[How To is a recurring feature in which we demonstrate techniques designed to improve your game, and make your skill set more than a little bit awesome. This time out, we’ll help you snap a PS Vita screenshot.]

So you’re breaking off a competitor a lil’ sum’thin sum’thin in Mortal Kombat. Just as you’re executing your fatality, it dawns on you that maybe you should save this sweet victory for future gloating. You can! The PS Vita has a built-in screenshot utility that lets you save those critical beatdowns as JPEG files.

Telltale Game’s The Walking Dead: A New Day is the most high-profile adventure game to come along since Quantic Dream’s Heavy Rain. Set in the same universe as, and running concurrently with, the events of The Walking Dead comic and television series, A New Day, the first of a five episode game release, is filled with the same human drama that’s set against the backdrop of a zombie invasion.

A New Day is a short game, but it’s crammed with goodness. If you’re a bit leary of the game due to the hobby’s long, craptacular history of licensed properties, read on to discover why you should check out The Walking Dead: A New Day.

Lets get this out of the way right now: I’m not a fan of strategy games. I’m also not a fan of RPGs outside of Chrono Trigger, Y’s, and Lunar: The Silver Star Saga. One, naturally, would think that combining the two game genres into one would produce something so atrocious that I would want to touch it. That’s sound. That’s logical. It’s also quite wrong.

It’s quite fitting that NetherRealm Studios’ 2011 Mortal Kombat was simply entitled Mortal Kombat; no subtitle, no number. The PS3 and Xbox 360 release returned the franchise to its roots with hyper-violence, accessible gameplay, eerie atmosphere, and solid (if not the most technical) fighting. A deep roster, excellent graphics, tons of unlockables, and a mindblowing number of gameplay modes made Mortal Kombat the most beloved Mortal Kombat II–and the best in the series, period. Now Mortal Kombat’s on Sony’s PS Vita platform. The textures are a bit rough, and some characters have some truly cheapo moves, but very little was lost in tthe transition.

Final Freeway 2R is Outrun. Or, to avoid any legal ramifications, it’s a lovingly-crafted Outrun clone. An homage if you will. Just as Outrun set the arcade racing standard in 1986, Final Freeway 2R does on the iOS platform in 2012. It’s just that damned good.

I was tuned into NYC’s Hot 97 the night that Funkmaster Flex unveiled “Glaciers of Ice” over the radio airwaves. The collective hip hop populace lost it. Not only was the track absolute fire, but we were throughly convinced that RZA sampled Castlevania to create what sounded like an organ from hell. RZA is known for digging through the crates, grabbing obscure samples, chopping them up, and sometimes distorting them. This is crew that referenced anime and martial arts flicks, so this had to be a Castlevania sample, right?

Here’s a dirty little secret that I’ll share with those who have dreams of running their own video game sites: The higher up that you are on the editorial ladder, the less you game. When jugglig deadlines, dealing with PR, writing copy, editing copy, analyzing page views, and pondering monetization, it can quite difficult to pull yourself away to re-lose yourself in the hobby that you so love. Sadly, that was my state of being until I purchased a PS Vita and downloaded Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles from PSN.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow is a great action title that cribs many of the outstanding gameplay developments that were birthed in the last two console generations–it’s just not a Castlevania game, at least in the traditional sense. Mercury Steam and Kojima Productions’ reboot of the long running Konami franchise slaps a vaguely-familiar Castlevania skin over a title that borrows heavily from God of War and Shadow of the Colossus. It’s a tense yet enjoyable romp that features beautiful graphics, tight combo-filled controls, and passable music, but if you’re expecting a game that resembles a traditional Castlevania title, you’ll be left with a limp whip.

Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, originally released on the PC Engine CD platform in 1993, has a marvelous soundtrack in a franchise packed with rich music. When I think Castlevania music, I think Rondo music, which is odd because it is such a departure from what came before and after it. Super Castlevania IV’s tunes personify the darkness that is the Demon Castle with its dense soundscape, while Symphony of the Night’s epic compositions match the size and scope of Dracula’s fully-realized demon abode. Rondo of Blood’s 16-track score, however, is tighter, lighter, and more heroic–Castlevania “pop” music, if you will.

I recently detailed my PS Vita post-launch emptiness and how I sought to fill that void by downloading Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, a 4-year old downloadable PSP game that contains the exquisite Rondo of Blood (both the original and the polygonal remake), and the magnificent Symphony of the Night. It is easily the best “Vita” game that I own. Here’s why.