Freedom Wars Shows Off Its Thorn Whip

Sony Computer Entertainment Japan put out a new video for Freedom Wars showing off its Torn Whip.The Thorn Whip can be used to maneuver around the map acting like a grappling hook by attaching to surfaces or bosses. Once attached to a surface it will pull your character towards the object. In addition to mobility, there will be three different types of Thorn Whips.  Each type of whip will have their own two-stage charge moves.

• The healing Thorn Whip can use its first charge to heal nearby allies and also remove status effects. The second charge creates a temporary area-of-effect healing spot.

• The restraining Thorn Whip's first charge acts as a trap that can be placed on the floor that restrains enemies for a short amount of time. The second charge can be aimed towards enemies and shot from a distance.

• The defensive Thorn Whip has a first charge that increases the defense of all nearby allies. Its second charge creates a wall of thorns that prevents enemies from moving past it and it also protects the players against their attacks.

Japan will get Freedom Wars June 26, 2014 and North America will get it closer to the end of the year. Though if you have a Japanese PSN account you can try out the demo that will release on June 12th.

Source: Siliconera

Mighty No. 9 Shows Off Two Stages And Boss Battles

New gameplay footage for Comcept's Mega Man spiritual successor, Mighty No. 9, was released earlier today. The footage shows off an early look at the Mighty No. 2 and Mighty No. 5's stages along with a small sneak peak of each of the stage's boss battles.

Mighty No. 9 is slated to release in Spring 2015 for the PS Vita and plenty of other consoles. To keep up to date with Mighty No. 9 keep on reading at PSToGo!

Source: Comcept

Invizimals: The Resistance Coming Soon To PS Vita

The next installment of the Invizimals series is heading exclusively to the PS Vita soon with a all new storyline featuring characters from the TV show and some new features. For the first time ever in an Invizimals game, the game will use SmartAR technology throughout the whole game. That means you do not have to use AR cards. There will be 20 new ways to capture the whole roster of all new beasties with many of the PS Vita's features.

There will be 150 creatures for you to capture or battle, including 48 of the creatures from the PSP games making their way to the PS Vita for the first time.

The battle system has been refined, adding in new survivor modes and interactive battle arenas so your opponent is not the only thing you need to watch out for in the battle.

So far Invizimals: The Resistance has been only confirmed for Europe and no word yet if it'll come to America. Keep on checking PlayStationToGo!  for news about Invizimals: The Resistance.

Source: PlayStation Blog

PS Vita Action Mega Pack Coming Soon To Europe

Coming to Europe at the end of June is the PS Vita Action Mega Pack. For €199.99 this bundle includes a 8GB memory card and DLC voucher for 5 action packed games, 3 PS Vita and 2 PSP games.

• PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale
• Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
• Injustice: Gods Among Us Ultimate Edition
• Killzone: Liberation
• God of War: Chains of Olympus

Also available will be a bundle that includes just the 8GB memory card and the 5 games for €39.99

Source: PlayStation Blog

Community Question: What Did You Think of Borderlands 2 For The PS Vita?

"Community Question" is a series of posts that are posted every Friday and asks the community anything Vita related. All you have to do is post a comment on this post answering the question.

I loved the fact that I can play Borderlands 2 on my PS Vita and it looks and runs great on the PS Vita. I wrote a review for Borderlands 2 last week and I given the game a 9/10 (Read it here.). I said that "Borderlands 2 fits perfectly on the PS Vita with the style of gameplay it has. Borderlands 2 is a great portable version of the console game with a few minor issues. I would go as far to say that Borderlands 2 is one of my favorite PS Vita games." I would recomend every PS Vita owner to at least give it a try.

Some critics seem to agree that it is a great port, while others say otherwise.

• Gaming Age - 10/10
• PlayStationLifeStyle - 9.5
• GamingTrend - 7/10
• Ign - 5.4/10
• GamesRadar - 4/10

So this week's Community Question, What did you think of Borderlands 2 for the PS Vita? Did you like it? Would you recommend others to purchase it? Just tell everyone your opinion on anything Borderlands 2 PS Vita related down in the comments below.

Atelier Rorona Plus English Trailer Shows Off New Content

Tecmo Koei has released the first ever english trailer for Atelier Rorona Plus detailing all the new content that it has over the original Atelier Rorona. Updates to the original game include new 3D models, revamped synthesis and battle systems, new party members, additional costumes, an updated New Game Plus mode, a gardening system, and more.

Atelier Rorona Plus releases on PS Vita in North America on June 24th and Europe will get it 4 days earlier on June 20th.

1001 Spikes Will Kill You a Bunch On June 3rd

Nicalis have announced that their newest 8-bit 2D action-platformer, 1001 Spikes will be releasing on June 3rd for Vita and PS4, will support Cross-Buy, and it will cost for $14.99.

The story of 1001 Spikes follows Aban Hawkins as he searches for his estranged father, world-famous archaeologist, Jim Hawkins. The elder Hawkins mysteriously disappeared while exploring the ruins of Ukampa in South America. Before his disappearance, the elder Hawkins entrusted his daughter, Tina with a map to the location of the ruins but with a grave warning that death awaits around every corner.

1001 Spikes offers over a dozen playable characters, each with unique abilities that will affect how players approach the game's more than 100 tough levels. Playable characters in the game include indie favorites such as Commander Video from Bit.Trip series, Curly Brace from Cave Story, multiple characters from The Tempura of the Dead, and many more. There will be a single player campaign with multiple endings and up to four player local co-op and versus modes.

Prepare to die.

Futuridium EP Deluxe Launches In July

Mixed Bag's colorful shooter, Futuridium EP Deluxe, will release this July. The exact date is still being determined. New to the deluxe edition is the Deluxe Mode. The Deluxe Mode adds 50 new levels divided in 5 zones, with 5 bosses and 5 bonus stages. 150 challenges and turbo boost have also been added to keep things even more exciting. There will be unlockables that include credits to continue, new skins, and new gameplay modes like the classic mode which features no turbo and a set of 13 levels.

Futuridium EP Deluxe will be available exclusively on PS Vita and PS4, as a cross buy game.

Source: PlayStation Blog

The Ratchet & Clank Trilogy Heading To PS Vita

The Ratchet & Clank Trilogy is heading to the PS Vita in Europe on July 2nd and July 9th for Australia. The trilogy will be released in a physical and digital format for €29.99. Mass Media, the developers behind the Jak & Daxter Trilogy PS Vita port, are responsible for porting The Ratchet & Clank Trilogy to the PS Vita. 


No news yet if it will release for America. Keep your eyes on this post if anything is announced.

Source: PlayStation Blog

PlayStation Plus June Update

PlayStation Plus is going through a small change. Instead of games randomly coming in every week or going out, they will be released the 1st Tuesday of the month and will be replaced the 1st Tuesday of the following month. The PS Vita, PS3, and PS4 will each be getting 2 different games a month. Luckily though PS Vita owners will get 4 games in June since the one game the PS3 is getting, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, is Cross-Buy; so is PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate for the PS4.
 .

Free for PS Plus members

Mutant Mudds Deluxe
Mutant Mudds Deluxe is a “12-bit” action platformer full of pixels and platforming fun! Our hero, Max, may be just a 2D sprite, but he can leap into the third dimension by jetting between the background and the foreground playfields with his trusty jetpack in this unique dimensionally-woven experience.

Terraria
Dig, Fight, Explore, and Build! Nothing is impossible in the special edition version of this sandbox adventure! Over a dozen environments and hundreds of items to craft and enemies to defeat! The world is your canvas – make it your own.

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time
The pages of the Thievius Raccoonus are disappearing and now Sly and The Gang must get back together to save the Cooper Clan legacy from being destroyed forever! Travel through time, meeting and playing as Sly’s ancestors as you race to recover the past to save their future.

PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate
PixelJunk Shooter Ultimate is a twin-stick shooter with equal elements of action, exploration and puzzle solving. Saving scientists and uncovering the mysteries of an ill-fated research trip requires you to study and manipulate your environment. Blast and dig through rock and ice, unleashing floods of water, lava, gas, magnetic oil and even deadly stomach acid, all powered by an advanced fluid mechanics simulation.

Leaving the Instant Game Collection

• Resogun (PS4) – June 3rd
• Stick it to the Man (PS4) – June 3rd
• LittleBigPlanet Karting (PS3) – June 3rd
• Pro Evolution Soccer 2014 (PS3) – June 3rd
• Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception Single Player (PS3) – June 3rd

Source: PlayStation Blog

Swat Some Pests This Summer in Flyhunter Origins

A team of ex-Pixar animators, Steel Wool Games, are bringing their platformer, Flyhunter Origins, to the PS Vita. While the heroic Flyhunters are deep in cryo sleep; The Frog's cargo of, exotic insects "mysteriously" sent into Space, crash-landing back on planet Earth. The game stars a clumsy janitor named Zak from Burgarol 3. Zak seems to be the only one that can save the day by taking on the role of a Flyhunter and recapture all of the missing insects before the "The Investors" find out. Flyhunter Origins is coming out the PS Vita this summer.

Source: YouTube

Weekly PlayStation Store Update

United States: 

PlayStation Plus Freebie
Limbo (128MB) - Free

PS Vita Games
Lemmings Touch (782MB) - $9.99
Mind Zero (1.4GB) - $33.99
Monster Monpiece (2GB) - $29.99
The Sly Cooper Collection (6.2GB) - $29.99
Fort Defense & Fort Defense North Menace (325MB) - $6.99

Add-Ons

LittleBigPlanet PS Vita

• Cangaceiro Bandit Costume (Cross-Buy) - $0.99
• Rainha de Bateria Samba Costume (Cross-Buy) - $0.99
• Soccer Asset Pack (Cross-Buy) - $2.99
• Lemmings Minipack (Cross-buy) - $2.99

Dustforce

• BETA MAP PACK - Free

Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends

• New Stage 11 (Cross-Buy) - $1.99
• New Stage 12 (Cross-Buy) - $1.99
• New Stage 13 (Cross-Buy) - $1.99

Ragnarok Odyssey Ace

• PEPO PUMPKIN HEAD - Free
• TRACK SUIT - Free
• RAGNAROK ODYSSEY ACE: – ZEALOT’S HOOD - Free

Football Manager Classic 2014

• All Players Interested - $1.59
• Attribute Masking - $0.99
• Board Over-Ride - $1.59
• Boost Bank Balance 1 Million - $0.99
• Boost Bank Balance 10 Million - $1.99
• Boost Bank Balance 5 Million - $3.99
• Boost Bank Balance 50 Million - $7.49
• Foreign Influx - $1.59
• Magic Sponge - $0.99
• Morale Boost - $0.99
• National Management - $1.59
• New Stadium - $1.59
• No Loan Restrictions - $0.99
• No Sacking - $4.99
• No Transfer Windows - $0.99
• No Work Permits - $1.59
• Son Generated - $2.99
• Unlimited Scouting - $0.99

Monster Monpiece (Store Link)

• 1st Rare Pack! - $0.99
• 1st Rare+ Pack! - $0.99
• 1st Super++ Pack! - $0.99
• 2nd Rare Pack! - $0.99
• 2nd Rare+ Pack - $0.99
• 2nd Rare++ Pack! - $0.99
• 3rd Rare Pack! - $0.99
• 3rd Rare+ Pack! - $0.99
• 3rd Rare++ Pack! - $0.99
• Advance Sphere - $0.99
• Aristocratic Girl Voice Set - Free
• Big Sis Voice Set - $0.99
• Bloody Sphere - $0.49
• Blue Seal Stone - $0.49
• Charge Sphere - $0.49
• Childhood Friend Voice Set - $0.49
• Cool Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Demure Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Dynamic Voice Set - $0.49
• Energetic Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Enlightenment Sphere - $0.49
• Enlightenment Sphere Pack - $1.99
• Fiery Girl Voice Set - Free
• Free Rub Coupon - $0.49
• Gal-Type Voice Set - Free
• Goth Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Green Seal Stone - $0.49
• Intellectual Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Kansai Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Mellow Sis Voice Set - $0.49
• Obliteration Sphere - $0.49
• Offer Sph - $0.49
• Punk Girl Voice Set - Free
• Purple Seal Stone - $0.49
• Queen Voice Set - $0.49
• Reclusive Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Red Seal Stone - $0.49
• Rub P - $0.49
• Rub P 2000 - $0.99
• Sacrifice Sphere - $0.99
• Sheltered Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Smart-Ass Sis Voice Set - $0.49
• Spacy Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Spoiled Sis Voice Set - $0.49
• Tomboy Voice Set - $0.49
• Tough Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Tsundere Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Withdrawn Girl Voice Set - $0.49
• Yellow Seal Stone - $0.49

Europe:

PS Vita Games
Borderlands 2 - £19.99/€24.99/AU$32.95
Broken Sword 5 - The Serpent’s Curse: Episode 2 - £9.99/€12.99/$18.45
Lemmings Touch - £7.99/€9.99/AU$14.45
Mind Zero - £23.99/€29.99/AU$43.95
Treasures oF Montezuma: Arena - Free (Not available in Australia and NZ)

Add-Ons

Conception II: Children Of The Seven Stars (Not available in New Zealand)

• Clad In Gold - £1.99/€2.49/AU$3.65
• Echoing Song - £1.99/€2.49/AU$3.65
• Overlord’s Return – Free

Dustforce

• BETA MAP PACK ($0.00)

Ragnarok Odyssey Ace

• PEPO PUMPKIN HEAD ($0.00)
• TRACK SUIT ($0.00)
• RAGNAROK ODYSSEY ACE: – ZEALOT’S HOOD ($0.00)

Treasures of Montezuma Arena (Not available in Australia and NZ)

• Crystal Pack 1 (3K) – £0.69/€0.79
• Crystal Pack 2 (8K) – £1.59/€1.99
• Crystal Pack 3 (20K) – £3.19/€3.99
• Crystal Pack 4 (50K) – £4.79/€5.99
• Crystal Pack 5 (150K) – £7.29/€8.99
• Crystal Pack 6 (400K) – £12.99/€16.99
• Crystal Pack 7 (1M) – £55.99/€69.99
• Endless Unlock Mode - £2.39/€2.99
• Energy Refill - £0.79/€0.99

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham Announced

Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham got announced for the PS Vita today. Just like in Lego Batman 2, Batman will join forces with the superheroes of the DC Comics Universe and travel to outer space to stop the evil Brainiac from destroying Earth. Using the power of the Lantern Rings, Brainiac shrinks worlds to add to his twisted collection of miniature cities from across the universe. In Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham along with the superheroes, players will also play as the villains as the heroes and villains need to unite to stop Brainiac.

Though it has been announced that there will be more than 150 playable characters from the DC Comics universe, such as the Justice League, Killer Croc, and Solomon Grundy with all their own gadgets and abilities. Who knows how much of that will be in the PS Vita version (In the trailer it said content varies among platforms.). I hope that it would be just like the console version, though I doubt it. There is a very high chance that it'll probably be a bastardized version just like every other Lego game that has ever came out to the PS Vita.

Source: Youtube

The Sly Cooper Collection Launch Trailer

Did you know The Sly Cooper Collection released on the PS Vita via retail and digital yesterday? If you did not, I do not really blame you. There was not much news on it leading up to it's release. The Sly Cooper Collection costs $29.99 and it comes packed with the original trilogy. The retail package comes with the first 2 games on the cartridge and it contains a DLC voucher for Sly Cooper 3.

New Releases For 5/27/2014

This week the PS Vita is getting a good bit of games in retail and digitally. Releasing retail and digitally is Mind Zero and The Sly Cooper Collection. Mind Zero is a dungeon crawler RPG and Sly Cooper is a classic PlayStation platformer with stealth elements. Releasing digitally is Monster Monpiece, a card game with RPG elements, and Lemmings Touch, a classic puzzle game featuring one of nature's dumbest animals.

PS Vita Software:

• Mind Zero
• The Sly Cooper Collection
• Monster Monpiece
• Lemmings Touch

Source: PlayStation Blog

Review: Tearaway

From the minds behind LittleBigPlanet and LittleBigPlanet 2 comes the 3D platformer, Tearaway. Honestly, Tearaway is one of my favorite games that I ever played. I kind just spoiled the review a little, though I couldn't help it. Tearaway is just full of creativity, humor, and the most important factor of them all, fun.

The story stars the messengers, Iota or Atoi (Depending if you choose male or female.), and the You. The You is well you. As the You, your goal to help the messengers deliver a message to you. The game places you into the game using the front facing camera to put your face into the sun or whenever you use the back-touch pad your finger comes out from the ground. Being in the narrative doesn't cause any weird disconnect as Tearaway’s world and yours interact. It works really well and makes the ending a really touching experience with a great message.

Tearaway controls like a everyday 3D platformer, though due to the PS Vita having some unique functions that other consoles don't have it takes a very unique twist with how you play. Every single feature that there is on the PS Vita, Tearaway uses it and they all work wonderfully. Using the touch screen to interact with platforms and poking nasty enemies called Scraps, using the back-touch pad in certain areas allows your finger to tear through the floor to interact with objects or platforms, and for some quests you take real world pictures with rear facing camera for various applications. For example, there is an elk that had lost her color in her fur. She requested me to find her a more vibrant fur. I took a picture of grass in my backyard and the grassy texture covered the elk.

Tearaway has some of the best graphics I have seen in a video game. Tearaway’s levels are entirely made from sheets of paper. The levels are beautifully designed and each piece of paper seems to be an animated object of it's own. It makes the locations look vibrant, dynamic, and just fun to play through.

Within the environments there are secrets and unlockables hidden behind tabs of paper that you'd pull with your finger or using the positioning of the camera to cleverly hide these secrets. The secrets consist pieces of confetti, presents, and certain objects in the environments that you have opportunity to take photos of  with the in-game camera your messenger receives.

The unlockables are very unique in Tearaway. With the confetti you can buy paper parts to completely customize the messengers. You can purchase eyes, mouths, and other accessories. Players are also able to draw their own accessories using sheets of paper of various colors with the touchscreen. There is really no limit what you can do and all of these customizations carry over into the cutscenes which is awesome

I mentioned about the opportunities to take photos of certain objects in the environments with the in-game camera. When you take pictures of these certain objects you unlock directions on how to make paper-crafts out of these objects out in the real world. Which is a very neat and fun way to do unlockables within a video game.

Everything just works so well together in Tearaway. The soundtrack is really good, unique, super catchy and it fits with the game's paper crafted world well. All of the PS Vita's features work well to make Tearaway an interesting and fun experience for all ages. Tearaway is one of my favorite games for the PS Vita and even one of my favorite games of all time. Tearaway is a well crafted classic that is a must buy for every PS Vita and a game that can not be played on any other console.

1001 Spikes Shows Off More Characters

Nicalis has released trailer for it's 2D platformer, 1001 Spikes. The trailer introduces some of the playable characters in the game like Commander Video from Bit.Trip series, Curly Brace from Cave Story, multiple characters from The Tempura of the Dead, and many more.

1001 Spikes offers over a dozen playable characters, each with unique abilities that will affect how players approach the game's more than 100 tough levels. There will be a single player campaign with multiple endings, up to four player local co-op and versus modes.

Source: Nicalis

Review: Unit 13

Unit 13 is a tactical 3rd-person shooter by the Socom developers, Zipper Interactive. Unit 13 is one of the first games out of the gate that takes advantage of the Vita's dual analog sticks. There is not a really epic story to partake in Unit 13. The game focuses on fast paced missions that are perfect for a quick break or a ride on the bus.

The gameplay in Unit 13 is your standard 3rd-person shooter affair. Your character is in the center of the screen, you can over the shoulder aim, aim down your sights, melee, switch your weapons, and there is a cover system. The Vita's dual analog sticks feel great in Unit 13. I had no problem aiming at enemies. The cover system could some work though. It doesn't feel smooth, kinda clunky. (I also don't like how you can't slide to another piece of cover without standing up and moving over to it, leaving you vulnerable to attacks.). Zipper did a great job though. They brought a feel of a console military shooter to the palm of your hand pretty well.

The touch screen does get used during gameplay and navigating the menus too. You can reload and use items with a press of the onscreen buttons. They don't hinder with the gameplay at all, the touch functions feel very natural.

The game looks good graphically. It isn't no Uncharted but it's still a very good looking game by portable standards. It looks nice but the environments can get repetitive by the way they look. There is no variety in the level. Your either in a dusty, sandy, town, a warehouse, or a base.
There are 6 different operatives that you can choose to play as. They each have their own perks. The one operative is good at sniping and while a other operative is good at close range combat for example. You can level each of them up too as you complete missions to upgrade their loadouts and stats.

While there isn't a story, there are 46 missions you can play plus the daily challenges (More info about those later.). 36 of these missions are divided into 4 different mission types. These are action, deadline, covert, and elite. In action you just complete the objectives. Deadline is like action but your timed. In covert you want to sneak, if you get caught once it's game over. Elite is harder than the others as in the is no regenerative health, no checkpoints, and the enemies are deadlier.

The other 10 missions are high valued targets. The point of these missions is to infiltrate the enemy's encampment and assassinate the leader. As you play the 36 missions you unlock more and more H.V.Ts. which each of them get you a silver trophy. At times the missions start to blend together and get repetitive, so play in short bursts.

At the end of these missions you get scored on your performance with a 5 star rating. The scoring and rating system is the meat of the game. There is no competitive multiplayer in Unit 13. Each of the missions in the game has it's own leaderboard, global, friends, and people near you. The competitive aspect of Unit 13 is trying to get the high score in each mission. So make sure you have a buddy on your friends list that has Unit 13 so you guys can compete.

The daily challenges are missions that change every day. You got only one chance to do them. Once you complete the challenge you have to wait till the next day to do another daily challenge. So you want to try the best you can to get the highest score in that day.

Unit 13 does boast 2 player online co-op across the 36 missions that are not the H.V.T. (They're only single player.). Playing Co-op is fun if you can find someone. They do need to work on the matchmaking for it. You can still find someone but it could be better. The Vita has a built in microphone so everybody can talk. It's great for working out strategies. Something about just talking to someone without a headset feels great.

The one major flaw of the game though is the AI. The AI feels all over the place. At one point you can silently take out a guy without any problem next time you do it everybody even the ones on the floor below know about your presence. Sometimes you can shoot a guy to death and the guy next to him just stands there staring off into space. The AI can be good at times to though. They group up and flank you when they know they have an advantage.

While Unit 13 doesn't have a epic campaign to go through or any real competitive multiplayer, it still has plenty to do, great controls, and fun co-op. The environments could use some more variety, AI could use a tune-up, and it could be less repetitive. Unit 13 is still a good game that'll keep you entertained for while.