Jeremy’s Impressions
Aside from the very obvious and very welcome increase in graphical and processing power, the PlayStation Vita gives the impression that it’s the console that the PlayStation Portable should have been. First and foremost, the second analogue stick is pretty much an expected feature, but a very welcome one. A significant portion of the PSP library would have benefit from this, so if the PSV wants to continue the legacy of portable console experience, it’s definitely on the right track (whether this is what games want though, is another matter…). If anything though, developers will need some work with the ‘feel’ and sensitivity of these sticks, which felt off in our play time. The touch screen on the front, the touch pad on the back and the gyroscope all add to the package quite nicely and not as obtrusively as you might have thought. Still, it almost feels a bit late to the party.
Technically, the PSV manages to provide some silky smooth frame rates in all the games that we played – making it much easier on the eyes, both technically and aesthetically. A 5 inch OLED screen helps too. Though we didn’t get to play around outside of the demos too much, all indicators are pointing to smooth and streamlined interfaces. A lot of the information about the system was already known, such as the system specs. However, the price was a HUGE surprise, and got probably the most surprised reaction from the four conferences that we say today – as many were expecting a price tag around the US$500 mark. The base model is on par with the 3DS and it shows that Sony is dead serious about this system. Noticeably though, there was no mention of the battery life. Hmm…
A generation too late?
Adam’s Impressions
So the PSVista- I mean, PSVita, is actually a pretty cool little device. Now, keep in mind that my hands-on time was limited to only about 20 minutes - during which time I was shuffled around from kiosk to kiosk while I spoke to Sony representatives about the games I was playing through a huge headset, meant to tune out the background noise of Jane's Addiction. Even with all that going on, I was impressed by the PSVita, and I can definitely see myself using it as my go-to portable device on the bus or the train, depending on the software of course.
The console feels relatively light - I don't have any specific figures here, but it definitely felt lighter than the original PSP, and even with a variety of cables coming out of the device attaching it to the kiosk, it was comfortable to hold. The OLED screen is sharp, bright and has a great viewing angle, while the size of it is very impressive and gives you a great area to use for the touchscreen controls. The front of the device, specifically the touchscreen, feels much like the iPhone or any other capacitive touch screen, as solid and meant to be touched by fingertips. Similarly, the rear trackpad is glass (or plastic, we suppose) smooth, and not textured like we expected.
Using carts now?
Using the console definitely takes some getting used to, at least with the games I played, and this is due to the variety of controls on offer. Games like LittleBigPlanet constantly require you to move from the regular buttons, to the touchscreen, to the rear touchpad, to tilting the device. It doesn't come naturally if you're used to the original PSP, but with some practice I started to get the hang of it. However, it is definitely a learning curve learning how to manipulate all these control methods on harmony.
If there's any real disappointment that was immediately obvious from the PSVita, it's the dual analogue sticks. True, they are better than the analogue nub of the PSP, but they still don't feel quite as sensitive or responsive as DualShock sticks. Maybe I need some more time with the console to get a feeling for the sticks, but right now aiming in Uncharted felt a little more sluggish than I was used to. That said, overall the console looks great and feels great as well, and with the competitive pricing it could give the 3DS a real run for its money.
The Games
LittleBigPlanet
LittleBigPlanet is back once again, with another new incarnation that is intended to take advantage of all the new features the PSVita offers. As we mentioned in our impressions, LittleBigPlanet requires you to use all the control options of the PSVita. In the demo we played, we used the touchscreen heavily - anytime Sackboy comes across a turquoise coloured object, it can be manipulated via the touchscreen. Some objects can be rotated, others can be pushed and pulled, while others can be lifted off the ground entirely and placed wherever you see fit. This figures into puzzles, obviously, and even though we were only with the game a few scant minutes, we saw some clever little stumpers strewn about here and there.
The Sack is back.
As a platformer, LittleBigPlanet feels just like the other games - floaty jump controls and all. The rear touchpad got a workout in a little puzzle that saw us pushing out Tetris-shaped blocks for Sackboy to jump on, while the tilt control was used a couple of times to push a rope-suspended unicycle back and forth. The touch controls (more than the motion control at the moment) are what's really making the game feel a little fresher right now, and we can definitely see some great potential for user-created games with the touch pads as part of the experience.
Virtua Tennis 4
For what is likely to be the first of many console to handheld ports, even a short play time was enough to see that is probably the best port job of its kind. Period. It was noticeable that the supershot gauge was tweaked to fill quicker, but otherwise, this port is ridiculously faithful and remarkably close to its console counterparts. Of course, it played extremely well too. The potential for touch controls didn’t really work that well, but at least you can play normally without any problems.
Little Deviants
Little Deviants is a collection of mini-games that made use of a lot of the newer features on the console. With its colourful graphics, it comes off as a cheap imitation of a lot of the games that are on the DS and 3DS. One game had you collecting coins while getting to the bottom of a cave – using only the gyroscope to control. This game felt like it needed more tweaking. The second game was similar to Face Raiders on the 3DS, where it plays like a shooter and you use the PSV’s back camera to look around and shoot. An interesting twist was that some enemies would spray your screen and you had to literally wipe it off with your finger. And lastly, the final game had you using the touch screens on both sides to knock these monster type things out of a house as they appeared in the windows – where the direction they were facing dictated which screen was needed. The good thing about this game was that is showed that using the back touch pad was easy and intuitive.
Don't I know you from some place?
Sound Shape
From the creators of Everyday Shooter, this platformer mixes in prominent use of sounds and Loco Roco style level progression. You play through each level, which consists of a set of rooms. In each room you collect sounds bytes and avoid enemies by timing your jumps properly and sticking to the walls. The fascinating part was that as you collected sound bytes, they’d add to the level’s soundtrack and by the end, you’d be playing to a nice beat. We also got to briefly try out the level maker, which was made functional and more interactive with the touch screen. Hopefully it will prove to be a good game for providing user generated content.
Can you feel the beat?
Uncharted: Golden Abyss
Probably the game that everyone is most looking forward to on PSVita, Uncharted: Golden Abyss looks and plays a fair bit like Drake's Fortune, which we're all familiar with. It's in a tropical jungle environment, with lots of bad guys to shoot and ledges to climb, which to be honest is all fine and dandy. The game looks great - not quite having the visual fidelity of the PS3 titles but still leaps and bounds ahead of most everything we've seen on a portable console so far.
What's changed is the integration of the PSVita-specific controls. The touchscreen can be used to make Nathan jump between ledges by tapping on them, or more usefully, 'painting' a line across ledges for him to follow. It's an interesting addition to the gameplay, although it does seem to make climbing a lot easier. The motion controls fared worse, with tilting the console to make Nathan hang in a certain direction seeming forced, looking a little unnatural and breaking up the flow of gameplay.
The new PlayStation mascot?
Combat in Golden Abyss is very much as you would remember from the last two games, although aiming using the PSVita's two analogue sticks wasn't quite as responsive as we would have liked at this stage. Nevertheless, the integration of the touchscreen in hand-to-hand combat seems a little unnecessary, but works well for stealth kills as you sneak up behind an enemy combatant, only to push them off a cliff.
The fact that Golden Abyss simply has the name Uncharted attached to it means it's going to be a killer app for the PSVita, and we were impressed by the visual presentation, as well as finding some joy in using the touchscreen controlled handhold-painting. The motion controls seem a little tacked-on at this stage (we know, right, a problem unheard of in the history of gaming), but it's definitely a title to keep an eye on just as much as its upcoming big brother, Drake's Deception.
Stay tuned to PALGN, as we’ll have more from the show floor through out the week.
Loading...
