GDC 2014: Hands-on with Table Top Racing for the PS Vita

There are some ideas that never lose their appeal, and tiny cars driving really fast around household items is one of them.

That's what we wrote about Table Top Racing when it zoomed onto the App Store and picked up a Pocket Gamer Bronze Award for its troubles.

Now, the diminutive driving game's set to race onto the PS Vita courtesy of Ripstone - and it's made a couple of fundamental, and welcome, changes from its iOS predecessor.

It's a threeway tie for first as to which change makes Table Top Racing so much fun.

The Vita iteration has all the HD graphics you'd expect from a Vita title, it's abandoned its free-to-play iOS model, and the acceleration and braking are no longer automatically handed for you.

Let's start with the graphics first.

You might have heard that the Vita has this crazy awesome OLED screen on it (at least it does, for now) - and all the cars and courses on Table Top Racing look absolutely gorgeous on it.

There are some fun lighting effects as you zip around the tiny tracks which help highlight the rich and nicely saturated paint jobs on each individual car and the new animations are really easy on the eyes.

Once you start playing, however, you'll realize this is an entirely different game from the iOS offering despite the identicial presentation and name.

Table Top Racing takes full advantage of the Vita's hardware and abandons the automated speed control of its previous incarnation.

Acceleration and braking are handled through the Vita's right stick - leaning it forwards speeds you up, while flicking it backwards slows you down – and there's even a fun integration of the rear touchpad as well.

Pressing and holding on that rear touchpad switches the camera to a bonnet/hood view which gives you a great rearview during a race.

This is of limited use except for cornering or blocking a challenger coming up on your tail, but it's a great feature to see included and it's a breeze to toggle on as you play.

Another major change to Table Top Racing is that it's abandoned its free-to-play monetisation strategy and will be a premium download title.

Upgrades are still purchased with coins, which you earn from completing races and challenges, and you can purchase coin packs as normal if you're absolutely eager to shoot your way to the best kit available straightaway.

Chances are that you won't want to or need to spend on coin packs, however, as Table Top Racing offers a bunch of different challenge modes for you to enjoy from straight-up rallies to time trials and multiplayer, so you'll likely have a pile of coins built up before you even realise it.

Publisher Ripstone hasn't disclosed a firm release date or price for the Vita version of Table Top Racing just yet, and its price will likely determine whether it belongs on your Vita or not.

Regardless, this will definitely be one to keep an eye on if you're not opposed to dropping a bit of coin on a gorgeously polished, casual-friendly racer with ample challenges built-in for seasoned drivers.