I’ve spent the past two weeks getting to know Sony’s Playstation Vita and I have to say it’s quite an impressive piece of equipment. In the age of smartphones one has to wonder if Sony is taking a risk by releasing a hand-held gaming device. Probably, but I feel that if Sony plays their cards right they can appeal to the tablet market as well as the hardcore gamer. As a gaming device it’s probably the closest to home console gaming I’ve experienced on a portable and the inclusion of dual analog sticks makes me very happy. Sony has started to make apps like Twitter and Netflix available in the Playstation Store, which if they continue with this makes The Vita a reasonably priced tablet replacement. Playstation Vita comes in two models a wi-fi only version for $249 and a wi-fi/3G model that retails for $299. If you choose the 3G version you can sign up for AT&T‘s DataConnect pass with no long-term contract which offers two plans: 250MB for 14.99 or 3GB for $30 both with the ability to opt out at any given month.

There’s a decent lineup of launch titles which include Uncharted Golden Abyss, Escape Plan, Wipeout 2048 and ModNation Racers Road Trip amongst others. Buyer beware, you are required to purchase a memory card in order to do just about anything on the Vita. These cards range from 4 to 32GB and cost anywhere from $20 to $100. If you buy a larger memory card the Playstation store offers downloads of most games at a few dollars cheaper than the versions on Vita cards sold in stores. Vita also has trophy support and boasts cross game chat, a feature not even available on PS3. A really cool app is Near which uses the GPS feature to help you locate other people in your area who also have a Vita. It has a front and back camera as well as a rear touchscreen in addition to the beautiful OLED touchscreen and a Six Axis motion sensor.

I’ve spent most of my time with Vita playing Uncharted Golden Abyss and Escape Plan. If you buy only one game with your Vita I suggest Uncharted Golden Abyss, not only are the graphics beautiful it makes use of all the cool aspects of having a front and rear touch screen. Escape Plan is a clever little puzzle game exclusive to the Playstation store and is a bargain at $14.99. I recommend the Vita to all avid gamers and gadget geeks especially those of us who are on the go a lot. It’s a powerful multimedia gaming machine in the palm of your hands.

Related articles

• PlayStation Vita review (engadget.com)
• Joystiq’s PlayStation Vita launch guide (engadget.com)