The sole game for Vita that actually seems built for the console and its unique features. It lost some of its allure when they announced it would be coming to the PS3 as well, but still seemed like a must have for any owner of Sony's latest handheld.
First; the story of how I acquired the game:
Yesterday around 1AM, I was about to start my "unwind hour". That's the last hour of the day before I go to sleep, where I usually play around with my iPad or watch some Futurama in my bed, right before I fall asleep. I decided to get myself Sound Shapes, and spend the last moments of the day playing that. Went to the PS Store. Hit download, and the game started downloading. I was puzzled that I didn't need to enter my password to make the purchase, didn't remember this being the case. As the download progressed, I went into my account settings looking for a way to enable my password before a purchase. Doesn't seem to be possible? After all the negative headlines Sonys had about their network, surely such an option should exist? Nevertheless, the game was finally downloaded and installed. Upon starting it, I was immediately "asked" to update my Vita to the latest firmware. My three week old firmware wasn't fresh enough to play the game it seemed. I complied to its demand, and started the update process. The first time I got an error, and was thrown out to the home screen. I tried again. This time the download started. I played around on my iPhone while waiting to play my new game. The update was around 90% complete, when I got a new error and was thrown out again. At this time I was very annoyed. I had already spent close to an hour trying to make the necessary arrangements to play my game. I tried again. The update had to start from scratch, but finally was successful. Phew...
The morale? Sony sucks at software infrastructure.
Next; the game:
The controls are simple. You play a small ball who can stick to certain surfaces. By holding down a button, you can make it non-sticky, at which point it also runs (rolls?) a lot faster. The pace is very fast, so the simple controls never really feel as simple as they would have in a slower game. But the real treat is how the music and level design mesh. The levels and songs are designed by several different people, and the few I've tried blended together wonderfully. The music reacts to your actions so organically, creating a beautiful audio-visual experience comparable to the one in Rez, to make a comparison. Only tried the first three, so look forward to seeing how different both the music and level design will be in latter stages.
As you progress through the levels, you unlock every object from them, to be used in the games level/music editor. Had a go for about five minutes. Seems extremely intuitive, and the options in both level design and music are wide enough to make ones imagination the real limitation. Hoping to check out some user generated content soon, though I suspect the quality level will increase in the coming weeks as people get to grips with it and start getting really creative.
A disappointing notion is that I now have the urge to play it on my PS3 and hi-fi instead, to get the biggest experience out of the sounds and music from the game. A shame, as this game really would have been a perfect Vita exclusive, showcasing that the console can do much more than just aping the bigger machines.
First; the story of how I acquired the game:
Yesterday around 1AM, I was about to start my "unwind hour". That's the last hour of the day before I go to sleep, where I usually play around with my iPad or watch some Futurama in my bed, right before I fall asleep. I decided to get myself Sound Shapes, and spend the last moments of the day playing that. Went to the PS Store. Hit download, and the game started downloading. I was puzzled that I didn't need to enter my password to make the purchase, didn't remember this being the case. As the download progressed, I went into my account settings looking for a way to enable my password before a purchase. Doesn't seem to be possible? After all the negative headlines Sonys had about their network, surely such an option should exist? Nevertheless, the game was finally downloaded and installed. Upon starting it, I was immediately "asked" to update my Vita to the latest firmware. My three week old firmware wasn't fresh enough to play the game it seemed. I complied to its demand, and started the update process. The first time I got an error, and was thrown out to the home screen. I tried again. This time the download started. I played around on my iPhone while waiting to play my new game. The update was around 90% complete, when I got a new error and was thrown out again. At this time I was very annoyed. I had already spent close to an hour trying to make the necessary arrangements to play my game. I tried again. The update had to start from scratch, but finally was successful. Phew...
The morale? Sony sucks at software infrastructure.
Next; the game:
The controls are simple. You play a small ball who can stick to certain surfaces. By holding down a button, you can make it non-sticky, at which point it also runs (rolls?) a lot faster. The pace is very fast, so the simple controls never really feel as simple as they would have in a slower game. But the real treat is how the music and level design mesh. The levels and songs are designed by several different people, and the few I've tried blended together wonderfully. The music reacts to your actions so organically, creating a beautiful audio-visual experience comparable to the one in Rez, to make a comparison. Only tried the first three, so look forward to seeing how different both the music and level design will be in latter stages.
As you progress through the levels, you unlock every object from them, to be used in the games level/music editor. Had a go for about five minutes. Seems extremely intuitive, and the options in both level design and music are wide enough to make ones imagination the real limitation. Hoping to check out some user generated content soon, though I suspect the quality level will increase in the coming weeks as people get to grips with it and start getting really creative.
A disappointing notion is that I now have the urge to play it on my PS3 and hi-fi instead, to get the biggest experience out of the sounds and music from the game. A shame, as this game really would have been a perfect Vita exclusive, showcasing that the console can do much more than just aping the bigger machines.
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