Sony

Opinion: Thank You Third-Party Devs for Keeping the PlayStation Vita Alive

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

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If you know anything about me, which some of you do – you know that I’m a gigantic fan of Sony’s PlayStation Vita to the point I keep it on my person at all times. I’ve even gone to the extent of taking advantage of the new family Nighthawk X4 router and upgraded our internet speeds to 200Mbps so that we can have an extended bit of family fun, and even enjoy our internet gaming a bit more. This even includes my capability to play my PlayStation Vita when on the road. Granted on the road doesn’t happen much, but it is a nice change to be quite honest. But the reality of it is, Sony has effectively given up hope on their Vita. Ask them six years from now what happened? They’ll probably play it off as if the thing never existed, much like my beloved PSP-10000, which I still play and love to this day. I’ve even gone as far as repurchasing many of my beloved titles on my Vita since they are readily available. Thank you Sony Japan for the 64GB memory cards, those are handy.

The First Party Support Games are Great, but Third Party Still Wins

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But lets not play it off. We know first party for the handheld has been lackluster. Really it’s shameful since the few first party games there are, were amazing, and even provided a powerhouse sense of console gaming to that little handheld. The reality is? There were very few of these games such as Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Killzone: Mercenary, Freedom Wars, Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines, Tearaway, Gravity Rush, and even Little Big Planet to name a select few that’ll stand out to most. All of these games have been exceptional enough that they even got ported to the PlayStation 4 (i.e. Tearaway and Gravity Rush). For us PlayStation Vita owners? We can honestly admit that it feels that Sony has abandoned us since we haven’t seen any true huge updates for the PlayStation Vita, we haven’t seen any new first party games, and we’ve seen very little in the means of them even bringing up new PlayStation Vita titles in the long run. Instead we have third party companies such as Atlus USA, NIS America, Aksys Games, Bandai Namco, XSEED Games, and a few other localization teams that have brought over some of the most astonishing games to date. Many of these games even keeping the die hard PlayStation Vita fans rather happy since the games aren’t just a cash-cow, but instead a launch of games they know the fans will honestly want.

It’s a harsh reality when the third party teams have done a far better job than one of the gaming giants of the modern day. If only Sony realized they still have time, but that time is quickly running out as the console wars heat up.

Sony Needs to Realize the PlayStation Vita is Owned by Gamers

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The question is for some: Why is this important to them? For many, the question is a legitimate question, one that some would scratch their heads when my response comes out as follows; The PlayStation Vita is not just an accessory to the PlayStation 4, but instead it is a business competitor to the Nintendo 3DS. While it’s hard to state that the PlayStation Vita will ever possibly trump the Nintendo 3DS is not a possibility, but what is possible is that its games aren’t focused solely on kids. While the Nintendo 3DS does offer an amazing variety of games such as titles from Virtual Console to modern titles as well as its backwards compatibility with physical Nintendo DS games, it’s an understatement to say the game supports the likes of adults and fans who want to play imported titles. We’ve not seen titles such as Corpse Party, Danganronpa, Freedom Wars, or even Soul Sacrifice launch on the handheld, we’ve seen a few adult oriented titles launch on it, but nothing compared to what the Vita has obtained in the last few years.

While we know gamers play both Handhelds, it’s hard not to say that Sony is trying to bury the handheld as quickly as possible due to the fact North America hasn’t seen the new Vita colors, larger memory cards or even half the library Japan has. Hell their Vita library is making ours look like we own a GameCube if that says anything (sorry Nintendo the GameCube had a few select games that were amazing). When gaming on the PlayStation Vita? I’ve run into gamers who treat the handheld as if it were their PlayStation 4. Trust me, I do too, and this effectively shows there is a dedicated crowd out there that is ignored, especially after Andrew House labeled the handheld a “legacy device”, but how can you kill something that… Really isn’t dead, but just isn’t selling all that great in North America? Well we can partially blame Sony for not trying, but we can also blame them for.. Well not trying at all. So it is Sony’s fault that the device is dying if not dead first-party wise. It’s a shame though because the handheld? Is great. It’s magnificent outside of how expensive one is without a memory card, then a good 64GB memory card costing about the same as the handheld itself. Ouch, that’s a punch in the jaw if I didn’t know better. If Sony has any chance at saving this thing, if they cared, their best bet is to treat it as they do the PlayStation 4 and start building a business format around it. There’s still time Sony, but it’s running out. Third Party is what’s even keeping it afloat. Heck that’s where I’ve met a lot of my PSN friends even.

Third Party is Who Deserves the Credit

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If you were to walk into a game distributor such as GameStop (sorry Best Buy, I love you, but your Vita selection is worse than Wal-Mart dropping the Amazon price-matching), you’ll notice some GameStops will have a decent selection of Vita games, they even have them in a neat and fashionable order (if your GameStop cares like mine does). But what you will notice is the fact there’s not any first party games. Shocker really, Hell, even Metal Gear Solid HD isn’t a first-party ordeal. Thanks Konami, you rocked at the time, but I still don’t forgive you. Instead you’ll notice games by companies such as ATLUS, Aksys, NIS America, Compile Hearts/Idea Factory, XSEED Games, and even Bandai Namco. Why? They’re the ones that seem to give a damn that us fans are demanding games still despite Sony shoving us into a corner and putting us Vita owners in a time-out.

If it weren’t for games like Freedom Wars, Oreshika: Tainted Bloodlines, Soul Sacrifice/Soul Sacrifice Delta, Murumasa: Rebirth, Persona 4 Golden, Ragnarok Odyssey Ace, Senran Kagura: Shinova Versus/Estival Versus, and a select other few titles? I wouldn’t even own the handheld. Hell Tearaway was great, creative, and fun, but it wasn’t ground breaking. If any game was? Gravity Rush, but with that on PlayStation 4? I could almost sell my Vita copy and not even shed a tear. Except the fact I have a physical copy does matter. Where third party has succeeded, Sony has truly failed as they seem to have given up even developing games, announcing games and even trying to put a few games on the market. Shame on you Sony, if you’d only put the effort into it that the game publishers have done. If you treated it like you do the PlayStation 4? The handheld would be phenomenal and even groundbreaking due to its PlayStation 4 compatibility. Hell even making companion games for titles such as Bloodborne, Uncharted 4, and even Horizon: Zero Dawn would be amazing. Why? It’s what us fans want. Hell ever since I played Knack a PlayStation Vita spin-off would have been amazing to have, but instead? I’m left to my own devices (rather games) to enjoy and will still wonder what would happen if we’d seen more first party developer love.

You Were the Chosen One Sony – The Vita is a Masterpiece

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If you were to visit my room, you wouldn’t be shocked to see I’m a fan of both Sony and Nintendo even though I have my Sega stuff and my Xbox’s (all three gens, imagine that), but what you will notice is my love for Sony. You wouldn’t doubt for one second that I haven’t missed out on a generation of gaming on their handhelds or consoles. Instead you’d see an office with art book’s, display boxes, and even my consoles hooked up in a neat fashion. Granted I’ve put a few of them in storage under lock-and-key, you’d be unable to doubt the fact I absolutely adore Sony’s library of games from the 90’s to current, but that changed when it came to the PSP and the PlayStation vita. It was almost like they didn’t care, they didn’t want to care, they worried more about their handheld crowd. Sound familiar with Nintendo and the Wii U? Yea, it does. Why? It’s the same situation. One has great first party support, the other doesn’t, which is where Sony and Nintendo have swapped places, but at least Nintendo is seemingly still putting effort into the Wii U until we probably get to finally see their new console(s) and or handheld at E3 2016. Well CES would’ve been great to show them off at.

I know if I were to ask a head board member of Sony point blank about why the Vita hasn’t gotten love? My answer would probably be something around the lines of “we don’t have the owner demographic we do in Japan and other parts of Asia”, which is true. But the response I’d fire back would eventually come down to the awful price gouging they have done for the memory cards, chargers, and the fact that the handheld itself with a good memory card will push owners around 300-350 bucks all together. For that much? I’d just spend the few extra bucks and buy a PlayStation 4 and be on my merry way. Which may be what Sony has done intentionally so that they can move consoles, but why not launch a bundle with a 32GB memory card, take the loss and make the bundle 450? It’d bring new fans in and even cause more money to flow through the PlayStation store unless those fans turn around and sale the console. It’d also help push first party support as they would see the fans actually using their handhelds in order to enjoy their gaming experience more effectively. Sony, what happened? Were you tempted by the Dark Side of winning the console war so far?

Third Party Devs and Publishers, Sony Needs You – Closing Thoughts

If you’ve made it this far, you’ve probably decided my entire op-ed has been me bashing one of my favourite companies. Truth is? You’d actually be right that I’ve been dragging my feet through the mud while whining about Sony. Why? All us Vita owners are thinking it, some of us are just not beginning to say it, and I’m one of the ones kicking in the doors. If there is anything that has gone right with the handheld, it’s the fact that third party developers and publishers have effectively revitalized the PlayStation Vita for me in the fact I own almost every game to have released on it and have put well over seventy games on my shelf. So while there are games out there, new owners who aren’t into JRPGs and graphic novels will have to dig through the PlayStation Vita’s library through online stores such as Amazon or through the PlayStation Store to find games that suit their style of games. While that sounds bad? Some of the games have a great story, great mechanics, and even beautiful graphics.

With all this said? Sony it’s your turn to step up to bat, and I really hope to see you make a grand slam.

 

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Review: Amnesia: Memories – Remembering Life as it Were

/ Dustin Murphy / 4 Comments

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Pros:
+Characters are quite amusing, especially Orion who serves as the “Narrator”.
+Well scripted conversations as well as storytelling.
+Visuals are quite easy on the eyes and well done only to be followed admirably by the music

Cons:
–Some character choices for the player are a bit of a let down.
–A few of the characters feel somewhat underdeveloped

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While I’d love to say I’ve played my fair share of visual novel games that are driven as a “dating simulation” I was recently introduced to my first Otome (“girl game” is what it literally translates to), I was introduced to a niche genre I’ve only heard of and now find myself enjoying. As my first one I was introduced to “Amnesia: Memories” by Idea Factory. To be honest? This is my first dating sim since I’ve decided to skimp out on the idea of trying out the world renowned “Hatoful Boyfriend” and move onto this one for this sponsored review. So you may ask me to explain this game in a single sentence and to be honest the response you’d get is as follows. “Amnesia: Memories” is a rollercoaster of a ride that plays itself upon doubt, a crime possibly committed, and a use of weirdly feminine males that are meant to capture a woman’s eyes without making them feel overwhelmed, which to some this game may do in an explicative manner. For me? I was left scratching my head due to how many ways my character “Rose” had lost her memory due to the person she had spoken with or relations with for that matter.

Much like any dating sim game I’ve ever read about, “Amnesia: Memories” follows the practice quite well as your character is introduced to a decent selection of people – in this case it’s men – to choose from. Each of these potential partners has a set of likes, dislikes, and even dialogue choices to choose from in order to show your characters true passions as you lock in on one of the suitors that seem best fit for your character. Like many titles, this game comes with a ‘tried-and-true’ formula where your characters end results with one person may sometime suffer due to the choices made. Something I’ve yet seen in any of the titles I’ve watched played or even streamed by other gamers.

Our story starts off with our character awakening in their mind only to be introduced to the games narrator Orion. Orion is a rather quirky spirit who has somehow managed to enter my character “Roses” consciousness where he had caused her to lose all of her memories. As someone who would have surely had a platinum trophy if there were trophies for this game, I managed to spend a lot of time finding that Orion would spend quite a bit of time as the character who would give me a lot of my preliminary dialogue choices. These choices included which guy my character would like to start with in order to start rebuilding her memories. This included going through the game backwards at times in order to discover who she is, who her suitor is, and why they fell in love to begin with. The first time around for myself as a guy was a bit awkward, I felt myself scratching my head a few times before going along with the game only to remember it was once more a visual novel and my rapidly pressing of “X” would “turn the pages” faster and faster as I read through the game before the rather well done dialogue could finish. With the creativity behind each of the suitors, the game offers a rather creative premise based upon who your starting bachelor is. Depending on you choose, as stated, also involves the resolution of how your character became an amnesiac. Well for me it would’ve been nice to have to have had the choice of no one and just had Orion be some clumsy ass sprite who just managed to ram into my character’s consciousness by some weird chance. Unfortunately the game did not offer that and would lead me on towards a possible crime that had been committed, if it had been committed to begin with.

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For myself much of my story took place with a gentleman by the name of Ikki who looks just short of being a man in drag due to his effeminate features. As my story progressed with Ikki I quickly took notice between several things based upon each of the “realms” that could be played. There was little variation between each of the stories aside from a few nuances that would make you scratch your head when it comes to the design choices. Outside of this the game tends to try and stay bright, energetic, and even offering a few warmingly tender moments that will attempt to melt your heart during the dating scenes. The downside? I’m the one that’s twistedly dark and would’ve loved to have seen the option to wreck a date or three only to see the alternate ending if there had been one that ended with “Rose” walking off with a smile on her face and her head held high; granted I didn’t see a connection with her or any of the suitors even though you end up with either one in the end no matter how many times you’ve played the game through.

While the game tends to hit a rather cheerful note each time through, it’ll be hard to say that it does much else outside of that. With such a colourful cast of characters it was quite dumbfounding to see that there weren’t deeper backstories behind each character, yourself, and even more fleshed-out personalities that would drive the game more-so than they did before. While “Amnesia: Memories” does just what is expected of an Otome, it’s hard to see that I was overall impressed outside of the art, the dialogue, and the music. The music for-one is what kept me coming back as I loved the little episodic queues between days or even occurrences within that day. Had they made a physical release with a soundtrack bundle? I’d promise you I’d have bought it just for the soundtrack with extended cuts of each of the mini-segment songs. The biggest problem with this games launch is not the fact it’s a bad game at all, but for those that don’t have some idea of Japanese or at least experience with it? Will find the game a bit text-heavy and unfortunately that will yank you away from the title, but don’t let it be deceptive, the game to some will be quite enjoyable for what it is.

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Now I know many of you are wondering just how bad the bad endings can be. This is where the weirdo in me comes out and finds the bad-endings rather hilarious since it seems to be the most commonly used one in reviews and the best for the example shows a serial killer coming out and stabbing my dearest “Rose” to death in a rather ironic love-driven rage. While this was interesting it was odd that this character was introduced very shortly before the occurrence and even shows off no reason as to rhyme or reason that drove him to the murder of “Rose”. While it was odd, it was hilarious as to why such a thing happened, and even made the weirdest part of the game one of the most dumbfounding, but even this doesn’t beat the fact that the final bachelor is just downright creepy as Hell. Even more-so than that pigeon dating sim that seems to be all the rage. While the game’s overall plot is weird, “Amnesia: Memories” stays on task with bringing forth both enjoyable plotlines and ones that are so bad that the title tends to fall flat on its face more than once. To some? This is a perfect example of why games should intertwine their scripts a bit better and offer more diversity in why things occur as they do.

Amnesia: Memories – Vita [Reviewed]
Developer: Idea Factory, Inc.
Publisher: Idea Factory, Inc.
Price: 29.99 USD
Released: Available Now

While I’m one that doesn’t enjoy dating sims, “Amnesia: Memories” is a game with a beautifully light tone, warm moments, and amazingly well done artistic uses in the eye candy area. While its visually appealing, the game is also a bit goofy in a mindless sense that kept me coming back for a bit more, which is something Idea Factory Inc. seems to be quite good at. While I would love to have seen more about the cast behind the scenes, the games story is quite predictable and unfortunately quite unaccomplished in comparison to some of their other titles, which to some may make this game feel as if it was made by uneducated children. This is where the genius creation behind this game comes to play and makes it even more appealing for those wanting something that doesn’t want to be taken seriously. So go at it, let Orion take your consciousness away and go for a little ride with this games cast if you want to try out your first Otome.

Our review is based upon the final version that was given to us by the games publisher.  For information about our ethics policy please click here.

 Final Score: 6 out of 10

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over onTwitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.

Tuesday the 13th Gets Creepy With Corpse Party: Blood Drive

/ Dustin Murphy / Leave a comment

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Corpse Party when it entered the world was known and remains known as one of the most thrilling visual novel-style horror adventure titles that drives players to the edge of their seat. First introduced on the PlayStation Portable, Corpse Party finds itself ending Tuesday, October 13th, 2015 exclusively on PlayStation Vita. Corpse Party: Blood Drive is the final entry in the “Heavenly Host Elementary” chapter of Corpse Party.

As a first time ever in the series history, Corpse Party: Blood Drive will be released physically in North America through a limited “Everafter Edition” for 49.99 USD and will contain a two-disc compilation of songs from the series, a “Dying Art” grimoire featuring over 100 pages of artwork from the entire franchise. The game will also launch on the PlayStation store for 39.99 USD with an ESRB rating of Mature.

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As the final installment of the series, Corpse Party: Blood Drive will drive up the ante by allowing players to explore Heavenly Host Elementary in full 3D for the first time ever, with all previous titles 2D environments being fully recreated and majorly expanded for this final entry. The new story and gameplay systems will allow for more interactions than before while also allowing for new dialogue by a story that is filled with ghosts, inescapable traps, and even a new dynamic lighting system that will be shown off using the games in-game flashlight and much, much, much more.

About the Writer:

dustin_batgr_prof

Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over onTwitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.