Top 5 games that make the Sony PlayStation Vita worth buying

The Gadget Show  Thursday 05 January 2012



We’re now little more than two months away from the February 22nd UK Sony PlayStation Vita launch. Have you pre-ordered yet? If not, chances are, just like plenty others, you’ll need some convincing. Ahead of the exciting handheld launch we’ve picked out five games we think make the PlayStation Vita worth laying down that pre-order for.

The PlayStation Vita launch line-up is a strong one, taking in some of the most successful console series and shrinking them to handheld-sized proportions. Because any console is as good as its games, here are our five favourite announced PlayStation Vita games.

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

We’ve only just got over the brilliance of Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, now we’ve got another adventure artefact-finding caper to look forward to. Uncharted: Golden Abyss sees Drake attempt to uncover 400-year old secrets behind the massacre of a Spanish expedition. Players will explore lost cities, secret caverns and temple ruins. The PS3 Uncharted games are among the best-looking seen on any console. On the PlayStation Vita’s OLED screen, it looks fantastic. The addition of touch controls also lend something new to the series. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a glorious showcase of what the PlayStation Vita can do. 



PlayStation Vita launch line-up confirmed


WipEout 2048

The original WipEout made its name on the original PlayStation console. WipEout 2048 – the latest in the futuristic anti-gravity racing series hopes to do the same on the PlayStation Vita. WipEout has long been known for its challenging tight-turning gameplay and deadly power-ups. This time around the developers have listened to fans to deliver a racing game more suited to everybody. Previous games were at times too challenging – now, wider tracks give players more time to concentrate on winning the race instead of fighting the track. Motion control support lets you tilt left or right to steer, while the rear touchpad can be used to accelerate. The best bit is that the control combinations can be mixed up. Eight-player multiplayer means you’ll never have to race alone.

Motorstorm RC



For a racer that takes itself a little less seriously (as serious as anti-gravity racing gets) there’s Motorstorm RC to look forward to. The clue to the angle here are those last two letters. Evolution Studios, the team behind the series has shrunk the Motorstorm universe and replaced its beefy vehicles for radio-controlled cars. With its light, fun and responsive handling, Motorstorm RC is the closest to Micro Machines you’ll find anywhere, spanning four locations and 16 tracks of varying environments from sandy deserts to leafy jungle settings. The ability to challenge friends for the best times and engage in four-player multiplayer makes Motorstorm RC a must-own racing addition to your future PlayStation Vita games collection. 



PlayStation Vita can control PS3 games

Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3



Capcom’s latest entry in its seminal fighting series adds an extra 12 new characters to the Marvel vs. Capcom line-up, totting up the character roster to a brutal 50-strong. Among them: Phoenix Wright, Strider, Doctor Strange and Ghost Rider. The familiar analogue controls and button layout ensures an easy handheld transition for those already honed on the console versions. One major boon for fight fans is the ability to pause, rewind and fast forward replays of past fights using on-screen buttons, before uploading them for others to see what you’re made of.

LittleBigPlanet

If any PlayStation Vita game is a perfect demonstration of the new handheld’s features, it’s LittleBigPlanet. As usual players will be able to make their own levels to share with what developer Media Molecule hopes will be millions of other LittleBigPlanet Vita players, but on PlayStation Vita a new lease of life is given to both the creation mode and single player modes. LittleBigPlanet uses nearly every one of the PS VIta’s features: motion controls, accelerometers and the rear touchpad to deliver the kind of gameplay experiences yet to be seen anywhere.

Have we missed out any of your favourites? Which PlayStation Vita games will you be picking up?