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This has been something i've wanted for a while - a PS Vita! Those cute little analogs, the nice new slim design...but most importantly the exclusives, which Sony has shown no sign of porting to PS3/PS4. Wasn't sure i'd like PS Vita, but it's a wonderful device. The screen is a little on the small size for my older eyes, but still fine. Graphics look nice on it, and everything works great. Download speeds are somehow seemingly faster than PS4. Muramasa and Resistance downloaded and installed inside of five minutes each. They do however take up most of my tiny 8GB card. Couldn't afford a 32GB or 64GB card, those are ridiculously priced.

 

So far got Resistance Burning Skies because i love the franchise and really wanted to play this despite the lukewarm reviews/reception. Bought Killzone Mercenary physical, but haven't played it yet. Also downloaded Muramasa Rebirth and Doki Doki. Muramasa seems nice.

 

Controls are excellent, not as precise as a real Dualshock clearly but close enough. Overall impressed and glad finally made the decision to get one, i know many here have had PS Vita ages now.

 

BTW the Skype client for PS Vita is excllent - used it a lot over the weekend and it's super clear and stable, more so than my smartphone, tablet, and even desktop.

 

Anyone on the fence, now's the time!

 

post-121333-0-11196300-1404693788.jpg

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I bought it to play Uncharted, then returned it, as there were no other good games I liked at the time.

 

Uncharted was fun, almost reaching PS3 quality...    but nothing else stood out.

 

Maybe I buy one at the very end of the lifecycle to check out the other exclusives.     

 

 

Where you not also supposed to get some new PS4 functionality on Vita?

I bought it to play Uncharted, then returned it, as there were no other good games I liked at the time.

 

Uncharted was fun, almost reaching PS3 quality...    but nothing else stood out.

 

Maybe I buy one at the very end of the lifecycle to check out the other exclusives.     

 

 

Where you not also supposed to get some new PS4 functionality on Vita?

 

 

All I ever use mine for is Remote Play.

Must have if you have a ps4... let the kids/wifey watch the tv while you play your ps4 via Vita in the comfort of my bed, is priceless.

 

There's tons of games on it, but to each his own. Yes, i guess the PS4 remote play function is great if you have more people than TVs, but as i live by myself and use PS Vita within 10 feet of my PS4 usually, i'm not exactly the target audience for this feature!

 

 

Only 5 inches .... :/

 

I know, it sounds small, but boy the things you can get out of those five inches will BLOW you away!

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Mine has been collecting dust for over a year. Last time I brought a game for it was Killzone Mercenary, since then, there has been a rising trend of lack of AAA titles for the device. I remember reading somewhere that Sony is actually not going to develop anymore AAA titles for the Vita because it is not selling as well as they would like, so its going to be primarily a indie gaming device. :/

I dont know how true that will be, as it has a lot of potential, but over the past 12 months at least, I have definitely seen that trend myself with the handheld. 

Mine has been collecting dust for over a year. Last time I brought a game for it was Killzone Mercenary, since then, there has been a rising trend of lack of AAA titles for the device. I remember reading somewhere that Sony is actually not going to develop anymore AAA titles for the Vita because it is not selling as well as they would like, so its going to be primarily a indie gaming device. :/

I dont know how true that will be, as it has a lot of potential, but over the past 12 months at least, I have definitely seen that trend myself with the handheld. 

 

That could be true, but i don't mind. Quite a back catalog for me to catch up with on PS Vita, and even if nothing else comes out (which is not going to be the case, i would guess), it's mission accomplished for me. No way i'm going to my grave without playing KZ Merc, Burning Skies, Golden Abyss, Unit 13, and a few others :laugh:

DO NOT BUY BORDERLANDS 2.

 

For the love of God.

 

 

Hahaha thanks for the advice, but had no intention of doing that. Already played it 360 when it came out, and didn't much care for it back then.

The memory cards are the worst part about this system.

 

There are some great indies for the system. I like my Vita.

 

There's a lot of so-called indies for sure, but as i said for me the main reason was the "AAA" backlog on PS Vita that i wanted to catch up with, that in itself should take a few months.

Oh, get gravity rush. The controls are a little finicky at times, but it is still a good game. I hope they do a sequel and improve on the controls.

 

Gravity Rush and Golden Abyss are the two i'm kicking myself over...they were part of PS+ for months while i debated whether or not to get a PS Vita, then they expire, and i get a PS VIta...brilliant.

Im not 100% sure, but I think Gravity Rush and Golden Abyss  are life-long PS+ free Vita downloads too. 

 

Haven't checked on the system itself, but according to the PS site they're not part of PS+ anymore. But thanks for the idea, will check from the in-device store.

Two words...

OlliOlli

 

Awesome, awesome game right there.

 

Now that Gaucamelle is on pretty much every platform, there are other means to play the newer, superior version (DLC included, enhanced visuals, etc.), but for awhile it was an amazing Vita experience as well.

 

Here is the list of games I have enjoyed most on my Vita. Even bolded the ones I think are standouts.
 

Hotline Miami (controls seem weird at first, then just make complete sense)

either Rayman game

Killzone Mercenary

Tearaway

Spelunky

Wipeout 2048 (load times are a tad ridiculous though)

Super Stardust Delta

Sound Shapes

Guacamelle

Urban Trial Freestyle (a total Trials HD rip off, but actually decent fun)
Retro City Rampage

Super Crate Box

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Another good game for the Vita is Persona 4 Golden.  

 

Here's the list of PS+ games for NA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Instant_Game_Collection_games_(North_America)

 

and PAL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Instant_Game_Collection_games_(PAL_region)

 

Is Soul Sacrifice any good?

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Congrats Neo and glad you're enjoying it :) The white is sexy :wub:

 

I don't think Sony will be porting the exclusives until there is something to replace them and sell the system. And we all know how that's going right now...

 

In the mean time though the Vita is the closest thing you can get to an indie-Steam portable :laugh: I love mine, but I knew what I was getting. If I was picking one up expecting AAA support I'd be very disappointed. Saying that, with PS+ you're never short of something to play, albeit usually ports but at least it's not PSP "port" territory; where it was more like a separate entry altogether with the same name.

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Two words...

OlliOlli

 

Awesome, awesome game right there.

 

Now that Gaucamelle is on pretty much every platform, there are other means to play the newer, superior version (DLC included, enhanced visuals, etc.), but for awhile it was an amazing Vita experience as well.

 

Here is the list of games I have enjoyed most on my Vita. Even bolded the ones I think are standouts.

 

Hotline Miami (controls seem weird at first, then just make complete sense)

either Rayman game

Killzone Mercenary

Tearaway

Spelunky

Wipeout 2048 (load times are a tad ridiculous though)

Super Stardust Delta

Sound Shapes

Guacamelle

Urban Trial Freestyle (a total Trials HD rip off, but actually decent fun)

Retro City Rampage

Super Crate Box

 

Thanks a lot for taking the time to make the list Larry! Will definitely get OlliOlli and Tearaway, they're on my to-get list when funds and space on that 8GB card allow! Super Stardust Delta also looks good, and Killzone Merc was the bundled game, it was no.1 on my wishlist since the first time i saw a screenshot for it. Hope our PS4s will forgive me for saying this, but it puts Shadowfall to shame i think in every regard...except for visuals of course.

 

Another good game for the Vita is Persona 4 Golden.  

 

Here's the list of PS+ games for NA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Instant_Game_Collection_games_(North_America)

 

and PAL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Instant_Game_Collection_games_(PAL_region)

 

Is Soul Sacrifice any good?

 

Yes, Persona 4 is another interesting title...though i really don't know much about the series! Thanks for adding the links, they're helpful!

 

Congrats Neo and glad you're enjoying it :) The white is sexy :wub:

 

I don't think Sony will be porting the exclusives until there is something to replace them and sell the system. And we all know how that's going right now...

 

In the mean time though the Vita is the closest thing you can get to an indie-Steam portable :laugh: I love mine, but I knew what I was getting. If I was picking one up expecting AAA support I'd be very disappointed. Saying that, with PS+ you're never short of something to play, albeit usually ports but at least it's not PSP "port" territory; where it was more like a separate entry altogether with the same name.

 

Thanks Andy, love PS Vita, she's great :D

Was worried the white would make the screen appear smaller, but it's fine thus far. Nice contrast to the PS4, X1, and PC, which are all Darth Vader-like in countenance :devil:

Indeed those exclusives are system sellers, to wit people like me finally giving in and getting one - i couldn't live with myself not enjoying KZ Merc, Burning Skies, Golden Abyss, Unit 13, and a few others. Honestly those in themselves will keep me busy for a while and to me are worth the purchase. The additional titles you guys listed are even better reasons, and everything else is gravy. I do hope Sony don't give up on PS Vita. The indie-Steam-like angle is great, but we need those big titles. Time for a Last of Us spin-off! Exclusive Infamous sidequel! Gran Tursimo Vita! Sony has such a huge catalog to leverage, even though it costs money, they can do more to support PS Vita.

 

Thanks a lot for all the kind words guys!

Tearaway is great on the handheld, for me the most stand out game on the platform

 

A lot of charm.

 

That is what is missing for the Vita, where is the Loco Roco or the Patapon? No one can touch Nintendo handhelds, Sony haven't faired bad in doing what can be done by a non-Nintendo handheld, but seriously, some more charming titles like Tearaway are needed pronto.

It's solid and well built.

It's commercial flop, but love mine. 

 

It's gotten some great PS2 / PS3 JRPG remakes not published on PS3/4 X360/X1.

Uncharted is still my fav. game for the Vita. What a delight.

 

I started playing Killzone a while back. it's good. graphics are amazing.

 

I thought Resistance was a good game. No, it's not PS3 quality, but it was fun for a generic fps.

 

One of my fav games to-date is Hot Shots Golf. If youre into golf, it's incredibly addicting.

 

Finally, i have the 32GB card, and i can easily fill it up. I find myself having to delete stuff all the time. Granted, a lot of what i have on the card are PSP/PSOne classics, but those can go anytime.

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I've custom-built all my own PCs and servers since the 90s, and this is the first time I have had to put a NAS together. Even if the actual base ZimaBoard 2 was already a completed build, it still feels pretty custom. I just wish that IceWhale Technology included a getting-started guide in the box for the Start Kit, which would have really completed this kit. Instead, I had to search for the official video on the YouTube channel to make sure I wasn't doing anything wrong. So who is this for? Definitely the hobbyist who is comfortable building their own PC and servers. It also has a much smaller footprint than its nearest equivalent (in terms of specs), like the Beelink Me Pro, which is another NAS I will be testing soon. Although the Beelink does not come with the PCIe 3.0 X4 expansion, the ZimaBoard 2 Starter Kit suddenly looks to be a great bargain, even if it only offers the two 3.5-inch bays over the four in the other example. It makes a lot of sense to use Intel's N150 chip inside a NAS; it is more than capable of doing what the ZimaBoard 2 is intended for, media streaming and backup. It also looks like the IceWhale Technology staff are quite active in the official forums helping people with issues they come across with ZimaOS and the devices, peer support seems to be good as well, I was quickly able to find why I was not able to create a new Storage Pool in ZimaOS v1.6.1 even though that is quite a serious bug, hopefully it will be fixed in the next update. If you are comfortable with the command line and Docker, you'll be fine. You can do great things with this hardware. This was my first time with ZimaOS. It seems a bit barebones in comparison to the likes of Synology DSM, TOS, and UGOS, but it has a ton of apps to get you started with your home or small business NAS. Where to buy As of publishing, IceWhale Technology is running a discount of up to 5% for the Starter Kit. If you opt to get just the ZimaBoard 2 itself, it does come with a SATA Y-Cable, so you will be able to connect up to two 3.5-inch HDDs to it. ZimaBoard 2 1668 Starter Kit for $534.50 on Amazon US (was $548.60) ZimaBoard 2 832 Starter Kit for $372.88 on Amazon US (was $390.60) Zimaboard 2 1668 (16GB+64GB) for $419.90 on Amazon US Zimaboard 2 832 (8GB+32GB) for $359.90 on Amazon Disclosure: IceWhale Technology provided a free sample without any editorial input or review pre-approval. Good to know The Amazon link is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, when you purchase through links on our site, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • It's in the Insider's group so yes it's technically beta, though these days it's hard to see much of a difference unless you opt for the most extreme beta builds, which I don't. When I moved here from the Release Preview channel I did so primarily because I wanted to see how well the restored taskbar functionality (restored from Win10, and earlier) is working and whether it was time to finally abandon SAB--and it is--working fine, so far. Not as polished as SAB, but it'll do for me.
    • I've been using MWB Premium for a number of years so that along with Windows updates and updated browser should be fine. Thanks for that.
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