PulzAR is Exient's take on the laser reflection game and utilizes the Vita's AR Cards to help redirect lasers to specified targets, using splitters, color filters, and reflectors. The ultimate goal is to light up the colored targets to destroy a huge asteroid making its way to earth. I must say, it truly does add to the suspense as there is a time limit to each level. As time passes the asteroid rains meteors and debris onto the playing field. The game play works very well and in my opinion is the best AR game to date for the Vita. There can be issues at times when placing AR cards on the field if they brush against one another, which can cause the AR scene to be thrown off, forcing you to reposition everything. But for the most part (so far) in my 40-60 minutes with the game these were minor issues.
The game is available for $1.99 and it is worth every penny. There IS a trophy list for you trophy hunters but no platinum.
This is a cheap game and considering how much you "bang for your buck" you get you cant beat it. At times it has its quirks, for example when you place another AR card down if you accidentally touch or cover one of the other placed cards the whole screen flips out and becomes a little misplaced which could be frustrating. Excellent concept. VERY easy to pick up and play. I would highly recommend this even if you typically dont like strategy or puzzle games. It is nice change and shows how great the system AR feature is.
A perfect example of how to improve an interesting idea with new features, without forcing the user to them. This puzzle game is a bit limited by the amount of content it has, with few modes and no multiplayer. It is a shame this lack of ambition, but it is still the best AR game in the PSVITA at a very affordable price.
Very good game ruined by a broken/buggy AR
The puzzles in this game require you to perfectly align laser beams using reflector panels. Your AR cards will become a reflector panel when you put it on the table, you can move the card around to place your panel and turn it to aim the laser to the desired direction. The puzzles are very good and for additional challenge there are 3 coins in each level, increasing the difficulty if you also want to collect these coins.
The expectations end quickly as you realize the game is broken and buggy to the point it is almost unplayable. There are multiple issues:
- You have to play in a perfectly lit area. To much/less light and the game will not recognize the AR cards.
- The virtual elements on the screen will start to shake/tremble for no reason, and this obviously affects your game as the laser beams will shake too, disrupting your (needed to win) perfect aim.
- Sometimes your panels will reset to their initial position for NO reason at all. You'll be carefully aiming your laser and suddenly the panel resets, this is VERY frustrating and a total fun-killer, and it happens constantly, I dare to say that this happens one or two times per puzzle.
- Sometimes the game will not recognize when you put a card on the table, so you'll have to remove it and put it several times until it recognizes it. Considering you have a limited time to solve the puzzle, you will lose precious seconds doing this.
- Some puzzles require the AR cards to be placed very close one another; those cards are huge and this will become a problem when your cards collide or you accidentally move/block one card with another, disrupting your layout.
- The scenario can totally break if you block (e.g. with you hand) the "arena AR card" (the first card you have to put on the table that sets the boundaries of the scenario). If you block this card the game will set any of the other cards on the table as the "arena card", changing the position of the scenario, your layout and basically requiring you to start over.
All of this kill any fun this game might had, also consider that the game is VERY short, only 25 puzzles that can be solved in 40-60 mins (double if you want to collect the coins).
PulzAR had potential to be one of the best AR games on Vita, but these glitches totally ruined it. I tried playing on different surfaces, under different lights (sunlight, yellow light, white light) and nothing fixed it, and it is very unlikely they will fix this. Yes, the game is very cheap, but that's no excuse for developers to deliver a broken and unpolished game.
It's pretty fun if you can look past how unstable the game is. The playstation AR cards are huge and this game requires you to put objects really close together at times, which is a pain. Objects themselves are unstable, they glitch out or sometimes reset to their original position for no reason. Even when I try to hold the vita as still as I possibly can, it doesn't help much. I was considering checking out Tabletop Tanks after this but now I'm not sure.
SummaryOnly you can save the planet from certain destruction in this pulsating augmented reality experience.
-Place mirrors, splitters and colour changers to power up your rocket and save Earth - and your desk - from destruction.
-Use your AR Play Cards and rear camera to launch missiles from any flat surface towards the deadly meteors above ...