Reality Fighters
Novarama | Sony Computer Entertainment
I first heard of Reality Fighter at last years Gold Coast EB Games Expo, and from the beginning I won’t deny I was excited about it. It sets out to be your ordinary fighting game but makes use of augmented reality mechanics and the ability to make a character based on your facial features. While they haven’t gone and reinvented the wheel in terms of gameplay mechanics, the idea they had was solid and I think given this was one of the cheaper launch titles for the PS Vita, it did what it set out to do. But while there are some really inventive elements to this game, there are also other elements which ended up not living up to expectations that kept it from being a great game more than a novelty title.
I actually enjoyed being able to make my own personalized fighter and think it is something that is straight-forward to do, and offers enough customization for individuals, friends and families alike to enjoy. The game is not about making your custom fighters “normal” but instead among their range of normal outfits you can use on your new custom character, they offer many zanier options for you to make your character distinct – from a simple chicken outfit to a mankini – or any combination of these you wish. Despite this range of customization and decent character creation tools, it will be very hard to actually bring a character that looks almost exactly like yourself in the game due to hair styles and such more suiting the design of the game rather than for realism and the camera is very temperamental to light changes in the room among other factors. They do however add a few other fun tweaks into the mix – such as the ability to record a few select character voices to use during battle and the ability to select one of a number of battle styles (So yes, you can battle your younger sibling using ballet moves while he or she pummels you with kung-fu moves). If you haven’t noticed already – from the character customization alone… this game is more about providing a comical experience than one you might expect in one of the more mainstream fighters.
The games battle system itself doesn’t really set itself from the pack – allowing you to take part in fights against either a CPU player or against another player. It is a very casual style of game that might not appeal so much for the hardcore fighting game players but instead focuses more-so on showcasing the capabilities of the Playstation Vita. But first a quick word on the games Story mode…. it is simply a set of battles that shouldnt take up much time to go through and some occasionally witty dialogue from instructor Mr. Miyagi – but otherwise nothing impressive. While the game provides you with few stages, you are expected to create on the go through either AR Cards or an AR Card-less method (Even in Story Mode) – both of which have particular pros and cons, with AR Cards being my personal suggestion. The cardless method works good when you want to make your characters appear gigantic or want your characters to fight in a far-away area but runs the risk of having your characters Jitter all across the screen unlike the AR Card method which restricts you to a particular area. You can also save your favourite stages for on-the-go play, however this in itself is a task I have not been able to successfully complete due to the automated photography to design them overlapping images taken.
Depending on the amount of effort you put into this game, you might be able to come up with some really great stages to be able to play on, however the technology implemented in games consoles still don’t seem to have the capacity to bring a proper augmented reality experience with or without the cards. However, the game is designed nicely and the limited music track suits the theme of the game but it is a good novelty game that showcases what the Vita is capable of in terms of augmented reality in its early days and I won’t deny it wasn’t enjoyable if not even for a few hours.
Final Score
Storyline/Character Development: E+
Design: B-
Music/Voice Acting: C
Gameplay: C+
Replayability: B-
Personal Opinion: C
Overall Score: C
