So I got $80 from my dad today and journeyed off to Wal-Mart (we had to pick up other stuff, don't judge me) and decided to pick these two up.
Lumines I wanted from the start but I couldn't nab it on Amazon, so I got Dynasty Warriors Next instead.
It's goddamn Lumines. You can't go wrong. My big complaint when the 3DS launch was the lack of such a "killer app". To me, "killer apps" aren't just a good game. It's a game that lasts. Something that will endure time and time again through the console's lifespan. Samurai Warrior Chronicles almost looked like it was there (with Warriors games having a token amount of large content) but not quite. It didn't get a "killer app" in my opinion until Tetris Axis. And Lumines is kinda like Tetris with music and a different puzzle structure.
The music is good, the visuals are alright but I'm usually too focused on the game to notice them, and it supports buttons or touch screen controls, whatever's too your liking. It's a good "evergreen" title so I'd suggest it as a day one purchase for any Vita owner.
Unit 13, you may ask me "Why would you buy this?" Well, I have UMvC3 and Rayman Origins on the Xbox so I didn't see much of a reason to buy them again.
I heard some rather positive things for Unit 13, that it actually wasn't quite your standard TPS shlock. I played a couple of missions (by "couple" I mean two and the training mission) and I do enjoy it. I just think it's structured very well. It's much more "arcadey". I don't mean this in a "die in five seconds and respawn instantly" way, but in a "score-based leaderboards" type of way. Which is rather interesting. You can wrack up points by using stealth or getting kills, headshots, melees, whatever. It controls alright, with a pretty heavy amount of assisted aiming, but it lacks the sexy gyro-assisted aiming of Uncharted: GA, which was a huge disappointment for me. But I think it's a pretty solid game. The score-based aspects really differentiate it from your run-of-the-mill TPS like SOCOM or Syphon Filter, it has some minor RPG leveling aspects which I thought were interesting, and the daily challenges seem like a really cool way to keep it fresh. But yeah, the AI is kinda the equivalent of a pile of bricks, the graphics aren't great, and the lack of the gyro aiming bothers me, but overall it's a satisfying package. If you ever see it on sale or something, definitely buy it.
Also it has online co-op apparently which is pretty fun but odds are I'll never get the chance to try it. It does require an online pass though so if you're really hellbent on going online, make sure you're willing to buy new or buy one off the PSN Store.
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A side observation on Vita games in general, I do find them really bringing back a "good ol' way of gaming".
3G gaming seemed pretty silly at first. Like what's the point of having "anywhere online" if it's not good enough for person-to-person play? Well, tons of games are using leaderboards to fill this issue, and yes, I've bought into the leaderboard thing. It is quite fun to be able to beat your friends and compete with them for times in Motorstorm RC or scores in Super Stardust Delta. It's an aspect I'm really liking, and it really brings out the "arcade" feeling. Unfortunately I don't have 3G (and I don't feel like buying into some stupid AT&T plan) but I can see why it's desired now. Also being able to web browse, check Facebook, send messages, update your trophies, and even do Parties on the go is a rather tempting prospect.
Lumines I wanted from the start but I couldn't nab it on Amazon, so I got Dynasty Warriors Next instead.
It's goddamn Lumines. You can't go wrong. My big complaint when the 3DS launch was the lack of such a "killer app". To me, "killer apps" aren't just a good game. It's a game that lasts. Something that will endure time and time again through the console's lifespan. Samurai Warrior Chronicles almost looked like it was there (with Warriors games having a token amount of large content) but not quite. It didn't get a "killer app" in my opinion until Tetris Axis. And Lumines is kinda like Tetris with music and a different puzzle structure.
The music is good, the visuals are alright but I'm usually too focused on the game to notice them, and it supports buttons or touch screen controls, whatever's too your liking. It's a good "evergreen" title so I'd suggest it as a day one purchase for any Vita owner.
Unit 13, you may ask me "Why would you buy this?" Well, I have UMvC3 and Rayman Origins on the Xbox so I didn't see much of a reason to buy them again.
I heard some rather positive things for Unit 13, that it actually wasn't quite your standard TPS shlock. I played a couple of missions (by "couple" I mean two and the training mission) and I do enjoy it. I just think it's structured very well. It's much more "arcadey". I don't mean this in a "die in five seconds and respawn instantly" way, but in a "score-based leaderboards" type of way. Which is rather interesting. You can wrack up points by using stealth or getting kills, headshots, melees, whatever. It controls alright, with a pretty heavy amount of assisted aiming, but it lacks the sexy gyro-assisted aiming of Uncharted: GA, which was a huge disappointment for me. But I think it's a pretty solid game. The score-based aspects really differentiate it from your run-of-the-mill TPS like SOCOM or Syphon Filter, it has some minor RPG leveling aspects which I thought were interesting, and the daily challenges seem like a really cool way to keep it fresh. But yeah, the AI is kinda the equivalent of a pile of bricks, the graphics aren't great, and the lack of the gyro aiming bothers me, but overall it's a satisfying package. If you ever see it on sale or something, definitely buy it.
Also it has online co-op apparently which is pretty fun but odds are I'll never get the chance to try it. It does require an online pass though so if you're really hellbent on going online, make sure you're willing to buy new or buy one off the PSN Store.
---
A side observation on Vita games in general, I do find them really bringing back a "good ol' way of gaming".
3G gaming seemed pretty silly at first. Like what's the point of having "anywhere online" if it's not good enough for person-to-person play? Well, tons of games are using leaderboards to fill this issue, and yes, I've bought into the leaderboard thing. It is quite fun to be able to beat your friends and compete with them for times in Motorstorm RC or scores in Super Stardust Delta. It's an aspect I'm really liking, and it really brings out the "arcade" feeling. Unfortunately I don't have 3G (and I don't feel like buying into some stupid AT&T plan) but I can see why it's desired now. Also being able to web browse, check Facebook, send messages, update your trophies, and even do Parties on the go is a rather tempting prospect.
