Publisher: Novarama / Sony Computer Entertainment
Cert: 12+
Platform: PS Vita
Genre: Fighting

Reality fighters is an augmented reality fighting game for the Vita. The game starts with you taking a picture of your own face for your character, and it gets wackier from there.

The plot is superficially similar to the Karate Kid, complete with Japanese sensai who offers cryptic wisdom as you learn the ways of fighting. But instead of an American boy who happens to be a martial arts prodigy fighting kung-fu trained bullies, you are more likely to end up as a zombie fighting a superhero. The game is about as tongue-in-cheek as it possibly can be. The fact that the tongue and cheek are both yours, scanned in with the Vita camera, adds to the surreal charm of the game.

There are apparently 8 trillion fighter combinations, with different costumes and appearances affecting your fighting style. The simple option is to go straight for a MMA style costume with a direct fighting style (boxing worked pretty well for me) but after six or seven bouts, the urge to go wacky takes over and you find yourself dressed in a dinosaur suit doing a blend of Muey Thai and ballerina pirouettes.

There's a lot of cool gimmicks to this game, like the almost infinite character variations and the touchscreen controls, and of course the augmented reality. Being able to place your fighters on any background, from your kitchen table to O'Connell Street, is a cool feature.

But at the end of the day, this is a straightforward side-scrolling beat-em up. Skill and timing are less important than button mashing and having a single unbeatable trick, and after a six or seven bouts in a row, the game gets repetitive. Its a nice showcase for the Vita's technological ability, but unless you're a fight-em-up fan who loves costume changes, this game is a novelty at best.

Rent or Buy: Rent

Gameplay: 3/5
Replay: 2/5
Graphics: 4/5

Overall: 3/5

Reviewed by: Baz Nugent