Retake: The PS Vita shines when it is a good bundle deal

This bundle changed my mind about the PS VitaBy Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

I had high hopes for the PS Vita when it first came out. As a PlayStation Portable fan and collector (had all the iterations, even the PSP Go), I wanted the Vita to be an extension and improvement of not just the gaming aspect of the PSP but the all-around functionality. Here's a story of the PS Vita there and back again.

A year ago, I grabbed one of the first PS Vitas to come to Canada and I also splurged on games, accessories and the overpriced and proprietary memory cards that are required for any sort of worthwhile user experience on the PS Vita. 

As a portable gaming device, the PS Vita showed a glimpse into what could be the pinnacle of the genre. Console-level experiences in a powerful and engaging device with all the controllers and mult-touch capabilities anyone could wish for. 

But a lot was missing. The smooth user interface and functionality of the PSP (and PlayStation 3) was gone and replaced by the hideous wannabe app interface (why do I need to press an icon and then press start to open an app?! Wouldn't one button press suffice?). The PS Vita also lost a lot of the functionality that I had enjoyed on the older PSP systems. The ability to tap into RSS feeds, grab podcasts, easily load and play videos through MemoryStick Duo cards and the general smoothness of the XMB powered PSPs.

I was also bugged that the PS Vita didn't feature the types of games I enjoyed. No Gran Turismo and no NBA games. What up with that? So my PS Vita was eventually inherited by my nephew and I soon forgot all about it. I still had my PSP Go.

Fast forward a year later and my brother-in-law and nephew both have PS Vitas and they're actually loving the device and the games. My interest is piqued, have things shaped up for Sony's landmark portable?

Then Future Shop has that deal. The crazy $199 3G+WiFi PS Vita with two games (Unit 13 and Gravity Rush). I grab one of the last remaining units for sale an hour's drive away, and all of a sudden the PS Vita is something, new, fun and shiny.

The proprietary memory still bugs the heck out of me. I bough an 8GB card for $30 (I felt I was splurging) and filled it right up with just a handful of games no videos and no music!.  As for the games, Unit 13 is a lot of fun, good for aggression.

Gravity Rush has become my favourite game as of late. I love it so much that I've been dreaming cel-shaded zero gravity dreams and can't get enough of that whole gaming experience. I've also started playing Assassin's Creed III Liberation and while there are some rough edges, I am impressed to have enjoyed the closest thing to a console-like experience on a handheld.

I also bought SoundShapes and am having fun with that music-making platformer as well. All-in-all my reintroduction to PS Vita has been sweet. I just hope we can get more functionality out of the hardware and I'm crossing my fingers that the game library picks up. I was actually hoping for some Vita-related news at CES 2013 but heard nothing, so I hope Sony's got plans for the platform.