Spartan Daily

Review: PlayStation Vita available now

The PlayStation Vita is Sony's latest hand-held gaming device to hit store shelves.

Leo Postovoit, Spartan Daily

TOP GAMES available for VITA now

Uncharted: Golden Abyss (4 out of 5 stars) Golden Abyss takes place before the first three Uncharted games on the PS3, but it features just about everything fans love in the series from rainforest parkour to zany gunfights. While the characters and story may not seem as captivating as its HDTV cousins, touch screen controls and puzzles make this Vita game the most captivating launch game available. Screenshot courtesy of digitaltrends.com

Rayman Origins (4 out of 5 stars) If you haven't played Rayman Origins on the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 or Wii, and you have a Vita, Rayman Origins is a must-have. It's the same game, except portable, and that's a good thing. Screenshot courtest of gamesradar.com

Little Deviants (3 out of 5 stars) The Little Deviants are about as crazy as Rayman's "raving rabbids" and the things they do are just as crazy. Little Deviants is one of a few games that make use of just about every new feature the Vita does, so it's definitely worth checking out. Screenshot courtesy of uk.playstation.com

Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (4 out of 5 stars) Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a nerd's paradise that pits heroes and enemies from the Marvel Comics against heroes and enemies from Capcom games, and the results are brutal. With a button layout similar to the PS3, gameplay hardly suffers, making this the best available fighting game for the Vita. Screenshot courtesy of g4tv.com

Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational (3.5 out of 5 stars) Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational Hot Shots Golf has become Sony's definitive fantasy golf game. While it's not as realistic as Tiger Woods' PGA Tour, the likability in each of the golfing characters and impossible layouts of every golf course make this round of golf a hole-in-one. 4/5 stars Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is a nerd's paradise that pits heroes and enemies from the Marvel Comics against heroes and enemies from Capcom games, and the results are brutal. With a button layout similar to the PS3, gameplay hardly suffers, making this the best available fighting game for the Vita. Screenshot courtesy of IGN.com

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Aesthetics

While the Vita in many ways resembles the PSP, there is a number of features that definitely differentiate the two systems.

For one, there are two actual analog sticks on the left and right of the hand-held, unlike the "nub" on the PSP that took the look of an analog stick.

In addition, the five-inch widescreen at the front of the device is also a touch screen, taking a page out of its competitor — Nintendo's playbook.  The back of the hand-held is also a touch-sensitive trackpad, taking another step with engaging gameplay.

Unlike the DS or 3DS, however, a stylus isn't used with the touch screen.

Another difference from the PSP is the Vita's primary medium for software. PSP games made use of the universal media disc format, or UMD, but because of the cost and lack of speed, Sony decided to use cards instead, similar to the media used with Nintendo's DS and 3DS.  Also, as like the PSP Go before it, there is an emphasis on digital download play, where users can download their games onto their Vita from the internet.

That means the Vita is fully backward compatible with PSP games that were downloaded from the PlayStation Network. With that being the case, Sony has forgone the process of making old UMDs usable with the Vita.

Portability

With the addition of such a wide touch screen and two analog sticks, the term "hand-held" is tough to tag the Vita with.

Gamers who wear skinny jeans may not want to put the device in their pockets, and those brave enough who do risk attracting an unnecessary amount of dust on it.

Battery Life

The Vita averages players about four to five hours of gameplay on a single charge.

While that single digit number tends to garner complaints, keep this in mind.

To students who are at least in high school and to adults with jobs, that's a generous usage of time for a hand-held gaming device.

Nobody commutes for more than two hours, and even when that happens, odds are that person is carrying another device (namely a smartphone) with them.

While the Vita does boast a respectable 3G connection and includes the ability to play music, it's not going to be replacing any iPhone or iPod touch anytime soon, so four to five hours of play should be more than enough.

If it's not, that's why the device comes with both a USB and wall charger.

The Final Word

With every game system that comes out, the graphics and sound are always miles better than its predecessor, so this won't be a point of emphasis.

Like the PSP before it, the Vita should have a strong launch due the number of high quality games coming out with the system, featuring another addition to the wildly popular Uncharted series in additional the hand-held version of Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3.

What people should be interested in seeing is whether or not good games continue to come out for the system.

For the PSP, that wasn't the case.  After its launch, it was months before it got another good game.

It wasn't the case with its competition, the 3DS, either.  In fact, the system had a terrible launch.  The launch was so bad that the system dropped in price months after it was released.

Now, however, the 3DS has caught up and is gaining a lot of steam with a number of quality games coming out for it month after month.

That remains to be seen with the Vita, which had strong sales in its first month in Japan. Since then, we've seen its numbers dwindle, mainly because of the fact that not a lot of favorable games have come out as of late.

Either way, looking at the Vita and what it has now, it might be best to take the "wait and see" approach to see if it falls victim to a game drought over the next couple of months.

It's also worth noting, though, that there are a number of good games out already for the system.  It's just whether or not you think it's worth the $250.

With that in mind, if you do plan on picking up the Vita, buy the Wi-Fi model.  The $300 3G model has shown nothing to make it a must-have device, and AT&T isn't the most reliable 3G service either.

Hardware Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Verdict: Wait a bit. 

Editor's Note: A first edition bundle system was purchased by the reviewer, who spent roughly 30 hours of time using the handheld's features and playing seven launch games, all of which were purchased. The company's follow-up to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) boasts a five-inch touch screen, an additional touchpad on the rear, front and rear-side cameras, two analog control sticks, and a number of improvements under the hood.