Our PS Vita First impressions

It pays to know people in Game stores as they can get you the system a day before its official release. Thanks xxxxx hope you don’t get fired over doing that for me! So I got my Wifi only model PCH-1004 (European model & yes I live in the EU). No 3G for me, I will just use a Mobile AP and use my phones wifi and data plan. By the way I recommend people think about this option if you dont want to pay AT&T  monthly or just use your Wifi at home.

Ok so the PS Vita Sony’s next gen machine with dual analog sticks, touch screen and many others new features. Finally they listened. I’m not going to talk too much about the system itself or post a hands on or stupid gay unboxing video. Youtube is full of about 99,999,99 of them to satisfy your unboxing fetish…. Instead I’m going to post my thoughts and first impressions as an avid PSP gamer that has had all PSP systems.

The unit its self is like an evolution of the original PSP-1000 I brought all those years ago. It has that same feel to it. And I like this, its how it should be. The same proven form factor and everything where you expect it to be. Perfect. No extreme changes like 3D (Do you want a headache like 3DS users?). And the unit is a nice weight. Not too heavy and not too light. A 14 year old should have no trouble holding it up for at least an hour before his/her arms give in. Unlike the PSP-1000 aka PSP Fat.

The PSV feels good in the hand. However the controls are cramped and I have medium sized hands. So you people with big hands out there might have a hard time playing for extended hours. When you power on the PSV first the first time you’ll notice that lovely OLED screen. Oh yeah it is as nice as they say it is. Its even better that my 1280 x 800px Galaxy Note SAMOLED screen dear I say. After you take in the beautiful screen you notice that annoying Japanese style background music…. Don’t worry it will stop right? Think again! This music will drive you crazy after hearing it repeat a few times, maybe its a cultural thing. But this Japanese ambient tranquilizer music doesn’t fit well outside of Japan I think. Its best off. Lucky I can turn down the volume or mute. But I haven’t got my memory card yet so I can’t play my own tracks. (Update: Go to Sound & Display and untick System Music before you go mad)

My PSV wifi shipped with firmware 1.06. Logging into PSN I had to then update to FW 1.61 which updates maps and the photo app. (Its confirmed that it doesn’t patch the HBL game exploit. that is still working!!) My game I picked up with F1 2011. Unfortunately Uncharted wasn’t in till tomorrow. A poor choice in game I know. I like the PS3 games, but F1 2011 isn’t up to standard I think. The graphics are a let down. After you see a nice high res intro your later presented sub par graphics. I’m taking it back! DONT get F1 2011

First impressions Pros and cons:

The Good:

• A welcomed step up from the PSP in the best form factor.
• Great screen, clear and dark blacks. Got to love OLED tech..
• Responsive touch screen, no lag
• Keyboard similar to the iOS or Android ones
• Stereo effect on speakers better than original PSP

The Bad

• Background music in the menu!
• Crammed control layout, will be pain for some with big hands
• No PSOne games in PSN ?!

Photos with comments:

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