Unit 13 – single player review

2012-03-13-135231

 

just quickly

play the demo, and if you’d like what you see and want to repeat it for 45 (or infinite if you count daily challenges and multi coop) missions, BUY. Justifying this buy is not easy IF there are already a lot of choices. But this being the pioneer in terms of 3rd person shooters and setting a number of really good standards even when the game was a seemingly rushed job, it’s definitely worth a look. In places, the game is a wasted opportunity and yet there are a good number of perfect implementations that gamers just should not miss. At least, we can be sure the sequel will have a number of big improvements.

 

Unit 13 on Amazon, New. $38.96

Unit 13 on Amazon, Used. $34

 

2012-03-13-135301

 

2012-03-13-135218

Summary

“Jump into the action with Unit 13 and conquer 45 tactical missions as you help take down global terror networks and prove your place in the military elite. With the precision of the Vita’s dual analog sticks, unique touch interface, Wifi connectivity for fast action and 2-player co-op, and 3G compatibility for instant social updates and daily challenges, Unit 13 promises to be the perfect on-the-go action shooter.”

2012-03-13-135309

 

2012-03-13-135343

 

goods

  • makes perfect use of the touch screen to compensate for the limitation of the physical face buttons. i.e. contextual buttons appear next to the D-pad and the facebuttons in comfortable reach of both thumbs; bottom corners occupied by grenades and reload
  • dual analog stick aiming and moving!
  • has everything a 3rd person shooter is supposed to have- switch shoulder view, melee, trigger button controls, sticky walls and pop out shots, autoaim, regenerating health and so on
  • sets a certain standards as the first shooter on the Vita
  • graphics are pleasant
  • small bite-sized missions
  • daily challenge received from the internet
  • fair replay value as you can go back and increase your end mission ratings; multiplayer coop
  • especially considering multiplayer mode
  • kill combos/streaks
  • some stealth action is always fun
  • easy to get into

 

2012-03-10-173239

 

2012-03-10-173507

 

bads

  • story…what story?
  • missions may eventually become repetitive
  • cover system is a bit iffy at times- character could stay stuck a microsecond longer, or coming unstuck at inopportune moments etc
  • the AI enemies are a bit deaf to footsteps; but have super eyesight
  • AI enemies are also dumb as you can kill a large group just by camping at a doorway when they enter one by one to investigate
  • environments are not particularly varied
  • no multiplayer deathmatch (DLC add-on?)
  • replay value will rely mostly on retrying missions repeatedly to raise the star ratings
  • somewhat unforgiving- one hit kills anyone? also not fair especially the cover system could potentially be the cause of your death

 

2012-03-13-135408

 

2012-03-13-141028

 

just quickly

play the demo, and if you’d like what you see and want to repeat it for 45 (or infinite if you count daily challenges and multi coop) missions, BUY. Justifying this buy is not easy IF there are already a lot of choices. But this being the pioneer in terms of 3rd person shooters and setting a number of really good standards even when the game was a seemingly rushed job, it’s definitely worth a look. In places, the game is a wasted opportunity and yet there are a good number of perfect implementations that gamers just should not miss. At least, we can be sure the sequel will have a number of big improvements.

Unit 13 on Amazon, New. $38.96

Unit 13 on Amazon, Used. $34

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