Sound Shapes

Sound Shapes, one of the most pleasant surprises I've had in gaming in a while. It's nice too, seeing the long wait Vita owners have for A-list games such as LittleBigPlanet and PlayStation All Stars. It's like Patapon crossed with LittleBigPlanet, minimalistic art crossed with Mr. Game and Watch, chocolate and peanut butter. These, my friends, are high compliments.

Sound Shapes is a brilliant-- underline that-- *brilliant* concept that works beautifully, and perfectly uses the Vita's touch screens and features. This is a boon, as many developers on the DS, 3DS, and now Vita have the bad habit of shoe-horning in forced touch screen controls that can get in the way of the gaming experience rather than enhance it.

But this is not the case with Sound Shapes. Level editing is fun and simple-- if you're a gamer who has tried the level editor on any of the LBP releases and found it overly complicated or overwhelming, Sound Shapes' level editor is surprisingly intuitive. Perhaps it's because it works in a single plane, and is more focused on music and platforming than the dearth of resources found in LBP. But it works well, and is fun and addictive.

There are a few draws however. Being a game so reliant on sound and music on a portable device, playing and making levels on the bus or airplane can be difficult, given your headphones (as we courteous gamers wear headphones when playing in public) have to compete with airplane engines or the scream of the highway. You either have to crank the volume to the point where you begin to wonder what the quality of your hearing will be like in your old age, or invest in a pair of those Bose noise-cancelling headphones. That's the only real caveat with this game. If you're looking for a platformer with a story, you won't find it here... but Mario, Sonic, Ristar, Rayman... most people haven't played these legends of platforming for the gripping story. They are played and remembered fondly because they are fun.

I recommend this wholeheartedly. Aside from being a fun platformer, it features a no-hassel level editor/publisher, easy access to the online community, an incredible concept brought to reality (personifying music and sound itself) and it's portable. And fifteen bucks. And one download will do you for both the PS3 and Vita. Personally, I recommend this for portable play as the best way to create levels are with the Vita’s touch screens, but hey.

Go and download this game. It’s one you’ll want to have on your Vita’s memory card. It’s something you’ll come back to.