Final Verdict - Definitely Worth Playing
Ahh yes; the PSVITA a handheld device with such promise but a lackluster gaming library to back it up on launch to offset the high price. You truly were ahead of your time. Fast forward to current day an granted it has not been an easy road for the successor to the PSP family things are certainly looking better. With the release of the PS4 and the PSVITA TV device things are certainly looking bright for the device. PS4 games are being coded to work on the VITA so you can take your gaming anywhere and everywhere you please not to mention the expanded functionality of the PSVITA TV. There are certain games that take full advantage of the PSVITA and all its capabilities; Persona 4 Golden, Tearaway, Gravity Rush, etc. This is undoubtedly a no-brainer, say hello to Soul Sacrifice...
Soul Sacrifice is an action adventure video game developed by Marvelous AQL and Japan Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation Vita. The core mechanic of the game is the ability to sacrifice parts of the character's body or items to create devastating attacks. These sacrifices will be permanently marked on the player character's body, meaning that they are not an infinite resource that can be tapped into. The concept was created by long time gaming legend Keiji Inafune, best known for co-designing Mega Man. Due its success a sequel for the PlayStation Vita, titled Soul Sacrifice Delta, was announced during TGS 2013, and is due for a March 2014 release. Soul Sacrifice is played in the third-person perspective. The player character is a sorcerer who relives another sorcerer's memories through a journal. The character can be customized in variety of ways and is molded by various factor throughout the game to achieve a final form based on the characters sacrificial alignment.
What’s Good:
Replay value: The game has immense content available to keep you occupied for hours on end: various outfits and alternate colors to unlock, wide array of spells available with upgradeable levels, not to mention all the DLC missions available for the game. Currently free of charge I may add as well since the game is currently being offered to PlayStation Plus users for free. Now if that wasn't enough you can also choose to play through the game all over again to unlock the various alternate sacrificial offerings as well as costume colors.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack is very immersive and provides an ominous undertone to help sell the image of the world you find yourself in. The voice acting in both English and Japanese is superb and very well executed. So well to the point that the Japanese voice overs are available as DLC for purchase on the PSN Store.
Graphics: Definitely one of the better looking games on the PSVITA, it makes the most of the PSVITA's OLED screen. All the fancy theatrics and spell manifestations are really well represented on the PSVITA.
Story-line: The main protagonist of Soul Sacrifice is one of the innocent bystanders that has been enslaved by a powerful and cruel sorcerer known as Magusar, who absorbs human sacrifices to remain immortal.
Game Mechanics: The character can be customized in various options and can change throughout the game. Central to the combat system is the saving and sacrificing mechanics. When an enemy or ally is defeated, they collapse to the ground and you are given the choice to either save or sacrifice them. Players are also given the option to sacrifice a part of their own body when they receive enough damage. When a player chooses to sacrifice a part of themselves, they cast a powerful spell, known as black rites, which differs depending on what part of the body is being sacrificed but also suffer a semi-permanent status effect.
What’s Bad:
Game Mechanics: The computer controlled A.I. on missions where you have party members isn't always the smartest. They will blindly run into hostile situations and get them selves killed and repeatedly cast healing spells even though you need them to be attacking more often than not. Due to the need to grind and farm both levels and materials for spells the maps and enemies become repetitive so some variety in that regard was needed.
What Should Have Been Added:
Maybe a store where you can buy certain hard to find spells or soul essences would have been a good idea. I would have also liked if all missions were available for co-op through the online mode and not just the Avalon pact missions.
Final Thoughts:
Truly a must own title for my handheld of choice. This is definitely a system seller and I am eagerly awaiting the sequel release in March. Soul Sacrifice isn't the be-all, end-all Vita game many hoped for, but its definitely worth having in your gaming library. I hope one day this series will get to shine as a full fledged console game as well and not just a handheld exclusive because I know it can really benefit from next generation graphics. I been so engrossed in playing this game I wasn't able to record some proper game-play myself but I found this video of the demo so you can have a general idea of what awesomeness awaits
