Saturday, November 30, 2013

So you've got a new Vita...  

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Over the last few days, there were some fantastic holiday deals to be had on Sony’s Vita handheld. If you were one of the lucky ducks that swooped in for some savings, you might now be wondering… “Well, what do I play on it?”

Got you covered. Although this isn’t an exhaustive list (and of course, tastes vary) there is a ton of great gaming to be had on the system once you realize you’ve got five marketplaces to browse: In addition to the Vita’s native software, it also offers selections from the PSP, PSOne, PS Mini and PS Mobile libraries.

By the way, with all the games you’re sure to be downloading, you might find that you run out of space fairly quickly.  Although Sony still hasn’t dropped the price of their proprietary memory cards, a good thing to remember is that it’s incredibly easy to backup Vita software in order to make room for new stuff.  Just use the included USB cable and hook it up to a PC, PS3 or PS4.  The media manager software that comes on the Vita is totally painless to use, and makes these backups a snap.

So what do I recommend? Here are some selections in alphabetical order…. If @Gamecritics has a review for the title in question, the link is included. If not, there’s a brief description from me!


 Black Rock Shooter


Dante’s Inferno
An underappreciated action-platformer that delivers solid action and a peek at Satan's penis.


Dokuro


Dragon’s Crown


Castlestorm
Build your own castle and demolish your opponent's!


Chrono Trigger
Often cited as one of the best RPGs of oh,  I dunno, all time.


Cyberbots
A long-forgotten Capcom fighter with loads of robots.


Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower
Monster-on-monster action in this classic Capcom fighter.


Dino Crisis 2


Fate/Extra


 Final Fantasy…Tactics, III, IV, VII and VIII
I don't really need to explain these, do I?


Flow  
An experimental game of eating and evolution.


Flower


Gladiator Begins


Gravity Rush
An Amelie-flavored adventure through the air.


Guacamelee!


Half-Minute Hero
The speediest JRPG that's ever existed.


Haunt The House
Be the cutest ghost haunting the cutest town.


Hotline Miami
A psychotic mask-wearing murder spree.


Jacob Jones & The Bigfoot Mystery
Episodic Professor Layton-lite with an adorable aesthetic.


 Jumping Flash! 2
A heroic robo-rabbit leaping miles into the air.


Killzone: Mercenary


Klonoa: Door To Phantomile
An uber-tight platformer with a tear-jerking ending.


Limbo


Locoroco


Malicious: Rebirth
A heavily Japanese boss-rush game with esoteric style.


Metal Gear Solid 2 & 3
Another set of games which need no introduction.


Monster Hunter Freedom Unite


Mortal Kombat


Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath
First-person action with a crossbow that shoots animals. As ammo.


 PaRappa The Rapper


Parasite Eve 2


Patchwork Heroes
Take down huge enemy airships by cutting them to pieces.


Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
A JRPG murder-mystery starring a female reporter in modern times.


Persona 4: The Golden


Playstation All-Star Battle Royale
A surprisingly competent brawler on par with Smash Bros.


Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords
A true RPG where battles occur on a puzzle board.


Rymdkapsel
A space-based station sim using tetrimino shapes.


Silent Hill: Book of Memories


Sine Mora


Sly Cooper: Thieves In Time
Character-heavy third-person platforming with an agile edge.


Spelunky
A side-scrolling Roguelike platformer that's tough as nails.


Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
Humorous blob-rolling action.


Tearaway
 A fantastically creative game, and the best use of Vita hardware EVER.


The Jak & Daxter Collection
Naughty Dog's classic platform adventure series before Uncharted was born.


The Red Star


The Walking Dead
The breakthrough point-and-clicker set in a post-zombie world.


Thomas Was Alone
Anthropomorphic shapes with unforgettable personality.


Tokyo Jungle Mobile
The city's empty and you're a hungry Pomeranian. Go!


Tomba!
Surreal platforming and evil pigs. Also, lots of pink.


Uncharted: Fight For Fortune
Nathan Drake does battle in a Magic: The Gathering format.


WipeOut 2048
Futuristic racing that goes... Well, it goes pretty fast.

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…And there are hundreds more that I didn’t list here, so the next time someone tells you that the Vita doesn’t have any games, laugh right in their face as you dive deep into Sony-flavored handheld bliss.

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2 comments: to “ So you've got a new Vita...

  • Gathercole

     

    Great list. I follow you on Gamecritics and really value your perspective as someone with real-life obligations that mean you have to be a bit choosy with games. Is there any place where all your reviews are listed, whether for GC or another publication?

    I don't know if enough has been said about how great the Vita is for people with demanding schedules. Being able to instantly pause and resume a game at any time, being able to get every game digitally so you don't have to waste time going to the store, etc. And the right stick for camera control is better than an HD remake for already great PSP games like Monster Hunter.


  •  

    Hey Gathercole - Thanks for reading and thanks for the kind words!

    All of my published reviews are at Gamecritics, except one or two random one-offs here and there. the last one was Killzone Mercenary linked above.

    As for the Vita... AGREEEEEE.