Completely different games but linked because they are free and make interesting use of the Vita capabilities.
Treasure Park is a simple puzzle game on the surface will almost all content coming from friends and through Near. Quite a clever idea as you create a puzzle yourself to protect a bit of treasure and make it available to other through messaging or Near. Then you can try puzzles created by others. It tracks stats, gives XP for puzzle attempts, completion etc, and levels you up as you progress. Clever use of Near as taking your machine out to town with you should net you quite a few new levels to try.
Ecolibrium I've only tried the tutorials but it has some nice mechanics and clever/interesting use of the tech too. The game is an eco system balancing thing. Largely free with the model looking to make money from microtransactions, there is sizeable content to play with for nothing though. Game plays nice enough, good use of rear touch. Gyro option used for turning was cool too, kind of like a little window on the world which shifted as you did.
What was interesting was post tutorials it mentioned a creature nearby which you could capture. There was a message saying make sure you are safe to go looking - and I assumed this was a reference to the game carrying on without you there or something. Anyway a scanner pops up with a green dot marked and no further instructions. I try a few presses on the screen, rear pad, buttons etc. Then notice it's altering as I move the machine. So I thought ah, move about a bit to find it. So I stood up and got the dot in front of me then started moving forward. It was at this point I realised that it was 114m away ... literally! I.e. off down the road and in someone's house or garden!
It's quirky, silly and actually a really clever and cunning use of GPS functionality in a hand held game. A bit out there, but new and fun.
Also really looking forward to T@G - another free title in the Discovery Apps range from Sony. Takes the whole idea of going somewhere with your handheld to another level.