Publisher: SCEA

Developer: SCEI

Release Date: 6/12/2012

Available Exclusively On

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Gravity Rush was one of the most exciting games I saw for the Vita’s launch lineup. It never made the launch but was delayed by a few months, and now I am very disappointed in the game. When you play the game, it feels very magical at first. Flying through the air, beautifully rendered graphics with a great art style, an interesting story, and well-made comic-style cut scenes, but once you play more, all this wears off and you just want to hurl your Vita at a wall.

That’s not to say the game isn’t worth playing, but this isn’t worth a purchase at $40 either. There are two major elements to the game, and each of them is frustrating and has serious flaws. Throughout the whole game, you get around by flying through the air. You press R to float, then aim where you want and press it again to head in that direction. It seems simple enough, right? Well, your gravity gauge will drive you nuts with it always running low. You have to land to let it refill (which is pretty quick), but the controls just take a turn for the worse during combat.

You fight Nevi, who are some sort of evil source of power. They are black blobs that have a red orb that you must destroy to kill them. You can fight on the ground with just one kick move (boring) or use your gravity kick, which I stuck to through the whole game. Fighting on the ground is slow and just isn’t any fun. Even with the gravity kick, there are issues because there is no lock-on button. This game desperately needs it. There’s a soft lock when you gravity kick, but if the Nevi moves away from you, just keep going forever until you stop. On top of that, the camera is nauseating because if Kat is upside down, so will the camera; if she is sideways, the camera follows. The whole time, the camera is flipping around in all different ways, and you lose track of your targets. There are some power attacks you can use, and they are very handy during boss fights, but the Nevi are just boring enemies to fight. I felt the camera and controls were my enemies in this game.

You can upgrade everything with gems you find floating everywhere. You can also play challenge missions, which are marred by the camera and controls. They were extremely difficult, and if I’m tired of the combat I have to do in the story, why would I want to do extra? At least the story has mission variety, like being able to use a stasis field and fly people or objects around; don’t even bother using this during combat because you will just frustrate yourself more. After you finish the 21-mission story, there’s nothing to really do except the challenge missions, but I was tired of this game before it was halfway over. There aren’t even any voiceovers (kind of), which was a disappointment.

The game looks great, with some great lighting effects and surprisingly good-looking textures and character models. I have no complaints there. I just wish there was more to do in this great, big world. If it weren’t for the awkward controls, vomit-inducing camera, and more content, this game would be a bit better. This game is a good weekend rental, but nothing really more.