Well I finally got to check out a PSV today, and well I figured I'd
go ahead and share my first impressions on the thing. Although my time
with the Vita was actually pretty short, I still got a pretty good feel
of how it works, and what it'll be like playing full games. So would I
say its worth buying? Well...
When I first picked up the Vita I was actually pretty shocked. It is
very light, at least compared to the PSP and 3DS, and the larger size
wasn't as awkward as I thought it would be. After seeing all the
previews and after seeing everyone actually play the Vita, the size was
one thing I was actually worried about. It is wider than the PSP don't
get me wrong, but the it is also nice as thin and the overall layout of
the buttons are in the right places. I didn't have to reach far for the
buttons, and everything was easy to use; heck I might even go as far as
saying that some of the buttons are easier to use than they are on the
PS3 controller!
As some of you may know I'm a pretty huge fan of fighting games such
as BlazBlue, and since CSX will be also getting a release on the Vita I
was thinking about going ahead and giving it a try; however like most
fighting game fans out there, I was a bit worried about how it would
control on a hand held. Lets face it guys, the D-Pad on the PSP was far
from perfect, and the nub just didn't quite cut it either. Sure I have
become used to both after using my PSP for years, but it's still a
problem when it comes to fighters. Well that's not a problem anymore!
The D-pad is amazing, easily one of the best D-pads I have ever seen,
the standard four buttons (X, Triangle, Square, Circle) are smaller and
easier to press, the L and R buttons are up a little bit higher which
makes it easier for your figures to press, and the analog sticks are
TRUE analog sticks! Now most reviews out there will tell you that the
analog sticks are amazing and that they are the best analog sticks on a
hand held so far; however that may not be true.
Now don't get me wrong, the analog sticks are great, there's two of
them, and they work just like you would expect analog sticks to work on a
console. The only problem I can really see is that they are a LOT
smaller than what most of us are used to. Really I guess it's not too
bad, but the smaller size might take a bit of getting used to,
especially if you're used to playing on the PS3. At least they're easier
to reach and easier to use! (I can actually pull off 421 moves in
fighters without having my thumb slide off of the darn thing!)
Overall I'm really impressed with the Vita's overall build, but how are the games?
Well before you start a game you'll find yourself in the new home
screen. The home screen is really nice looking (it reminds me a LOT of a
smart phone's home screen), and it works really well, but it can only
be controlled using the touch screen. Yep that's right, buttons are
almost completely useless outside of gameplay. I guess this isn't really
too big of a problem, but just like on the 3DS, I sometimes rather use
the buttons than my stylus.
Once you finally decide to start up a game, I chose to start up
Uncharted Golden Abyss, you'll find yourself at a loading screen. The
Vita is a powerful hand held that runs some pretty strong games (heck
it's already been confirmed that it can play PS3 games although the
feature is locked), but that does come at a price. Yes, as you might
have expected, loading screens do take awhile but it is worth it in the
end. Really the loading screens weren't too bad, Golden Abyss loaded up
faster than Uncharted 1, 2, and 3, but it'll still take at least 30
seconds or so (maybe less depending on what game you're starting up).
After the game finally loaded I once again found myself being forced
to use the touch screen on the menu, and then I finally got to start the
game. Now since I had already seen the demo playthrough 100 + times on
youtube I decided to go ahead and skip the opening cutscene, however I
soon found that I couldn't. Apparently even after the game starts it
takes awhile for the Vita to fully load everything, and because of that I
couldn't skip the cutscene. I'm really not sure if this kind of thing
will happen in other games as well, but it was a little bit annoying.
Now don't get me wrong, you CAN still skip cutscenes in the game but it
looks like you'll have to wait awhile so that everything can get loaded.
Sure I wasn't able to skip the first cutscene, but I was able to skip
every single one after; it really wasn't that big of a deal.
Although I didn't get a chance to play any other game besides
Uncharted I can safely say that Vita games do in fact play like PS3
games. Since I am a pretty huge fan of the Uncharted games I already
knew what I should expect from Golden Abyss, however if you're the type
of person who has only been playing on the PSP/other last gen game
systems you WILL notice a major improvement. Still the game's controls
felt a lot like Uncharted 2/3, the graphics were as good as ever, and I
didn't have any problems at all jumping into it. It really is a high
quality game, but as someone who's used to this type of quality from
playing 360/PS3 games, it didn't shock me at all. (It's still REALLY
nice to finally see these types of games make it to a hand held though!)
Now I know some of you might be thinking that Vita games are better
left on a console since most of the time you don't have time to play
massive games on the go; well don't worry. Sure it is true that these
games could easily be console games, but there are still some people out
there who would rather play their games on a hand held. I myself enjoy
playing full games on hand helds simply because I'm not limited to where
I can play. Sometimes I'll be watching TV or sitting in the other room
while playing my PSP or 3DS, and other times I'll simply be away from
home with nothing else to do. Some people just rather not sit in one
spot playing a game for hours, so its only fair that they can bring a
"full console" style game with them. Still if you're a fan of the old
style "pick up, play for 5 minutes, then sit down" style of games, you
really shouldn't worry. Just like with the PSP Vita games are portable
friendly and there will still be plenty of smaller sized games to play.
Just because there's a huge focus on "console quality" games, it doesn't
mean they've completely left their roots behind.
Overall the Vita is a great piece of hard ware. It has some great
games, amazing graphics, it's strong enough to load a lot of data (don't
worry Warriors fans, you no longer have to settle for less than 20
enemies at once, we're going back to 1000s!), and and the controls are
great. The only real down side I see is the fact that some games DO
require data install, which does require you to buy a somewhat pricey
memory card. (At least the cards are good quality!)
Sadly I did not get to mess around with the online play features
(such as party chat), and I never truly got to use the front and back
touch panel so I'm still not quite sure how I feel about them. Uncharted
used them in a gimmicky like way (they were used to preform actions
that you could do by also using the buttons), but I do look forward to
seeing how creative companies can get.
With the 3DS and Vita being released, this generation might be the best hand held generation yet.
