key moments, you build your levels around them. One great advantage of concentrating on one film was that we got to cover the story in more detail. For example, I’m really happy with the level set in Maz Kanata’s castle.

It’s such an iconic location with so many colorful background characters; we had to make sure we did it justice.

galaxy out there, and that’s something we really want players to experience.

Therefore, we created four large HUB areas based on key film locations. One of my favorite moments in the game is when you step out onto the Takodana environment, everything comes together really nicely – the music, the free roam camera, the missions—I always find it really exciting.

Of course, once you’ve got a huge area for the player to explore, you need to work out how the player is going to engage with it. We didn’t want the player to just run around these areas finding collectables, we also wanted them to talk and interact with the life forms they meet. Because of this, we filled the HUBs with side quests where each mission has its own story line, from trying to fix up Maz’s statue on Takodana, to taking on the Stormtroopers in a snowball fight on Starkiller Base.

The game has additional content in it, such as the iconic Battle of Endor from Return of the Jedi and other missions to enhance the lifespan. Could we see additional content down the line?

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is filled to the brim with content, so much so LEGO Marvel’s Avengers has an open that we struggled to fit it on the cart! As world on the handheld game for the first you say there’s the additional content you time, replaced here by various, smaller can play through to find out more about open world hubs. Many could see this as the story leading up to the new film. For a step back but LEGO Star Wars: The Force example, players can follow Han, Chewie Awakens actually has more content in and their crew through the planet of Twon it than the previous title. Was it always Ketee to capture the ravenous Rathtars. planned to be bigger?

On top of that, there’s the extra HUB For me, I think one of the key things about missions, a bonus level set on Starkiller Star Wars is that there’s this massive Base where the player must fight through thevitalounge.net

waves of enemies in the quickest time possible, free play challenges on each level, and of course the trophies you get as standard on PlayStation Vita. There are also a bunch of nice little features like the decarbonizer and the character creator. The idea was that we’d make a product that would keep the player coming back for more from the outset, rather than something we’d keep adding too periodically.

really pushes the boat out when it comes to new features. There were a couple of key things we really wanted to focus on, including Multi-Builds, Blaster Battles and new flight sections.

moments into the game, as well as providing the opportunity for some cool puzzles. I think the Blaster Battle section on the Finalizer is one of my favorite moments in the game. It also allowed us to infuse some extra humor, as you’ll see Multi-Builds gave us a chance to re-invent when Stormtrooper help fly off causing the building process, giving players the them to run around in a panic. ability to build something, destroy it and rebuild it as something else, ultimately Flight sections are pretty much required adding more choices to the experience for any Star Wars game—when you think and allowing us create some great nonof the films, you always think of the space linear puzzles. I think there’s quite a Of course, Star Wars was where the battles! Therefore, it’s important for the good example in the first level where you player to actually fly around massive licensed LEGO series started in its current guise over a decade ago. Has the build a BB-8 launcher to get him onto a arenas, along with more set piece heavy platform, then rebuild the launcher as a reception to the series over the years sections. I think the two styles of flight surprised you? How do you approach the crank switch which moves the platform really complement each other well. that BB-8 sits on. In play tests, it was series to keep it fresh and new? great to see the expressions on the kids’ It was indeed. The first LEGO videogame We would like to thank Pete that TT Fusion made was LEGO Star Wars: faces when they solved the puzzle—there for his time and also Eric was definitely a lot of satisfaction there, The Complete Saga, way back on the from WB Games for helping that’s when we knew we were onto a Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable! arrange the interview. LEGO winner.

It’s great to look back and see how far Star Wars: The Force Awakens we’ve come. With LEGO games there’s is out now and you can read always a fine balance between innovating Blaster Battles are another feature our thoughts on page 18! and keeping things familiar; however I do that felt really “Star wars” and gave us think LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens the chance to get some big set piece @PSVitaMag

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11

Dungeon Punks

dungeonpunksgame.com @DungeonPunks

DUNGEON PUNKS IS AN UPCOMING TEAM FIGHTING GAME AND IS OUT LATER THIS MONTH. WE LOVED THE LOOK AND STYLE OF THE GAME, SO WE CAUGHT UP WITH HYPER AWESOME ENTERTAINMENT'S COFOUNDER, DAN GOLDSTEIN, TO FIND OUT MORE.

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?

It's my pleasure! I love seeing the incredible vibrancy of the PS Vita community - it's been just amazing to watch. While in development we honestly didn't realize what a dedicated set of fans were using the Vita, but we sure do now!

Josh and I did a bunch of things afterward, including starting a games advertising company, but we always wanted to get back to developing new game ideas. And we did, with a large-scale web MMO called Shadowtale. Dungeon Punks is the evolution of our ideas on the brawler and RPG genres that started with Shadowtale and matured over a period of about eight years.

My brother Josh and I grew up loving everything about games - for C64, PC, Amiga, Consoles, in the arcade, you name it. There was just something that moved us about them, and the 80's and 90's were such an incredible time of development and innovation. New really unique kinds of games were coming out all the time and it was fantastic being able to experience that kind of constant wave of brand new ideas.

We are here to talk about your upcoming title, Dungeon Punks. What is it about?

Ultimately, Dungeon Punks is about mastering a deep real-time fighting system while enjoying a wild romp through a series of crazy mayhem-filled adventures. You're in charge of a growing party of up to six unusual heroes. And each hero features his or her own special set of upgradeable magical spells and special moves.

Out of college I started a game company that nearly immediately failed, but that didn't deter me from wanting to work on games! If anything, it was the opposite.

I worked on MMORPG's for Turbine for a bit, then Josh and I started working on our own new projects. We made series of multiplayer web games that were featured all over the internet. The best known one was probably Kung Fu Chess, which won the Independent Games Festival's Audience Choice Award. It was a realtimestrategy (RTS) genre take on the classic game of Chess, in which your pieces take time to move across the board and you never had to wait your turn because you can move all of them at once!

There's a great and unusual story that we're very proud of as well. And nonlinear explorable dungeons with side quests to give you plenty to do on your adventures. Basically, if you're looking for an action RPG experience that has a very funny and unique story and deep meticulously crafted gameplay, you've come to the right place.

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there somehow, whether it was a deli, a tiny hole in the wall pizza place, or an amusement park. Playing these together was just an absolute blast. There's something about the camaraderie and sense of adventure when you're exploring a new virtual world together that just can't be beat.

More recently, we tried to find an experience online or on consoles that would give us this same awesome feeling. And we just couldn't find one that felt the same to us. So we wanted to make a game that would let us have that experience again, but lengthen it and make it deep and compelling for hours.

We spent nearly five years working on Dungeon Punks trying to recapture that feeling, and after thousands of different experiments, testing, and hard work, we finally felt that we had succeeded and were ready to put it out.

What gameplay mechanics can gamers expect to encounter when playing?

The tag-team fighting system is a really key part of the game. As you place these heroes into teams of two, they function like they would in arcade fighting games like Marvel vs. Capcom. So you can string together combos in whatever fashion you choose, for example turning your What was the inspiration behind Dungeon Tempest Knight into a whirlwind to suck up a bunch of nearby enemies, jumping in Punks? with your Lezen Warrior, rolling through As teenagers, we went to the arcades all the storm and doing a backflip to blast the the time. And the 90's was a time when entire ensemble with lightning. The set just an incredible number of brawlers of possibilities is huge, and allows you to and fighting games were hitting the develop your own unique play-style. arcades. Whenever there was a new machine we would figure out how to get thevitalounge.net

One of the last things that got changed right at the end of development was our system of rideable mounts. And we're very happy with where they ended up.

Each mount has its own set of two attack moves, but while you're riding one you can also swing your own weapon to smash monsters. So it creates this amazing controlled chaos where you're riding a laser shooting unicorn, goring bad guys with your horn while galloping across the screen and swinging your sword wildly at the same time.

And there's lots more, from customizing your heroes' spells to choosing the right equipment, exploring the world, and using your enemies attacks against them. The game is very accessible, but it has a lot of layers, and the more you play the more is there for you to discover.

How much is there to see and do in the game?

There are twelve totally visually distinct areas, each with its own traps and dangers. Our estimate is that it takes over 12 hours to get through the main campaign, and then another 15 on New Game+ mode. We tried to keep everything really varied, so that there's always something new around the corner.

We have just an immense number of monster types! And to really master every one of the six heroes and their interactions together you'll have a lot of fun experimentation to do. Keeping the gameplay and experience fresh was really important to us, so you'll constantly encounter new kinds of creatures, items, @PSVitaMag

quests, rideable mounts, traps, interactive the go with you when riding the subway, environments, bosses, mini-bosses, and hanging out in the park, or whatever, is more. just great. And it's got so many great titles, especially indie ones. When talking Will the game work on the PSTV? to Sony, they were incredibly positive Yes! And not only that, but you can about Vita. And even though the game actually hook up three wireless controllers wasn't originally designed for it, after to your system and play co-op or PvP just some early experiments, it seemed like it like on PS4! I have a PSTV at home, and would be doable to fit the game on there those modes are just awesome on it. It's and have it be really great. amazing what such a tiny and inexpensive device can do. We're really glad we got to What do you think of the Vita as a add support for it. system? Have any games stood out to you?

By the way, it's a cross-buy title, so if you It's been really great seeing all these purchase it for PS Vita you'll be able to games that have been on Steam come download the PS4 version for free, too. If to Vita. To us, that's maybe it's strongest you do get to play on PSTV or PS4, the PvP point in terms of its library. Taking games Joust mode adds a whole other layer of like Super Time Force Ultra on the go is replayable fun with your friends. something we didn't expect, and is just plain awesome.

Can you tell us something new about the game?

Of the two Vita models, the Slim and the There are three very cool levels that didn't OLED which do you think is best? quite end up making it into the final game. Man that's a tough one. The OLED screen Right now Alex is sitting across from me is something really special. But I think in playing around with some ideas for our this case form factor wins for me. So I say indoor/outdoor snow castle area! We're Slim! It's just way more comfortable. still looking into what we can do with these, and whether there are some fun new experiences we can bring players of Dungeon Punks going forwards, through We would like to thank Dan DLC or otherwise. There are a lot of cool for his time and Ami from lvl possibilities, including the potential for Up Marketing for arranging procedurally generated dungeons!

What made you want to bring the game to the Vita?

Well first of all, we ourselves own Vita systems. Being able to take a game on

the interview. Dungeon Punks is released this month and we will have a review for you in the next issue!

The Vita Lounge Magazine

13

A big thanks to The Vita Lounge for having me again! It’s always a pleasure to be able to talk about CyberThreat amongst passionate Vita players! Last time I spoke a lot about what CyberThreat was in regards to its concept and story, so I’d like to talk about the actual development process this time.

First off, a lot of the graphics of the game have been completely overhauled. The 3D models for the game are designed in “Blender”. Often what I’ll do is design the majority of the scene in the one blender file (buildings, etc.) and then design the props in each of their own.

Almost all locations of the game so far have been redone, and look much better than before. Designing with a better sense of scale is a big factor into why things were redone. For example, the cars, apart from being pretty much akin to cubes with wheels, were smaller than the NPCs in the world. Another good reason is that things were just plain… ugly. Take a look at the comparison picture, the difference between the streetlamps for example is like night and day. It’s this attention and care that the game itself even deserves, not to mention the player who has to look at it.

Another thing that got the makeover it needed/ deserved is the UI! The system is now more animated and intuitive than before. For example, the old Battle UI would have to slide every menu item off the screen before sliding the new choices on, which was a slow and boring process. Now, each button slides to the left slightly while the colour of the background changes to match the icon colour. Selections appear quicker than before, and in a more informative, while still being compact, manner.

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The Vita Lounge Magazine

thevitalounge.net

One of the things I’m most proud of is CyberThreat’s artists. To capture the modern day feeling I wanted, I actually recruited multiple artists to work on the game, each bringing their own style and visual flair to the game.

They are Rai, Rosuuri, Mioch, Kururew, Candhi and Ariellia, and each of them has added something incredible to the world, whether it’s the stunning character portraits or the awesome action shots seen in battle, or even the amazing background art that brings the city of Edendale to life. We communicate over email, I send them some reference pictures of the 3D models I need illustrated, and they keep in frequent contact with sketches until the piece is finished. It has actually been not only a great way to get artwork from passionate artists, but also to meet some great people (albeit online) who I wouldn’t have met otherwise. From Left to Right the artists are Rosuuri, Mioch, Candhi, Kururew (lower EVE) and Ariellia. Rai’s artwork is featured in the cover picture.

I revisited some of the story scenes recently, refreshing some of the dialog to make it seem more natural, like an actual conversation rather than forced plot point after plot point.

The game has a lot of new, original ideas in this regard too. The overall theme/message of the game has been set, though I’m still debating internally about how I want to reveal it, whether I should tell the player outright or let them work it out themselves. All I can say is that everything is being designed with a greater meaning, and you’ll need to keep your eyes peeled at all times to see and understand everything that the game has on offer.

Something I’ve been toying around with is the inclusion of different minigames. Pictured is “Super Racer”, a time trial based minigame where you have to cross the checkpoints and complete 3 laps within the time limit. It’s got a fun “retro” style to it, kind of in the spirit of “Virtua Racer”. Completing one of the courses will reward you with a stat boost (in this case, Agility).

It’s great to be able to break away from the norm in a way that fits this style of game, and offer crazy side activities like this wherever possible.

So as you can see, CyberThreat has come a long way since it first was shown here in TVL magazine. The big question is what’s next for the game? Well there’s a new trailer currently in the works, which will be a somewhat of a brand new reveal for the game, it’s really very exciting and I can’t wait to show it! The next time you see the game there’ll be lots of stunning new artwork, music from a variety of talented producers and composers, and most importantly gameplay, so I hope you’ll keep an eye out for it!

Thanks for reading, and for supporting TVL and CyberThreat!

@cyberthreatgame

@PSVitaMag

/cyberthreatgame

The Vita Lounge Magazine

15

Written by Charlie Large @CharlieLarge Chaz3010

4 12 16 PSTV 987 MB Publisher

aksysgames.com

@aksysgames

Developer

spike-chunsoft.co.jp

@spikechunsoft

Released

NA: June 28th EU: June 28th

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The Vita Lounge Magazine

The first thing series veterans will notice about Zero Time Dilemma is that the story is now told out through fully-3D cinematic scenes, moving away from the visual novel narrative segments of the previous two entries. This change, matched with the addition of English voice overs in the game and the ability to switch the game’s subtitles off, sees ZTD aim to appeal to For a while I did not think this game would see the light of day. Zero Time players who would typically be put off by Dilemma’s planning started back in 2012 but visual novels and prefer a more ‘Western’ the game was put on hold indefinitely due to video game. This change of direction for the the commercial failure of the series in Japan. series works well, and apart from a few dodgy character movements and odd facial expression, looks great on the PlayStation Thankfully, due to the demand of the fans, Vita. It is clear that this change of direction development resumed in 2015 and last has been inspired by the look of Telltale month saw the Zero Escape series receive Games’ titles, albeit Zero Time Dilemma the final piece of its thrilling puzzle. Zero Time Dilemma completes this trilogy, runs a lot better on the handheld. following on from Nine Hours, Nine Doors, I will be honest though, I did find myself Nine Persons and preceding the events of missing out on some of the key parts of the Virtue’s Last Reward – resolving any story due to this new art direction because I mysteries that were left outstanding from the previous entries in the series. If you are got distracted at times whilst playing whereas with the visual novel approach you a newcomer to the Zero Escape games, I can choose to go through the dialogue at would recommend that you go and experience the other games before jumping your own pace. Now you will need to make sure you do pay attention or you will be into this one as, although the game is reading through the text log quite often – as enjoyable as a standalone title, you will not I found myself doing. The overall voice acting fully appreciate the goings on by going in and accompanying soundtrack is excellent blind. though, combining with the brilliant Now, with Zero Time Dilemma (and the Zero storytelling to thoroughly emphasise and Escape series as a whole) being all about the accentuate the tension and urgency that shocks and twists that get thrown your way this particular situation would command. during the tense and thrilling ride that is the game’s plot, I think it will be best to say here The plot itself starts off quite that you can be assured that this review will straightforward. There are nine people contain no spoilers – it would be cruel for me taking part in an experiment to see the effects of prolonged isolation during a to ruin any of the game, it really is an experience that you need to go into without simulated mission to Mars. During this experiment, the nine people are captured by any idea of what to expect. thevitalounge.net

Zero and are imprisoned. Zero offers the nine a choice of heads or tails (the first of many in this game all about decisions) and picks Carlos, one of the group, to decide on the outcome that will decide the fate of the group – if Carlos wins the group are set free, if Zero wins he will force them to play a death game known as the ‘Decision Game’. To me, one of the hooks about the Zero Escape games is that they feel like a video game version of Saw (albeit better) with Zero having a personality and traits similar to Jigsaw – the motives and moral reasoning behind both also bear resemblance, and make Zero Escape a cross between a horror movie and a thriller.

In the Decision Game, the group are locked in a bomb shelter that is divided into three sections. Three people are placed into each section, making up three teams: C Team, Q Team and D Team. In order to reach the central elevator and escape, six passwords (X-Passes) are required to open the ‘X-Door’. In order to receive an X-Pass, a character has to die, meaning that only three people can make it out alive…

In a similar vein to the previous entries in the series, Zero Time Dilemma explores the theory of multiple timelines, or parallel universes, where when a decision is made an alternate universe is created where the opposite choice was made – these then make up the multiple paths that you will playthrough as you look to understand exactly what is going on and the reasons behind the whole ordeal. You will jump between each of the three teams in order to play through and unlock the fragments that make up the full timeline of events.

Each of these fragments represents ninety minutes in the game world and each character wears a watch that injects them

with a drug that induces memory loss once the ninety minutes is up. These sections are usually structured in the same format: starting with a cinematic scene, then moving to an ‘escape room’ before moving on to a decision.

Beating a puzzle will not only make you feel pretty damn clever, but it will also serve a purpose – generally, solving these puzzles are a matter of life and death, and then it comes to the decision point! The decision points throw choices at you that will really test your morale! Will you These escape room sections act as the sacrifice others to safe yourself? Or will ‘gameplay’ elements in Zero Time Dilemma you push a button that you have been told not to press, not knowing whether or not and throw challenging puzzles your way the button will release you from your that will need to be solved in order to current predicament or seal your fate in a unlock the door and make it out of the room. This has been a staple of the series, rather abrupt way. It is testament to how and these escape rooms are now making gripping the story is and how much you their way into the real world – with many care about what is happening that you will cities offering real-world escape rooms for go back and replay the same segment, this time making sure you choose the you to try out! Back to the ones that other option to learn what the other feature in ZTD, and you will certainly be challenged by the rooms the game tasks outcomes are. you with escaping. Each of the rooms It will take you a good fifteen to twenty requires you to tackle them in a certain order, with each puzzle providing you with hours to get through all of the fragments clues for the next one once solved. Some that Zero Time Dilemma has to offer, of the puzzles in the game will leave you although it felt a lot quicker to me scratching your head but they do not feel because of how involved you get when unfair – with your brain and your logic playing – time just seems to fly by! being truly tested!

As the final game in the Zero Escape One thing I will point out with the puzzles series, Zero Time Dilemma feels like the is that they seemed a little easier than the perfect closure for fans. I found myself so ones that VLR tasked me with. This isn’t a engrossed with the game that I didn’t complaint, as the ones in VLR were really want it to end! The puzzles are some of the best yet in the series – and the story hard, but is something I feel should be is so engulfing that you will want to play mentioned. If you do get stuck, the characters do discuss possible solutions to through all possible routes whilst not the puzzles that you are currently tackling, wanting it to end! Zero Time Dilemma is a throwing up the odd useful clue as to what game that I would urge you all to play, but you need to do to succeed. These puzzles I would recommend that you do play the range from asking you to rearrange a 3D other games in the series first. Now all object so that all of the sides join together that’s left to do is to hope that Aksys bring to make a pattern, learning and Nine Hours, Nine Door, Nine Persons to deciphering a new decimal system using the PlayStation Vita so that you can all picture cards all the way to a room that experience the masterpiece that is the rotates and revolves to reveal puzzle Zero Escape trilogy on our favourite sections that were previously obscured. portable!

VERDICT Zero Time Dilemma is a masterpiece that provides the perfect closure for one of, if not, the best video game trilogies I've played. With a story that intrigues and gameplay that challenges, this game will give your brain a workout whilst ingraining itself upon your memory as something you will remember long after it has gone - but please make sure you play the others to fully appreciate this game! @PSVitaMag

4.9 The Vita Lounge Magazine

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Written by

Paul Murphy

PMurphy1978 PMurphy1978

3 8 35 PSTV 1.5 GB Publisher

warnerbros.com

@WB_Games

Developer ttgames.com

@TTGames

Released

NA: June 28th EU: June 28th

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The Vita Lounge Magazine

This is the first LEGO title to hit the Vita based on the legendary Star Wars franchise, but those of you that have been gaming for a while will remember that Star Wars is the licensed franchise that started it all.

A lot has changed since those early days, and many games of various quality – especially on the Vita – have been and gone, and so as we finally get a Star Wars title on the Vita, it’s with a huge sigh of relief that we also get the best Vita LEGO title yet.

Unless you’ve been exiled on either Dagobah or some random, Irish faraway island that only R2-D2 and BB-8 know the location to then you’ve probably seen the latest installment of the Star Wars saga, The Force Awakens. Personally, I thought it was a great film and is my third favourite of the seven – The Empire Strikes Back and A New Hope are ahead for me. The game’s plot mirrors that of the film rather closely and sees you playing out many of the stand out parts over the course of nine main chapters. I’m assuming that you’ll have seen the film by now but just in case I’ll avoid major spoilers. The gist of the story is about locating Luke Skywalker, who has done a runner when the galaxy needs him most. The dark forces from thirty years ago are resurfacing and it’s left to the heroes – old and new – to do their part whilst Luke chills, hidden safely away from the reemergent Sith.

The gameplay will be familiar to those that have sampled LEGO titles before; your missions will involve solving many puzzles and breaking/building LEGO parts to assist your progress, but this time TT Fusion have added a few new mechanics to enjoy. Firstly, you’ll now have a choice of multiple builds to construct in the puzzles.

Another is a cover-based shooter scenario which appears a few times across the game and brings a welcome change of pace to the standard missions. Typically, most of your gameplay will be from a third person viewpoint, with the camera available to pan around (when it wants to work). You’ll also get to play in many flight based missions, taking on X-Wing and Tie Fighter missions – and even flying the mighty Millennium Falcon.

As you progress through each mission you’ll collect LEGO studs which serve as the game’s currency for unlocking characters and red bricks. As you might expect, there are many different characters to play as, all with many differing abilities. To fully complete the game you’ll have to play through it twice, once in the campaign and again in free play; a mode where you can use any of these characters. Exploring every nook and cranny and unlocking every single thing – including the five mission specific challenges – will take you longer than many of the recent LEGO titles and using the unique abilities can be fun, as is popping some of the more thoughtful trophies.

The additions to the gameplay and the well thought out level design leads to a very enjoyable experience throughout the game – this is easily the most fun I’ve had with a LEGO game on the Vita. Whilst I thevitalounge.net

enjoyed LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, I was disappointed with its take on the two Avengers films with regards to the game’s length, so I was quite concerned that a game based from only one film could end up with even less content to play with.

Thankfully, the team at TT Fusion have delivered here and you are presented with not only twenty-eight levels directly following the film’s narrative, but a whole host of extra missions and content to keep you playing afterwards.

If you’ve played a licensed LEGO title before then you’ll know what to expect from the visuals, and the game does a fair job of replicating the Star Wars universe in its unique, colourful, and humorous way. This is all backed up with trademark tunes, chirps and effects – not to mention dialogue – in the audio department.

When put together, this is a package which looks and feels worthy of the brand name. TT Fusion have certainly nailed the presentation.

That’s not to say that everything is perfect though, and despite the high standard of presentation with the game, the camera can be a little annoying at times. It’s also disappointing to note that after the aforementioned LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, which had an open world hub for the first time on handheld, a lack of a fully open world environment seems a step backwards. That said, in its place we have a few, smaller open world environments to set up each level – so it’s not completely bad.

One constant nagging issue with these handheld ports has always been the lack of parity with the bigger console versions and once again we don’t have a complete 1:1 conversion, and once again we have some additional scenes which are (poorly) animated as opposed to the higher standard scenes lifted from the more complete version, but we are definitely getting closer in terms of content and quality. More attention, care, and effort is being applied to this series than before and that can only lead to good things.

VERDICT The best LEGO title on the Vita, and a fabulous recreation for the returning entry to the Star Wars series. Warner Bros. and TT Fusion won't be needing mind tricks to convince you to buy this.

@PSVitaMag

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the most fun I’ve had with a LEGO title on the Vita, and it more than does justice to the film it is based on. Tremendous fun, new mechanics, and with a fair bit to keep you playing for a little while – and at a more budget price, the force is definitely strong with this one.

4.5 The Vita Lounge Magazine

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Written by Colin Byrne

@ColinJByrne colinjbyrne

2 15 28 PSTV 1.4 GB Publisher

nisamerica.com

@NISAmerica

Developer

spike-chunsoft.co.jp

@spikechunsoft

Released

NA: June 21st EU: June 17th

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The Vita Lounge Magazine

Coming into this game, I am in a unique place. As I have never played a game in this genre before I am unable to compare it to others of the same ilk. In my mind, this can only be a positive thing. All I have to work Perhaps the biggest example of this was my with is my overall experience and time with Atelier Ayesha Plus, the JRPG with enjoyment of the game itself, ignoring other more content to throw out than Witcher 3 or titles that have come and gone. I am able to confidently review Grand Kingdom on its Skyrim combined. After my initial reservations, I was hooked, even though all own merits. previous news regarding titles from that genre made my eyes roll. The old saying of It is with great delight that I am say that I don’t knock it until you’ve tried it comes to absolutely loved my time with Grand mind.

Kingdom and its unqiue cast of characters.

As a beginner, I did not feel overwhelmed, But there was still one genre where my with the in depth tutorial taking me by the knowledge was severely lacking. hand and gently guiding me through the games core mechanics. There certainly is a So along came an opportunity to review lot to take in, but each part of a battle is helpfully explained in your first quest. If a Grand Kingdom, the tactical RPG from NIS clueless player like me can master it, then America. I can say with complete certainty that gives hope to the entire gaming that this is a genre I had absolutely no population. knowledge of. For you see, I am a rather impatient gamer. Rather than sit, plan and be tactical I love jumping head first into the You have a central hub, where you create your party, choosing from 17 different class action disregarding the notion of being types to create your squad. Of course properly prepared. That mindset and the general idea behind tactical RPG couldn’t be everything comes at a price. You gain gold to purchase various items and characters further apart. by completing quests and winning battles.

The more powerful the class type you want, Grand Kingdom has fantastical medieval the more expensive they are. Keeping an setting, where you play as the leader of a mercenary group looking to make their mark eye on your funds is essential and ensuring that you save enough for weaponry for each in the kingdom. The overall game centres team member you recruit is also vital. around four regions seeking dominance within the kingdom, with players able to An interesting feature of Grand Kingdom is engage in quests and contracts to gain prestige, helping to build a strong reputation. that rather than you taking on the role of a Throughout the game you’ll build up different specific character, you are the unseen and squads, acquire more items to assist in non-speaking commander of the group, combat and take part in battles concerning dishing out orders like the orchestrator of the four great regions and their leaders. war.

During my time at The Vita Lounge I have had the great pleasure of reviewing games from genres that I would have never previously considered trying.

thevitalounge.net

When you enter quests, the game plays out on a huge game board, where you have a limited amount of moves to reach an objective. You and enemies appear as small chess pieces, skipping across the board with every step. Grand Kingdom always keeps you on your toes, as each move you make signals enemies to also make a move on the board. Some are hidden, some move quick and others stay in one place. But if any happen to land on the same space as you, then its battle time. You can be strategic and avoid most enemy encounters by judging and predicting their movements or by using skills to alter their movement.

Along the way you’ll find a whole host of obstacles, most attempting to slow your progress. These come in the form of enemies, storms, quicksand and other rather unfortunate types of natural disasters. It is up to you as commander to decide how to best tackle these obstacles.

Do you turn back? Risk your squads health and recklessly soldier through? Or play it safe and forsake extra moves to escape unscathed? Judging how the quest is playing out to decide the best course of action is vital in these circumstances, with your decisions having a huge bearing on how the rest of the quest pans out. But do not despair, as you’ll also pick up resources along the way to assist you, helping to keep health and morale up. I personally loved this game board style, which made me feel like a sort of game master, overseeing proceedings and ultimately altering the course of the game.

battle felt unique and fun truly giving the feeling that your squad are unique to you.

Sometimes the amount of moves available became overwhelming and remembering which button did what sometimes ended in me firing shots in the wrong direction. Although criticising a game for having too many attacking options hardly seems fair.

Before entering a quest, it is important to choose the strongest arsenal and plan your teams starting positions. Starting more defensive towards the back of the battleground can sometimes play to your advantage, with long ranged attacks being your friend. If swords and knives are more your thing, then starting further forward nearer the enemy squad is preferential.

It’s fun to learn and master the different tactics in battles, and discovering different ways to obliterate enemies made the gameplay incredibly addictive. With so many different classes to choose from, each character you bring into the battle brings their own unique set of skills, ultimately changing how you tackle an enemy. Some provide medic support, other will be sporting huge mallets and others throw explosive barrels. Just the sheer amount of customisation itself kept me coming back time and time again.

unwanted boost. This makes it essential that you play tactfully and pre-plan your attacks.

Another positive is that the colourful and beautifully designed 2D art style is a joy to behold. Characters are all lovingly designed and have distinct personalities.

The story is your generic medieval RPG fare, but voice acting is all delivered to a good standard, helping to keep it interesting.

The fact the game is cross-play with the PlayStation 4 version ensures that there are a greater numbers of players playing the online War mode. In this mode you swear allegiance to one of the four regions which is alternately a tug of war for power and part take in ever changing battles.

This feature is well implemented and keeps things interesting, providing a nice alternative to the main Quest mode.

So what have I learnt? That actually engaging with a games in depth gameplay and taking time to patiently think out tactics can be fun? That going in all guns blazing isn’t always the best way?

Perhaps. But what I have definitely learnt is that Grand Kingdom is a great game and is a perfect fit for the PS Vita. Titles like this make playing on the handheld Another great feature in Grand Kingdom is such a joy. the fact that attacks issued can affect I honestly did not expect to enjoy Grand anyone on the battlefield. So if you are planning on sending out a poison bomb Kingdom as much as I did. The fascinating for example, it is important to make sure game board play style and wealth of that none of your own team are in its customisation options make it a great trajectory, as they will also receive a game for beginners and experts of the mighty blow. This can also work in your genre. It may not have the fanfare or Battles are turn-based and are fast-faced favour with the enemy able to hurt there reputation of some of the bigger PS Vita and hectic. I truly enjoyed every one, with own players as well with misplaced releases from the past few months, but if new enemies always appearing sporting attacks. But this also applies to any health Grand Kingdom is anything like the other unique moves and distinct appearances to potions you are willing to fling at your tactical, turn-based strategy RPGs out keep things fresh. With the huge amount teammates. Make sure there aren’t any there, then I have definitely been missing of customisation options available, each enemies near or you’ll give them an out on something great.

VERDICT With its brilliant gameplay style and wealth of customisation options, not to mention the fun and strategically minded combat, Grand Kingdom is a fantastic tactical RPG that truly showcases why the genre is perfect on PS Vita.

@PSVitaMag

4.3 The Vita Lounge Magazine

21

You'll have to fight tooth and nail to be victorious, but your strength and abilities will grow along the way (as will your knowledge and your inventory). Once you accomplish your main goal, the story moves on to the next character's point of view and so on - only the end (sixth) book allowing you to choose between them.

Written by

Kyle Wakeling

@teflontactics teflontactics

4 3 40 PSTV 1.9 GB Publisher atlus.com

@AtlusUSA

Developer atlus.com

@AtlusUSA

Released

NA: June 7th EU: June 24th

22

The Vita Lounge Magazine

In the world of Erion, there are five young warriors whose fates are tied to the very fabric of their respective lands' existence. While one may be the protagonist in one place, it's equally likely they'll be the antagonist in another. Their fives stories weave the tale of Odin's Sphere, and for the most part it's one hell of a thing to behold.

The game starts with a girl and her cat, alone in the attic with her grandfather's books. She finds one on the floor and picks it up, taking a read. The story is that of Gwendolyn - the first of the five young warriors - and it's with her that this all begins. Moving from Gwendolyn, to Cornelius, to Mercedes, Oswald, and finally Velvet we see five sides of this tale - the culmination being where they all intersect at once.

In each of the stories you're driven by the character's desires, orders, or loyalty to attempt to right a wrong which has befouled them. Whether it's breaking a curse, saving a loved one, or getting revenge; everyone's got their motives.

You'll learn their stories, experience their homelands, and venture out - collecting life energy known as phozons to power up, and gaining experience through food or battle.

As for the gameplay itself, it's a 2D action title on a platforming-style plane. Basically you use your attack button (square), jump button (x), dodge button (right trigger), and special move button (circle) in combination with directions on the d-pad or analog stick in order to execute moves. You're pitted against either swarms of enemies or single (powerful) enemies as you progress, and you'll have to mind a gauge for your hit-points (HP), POW (power), and phozon gems - so it's not something you can button mash your way through either.

Aside from the aforementioned methods of combat and maneuvering you also have the ability to invoke non-assigned special attacks (ones normally executed with circle) via the left trigger listing, and the ability to use items from your inventory (brought up with triangle) to attack, defend, buff, or otherwise defend yourself.

But that's not all.

The game also includes a hearty food system with the ability to plant and grow food using seeds and phozons, an expansive alchemy system which allows you to mix items together (with or without a recipe), and even vendors and merchants to buy things from and/or cook for you. It's got plenty of systems and menus for you to thevitalounge.net

So now that I've explained how the different parts work, I'm sure you're wondering how it comes together - and Looking from the actual usable elements the answer to that is quite well for the most part. While each piece on its own to the other elements that denote can be considered very solid, the way strength and progression, you have the certain things are integrated (like how the skills menu (including phozon prism ranking for each area interrupts play by abilities and extra buffs), the equipment taking over and halving the screen) could menu, and the level system. definitely be handled better. There's too much "updating you" on obvious things The skills menu offers two kinds of upgrades; the kind that require you to find and not enough "letting you play/watch" in my opinion. or win phozon prisms to unlock - only to be enhanced further with phozons Looking to the graphical prowess of after, or the kind that are purchased via skill points and are single purchase Leifthrasir, it's impossible to call this game unlocks in a skill tree. The former are anything but beautiful - the art simply the most numerous and easiest to get a stunning to behold on both the Vita and lot of without trying, while the latter are the TV. It also runs very well for the most harder to unlock as skill points are earned part, but there is a reproducible situation through leveling. in which it doesn't; when there's simply too much going on. Whether it's present The equipment menu will allow you to on screen directly doesn't seem to matter; augment your abilities with up to three as long as there is a high amount of action items that you've purchased, earned, or going on in the area you're loaded into, it'll found. These items must be equipment contribute to lowering the frame rate (ie; a magic bracelet) and aren't pulled with shiny bits like specials, free-floating from the other factions of your item phozons, and fire contributing the most to storage. Common enhancements the slow down. include an increase (either in number or regeneration speed) in POW, HP, or EXP That said, the game never becomes earned - though there are many different unplayable, and simply doesn't seem as enhancements out there it seems. fluid when things get chaotic. I'm not sure what frame rates it's hitting at the bottom The level system relies on charging and top ends of things as I'm not overly the user a constantly growing bit of sensitive to that sort of thing, but it does experience to up your abilities, with the job whatever rate it's hitting and never experience earned from items consumed actually drops into an unplayable state. (ie; food), dishes eaten (from vendors), A little rough around the edges - yes, but enemies defeated, and areas completed. not fundamentally broken in any way.

Many areas will even have a level suggestion for entering them, meaning The sound however gets nothing but you should be at least the displayed level praise from me - aside from the possibly before entering that area. awkward noises some of the enemies make when being knocked about. I played learn and keep track of, and doing so will ensure that you get by a lot easier.

VERDICT Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir is a work of art, and a joy to play leisurely on the Vita. It offers an interesting series of characters, five interwoven stories, and a ton of action - only asking that you put up with a little slowdown in the high action bits, and semiregular unnecessary interruptions in return.

@PSVitaMag

the first bits in both English and Japanese (with subtitles) and they both sounded just fine, though I definitely prefer the authenticity of the Japanese track. The inflection is just better in my opinion, but the English is more than serviceable as well. Choices are nice.

Music and sound effects in the game (aside from the aforementioned awkward noises) are also top notch, delivering an immersive experience as you go about bashing, zipping, chopping, shooting, and chatting through each of the stories. I didn't encounter any audio issues at all in my dozens of hours with the title, which is always a welcome thing to behold.

Looking to my final verdict, I can't help but praise Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir for its design and mechanics. Even though it's definitely not perfect, it's in the realm just beyond that and is more than a welcome addition to my library. The story and its series of interwoven sub-stories are beautifully animated, intricately detailed, and interesting to experience - especially when they cross and mingle between characters. The controls are spot on, the progression of things is well thought out, and the way it looks while it's being played is (for the most part) majestically beautiful.

Despite its slightly rough edges and odd design choices here and there, I can't help but recommend you buy it - just don't try and smash through it or you might find yourself feeling like it's too repetitive or prone to interrupting play. That's not a nice feeling, and in this case it's easily avoided by not trying to marathon it.

4.1 The Vita Lounge Magazine

23

Written by crispyn64

@crispyn64 crispyn64

4 8 30 PSTV 2.6 GB

Publisher

autumngames.com

Developer

labzerogames.com

@LabZeroGames

Released

NA: April 5th EU: April 14th

24

The Vita Lounge Magazine

Skullgirls 2nd Encore is an Arcade/ Fighting game, so if you’re expecting innovation in gameplay, you will not find it here. The standard mechanics have already been set in this genre, and Skullgirls follows it quite accurately. This of course isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it just means the game has to exceed in other aspects to prove that it’s remarkable and unique.

Luckily, Skullgirls manages to set itself apart with its overwhelming sense of style.

Simply from a perspective on style, this game is clearly brimming with it. Its film noir aesthetics paired with its smooth jazz original soundtrack give life to even the menu design. Of course, where Skullgirls really excels in personality, is in its characters. Each character feels like their own complete, unadulterated package, and all 14 of them fall under the same surprisingly delightful visual design of what I like to call “cutesy-grotesque”. Ms. Fortune is probably the best representation of this, be it the way she plays with her own severed head like a cat tossing around a ball of yarn. Every character has their own storyline that often connects with the other characters, creating this feeling of a much more established world. And to top it off, the dialogue and voice acting positively superb (especially Peacock’s anime voices).

It’s actually quite remarkable just how fleshed out the story of Skullgirls is. The fighters all connect through the common pursuit of the Skullheart, and each character comes from their own specific place in the world with their own interesting and unique upbringings. While I could go into detail explaining the lore, I believe it to be more enjoyable and rewarding when experiencing it firsthand. Part of the fun of Skullgirls is playing through these storylines and learning more about this very diverse cast. That being said, I really like how even the side characters leave a lasting impression, and definitely feel like they have a well-deserved place in the world.

Be it the Dagonians, the Medicis, Peacock’s gang, or anyone else; they all feel just as important as the main playable cast.

Every mode in the game is pretty entertaining, albeit rather basic. Story mode takes you through a handful of rounds with visual novel style cutscenes in between to give a bit of context for the fights you’ll be partaking in. Arcade mode is that, minus the cutscenes. And Survival mode is just an endless amount of arcade fighting goodness.

Onto the actual gameplay, Skullgirls is a pretty competent fighter. There’s kicks and punches and specials and combos; everything you’d probably expect a fighting game to have. What the game doesn’t have however, is a decent unlockables system. There is a myriad of concept art to unlock through a variety of tasks, but if you haven’t checked out the Extras tab from the Main Menu, you would never know it exists. There are also no directions on how to obtain any of the art. While this thevitalounge.net

much harder to read. Also it can take upwards of 20 seconds just to load a quick match. All these sacrifices are not in vain however, as the most important part of the game seems to remain intact: the characters. Their models If you’re new to fighting games, prepare to are gorgeous and their animations are fluid, so at least there’s that. be mildly confused at the beginning. The button labelling is what really tripped me up when trying to learn the game. Instead Skullgirls 2nd Encore is crammed full of style of just simply labelling its commands with and allure. It has a cool film noir vibe and the traditional face and shoulder buttons its charming yet fearsome cast makes for a of the PS Vita, Skullgirls expects you to very well-rounded roster. The game feels as polished as it can be, but technical limitations understand the light punch, medium seem to weigh it down a bit. Its variety of punch, heavy/hard punch, light kick, medium kick, and heavy/hard kick (that’s modes should leave you with plenty of hours of entertainment, and the story mode in LP, MP, HP, LK, MK, and HK for short) buttons for when reading any character’s particular shows just how incredibly thought-out the world and every move list. It’s annoying at first, but once you memorize it you should be good to go. character in it is. Altogether, Skullgirls 2nd Encore is a pretty impressive Now, as far as the PS Vita specifications package, and it’s one that I don’t think are concerned, it’s very clear that there I’ll stop playing any time soon. were some sacrifices made for overall performance. Backgrounds for arenas Oh, and if you’re bad at fighting are 2-dimensional and have significantly games like I am, stay far away lower resolution than the characters Online mode. The player base fighting in front of it. Menus suffer from is merciless and they scare the same lack of crisp visuals, and the me. blurred letters can make smaller writing doesn’t affect the core gameplay in any way, shape or form, it definitely feels like a missed opportunity for a more rewarding way to track progression.

VERDICT A lovely fighting game with a style all its own, Skullgirls 2nd Encore pairs finely tuned combat with cute and gruesome characters to create a wonderful display of passion and design. If it weren't for its technical limitations, this game could easily be considered a masterpiece.

@PSVitaMag

4 The Vita Lounge Magazine

25

Written by Reece Heyworth @rheyworth07 CHEAT07

3 10 30 PSTV 1.4 GB Publisher

bandainamcogames.com

@BandaiNamcoUS

Developer

bandainamcogames.com

@BandaiNamcoUS

Released

NA: July 12th EU: July 12th

26

The Vita Lounge Magazine

Mobile Suit Gundam Extreme VSForce gives us some fun robot-onrobot action and follows the events of the anime. At its simplest this game is an action-strategy hybrid, you take control of a Gundam (Read: giant kick-ass robot) and fight your way through opposing Gundams while giving orders to your allies to complete your mission.

The game’s story, if it can be called that, sends you through various battles in the history of Gundam. The battles are broken down into small bite-sized missions and most missions can be cleared in 5 minutes or so which is perfect for the Vita. The missions come in several varieties from everyone’s favourite escort missions to one-on-one duels, there’s enough variety in objectives that ensures the game doesn’t became too repetitive.

After each mission every character involved in battle will gain some exp and potentially level up, more on this later. From there you go back to the mission select screen, rinse and repeat. Completing missions will net you GP which is the game’s currency and is used to unlock other special missions or to repair your Gundam. You can also unlock new characters to use in battle by completing specific missions.

Speaking of new characters, I want to point out how expansive and diverse the roster for this game is. I’ve never watched the Gundam anime so I have no idea if there are any glaring omissions but to me the roster felt expansive and I was impressed at how unique each Gundam felt to play.

Every Gundam can use a melee attack and a basic ranged attack but on top of that each Gundam can have several other special attacks. Every Gundam has its own selection of attacks that can drastically alter the way you play, for example Barbatos is focused mostly on melee attacks and so you can expect to be getting up close and personal with enemies, other characters though might have a plethora of ranged attacks to pick from. This variety is nice and you’re encouraged to experiment and try out new play styles.

Each unique Gundam can be levelled up by completing missions and after each level the Gundam will gain a predetermined perk.

The bonuses are nice, often an increase to durability or other base stats, which help improve your favourite Gundams that little bit more. However levelling up isn’t the ‘solve all’ button for tough fights.

The battles are as much about strategic planning as it is about your own fighting skills.

During battle you’re able to give your allies orders, either engaging a specific enemy or moving to a specific base. This is vital throughout the game and often when you lose a battle it’s because you didn’t issue the correct commands to your allies rather than you not being strong enough. It’s an interesting take on an otherwise bogstandard action affair, although it often thevitalounge.net

teams dying, not to mention all the lasers and Gundam flying all over the place. It could have done with some refinement but thankfully it never made the game impossible to play, at worst it’s a Onto the actual combat, as mentioned before you have a choice of special attacks distraction that thankfully can be ignored. often accompanied by a basic melee and Looks-wise the game holds up well for ranged attack. It’s a straightforward set up but, rather disappointingly, the fighting a Vita title, the environments are often unimpressive and bland but this is itself is less strategic and is more of a more than made up for by the Gundam button mashing affair. Blocking is hit-and-miss at best and I often found it easier to just boost left or right whilst taking pot shots and firing off a special every now and then.

It’s a shame because giant robots pounding each other should be the best thing since Robot Wars but instead the combat just feels shallow and messy. feels that there is only one viable option making it a trial and error exercise at times which can be frustrating.

To compound the problem further is the poor UI in combat. I have never seen so much going on all at once on a small screen. If there is a big battle going on then good luck making sense of all that chaos. Yellow and red bars will flash around the edge of the screen in an attempt to warn of impending danger, characters will start warning of other

VERDICT All in all MS Gundam Extreme VS-Force is a decent action game with plenty of content to get stuck into.

Some of the execution could do with refinement and don’t expect an enthralling story but on the whole there is an enjoyable experience here that is definitely worth a look if you’re interested.

@PSVitaMag

themselves and the action. The large showcase of Gundam here gives the game enough visual variety to get by, from the elegant design of Mach Knife to the striking Sinanju, the game has done well translating these Gundam to the small screen. The game also makes the most of these visuals by taking control of the camera during certain moves to highlight the attacks in all their glory, I never found this to be a nuisance and it really just helped me to admire the spectacle at times.

MS Gundam Extreme VS-Force has plenty of content for you to get through, so although the core game can be blasted through in a few short hours there are tonnes of side quests and optional missions for you to complete at your leisure. Each mission has 3 optional objectives to complete so for all you completionists out there there is definitely no shortage of content. There is also another mode available called VS Extend which allows you to either create your own battle or tackle a premade score attack based battle so there is plenty in this game to keep you busy.

3.6 The Vita Lounge Magazine

27

Written by Jenny Jones

@Kitty_has_Klaws Deathskitten

7 2 21 PSTV 414 MB Publisher

unfinishedpixel.com

@UnfinishedPixel

Developer

unfinishedpixel.com

@UnfinishedPixel

Released

NA: July 21st EU: July 22nd

28

The Vita Lounge Magazine

Spy Chameleon is an arcade-puzzle game by Unfinished Pixel which was originally released back in 2015 on Xbox One. The PS Vita already has plenty of puzzle games so is there room for one more or is your time better spent elsewhere?

Let’s take a look!

Anybody remember Gex from the PS1 era?

Well Spy Chameleon looks kinda similar but without the spunky personality… in fact without any personality at all. The game has a number of missions but at no point are you told why you’re doing something or even who you’re working for. Am I taking photos of celebrities for my own personal gain? Am I stealing Cola recipes to stop evil drink corporations? Maybe their drinks actually contain a super secret ingredient which turns people into killer monkeys and I’ve decided to stop them? Who knows? Who cares? The game’s devs obviously didn’t think it was important enough to mention what your motives are.

Every puzzle game has to have some kind of hook, preferably something unique to that game. Spy Chameleon is a stealth game but instead of avoiding enemies by just hiding behind pillars you can hide by changing colour, which makes sense as you are after all a chameleon. When standing over something red, blue, pink or green you can change colour to match the floor which, as long as the enemy doesn’t bump into you, makes you completely undetectable.

It’s also kinda cool to note that the colours match up to the Playstation controller colours; so if you want to turn blue you press X, triangle for green, circle for red and square for pink.

The aim of each level is basically to stealthily make your way to a room’s exit without being spotted by anyone. Each level has 3 challenges; catch all flies, finish within a specific time limit and find all ladybirds.

You’ll have to play through each level at least twice as the ladybirds only appear after you’ve finished a level once. You’ll probably play through most levels more than twice though if you’re trying to beat your fastest time. At the end of each level you can compare yourself against a leader board of your friends or check how you’ve done against the global rankings. If you have a competitive group of friends then you’ll probably enjoy seeing who has the fastest times.

Early levels are quite easy and as the aim of every level is the same it can quickly begin to feel really repetitive. The difficulty does start to ramp up though and in later levels things can get pretty tricky, especially when you have to change between colours quickly. There are quite a few levels that I had trouble getting through as in the heat of the moment I kept forgetting which button changed me to which colour.

New obstacles and enemies will be introduced as you go through the game as well as ways to overcome them. You’ll come across paint cans which you can knock over and hide in the paint splatter (thankfully it seems to be super fast drying paint as you never leave any footprints!), moving screens to hide behind and, in a nice little nod to Metal Gear Solid, there are also a few levels where you can use a cardboard box to sneak around in.

thevitalounge.net

The enemies in the game range from robots with limited cones of vision to lab rats which quickly move about in a set pattern and even goldfish in little bowls which can be bumped into to make them look around. Which is basically the equivalent of tapping someone on the back of the shoulder and then quickly running in front of them, but hey as long as it works…

75 levels in total so if you want to finish everything completely it will take you a little bit of time. Spy Chameleon works well on the PS Vita as it is the kind of game which is best played in short bursts.

Visually the game looks good, if a little simplistic, obviously everyone uses the same interior designer who happens to have bought colourful rugs in bulk and likes 80’s style disco flooring! There are Each level ranges from a few seconds to levels set in what I assume is a hotel, an a few minutes depending on how long it industrial looking lab and office buildings. takes you to work out how to get past the They all look good but a little samey and various obstacles unseen and there are uninspired. Thankfully the games music

VERDICT Spy Chameleon is a stealthy little puzzle game with a cute little chameleon but unfortunately no personality.

There are a lot of levels and in small doses it is fun but at the same time the game is fairly repetitive and is unlikely to stick around in people's memories for long.

@PSVitaMag

is upbeat and positive without ever becoming grating.

If I had to pick one word to describe Spy Chameleon it would be ‘functional’. There are loads of levels in Spy Chameleon it’s just a pity that the majority of them feel so similar. In small doses the game is fun and it doesn’t really do anything wrong but it also doesn’t really do anything new or exciting. The game just feels a bit mediocre and unfortunately not the kind of thing that is going to stick in anyone’s memory for too long.

3 The Vita Lounge Magazine

29

Written by Dennis Price

@hunterslasher13 hunterslasher27

6 9 16 PSTV 748 MB Publisher

aksysgames.com

@aksysgames

Developer acquire.co.jp

@acquire_pr

Released

NA: March 15th EU: April 22nd

30

The Vita Lounge Magazine

I don't know if I'm trying to make it a habit of reviewing games with 'Assault' in their title, if I am then I'm two for two so far. Going from combat flight simulator to a tower defense game is a relief. I'm thankful because I have experience with the tower defense genre, which gave me a little excitement going into Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault.

Getting into the game itself, Aegis of Earth takes place in a world just like ours but with one difference. The world was overrun by Godzilla sized creatures and humanity's greatest population died in a 'Silent' Apocalypse brougt on by these creatures.

That's some difference, I don't know about you but Gotham City is sounding like a great place to live now. In this world there is a lot of darkness but there is also a little light, and the discovery of a new element called altenite could be humanity's last hope for survival.

Fifty years have gone by and the last of humanity have formed a new government to combat the monsters that have claimed so many lives. This new government has created city-states that are equipped with weapons to help protect the civilians.

You're inserted into the shoes of a newly

promoted commander - sorry your character get's no character design so just imagine yourself in a commander uniform. You're in charge of the city-state in Kimberly, Australia and here you meet your crew that helps you throughout the game.

Here you are introduced to my favourite part of the game, the character interaction – it's amusing to see them make jokes at another's expense in the dark world they live in.

Now it is time to get into my least favourite part of the game, the gameplay – I really dislike how Aegis of Earth's mechanics and, I'll be honest, this is not a good game to play. You get into the tutorial part of the game and your crew teaches you how to play the game. You play on a radiusmap with the city-state itself at the focus in every strike. Your crew tells you that the city-states are split into four zones, with the first three zones equipped with weapons while the last zone is on the more defensive side with barricades to stop monsters from coming into the city-state.

The control you have in-game is very limited, as commander you don't get to shoot enemies; that's your crew's job. The zones are adjustable at your command when enemies come from whatever direction and that's all you can do in the game. Later on in the game, as you travel to other city-states in the world with your crew, you earn the ability to use a big weapon that has one time use per strike.

It's usually only used when bosses attack your city-state, using it on anything else lesser than that is a waste.

thevitalounge.net

Playing this game reminds me a little of Sim City with the ways you can make the city-state's population happy. Doing this can range from constructing a new unit for the area to putting on pool party at the local water park. The customization in this game reminds me a lot of Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker - there is even a scientist in the R&D department that has plans for bigger and better units that need your approval. I see a lot more game inspirations too but it gets in the way and doesn't make this game really unique or innovative at all.

I'm not one for graphics but even I can that this game came out in 2016. tell the graphics in this game look like a PS2 game; it looks way worse on other platforms too. The soundtrack in the game is pretty generic. As far as replay value goes this whole game is a very repetitive game that gets boring real quick after the fifth strike. It's very hard to find reasons why you should play this game, if you value your time you should spend it on something else that you can appreciate more than this game; I mean it took me five weeks to beat it and I feel like I wasted my time.

I know I said I only enjoyed the character interaction in the game earlier on in this review, but there is one other thing I can complement the game on and that is the voice cast. I'm the type of person that needs to listen to the original Japanese voice cast in any anime or video game. In this game the default voice cast is English and there is no option to change that. As I went through the game I minded this less and less, the voice overs in this game are really good and I surprisingly enjoyed my time listening to the performances of the voice cast.

Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault is a bad tower defense game and a bad game overall. It's really hard to recommend this game so you shouldn't even think of buying it - you would be wasting your money and time. I got the platinum in this game and I don't want anyone to go through the same pain that I did when playing this game. The only thing going for it is the characters themselves in their very anime setting, this makes for a good anime but not a good video game.

With the lack of graphics, gameplay and innovation in this game it's unbelievable

VERDICT Aegis of Earth: Protonovus Assault is a tower defense game that may have trouble appealing to fans of the genre. It had unique ideas but the game wasn't executed that well. The characters and the voice cast are the only positive attributes but it's hard to recommend any game on that alone.

@PSVitaMag

2.1 The Vita Lounge Magazine

31

Written by crispyn64

@crispyn64 crispyn64

1 2 9 PSTV 211 MB Publisher

curve-digital.com

@CurveDigital

Developer

fourcircleinteractive.co.uk

@FourCircleInt

Released

NA: July 19th EU: July 19th

32

The Vita Lounge Magazine

stars in every level if you want to continue with the story. Luckily, this isn’t the incredibly frustrating part. To get two stars in a level you need to discover the fastest route, and that can just be found through some good old trial and error (or google searching).

Made popular by the Angry Birds series, the three-star-system is something that has seeped its way into most mobile games of a certain variety. For those that need an explanation, the threestar-system is simply a system of awarding players for varying degrees of completion reliant on factors such as speed, efficiency, and high scores. One star is usually received for the basic achievement of finishing a level, three stars are commonly obtained for the optimal completion of a level, and two stars fill the gap between them. This three-star-system often lends itself to level-based puzzle games, and so in theory it should work well with a puzzle platformer like 10 Second Ninja X. Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

Now all that’s left is that pesky third star.

But wait, I thought two stars was already as fast as I could go. How am I possibly going to top that? Well, by being as excruciatingly quick and precise as humanly possible, that’s how! By the time you’re going for your third star, 10 Second Ninja X drops the “puzzle” and goes hard on the “platformer” aspects of the game. You must be swift and accurate with all of your movements, sometimes to such an extreme degree that you might start questioning your adequacy as a gamer. Try and try again, you still may never succeed, but at least the game lessens the blow of endless retrying with instant restarts and levels that only take a matter of seconds to complete.

For a member of the speed-running community, I could see this game being a fun new challenge. However, for an average completionist, 10 Second Ninja X can be a rage inducing nightmare. Because of its implementation of a three-star-system, 10 Second Ninja X effectively relinquishes the simple goal that the game’s title would suggest for a far more annoying objective.

The main target of each level is to finish in 10 seconds or less, and the plain completion of each level will net you one star. Every world contains 10 levels and in order to move on to the next world you need to obtain at least a 67% star completion. That means you essentially have to reach two

“It’s too hard” might be an oversimplification and poor judgement of a game, but it’s one that 10 Second Ninja X could’ve avoided by not having a threestar-system. By staying true to its name and having the only objective be completion within the time frame of 10 seconds, this game could have evaded being considered painstakingly difficult, and instead be seen as an enjoyable challenge. Even for those wanting an arduous test of skill, 10 Second Ninja X already accommodates them with an active leaderboard. You can still revel in time maximization while not being at the cost of those who just want to 100% the game and move on with their lives. thevitalounge.net

Moving on from what I see as the one glaring flaw in an otherwise exceptional game, the style of 10 Second Ninja X has a very apparent inspiration. A speedy blue protagonist facing off against a villain with large facial hair and his army of red robots that each hold captive innocent birds waiting to be set free? Sounds an awful lot like The Blue Blur to me! Yes, this game is pretty unabashed when it comes to taking influences from Sonic the Hedgehog, and it manages to parody those games in a silly and endearing way too. All of this finds itself in the writing and visual design of the game and not so much the actual gameplay. 10 Second Ninja X isn’t trying to be Sonic, it’s just trying to poke fun at it a little.

me to warm up to the characters. I didn’t think too much of Greatbeard and his crew members when they were first introduced, by the time the story reached its climax I was delightfully surprised by how much I was enjoying these characters and the roles they had to play.

ultimate nun powers, building up your high score with every kill and climbing up the prestigious worldwide leaderboards of which I briefly held 15th place (not to brag or anything). It’s exciting and addictive, and arguably more entertaining than the core game of which it is held in.

As a quick note on the game’s visual design, overall it feels fairly simplistic. This isn’t a bad thing, the character art is cute, the backgrounds are fine, and there isn’t anything that looks especially “dull”…but there’s nothing particularly breathtaking in this game either.

One last quick note on the hub world, it does a fairly good job at labeling its areas and doors, but neglects to do the same for the televisions that act as the access points for the main levels. A simple “World 1, World 2, etc.” would’ve been nice.

For those who prefer awesome and exciting hub worlds to basic and boring title menus, you’re in luck! 10 Second The writing itself is quite amusing, as it Ninja X has one, and it’s full of game also tries to poke fun at various video modes, unlockables, and secrets. The best game conventions both within and outside thing to find in this hub world however, the Sonic series. One example of this is the secret unlockable game mode would be the acknowledgement of the known as Nunnageddon II. Finding all the silent protagonist and how the main villain hidden pieces of the shattered game disc is annoyed by the fact that his adversary will reward you with the ability to play doesn’t speak. The story only becomes this astonishing arcade masterpiece. In more humorful as the game progresses, it, you are a nun fighting off hordes of this was partially due to the time it took zombies with nothing but your fists and

VERDICT Most of the time, 10 Second Ninja X is a competent and charming puzzle platformer with more wit and humor than one might expect. If it wasn't for the painfully aggravating 3 star challenges, this game would be a great time across the board.

@PSVitaMag

10 Second Ninja X is a great game with an easy-to-get-behind premise of beating levels within a 10 second time limit.

Sadly, the experience is hindered by an imposing three-star-system which makes the game feel like it should be renamed to 3 Second Ninja X if you truly wish to complete it. Aside from the infuriating and unnecessary challenges it creates for its players, 10 Second Ninja X is a delightful adventure full of amusing characters and secrets. One secret minigame in particular might even be considered better than the actual game it’s hidden in.

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Written by Reece Heyworth @rheyworth07 CHEAT07

1 4 7 PSTV 535 MB Publisher

digeratidistribution.com

@DigeratiDM

Developer

codeavarice.com

@CodeAvarice

Released

NA: May 31st EU: June 3rd

Paranautical Activity is a game that has problems in almost every department, what should be a straightforward rogue-like is unfortunately a dull and forgettable experience. The premise is simple, you pick from several different classes with different stats and weapons, and using your chosen class you fight through a random assortment of rooms making your way to each floor’s boss room. Once you beat the boss you can progress down to the next floor and so on.

The first of many problems is the presentation of the game. The art style is completely unappealing and gives the game a very cheap look. The enemy designs are often very basic, amounting to little more than a 3D stick man with only a few interesting designs. Bosses are more varied and showcase some interesting designs where the details can be appreciated thanks to their size. The biggest problem I found is that the designs and colour palette used made it difficult to discern the basic enemies from the background, a fatal flaw in a game that should be reliant on its twitch shooting. It feels pedantic but the enemies and environment blending in together on the Vita’s small screen makes it difficult to play at best and at worst it can feel unfair as you get attacked by an enemy you never stood a chance of seeing.

Poor presentation decisions also extend to

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the games UI. The HUD along the bottom of the screen is difficult to make out on the small screen of the Vita – the map used to navigate the levels is especially victim of this, it becomes impossible to make out anything whilst playing the game and so is an annoying distraction more than useful.

The game does, however, feature a neat music track which makes the experience a little more bearable so it’s not all bad.

Moving onto the gameplay the game doesn’t fare much better. The controls feel loose and it never feels like you’re given the precision you want from the game, there is little to no feedback when shooting enemies either leaving you to guess whether your shots are hitting or missing entirely. It’s an exercise in frustration, especially in later levels where there are many enemies in a room and every shot counts if you want to survive.

Each floor also contains a shop where you can spend gold to gain upgrades.

Unfortunately, gold is hard to accumulate – making it a chore to buy the upgrades. To get anywhere near enough gold you often have to put yourself in harm’s way clearing more rooms than necessary. I found it much easier just to ignore the gold and upgrades and just fight to the boss room in the shortest route possible. Doing this saved more of my health for the bosses and I never felt handicapped without the shop upgrades. To further the problem the shop doesn’t explain what the items do, so without risking the hard earned gold you’re never sure just what you are getting and if its ultimately worth it.

The game has some redeeming qualities thevitalounge.net

though, the classes are varied enough and allow you to play in differing ways; the crossbow requires you to pick your shots carefully whilst the cannon allows you to fire more imprecisely while you focus on dodging incoming fire. Run throughs are generally quick to complete meaning you can jump right back in with ease if you weren’t satisfied with the previous run.

There are also plenty of unlockables for you to obtain. The objectives for these are varied and suggest some interesting

ways to play such as completing an entire floor without jumping or finishing a room without attacking. The unlocks menu doesn’t provide any real details on what you unlock for your efforts though outside of a name, not exactly helpful but far from the worst problem this game has.

Paranautical Activity has many problems that make it hard to recommend, I’m hesitant to suggest that the game has everything from the controls to the art a good flow with its quick run throughs style feel unpolished. There is a solid idea though, every room you enter will require in here somewhere but, unfortunately, I a short load time. Every. Single. Room. found it difficult to look past the various That’s a 3 second pause every 30 or so problems to be able to enjoy this game.

VERDICT Paranautical Activity takes what should be a straightforward idea and fumbles the execution.

There are many flaws but really this is a game that lacks any sort of polish. I can’t find any real reason to recommend this game over other far more competent rogue-likes but maybe with more work there could have been a fun gameplay loop here.

@PSVitaMag

seconds depending how quickly you clear a room. This completely destroys any sense of rhythm the game has and is an annoyance that games in 2016 really shouldn’t have to deal with.

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LOCAL MULTIPLAYER ON PSTV Written by Benjamin

@LastRealGamer PlayStation TV (PSTV) is, in my opinion, one of the best and one of the most misunderstood console experiences you can have out there. With no promotion and no willingness to support it in the west, developers and gamers are mostly on their own in discovering its features. One thing that isn’t very well known is that some games support local multiplayer!

With the option to play ad-hoc with your friends in the same room by connecting your PSTV to their PS Vita(s) or to other PSTVs, providing much fun. Multiplayer gaming sessions can be set up as ‘ad-hoc’ games if you have another device in the same room (and multiple copies of the game).

There are a few Vita games which offer local multiplayer right on your PSTV simply by connecting up to 4 controllers to your device.

Here are the available games with that option and how the local multiplayer is implemented.

1) TOWERFALL ASCENSION Let’s start with the only available game which lets you play with up to 4 players at the same time – Towerfall Ascension.

The game was a big hit on the Ouya console, mainly because of its fun multiplayer - jumping and shooting arrows around 2D stages with your friends has never been so much fun.

The following picture shows a setup with a PSTV and four controllers. It was taken by former TVL staffer Brad (@ vongruetz), since I have only two controllers at home right now.

2) OCTODAD This game recently received the ‘Limited Run’ treatment with the release of 3,500 physical game copies. It is not only a good example of how an indie game can make it to a physical release but also one of local multiplayer support on PSTV. The experience was a bit weird for me to be honest but you should give it a go. If you connect two controllers to your PSTV, you can control Octodad together with a friend - each of you controlling one leg and one arm. Sounds weird? So it is. But since Octodad is about weird control mechanics anyway (you are controlling an octopus…), this can get even harder when you have to work as a team!

3) GUACAMELEE Drinkbox Studios brought us with this game one of the finest Metroidvania experiences on the market and are also aware of the existence of PSTV. In Guacamelee they included 2 player local co-op, which makes it possible to fight your way through the game together with a friend in your living room. Nice one, Drinkbox! By the way, LimitedRunGames, time for some physical copies here!

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thevitalounge.net

4) SKULLGIRLS LabZero games managed, with Skullgirls, to bring to the arena a decent indie alternative to established series such as Street Fighter, Tekken or Mortal Kombat. On PSTV you can challenge your friends right on your sofa!

6) METAL SLUG 3 Metal Slug is a series that reminds me of the fun that can be had by throwing a coin into an arcade machine and enjoying a game on it. With PSTV you can have this experience at home (throw the coin into your piggy bank), with two players at the same time! A lot of fun!

5) RISK OF RAIN Another indie hit that made it to PSTV. An unseen experience in unknown worlds which can be shared with a friend in local coop. TVL scored it a 4.6 due to its engaging gameplay and the tiny characters on the Vita screen were identified as the only inconvenience. So, give it a try with a friend on PSTV.

7) NIDHOGG This game is the only one in this list that can actually be played in local co-op using only the one controller. In this case one player uses the left half of the controller and the other one the right half. Not convenient for you? No problem, connect two controllers to your PSTV and let the battle commence!

8) CURSES N CHAOS This is a 2D arena-brawler that throws wave after wave of enemies at you. On PSTV it will also throw these waves at your friend, since you can connect two controllers and smash those enemies together.

As you see, there are already some really fun local co-op games available on PSTV and I would strongly recommend you to give it a go with a friend. Besides, an adhoc session with friends using PSTV and Vitas is awesome too, try it yourselves and share your experiences with me on Twitter! I’ve heard that we will soon get Dungeon Punks, with 3 player local coop on PSTV included!

To share your community voice and tell your own PSVita story get in touch via magazine@thevitalounge.net for your chance to get featured in next month's magazine! We want to hear and cover your experiences! @PSVitaMag

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DIRECTORY A RECAP OF THE BEST GAMES THIS YEAR

ZERO TIME DILEMMA

4.9

4 1216 987 MB

RISK OF RAIN

4.6

0 6 9 81 MB

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2 1326 142 MB

4.5

3 8 35 1.5 GB

CRYPT OF THE NECRODANCER

6 12 6 225 MB

DIGIMON STORY: CYBER SLEUTH

4.5

4.8

LEGO STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS

SEVERED

4.5

STEAMWORLD HEIST

1 7 48 1.5 GB

The Vita Lounge Magazine

4.5

7 5 16 1.0 GB

ODDWORLD: NEW 'N' TASTY

4.5

5 9 22 1.2 GB

AXIOM VERGE

4.8

8 0 21 372 MB

DOWNWELL

4.5

7 10 5 41.1 MB

VOLUME

4.5

8 6 10 904 MB

NEVERENDING NIGHTMARES

4.5

3 1 0 274 MB thevitalounge.net

WIN LIMITED RUN GAMES! EACH MONTH WE GIVE AWAY THE LATEST PHYSICAL VITA RELEASES FROM THE AMAZING FOLKS AT LIMITED RUN, FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN SUPPORT US ON PATREON LIKE THESE AWESOME PEOPLE DO!

SUBSCRIBE ON PATREON AND GET A COPY OF THE MAGAZINE DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR! WWW.PATREON.COM/THEVITALOUNGE

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BE V I TSAT GA

Oscar Alvarez RPG-Joe-2

The game that made me buy a Vita was Tales of Hearts R. When I saw it at the store I could not believe my eyes. I came back 8 9 7 home 6with a brand new Vita, Tales of Hearts R and Muramasa Rebirth. Those are my 2 favorite games in the system. Since then I have been buying almost every game in the system.

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MES

M A G A Z I N E

Andrew Kemp MuggleMind

My PSN isn't related to Harry Potter, honest.

It was 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.

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@2BFLiam SuperBestFriendsPlay.com Thanks for your generous support and belief!

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Thanks for your generous support and belief!

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Also, a big thanks for all you who supported us and made this issue possible!

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