PlayStation Vita: First Impression

I recently got my hands on Sony's latest portable entry, PlayStation Vita.  I've been curious about it since it was originally announced almost two years ago as the NGP.  It's an interesting concept: bring console gaming to handheld devices.

I walked into GameStop this past Tuesday planning to buy Tales of the Abyss for the Nintendo 3DS (they sadly didn't have the game in stock) when I noticed that they had the Vita setup.  I approached the system and picked it up.  To my surprise, it's very light; almost as light as the 3DS.  The system is made completely of plastic but it feels sturdy.  I still prefer the feel of the PSP, but this still works.  The system's screen is large and looks great.  On the contrary, the analog sticks, the D-pad, and face buttons are too small.  For someone with large hands, the system may be uncomfortable.  I feel that circle pads would have worked better for Vita, like what Sony did with the PSP, especially since it would fit in pockets a bit easier.

I toyed around with the system for a bit and tried the demo of Gravity Rush.  Sadly, I can't comment on the audio portion of the game because the Vita's sound was disabled, but the gameplay is fantastic.  The ability to control gravity at will is enjoyable and it's not a concept I've run in to before.  I wasn't sold on the touch screen controls mainly because it felt like it took away from the experience.  I'm into innovation but anytime I have to attack in a game, I feel that physical buttons work the best.  The graphics are nice but it doesn't seem like they're in HD.  They're definitely higher in resolution compared to 3DS games, but it's disappointing to not see PS3 quality visuals when Sony advertised them.

The system currently is selling at $249.99 plus $19..99 for a 4GB memory card and $29.99 to $39.99 for a game.  At those prices, I can't see much reason to justify a purchase right now.  The game library is also limited as we'll see more games come out later this year for Vita.  Also, the system is still new so there are bugs in the system that Sony will need time to work out.  Am I saying to not buy Vita? No, I think it's a great handheld but it needs more time out in the market to fix any bugs, or glitches, and it needs time to develop a larger library games.  My advice: wait to buy Vita.  It's great but at it's current price, there's not much content to justify the purchase.