19 Dec, 2011
As Japanese gamers dashed to the shops to pick up their brand new PS Vitas this weekend, GGS Gamer sent me to London for a 2 hour play session where I got hands on with the newest edition to the Sony family. The biggest product launch since the PlayStation 3 was released in 2006, what exactly can western gamers expect when the Vita is launched across America, Canada and Europe on Feburary 22nd 2012?
Well, there’s a whole lot going on under your fingertips from the moment you pick the system up but undoubtedly, it’s the large 5 inch, 16 million colour OLED touch screen that grabs your attention first. Though similar in size to my HTC Sensation mobile phone screen, a strange optical illusion happens as stretched out by the two control panels at the side, the whole picture appear to be massive whilst the colours crisply zing out.
It’s lighter than I imagined it would be but unsurprisingly, Sony have clearly designed the system to be predominately played by male gamers in their early twenties, all of whom must have giant manly hands. Ladies, kids and anyone not blessed with long, slender piano playing fingers should know that getting to grips is quite a task on some of the games. The large, plastic curved shoulder buttons on the top, the wide spacing of the dual analogue sticks and the large touchy-feely pad at the back of the Vita all make for some serious finger workouts. This is a handheld and a half! Having said that, the multiple control mechanics makes for some fascinating gaming, some of which will take some getting used to. PS3 owners should experience a slick transition to the Vita thanks to the two analogue sticks which gives it almost identical control to the PS3 dualshock controller. The touch pad at the back however is a bit trickier as you can’t see your fingers. Getting accurate flicks or prods during gameplay requires greater skill and accuracy that will only come with plenty of practice. Good news then that Sony has announced that it will publish a whopping 12 games at launch; with at least 40 games due from third-party developers (although some have yet to be given official release dates so which ones will actually be ready for the big launch day is still unclear). Yesterday it was announced that PopCap’s Plants Vs Zombies will also be ready for the launch so expect many more titles to be added to the list before February. For now the ones to watch include:
Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock
EA Sports FIFA Football
Everybody’s Golf
F1 2011
Escape Plan
Gravity Rush
Little Deviants
LittleBigPlanet
Lumines: Electronic Symphony
Michael Jackson: The Experience
Motorstorm RC
ModNation Racers: Road Trip
Rayman: Origins
Reality Fighters
Ridge Racer
SoundShapes
Super Stardust Delta
Touch My Katamari
Ultimate Marvel Vs Capcom 3
WipEout 2048
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
For me, the biggest, best and most anticipated title on the launch list is Uncharted: Golden Abyss. Delivering the same level of beauty, attention to detail and enthralling narrative fans of the franchise will be looking for, Golden Abyss developers Studio Sony Bend have worked closely with Naughty Dog to build a brand new adventure where treasure hunter hunk Nathan Drake (incredibly brought to life once again by the talented actor Nolan North) is journeying through Central America on the trail of dark secrets left behind by the Spanish during their expeditions 400 years earlier. Even in the short demo, you could choose to use either the dual analog sticks and buttons or the Vita’s interactive controls to suit your playing style though I found using a mixture of both gave the most satisfying results. Fingers at the back can zoom in when using scopes on snipers and you can tilt the system for pin-point accuracy when aiming which makes headshots a breeze! Carefully guiding Drake through burning fires and cautiously balancing on beams varies the pace, plus you can also touch ladders to make Drake climb as well as making him jump, swing and slide around. The audio is exceptional thanks to two speakers on the front whilst the lighting and graphics are as crisp as some of those seen on the bigger home consoles plus they are clearly seen from whichever angle and distance you view from. Story wise, there’s yet another lady in Drake’s life, this time a brunette called Chase who is the daughter of an archeologist and appears to be even more gutsy than the main man! There’s over two hours of cinematics in this 10 hour plus game – longer than Uncharted 3 on the PS3 though you only get 5 hours of battery life on the Vita before you need to recharge. Handheld? Yes. Portable? Yes but only if you can get near a plug mid-game. Trophy hunters will be happy too as the Vita offers full support for collecting those all important prizes and there’s plenty to collect in Golden Abyss.
Some games in the line up will provide opportunities for cross-platform multiplay between the PS Vita and the PS3, something Sony like to call “Cross-Play” (yeah, took ages that one I bet). The futuristic, anti-gravity racer WipEout 2048 with its blistering speeds, awesome soundtrack and superb neon graphics not only has some impressive updates to the franchise like being able to accelerate with the rear touchpad or tilt control with the inbuilt accelerometers and gyroscopes but allows you via ‘Cross-Play’ to race online side by side with players on tracks from WipEout HD Fury on the PS3. The banked corners, speed boosters and split routes look identical on either the big or small screen.
In addition to ‘Cross-Play’, the PS Vita also has a ‘Party’ mode where you can text or voice chat with friends; ‘Live Area’ which allows you to swap the latest gaming gossip with friends as news is streamed to the handheld and finally, ‘Near’ that lets you see which of your friends are nearby, what they are playing and if you’re feeling generous, will even let you swap little gifts with them. Gamers can use GPS technology or can connect over mobile phone networks and Wi-Fi hot spots. As social networking is a daily routine for some this should have some appeal but doubt it will become a replacement for mobile phones anytime soon.
The PS Vita is being hailed as a next-generation device and clearly, though it does most of the things a smartphone can do, first and foremost it’s a gaming machine. Certainly, the analogue sticks bring a level of control you can never obtain with phones or tablets. With WAAR (Wide Area Augmented Reality) also on the agenda, creating large-scale game environments from real-world background via AR cards and a huge line up of launch titles that should make Nintendo’s 3DS look paltry, it’s strange then that the question about whether existing PSP games can be transferred over to the Vita remains unanswered. However, the biggest drawback seems to be the lack of internal storage which means you’ll have to fork out even more money for memory cards ranging in price from $29.99 for a 4GB card to a eye watering $119.99 for a 32GB card. With the basic model costing $249.99 (around £229.99 in the UK) it’s a huge outlay for a device that does a lot of what my smartphone already does and hopefully, we won’t see Sony slashing prices like Nintendo did with the 3DS less than six months after launch.
Overall, despite the storage issue and it being slightly oversize for my tiny hands (a similar problem I had with the Atari Lynx many years ago), the PS Vita does look amazing and the launch line up is impressive. UK gamers will be able to decide for themselves if the PS Vita really does signal the dawn of the eighth-generation as the PS Vita Room tour kicks off at 63 Deansgate in Manchester from Friday 13th – Wednesday 18th Jan. The tour will then continue to Glasgow, Birmingham and London throughout January and February. So hands up, who’s getting their Vita’s in a twist? Let us know if you’re going to be buying on launch day!
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