Postabargain PS Vita Bundle Competition

Image provided by Clark Bishop (@Raasclark)

Excited about the PS Vita? You should be!

Sony's PS Vita is out in just over a week. Have you checked it out yet? Maybe even preordered yours? Or are you still on the fence because you think you don't really need it? Quite a few people I know told me they don't consider buying a Vita as they have a *insert any kind of smartphone or tablet* and that this device pleases their mobile gaming needs.

Does it really, though? I own a Windows Phone, iPod Touch and a HP Touchpad myself. And to be honest with you, none of these devices make me happy gaming-wise. Why? It's simple really but somehow complicated to explain to people who don't want to see the main issues with touch-only devices.

There are NO proper controls on a smartphone. I realise that a touchscreen alone is more than fine for the likes of Angry Birds, Cut the Rope etc. But does it really work well with games that require accuracy and speed at the same time? No, it doesn't. Due to this, you will not find any core games on these phones and tablets. Even jump and run games like Assassins Creed just don't work right. It's all too fiddly with touch only and using your fingers, you block quite a bit of the screen too while playing. To me "proper" games like we get on the PS3 and Xbox 360 for example, require proper controls (meaning 2 thumbsticks, triggers, 4 buttons and a D-Pad) to actually BE in control.

At the moment there are a couple of portable consoles around. (I currently own a 3DS but used to have a PSP for many years) The PSP for one doesn't have a second thumbstick, which makes things like moving the camera quite awkward. And let's face it, the graphics are outdated by now. Nintendo's 3DS may have 3D (which is not for everyone) but it's also limited to one thumbstick (unless you buy that chunky circle pad pro). On top of that it has a pretty small screen, low res graphics and, to be perfectly honest, a lack of power. You will never get to see a game with kick-ass graphics on either of these portables.

Which is what brings me to the PS Vita. It has a georgeous 5" OLED Multi touch screen which will blow you away. It is 16:9, has 960 x 544 pixels (let's call it HD on a smaller scale due to the screen size), approx. 16 million colors. Something that's truly unique to the Vita: a Rear Multi Touch Pad. The PS Vita also rocks 2 thumbsticks to make sure you can play your games pretty much like you would on your home console. With this thing, you WILL snipe as fast as you do at home on the big screen!

The Vita has a camera on the front and back so you can play AR games for example, get snapshots taken of your "winning face" in Wipeout 2048 to really show your opponents who's the daddy. Or you can just use it to take photos of or film your newest Vita game purchases to then share them with your friends.

This machine is so powerful, it brings you gaming blockbusters like Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the go! Anytime, anywhere. With graphics close to the PS3's, I might add. With a 4 core ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore CPU, 512 MB RAM and 128 MB VRAM you don't have to worry about anything. Sony's portable powerhouse does all the work without even blinking (well, you know what I mean ). Check out some in game footage to see for yourself if you haven't yet.

For Netflix junkies there will be a Netflix app for the Vita. You can also makes calls with Skype, post on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr using dedicated apps and even take in game screenshots and upload them to Twitter right then and there without having to quit the game, as the Vita supports multitasking. I'm sure there will be even more great apps coming to PS Vita in the future.

All of the above is why I have preordered a Vita. I know it will give me what I've wanted for so long. A handheld that lets me play games anywhere, that I usually would only be able to play in front of my tv on one of my home consoles. Sony has made my gaming dream come true. Is it yours too? Then let the Vita, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Wipeout 2048, Everybody's Golf, etc. show you a whole new gaming experience.

REAL gaming, on the go.

Tanja - @RidingontheWind

The winner will be picked at random from all the successful entrants using random.org.

Winner will be announced at the earliest possible convenience after the comp ends on 14th March 2012 at 20:00. Competition open to UK and Ireland only. One entry per person. Entrants must be at least 16 years old to enter. Postabargain reserves the right to amend these rules and also to disqualify anyone considered to be a negative factor towards the site, the competition and/or our affiliates.