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July Update: PlayStation 6 and PlayStation Portable future visions

 The recent PlayStation video about the "simulated" technology in development, discussed between AMD and Sony engineers that will power the PlayStation 6 was interesting from a geek point of view. But from a gameplay perspective, there is - IMO - no need for a PlayStation 6 for another few years. Especially with the limp Xbox is-it-isn't-it launch .  July 2026 Update : Sony managed a cannon-fire sized self-inflicted injury by announcing the end of physical releases across the end of the PS5 era and the launch of the PS6. Due to lack of sales (only 7 titles have passed the 100,000 mark in the last year) and economics, it still doesn't matter to PlayStation owners, collectors are stores, who can now only sell digital codes in a box.  June 2026 Update : The latest snippet of gossip for Sony's next-gen systems is a modular/external drive that will connect to both devices. Allowing installation on the portable of physical games, and reducing the cost of the PS6 by ma...

Review - Stranded A Mars Adventure

Tama Studios is one of a few publishers/developers suddenly showing an interest in bringing their wares to the Vita. Stranded is happy-pixel, charming, mobile port with simple but fun mechanics that sees your crashed astronaut trying to make it to the end of each level.

Stranded is a fair example of class 101 in game development. Take a simple mechanic, expand on it a few times and slowly ramp up the difficulty, but like Forrest Gump, simple is sometimes good! All you have to do is get to the end of the level without running out of air. Level one just lets you jump, but successive levels add sliding, jet-pack, wall jumps and other tricks, and soon its a veritable feast of well-timed leaps and moves.

Being a mobile port, the aim is to get the three-star rating for each level, and collect as many nuts as you can to upgrade your suit, or buy a spanking new one. The nuts act as a jumping guide in most cases, but on the more complex levels there are various routes to take with blind leaps and frequent deaths, but flags as way points mean you're soon back in the action.

Definitely one to play with the D-pad rather than the analog stick, this is old-fashioned fun gaming with no pretension, and that's no bad thing. Sure, some levels are confusing as to where you can and cannot land or bounce, and when you go wrong its feels easy to blame the game, but for a little piece of arcade twitchiness, but not a patch on Jetpack Joyride, enjoy it for what it is.

Score: 6/10
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Price: £3.99 (PSN)
Developer: Tama
Progress: Gone Nuts

Currently playing on my Vita/PS3/PS4/PS5


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