[Preview] Gravity Rush

Of the games about to come out on the PSV, Gravity Daze certainly looks to be theone that makes best use of the system’s abilities the most while retaining theproperties of a traditional game. It has also received interest largely becauseit is not a simple remake or have any console counterparts. While checking outthe PSV recently, we downloaded the demo from the PSN store to give the game aquick look.

With its beautiful cel-shaded graphics and vibrant colors, Gravity Rush doesn’t need the technicalpower of a home console in order to wow. Animations are smooth, often temptingplayers to roam the environments rather than go toward the objectives. Cutscenes are presented in comic panels quite fitting of the art style. As anovelty, or perhaps something that will affect gameplay in the full version, thegyrometer is put to use during cutscenes and will tilt along with the system,giving new angles from which to view the story.

Once players are done gazing at the game’s beauty, they willhave a chance to marvel at the game’s equally mind-blowing gameplay. The game’sfloating mechanic allows protagonist Kat to freely float and aim a spot uponwhich to land. At first, it seems like a mundane feature of the game, butcombined with kicks that bounce players back into the air, it will keep playersaiming at enemies in the air and taking them down one-by-one. It does give therush that the game’s name implies, challenging players to combo as many and asquickly as possible.

The demo concludes with a boss that has several spinninglimbs, all of which have a weak spot that must be kicked from a floating state.As with any traditional boss, repetition only gets the player so far before newstrategies must be implemented. As individual limbs lose their vulnerability,players will have to aim more carefully rather than catapulting Kat mindlessly.Once the limbs are all taken out, players can also rush in and finish the bossoff with basic melee attacks, not unlike those of other action adventure games.

Amongst the heavy hitters that will be coming out at the PSV’slaunch, such as Uncharted: Golden Abyssand Resistance: Burning Skies, it’seasy to overlook a title without any name recognition to it. However, gamersthat have been complaining about the lack of original titles on Sony’sportables should definitely give GravityRush a spin. It could change their perspectives on the Vita’s launch. 

[Hardware Preview] PlayStation Vita

When we first saw the PS Vita at E3, it all seemed like afuturistic system that we would never actually own. With only a month beforethe PSV’s North American release, we got our hands on one of Hong Kong’s 3Gmodels and tried it out. Aside from its technical superiority, the PSV is filledwith smart design decisions that make it the premiere portable device forgamers to anticipate.

There are several things that players will notice about thesystem once they hold it in their hands: it’s wide yet slender, features alarge 5-inch screen that is incredibly lightweight, and a wildly differentinterface. While the sleek nature of the system is appealing, I couldn’t helpbut feel paranoid about putting it into my pocket. With such a large screen,the system felt like it was bound to snap and was just plain uncomfortable inmy pocket.

During gameplay, however, the system was a marvel to hold.The PSV’s dual analog sticks and overall sizable buttons felt welcoming, asthough a portable was finally large enough for my gigantic hands. The system’sportability was ultimately sacrificed for a more engaging gaming experience. It’sa trade-off that I won’t mind, as long as I had something other than my jeans’pocket in which to store the PSV. Conveniently, games include useful links tothe game’s website, company’s website, or PSN store for easy access. The multitouchcapacitive touchscreen is duly sensitive and precise, making it leaps andbounds above the 3DS’s outdated resistive touchscreen and giving it many morepossibilities instead.

Some browsing through the system’s applications quickly showedsome notable improvements over other systems’ similar counterparts. ThePlaystation Store itself is pretty easy to browse, featuring categories on theleft ranging from the games and add-ons to movie downloads. Fans of digitalcontent will be excited to find that retail games are also available as digitaldownloads. Near, the PSV’s attempt to connect nearby gamers, shows differentusers on a map including their PSN usernames, recent games, and trophies. Thisfeature most mirrors the original Nintendo DS’s PictoChat that allowed users tochat with others nearby; however, Near works on a much larger scale, allowingusers to see others several kilometers away as well. Security concerns mayarise, but since the unit was in Chinese, we were not able to test outdifferent settings.

In order to receive internet signal, the 3G model includes aslot for a SIM card. Curious to see if any SIM card would work, we inserted aT-Mobile SIM card with data on it and, to our amazement, it was able to receivedata. However, it was only able to receive 2G speeds, telling us that thesystem is on the same band as the AT&T network. While the SIM card was inthe slot, the PSV gave notifications on any text messages that arrived.Unfortunately, the system was incapable of replying to text messages or receivingcalls. Perhaps hackers may work on a mod for this in the future, but at leastexisting AT&T customers who wish to have data anywhere can use the system’sdata capabilities, given that they are willing to miss some calls. Keep in mind that the model we tested was from Hong Kong and unlocked - a feature that may not hold true for the North American release.

With only a month to go before its North American release,the system is looking better and better. There are some design decisionsalready that some may question, but the trade offs are definitely worth it. Welook forward to its release and will be waiting by the door for its arrivalcome February 22. 

[Friday Five] Reasons to Get the Wi-Fi PS Vita

With the launch of the Playstation Vita only a little morethan a month away, it seems like the prime time to talk about the system. Afterit had launched in Japan to abysmal figures that were dwarfed by the 3DS’sgrowing sales, most experts predicted an early price drop like Nintendo did forits portable or even the possibility of a cancelled North American launch. Butwe’re not here to talk about that. No, I personally have faith in the PSV. Justnot the 3G model.

You’re Saving Money

Maybe it’s because I’m a miser or maybe it’s because gamesare costing more and more, but the amount you’ll be saving really adds up. It’snot just the initial extra $50 you’ll be saving, but you also have to considerthe subscription fees that will be racking up every month. Right now, AT&T's revealed plans are at $15 per month for 250MB of data and $25 for 2GB of data. It’s simply notworth it considering that…

You Might Have a CellPhone

In the age of smart phones and data plans that can get unlimited data at speeds up to 4G, depending on the provider, there’s no reason to settle for adevice that can only reach speeds of 3G for an extra subscription. Any of the socialnetworking opportunities the PSVita has, such as Facebook and foursquare, areabundantly present in any smart phone. And I’m certainly not spending an extrapremium for the luxury of telling the world I’ve been playing Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 at Denny’sversus just telling them I’m at Denny’s. Plus, with a cell phone…

Internet’s EverywhereAnyways

The tech savvy gamer knows that most phones can be used ashotspots, whether the carriers allow it or not. Many places, including Denny’s,the cheap gamer’s diner of choice, will also have complimentary Wi-Fi. Internetis either simply so abundant or found in so many other sources that it‘s just awaste to jam it into another device. Tether your phone or buy a drink at aStarbucks, because those are both better alternatives considering…

3G Speeds for OnlineGaming…Really?

Even with my 15Mbps connection, gaming is often an iffy andlag-filled affair. Giving AT&T the benefit of the doubt and having faiththat it will consistently deliver the 1700Kbps and 700Kbps upload speedsurveyed by Speedtest.net earlier this year, I still wouldn’t expect a smoothexperience. Good luck dealing with low coverage areas and dead zones, too. Remember,not all 3G is delivered equally.

Minimal HardwareDifferences

The only addition to the 3G model that the Wi-Fi model lacksis the GPS chip. Otherwise, gamers who purchase either model will end up withthe same experience. Unless developers start to utilize the GPS chip in somegames, which heavily relies on the success of the 3G model itself to berealistic, it will sit by and miss out on all the action. Oh, and did I mention how unreliable most GPS chips are indoors, where most gaming will likelytake place?