Two new games bring life to Sony’s Playstation Vita

Sony’s new portable powerhouse hasn’t exactly been selling like hotcakes. The reason is as old as gaming itself — there aren’t that many cool and exclusive titles. Don’t worry, Vita fans. This is about to change in a big way. The games the system was made for are coming. Look! Here’s two now:

‘Resistance: Burning Skies’
Console: Vita
Company: Sony
Grade: 4/5
Because of the dual analog sticks, Vita is the first portable system in history to be able to accurately recreate the “feel” of console-based first-person shooters. Aim with one stick and move with the other. “Resistance” is the first big FPS franchise to take advantage of the control scheme, and it’s a doozy.
It’s all here. The single-player campaign, online multiplayer and room for downloadable content. Everything looks and plays great. It’s almost the “Resistance” you know, complete with bloodthirsty aliens and that great 1950s aesthetic. The only problem? The single-player campaign is pretty short. Oh well, just blow up some random bozos online.

‘Gravity Rush’
Console: Vita
Company: Sony
Grade: 4/5
One thing Nintendo does well with its portables is create games that can only possibly be played on its systems. Up until now, Vita has sorely lacked in that department. “Gravity Rush” was made from the ground up to take advantage of the system’s strengths. At its heart, “Rush” is an open-world sandbox game sort of like “Grand Theft Auto.” What it lacks in hooker killing, though, it makes up for with a fantastic new game mechanic. You get around by controlling gravity. Combat can be a pain to master, but everything else controls like butter. Newton is gonna be pissed.