Game: Gravity Rush
System: PS Vita
Genre: Action-adventure
Developer: JAPAN Studio
Release date: June 12, 2012
Pros: Lovable protagonist, detailed open world to explore, great music, well-executed gravity mechanics
Cons: Overly cryptic story, anticlimactic ending
The PS Vita might be selling below expectations, but that doesn't mean its games are lackluster. One has only to look at Gravity Rush to see the massive potential of Sony's newest handheld. Gravity Rush, the latest title from JAPAN Studio, is a spectacular game. Its mechanics, which allow players to manipulate the laws of physics, are a revelation; its production design rivals the very best console games; and its heroine is a superstar. Yet Gravity Rush has a fatal flaw. Whether by design or by mistranslation, the story in Gravity Rush is a train wreck. Characters are introduced suddenly and dismissed just as quickly, plot threads are left incomplete, and the entire last act of the game rushes to an abrupt and unsatisfactory ending.
Gravity Rush takes place in Hekseville, a city floating in the sky. The heroine of the game is Kat, an amnesiac with extraordinary powers that allow her to "shift" gravity. She can refocus her personal gravity on any flat surface: the face of a building or the underside of a bridge, for example. Hekseville quickly becomes Kat's adopted home, and she fights for its citizens against masked enemies and mysterious creatures called "Nevi." Spindly and inky, the Nevi bring to mind the "Ing" from Metroid Prime 2. They come in all shapes and sizes, and plague the neighborhoods of Hekseville.
Speaking of Hekseville, it's a joy to traverse. Each neighborhood has a unique personality and unique music: melancholy melodies for old town; big band music for the red light district; and industrial noise for the factory sector. Music is definitely a highlight of Gravity Rush.
Hidden around each neighborhood are rumor spots -- where Kat listens to background information about the city -- and also challenge missions, and gems. Challenge missions are what you might expect. Kat must race around town within a given time limit, or she must dispatch a large group of enemies. One of the most interesting challenges is a "gravity slide" race, one of the few instances where Gravity Rush uses the Vita hardware in new and creative ways. Players must touch the screen on either end to initiate the slide, and then turn the Vita left and right (like a steering wheel) to maneuver.
Meeting certain benchmarks in challenge missions will earn players gems, which can be traded in for upgrades -- more powerful attacks, a longer gravity gauge, etc. These same gems are scattered around town, above and beneath each neighborhood. Exploration is so fun in Gravity Rush that it's easy to postpone the main mission indefinitely in order to collect gems and see the sights.
When Kat isn't visiting the clubs, parks, and skyscrapers of Hekseville, she's fighting. Many critics derided the fighting mechanics in Gravity Rush, but they're wrong. Combat is well-designed and well-executed. Kat has an arsenal of powerful moves at her disposable, all of which are easy to learn. Moreover, combat never degenerates into simple button-mashing. Players must use careful timing and strategy to win each fight, especially those against giant bosses.
The main event in Gravity Rush, however, are the story missions. These include everything from fetch quests to stealth infiltration to combat with the aforementioned boss monsters. For most of the game, the quests make sense and help propel the story forward. But late in the game, the story takes an unexpected and bizarre left turn. From that moment on, the vaguely mysterious story of Gravity Rush becomes unbearably cryptic, and the entire game suffers. JAPAN Studio may have intended for Gravity Rush to be part of a longer series, but that doesn't excuse bad storytelling. It definitely doesn't excuse the finale, which might be the most confusing and anticlimactic video game ending ever written.
Nevertheless, hopes are high for Gravity Rush 2, should it be released some day. The world of Hekseville is worth revisiting. Kat is a heroine that demands a sequel. And the gravity and combat mechanics in Gravity Rush are too good for just one game. Had it not been for some bad storytelling and a poorly-paced final act, Gravity Rush could have been one of the very best handheld games ever made.
System: PS Vita
Genre: Action-adventure
Developer: JAPAN Studio
Release date: June 12, 2012
Pros: Lovable protagonist, detailed open world to explore, great music, well-executed gravity mechanics
Cons: Overly cryptic story, anticlimactic ending
The PS Vita might be selling below expectations, but that doesn't mean its games are lackluster. One has only to look at Gravity Rush to see the massive potential of Sony's newest handheld. Gravity Rush, the latest title from JAPAN Studio, is a spectacular game. Its mechanics, which allow players to manipulate the laws of physics, are a revelation; its production design rivals the very best console games; and its heroine is a superstar. Yet Gravity Rush has a fatal flaw. Whether by design or by mistranslation, the story in Gravity Rush is a train wreck. Characters are introduced suddenly and dismissed just as quickly, plot threads are left incomplete, and the entire last act of the game rushes to an abrupt and unsatisfactory ending.
Gravity Rush takes place in Hekseville, a city floating in the sky. The heroine of the game is Kat, an amnesiac with extraordinary powers that allow her to "shift" gravity. She can refocus her personal gravity on any flat surface: the face of a building or the underside of a bridge, for example. Hekseville quickly becomes Kat's adopted home, and she fights for its citizens against masked enemies and mysterious creatures called "Nevi." Spindly and inky, the Nevi bring to mind the "Ing" from Metroid Prime 2. They come in all shapes and sizes, and plague the neighborhoods of Hekseville.
 |
| Kat looks around Hekseville. |
Speaking of Hekseville, it's a joy to traverse. Each neighborhood has a unique personality and unique music: melancholy melodies for old town; big band music for the red light district; and industrial noise for the factory sector. Music is definitely a highlight of Gravity Rush.
Hidden around each neighborhood are rumor spots -- where Kat listens to background information about the city -- and also challenge missions, and gems. Challenge missions are what you might expect. Kat must race around town within a given time limit, or she must dispatch a large group of enemies. One of the most interesting challenges is a "gravity slide" race, one of the few instances where Gravity Rush uses the Vita hardware in new and creative ways. Players must touch the screen on either end to initiate the slide, and then turn the Vita left and right (like a steering wheel) to maneuver.
 |
| Up, down, left, and right lose meaning in the air. |
Meeting certain benchmarks in challenge missions will earn players gems, which can be traded in for upgrades -- more powerful attacks, a longer gravity gauge, etc. These same gems are scattered around town, above and beneath each neighborhood. Exploration is so fun in Gravity Rush that it's easy to postpone the main mission indefinitely in order to collect gems and see the sights.
When Kat isn't visiting the clubs, parks, and skyscrapers of Hekseville, she's fighting. Many critics derided the fighting mechanics in Gravity Rush, but they're wrong. Combat is well-designed and well-executed. Kat has an arsenal of powerful moves at her disposable, all of which are easy to learn. Moreover, combat never degenerates into simple button-mashing. Players must use careful timing and strategy to win each fight, especially those against giant bosses.
 |
| Kat strings together a combo attack against a Nevi. |
The main event in Gravity Rush, however, are the story missions. These include everything from fetch quests to stealth infiltration to combat with the aforementioned boss monsters. For most of the game, the quests make sense and help propel the story forward. But late in the game, the story takes an unexpected and bizarre left turn. From that moment on, the vaguely mysterious story of Gravity Rush becomes unbearably cryptic, and the entire game suffers. JAPAN Studio may have intended for Gravity Rush to be part of a longer series, but that doesn't excuse bad storytelling. It definitely doesn't excuse the finale, which might be the most confusing and anticlimactic video game ending ever written.
Nevertheless, hopes are high for Gravity Rush 2, should it be released some day. The world of Hekseville is worth revisiting. Kat is a heroine that demands a sequel. And the gravity and combat mechanics in Gravity Rush are too good for just one game. Had it not been for some bad storytelling and a poorly-paced final act, Gravity Rush could have been one of the very best handheld games ever made.
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