Playstation Vita Review – Will Your Tween Want One?

What would you say if I told you there’s a handheld gaming device you could also use to watch Netflix, make a Skype call or update your Facebook status? Well go ahead and say whatever you want, because the PlayStation Vita can do all that and more.

The Playstation Vita is the latest in handheld gaming devices from Sony Playstation. The Vita offers a bigger screen than most all other handhelds, and the images are crisp and beautiful. It’s bigger than the Nintendo DS screen and iPhone. It’s even bigger than Playstation’s earlier handheld, the PSP.

The gorgeous, 6.5” screen makes it ideal for streaming Netflix content. You’ll need an existing Netflix account and a Wifi signal to tap into, then you just download the free Netflix app onto your Vita, log in to your account – and you’re good to go.

Ditto for Skype. Once you’ve downloaded the free app for the Vita and log in to your account, you can make Skype calls without being tied to your desktop.

And the Facebook app is fun: Since the screen is so much bigger than my iPhone, it’s really great for photos.

All those applications are lovely for me, of course, but my kids really use the Vita for gaming, which I suppose it was actually designed for.

The PS Vita has both a front and rear touch screen and game developers have taken that into consideration when creating games. Escape Plan, one of my favorites, requires the player to use a pinching motion, touching both the front and back of the PS Vita, to play through a particular level.

There are stand-alone games like Little Deviants and Ben 10 Galactic Racing, but existing franchises have not been left out. Games like Uncharted Golden Abyss, an offshoot of Uncharted 3, was designed specifically for the PS Vita. Similarly, Assassin’s Creed 3: Liberation, launching this Fall in conjunction with Assassin’s Creed 3 for the “desktop” console, was designed specifically for the Vita.

This attention to detail not only takes advantage of the touch screen capabilities of the handheld PS Vita, but it means the purchaser is getting a different game experience than the console version, not just smaller and portable; it’s actually a new game play experience.

Cross-Platform Play, which was the big buzzword from E3 this year, is one of the most exciting things about the PS Vita.  Several games now offer the option of having one player play on the PS3 and another on the PS Vita, allowing for multi-player action, through a wifi connection, from almost anywhere. Expect the list of titles that have this capability to grow very soon, since this functionality is something everyone is waiting for.

So whether you’re a serious gamer, or the Mother of an emerging one (like me) who’s looking for other things to do with the PS Vita, I think you’ll find plenty to like about it.

{Sarah was loaned a PS Vita for review.}