Need for Speed: Most Wanted: Vita's Hidden Gem

“This is going to be the best racing game on Vita this year.” It’s a bold statement, but one that Alex Ward, Vice President of Criterion, doesn’t make lightly. He’s talking about the Vita version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted, which is being shown for the first time at Gamescom, and it’s no surprise he’s happy about what the development team has achieved with the game.

Incredibly, the Vita version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted is essentially the same as the PS3 and Xbox 360 games. “Everything from what we the ‘TV game’ is here on the small screen,” he announces. And when he says everything, he means it – every highway, back street, bridge and tunnel. All of the cars, the meet-ups, the challenges and the drive-through garages – they’re all in the game, and importantly they haven’t been cut down or changed to fit the Vita.

“This is pretty much the PS3 version of the game shoehorned onto Vita very tightly,” he continues. “This is a very technically ambitious thing to do - there aren’t any open-world games on Vita so far. To keep the world the same, to not make any compromises – that’s what we’ve done.”

So when you get behind the wheel of a BMW M5 in Need for Speed Vita it’ll feel exactly the same as it does on PS3. The handling is just as sharp and responsive, the drifting as perfectly pitched, which is impressive considering the differences between two machines. “On handheld the physics are very hard to get right because you’re very limited on memory but the handling is pretty much the same,” explains Ward. “We can do the same demo on Vita that we can on PS3.”

Better still, all of the detail from the home console game is carried over too, so as a race progresses your car gets scuffed and scraped, and damaged with every knock it takes. There will be races at different times of the day too, and while Criterion is still hard at work populating the city and implementing many of the features, we did see the switch from daytime to dusk, with your car’s headlights flickering into action to illuminate the tarmac ahead.

Impressively, Ward promises that all of the cars will feature in the game, and they look fantastic on Vita’s small but punchy screen. “These cars are the best cars ever to appear in a Need for Speed game,” he enthuses, “and they’re the same here as they are on PS3 and 360. To get them onto Vita like this is ******* insane.” And like its bigger brother, Vita’s recreation of the city of Fairhaven will be littered with supercars waiting to be found. Stumbled upon a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S? Simply jack it and it’s yours to keep.

Multiplayer will be fully supported, with all of the modes and challenges making the jump onto Sony’s handheld. Unfortunately cross-play isn’t going to feature – the idea of PS3 and Vita owners going head-to-head was a little too ambitious – but it will fully support Autolog. So when you race on the Vita version – or indeed any version of the game, including iPad – you’re constantly earning Speed Points that accumulate on your Autolog profile, all of which help bump you up the Most Wanted leaderboards.

Need for Speed will make use of Vita’s unique functionality too, and the touchscreen can be used to quickly access HUD information in the middle of a race. But Ward was quick to iterate that it won’t impact how the game plays, and that thankfully “you won’t be driving using the touchscreen.” Or the gyro, we hope.

Most Wanted on Vita is an ambitious project, then, but one whose ambition is more than matched by the talent of the developer behind the game. Criterion’s racing pedigree is unquestionable, and with Hot Pursuit and now Most Wanted it’s brought the Need for Speed name back to the top of its game. While some developers outsource handheld versions of big franchises to enable them to focus on the home console versions, it’s a testament to Criterion’s commitment that it kept the project to itself. “It would’ve been really easy to do Vita out of house,” says Ward. “We did that on some of our previous games. But when I saw the specs for the Vita, I knew we had to do it.”

I’m thankful they chose to do it, too.

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Dr. Seuss' The Lorax Blu-ray Review

As if separating the art from the artist weren't hard enough, separating the art from the "art" is even harder.

What I mean by this statement is that it's hard to separate Dr. Seuss' classic work from the money-making marketing machines that Universal puts out every few years, starting with Ron Howard's hazy, mold-crusted adaptation of The Grinch.

It's hard to look at something like The Lorax and not remember the astonishingly inspirational, not to mention controversial, tale it's borrowing from. The Lorax was a stark, sometimes cold and dreary cynical story largely about a young man who learned of his tragic past -- and the nature of greed -- and sought to redeem the honor of his species.

It's also hard to forget the equally terrific short film adaptation that followed. But to glean any real enjoyment from this latest Seuss bastardization, one must erase the past. One must try, if they can, to forget The Lorax ever existed. Or simply pretend this version of The Lorax has nothing to do with the original one.

With that in mind, The Lorax is...passable. It's cute at times, occasionally funny, sports a decent message and tries to harbor some inkling of plot and character development beyond Seuss' original book. It's a babysitter for the ADD generation, with its rapid-fire pace, bright colors, 3D images and zippy action, you don't need much of an attention span to get the message of the movie, or to enjoy the film, for that matter. But make no mistake, a good film The Lorax is not.

Considering the film's commentary on environmental issues and excess and corporate greed, you'd think the marketing campaign would be a little more dialed back. But unfortunately, The Lorax is nothing more than a factory, a film made to entertain -- sure -- but also to sell toys, ride tickets, stuffed animals, soundtracks and other merchandise.

That's hardly a crime, of course. And I have no qualms with a film that's meant to inspire and entertain, while making money at it as well. What is troubling is just how tired and shockingly generic and bland the film is. Every scene feels like it was dissected and constructed by a team of marketing scientists hoping to perfect the term: cliche.

Every move is calculated. Every character is built on a borrowed template, like a Sim. Every casting decision, from Zac Efron, Taylor Swift, Betty White, Danny DeVito and Ed Helms, feels obvious and cheap, each with their specific demographic or gimmick. Every newly crafted sequence or grating pop song is carefully pieced together to either fulfill some kind of genre or fan base or, in the case of the songs, deliver a disturbing amount of exposition.

In other words, The Lorax feels like it has no heart, no soul, no deeper meaning. It's just a cute kids’ film with a shallow message audiences will forget before the credits have even finished. And that's a shame. Dr Seuss' classic tale deserved better. Much better.

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax comes to Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The film is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, mixed in 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. There are two BD releases for The Lorax -- a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy/UltraViolet copy combo pack, and a three-disc combo pack which includes all of the above, as well as a 3D Blu-ray. For this review, we'll be looking at the two-disc release.

It should come as no surprise that the transfer and audio are outstanding. Mixing is aggressive and nuanced, with plenty of atmosphere and bass punctuating action beats and musical numbers. While dialogue sometimes sounds like it's coming from a sound booth, there's little to complain about. Same goes for the bold, colorful transfer. Other than a hint of motion blur, this encode is absolutely flawless.

Extras include a wealth of goodies for adults and kids alike. Adults can enjoy a feature-length commentary track, some featurettes, a deleted scene and three short films. There's some overlap with the kids, who can also enjoy additional featurettes, a sing-along and interactive activities, including a fun Easter Egg hidden on the main menu.

While none of the bonus material really stands out, fans of the film should get a kick out of the mini-movies, and those with an affection for computer generated filmmaking should enjoy the commentary track.

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax is a bit of a chore if you're fond of the original story or the original short film adaptation. When it comes to Seuss, producers would be better off making compilation films instead of stretching an already thin narrative to feature length, with perhaps three or four adaptations per film. That said, if your kid is seeking a shiny new piece of entertainment, show them The Lorax. It's cute. It's harmless. It's forgettable. But do your child a favor -- read them the original story as well.

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Final Fantasy III Launching on Ouya

Square Enix has announced it will release Final Fantasy III as a launch title for the Ouyaconsole in March 2013.

In a statement translated by Square Portal, the company promised that they will also be providing more content in the future.

Final Fantasy III originally released on the NES back in 1990 and became the first Final Fantasy title to sell over a million copies, but has since had a 2006 remake for the DS. It seems this is the version Ouya owners will be getting as this was ported for Android devices last month, which is the operating system that the upcoming console will use.

We recently reported how Ouya signed a deal with cloud gaming service OnLive, meaning hundreds of games from over 80 publishers will be available when the console is eventually released next March. Square Enix is the first major third-party publisher to back the console, and it'll be interesting to see if others now follow suit.

Ouya's Kickstarter campaign hasn't ended yet either; with 8 days still to go, the project has currently amassed $5.8 million, completely shattering its original $950,000 target.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant. You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

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