Publisher: Just Add Water
Developer: Just Add Water
Medium: Digital
Players: 1
Online: Yes
ESRB: E
I feel kind of sorry for Gravity Crash Ultra. Itโs got a name reminiscent of one of one of the Vitaโs highest profile titles. Its gameplay isnโt that far off from Pixeljunk Shooter or Velocity 2X. Itโs come out around the same time as Velocity 2X, which, indie game or not, is getting quite a bit of attention and publicity (for very good reason, of course).
Is it better or more deserving of attention than any of those games? Wellโฆno, not really. But those are all among the very best games the PS Vita has to offer; saying that Gravity Crash Ultra doesnโt measure up to them doesnโt tell you a whole lot, since the vast majority of games on the system donโt either.
Indeed, even if this isnโt one of the best titles on Sonyโs handheld, itโs not that far off from that level, either. Itโs a well-made, stylish space shooter, and thereโs ample reason to pick it up.
First and foremost among these is the simple fact that it plays really well. This shouldnโt come as a huge surprise, of course; the gameโs predecessor, the PSPโs Gravity Crash Portable, was widely praised, with the main knock against it being that it lacked the โtwin-stickโ part of โtwin-stick shooterโ. Thatโs obviously not a problem here, and you can see the improvement, as navigating around tight corners and small spaces is significantly easier.
The gameplay is also enhanced by some very pretty graphics. While the neon palette may not do much to differentiate it from, say, Velocity, it still looks gorgeous. Absent the rumbling feedback you get on a console, there are few better ways I can think of to vanquish your enemies than to see them explode in a cloud of neon stardust. It just looks undeniably cool.
The gameโs not without its drawbacks, of course. It isnโt the kind of game that you can sit around and play for hours on end, unless you have an appetite for some highly repetitive gameplay. Alsoโฆummโฆ
Actually, thatโs it. Thatโs the downside to the game: Gravity Crash Ultra is designed for short, quick play sessions, which, all things considered, isnโt exactly a bad thing. Itโs a handheld game, and sometimes you just want to whip your Vita out during a short commute or between classes. For those times, this will do perfectly.