PS Vita Review

We managed to get our hands on a PS Vita for a few days and were able to take the time to review it for this site. The PS Vita is the next generation successor to the PSP (playstation Portable System). The device tries to not only focus on games but also has plenty of cool hardware for taking photos or using the device as an internet browser. Sony is trying to sell the PS Vita as an extension of the PS3 – A device where you can play your PS3 games and then save them and take the game with you on a train or bus and keep playing and keep playing right where you left off before. You can then take the PS Vita and attach it to your PS3 and keep playing the same game on your television as you were doing earlier in the day. Let’s take a look at some of the good and bad things about the new portable device…

Highs:
-OLED screen
-New user interface
-Ability to use Skype
-Touch screen
-Remote play
-SIXAXIS, accelerometers and gyroscopic sensors
-Dual analog sticks

Lows:
-Sony’s own proprietary memory card that doesn’t work in any other device but a PS Vita
-Poor battery life
-Only one screen
-No TV-out functionality
-Buttons are small and cramped

The first thing that stands out with a PS Vita is the screen. The Vita contains a 5” OLED display that has a qHD resolution (960×544). This will help developer’s improve lighting effects in games and help not to lower the frame rate degrade the gaming experience. The Vita uses a touch screen which works decently. There’s no need to have to type text for long periods of time anymore.The user interface has been changed and is no longer using the XMB interface from the PS3. The interface runs smoothly (60fps) but the graphics could be a bit more polished (hopefully they fix this up with a firmware update). One cool feature that the PS Vita can do is take advantage of remote play opportunities with the PS3. Very soon, you will be able to download a PS3 or PS Vita copy if you own the same copy on one of the two devices. This means that you’ll be able to stream PS3 games to your PS Vita for a more portable experience or move a saved PS Vita game to your PS3 and continue the experience at home. Another concept is to be able to use the PS Vita as a touch screen controller when playing games on your PS3 device. So far, there is no game that has taken advantage of these opportunities but it’s definitely something that gaming developers can use to their advantage to make a better gaming experience for all those involved.

We found the controls to be a bit small and crunched together. Perhaps for people with smaller hands it might be less of an issue but for the people who tried to use the device it was found to be a bit small. The device now has two analog sticks like the PS3 which will make PS3 users very happy. There’s only one screen unlike the 3DS which has two screens and perhaps Sony could have figured out a way to add a second screen in the back that could pop up that would add something different to specific games. The Vita still allows you to watch movies/television and listen to music on the device and the video quality looks nice on the OLED screen. The speakers are placed in the front and are clear and your hands don’t cover the speakers while playing and don’t interfere with the sound quality. The camera’s picture quality is poor and the battery life can be poor for some high quality games. If you use the device for video/audio then it can last for over 5hrs but certain games can drain the battery life much faster down to 3 hrs. One major issue that we have with this device is their proprietary memory card. The card doesn’t come inside the box and must be purchased separately. Therefore, you can’t save games at all until you purchase the memory card which doesn’t work with any other device and can be a steep price point at 50-75$.

Overall, we liked the device but only for gaming. The multimedia add-ons are a nice bonus but aren’t the major reason you should purchase this system. If you like gaming and already have a PS3 – This might be a nice extra accessory to help you keep playing your favorite games while outside of your home.

(1 votes, average: 3 out of 5)

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