Zipper Interactive has taken the wraps off Unit 13, a new shooter designed from the ground up for the PS Vita. The game, which is described as the “perfect portable shooter on the best portable gaming platform,” will be available around the time that the PS Vita launches - so March then.

You can expect fast action, on-the-go gameplay from Unit 13, a key goal for the development team. The game is “designed for players to move quickly into the action, choosing from one of six Operatives with unique abilities to tackle 36 action-packed missions across nine unique locales.”

According to a post on the PlayStation Blog: “Missions come in a variety of sizes and difficulty. Some are smaller bite-sized battles; others are longer, more challenging, multi-objective missions that are a good test for any skilled shooter fan. As you make your way through the variety of missions, you unlock the right to take on the tougher High Value Target (HVT) enemy battles. After completing an HVT mission, you can share them with friends and nearby players through PlayStation Vita’s ‘NEAR” feature.”

The post continues: “The Zipper team put considerable effort into leveraging Vita’s WIFI and 3G functionality to provide exceptional social gaming and competition with friends and opponents from around the world. Unit 13’s live notification interface, enabled through 3G, keeps players up to date on leaderboard positions, new ‘Daily Challenge’ content, new unlocks, shared High Value Target missions, and challenges from friends as they move past you on the leaderboards.”

“In Co-op, you can play Unit 13 with a friend all with high quality voice chat enabled through the PlayStation Vita. Coop teams compete for top positions on the global, regional, and friend mission leaderboards.”

Brian Soderberg, President of Zipper Interactive had this to say about Unit 13: “It’s been very exciting developing a game for the first portable console with precision dual analog sticks, the perfect platform for a fast action, hard-hitting, third-person shooter like Unit 13. In addition, Vita’s front and back touch interface provided a unique and fun way to interact quickly with in-the-world elements of the game.”