Little Deviants

UPC: 711719220084

Platform: PlayStation Vita

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc.

Developer: BigBig Studios

Category: Action

Style(s): 3D Action

Synopsis: Little Deviants features a cast of tiny creatures as they roll, jump, and blast their way through a series of time-sensitive challenges designed to showcase the PlayStation Vita's distinctive controls. Players will use the motion sensor to guide their little deviant across mazes, use the cameras to engage in augmented reality shooting, speak into the microphone to issue voice commands, and more. Up to eight players can pass the system around to see who can achieve the highest score. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

Sharing more than a few similarities with Ubisoft's Raving Rabbids -- rambunctious little critters starring in a collection of mini-games -- Sony's Little Deviants is a launch title designed primarily to demonstrate the handheld's varied control schemes. It's quite possible the developers were told specifically not to use the "normal" controls, as none of the included 30 mini-games support the analog sticks or button inputs, even when they would have made perfect sense. As is typical with mini-game collections, the featured activities are on the simplistic side, and you'll wonder if the game would have been better off doing more with less. It's almost absurd how each title offers a different control scheme than the one before, as you'll use the rear touch pad, gyroscope, microphone, cameras, and touch screen to complete objectives. Each mini-game is short, fast, and structured like a coin-op game, where the goal is typically to rack up as many points as possible within the allotted time. In one mini-game, you'll glide your finger across the rear touch pad to transform the landscape in order to roll one of the critters toward an exit -- all while avoiding robots and collecting stars for bonus points. Achieving certain point milestones will earn you a gold, silver or bronze rocket at the end of the game, allowing you to unlock new areas and move up the online leaderboard rankings. So there's at least some incentive to replay each level until you've mastered it. Unlocking all the games is an important part of Little Deviants' appeal, at least early on, but the developers chose to recycle many of the same activities as you progress in order to pad out the game's length. You've also likely experienced these mini-games in slightly different guises. Marble Madness, Whac-A-Mole, and Super Monkey Ball are but a few of the inspirations, and there's even an augmented reality shooting game that makes use of the handheld's cameras in a similar fashion to Face Raiders on the Nintendo 3DS. Little Deviants' biggest problem is that it simply lacks the depth needed to keep you playing for hours instead of minutes. There's no online multiplayer mode for competitive action, for instance, as the games are designed strictly for solo action. If you could care less about trying to earn a gold rocket in each event, then you'll find Little Deviants to be a big disappointment. It's an appetizer when you're expecting an entree. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.