The PlayStation Vita Review : Techmantis

The PlayStation Vita Review

Posted by Jake Jan - 4 - 2012 31 Comments

The PlayStation Vita is the latest system released under Sony’s PlayStation brand. The console (recently released in Japan) is said to revolutionize the way games are played and also bring a sense of home console qualities in the palm of the player’s hands and to some extent, it meets those expectations.

The Look and feel

Straight out of the box, the console’s exterior is glorious and sports a glossy “Crystal Black” faceplate with a classic, sexy matte silver trim. The thumb-sticks as well as the huge 5 inch OLED touchscreen are the real eye-catchers of the system. Another thing to consider are the changes to the button layout, some of which has affected the size of some of the buttons – Which will annoy a lot of people. Despite this, the button layout and thumb-sticks simply stand out and make this system look like it was made for games and entertainment.

Technical aspects

The device is beautifully constructed both inside and out. Layer upon layer, the design shows consistent quality. The densely packed interior actually seems a lot cleaner, more organized and generally stunning as opposed to other handhelds like the PSP and 3DS.

The PlayStation Vita does pack a hefty punch in terms of power and offers an ARM Cortex-A9 quad-core CPU clocked at 2GHz, as well as a 4-core GPU and 512mb of RAM. Aside from this, the console sports a unique and innovative rear touchpad, a 4-point Gyro-sensor, two 2 Mega-pixel cameras (one front-facing and one rear-facing) and the 5 inch OLED screen (mentioned previously). This along with the dual thumb-sticks makes this system probably the most interactive gaming console we’ve seen since the Nintendo Wii.

The OLED screen has a non-HD resolution of 960 x 544 (double the PSP resolution) which I was disappointed about but despite that, the display and graphics still look phenomenal. The screen does supports multi-touch to some extent but we’ve only been able to try out pinch-to-zoom, however; in-game the rear touchpad does, so it’s not a complete loss.

The Wi-Fi model weighs in at 260g and the 3G model weighs in at 279g. This is surprisingly light, considering the size of the device; it’s only about half an inch bigger in both width and length than the PSP slim.

Introducing Home Screen and LiveArea

Sometimes, the most fundamental part of a device is the operating system and software, so we’ll talk about the OS first. Home screen is the core of Sony’s new OS and allows users to access multiple features with a slide or a tap of a finger and quite frankly, it’s a little short of phenomenal.

The inability to optionally use physical buttons on the entire interface is a little disappointing, but there isn’t a need to; the system is super-responsive and generally practical to use. Even if users are having problems, the “Welcome Park” application comes in handy and offers great mini-games to help users get used to the Vita features.

Aside from this, LiveArea works alongside the Home Screen and does justice by also taking into account the live applications running in the background such as: Trophies, Photos and much more. This means that when you’re in a game, you can access or “kill” these tabbed pages by pressing the “PS” button without a loss in battery or performance – This only works with some applications though. Both ways, this OS performs the best multi-tasking I have seen in a console to-date and this was probably the feature which stood out the most.

Other features

Another great feature is the addition of party chat. Party chat allows multiple players to chat simultaneously which is something the PS3 lacked and something that this includes which should make the online gaming experience a lot more enjoyable.

Trophies return with a new display and a brand new look. Users also have the option of accessing other trophy information from their PlayStation Network account.

Twitter, Skype and Facebook integration will be available at launch or around that time as it is in Japan, which is good for any gamer on the move. Trophy to Facebook support still works in exactly the same manner as it does on the PS3 – Just enable it in account settings, sync from your trophy page and it’ll post the trophies obtained to Facebook every time you sync.

The browser as always is an awful attempt at delivering a solid browsing experience for users. It’s a little fidgety but at the same time, it’s pretty quick once users get the hang of it. Then again, in the 6 years since the PSP’s launch, it still amazes me why PlayStation hasn’t made or outsourced for a far decent browser. There’s nothing innovative included in the browser, but the touchscreen keys make typing a hell of a lot easier than the PSP and PS3.

The Battery life

I was pleasantly surprised with the battery life, but this isn’t a case for others. The device can run up to five hours from 50-100% brightness with Wi-Fi turned on during this session and that’s not including sleep mode times. I should imagine getting an extra hour or two more with brightness and Wi-Fi off. Then again, the battery life was really put to the test because of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, which does seem to squeeze the juice out of my battery a little more. From this, I realized battery life was completely down to the games you play and how long for, so if you’re playing anything less hardware demanding than Uncharted, then your battery should be a little better.

It’s still disappointing to see no external battery. This means there won’t be an improved battery like what we saw with the PSP but more an ugly, chunky add-on for this gorgeous device.

Nevertheless, it will take around 2 hours and 40 minutes to charge an empty battery so that isn’t too bad.

The Games

In my opinion, I didn’t like the Vita launch titles but Japanese fans would, and that is understandable at the launch so I’m not faulting or basing any review points on that. Instead, I’ll discuss the launch line-up for the US and EU. Below is a list of games to be expected at launch:

SCE Launch Day Titles
Escape Plan (PSN Only)
Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational
Hustle Kings (PSN Only)
Little Deviants
ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Super StarDust Delta (PSN only)
UNCHARTED: Golden Abyss
wipEout 2048

Launch SCE Window Titles
Gravity Rush
MLB 12 The Show
Reality Fighters
Unit 13

Third Party Publisher Launch Day Titles
Army Corps of Hell
Asphalt Injection
BEN10 GALACTIC RACING
Blazblue: Continuum Shift EXTEND
Dungeon Hunter Alliance
Dynasty Warriors Next
F1 2011
EA SPORTS FIFA Soccer
Lumines Electronic Symphony
Michael Jackson The Experience
Plants vs. Zombies (PSN Only)
Rayman Origins
Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen
Tales of Space: Mutant Blobs (PSN Only)
Touch My Katamari
Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3
Virtua Tennis 4: World Tour Edition

Third Party Launch Window Titles
LEGO® Harry Potter: Years 5-7
Disgaea 3:Absence of Detention
NINJA GAIDEN Sigma PLUS
Ridge Racer
Silent Hill Book of Memories
Supremacy MMA: Unrestricted

So there you have it; a solid mixture or great launch titles which easily beat most of the 3DS launch titles from early on this year.

Most, if not all these games will also be available both as physical Vita cartridges and digital download from PSN, which is a push in the right direction for gamers who like digitally owning games. It would seem that Sony has really thought-out the content and availability of its games and this makes me quite happy to know that I have access to exactly the same software as retailers do.

The PlayStation Vita has more pro’s than cons and for all the technical aspects, the Wi-Fi model is worth the $250 retail price. Even if you’d prefer the 3G model, it’s still worth the $300. But personally, I choose to tether Wi-Fi from my two Android Devices. However, something to consider is that the 3G model has GPS and exclusive games, which won’t be too much of an important factor, regardless.

This console will make the most button-bashing gamers enjoy motion controls and appreciate the concept at the same time. It is games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss that really make the Vita stand out from the handheld consoles and tablet divisions.

Sure, the browser sucks, the buttons are a little small and the 5 inch OLED screen doesn’t support multi-touch but those things are minor when you consider the sheer aspect of how this system runs both in and out of game.

Regardless of performance, I’m still completely annoyed with the lack of an external battery but that was probably due to the lack of space due to the rear touchpad. Maybe it was eliminated for security measures as a result of battery exploitation from the PSP? Who knows? The memory pricing is ridiculous and I can’t help feel that Sony did this deliberately. For one, the card looks an awful lot like the now-redundant M2 Memory sticks. However, Sony promises to bundle a 4GB Memory stick with its shiny new console providing consumers pre-order it from local retailers.

Another bad point is the fact that these memory cards can only hold one PSN account. This means that sharing the console with family member isn’t as practical as it is for the PS3.

In all, Sony has managed to deliver in what I would call their most enjoyable system yet. This console has no real gimmicks, it is just relevant to this day and age and offers ground-breaking games and software that we have naturally come to expect from developers. This is a must buy and I for one, think that the price is right, but for those who cannot fork out the full $250, I would suggest waiting around. The recent sale figures in Japans could mean that the PlayStation Vita gets a price cut – Which could work out a lot better. Given the features and specs alone, this system would sell like hot cakes at a lower price.

Anyway, to conclude the written review I’ve done a video review to highlight any points missed (if any):

Important note to Twitter followers: People who tweet to us, mention us and tweet the link to this review and tag us, are entered in our Wi-Fi PlayStation Vita giveaway. A winner will be chosen 24 hours later. The rules are here.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to post comments!

Author: Jake Durasamy
Visit Jake's Website - Email Jake
Jake began his journalism career by writing for Dashhacks, a major development and hacking site for all gaming platforms. In the recent years, Jake has focused towards university, journalism and has been addicted to Twitter, so feel free to follow him as he often gives out PS3 promotion codes.

Categories: Featured, PS Vita, Sony

http://www.facebook.com/rewdboy05 Harold Chick

First! Here’s to hoping this review ups our traffic like woah.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Sitch-Durasamy/100000188624456 Jake ‘Sitch’ Durasamy

Hopefully. This was one of my best written work ever. We’ll get the quality news trait down, if not the traffic.

Spartan 363

It was a helpful review, once the North American/European versions drops, then we can confirm more features or even separate features unique to certain regions. I’m most curious on Homebrew, just like the PSP’s early days, it shows a lot of promise. I may get one oneself once it’s available in North America.

http://twitter.com/jap_sander japsander

nice review
if you got 5 hrs out of the battery i would be very happy. my psp rarely managed 3 hours

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Sitch-Durasamy/100000188624456 Jake ‘Sitch’ Durasamy

Yeah, great system. I should image 3G affecting the battery on the 3G model, but I cannot confirm that.

Ace_t

Good review. Are you getting any more games?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Sitch-Durasamy/100000188624456 Jake ‘Sitch’ Durasamy

Yeah, but I generally hate the Japanese line-up. Might be getting Ridge Racer soon.

HEC007

RR is actually the worst game in the whole line up – it has also lowest scoring on PS Store – I’d avoid it for sure.

http://twitter.com/Loco197porto Pedro Tavares

the vita is a piece of art that belongs in the museum of awesome …the xmb looks so nice and 4 core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore …very good review !!!

Anonymous

I actually don’t like the new menu. And it technically isn’t an XMB anymore because that refers to the Cross Menu Bar.

Chris Monteiro

Nice review!
Anonymous

Nice review Jake.
http://dhruvbhutani.com Dhruv Bhutani

You seem to be using a skin on the Vita. Which one is it and where’d you source it from ? Nice review.
Thanks

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Sitch-Durasamy/100000188624456 Jake ‘Sitch’ Durasamy

Skin? There’s no skin there, only the console.

http://twitter.com/hailfire101 Hailfire101

Lack of HD (720) is pretty bad, considering most phones now have this as standard.
It nice… its certainly better than the PSP… but I personally like to hard core game on a TV. On the move, I’ll stick to my phone and pads.

Nice review tho.
http://twitter.com/ThatBrownGuy_01 Amrik Sadhra

Great review Jake, true to the core and tells us what we need, a bit ticked off at the lack of multi-touch though
http://twitter.com/Nothingface1337 Nothingface420

nice review,
I definitely want to get one, but I can’t afford it right now
HEC007

HomWhile I’ve onoyed the review allow me to correct several inaccuracies:

1. I’m not sure HOW did you arrived to the conclusion that front touch screen ha no multitouch but if it wouldn’t how would I be able to yoom pictures and web sites as I am right now?

2. The screen (“XMB”on PS3 or PSP) you’re refering to as Live Area is actually called Home Screen, Live Area is the screen for each individual game or app which includes launch button, help, some onlie realted content, Near updates and other stuff.

3. PS3 has group chat – both text and video – as well so this comment is is completelly irelevant (and yes, it’s not called Group chat but still allows you to chat with multiply users, the only addition was later on in the PS3 live to be able to use it from ingame XMB)

4. The real battery live is more like 3 to max 3.5 hours whcih is imo pretty poor – I’ve already needed to get additional 7000 mAh TeckNet Power Bank kit to assure I’ll not run out of juice when out and about.

5. It’s not an inch larger – just about half inch in each direction – than PSP.

6. The reason whyc is the battery only internal has nothing to do with ahcking or using 3rd party batteries – it’s much more prosaic – with the rear touch pad there was simply not easy way to include removable cover and with all the memory and SIM card slot plus external plugs on around trim it has no space for side slide in battery either.

HEC007

Sorry, for typos, I was trying to proof read before posting but your tiny reply box didn’t allow me to scroll while posting from my tablet …

Anonymous

Feel free to complain about the website when yours is giving away a PS Vita, that’s assuming you have a website, you appear to be an expert on everything. If you don’t like the article or how the website looks and runs go elsewhere, thanks.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Sitch-Durasamy/100000188624456 Jake ‘Sitch’ Durasamy

1. Pinch to zoom isn’t real multi-touch it’s an enabled gesture for certain objects – Which is just standard nowadays. An example would be my old HTC HD2, it had pinch to zoom and no-multitouch natively. I bet if you used a paint application on the Vita it would recognise one finger at a time.

2. Live area is the entire interface name. It was stated at the announcement last year.

3. Yeah, but party chat works in-game without needing to go into the main interface.

4. What model do you have and what brightness do you have on, I’ve used mine for days on-end and averaged each drain at 5 hours, not consistently obviously.

5. About an inch length and 0.75 width.

6. Even so, there is still space on the side trims to store a side battery compartment, even if they are curved. Even the use of Sony’s memory format proves 3rd party hardware is simply frowned upon. It’s partly because Sony don’t trust manufacturers because things could be exploited on their end.

You made great points though, I’ll feature some in the revision tomorrow. I’m way too lazy right now.

HEC007

1. Multitouch is by definition / in principle anything that alows more than one simultaneous touch at the time to be detected and that’s exactly what we have here – you can’t do pinch zoom without that. Vita’s hardware clearly supports that and it’s only up to each individual game / app how they utilize it. App (or even OS) not using multitouch doesn’t mean the system dosen’t have / support it. Also – in the Welcome Park they’re clearly using multitouch as well. I’m not really sure how did you arrived to this believe but if you have any official source please provide it.

2. Nope, it isn’t – read the manual. (Not sure what announcement you’re refering to but it could be simply incorrect or missrepresentation). The screenshot you’ve provided in that part of the article is called Home Screen, Live Area is exactly what I’ve described in my original comment – you can scroll / swipe right to up to 6 Live Areas of open games and apps but it’s definitelly not “OS called Live Area”as you’ve put it. I know it’s just playing with the words but your info is simply not correct.

3. Not sure really what you mean by that? You still need to leave (suspend) the game and go to Party Chat LiveArea to be able to reply, indeed you can SEE the incoming messages while in game but that’s exactly the same like in PS3 so no difference here. Again – unless it’s directly supported by game / app itself, tou can’t chat without leaving it.

4. 3G in Airplane mode (e.g. all comms off) and 60% of brightnes – never got over 3.5 hours, mostly close to just 3.

5. Vita: 182 x 84 mm
PSP Slim 200x: 170 x 70 mm
which makes 12 mm difference in length and 14 mm in height (0,47 and 0,55 inch rounded to two decimal points) which surelly is as closer as possible to my original estimate but to be exact I’ve measured it this time.

6. I agree that anything with built in battery is bad and with a bit of effort and will there would be a chance to have (user) replacable battery – I was merelly pointing out that the hacking / 3rd party batteries usage was not the (main) reason but rather the rear touch pad.

7. OK, it that’s just a bit missleading and might surprise someone later.

8. My head if fine and NOWHERE in the whole article it’s mentined by a single word or in any way aparent that you have an UK account, sorry! (Having UK English selected as OS language doesn’t mean you’re necessarily using UK account – you can have any PSN account with that including Japanese one.) And frankly – reviewing Japanase Vita with UK (or any non Japanese) PSN account is a bit lame as you can’t clearly test all the current features of it (namely PS Store, any available demos or apps etc.) – in another words – reviewing Japanese device but stating Twitter app will be available make no sense as it already is available. You could have mentioned it’s currently available on Japanese store only (as there are no Vita sections yet in other region stores) and that it is expceted to be available in our region as well upon release and we’d avoid all this discussion about that.

P.S.
Yeah – I’ve been a bit harsh but frankly – this was really not well researched, wasn’t it? And this is not about pleasing anyone but about supplying correct info and that’s what I though is it mainly about. If you can’t bear a bit of (constructive) criticism then don’t write, simple as that. I didn’t mean it in any offensive way but be honest – how would you feel if you’d read something like that and you knew it’s full of incorrect info – would you really trust that blog / site / forum much with other stuf? I know I wouldn’t. I’m sorry if I’ve hurt your feelings – it was not my intention – I just wanted to be sure that others reading your review are correctly informed.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Sitch-Durasamy/100000188624456 Jake ‘Sitch’ Durasamy

I’m not having a debate – It tarnishes our reputation. I’ll change things tomorrow. I’m not offended, you were just overly critical. Constructive criticism is changing one or two things, not massive chunks. I don’t think you enjoyed the article at all, I just think you were just looking for flaws.

Also kill that 60% brightness, no one needs that. Mines on low and I can see everything fine .

http://twitter.com/JensDietrich Jens Dietrich

HEC007 was completely constructive in his criticism, offering clear suggestions for how the article could and should be corrected. Your definition of constructive criticism – “changing one or two things, not massive chunks” – is simply wrong. The term has nothing whatsoever to do with the AMOUNT of criticism.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Sitch-Durasamy/100000188624456 Jake ‘Sitch’ Durasamy

Maybe so, but after I said I’d make amendments on the first reply, there’s no need to carry on and “Frankly – if this is “one of your best written work ever” I’d be scared to read anything else from you …” wasn’t constructive, you know that and I know that. Like I said already, I’ll make amendments.

HEC007

Also:

7. The stock Sony’s computer rendered picture of Vita (rather than using a real picture of it) create a false impression that the analogue sticks are flushed with the surface which indeed is not true and it would be clearly visible in real photo. They’re raised about a 1/4 of inch above the surface.

8. Twitter already IS available from the start – a little bit of research would help you to find it both on (Japanase and Asia) PS Stores as well as in endless amount of actuall tweets directly from Vita by people who use – own it.

P.S.

Frankly – if this is “one of your best written work ever” I’d be scared to read anything else from you …

http://www.facebook.com/people/Jake-Sitch-Durasamy/100000188624456 Jake ‘Sitch’ Durasamy

7: Fair play. I’ll do that.

8. I know. If you’d taken your head out of your ass, you’d see that I have a UK account. Which means I don’t have twitter at launch on the EU PSN store because it hasn’t launched. Hence why I said it’ll be available. I’m speaking for those who are waiting for release in their native regions.

P.S. If you don’t think so, keep it to yourself. 1337Mods doesn’t need assey commenters anyway. I’ve worked as a writer for years on various sites to know that you can’t please everyone. This was my take, read others.

Team Fail

Well, the battery life looks better than the 3DS battery. Well, a 3DS without the Nyoko Powerpack.
http://twitter.com/zanaitoryoushi Kyle Wendl A. Paat

@HEC007

“P.S.

Frankly – if this is “one of your best written work ever” I’d be scared to read anything else from you … ”

haha, lol to that, trying to show your better, eh?
why not write your own review rather than correct someone’s work in such a careless manner..
if your intention is to provide constructive criticism, why bother saying something like that..lol, means of showing off perhaps?
http://twitter.com/zanaitoryoushi Kyle Wendl A. Paat

@HEC007

read this, perhaps you need a refresher on “constructive criticism”
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976742561

anyway, i think the review was helpful for those who are planning to buy the handheld..and knowing it came from someone who’s, in my opinion, a true gamer by heart..
http://twitter.com/hailfire101 Hailfire101

There’s always one on Every web site and forum. Ours is HEC007……