This won’t be a typical review as this game has been around a bit.

This game has been on all the consoles – some of them multiple times. Now, it hits the Vita!

First off, if you have played any of the console versions – you know the action is fast paced and the graphics are stellar.

The PS Vita version is no different. While it is light on game modes (as were the console versions) – it more than makes up for that with a robust online mode and silky smooth game play.

It’s easy to pull off the same combos you use in the other versions, and Capcom added a “touch” mode. It’s a bit of a gimmick as all you do is swipe to move your character and then tap the enemy. When using the touch mode, it’s easy to pull off multi-hit combos and to juggle your opponent but it really takes the fun out of the game. Traditional controls are still king here.

Everything is here, all the characters and new moves. This is the must have launch title if you are into fighting games.

First off, this game is horrible.

What sounds like a good concept is terribly executed. The basic premise is that you are part of a security team around the events of Resident Evil 2 and 3. It’s your team’s job to infiltrate the Umbrella Corporation and contain the zombie outbreak in Raccoon City.

So, cool story set in a universe that we love, right? WRONG.

From the opening cut scene, everything about this game is awful.

First off the AI team members – not only are they just in the way, they run into empty rooms you just cleared, stay in your line of fire, and do just about everything they’re not supposed to do.

They’re constantly running into mines and dying – there is no incentive to revive them.

For a team based shooter, this is absolutely unacceptable.

The enemy AI is even worse. From enemies that run in front of you waving their hands, then running away to idiot zombies that just stand there waiting to be shot.

What about the game play? Well that sucks too. Aiming is unbearably spotty and you’re always running out of ammo. You will die many times walking around looking for ammo, or a gun laying on the floor. As a last resort, you can just about hack and slash your way through the game.

Want to know the most hated thing in this game? Auto-cover. For some stupid reason, they implemented an auto-cover system whereby any wall or object you get close to – you “stick” to it. Now it seems like a good idea but its so annoying to be running to grab health or ammo only to stick to a wall or a crate. Stupid idea.

So not only does the game play badly. The graphics and sound are atrocious as well.

This game was so bad, I didn’t even check out any of the online features.

This isn’t Resident Evil.

Unit 13 is a 3rd person shooter from developer, Zipper Interactive. You may remember them as the team behind SOCOM: Navy Seals on the Playstation 2, and their more recent offering MAG.

Lately, Zipper has struggled to find it’s niche in the gaming world as MAG and even SOCOM 4 have failed to live up to expectations.

While Unit 13 is fun, it’s not a title that you must have.

In the game, there’s not really a story to follow. You are given a set of missions to complete – either by yourself or via an online co-op mode.

If you’re a fan of shooters like BF3 or Call of Duty, then you will feel right at home here. Controls are slick with melee, switching weapons, and aim down the sight with quick button presses. Everything here seems completely natural – even the integration of the touch screen features.

There are pretty much 2 mission types: Stealth and kill everything that moves. There is variety in the characters you can choose. Each has a different load out of weapons and bonuses. The game will recommend a character to use but you can always select a different one. Each character can be leveled up to unlock different perks.

Online co-op is fun and that’s where you can get really high scores. Each mission contains a leader board – global, friends, and people near you. And trust me, there is much trash talking. Better ranks = more points.

At the end of every mission, you’re ranked on a 5 star scale. Your total stars from the missions unlock High Value Targets , which are special missions where the enemies are tougher and there are no checkpoints. If that wasn’t enough, there are daily challenges where you are given one shot at completing a mission or task.e

The Bad

OK, with so much to like about this game, let’s talk about the bad.

For starters, sticking and getting to cover can be an absolute nightmare. The controls for that feel stiff and janky at times. For a portable shooter that feels so much like a console experience – one would expect this to be a non-issue.

Next, the AI. Oh my gosh! For example – in one mission you might be able to stealthily take out a guy, but in the next identical attempt, you get discovered. Other times, you may take out an enemy standing right next to another guy – and he doesn’t even react, but someone else on the other side of the map “hears” the silenced shot and comes running.

There are instances where the enemies look like actors just standing there waiting for their cue. They only start to patrol when you enter the map. It’s quite comical.

Lastly, enemies seem to just re-spawn every where once alerted. Since your health does not regenerate, you end up trying to complete the same mission over and over and over…

The Verdict

While Zipper and Unit 13 provide a console shooter experience on a new portable platform – the visuals aren’t very flashy and sometimes it isn’t as smooth as you would like it to be. The AI needs some major tweaking and it would be nice to have some sort of a story.

If you’re a shooter nut, then you will have plenty to like here, even with the frustrations in the game.

Your success will come from failing and constantly replaying levels – and that takes a lot of the fun out of it.

Source: Engadget

What’s in a name? Or, more importantly, what’s in a digit? Would that which we call an iPad by any number less than 2 be less sweet? That’s the question Apple posed for us indirectly when it unveiled the new iPad and relegated its future slates (and, presumably, phones) to a numeral-free future. And that new slate? It’s much the same as the old one, with a slightly more chipper processor at its (quad) core and support for both Verizon and AT&T’s fancy new LTE networks.

But there’s one bigger change here, one that will ripple across the industry as each manufacturer struggles to keep up in this ever-accelerating market. That feature is the iPad’s new 2048 x 1536 Retina display. It’s the best display ever featured on a tablet, probably the best display ever on a mobile device, but is that enough to keep this tablet ahead of the pack? Believe it or not, the answer is yes.

Ever held an iPad 2? If so, suffice to say this new iPad is a wee bit thicker and a teensy bit heavier. You now have our full blessing to skip down to the display section below, which is what you’re probably truly interested in reading about.

If you didn’t know any better you’d think it were completely solid.

For those looking for the full-on review effect, the new iPad is still a slinky thing. Sure, its 9.4mm thickness won’t win it any awards (especially since that’s .6mm thicker than the iPad 2), nor will its 652g (1.4-pound) heft (51g / .11 pounds more than before), but it feels neither big nor heavy. It instead feels substantial. Dense. It’s carved from a hunk of aluminum and there’s a cavity in there where the (now bigger) battery and other internals reside, but if you didn’t know any better you’d think it were completely solid.

There’s none of the flex or the give found in cheaper slates. That solidity certainly helps explain the premium feel, but buyers will have to decide whether that feel is worth the extra space in their messenger bags, or the extra strain placed on shoulder straps.

The chassis is hewn from the same matte aluminum as most of Apple’s other devices, with a gentle curve on the edges tapering down to a flat back punctuated by a glossy black Apple logo. The shape of that taper is slightly different than before, a bit more rounded on account of that extra girth, but you’ll be hard-pressed to notice without a side-by-side comparison.

Looking at the back you’ll still find the speaker in its same lower-left position, still a rather unfortunate placement. Most of the sound is therefore directed away from where you want it, namely in your ears, and we can’t say as we noticed any improvement in the overall aural quality compared to this tablet’s predecessor. Next to that is the dock port, still the full-sized 40-pin variety and not the slinky, next-gen connector that we’ve been hearing is in the works, so your accessories live on for at least one more generation of tablets.

Move up to the side and you’ll find the same volume rocker and mute / rotation lock as before, situated in the same place, too. Kitty-corner to that is the wide and flat power button, separated from the 3.5mm headphone jack over on the other side by the same expanse of black plastic seen on the iPad 2, making room in the metal chassis for the antennas to do their thing. WiFi-only models get by without this polycarbonate indiscretion.

Swing around to the other top corner and you’ll find the door behind which rests the SIM. LTE does need a SIM, even on Verizon, and there are new iPad versions supporting LTE on both AT&T and Verizon. (Rogers, Bell and Telus in Canada, too, though Telstra LTE in Australia is sadly not compatible.) There are different devices here, one for AT&T and another for Verizon, but either offer comprehensive non-LTE wireless connectivity options, including MTS / HSPA / HSPA+ / DC-HSDPA (850, 900, 1900, 2100 MHz) and GSM / EDGE (850, 900, 1800, 1900 MHz). That means even if you aren’t in LTE-land you can expect up to 42Mbps download speeds, which is much faster than the iPad 2.

The WiFi-only models naturally lose all that, but all varieties offer 802.11a/b/g/n connectivity along with Bluetooth 4.0. Even the WiFi-only model can make use of the new voice dictation feature here, which adds a microphone button down next to the keyboard. In our testing it’s impressively accurate, capturing even odd words like “Schenectady” without pause. It only works when you have an active network connection and, sadly, its no Siri, which is still not available. The new iPad will not find you directions to body hiding spots nor tell you the weather.

The one final detail on the back is the slightly enlarged portal behind which the new five megapixel camera assembly peers through. It’s rimmed by a bit of polished metal as on the iPad 2, so things don’t look noticeably different from the outside, but as ever it’s what’s on the inside that counts — and indeed you’ll have to look a little deeper in this review to see how that new sensor.

The biggest change of all, however, is right there on the front, though tragically for those who like to make appearances the black (or white) glass facade looks exactly the same as it did before. Turn it on, though, and everything changes.

If you’re disappointed Apple didn’t do more with the new iPad, that’s probably because you haven’t seen the new Retina display for yourself yet. Take more than a passing glance and you’ll be a believer. Of course, a cynic would say that it’s really Samsung who’s been doing all the hard work here, as this is (for now, at least) a panel sourced from that company, which should be a strong indicator that Apple’s strongest competition on the Android side won’t be far behind in launching its own high-res wunderslate.

The biggest talking point is, of course, the truly bonkers resolution. 2048 x 1536 means four times the pixels of the previous iPads and, indeed, a full million more than your average 1080p TV. On the 9.7-inch display this works out to a pixel density of 264ppi. That’s considerably lower than the 326ppi the iPhone 4S manages and, indeed, below the magic 300ppi barrier Apple had earlier specified for the “Retina” moniker. But, as you’re expected to hold the new iPad further from your face than your phone, the perceived pixel density is said to be comparable.