the PSVITA overall review: On Par with the 3DS

The new handheld system doesn't hit stores until next week on wednesday (or earlier for some lucky pre-order people at gamestop) and none of us here have a vita either, but reviews are already spreading like wildfire across the world wide web. And after reading many hundreds of reviews, we finally have an idea of just what to expect from this new device:

1. The Screen: the first thing anyone will notice is the new screen, which is now actually the biggest screen to appear on a handheld. Being a 5-inch 960x544 OLED screen it shows bright and colorful visuals that are better than the PSP and near-dang close to the PS3. The fact that it's in the same neighborhood of the console is amazing. There's also no hints of ghosting and tearing, and video playback works great too.
2. Design of the handheld: From what has been said, the system feels incredible in your hands. It's larger than any other handheld but not to the point that it's awkward. The buttons still all work great like that of the PS3 dualshock controller, and the D-pad still works great even with it's different structure. The dual control sticks is where the system dominates,these are incredibly responsive and make games very easy and fun to play. One downside is that the left and right control sticks are pretty close to the X button and bottom arrow of the D-pad which would only be a problem with fat-fingered people (like Tom :P).
3. Battery Life: We heard rumors that the battery life was just 2-3 hours long, but that's not the case! the battery life can last 4-5 hours, putting it on par with PSP but still not as long as the DS. Still, the system happens to beat the 3DS by offering longer continuous play and a longer sleep time even with a paused game in progress.
4. Touchscreen: the touchscreen works great like the DS and 3DS, but even this system can't escape the long-running issue with finger smudging. Thankfully it is as easy as other touchscreens to clean off. Some reports even say that the touchscreen works infinitely better than any of Apple's offerings! The touchscreen on the back works equally as good.
5. Camera: the camera now is just a gimmick for any handheld device. It's the same as the 3DS cameras.

Verdict: The Vita has proven to be an excellent new system that improves on everything that was of concern for the PSP. As for whether to buy a Vita or a 3DS, it's up to you. Both are equally impressive and on par, with only slight gimmick differences (3DS - the 3D, Vita - Rear Touchscreen). And while some things may make the other seem fair (like 3DS being cheaper in price, or Vita already having all accessories that you would normally buy separately) the fact still stands: Both have proven to be outstanding. Those who have a PS3 may want a 3DS, and those who don't own a PS3 may want the Vita, or perhaps if your a rich fool you'll want both. We don't really have a favorite between to two, comparing them is nonsense, in the end it's whatever is in your best interests. Be sure to hear Shrew's review of the 3DS in the Podcasts to learn more about that particular device (i believe he reviews it in episode 2, but i'm not sure).

The Last Guardian is STILL going to happen, But how long will we have to wait now?

Last Guardian is to be the third game in the Ico team trilogy. But people have been literally waiting years for it to come out. But news has confirmed us to still expect the game to eventually come out:

In an interview with 1up, Yoshida said "The project has been making progress, but slow progress. So that's tough, but we haven't changed any focus. It's still a really important project and a vision we want to see realized, and Fumito's vision is really causing a very difficult challenge for the developers, so there's some scrapping and rebuilding -- iteration in the process. That's why [it's taking so long]."

At this point, the game might be released on the PS4! But here's to hoping that it'll come out as soon as possible.

Celebrate Valentine's Day by shooting Sweet Tooth's truck FOR REAL!!!

With Twisted Metal only four days away, David Jaffe has thought of a way for everyone to get their car shooting fix even without a PS3. By signing up on this site, you get to shoot a fully automatic gun at Sweet Tooth's ice cream truck from the comfort of your own home. Here's a video explaining the whole deal.

Saber Interactive CEO says blocking used games unfair, becomes Geoff's personal hero

Recently, there was an interview on CVG with Saber Interactive's CEO Matthew Karch where he said blocking the consumer from used games would be unfair. Here's what he has to say about the whole thing.

"I don't think we should prevent people from playing used games. I understand why they would want to do it, but I think the approach should be different.

"As long as games are distributed on physical medium as physical goods, players should have the right to buy and sell them.

"$60 is a lot to pay for a game and if a player buys a dud and is stuck with it, then that's just not fair to force him to keep it. If people buy Inversion and it's not for them, then why should they be forced to turn it into a drink coaster?

"Publishers feel that reviewers have too much control now and if games can't be traded then reviews will become gospel. This doesn't serve any one's interest.

"For me the approach is to bring the cost of games down and to sell them as digital content where they can't be bought and sold. If someone pays $15 for a game, then it's less painful if they need to keep it.

"If people buy Inversion and its not for them, then why should they be forced to turn it into a drink coaster? Last time I spoke about this, some people misconstrued my comments to imply that I didn't think that games should be 'full-length'. This isn't the way I feel about it.

"A $60 game has about $30 of waste in it in getting the game to retail. I really believe that with digital distribution you can get that same full-length experience for $30.

"With Inversion (or games like Battlefield or Gears), for example, you could break that experience into two components - single-player and multiplayer - and sell them for $15 each or sell them combined for $30. If someone spends $15, then the trade-in value would be minimal anyway even if it were permissible.

"I think that's the way to go - lower the costs for the same access by bringing them to market digitally. Then a no-used solution is fair."

This whole quote is just a breath of fresh air. With so many publishers going to the online pass deal, it surprises me that they haven't thought of a way other than that to make money off used games. Sure there's DLC that they release, but a majority of that is just weapon packs and horse armor these days.

This is the type of pricing I've been waiting for. Too long has it been that we've had to pay $60 every time we want to help out our favorite developers. There needs to be some type of change. If they were to release the single-player and multi-player components separately for much cheaper, these people could be making a hell of a lot more money, especially with so many games coming out in a lot of the same genres.

So, with that said, I thank you Matthew Karch. You are now my personal hero.

Matthew Karch is CEO of Saber Interactive. Their new game, Inversion, will be coming out later this year.

Sony is having issues with Credit and Debt ratings, they might get screwed

Sony has been in Financial Trouble, they reported a Two Billion Dollar loss last quarter and a stupid S&P report by Reuters expects things to get a lot worse for Sony in the forseeable future:

"We base the downgrade on our view that severe circumstances in Sony's mainstay electronics businesses make a strong recovery in earnings unlikely. We base the negative outlook on the long-term corporate credit rating on our expectation that we could lower the ratings further if we see no meaningful sign of recovery in Sony's earnings within six to 12 months," continues the S&P report.

S&P notes that Sony's television sector in particular hasn't made any money since March of 2005. "Standard & Poor's believes the major reason for the extended losses is Sony's strategy to aggressively expand its global market share despite strong competition, a massive erosion of prices, and its high cost structure compared with overseas competitors," notes the report. "Massive pressure on the prices of Sony's key products, such as flat-panel TVs and mobile handsets, is likely to continue, and the company's position in the global market is under strong pressure amid severe competition from Korean manufacturers and emerging Chinese companies."

However, nothing has been said about how this will affect the Playstation aspect of the company leading us to believe that if Sony does get screwed it will only affect their television industry. Still, let's hope nothing bad happens to them and let us hope that they can still sell plenty of VITA's in the U.S.

Another Call of Duty in 2012, No surprise

Activision already gave us bad news about the next "skylanders" game, now they have meaninglessly revealed that another Call of Duty is coming out this year. But by now everyone should know that a call of duty game out EVERY year in November. But what kind of COD game will come out this year? We actually have three hints to what we might just get:

•  There has been huge rumors and hints towards the possibility of a Black Ops 2 coming out. While it's just still a rumor, It is a very strong rumor that could easily be confirmed in the next couple months or so.
• Sledgehammer (who helped Activision and Infinity Ward make MW3) has been hiring new people to help make a "new cod project" and stating this to be an excellent opportunity for any new game developers. Their project could be the next game.
• Infinity Ward announced not too long ago that they were attempting to create "the next generation of Call of Duty", agreeing with us that Call of Duty has been stale due to being the same in gameplay and graphics very year and being released every year. This possibility, as of now, sounds very unlikely but it's still a possibility.

So what kind of cod game do you think we'll get this November?

Aliens: Colonial Marines cover art revealed

Don't worry, no delay again it'll still come out sometime this Fall. But here's what the cover art will look like for the PS3, 360, and PC:

So what does everyone think? Is this good cover art for the game?