PlayStation Vita Review

A couple of weeks ago, I got my hands on "the most powerful handheld on  the planet". That is the Playstation Vita. What ultimately got me interested in this piece of hardware - after MUCH research - was the games. Some of you might be thinking "but what about the DS!? it's so much better than the Vita!" True, that the 3DS obviously reigns supreme in the world of handheld gaming but frankly, I'm just the Mario/Zelda/Metroid kinda guy. I wanted to be able to play 30 hour - 40 hour long RPGs with crisp 3D graphics on a nice large screen, and that's exactly what I got out of the Vita. 

One of the prominent features that the Vita can boast about is its stunning 5 inch OLED screen. Some say its over-saturated and way-to-bright colors make it bad, but I for one, don't see what all the fuss is about. Colorful games like Guacamelee! and Sound Shapes look absolutely gorgeous on the Vita's OLED screen. Sony, has finally learned its lesson from the PSP and also added the 2nd analog stick to the Vita. Surprisingly, the buttons are much smaller in real life when comapred to all the pictures but the new design prevents the buttons from becoming loose more easier. Front touchscreen and Rear touch pad gives the Vita the slight technological edge on the 3DS, the touch pads help provide some interesting gameplay mecahnics. Other notable external features include a front and rear camera and an earphone jack. Sony's new handheld is definitely not the most pocketable device made. At about 19 cm end to end and over 2 cm thick, It's going to be uncomfortable in your pockets. The large size is understable for what's inside this beast. And did I mention there was Wifi ?

  

A major problem that I'm sure many Vita owners can agree with is the special memory card that's used instead of the basic SDHC card. These memory cards can go upwards of $50! That's more than a full retail game. 

The software in Vita has made drastic improvements compared to the PSP's crowded UI. The Vita makes use of circles to display the apps that are on your device. With a single touch, you'd have started your app while PSP owners are still looking for theirs. I think the new UI is really convenient and simple to use

It should be noted that the PS Vita is locked to only 1 PSN account meaning, once you set your account for the Vita, That's it, you can't change it anymore. The battery is said to give out 3 to 5 hours of playing time on the Vita and for me, that's just not enough. Not that I'm going to be playing for 5 hours straight but I just don't like the idea of having to charge my device twice a day. Triple A games with amazing visuals like Uncharted especially, take a huge toll on the battery. 

Okay so you've heard the specs, and you may or may not have been impressed. But at the end of the day in this endless 3DS vs. PS Vita debate, it all comes down to how good and how many games there are. It's obvious that in this regard, 3DS was king, with endless Mario spin offs, games like Fire Emblem and Pheonix Wright, the 3DS stole the show at its launch selling much more than the Vita did. But right now, high quality games like Soul Sacrifice, Uncharted and Killzone are making their way to the Vita to give it a fighting chance against the 3DS. More and more indie games are showing up on PSN and the Playstation Plus deals are a definite upside to the Vita. And of course, don't forget Vita's ability to stream and play PS4 games with Remote Play. 

Yes this is Vita in-game Graphics - Killzone Mercenary

To anyone out there wondering if they should buy a Vita or not, I say that the $200-$250 price tag is a good buy if you have a need for the Hardcore gaming experience whilst on the go. That's basically what the Vita was made for.