Hey there! If you own Sony‘s PlayStation Vita, you‘re likely wondering what games you absolutely need to add to your collection. Well if first-person shooters are your favorite genre, you‘ll want to pay attention. While the Vita doesn‘t have a massive library of FPS titles, the ones it does have really showcase the handheld‘s powerful capabilities.
In this guide just for you, I‘ll cover the 4 FPS games that stand out as the Vita‘s greatest, from a technical and gameplay perspective. You may know some like Killzone, but others might surprise you! Each offers an exciting, polished FPS experience that feels shockingly close to what you‘d expect on a home console.
Let‘s dig into the details on each to help you decide which might deserve a spot in your collection!
Overview of Vita‘s FPS Library
First off, what exactly makes for a great FPS game? For me, it comes down to:
- Responsive, precise controls – crucial for aiming/shooting on the go
- Solid frame rates – fast FPS action requires smooth graphics
- Good variety of weapons and upgrades
- Lengthy, engaging single+multiplayer modes
- Great graphics that push the hardware – FPS shine on Vita‘s OLED
The Vita checks all these boxes from a technical perspective. Its powerful chipset and OLED screen could deliver stunning portable FPS games. Early titles like Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Unit 13 proved fast-paced shooters were absolutely possible on Vita hardware.
So why didn‘t we ultimately see many more FPS games on Vita then?
A key reason seems to be that publishers focused development on consoles with a bigger install base. But the 4 titles below demonstrate that for FPS fans, Vita delivered quality over sheer quantity. These shooters stand tall because of their fantastic gameplay, great reviews and fan reception.
Now let‘s get into the details on each to see why they deserve a coveted spot in your Vita game library!
#4: Resistance: Burning Skies
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Release Date: May 29, 2012
Metacritic Score: 60 |
With the PlayStation Vita hitting shelves just a few months prior in February 2012, Resistance: Burning Skies marked one of the first true FPS experiences on the new handheld.
Developed by Nihilistic Software, Burning Skies was no mere tech demo. It delivered a full-fledged sci-fi FPS adventure that felt uniquely suited for Vita‘s controls and portable playstyle.
The single-player campaign puts you in firefighter Tom Riley‘s shoes defending New York from the alien Chimera invasion (as depicted in previous Resistance games). Missions felt chunked appropriately for on-the-go playsessions. Short encounters meant restarting upon death wasn‘t punishing which is perfect for a handheld.
A touchscreen weapon wheel let you tap to swap firearms like a new Chimeran energy shotgun. And motion controls were even implemented for certain actions like turning valves. But thankfully traditional stick and button shooting controls remained reliable and precise.
Where Burning Skies really shined was its online multiplayer offering 8 player battles across 6 maps and 3 modes. Capturing and holding control points in Chain Reaction mode produced adrenaline-pumping close matches against friends and foes alike.
While its fairly short 5 hour campaign earned some criticism, Resistance: Burning Skies successfully established the FPS genre on Vita with rock-solid shooter controls and graphics that felt like carrying a PS3 in your pocket. For just $15 these days, that‘s a steal!
#3: Borderlands 2
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Release Date: May 13, 2014 Developer: Iron Galaxy Studios Metacritic Score: 83 PS3 / 67 Vita Copies Sold: Estimated 89k (NPD May 2014) |
Gearbox‘s madcap FPS RPG series made the leap to PlayStation Vita thanks to developers Iron Galaxy porting Borderlands 2 to the handheld in 2014. This was no watered-down port either, as it contained the entire core Borderlands 2 experience millions enjoyed on PS3 and Xbox 360 starting 2 years earlier.
That meant dozens of hours of hectic first-person shooting and looting on Pandora packed with murderous psychos, tons of mission variety and RPG gear hunting across beefy DLC expansions. Local 2 player multiplayer even lets you and friend plunder together.
Iron Galaxy compromised minimally in squeezing Borderland‘s vast open worlds onto the Vita. Creative level redesigns maintain the chaotic feel while laser-focused optimization preserves their distinctive visual flair.
Sure some environments feel boxed in versus their console counterparts and load times occasionally surface. But with dopamine-rush gameplay fully intact, Borderlands 2 rates as a technical marvel on Sony‘s often overlooked handheld. One that will chew up dozens of hours whether you play in lengthy sessions or quick on-the-go bursts.
#2 Duke Nukem 3D: Megaton Edition
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Release Date: Jan 7, 2014 Metacritic Score: 69 |
I still remember playing Duke Nukem 3D for the first time on PC – blasting pigs, ogling pixelated women and unleashing Duke‘s crass wit upon hordes of aliens. 20+ years later in 2014, Devolver Digital worked magic to squeeze this beloved FPS onto PlayStation Vita without compromise.
This Megaton Edition includes the original 1996 Duke Nukem 3D plus 3 expansion episodes adding up to dozens of hours worth of content. Despite originating from DOS era PCs, the signature gameplay of circle strafing enemies while unleashing cocky one-liners translates perfectly to PlayStation Vita‘s controls and bite-sized play sessions.
Devolver Direct crafted a smooth 60 frames-per-second experience with textures filtering down cleanly apart from slight roughness. The lewd humor, weapons like shrink rays and pipe bombs combined with interactive environments like strip clubs and film sets maintain their novelty thanks to Vita‘s bright screen rendering Duke‘s world vividly. This journey through 90‘s FPS history remains just as humorous and engaging as ever.
While Duke may come off crude by today‘s standards, his Megaton Edition remains a riot particularly in short bursts on Vita. There‘s no better way to experience this FPS icon‘s glory days from 1996 on the go.
#1: Killzone Mercenary
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Release Date: Sep 10 2013 Developer: Guerrilla Cambridge Metacritic Score: 78 Copies Sold: Over 1 Million |
With 9 action-packed missions spanning 30+ hours of alien-blasting gameplay complete with a meaty multiplayer mode, Killzone: Mercenary stands tall as the crown jewel FPS of Vita‘s library.
Right from starting up the introductory training contract, you‘ll notice Mercenary‘s graphical showpieces that better anything attempted on handhelds before. Whether it‘s the rare rainy effects drenching battlefields or bright muzzle flashes reflecting off armor, Guerrilla Cambridge pulled zero punches in creating console-quality visuals.
A rock-solid frame rate adds satisfying speed and fluidity to the FPS experience as you swiftly dash between cover points unleashing Killzone‘s signature heavy weaponry like the StA-3 LMG against aggressive Helghast foes. Mercenary makes it simple to aim precisely and swap weapons on the fly keeping the intensity high.
With three difficulty settings and secondary objectives offering plenty of replay value after that initial 30 hour campaign playthrough, Mercenary feels anything but a slimmed-down portable spin-off. Robust 5v5 multiplayer action across 8 maps against online foes or AI bots further cements Mercenary‘s astonishing technical competence. Quite simply the deepest, most polished FPS experience Vita would ever offer players.
Closing Thoughts
While Sony‘s PlayStation Vita did not receive anywhere close to the abundance of first-person shooter franchises we saw on home consoles, the 4 titles above demonstrate handhelds can deliver uncompromised FPS gameplay every bit as smooth and exciting.
Given Vita‘s impressive specs including solid processing muscle and that gorgeous 5-inch OLED display, its a shame more developers didn‘t take a chance on releasing FPS titles. Especially considering entries like Killzone: Mercenary and Borderlands 2 proving Vita handled complex shooters impressively.
But for FPS fans who did adopt Sony‘s under-appreciated handheld, gems like the 4 games above made Vita a terrific on-the-go shooter machine. Their critical acclaim and fan reception cement their status as the absolute best in showcasing console-style FPS experiences untethered from the living room.
Here‘s hoping the Nintendo Switch picks up that torch with its hit FPS splatoon 2 – and maybe Sony someday revisits making a handheld capable of delivering more stunning portable shooters like these!
Let me know if have any other questions about FPS gaming on Vita – always happy to chat more!
