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.

Dragon Age

I was wrapped up in Dragon Age back when the first game came out.  I was later dazzled by the expansion and the release of the second game.  If you don't know, Dragon Age is an EA/BioWare release that came out around the same time as Mass Effect, and both games are similar in their game play.

The idea is that you're recruited by a member of the organization known as the Grey Wardens, the protectors of the land against the Darkspawn.  Once you're initiated you enter right into the ongoing war.  Between fending off the Darkspawn and saving your land from a devastating civil war, your character is kept busy with his duties as a Warden.

There are three base classes to choose from, Warrior, Rogue, and Mage.  All three have a great number of skills and abilities to choose from, and the array of characters that you get allows you to put together a dream team party and swap out when you need to.  I don't want to get too in-depth with the rest of the game, I'm more concerned with talking about the game play. 

The way the game plays is akin to the old PC game Baldur's Gate, or even Myth.  You take control of all four characters in your party at the same time and give them all unique orders to defeat your enemies.  It's a combination of real-time strategy and role-playing game play that really lets you think about your fights before you act.  It's a really addictive way to play an RPG.

Why am I bringing this up when none of these games are new or really that exciting right now?  Baldur's Gate is being released for the iPad.  I'm trying to patiently await the game, but I think that I'm going to need a refresher from the PC version before I get to that point.  Summer 2012 may seem like just a short leap from today, but if you're a fan of Baldur's Gate, I know you're itching just as much as me to get to this new helping of strategy, tactical-RPG fun.