Features

With the release of Sony's PlayStation Vita less than a month away, we're taking a sneak peek at some of the biggest and best games that are lined up for launch. We've never seen a better choice of games for a handheld launch, so choose carefully - or just treat yourself to all of them - when you come in to collect your shiny new Vita!

Uncharted: Golden Abyss

You can't get a much bigger headline act for your new console than the next outing for everybody's favourite adventurer Nathan Drake. Golden Abyss is an epic journey for our wry hero and it even manages to give the PlayStation 3 a run for its money in the looks department. There's of course a lost city to be investigated and - with the long-overdue inclusion of two analog sticks on the Vita - gaming on the move has never felt so much like playing at home.

ModNation Racers: Road Trip

Frantic lap-time competition hits the Vita with ModNation Racers, a game that features some of the most fun and furious racing around. What really makes this game special though is the community's devilish creations, all of which are available to download and share with your friends. If you like to let your creativity shine, this is a game that offers much much more than just a quick race around the block.

Everybody's Golf

As one of the most popular gaming series on the PSP, another outing for Everybody's Golf was a no-brainer on Sony's part. It's already leading the sales charts in Japan and is a must-buy for those who like their sports games to lean more on the side of good arcadey fun than serious simulation. Don't expect a walk in the park though - the game may not aim for realism, but it still offers up acres of challenging gameplay that will keep you competing for months.

WipEout 2048

The game that sold a million PlayStations and brought gaming into the mainstream is back and looking incredible on the Vita's gorgeous 5 inch screen. As a prequel to the original game, WipEout 2048 looks at the origins of the high-speed anti-gravity racing league and includes ten blisteringly fast original tracks. As well as a beefy game in its own right, the title will also support cross-platform play, allowing Vita and PS3 racers to compete for glory together. This is definitely one to use to show off the horse-power of the Vita to your envious friends.

Unit 13

It's impossible to even think about releasing a console these days without a hopeful shooter franchise leading the charge. Amazingly, we only got our first look at this beautiful third-person military game when it was announced in November last year. The good news is that it's shaping up very nicely indeed. As with Modern Warfare, the game offers a number of scenarios for players to take on, from dispatching terrorists, to intercepting drug traffickers and gunrunners. You'll be spoilt for choice in the role you take too, with options to be the sniper, technician or soldier on the battlefield, to name just a few.

Little Deviants

Little Deviants is very much Sony's answer to the kind of bite-sized portable gaming that's become so popular in recent years. It's also a fantastic showcase for the Vita's extensive features. Plentiful use is made of both the front and rear touchscreens, the Vita's gyroscopic functionality and, yes, even the microphone when you're tasked to make a total fool of yourself in public and sing your way to victory! A real treat for mini-game fans, this will offer up no shortage of chuckles for you and your friends.

Reality Fighters

Now this is where things get really interesting for Sony's latest box of tricks. Using the Vita's fancy technical magic, Reality Fighters lets player really put themselves in the game while fighting opponents on the backdrop of whatever happens to be in front of the Vita's screen. Once you've captured an image of yourself, you can customise your fighter even further by choosing from 16 different fighting styles that range from break-dancing to ballet. Ridiculous, fun, and ever-so-charming, this is one game that never plays the same twice. The action can be scaled up or down too, so players can fight like ants on the pavement, or as 30-foot monsters on the horizon.