I talked about the Playstation Vita quite a bit in a
previous post. The only real problem with the system was lack of
software. There is no shortage of 3DS games that keep getting ported over to
the Sony handheld and they really don’t show what the rig is capable of. If
only there was a game that showcased all of the features of the system in an
interesting way. Today we fight with the kitchen sink!
Tearaway is a
charming title developed by the crazies over at Media Molecule. They also
brought us Little Big Planet. I’m sorry
to say that I really liked the concept of LBP
but just wasn’t a fan of the game itself. It was adorable and championed user
created content but the controls were floaty and there was an overwhelming amount
of content to shovel through. History has not repeated itself as Tearaway is an extremely well
constructed experience!
First off the graphics are amazing considering the fact that
everything looks like it was cut out of construction paper. You can see the dioramas
that must have coated shoe boxes during the design part of the game making
process. It looks like a child has come up with this world and it’s the exact
amount of charming that you’d want in a family friendly platformer. The real
achievement here is that they made a 3D platformer in the paper style as
opposed to sidescrolling in only two dimensions. I’m happy to say that the
jumping feels just right with no floatiness and the Vita’s thumb sticks are definitely
up to the challenge.
Difficulty wise, Tearaway
is a little bit easy and a tad short. You won’t be mad at the game for giving
you precision platforming that hates you a la Super Mario 3D Land and you’ll be through the story in matter of
hours. This is definitely a relaxing, family oriented experience that you would
have no trouble letting a young one ponder through. With the length of the game
in question, a $40 price tag may be asking a bit much but nabbing it at any
price less than $30 seems about right.
There is a story here. You are guiding a letter that must be
delivered to You. Yes, You. The postal system in this world is bad enough that
the letters have had to resort to growing arms and legs to deliver themselves.
You reside in the sun; you know this because the sun shows active video from
the front camera that would usually point at your own face. Insert Teletubbie
joke here. I never realized how serious I looked gaming until now. The letter
can’t even jump for the first hour of the game, instead you have to tap the
back touch screen to make it bounce or press certain face buttons to move
platforms to get to your destination. You get to do all this while playing a
solid 3D platformer. The integration of the features of the PS Vita are the
real stars here. I was home for the holidays and had my father roar into the
microphone when it asked; every time a certain animal roars it’s my dad
pretending to be a lion, just like the old days! I even have some animals
running around with the pattern from my mother’s sitting room chair mapped onto
them. The player gets to design their own items for in the world as well by
cutting shapes out of paper using the touch screen. They can be as detailed or
as simple as you like. I’me sure someone’s game has plenty of penis shaped
snowflakes floating around.
Did I mention Tearaway
is extremely charming? For that alone it should be one of those games that
every Vita owner should own. This is the first time we’ve had an exclusive
title that shows off the many features they threw into the Vita and it should
be a pack in title. Playstation Network should at the very least drop Uncharted: Golden Abyss from the “permanent”
free to subscribers line up and give everyone the experience of Tearaway; it’s a much better showcase
piece for the system. Play it!
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