Decent 3rd-person action
If ever a game defined 3 stars, Unit 13 is that game. It's achieves competence across all areas without really exceeding in any specific area. The story doesn't seem to exist in any significant way other than you are the Unit 13 a specialist group of operatives charged with stopping some sort of terrorist group or country. Even within this generic framework, the characters are the best generic characters they can be. Each with a different accent (which I thought was a nice touch) and speciality. They deliver their dialogue well and it's instantly forgettable. If you asked me to name any of the members, I wouldn't be able to (other than the one who looks like Ron Perlman). The villains are generic to the point of being robots that speak Arabic. Throughout the 36 single player missions, I never really understood what their goal was and why I was shooting at them. But nor did I care. They were the targets that I needed to aim my gun at and they fulfilled that purpose perfectly. Sometimes two of them would walk up to each other and share a joke or discuss the weather but their banter was not endearing enough for me to not shoot them in the head as soon as they had their backs turned.
The game kept me playing through all 36 missions and I would have kept playing if there were more missions. While I would like to attempt all the HVT missions(special assassination missions unlocked by achieving a total amount of stars in the single player campaign), I was not motivated enough to go back and play through the other missions to get higher star ratings. Partially because even in the single player campaign you visit the exact same locations several times. You would think this terrorist organisation would tighten security after the first time every guard in a location was killed by a mystery assailant (who is still on the loose), but luckily they are pretty relaxed about this. So you can go back on different missions with other team members so everyone on Unit 13 gets to see the sights of the dusty village, hangar, embassy and nightclub.
In fact, these terrorists are quite a laid back bunch of guys. Often forgetting about seeing their comrade shot in the face, literally, before their eyes and resuming their patrol calmly after a few minutes. In fact, they will resign themselves to the fact that they "lost him" after a heated 5 step pursuit. Each mission tends to become a methodical progression through the level, taking out the various guards in a particular order. The AI is not exceptional, but they will attempt some form of "tactics" (usually running straight at you yelling at the top of their voice while firing blindly) but your guy usually can't take too many hits so it's better to avoid a heated firefight without finding cover.
Although you may read this review and perceive it as a negative one, I do not intend it in that way at all. I enjoyed the game and would recommend it. There is something to be said for an action game done competently that is entertaining but not exceptional. It is the summer blockbuster movie that you thoroughly enjoy but forget about 5 minutes after leaving the cinema. There is also plenty of content to enjoy in single player and the game has on-line multi-player and a new daily challenge every day. This game fits in perfectly on the Vita as, unusually, there is a shortage of military-styled action games. So if you want something in this genre, then this is your huckleberry and for the price, it is good value.