Is this what happens when I'm away?
You people
allow others to play Sonic 06?
It helps that Tearaway's plot elements never comes off as intrusive, any talky bits are usually short and to the point, plus I guess in a way the player is invested on another level seeing as you are actually part of the story which helps.
As for presentation, the papery approach factors into some of the gameplay as well, it's not just as case of using the arts and crafts style just for purely visual needs, it plays into some of what you do as well as how the world itself works be it the unravelling of the landscape in front of you or how you can interact with parts of it
Basically it all comes together as a cohesive whole.
it uses every part of the animal. the touch pad, cameras, touch screen, microphone, and motion controls all get in the action, and it's wonderfully done. i don't think the level design ever reaches the heights of other platforming greats, but being able to use the vita's features so elegantly throughout the game, while also successfully telling a charming little story (and delivering a message) makes up for that, at least partly.
These two are the
largest aspects as to why I enjoyed it a lot from the very beginning. Like, I legitimately could not say it any better myself. I genuinely like it when a game uses its hardware to its advantage like that. 999 did with the DS, Device 6 does that with the iPad/iPhone, and Tearaway does it with the Vita. Tearaway really should be a bundled game with the Vita as opposed to Welcome Park in order to show what the Vita can actually
do from a development standpoint and a gamey-sense as opposed to a new device with interactive stuff akin to a phone or tablet. Sometimes devices need games like that to show why some of the things they have completely matter in a game development sense. It makes the concept of the device fully realized and ensures that the hardware is fully taken advantage of. It doesn't render any parts of it superfluous, really, nor does it treat any of its hardware specs as an add-on "just in case".
And Nocturnowl hit it right on the head with respect to using the theme of arts and crafts to its advantage. Not only are you crafting out a landscape to deliver your message or solve puzzles, but you're using the arts and crafts bits in order to platform (ie: glue, foil paper, etc). Everything is interactive.
It's the only Media molecule game that I've liked start to finish, too.
