Unit 13: PS Vita review

Unit 13 - PS Vita Game Review
Released by PlayStation
Platform: PS Vita

It's the Vita's first major foray into Third Person Shooter with Unit 13 - and it's one which fully embraces the capabilities and software on offer from the tech.

You take on the role of a member of an elite crack squad of fighters who have a series of missions to crack. And you have to pretty much get upto speed quickly with this shooter. Or you'll be dead within minutes.

The game begins with a training mission which sees you get to grips with what weapons you have as well as controlling the fighter with the Vita. You're a new recruit to Unit 13 - but don't expect to be part of a broader story - it's simply you and a series of missions to get completed. Which is a nice touch as it means you can drop in and out of Unit 13 anytime you want without having to remember whereabouts in the overall scheme of things you are.

Training completed, you get to open your world up to a series of bite sized missions which rely on different skills; some are simply about going in all guns blazing and taking on the bad guys, securing the area, stealing plans and blowing stuff up; others are about racing against the clock or to do with the stealth and ensuring you're not discovered as you skulk about and don't do anything to trigger any alarms.

The range and skill level required will mean that you probably end up having multiple goes at the various fodder on offer - it's unlikely you'll walk through it all first time around. Thankfully checkpoints around and about mean the longer missions (as such) can be broken down into bits and you end up not feeling frustrated if it doesn't all go according to plan.

You'll have to be fairly dextrous as well in playing this game - not only do you need quick reflexes, timing is of the essence and when using the various touch screen capabilities to vault over obstacles, you'll need to think pretty quickly on your feet.

While the missions vary in length, there's certainly no lack of variety in what's on offer - from different characters with different strengths, co-op missions give you chance to play with a buddy online; high value target missions are unlocked after you do a good enough job to earn ratings (one hell of a reason to make sure you don't just muddle in shooting everything) and a daily mission option keeps things fresh.

Overall, I've really enjoyed this handheld shooter - I think what's scored it as a winner for me is the fact that it's not all about continued gameplay; sure, there's unlockable rewards for sustained play but the bite size nature of what's on offer means that it's perfect for the commute, a snatched half hour here or there or for some social play with mates. Long lasting and enduring, Unit 13 has put the fun back into third person shooters.


Rating: