Destructoid

Binary Domain may not be a trailblazer, but it's a damn good follower. Perhaps the best attempt at "Western" shooter gameplay from a Japanese studio, this robot-carving romp keeps up an exhilarating level of fast-paced combat from beginning to end. While the voice commands are a crapshoot, they're fun to play with and the game doesn't rely on them to work, focusing first and foremost on pure mechanical conflict with some gorgeously designed electronic opponents.

Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack isn't particularly unique in terms of core gameplay, making its mark instead by simply doing what it does so well. It feels a little too much like a mobile game to stand out as a must-have title, but if you want an example of PS Vita controls done correctly, you won't find a better example than this. It doesn't hurt that you'll get some challenging -- if sometimes frustrating -- physics-based puzzles to boot.

Asphalt Injection is a solid, if unimpressive, racer that provides swift, hassle-free portable action. However, I can't recommend it as a full-priced retail product, because it absolutely doesn't feel like one. With a simplistic no-frills approach to racing, and graphics that could easily be rendered on a PSP, Injection barely feels like a step above its iOS and Android prequels, so it feels like yet another attempted swindle from Gameloft and Ubisoft.

The game desperately wants to be counted among those early titles that show off the Vita's extra features, but Omega Force simply isn't good enough at exploiting them. Mandatory touchscreen duels and vapid tracing minigames aren't what people play Dynasty Warriors for, and their presence in NEXT will only exasperate.

Compared to some of the games that it has decided to price itself against, Dungeon Hunter: Alliance looks absolutely pitiful. Sitting this next to Uncharted, Army Corps of Hell or even Ubisoft's own Lumines, exposes Alliance for the cheap, nasty, outdated and outclassed little con job that it is. Expensive at a quarter of the price, this embarrassing waste of space has no business pretending to be a full retail game, and doesn't deserve to be on the PlayStation Vita.

It's not so much a game as it is a collection of concepts, roughly thrown into the same box and jumbled around in the vain hope that something good would come out at the end. Unfortunately, no one element is ever given enough time to shine, and for all its attempts to be something special and unique, Asura's Wrath is nothing but a disappointing selection of inconclusive ideas.

By all means, go out and enjoy Syndicate. You more than likely shall, because it will provide a solid dose of transient entertainment. It is a game you will never need to play, but you won't feel like you wasted your life if you do. It's a videogame about guns that pretends to be something deeper while striving for nothing more. If you keep that in mind, and you're happy to play along, you'll get what you paid for.

Even having played this game many times, Team Ninja's work on it still stands up nicely. Say what you will about the camera or the silly story, but the combat in Sigma Plus is unmatched. There's a fantastic action game under all of the name changes and feature additions that have been tacked on over the years. Aside from the non-optional rear-tap Ninpo addition, the new Vita features aren't even worth messing with.

All things considered, Shinobido 2 is still fun, and would make a worthwhile purchase once the launch period is over and gamers find themselves in need of some solid action during quiet release periods. It is by no means a must-have launch title, and does nothing to showcase the Vita's potential, but despite how lazy and pointless it is, its ability to provide cheap laughs and easily gratifying stealth missions can't be denied.

If anything, my main gripe with American Nightmare is that it shows Remedy can take the Alan Wake series to places that could blow us away if someone would just give them the resources to create another full retail title, yet we are only allowed glimpses of various mechanics and experiments in their downloadable titles to date. If that makes you think it's not worth playing, think again. Alan Wake's American Nightmare is a worthwhile expansion to the novelist's saga and one that you'll come back to time and time again, quite literally until the break of dawn.