Finally, the games, and summary
The games
It's the games, of course, that are going to make or break PS Vita, and so far, honestly, I've been blown away by the launch offerings. Uncharted: Golden Abyss is the best-looking game I've ever played on a handheld, and Sony has implemented the various control schemes extremely well and harnessed the power of Vita to deliver a cinematic adventure.
The touch controls have been extremely responsive in-game, with titles such as Little Deviants totally dispelling concerns about the rear touchpad being just a gimmick. Indeed, the launch line-up is impressive, with games such as FIFA Football and WipEout 2048 proving that Vita doesn't just rely on its various control schemes for its thrills, but can provide compelling core gaming experiences.
Indeed, PS Vita shows its strengths as a gaming device across the whole breadth of its launch titles from augmented reality offerings, such as Reality Fighters, to socially-focused titles such as Hustle Kings. The tilt mechanism and front and rear touch controls work alongside the old-fashioned analogue twiddling mechanics to offer an array of titles that caters for practically every taste. This is the best launch line-up I've seen, and if it's an indication of what's to come, then Vita really could take-off, despite my initial concerns that it's arrived at a time where people too readily game on their smartphones.
I'd like to write more, lots more, on the gaming aspect of the Vita, but time is short and I've already taken up too much of your concentration. When I pull myself away from the unit, which may not be soon (it had better be - Ed) I'll be reviewing the gaming experiences separately.
Final thoughts
If you think Vita is going to be hybrid gaming/smartphone device that's also going to run your life, allow you upload photos to Facebook, take decent quality videos on the tube, or check emails quickly, you may be disappointed. As it stands, it's more about connecting PlayStation gamers together and making it easy for like-minded people to meet up, chat and play games together.
It's about the games and the hardware that enables them to perform so incredibly well and look vibrant on screen. And it's about providing gamers with a multitude of options via a range of intuitive control schemes that are a lot of fun to use.
Though I've been critical of some of Vita's features, and still get irritated when the battery drains so quickly, the more time I've spent with it the less I've wanted to put it down. That's really due to one thing and one thing only: the games. As a handheld gaming device Vita has the potential for great things. Here's hoping it gets the developer support it deserves.
The Good
Excellent design, comfortable to grip
Analogue sticks give it a console-like feel
Outstanding graphics for a handheld
Connectivity to other PlayStation gamers
The Bad
Lack of non-gaming features at launch
Most games are currently incompatible with Remote Play
Battery drains really quickly
My rating
Sony PlayStation Vita
HEXUS Where2Buy
The PlayStation Vita is available to buy from Vodafone, Sony's preferred provider of 3G, who is also offering WipEout 2048 free and 250MB of data when you top up £5.
