by IGN PlayStation Team

For the better part of the week, IGN has been playing the wheels off the PlayStation Vita. We're passing around Uncharted: Golden Abyss and Touch My Katamari cartridges like they're going out of style. This has led to a number of previews and a ton of videos, but now it's time for the IGN PlayStation Team to talk about the device as a whole. We've been playing a lot of PlayStation Vita, and here's how we feel about it...


Now that I've spent quite a bit of time with my very own PlayStation Vita, I'm more confident than ever that it's going to be the go-to choice for the PlayStation faithful. The Vita is a technical behemoth, but that's not the reason why I'm so impressed with it. Rather, I'm more stoked about the catalog of games we have access to now, nonetheless the ridiculous launch lineup of over two dozen games that will be available when PlayStation Vita launches in North America and Europe on February 22nd.

I've always taken a liking to PS3's CrossMediaBar, and figured I'd be a bit disappointed with Vita's lack of one. But Vita's interface, which takes more than a few cues from smart phones and tablets, works extremely well. What I'm most impressed with is how the Vita's various features are able to co-mingle with one another in such a fluid manner that stresses customization. By pressing the PlayStation button on the device, any screen you're on is minimized so you can scroll through other windows and menus, but it's never cast away unless you decide to outright close it.

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What this all adds up to is customizing your Vita experience in such a way that best caters to your wants and needs. Do you want a PS3-like experience that lets you know when people sign on and when you get messages? Then leave those tools running in the background. Want to be left alone? Then close those programs and keep things quiet. Better yet, if you minimize a game while it's running, which can be done at any time, the game snaps back to life virtually instantaneously when you go back in. There's no waiting for loading and no worries that I can perceive of in terms of having too much running at one time.

The game I've been spending the most time with is Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational, and though it's pretty heavy on Japanese, I'm finding my way around well enough and have been having a great time. I have a copy of Uncharted: Golden Abyss that I've yet to crack open, not because I don't want to, but because I'm saving it for my flight back east for the holidays, the flight back to San Francisco, and just about every free moment I have in between.

The PlayStation Vita is the real deal, friends. I'm super-excited for the rest of you to get your hands on one so you can see why.

Colin touches on one of my favorite things about the Vita -- how everything works together. Being about to jump out of a game, send a message, sync Trophies, turn on a song and jump right back into the game with my music still playing is hot. I'm not sold on the bubbles interface because I think it looks cluttered (the columned task manager is more my speed), but beyond visuals, I'm sold on the OS.

In fact, I'm sold on the Vita. It feels good to play, I'm really interested in the servers coming online so that I can properly use Near, and holy geez do I want ModNation Racers: Road Trip. The other night I Tweeted that playing Uncharted on the train was proof I was meant to live in this age, and I stand by it. The ability to earn Trophies, manage my PSN messages and play full-fledged experiences on the go are what I want out of portable gaming.

I wish the battery lasted longer and the memory cards were cheaper, but the only real issue I have with the Vita is something that shouldn't matter to the average consumer. I tried to move a game off my PS3 to the Vita the other day, and I was told I already had five portable devices registered to my PSN name. I went to the new Sony Entertainment Network site to deactivate some of my PSPs, but it turns out that I need the PSP in my hand to deactivate it. It would be a lot more helpful if I could just override the activated systems with the new Vita or deactivate systems without having them in my hand.

But I digress. The PlayStation Vita is a sexy device that I can't wait to get more time with -- preferably with games in English.


Oh Vita, you charm me in so many ways. After more thorough sessions with Vita, my fears over its face button size have subsided and been replaced by raw excitement for the North American launch. I've already invested a few hours into the import version of Army Corps of Hell, and my hands feel as relaxed as summer vacation. The touch screen works wonders for traditional gaming UI, especially when you experiment with the Vita's "LiveArea" system. Navigating around the Vita menus should have been a game in itself. And in a way it almost is -- if you look at Welcome Park.

Clements digs Army Corps.
Clements digs Army Corps.

Army Corps of Hell, additionally, rocks. I say that both literally and figuratively. Every moment of Army Corps of Hell comes raging across the screen with metal music. The King of Hell, our hilariously confident protagonist, commands his goblin army with a bony fist. And the gameplay, which echoes the Codemasters series Overlord, mixes strategy with lightning-fast combat. Hurling goblins at a floating eyeball delivers a very unique sense of satisfaction. I can only hope that satisfaction sticks around until the ending credits roll.

IGN's PlayStation Vita HQ
We have more Vita information than we know what to do with.
IGN's Vita Guide
Vita Video Blowout
Hours of Uncharted

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