Because this last generation has largely been about consoles, few gamers know about the thrill and offerings of arcades. Aside from featuring some of the most unique games, arcades also have an atmosphere unlike console gaming.  It’s a fear that even survival horror games can’t reproduce – that of embarrassment. For that reason, some key titles like DJMAX Technika hardly get touched by the uninitiated, which will likely change now with the Vita release of DJMAX Technika Tune.

At any party with video game consoles, the Wii is always everyone’s first choice for proper party games. With games like Mario Party and Super Smash Bros., the system has had a firm hold on both casual and hardcore gamers alike, and both Sony and Microsoft have made countless attempts to catch up. Sony’s latest attempt, Playstation All Stars Battle Royale, is more ambiguous; it aims to take down the most dominant party game, Super Smash Bros, begging the question of whether Sony takes the path of plain mimicry or innovation to dethrone the king.

The beauty of the Silent Hill series over other survivor horror series is its method of instilling fear. While other titles focus on sudden, abrupt monsters popping into view or surprisingly loud noises, it’s the atmosphere and creepy visuals that Silent Hill a nightmare inducing experience. With every Silent Hill game, I know to expect this; sadly, this was not the case with the Vita’s Silent Hill: Book of Memories. Instead, Book of Memories is a mostly compacted version of Silent Hill, where the trademark mood and atmosphere are absent and the horror is left out of survival horror.

It certainly is amazing how much our true nature reveals of itself in the tightest of situations. Under every day, pedestrian conditions, we all bear social masks that hide our true nature and intent behind every action. However, in the most secluded location, where our actions will not and cannot be judged, how would we act? Though we put so much effort into maintaining a public front, under stressful situations, we no longer have the mental stamina to maintain that front and our most embarrassing, malicious, and secret natures are bared for all to see. Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward explores that notion and does a wonderful job of making players question others and themselves, even at the notion of a virtual death or killing a virtual companion.

As part of the series’ 25^th anniversary, Konami has been rereleasing Metal Gear Solid games on just about every platform available today. Some of these opened up the games to both Microsoft and Nintendo faithfuls in the form of Metal Gear Solid HD Collection and Snake Eater 3D.  With HD Collection’s release on the Vita, it certainly doesn’t reach any broader an audience than the series could have before, but it is still a treat to those who are already hooked on Snake and Raiden’s stories.

Mario Kart dominates the niche genre of casual racing games. Sega had their first game in this genre with Sonic & All-Stars Racing, and now Sega is taking their second shot at it with Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed. We were given the opportunity to try out a few levels at E3 and see what this newest installment is all about.

When Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale was initially announced, certain thoughts raced through everyone’s minds. It was about time for Sony to have their own mascot-filled brawler, especially considering the success of Super Smash Bros. to date; what characters would fill the cast; how would Sony deal with the impending lawsuit? However, all of that is under the impression that the game would be an exact clone of Nintendo’s series. With veteran fighting game players like Edward Ma and Daniel “Clockw0rk” Maniago associated with the title, we knew to expect something different.

In recent years, the music rhythm genre has evolved to more than simply following directions on the screen to the beat of music. Patapon was one of the iconic games that showed us how music can be used differently – more as a guide to rather than the featured action. XSEED Games’s new title, Orgarhythm, takes another stab at that concept by placing players in the shoes of a god commanding his troops in battle.

With a large amount of ports and games that are oddly similar to their console counterparts on the Vita, it’s hard to not get jaded with releases and simply write them off as tried experiences that do not deserve a chance at our wallets again. Thankfully, Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention is no such case. With its inclusion of all previously released DLC and perfect transition to the portable format, it makes a worthy addition to the Vita gaming library.

Portable titles, by nature, are expected to be “mini” versions of their console counterparts, but recent years’ releases have definitely changed that, giving us full fledged titles complete with giant rosters and campaigns, such as Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Disgaea 3: Absence of Detention for the Vita. With Ridge Racer, we would have expected the same type of complete racing experience that would enthrall racers for a long time, but sadly, this was not the case.