Soul Sacrifice

Sacred, ancient texts are pretty popular among fantasy and horror writers. The fleshy, talking book of Soul Sacrifice gives the main character a chance to not just read about past adventures, but to rewrite them. It's a bold, original structure – leafing through a book (using Vita's touch-screen) and choosing moments to relive. While technically this is a role-playing game (menus, customisable characters, elaborate plot), the main emphasis is on third-person action. Your character's spells are wild and diverse; some are mystical weapons which lead to hack-and-slash combat; some make instant brick walls to protect you; and some are like magical variations on grenades and machine guns. This is old- school fantasy – brutal, dusty, muddy and bloody. Even the sound effects can be disgusting. Some might find the options and gameplay a little dense, but this rich, inventive game (already a big hit in Japan) will be catnip for action RPG fans.