The escape-the-room visual novel 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors (999), developed by Chunsoft and localized/published by Aksys, was a daring departure from typical DS fare when it arrived Stateside in late 2010. A mature title in both content and tone, it took any player who dared to brave its numerous walls of text on a wild ride of original story, well-developed characters, a crazy premise and puzzle-rich gaming segments. 999 quickly gained a loyal cult following and earned rave reviews from the scant handful of people who actually played it.
And somehow, against all odds and expectations by even the most ardent fan, we got a sequel. READ MORE
Orgarhythm, the latest release from Acquire and XSEED, is a peculiar game in many ways. This download-only Vita title has rhythm and strategy at its core, but while it resembles Patapon at first glance, the experience of playing it shares few of the same qualities. READ MORE
If there’s anything the Vita needs right now, it’s games that take full advantage of the system’s features. It also just needs games in general, but the ones that fully use the capabilities of the hardware are especially welcome. Dokuro is one of those games, blending together 2D platforming with some intriguing, if flawed, puzzle mechanics that use some of the Vita’s features in interesting ways. READ MORE
Brian Provinciano’s Retro City Rampage was in development long enough that it could make a retro-inspired reference to itself. The wait’s likely been most excruciating to Provinciano himself, but thankfully it’s now over and we can give the game a try for ourselves. It’s certainly as packed with references to ’80s culture as we expected, but references are the sugar-coated candy of game experiences. Does the game have a more lasting enjoyment buried underneath the super-sweet exterior? READ MORE
EA brought FIFA to the Vita at launch, and while it was a disappointing entry compared to console releases, it was by far the best handheld version and brought with it hope that future entries would match up with home versions. Sadly, FIFA 13 doesn’t do anything except tarnish that hope. READ MORE
