This is a stunning game, with possibly too much going on at a time for me to cope with.  I've only completed a few events so far, with slow ships and easy opponents, but I'm finding it tricky to keep on the track without hitting the sides.  It doesn't help that I can't remember which button the airbrake is on; I keep expecting there to be two different triggers, and then my finger waves in mid-air while my ship hits the wall.

I still feel that it's not as good as Wipeout 3 Special Edition, but that's likely nostalgia talking.

On the way home last night, the majority of people got off the train two stops before me.  I saw my chance to progress in Tearaway, so got the Vita out and turned it on; it's great that I can be back in the game within a couple of seconds, something we've taken for granted since the DS and PSP.

I pressed Y to record a sound, called "hello" into the microphone, and nothing happened.  Surely it can't actually recognise a roar?  I pressed Y again and growled into the mic.  Again, nothing.  No matter what i did, the game didn't recognise that I'd made a sound.

I wondered if there was too much background noise.  I waited until I got into the car, and tried again.  No luck.  Nothing I did let me either cancel the request for a sound or record anything.  Searching the Internet today, it seems that there's a bug in the game, which should theoretically be solved by completely turning off the system and then restarting.  I'll try that tonight.

The PS Vita is a portable system - just about, admittedly, since it's bigger than a PSP and won't fit into a normal pocket.  Still, it's got an integrated screen and headphone socket, so it's ideal to play on the train during my commute.  With Tearaway you do look a bit daft from time to time when you start to prod the back of the console and use the touchscreen, but nobody looks at you on the train so that's fine.

People can, however, hear you.  I'm sure I'm not the only person to play Tearaway on the train - in fact, I'm sure some of the developers of the game must get a train from time to time and play their 3DS or Vita on board.  Did nobody at any point in the development process think that it might not be such a great idea to include a bit in the game where you have to shout into your console?


There's no way to skip this and use a default noise, you have to record yourself (and it won't accept just background noise, either).  Needless to say, I'm not going to do that on the train, and as I can hardly do it in the office either I'm not going to be able to play the game on my way home either.

Idiots.

Gosh, it looks zany exciting fun, doesn't it?  The main character's goofy face just screams originality, and the over-complicated colours and textures just go to reinforce this as a game full of vibrancy and enjoyment.  You get to roll your little ball around the courses, avoiding the robots and darting between posts when the electricity stops.  But, in case that doesn't sound amazing enough, you have to do it by manipulating the ground around the ball, pushing it up using the touch panel.  Don't use any method of control which actually puts you in control, instead let's make sure the game is as frustrating to play as possible.

I understand that the "new game" I unlocked is actually something completely different to play, and this is in fact a collection of minigames to show off the capabilities of the Vita.  All it's done is convince me that the back trackpad doesn't work as a control method, and also that I don't really want to play Little Deviants any more.

Tearaway is the game that most made me want a PS Vita, and it's not disappointed.  I loved the idea of LittleBigPlanet but found the execution a bit iffy - and the controls were awfully floaty. I was never going to get into level designing or clever mechanics, either, due to a lack of time.

Tearaway is from the people who made LBP but without the faff, an added dimension, and an even more stylish identity.  Everything's made out of paper - indeed, you can download papercraft templates to make everything in real life - and the many odd control methods on the Vita are used in an intelligent way, only occasionally feeling like they're stuck in for effect.  Poking the back panel pushes up diaphragms or even allows your finger to poke into the world.  The front camera projects your face onto the sun.  The touch screen allows you to directly manipulate parts of the world.  I'm just waiting for the game to require me to shout something.


It's a but of a collectathon in the bad tradition of Rare games, but as soon as you decide that you're not required to find all the presents and photo opportunities and confetti, the journey through the levels is much more fun.  Depending on the length of the game, I may even be back to find more bits.



The levels are nicely varied and there are some clever bits of platforming required.  I've now regained the powers to jump and roll into a ball, and the way in which the levels were constructed before these powers were available was ingenious at times.


I am the "you", and my ugly mug shines down upon the people. Guilt of that alone means I want to carry on and complete this as soon as possible!