Previews

The vast stalk-and-stab 'em up makes a Leap of Faith onto the diminutive PlayStation Vita - but will Assassin's Creed III: Liberation's epic American Revolution setting work on the handheld's small screen? Or just leave you with a mouthful of straw and a sore back?

The Eagle-eyed will spot the main difference immediately - the new main character. Arrivederci our old Italian chum Ezio and bonjour our heroine, Aveline! A woman, yes, a woman - and a French-African-American woman at that! A refreshing change then from the muscle-bound and distinctly white male heroes that usually infest gaming's testosterone-soaked, minority-less (unless they're cannon fodder) landscape.

With her family's past linked to slavery, Aveline has grown up to become a kick-ass assassin, one who is determined to release the iron grip of Spanish forces on her home state of Louisiana one bloody, dismembered finger at a time. What this means for PS Vita owners then is a full-fat third-person AC experience - a sandbox of New Orleans and trees and swamps to leap, kill and run through; a refreshed arsenal of lethal weaponry including machetes, duelling pistols and blowpipes; and a typically overblown plot plus a bayou-load of side missions and Mexican dungeons.

The PS Vita's unique hardware features haven't been forgotten either; pinch to zoom in on the game map, pickpocket folk by slashing your finger across the screen and more. Better still, new core gameplay elements have been introduced; most intriguing are Aveline's 'Personas', three different 'setups' for her character. While some action games offer a choice of preloaded setups such as a 'selection of big guns that kill people' or a 'selection of small guns that kill people' before the player heads out, Aveline's are far more imaginative.

Depending on her mission, she can load up her lethal Assassin Persona (and the notoriety-bating status that comes with it), Slave Persona (not good in combat but can blend in with the unwashed masses) and Lady Persona that sees her mingling with the toffs (discussing tax evasion schemes, we assume) and charming the breeches off guards.

All of which leads us to an inevitable conclusion - that PlayStation Vita can do epic and gorgeous; indeed, Liberation's graphics wouldn't look out of place on a living room console, never mind in the palm of your own hand. Is Assassin's Creed's latest a must-buy then? It doesn't take the threat of a silent blade to the kidneys for us to squeal "YES!".