Media Molecule are renowned for developing the popular LittleBigPlanet games. Now the studio has made an all-new PS Vita exclusive title called Tearaway.
The PS Vita has been lacking in exclusive games lately so it’s nice to see a new game being released for the handheld. If you are familiar with any of the LittleBigPlanet games, chances are is that you’ll fall in love with Tearaway too. Tearaway may not be the same type of game, but it has similar presentation and unique gameplay elements much like the LitttleBigPlanet series.
Players will start off Tearaway taking a picture of themselves. The characters in the game refer to you as “YOU”. Once you’ve taken your picture, your face appears as the game’s sun. It kind of reminded me of the baby’s face that was the sun in the old Teletubbies show…
After you have done that, the game asks if you want to play as a boy or a girl. The boy’s name is Iota while the girl’s name is Atoi. It doesn’t really matter which gender you choose as it’s only the appearance of the character that is different.
The one thing that makes Tearaway stand on its own is that the whole world and all of the characters in it are all made out of paper. Players can use both the front and/or rear touch pads on the PS Vita console to manipulate and alter the environment.
Since paper and be altered in a variety of ways, players will use the touch pads to change the environment so that Iota/Atoi can get past certain obstacles in the game. Most of the time you’ll be using your fingers to fold or open up new areas within the game. There are also times that characters ask you to draw and craft certain objects for them. I remember a squirrel asking me to draw and create a crown for him. Let’s just say I didn’t draw a crown, but he liked my design anyway…
Another great thing about the game is that you can take photos anytime you like. The levels and characters are bright and creative so it’s nice to take pictures throughout the game. You can save these images on your own PS Vita or even upload them online for the community to see.
Tearaway is still a platform game at heart and you will be roaming around the levels mainly jumping, defeating enemies and finding out ways to access new areas. The combat in the game is fairly simple because the “scraps” (the bad guys) are pretty easy to get rid of. I encountered three types of scraps during the preview. The first type is pretty easy because all you need to do is avoid their attack and then pick them up and throw them. The other enemy type has a shield where the player has to step in and squash them with their finger. The third are ones with long legs where Iota/Atoi can roll up into a ball and break their legs.
The game is pretty easy overall because there are no consequences of dying. If I fall off a platform or get defeated in battle, you’ll continue exactly at the point where you left off. This might be a bad thing for gamers looking for a challenge, although I’m not complaining.
Presentation wise, Tearaway retains the quirkiness that can usually be seen in the LittleBigPlanet series. The character usually speak gibberish and the narrator is British. It’s quite humorous at times, but I thought the music was quite weird. It’s not the type of music that you would like listening to on your MP3 player that’s for sure.
All in all, Tearaway is shaping up (literally) to be a fun title for the PS Vita. The paper-like world brings a whole new dimension to playing video games. Not to mention it still has that signature charm that Media Molecule is famous for. Tearaway will be released exclusively for the PS Vita on November 22nd
