Invizimals: The Resistance - PS Vita, Review

Aiming a game at just the right target market can be tricky, but a title like Invizimals: The Resistance makes use of the right platform (in the form of the PlayStation Vita) and a steadily growing pedigree to ensure that younger gamers will be nagging their parents for it until they (either party) are blue in the face. And then they seal the deal by delivering a game that is pretty much identical to everything that came before, but with enough tweaks and freshness to remain enjoyable.

The plot such as there is is largely told by way of high quality live action cut scenes, and the legendary Brian Blessed reprises his utterly hammed up role as Dr Dawson for this Invizimals outing. The player (once again) takes on the role of a young newcomer to the secret group that work with Invizimals, and is as expected tasked with collecting the critters and doing battle against others. The story will come across as sterilised to older players, because even in times of crisis, the actors seem a little too upbeat for their own good. Such is the nature of this beast.

The main areas of the game lie in two distinct sectors. The first is the augmented reality bit, which employs several mini-games and the like, all with a background of the real world, in which the player principally captures Invizimals. The good news is that AR cards are no longer a requirement. The bad news is that, every now and then, the game loses track of the real world a bit, and things shift and move in ways they’re not supposed to. Of course, the AR section will require bright lighting, and a variety of environments to hunt Invizimals.

This is the meat and bones of Invizimals, and the game dynamics are surprisingly complex for a game aimed at youngsters. The real time battles between Invizimals require more strategy than you may first assume, and the implementation of a stamina bar means that button mashing will lead to losses. Rather, the player needs to plan attacks carefully, and make more strategic moves, rather than just smashing buttons. The player can also carry vectors (read as buffs and augmentations) into the battle, which can be accessed using the D-Pad. These can add an even deeper level of strategy, particularly later in the game.

Invizimals are levelled up by fighting, and the player can improve them as they see fit with earned skill points. Getting through all of the creatures the game has to offer will take a while, particularly when the Invizimals need to be rested after a lot of fighting. And once the single player game is handled, there is always online play to consider…

Playing online needs a bit of preparation, because there are players out there who have very powerful creatures, and who really know their stuff. Practicing in single player, and going through the long slog of building up Invizimals is a pretty good idea if online is where you see yourself heading with this game.

On the whole, Invizimals: The Resistance is an enjoyable game, but it doesn’t do too much that is new. The tried and tested formula is adhered to strenuously here, and what little originality the game brings to the table isn’t extremely obvious. But for youngsters who enjoyed the other Invizimals games, Resistance is a good fit.

8/10