Borderlands 2: PS Vita Frame-Rate

For me, Borderlands 2 was one of the best games of 2012 and I spent countless hours loot-hunting with my friends, so when I heard that the Vita was getting a release I was instantly sold.

I bought the game at full price, (as the DLC is only available through a download code included with the game) and was immediately disappointed. 

Sure, I wasn't expecting parity with my shiny PS3 version, but I didn't expect the game to run in slow-motion. I don't care if enemies disappear when they die, or about the dismal controls, or even about the excessively long load-times. (To the point where I would start playing with my phone every time I transitioned into a new area.)

 None of the downgrades compare to the shocking frame-rate issues, which pretty much ruin the whole experience. In some areas, it literally runs in show motion, leaving the player feeling disconnected.

In one of the early missions in the vanilla game, you're tasked with shooting projectiles out of the air that are flung towards you, but the engine runs so badly it's near-impossible until you learn to compensate for the lack of responsiveness. (I ended up using a shotgun with a wide spread.)

I'm no graphics elitist, (I'll happily play at 30 FPS) but in certain areas this game is damn near unplayable, which is a shame considering its PC and console pedigree. It slowed down to 20 FPS on the PS3 version that I enjoyed over two years ago, (1) but this is far worse. It's understandable that it pushed the capabilities of the Vita, but it feels like you're running through butter for the most part.

If you can handle the slow-mo, then it's worth a purchase - and when it does run normally it's great fun. It's just that for the most part, it doesn't.