Dungeon Hunter Alliance

I love the Vita boxes; they're so tiny.

First off, I hope everyone had a good Memorial Day weekend.  Secondly, I've said it before, but I'll say it again, buying an iPod Touch or an iPad and getting a game from the App Store does not make you a gamer.  If, however, one of those games is released onto a console with extra content added in, making it a real game in the eyes of the console world, then it's okay.  Sounds like it's just a sneaky way for me to be a hypocrite, but it's definitely not that.  It's a loophole...trust me.

Dungeon Hunter Alliance was developed for iDevices but was eventually ported to the PSN.  After that it was polished a bit more, with added Vita features, and slapped onto the PS Vita in cartridge form.  The idea of the game is that you're a king that was betrayed and now you're back to life trying to avenge your death and your kingdom.  It's a simple idea, and the story is pretty bland, but we're here more to talk about how the game plays rather than how awful and cliche the story is.



There's a lot of great loot in this game, and the Vita tracks the last "epic" loot you found, which is fun to see.



As soon as you get past the first section of dialogue, you're put right into the action.  Dungeon Hunter is a simple hack-n-slash RPG a la Diablo.  The formula is basic:  Kill enemies to get loot, use loot to kill enemies, and embark on quests to get more loot until the end of time.  There are three classes to choose from, Warrior, Rogue, and Mage, and each has a pretty large skill tree to level through.  There are auras, activated, and passive abilities that help you demolish your enemies.

4-person multi player is interesting to say the least.

There can be some slowdown when there are too many creatures on the screen and for whatever reason the standard melee attacks tend to miss if you aren't standing right in front of your target.  There are multiple equipment sets and multiple skill sets that you can create with an auto-equip function to keep you equipped with the best as you plow through the dungeons.

The Vita updates here are minimal: the touch screen controls your fairy power, the camera, and the menus.  Other than those few additions the only real new content included on this version is the multi player.  I haven't had a chance to experience it for myself as of yet, but from what I understand it flows pretty smoothly.  The main issue is that all four players are stuck on the same screen, which really hampers movement from one area to the next.

For what it's worth, this game is fun.  There are a few issues that occurred in it's transposing from the iDevice to the PS3 and finally to the Vita, but I can overlook those since I love the genre and can enjoy many aspects of it.  The main question is this, "Is it worth the $20 extra on the PS Vita from the $12.99 version on the PS3?"  I don't think that's something I can necessarily answer, having not played the PS3 version, but I think that portability alone is something that you need to pay for, and a portable Diablo-esque game is something that can't be passed up.

PS Store or Xbox Live Marketplace?

In recent months I've been able to experience the PS Store.  Since my main console of choice at the moment is still the Xbox 360, I can't help but compare the two online stores to hopefully come to a decision on which is better.  It also has to be said that the version of the PSN that I'm using happens to be on the Vita, so the features of the network are limited by a mobile version so I won't be comparing the Xbox Live features to the PSN ones, that just won't work with the discrepancies in the versions.  Hence, we'll just talk about the shopping experience.

I think the biggest item on everyone's mind when it comes right down to it is the price of the games.  Full-fledged video games, those released in stores and as a downloadables, are priced the same as what they are in stores.  A brand-new 360 game hits the $60 price range while a PSVita game lands at about $40.  Since both networks seem to price their download games at the same rate, equal to that of a physical copy, neither have an advantage.  However, when we come down to the prices of other games, things change.  Advantage: Neither

On the Vita there's the option to download full PSP games, the prices on these range from $5-30 depending on how recent the release was.  The most common games hit the $10-15 amount.  When we look at how the 360 compares, we see that the original Xbox games that are out there don't get quite as low priced as the PSP games.  Though we're looking at the difference between a console game and a portable game, I still think that the PSN gets the advantage here.  I'd much rather get FFT for $10 than some crappy original Xbox game like Prince of Persia.  Advantage: PSN

PS Store on the Vita.

I want to talk about Apps even though the Xbox 360 is a console and the Vita is a new mobile device.  Essentially I'd just like to compare Netflix, since both systems have that as an option.  Neither really beats the other, Netflix is Netflix, and I'm sure we'd see the same when we compare the two Facebook apps to one another.  Advantage: Neither

Let's now talk about Safety and Security...  The PSN track record is awful, we all know that.  I've had my Xbox Live account hacked into though, while my PSN account is still perfectly fine.  Even though my Live experience has been worse than my PS Store one, I have to give the advantage to the Marketplace here.  Even when I had problems, my issues were resolved successfully with my money being returned within a two week time period.  On top of all of that I got a free month of Xbox Live for the issue.  The PSNs recurring issues and vulnerabilities are just too much.  Advantage: Xbox Live

How the Marketplace is organized is pretty aggravating.  You have to figure out what category the game you want is in; Indie, Arcade, full, etc; and then navigate there to find it.  The PS Store is essentially the same way, so there's really no deviation between the two.  I find that both frustrate me unless I know exactly where I'm going, and browsing is usually out of the question.  Advantage: Neither

Last, but not least, let's talk about content.  What do both of these network stores contain?  Obviously we're looking at games the whole time, but what kind of games?  The PS Store has cross-play, PSP, PSVita and Mini games.  The Marketplace has Arcade and Full.  Now, the PSN may have some more variety, but the Arcade for Xbox Live is a powerhouse for games like The Simpsons and X-Men.  However, both systems have a large amount of Indie games, and I hate Indie games...violently hate them.  So with the Indie games balancing out, I have to give the Marketplace kudos for content; bringing back awesome Arcade titles just can't be beat.  Advantage: Xbox Live


Okay, so I can't come up with a clear winner, but, hey, who cares?  I'll have fun getting demos and games from both of the networks and take advantage of the best of both worlds.  Did you really think there'd be a different outcome?