Quirky takes on old sci-fi tropes are the theme this week, with the too-often neglected Wii U and Vita platforms getting some love. Nintendo’s home console is home to the exclusive platformer Affordable Space Adventures, which turns the Wii U touchscreen into the controls of a sad little ship that’s lost in space. Dungeon-crawler devotees will be all over the Vita’s Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy, which lets you guide a group of teenagers through trials against mutated monsters. And there’s also some comfort food — also for the Vita — in Tetris Ultimate.
Reviews by Phil Villarreal. Phil is an author, blogger and Twitterer. Publishers provided review copies.
Affordable Space Adventures
(Wii U, $20, Everyone)
Buy Affordable Space Adventures on Amazon
A sleeper downloadable gem for the Wii U, Affordable Space Adventures entered orbit from out of nowhere to become one of the strongest options on Nintendo’s struggling console. Turning the GamePad into the control panel of an underpowered tin can of a spaceship, the platformer finds you stranded on a distant planet, striving to survive against rough odds. One of too few games to take advantage of the strange but unique controller, Affordable Space Adventures manages the difficult trick of making the potentially mundane task of flying a spacecraft feel like a thrill. You toggle between various settings as you maneuver your craft through low-gravity environments plagued with enemy attacks and precarious traps.
Cooperative multiplayer allows you to team up with one or two other players to take on the challenge. While not necessarily making the task easier, it’s a heck of a lot of fun to share in the breathless escapade with buddies. The game is still a blast on your own. Filled with sights and sounds that would seem right at home in a 1950s TV sci-fi show or comic book, the game is filled with geeky references and a wistful sense of humor. The price tag is steep for a download, but the sense of wonder and discovery, combined with a staggering amount of replayability, make it worth the cost.
Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy
(Vita, $40, Mature)
Buy Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy on Amazon
A teenage power fantasy in the mold of the Persona series, Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy puts you in charge of a squadron of elite high schoolers who take on a futuristic Tokyo plagued by genetically enhanced mutants. It’s on you to investigate the origins of the outbreak, keep the city safe and stay alive in the face of constant attacks. With a deep and involved story that’s worthy of a TV series, the adventure is largely a dungeon crawler that keeps you scrambling for items and upgrades to stay a step ahead of the increasingly tough monsters. The dialogue shifts back and forth from bland pap to compelling character studies, with the good outweighing the bad enough to keep you from skipping exposition scenes.
A dense and difficult game, Operation Abyss is not for those who lack experience or patience. For those willing to dig in, the game can grow into an enthralling obsession. On-the-go friendly, quick-hitting mission structure makes it ideal for quick hits on the morning commute or when stuck in waiting rooms. There’s not much imagination to the combat, but it slips into a comforting rhythm that feels rewarding to master. The story doubles back on itself to the point of becoming a hyperextended drag, but is peppered with invigorating moments that make it worth suffering through the fluff.
Tetris Ultimate
(Vita, $30, Everyone)
If you’ve been around gaming for more than a decade, you doubtlessly own Tetris in more forms than you have enough time and interest to play. The groundbreaking and enduring falling-blocks puzzle game has undergone countless rereleases and tweaks, but has remained the same at its core. Since it’s available for free on mobile platforms and isn’t all that much better with stick and button controls, there’s little reason to spend even a dollar, much less $30 on a new version.
That said, if you own a Vita and like going up against your group of PSN friends and hunting down trophies while lumping tetriminos into satisfying stacks, you can’t do any better than Tetris Ultimate. Loaded up with nine modes, including inventive takes on the old formula such as Landslide (in which garbage pieces hike up your difficulty) and Haunted (rendering some pieces invisible), make for a whole lot of Tetris to obsess over. Made for a small subset of gamers who would geek out over that sort of thing, Tetris Ultimate is either very right or very wrong for you.
