Unit 13

Zipper Interactive's track record has been uneven at best since their Combined Assault SOCOM game on the PS2, and some would say even before then. There was a lot of positive reaction to MAG, but in a lot of ways it seemed like a game ahead of it's time on the PS3. SOCOM 4 was looked at unfavorably overall, and now with the launch of the PS Vita, they have released Unit 13, a game that feels and looks a lot like a SOCOM title, but with a narrower focus.

Graphics -

Unit 13 is being released in the launch window of a system that Sony is touting as having "PS3 level graphics", so obviously it's going to take some flak for maybe not looking as well as gamers expect. At the same time, the game looks clean and runs well, albeit a bit bland in some areas. Environmental areas include terrorist compounds in the Middle East, office buildings, aircraft hangers, night clubs, etc., and they all provide the needed backdrops for the included 30+ missions. The easiest thing to say is that some levels feel like more time was spent on them than others.

Sound -

The sound in Unit 13 is pretty standard fare for the genre, nothing stands out as exceptional, but with a nice pair of headphones, the directional sound placement works like it needs to. If you play the same mission more than a few times, you will notice the same lines of stock dialogue being thrown out after 2-3 times, but there's not a ton of dialogue, so it doesn't really tend to grate on you.

Gameplay -

Probably the thing that stands out about Unit 13 is just how much content there is in the game itself. While there is some repetition of environments in missions, they break them up and have you taking different routes to your goal, so no one missions seems too much like any other mission. That's a good thing, because there are a lot of missions to be had. The game is broken up into 36 Solo Missions, which can also be played through in Online Cooperative, 9+ High Value Targets, which involves going after a specific person for intel gathering usually, and Daily Challenges that rotate through. Everything shows up on a PSN leaderboard, so you can see how you rank in any given mission against your friends or overall.

There are 6 operatives to choose from for any given mission, and they will all level up to a max of Level 10, unlocking different gear such as guns, scopes, silencers, etc. as they move up. The game will recommend an operative for any given mission, but you are free to use any of the six available.

Once you hit 3 stars or better on any mission, you can mix it up a bit by changing the difficulty and length of the mission, which will open new paths during game play and randomize the locations of enemies in the game. It adds a lot of replay value to the game depending on your favored play style.

Most missions take anywhere from 5-15 minutes to complete, depending on how quickly your moving through them. There are bonuses for enemies you let live at the end of a mission, accuracy levels, and how quickly you are able to complete a mission.

There is some touch screen control, but it's very light and makes sense. On the edges of the screen, there are touch buttons for reloading, throwing an explosive or smoke grenade, and if you are behind a barrier you can jump over, an indicator will appear to give you the option to do that.

Overall, Unit 13 is a great launch title. It's not perfect, and it can occasionally be unforgiving on some of the later missions and High Value Target stuff, but breaking it up into smaller, quicker mission types that can be played on a bus or waiting somewhere was a good move on Zipper's part. There's no real story to speak of in the game, which is also a plus, since you're never pushing yourself to do "one last thing" to obtain some crucial piece of information or anything along those lines.