Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Note: The following is very freaking long. I've tried to be thorough but the game reviews will be far briefer. This review should help you decide whether or not to part with your hard-earned cash to grab one for yourself.
 
The Playstation Vita is the successor to Sony's PSP, which came out 2005. It's a hand-held gaming unit with a massive touch screen.
 

 
Tech Shit
The tech specs for this unit are pretty impressive. Sony usually aim to make their consoles last for 10 year cycles and the PSP wasn't too far off that life cycle (although it did have some tweaked version released along the way, they sucked though).
 
The Vita has a 5” capative touch screen. It's a bigger screen than you'll see on any mobile phone. The screen is a very bright and clear with a high 960 x 544 pixel count. That rules. To compare, the iPhone 4S is at 640 x 960 as was taunted as freaking witchcraft. The touch functionality works very well and seems highly accurate so far.
 
It's got a lot of buttons. The usual D-pad and X, O, (Triangle) and (Square) config is there, just like a PS3 controller. In addition, there's a PS button, volume controls on the top of the unit along side a power button, Start and Select and... TWO ANALOG STICKS! Quite a revelation, the PSP only had one nub and the two sticks will make a lot of PS fans happy. I never use sticks but actually found myself using them by default in Wipeout 2048. That's a first for me and high praise for the feature. They work well and don't feel like they'll break.
 
Under the hood, the Vita is rockin a quad-core CPU made by ARM (a Cortex A9, similar chip to that used in the iPad2) clocked at an unknown speed. They can go up to 2GHz but as a Sony dude said if it was running that fast the unit would burn you and the battery would die faster than Dane Cook at a celebrity roast (ooooow snap!).
 
The battery is not user removable (unlike the PSP) and lasts for a touch under 4 hours gaming time (according to Sony, but that seems to line up with my experience too). The unit has a front and rear camera, both at 0.3MP (why so small?) but are mainly used for augmented reality stuff.
 
The games are played off PS Vita cards, similar size to SD sized. There's no UMD anymore. Sony are going to try and jump on the download buzz, you can use an additional memory stick (4/8/16GB available). Wipeout was one of the smaller titles I saw and clocked in a bit over 1Gb. In all, there's three slots, one memory stick (downloads, your music/movies) and two Vita slots.
 

 
The Vibe
The unit felt really light to me. The 3G version is 279g, an iPhone 4S is 140g. The weight is distributed across the big body of the thing which gives the feeling of it being very light. That's cool for travelling and ergonomics. Having said that, it won't fit in your jeans pocket. Coat pocket, maybe.
 
It's comfy in the hand but the buttons are slightly too small. I will probably get used to that but it's a departure from the size of the PSP and PS3 controller and not for the better. I experienced no issues or pains after playing for a couple hours though, so it can't be too bad.
 
Using The Thing
The new User Interface Sony have gone with is called Live Area. It's all touch-based and features bubble-looking circles you press on to open games, settings, apps, etc. I am a big fan of the old Cross Media Bar UI used in the PSP and PS3 but for the touch focus, Sony have abandoned it for the Vita. Live Area strikes me as a bit cute-sy, almost a Nintendo style of doing a UI but after a
little time it works very well and makes good use of the highly accurate touch screen.
 
Games can be downloaded through the Playstation Store (including PS1 classic titles and the like), Vita titles can be bought physically on the Vita cards and will run you about $80 for a premium title. Reviews of individual titles will be coming soon (Wipeout 2048 will be first). Set up may take a few hoops to jump through as Sony have implemented some new security after their embarrassing and very public hack ordeal last year but once set up, you're good to go and won't have to worry
about it again.
 
Extra shit
The unit has GPS which allows very cool social gaming possibilities I'm looking forward to testing out. Near is a Sony app to take advantage of the feature and will show you nearby Vita gamers and what they're playing (if they choose to go public).
 
The Vita also has two cameras, front and rear facing. It's too low res to use for any serious photo- taking but the augmented reality gaming is fun to use and works better than I was expecting. It's neat. There's also a microphone for chat and Skype (free to download).
 
Cross-platform Play is a big deal. PS3 gamers will be able to battle PS Vita gamers on the same title but not only that, you'll be able to take some games in your pocket when you're away from your PS3. On the road but building up your character on a RPG? No problem. Don't want to let your stats slip while out of town on business? Take your Vita with the PS3 game to your hotel and work on your Playstation tan. This feature opens up some very cool possibilities I'm looking forward to see in the future.
 
Should You Buy It?
That is the question after all. If you're a gamer, especially a PS3 gamer, the Vita is not a bad investment. I never regretted buying my PSP and I would consider myself a casual gamer. The Vita is going to receive a lot of resources from Sony in the form of support, updates, free and paid apps to take advantage of all of those features in the hardware.
 
The main thing holding the unit back is the size. The bright, 5” touch screen definitely sets it apart from smart phone gaming but also makes it near impossible to take out without a small bag. For students, it'd be nothing to chuck it in your laptop/book bag. For everyone else, an inside jacket pocket would be the minimum.
 
It's great for long trips to the John, travelling (plane/bus/train passengers should love it) and to have in the lounge while you're watching TV but it is a commitment to carry it round.
 
The sheer amount of money Sony has poured into this unit and will continue to do so means it's going to be a fun device to have. For people content to game on high-end Androids and iPhones, this isn't the device for you. However, if you're an above casual gamer who doesn't mind chucking the unit in a laptop bag when you're heading out or keeping it in the lounge, you're going to love the Vita.
 
Pros: Great touch screen, lots of hardware features, social gaming, good launch titles, powerful CPU and graphics.
 
Cons: Limited internal storage, large physical size.
 
Score: 8/10

To check out the video of Tim's review of the PS Vita CLICK HERE