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Today opened the Playstation Vita Social Club in downtown Atlanta. So I thought I'd go check it out myself, since I only live 20 minutes away from Atlanta anyway. I wanted to get a little hands on with it before I own one come February 22nd.
-The Wait-
My friend and I arrived at the Social Club at around 5:40, ten minutes after it had started and there was a line. I was surprised because I wasn't expecting much of a line but I was wrong. We stood in line for almost an hour, we didn't get in till about 6:30-6:40. It was colder than I expected. There were many people still in the building, some wouldn't leave and they pretty much had to shoo away the people that were already playing the Vitas though they said they could get back in line. I passed the time talking to some other guys in line, one of which went to E3 last year and we even talked about the Wii-U for a little bit. When we finally got in, I was excited not only because I could warm up but because I finally get to try it out.
-First Impressions-
The first thing I asked was "Where is the power button?" I'm use to a sliding power button on the side of a handheld, so I was surprised to see the power button being on the top next to the slot.The screen is pretty nice, I wasn't as "Wow'd" as I thought I would be, but it was pretty nice. The colors on the screen were very vibrant, and it was a very solid build. It was surprisingly light. When they said it was lighter than a 3000, they weren't kidding. One thing I didn't like about it is that the speakers aren't loud enough, even with my Sennheiser headphones in the headphone jack. I wish they were louder. The touchscreen is very fast and fluid. When I pealed back the little welcome screen when you turn it on and flip through the pages, it was just so fast and there was little to no lag when you went from different applications or games unlike the 3DS. (Don't get me wrong, I love my 3DS.) The dual analogs felt a little weird but I got use to them pretty quickly. They do not click unfortunately so I don't know how that would work for FPS. The buttons are small, but again I got pretty use to them quickly. I couldn't take any pictures, listen to any music, or play any videos since the Vitas didn't have any memory cards.
I accidentally dropped one of the Vitas I had played with on the floor from quite a distance but it remained unscathed so for those that are clumsy, you shouldn't have any problems. Like I said earlier, the system itself has a pretty solid build. They had several games for show: Wipeout 2048, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Reality Fighters, Sound Shapes, Hot Shot Golf, Little Deviants, LittleBigPlanet, and Modnation Racers. I only had time for the first three so lets get to it.
-Reality Fighters-
I really don't have much to say about this game. It's a nice AR fighting game for those that want some fun in short bursts, I don't think it can keep many attentive like a full game would. I love fighting games, but for a "fighting game" it seemed rather limited to me. From what I played, there weren't many combos in the game. Before a match you have to set where the match takes place on the stage, which is kinda irritating. I wouldn't pay $40 for it, I'd wait for it to drop to at least $20 before purchasing.
-Uncharted: Golden Abyss-
Let me say this: I'm not really an Uncharted fan. I do buy them and play them but they are not the kind of games where they have to be a day one buy. But I was really impressed by this game. You can tell Sony Bend put there sweat and blood into it. The graphics were really well done, almost akin to maybe Drake's Fortune which is impressive for a handheld. I thought it was a neat feature to be able to trace where Nate could climb and such but I'm glad that its optional. Some of the features such as slicing through areas is touch screen only. I had no problem with platforming with the game but shooting on the other hand is another story. I had a difficult time trying to snipe so I can save Marisa (the new female sidekick) using the dual analogs. It was one of the few major gripes I had with the game which I feel needs to be fixed. Using the gyroscope fixes the problem but I'd much prefer to use the dual analog. As for the price I'd pay $50 for it, but I'd definitely buy it if it were $40.
-Wipeout 2048-
Before I go further, let me say that I hated Wipeout. I tried Wipeout HD on the PS3 and I had such a horrible hard time with the game that I hated it. I'm usually pretty good at racing games but HD almost made me throw my PS3 controller at my screen(*Note: I've never been that mad at a video game before.) I was a bit hesitant about playing 2048 but I thought I'd give it another shot. I'm glad I did, cause I absolutely loved it. Sure I lost a few times but after a few races I got the hang of it and even came in 2nd place in a few races. I loved the music, and the game controlled very nicely. The load times can be a bit long but they are not too long, maybe 30-40 seconds max. The tracks are very large. I just had a grand time with the game, it quickly rose to a must buy launch game after I tried it out and can't wait to play it again. It's definitely worth $30, hell I'd pay $40 for it. I just had that much fun, I haven't had that much fun with a game in a long time.
Unfortunately we had to go as my friend had class at 8 but he enjoyed the Vita too. He plans on pre-ordering or buying it soon. One of the hosts said that at the beginning or so of next month that they'd be getting more launch titles and launch window games so I'll be going back with some friends again soon. Going to the Social Club pretty much got me even more pumped for February 22nd.
-The Wait-
My friend and I arrived at the Social Club at around 5:40, ten minutes after it had started and there was a line. I was surprised because I wasn't expecting much of a line but I was wrong. We stood in line for almost an hour, we didn't get in till about 6:30-6:40. It was colder than I expected. There were many people still in the building, some wouldn't leave and they pretty much had to shoo away the people that were already playing the Vitas though they said they could get back in line. I passed the time talking to some other guys in line, one of which went to E3 last year and we even talked about the Wii-U for a little bit. When we finally got in, I was excited not only because I could warm up but because I finally get to try it out.
-First Impressions-
The first thing I asked was "Where is the power button?" I'm use to a sliding power button on the side of a handheld, so I was surprised to see the power button being on the top next to the slot.The screen is pretty nice, I wasn't as "Wow'd" as I thought I would be, but it was pretty nice. The colors on the screen were very vibrant, and it was a very solid build. It was surprisingly light. When they said it was lighter than a 3000, they weren't kidding. One thing I didn't like about it is that the speakers aren't loud enough, even with my Sennheiser headphones in the headphone jack. I wish they were louder. The touchscreen is very fast and fluid. When I pealed back the little welcome screen when you turn it on and flip through the pages, it was just so fast and there was little to no lag when you went from different applications or games unlike the 3DS. (Don't get me wrong, I love my 3DS.) The dual analogs felt a little weird but I got use to them pretty quickly. They do not click unfortunately so I don't know how that would work for FPS. The buttons are small, but again I got pretty use to them quickly. I couldn't take any pictures, listen to any music, or play any videos since the Vitas didn't have any memory cards.
I accidentally dropped one of the Vitas I had played with on the floor from quite a distance but it remained unscathed so for those that are clumsy, you shouldn't have any problems. Like I said earlier, the system itself has a pretty solid build. They had several games for show: Wipeout 2048, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Reality Fighters, Sound Shapes, Hot Shot Golf, Little Deviants, LittleBigPlanet, and Modnation Racers. I only had time for the first three so lets get to it.
-Reality Fighters-
I really don't have much to say about this game. It's a nice AR fighting game for those that want some fun in short bursts, I don't think it can keep many attentive like a full game would. I love fighting games, but for a "fighting game" it seemed rather limited to me. From what I played, there weren't many combos in the game. Before a match you have to set where the match takes place on the stage, which is kinda irritating. I wouldn't pay $40 for it, I'd wait for it to drop to at least $20 before purchasing.
-Uncharted: Golden Abyss-
Let me say this: I'm not really an Uncharted fan. I do buy them and play them but they are not the kind of games where they have to be a day one buy. But I was really impressed by this game. You can tell Sony Bend put there sweat and blood into it. The graphics were really well done, almost akin to maybe Drake's Fortune which is impressive for a handheld. I thought it was a neat feature to be able to trace where Nate could climb and such but I'm glad that its optional. Some of the features such as slicing through areas is touch screen only. I had no problem with platforming with the game but shooting on the other hand is another story. I had a difficult time trying to snipe so I can save Marisa (the new female sidekick) using the dual analogs. It was one of the few major gripes I had with the game which I feel needs to be fixed. Using the gyroscope fixes the problem but I'd much prefer to use the dual analog. As for the price I'd pay $50 for it, but I'd definitely buy it if it were $40.
-Wipeout 2048-
Before I go further, let me say that I hated Wipeout. I tried Wipeout HD on the PS3 and I had such a horrible hard time with the game that I hated it. I'm usually pretty good at racing games but HD almost made me throw my PS3 controller at my screen(*Note: I've never been that mad at a video game before.) I was a bit hesitant about playing 2048 but I thought I'd give it another shot. I'm glad I did, cause I absolutely loved it. Sure I lost a few times but after a few races I got the hang of it and even came in 2nd place in a few races. I loved the music, and the game controlled very nicely. The load times can be a bit long but they are not too long, maybe 30-40 seconds max. The tracks are very large. I just had a grand time with the game, it quickly rose to a must buy launch game after I tried it out and can't wait to play it again. It's definitely worth $30, hell I'd pay $40 for it. I just had that much fun, I haven't had that much fun with a game in a long time.
Unfortunately we had to go as my friend had class at 8 but he enjoyed the Vita too. He plans on pre-ordering or buying it soon. One of the hosts said that at the beginning or so of next month that they'd be getting more launch titles and launch window games so I'll be going back with some friends again soon. Going to the Social Club pretty much got me even more pumped for February 22nd.