Ubisoft PlayStation Vita Titles Preview – Part One

More Vita goodness for you guys and gals who are just itching to get your hands on one. Ubisoft, as I’m sure you’re all more than aware, are looking to be big hitters when it comes to Sony’s magical handheld device that is looking to take the world by storm, and as such, they invited GodisaGeek to have a look at a few of the games that will be available for the Vita upon its launch.

With short demos available for each game, welcome to part one of two, where we will be looking at two games: Asphalt Injection and Dragon Hunter Alliance.

When you’ve taken in all the info, why not check out our PlayStation Vita review?

Asphalt Injection

The good old racing genre will certainly always make its way to any handheld in one shape or another, and for Ubisoft it’s in the form of Asphalt Injection. Whilst a lot of the game content was locked, the game features that were available showed such force that I was literally blown away.

Those in the Burnout/Need For Speed fan clubs will definitely want to keep your eyes on this title. The game focuses on driving through the streets, dodging traffic and manoeuvring over landscapes and mountains to beat your opponents across the finish line. Perform death defying stunts over the jumps you have access to and dodge incoming traffic to build up a boost meter that will send you flying towards the lead.

The game may sound familiar, but playing it felt fresh. The game itself is incredibly bright and clear, the graphics showing the Vita’s capabilities and, despite large speeds, not allowing you to get lost in the moment of different colours whizzing past your car.

With graphics smoothness came a slight FPS problems however. Parts of the game, namely after performing an impressive stunt, would leave the game jumping slightly for a second or two, before resuming its usual smoothness. I’m sure these will be fixed by release however.

As mentioned, I only got to play one demo, but Asphalt Infusion had me in 1^st position all of the time. Between fancy car flinging and making sure I had enough boost, I found myself never really needing to see if anyone was following me.

The game could have been set to an incredibly easy mode, or was just generally not that much of a problem for me, which isn’t good news for the hardcore among you. That being said, the demo only offered once course and one difficulty level, so I could be worried about nothing.

What the demo had to offer was evidence that Asphalt Injection is going to be a good game, one that lets people take game driving to the streets. I do think it’s worth finding out about the difficulty problems if you’re hoping for a game that’s going to challenge you, but if you just want a fun easy going racer, then look no further.

Dragon Hunter: Alliance

I was quite excited when I heard that this specific title was coming to the PS Vita. Many handhelds come out with very little recognition of the fantasy adventure game genre, leaving them until the console has made a name for itself before rushing a title or two onto it. For those of you like me, who like swinging a sword or blasting some magic on the smaller screen, then your tastes have been acquired to. Welcome to Dragon Hunter: Alliance; the fantasy adventure every handhold launch needs.

Again, I was playing the trial version, so a lot of content was locked, but I was able to get a good taste of the game. Allowing me to pick from 3 different classes (Bog standard Mage, Warrior or Rogue) it threw me – literally – into the game, storming a castle to kill a goblin king.

Immediately the game shows you who is boss. Dragon Hunter: Alliance isn’t for the faint hearted. If you want to play this game, get ready to see a few death screens. I’m putting some of my deaths down to the fact I was dropped mid game with no idea of controls. Sure, that’s a lame excuse, you may cry, but the controls in this game are a little peculiar. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly mixes things up. It took me a few minutes to find myself in a comfortable place with them, and I’m sure anyone who picks up the game will say the same.

But luckily enough they don’t deter players from the good adventure the game brings; an immersive and challenging journey that will leave you wanting more. Smooth graphics and a fixed, over the top camera, that actually works well.

Dragon Hunter: Alliance is the ying to the Asphalt Infusion yang however, in that the difficulty can be overbearing. I was happily clearing some trash monsters when a huge troll wielding two clubs rushes and kills me in one hit. “I must have done something wrong” I think to myself. “I need to go a different way, or activate a trap that weakens or kills him”. No, not all all. The game wants me to take on a giant, dual wielding, head smashing troll and live to tell the tale. After several deaths I managed it, but the point is that I did it.

However what I played may not have been the start to the game, so again difficulty is open to interpretation. It may well stop you from being able to play in public. If you fling the console on the bus, you’re bound to hit someone. Oh, and despite the Vita’s power, there are loading screens galore. They’re not very long mind you, and are over more quickly then you can actually read everything that’s on them, but it does break up the fluidity of gameplay, which some may find frustrating.

If you’re the adventuring type, you’ll want to get your hands on this. The Vita really is catering to as many people as possible and I’m certain in saying that every gamer will have something to pick up. I’m glad that someone gave a nod towards this particular genre, as it’s where many people usually fall short.

Stay tuned to GodisaGeek.com for Part Two of our Ubisoft PlayStation Vita previews.