The PlayStation Vita: Converting a Console Gamer to a Portable Player.
Today, I'm going to take a break from the classics and touch on a gaming device I'm having a blast with. Normally, I'm not a handheld gamer. I've owned just about every model of Game Boy ever released, from the original Brick to the Game Boy Advance. I've also had a Nintendo DS, 3DS, and the original PlayStation Portable (PSP). I have to be honest when I say I've had more fun with the Sony handhelds than I did with their Nintendo counterparts. Allow me to explain. I'm a large fan of the first party Nintendo titles. Mario, Zelda, Metroid, Smash Bros., Pokemon (not so much Pokemon, as they're very repetitive to me), Kirby, Animal Crossing. All of those titles are enjoyable, have quality gameplay, and are iconic in the Nintendo library. But after those, I found myself searching for other titles to enjoy and would wind up trading the system in for something else. Each time, from the Game Boy to the original PSP, it would be on the chopping block a few months after I bought it. Wasted money? Possibly, though I do believe I got a good amount of time and money out of each handheld. Would there ever be a handheld I'd play on a regular basis, has a library of games for me to explore, and not want to get rid of after a few months?
There is. It's a handheld I've previously owned (and traded once) and it has finally dig it's claws into me. That device is the PlayStation Vita. This system launched in North America on February 15th, 2012. I purchased a day-one bundle that came with a 4GB memory stick and bought 2 games: Uncharted: Golden Abyss and WipeOut 2048. Both are excellent games for a handheld. A few weeks later, I picked up Hot Shots Golf and Motorstorm RC. Had a blast with these games and considered them to be a pretty strong launch line-up. As time went by, the initial hype I felt for the Vita wore off and I decided to sell it to buy a VIP ticket to a Megadeth concert. Didn't feel any remorse, either.
I went a while without a handheld, aside from my phone. A few months ago, I discovered the Vita was getting a new design for a good price with Borderlands 2 and a memory card bundled in, so I decided to pick on up with some trade credit at Best Buy. Surprising to me, I haven't put it down since.
This system is outstanding. It features a front touch screen, a rear touch pad, two analog sticks, and a rechargable battery. The redesign is comfortable, has a great battery life, and the new LCD screen looks fantastic. Sure, the OLED screen on the original Vita is unmatched and the LCD is a step down, but if you don't have them side-by-side, you can't tell the difference. And after a while, who cares? I sure don't, as the graphics on many of these games are beautiful on the LCD or OLED screens.
This is Borderlands 2 on Vita. Seriously. I'm not lying.
The Vita itself feels great in your hands. The original felt a little bulky and there were issues with accidentally hitting the back touch pad, but the redesign worked to fix those things. You may still bump the rear touch pad accidentally, but not nearly as often on the slim Vita. It can be frustrating, but it's in no way a deal-breaker. The front speakers can really push out the audio, too. And the audio is honestly console quality. I get the feeling of playing a console game in the palm of my hands with this device, which I've never had before with other systems. The original PSP had too many issues to really immerse yourself in a game. The single analog stick, for starters. Playing a shooter was way too difficult to get used to. But on the Vita, playing a shooter feels like playing a shooter. Killzone: Mercenary is one of the best shooters I've ever played. It plays exactly like you'd expect a shooter to play. There is no mistaking it for a Killzone title. It even has an active multiplayer community. All on a handheld!
Killzone: Mercenary. A true FPS experience on a handheld console.
Convenience was a big selling point for me when thinking about getting back into the handheld world. Especially considering all my previous attempts failed and I grew bored in rapid fashion. So I took a deeper look into the features offered by the Vita. Facebook, Twitter, email, GPS, video, and music are all available on the handheld. But let's be honest, we all have phones, tablets, or laptops for these things. The Vita just isn't going to crack the market on those features. I used the Facebook app once to see what it was like and deleted it. Not because it was a bad Facebook client. It wasn't at all. I just didn't want it taking up storage space. There is also a feature called Near, which is a location-based app. You check-in and it shows you players within a 10 mile radius. You can make new friends, challenge other players to multiplayer matches, check out other user's profiles, rate the games in your library, or drop items for someone in your area to find and download. All things considered, it's a pretty cool feature.
But after those feature, I discovered Remote Play was an option for all PS4 and only a few PS3 titles. Since I own a PS4, I figured this would be an awesome reason to own a Vita and I was totally right. Nothing was cooler than booting up my PS4 for my living room couch and playing Watch_Dogs instead of going downstairs to play in seclusion. I will admit, there were some times where the gameplay was slow and choppy. This only seemed to be an issue during heavy bandwidth times, like on a Saturday night, but other than that it ran beautiful. Remote Play is actually the way I finished over 50% of Watch_Dogs. It's a highly recommended feature for anyone who owns a PS4 and wants to get more out of the system.
Me playing Watch_Dogs on Remote Play. The "Whatchu talkin' bout, Willis" Tower.
While I understand completely that a $200 price tag may be a high for simply Remote Play, I think it's definitely worth it. But if you aren't willing to dig that deep into your pockets for that, take the games into consideration. Many people claim the Vita is a dying system, and all signs point to that not being entirely false. But there are still a good amount of games on the horizon in addition to the many, many games on the market as I'm typing this. Assassin's Creed: Liberation, Borderlands 2, LEGO Marvel Superheros, Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified, Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD, the God of War Collection, LittleBigPlanet, the Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, and Persona 4 are only a few of the stellar PS Vita titles out there. They all offer hours of awesome console-style gameplay in a portable device. And there are more coming like Minecraft, Hotline Miami 2, LEGO Batman 3, Freedom Wars, Tales of Heart R, and Rainbow Skies. Those are just the titles announced currently. This doesn't take into consideration what games you'll get from PS+ or unannounced titles. The PS Vita definitely has a lot of promise for gamers and isn't done giving yet. It does sucks we won't get getting the BioShock Vita title, though. That one would have been amazing.
There has to be something I dislike about the console, as you can't honestly like everything about what an electronic has to offer. And there is something I don't like about the Vita. The storage method. The memory cards, ranging in size from 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB, are too expensive. I currently have a 4GB and 8GB card. If you go the digital route, you're going to fill you card up quicker than going with physical games. Personally, I'm turning into a digital-media kind of guy, so both of those cards are just about full. I'd love to upgrade to the 64GB card, as I've read and heard from other Vita adopters that it eliminates the need for any additional storage, but the price tag that comes with that card is pretty steep at $95. You can sometimes find the 32GB card on sale for about $65, but even that is still high in my book. So I'm just swapping games out for now. Beat one, delete it, install another. This method keeps me honest and not buying games I'm not going to play off the jump. I also find myself finishing more games, so I guess it isn't so bad.
The moral of the story is, I love the PS Vita. It has a lot of games to offer, remote play is a killer feature, and the feeling of having a true console experience on a portable device is super fun. I'm currently hooked on Hot Shots: World Invitational, which was a launch title. Getting in 9 to 18 holes of golf before bed has become a ritual. I'm also working my way through Assassin's Creed: Liberation. It's a true Assassin's Creed game with hours of content. I love getting value out of my games. I'm spending hard-earned money on them when I'm not trading for games on 99gamers.com, so I don't want a 6 hour game I'll beat in a weekend and be done with. I want a game with substance, content, and replay value. The Vita offers those things in games of all styles and sizes, so I'm definitely feeling good about the money I've spend on the system.
The Borderlands 2 PS Vita Bundle
If you're a PlayStation fan, PS4 owner, or portable gaming junkie, the Vita has a ton of stuff to offer. Grab a Borderlands 2 bundle and see what it's all about. I'll return to my classics next week, probably, unless something else tickles my blogging bone. Let me know what you'd like to see me review or write about.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to hit the links in Hot Shots Golf.
Game On.
-ML
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