Song produced by Sak Pase, Video directed by Hype Williams.

Another gaming icon joining the mix is Mega Man, but before you get too excited I encourage you to check out the trailer first!

As someone who hates small characters in fighting games I was really worried about the inclusion of Pac Man and Mega Man but after seeing gameplay footage of them both I’m pretty happy the results. Die-hard Mega Man fans will probably view this as a slap in the face but that’s partly why I love it so much.

Well played Capcom!

As a former Gamecube fanboy I missed out on a lot of PS2 games and franchises back in the early 2000’s. However thanks to the advent of HD collections I’ve finally been able to experience games like Sly Cooper, Shadow of the Colossus and God Of War II. Next month see’s the release of The Jak and Daxter Trilogy and I’m extremely excited to check all three games out for the first time. This collection includes Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001), Jak II (2003) and Jak 3 (2004), all remastered in 720p with an improved frame rate, trophies and full stereoscopic 3D support. Originally developed by Naughty Dog, the Jak and Daxter games were critically acclaimed by reviewers and adored by fans. Hopefully this collection will sell enough to green light an all new Jak and Daxter title but until then these HD ports are more than good enough.

Media

Although it was only announced yesterday, we’ve known Mortal Kombat was coming to the Vita for quite a while now. What we didn’t know is that the game would feature all the characters from the Komplete Edition (including Kratos), touch screen Fatality inputs and a Vita-exclusive Challenge Tower containing 150 unique objectives. This new tower will stand alongside the existing tower and has been designed specifically to take advantage of the Vita’s distinctive hardware capabilities. Series Creator Ed Boon has confirmed that MK Vita will run at a solid 60 frames per second and although some graphical compromises were made he insists that the game will still be visually impressive.

Speaking to the Playstation Blog, Boon said;

“We did have to reduce some of the polygon counts from the backgrounds and characters, but that screen is so bright, and it’s got such high pixel density…when I saw Scorpion and Sub-Zero fighting on the Living Forest for the first time, I was amazed. It really maintains the identity of the game. I can’t wait for people to hold it in their hands and see it for themselves — it’s a surprisingly similar experience”

Great stuff! On the down side, the game will not feature any Vita-to-PS3 connectivity and will only support 2 players in both the online and offline multiplayer modes. Of course in the grand scheme of things these are small prices to pay in what seems to be a fantastic port of a phenomenal game.

After a rough start, Nintendo finally appears to be on track with the 3DS. Thanks to games like Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Pushmo (aka Pullblox) and the 10 free GBA games offered to early adopters, I now find myself spending a lot of time with Nintendo’s latest handheld. In 2012 things are set to improve even further with the release of the tentatively titled Paper Mario 3DS. The Paper Mario games have always been phenomenal and I have no reason to believe that this latest iteration will be anything less. While Paper Mario 64 and its Gamecube sequel were sidescrolling RPGS, 2007’s Super Paper Mario was more of a platformer with RPG elements. With Paper Mario 3DS, the series will be returning to its RPG roots which I’m personally very happy about. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of my favourite games of all time and I’m hoping that this 3DS release will be just as invigorating. At this point not much is known about the games story or unique gameplay features but I’m extremely eager to find out. Of all the games announced for 2012 this is the one that I’m most excited about. Hopefully it’ll be released sometime soon because my body can’t wait much longer!

Media

Oh Sonic, I can never turn my back on you. Despite their less than stellar track record, I can’t help but be excited every time Sega announces a new Sonic game. My head is telling me to wait until I at least see gameplay footage before inducting Sonic 4: Episode 2 in to this “Best Of 2012” series but my heart is impatient and it pounds vigorously at the mere thought of this game. I’m aware that Episode 1 had a lot of issues but Sega’s Digital Brand Manager, Ken Balough has convinced me that this second episode will be a major improvement. In a recent interview with Gamespot, Balough was very adamant that Sega has learnt from their mistake and have been taking fan feedback very seriously. As a result the game now has a new graphics and physics engine which is said to make the game look and feel more authentic. One thing I’m not excited about is the re-introduction of Tails and Metal Sonic. The huge enthuses on Tails in the teaser trailer (found below) leads me to believe that the game will have some kind of co-operative element which no Sonic game should ever have ever! Speculation aside, I’m pretty confident that Episode II will be a great game. Sonic Generations has renewed my faith in Sonic Team and so on this occasion I’ll follow my heart, not my head.

Media

I’m a huge South Park fan. I’ve seen every single episode and I’m pretty sure I love Butters more than his own parents do! I also love videogames and although there has already been four games based on the mature-rated cartoon, none of them has successfully captured the magic, charm or sheer hilarity that the South Park series is known for. However this year THQ are set to succeed where all other publishers have failed with the release of South Park: The Game, an upcoming RPG developed by Obsidian. What separates this South Park game from all the others is the fact that series creators Matt Parker and Trey Stone will be writing the games script, providing voice work and overseeing the entire project. Both Matt and Trey are huge gamers, which is evident when watching the show, so their commitment to this project is a positive sign. In the game you play as a new kid and must accept quests from the likes of Cartman, Stan, Kyle and Kenny in order to fit in. As the screenshots below suggest, the game looks exactly like the TV show which personally has me very excited! This is one of my most anticipated games of all time and I really hope it delivers.

Media

At this point, 50 should just scrap his album entirely and continue releasing mixtapes for the streets. I don’t think he has it in him to make another In Da Club or I Get Money so why keep trying?

Confirmed platforms include PS3, Xbox 360, Android, iOS and Windows Mobile 7. Sorry Nintendo.

PSN/XBLA GAME

BEST:Cubixx HD

Many fantastic games hit PSN and XBLA this year such as Outland, Bastion, Sideway: NY and Resident Evil 4. However there’s one game that has keep me coming back on a regular bases and will probably keep me hooked throughout 2012. That game is Cubixx HD. Cubixx HD is a fantastic take on the classic arcade game Qix but with enough innovative gameplay variants to make it feel brand new. In my review I called it an essential purchase and I still stand by that statement today.

WORST: Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (HD)

The old Resident Evil games were great 15 years ago when Playstation controllers didn’t have analog sticks and people actually thought the Dreamcast stood a chance. But today there is really no need to play any Resident Evil game that was released prior to RE4, not unless you also enjoy self-harming while watching the latter SAW movies. Resident Evil Code Veronica X: High Definition Edition is no exception, even if it does feature slightly touched up visuals and achievements. Avoid like a pack of vicious, skinless dogs!

VOICE WORK

BEST: Wheatley (Portal 2)

I’m not a fan of British humour. In fact, I haven’t enjoyed a British comedy since I was a child and my parents forced me to watch VHS recordings of Only Fools & Horses. But I must admit I found Portal 2’s Wheatley to be an absolute delight! If you’ve yet to play Portal 2, Wheatley is your rail-bound, mechanical companion who tries to free you from your life as a human test subject. Voiced by Ricky Gervais’ mate Stephen Merchant, Wheatley’s idiosyncratic awkwardness and persistent rambling was one of the best things about Portal 2.

WORST: Cole (Infamous 2)

Never before has a voice actor prevented me from playing a game, that was until my ears were physically assaulted by Eric Ladin, the voice of Cole McGrath in Infamous 2. Whoevers idea it was to make Cole sound like a seedy pedofile who recently had his throat slashed by one of his victims parents needs to take a long look in the mirror before shoving their head through it.

TRAILER

BEST: Dead Island

WORST: Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

3D GAME

BEST: Motorstorm Apocalypse

I’ve probably said this 30 times already but Motorstorm Apocalypse is the game that sold me on 3D technology. Just a few days after playing Apocalypse for the first time I ran out and bought a 3D TV in anticipation for this games release. In the end I have no regrets. The game looks unbelievably good on my aging Samsung plasma and once I upgrade to a TV that has Motionflow, it’s gonna look CRAZY son! Word to my Aunty.

WORST: THOR: God Of Thunder

Enabling 3D in this god awful Sega release turned Thor from a terrible game to a terrible interactive slideshow. If you enjoy seeing a framerate that you can actually count, this is the 3D game you need!

SURPRISES

SURPRISINGLY GOOD: Sonic Generations

I don’t think anyone, anywhere was expecting Sonic Generations to be good. After all as the saying goes; “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me a dozen times over the course of 10 years? F*** you!” But Sonic Generations wasn’t good, it was great! The 2D levels were awesome; the 3D levels were even better and aside from a few spotty platforming sections Generations was a joy to play.

MOST DISAPPOINTING:Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection

Although Warner Bros and Netherrealms have never confirmed it, there’s enough evidence floating around to suggest that this game originally began its life as a HD retail release. How great would it have been to play Mortal Kombat II and 3 with updated visual, a 16:9 aspect ratio and online support! Instead what we got was a trio of broken arcade ports that were way too difficult, frequently crashed consoles, had sound glitches and was a complete lag-fest online. It’s almost as if the developers at Other Ocean purposely went out of their way to ensure you’ll have a terrible time unless you’re playing local multiplayer matches.

BEST/WORST NEWS

BEST: Nintendo: “20 Free Games”

Shortly after the 3DS’ launch Nintendo significantly reduced the price of the system. As an apology to those who purchased the device at its original launch price Nintendo gave all early adopters exclusive access to 20 free games. 10 NES classics and 10 really, really good GBA releases. Read the original news story here.

WORST: Sony: “All your info are belong to hackers”

The third week of April started out really well for Sony. A new SOCOM game, Portal 2 with exclusive Stream support and Mortal Kombat with Kratos as a playable character. How could they possibly mess things up? By getting hacked, losing all of our personal information and shutting down the entire Playstation Network for 6 weeks. That’s how! Read the original new story here.

RETURNS & RETIREMENTS

GREATEST COMEBACK: Rayman Origins

Rayman has been wasting away for years while those pesky Rabbids got all the shine but rather than cry about it, the limbless hero hit back with the greatest non-Mario platformer EVER! Rayman Origins is a beautiful and fantastic title that probably won’t sell as well as it should but if you have an ounce of compassion in your heart you’ll at least give this game a chance

PLAYD OUT: Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

Did we really need Assassins Creed II part 3? No we didn’t. I’m all for trilogies but when you put trilogies in trilogies before the trilogy is even complete that’s where my interest checks out. I loved Assassins Creed II and Brotherhood was a great follow up but with Revelations Ubisoft began to milk the blood out of the AC cash cow. I don’t plan on ever playing Revelations and thus I’ll probably never play Assassin Creed III. Hopefully the series takes at least 2 years off to regroup.

MOVIE OF THE YEAR

BEST: Tangled

Look, I’m a Disney whore. If I was to rank my top 10 movies of all time they would all be Disney releases and Tangled would be one of them. You probably don’t care though so I’ll move on to tits and giant robots…

WORST: Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

Confession Time: I like the Transformers movies. The first one was great and I’m probably the only person on earth who enjoyed the second one. However Dark of the Moon was a stinker of epic proportions. Two things I liked about this movie, Carly’s tits and Carly’s ass. Everything else made me wish I was dead.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

BEST: 50 CENT – THE BIG 10

If it weren’t for the embarrassing pornographic skit which precedes “I Just Wanna”, I could listen to the entire Big 10 LP without skipping a track. Yes I know this technically isn’t an album, it’s a free mixtape but 50 Cent has given us a product that is better than any album released this year and for that he deserves this award.

WORST: Ruff Ryders – Past, Present & Future

You know your career is finished when bootleggers don’t even bother to pirate your album any more. When I think of Ruff Ryders I think of DMX, Eve, Drag-On and The LOX. Not Murda Mook, Shella, Lil’ Waah and Hugo. Throwing in year old DMX/Eve songs and putting old verses over new beats just adds insult to injury. If this is the RR of present, they won’t have a future ahead of them.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

BEST: DJ Khaled – I’m On One (feat. Drake, Lil’ Wayne & Rick Ross)

WORST: Nicki Minaj – Roman In Moscow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3xsNsrieOU

BEST SOCIAL NETWORK GAME
Words With Friends (Facebook) 

For two years straight Words With Friends has been my favourite iPhone app but now that the game has branched out to Facebook, online Scrabble has never felt so good! The ability to play with those who don’t have smartphones means I can now play against virtually all of my friends, no more random strangers!

BEST MOBILE GAME
Infinity Blade II (iOS) 

Every platform needs a great franchise that is exclusive to their devices. Microsoft has Halo, Sony has Uncharted, Nintendo has Mario and now Apple’s have Infinity Blade.  Chair’s visually stunning action title proved that mobile games can keep up with those found on dedicated handhelds which should keep Nintendo and Sony on their toes. This is the most epic game to ever grace a smartphone (no pun intended) and it costs 1/8th the price of a 3DS title.

BEST HANDHELD GAME
Mario Kart 7 (3DS) 

Mario Kart has always been my favourite videogame franchise and Mario Kart 7 is the best entry in the series to date. This is the 3DS game I’ve been waiting for and it didn’t disappoint. The gameplay is as frantic as ever, online works wonderfully, the graphics are crisp and vibrant but above all the game is just a tremendous amount of fun! It’s lacking the mission mode found in Mario Kart DS but the new and improved Battle modes more than makes up for it. Mario Kart 7 is unadulterated fun at its purest form.

BEST WII EXCLUSIVE
Kirby’s Return To Dreamland 

Why isn’t Zelda: Skyward Sword my Wii game of the year? It’s simple, I’ve been playing the game for almost 6 hours and I’ve yet to enjoy a single moment of it. Yea I know it gets good later and the story is really, really great (blah, blah) but the fact that I don’t feel compelled to play it any longer makes it impossible for me place it on a high pedestal at this early stage. I love the Zelda series, in fact I’m currently playing through Minish Cap again and I’m having a great time but that’s probably because I don’t have to swing my 3DS around. I’ll probably pick Skyward Sword back up soon but for now I have to pass the gold cup to Kirby’s Return To Dreamland as it’s the only other Wii exclusive I played this year.

BEST XBOX 360 EXCLUSIVE
Fruit Ninja Kinect 

WTF! Fruit Ninja Kinect is better than Gears Of War 3? In my opinion, yes!  Who needs to chainsaw Locust when you can slice pears and pineapples in half?  It’s not going to keep you hooked for dozens of hours like a Halo game but this unassuming $10 title is one of the most entertaining games I’ve played all year!

BEST PS3 EXCLUSIVE
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception 

To quote my review… Uncharted 3 is a masterpiece. The jaw-dropping cinematic gameplay works in tandem with the gorgeous visuals, phenomenal voice acting and emotionally engaging story, all of which cumulates to form a priceless artefact that can be yours for only $60. Is it the best game of the year? I certainly think so.

BEST MULTIPLATFORM GAME
Mortal Kombat

While I’m quoting reviews…  Mortal Kombat is exceptional fighter which offers more content and hidden extras than any other fighter on the market. There is enough single player content to keep you busy for at least 20 hours and the all new King Of The Hill mode dramatically shakes up online play. After 20 years of trying, Mortal Kombat has finally won a round against the Street Fighter series. It’s not quite a flawless victory but MK9 is still a masterpiece.

And that’s it for 2011! There were many other great titles released this year such as Skyrim, Battlefield 3, MW3, Arkham City and Saint’s Row: The Third which are all winners in their own right. For more game of the year goodness be sure to check out this weekend’s Co-Op podcast but for now Happy Holidays and keep gaming!

Sometimes I wish I was 50 Cent, It Ain’t Easy Being Me…

According to game director  Brian Upton, Sorcery is an RPG shooter “but is very much an action game more akin to God of War”. He also believes that the Playstation Move is like totally better than the Wii and Kinect. Speaking to IndustryGamers, Upton stated;

I think this title [Sorcery] does an excellent job of showing what makes Move a better and different system than other motion controls that are out there. It’s tighter, it’s cleaner, it’s more precise – I don’t think you could do a game like this on either Kinect or Wii. I don’t think technically they’d be able to support this kind of gameplay.

Skyward Sword, eat your heart out! Sorcery will be released next Spring.

The list is as follows;

• F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
• Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island
• Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap
• Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
• Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
• Mario Kart: Super Circuit
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong
• Metroid Fusion
• Wario Land 4
• WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames

Nintendo of Europe/America have yet to announce what games the rest of us will be getting but the list is likely to be the same.

Update: The games are available to download now from the 3DS eShop.

We started playing with the PS Vita’s hardware features very early in development ofUNCHARTED: Golden Abyss. One of our earliest demos involved the player moving and rotating PS Vita to simulate an SLR camera viewfinder and, soon after, a sniper rifle’s scope. PS Vita’s sensitive and accurate motion sensors surprised us, making even the most subtle control adjustments a breeze.

Because the PS Vita is the first device that combines two analog sticks, a Sixaxis motion sensor and a touchscreen, we realised we could create a universal aiming system with fine-tuned controls that would be impossible on any other system. Core aiming still works best on the analog sticks: in over-the-shoulder mode, players still use the left stick to adjust Drake’s position and the right stick to adjust his aiming reticule – just as you would expect in any modern console game. But PS Vita adds a third input: you can  rotate your hands to subtly fine tune the reticule’s placement. Having everything on the same controller creates a synergy between your eyes, your thumbs and your hands that feels natural: use the sticks to aim at an enemy, use the motion sensor to aim at his head.

We’ve talked to focus testers who’ve spent hours with the game and didn’t even realise they were using the motion controls – it’s that subtle and intuitive. We call it Intu-aim, as opposed to auto-aim, because the player is in complete control. In fact, the player has more control than he’s ever had before. We think this mechanic will change the way shooters are played.

Gravity Rush will be released alongside the Vita on February 22^nd 2012.

Kat keeps adding new gravity-defying skills as she explores this upside-down world, and today we introduced two useful new powers for the first time. One is called “Gravity Slide.” If you hold left and right corners of the PS Vita’s 5” OLED screen at the same time, Kat will start sliding as if she’s on a skateboard. Then you can tilt PS Vita to turn left or right. If you run into an enemy while gravity sliding, you will automatically attack the enemy with greater force.

The other skill is called “Stasis Field,” and it allows Kat to levitate objects and hurl them in any direction. You can use this skill to defeat flying enemies or to move objects and people during missions. As you enhance it, you will be able to grab more and more objects at the same time.

These two skills will come in handy during side missions where you need to defeat as many enemies as possible within the time limit, or when you need to pass through every checkpoint to complete a race. Use every gravity skill and trick at your disposal to enjoy this game to the fullest!

50 Cent is a lucky, lucky man!

Its not exactly what we want but it’s close enough I guess. Hopefully this will sell enough to warrant HD versions of 3, T.H.U.G. and T.H.U.G. 2 sometime in the near future.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD will hit PSN and XBLA in 2012 for “under $20″

If the prospect of this doesn’t excite you then you clearly have a heart as dark as Mr. Scratch.

The trailer ultimately leaves more questions than answers but I’m excited to see what Naughty Dog does now that they no longer have to work around a Teen rating. The trailer isn’t nearly as “unbelievable” as Spike TV teased but if you’ve always wanted to play a game starring Ellen Page and Nathan Drake’s older, jobless brother this is probably the closest you’ll get!

When I first played Golden Abyss a few months ago I was blown away by the games stunning visuals and great gameplay mechanics. However since that time Naughty Dog has released a little game called Uncharted 3 which has raised the benchmark for the entire series. The fact that Golden Abyss looks comparable to a PS3 game and is launching so soon after Uncharted 3 makes comparisons between the two game s inevitable which may not bode well for Bend’s Vita debut.

In my opinion there are three things which define an Uncharted game. A great story, excellent characters and epic set pieces. While Golden Abyss appears to be lacking in the latter, I am genuinely interested in its premise and the new cast of characters it introduces. Many people felt that Uncharted 3 followed Uncharted 2’s structure too closely and in a sense I agree. Although I still think that Uncharted 3 is a phenomenal game I’m not sure if I’d want a similar experience just 3 months later. For that reason I was pretty excited to check out the new Golden Abyss demo at Sony’s recent Vita event. In my heart of hearts I was hoping it would feel less like Drake’s Deception and more like Drake’s Fortune which was less action packed but encompassed a greater sense of adventure and discovery.

With that said, I’m sure you can imagine my disappointment when I picked up the game and my first objective was to help Drake escape from a burning building. It felt to me like Bend were saying “look at us, we can be as cool as Naughty Dog!” almost as if they’re still holding a grudge from the whole Bubsy 3D vs. Crash Bandicoot debacle. This entire sequence made the game feel like a miniature version of Uncharted 3 which is the last thing it needs to be. Instead of being wowed by the visuals or impressed that this was all taking place on a handheld, I walked away thinking Uncharted 3′s Burning Chateau was better. The second part of the demo wasn’t very memorable at all. I was sniping bad guys and creating a clear path to rendezvous with my lady friend Maria Chase then before I knew it I was back inside the burning building as the demo looped without so much as a “Thanks For Playing”.

Now that I’ve had to reflect on my experience I don’t feel like I played a bad game, I felt like I played a bad demo for a great game. I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical reason why Drake is caught up in an inferno… again, but I guess I’ll have to play the full game to find out. I’m still excited about Golden Abyss and I stand by the positive statements made in my earlier preview, I just hope I don’t have to ride on top of a train or escape a plane crash at some point.

Major props to Average Joe Gaming!

Out of all the Playstation Vita titles that will be available at launch, Little Deviants does the best job showcasing what the hardware is capable of. The game ingeniously utilizes all of the systems unique features including the touch screen, rear touch panel, microphone, motion sensors and camera. The developers at Bigbig Studio (creators of the Pursuit Force series and Motorstorm: Arctic Edge) have already proven that they know how to create gems on Sony handhelds and from what I’ve played so far Little Deviants might be their best game yet.

The final game will feature at least 30 minigames and last week I was lucky enough to check four of them. Bots Blast is an augmented reality game which challenges you to move the Vita around to locate and shoot flying robots that appear in the environment around you. Hole Roll Control is a Marble Madness/Super Monkey style game where you use to rear touch panel to adjust the terrain and guide your ball-shaped Deviant in to a vortex while collecting stars and avoiding enemies. House Of Whacks was my favourite game in the demo and used both the touch screen and the rear touch panel. In this minigame you’re presented with a 3 x 3 grid of doors which robots will randomly pop out of. Depending on the direction they’re facing you’ll either have to poke them using the screen or the back panel to push them through the doors frames. I also played a sky diving game which used tilt controls but at this moment the name escapes me.

As you progress you’ll unlock more challenging versions of each minigame and leaderboard integration will allow you to compete with friends and/or other players across the world.

I’ve only just scratched the surface of Little Deviants but already I’m enamoured by it. If Bigbig Studios can keep up this level of quality for the other 26 or so minigames you can expect a glowing review from myself shortly before the game launches in February.

My iPhone is a cool platform to game on while I wait for the train but it never quiet manages to scratch my gaming itch like a console does. Not only can the Vita provide those experiences which I crave, the PSN Store will also allow for those quick fire games that currently destroy our iPhone’s battery life.

Sony are currently working to ensure that gamers of all types will have something to play when the Playstation Vita launches in February. Uncharted and Gravity Rush are there to serve the hardcore, Little Deviants and Reality Fighters are perfect for casual or younger gamers, Escape Plan and StarDust are for those who like a challenge, Motorstorm RC, Wipeout 2048 and Modnation Racers will keep racing fans happy and Everybody’s Golf, Hustle Kings and Top Darts are there to represent for sports enthusiasts.

Of course there will also be handful of third party games available on day one and although very few announcements have been made you can expect the likes of Ridge Racer, FIFA Football, Lego Harry Potter, Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom, Michael Jackson: The Experience, Rayman Origins, Super Monkey Ball, Touch My Katamari and Virtua Tennis.

On the hardware front the Vita is both a gorgeous and a technical marvel. I’m not going to bore you (or myself) by going over the exact specs but graphically the system sits somewhere between the Xbox and the Xbox 360.  Initially I was disappointing that Sony ditched the Go design in favour of the original PSP’s layout but in the end they chose comfort over aesthetics and you can’t be mad at them for that. The device I played was tethered down so I wasn’t able to check if it could fit in my pocket but all signs point to “no”. With that said, I’m not sure if I’d want to carry a Vita around without a case anyway. The large display and raised analog sticks may make the system susceptible to damage if left to roam around freely in your pocket or bag.

The four face buttons are much smaller than I thought they would be but during my playtest their size never presented a problem. Both the touch screen and rear touch panel were extremely responsive and the Vita was able to handle augmented reality applications more eloquently than the 3DS can thanks to the Vita’s more conventional form factor. The analog sticks also felt great although I was a little disappointed that they don’t click in to provide L3/R3 inputs. Playing Super Stardust Delta demonstrated just how receptive the sticks are and I’m convinced that they will finally make great first person shooter possible on a handheld.

I didn’t get a chance to check out much of the system’s pre-installed features as our devices weren’t connected to Wifi but navigating through the menu’s using the touch screen felt intuitive and was extremely smooth. I was especially impressed with both the speed and design of the trophy application which absolutely embarrasses the PS3’s slow and cumbersome viewing process.

At $250/£229 for the Wifi model, the Playstation Vita is an absolute steal! I still haven’t had the chance to check out any the PS3 connectivity or online features but if all goes to plan I should have a Vita of my own before the year is over.

Stay tuned to The Koalition for more Vita impressions throughout the week, the system is due to hit stores in Europe and North America on February 22nd 2012.

Ridge Racer will be available on February 22nd aka Vita Launch Day. Let’s just hope it will be better than the 3DS game…