boy did they miss the mark with this. I understand that the attempt is to popularize the beauty and usefulness of mathematics, and instill this notion that it goes beyond the tediousness of Calculus and Linear Algebra that comes to mind when the average person thinks of math. But to pump me up with the usefulness of fractals to deal with the real world where apparently "old" math fails and then show me ... SWEATERS designed by mathematicians... Really, you want mathematicians to take this seriously because of some truly hideous sweaters? To be fair, it does suggest REAL applications, though without driving home the point (we're told fractals should be looked at when measuring the coast of Britain, but not exactly how explicitly that helps). And the patronizing, "tree is a fractal" example, SHUT UP!

Not quite done with it yet--running through it a third time to clean up the trophies.

Honestly, I don't get how Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception gets the average review score it gets, and this portable version gets a much lower one. This thing is beautiful, runs smoothly (on hard and crushing settings at least) and the new controls bring enough fresh ideas to make it such a nice surprise--won't spoil the fun by telling; one in particular is really cool, but under-used, and you are told essentially what to do to solve the puzzle.

PROs: lots of them; perfect graphics, near perfect controls (some critics gripe about too much touch controls, but I found it was easier to slide my thumb over the right stick to reach the touch screen than it would be to slide it up the the traditional controls for melee); and a story that for once does not end with some supernatural beings to fight in the final chapter (small departure, but a departure from the formula nonetheless); lots of collectibles; nice to include a map of all treasure (for a download fee, albeit a small one).

CONs: the only one I can think of is the quick time events: they are almost as annoying using touch screen controls as they are using the traditional buttons; it took a while to figure out I don't have to run my finger over the arrow prompts on screen, but rather do a short rub in the same general direction; what bugged me was that it's strictly a memorization rather than reaction effort, as the sequence never changes; this meant I failed a lot, and I saw a lot of animation repeats; it could use some more work on the puzzles, but even as they were, I found them an improvement over the PS3 iterations. Also, if you're playing on the bus, remember to turn off the tilt functionality for aiming; and remember to get off the bus at your stop...

That should be the caption on this monster. Not "Never stop playing". I love the machine. It may be the console that overtakes the Nintendo dominance of handhelds. Though I'm not sure it qualifies as a portable gaming machine. I played on the bus, and it made me queasy.

I'VE UPDATED THIS REVIEW AS I SOURED ON THE EXPERIENCE (STILL LOVE THE MACHINE, HATE THERE'S NO SUPPORT FOR IT)

Pros: Uncharted: Golden Abyss looks as good in your hands as the bigger brothers look on the bigger brother PS3. Built solid. Cool that you can get a sense of what people are playing around your area (apparently 41 people were using their Vita's when I checked--explains why Futureshop and EBgames were sold out on Feb 23 in my area).

Cons: Sony is trying really hard to turn away customers. Why is it that they couldn't use a USB 3.0 cable, but decided for a proprietary jack on the Vita side? Why is it that they had to change the memory card format yet again? Every accessory available is nickle-and-diming (by nickle I mean 15 dollars, and by dime I mean 20 dollars)--for example the docking station doesn't come with its own USB cable. Fine, Sony might be losing money on the console right now at 250 (though so am I); must they get that money back on the accessories? By comparison (the much less cool) Nintendo 3DS - Aqua Blue comes with a cradle; an extra cradle can be bought for $20, and it's complete; the damn thing takes HC SD cards.
And why is it that I cannot copy my PSN downloaded videos to the damn thing? I cannot even view those videos in remote play! (this is likely something that's gonna be fixed soon, so now's the time to gripe about it)
And why not keep the user interface from the PS3/PSP. I'm just an old man complaining about every little thing now; later I'll turn the Vita on and apologize to it, tell her how sexy she is. And she's gonna make me not sleep on the couch tonight.

Now what am I supposed to do with my awesome 32gb memory card from my PSP? Follow up question: what am I supposed to do with my PSP?

I KNOCKED OUT ONE STAR FOR THE ABUSE. AND I ACCIDENTALLY HIT THE CAPS LOCK!

UPDATE: where the heck is the support for this thing? It's been near a month and there hasn't been any notable game yet apart from the ones that came out on release day... and where is the PS3-PS Vita interplay? Why can't I play Thongs of Virtue, Trine, Flower on this? If more games aren't out, and if they don't start showing me a reason to connect to the PS3, I'm gonna get sour on this here machine. I platinum-ed Uncharted and now I've no game to play apart from the incredibly frustrating (but FREE) Motorstorm RC.

UPDATE: part deux. Knocked out another star because... WHERE ARE THE GAMES? WHERE'S THE REMOTE PLAY OF PS3 TITLES? Hate Motorstorm RC, which I'm only playing because of the trophies--take away the trophy support, I wouldn't spend more than 5 minutes with this game, which by the way, should've/could've been a PSP title since you don't really need the dual sticks, and it's underwhelming graphics-wise. Anger festering, I'm shaking my fist at you Sony like an old man at the squirrel perched in the tree in front of his house that's not really a squirrel but a discarded shoe--darn kids.

GIVE ME RAGNAROK ODYSSEY AND I'LL SHUT UP, PUT YOUR STARS BACK UP.

I've some free time so here's me picking at the official info posted for the Vita on Amazon:

"Redefining Handheld Gaming
Explore features new to the handheld genre: dual touch pads at the front and rear, dual cameras at the front and rear, dual analog sticks, a 5-inch OLED screen, six-axis motion sensors, a three-axis electronic compass and exceptional built-in connectivity"
There's an add-on for the 3ds that gives it the second analog stick; the 3ds already had front and rear cameras, with one of them 3d capable; the cameras on the Vita are crap (low light, a lot of light--it don't matter); 3ds has motion sensors as well, same for connectivity. Redefining means doing the same thing now? Oh, right, dual touch pads that I forgot already were there, and a screen with good enough resolution that when I use remote play (from my apartment) to stream hi-def videos from my ps3, there is lag since the wireless connection acts as a bottleneck on the device.

"Stay Connected With "LiveArea"
Share the fun and excitement with fellow Vita users in 'LiveArea,' a virtual space where players can access the latest gaming information through PlayStation Network. Additionally, stay connected with the "Activity Log," where gamers are updated in real-time with accomplishments from users playing similar games."
I thought the 3ds's spot pass was boring after the first week or so; this Sony version is even less engaging; you can use emoticons to share how you feel about the games you're playing, but all of those emoticons are positive; there's no "this game sucks" emoticon--and shouldn't there be one?

"PlayStation Store Access
Players will enjoy full wireless access to the PlayStation Store with Wi-Fi capabilities and 3G connectivity. Download new game add-ons, movies, comics and PS One classics ported over for handheld play."
Who cares? There hasn't been a major release since this thing was introduced. And I check. Every Tuesday. And I'm pretty sure PSN abandoned the comics store in the US, and in Canada it was never available.

"System Software Apps
Take handheld consoles to the next level with all-new system apps designed to enhance the Vita experience. Integrate the Vita into your daily lifestyle with apps like Music Player, Video Player, Group Messaging, and more. "
Who cares? The PSP had Skype, so I naturally thought the Vita will have Skype with Video. Nope. It does not. For the others, music player and video player the psp had; group messaging--who cares? And must I have facebook on yet another machine? SKYPE IS OUT, AND I'M HAPPY WITH IT.

In related news, Sony is laying off 6% of it's workforce, after 4 straight years of posting losses. Don't ruin videogames for me Sony! I'll keep buying your consoles and games; so out with your games and I'll chip in for your recovery.

ANOTHER UPDATE: another Tuesday just passed (May 08) and still no PSN love for the Vita. Mine's been collecting dust for about a week; the week before I was using it to watch TV shows downloaded from PSN--that's right, I'm spending my money on TV shows, 'cause there are no games to be had...

NEVER STOP PLAYING... I can't play the same games over and over again; and a glitch in Motorstorm RC has wiped out my accomplishments, so I'm not touching that game again.

This game is not worth the discount price of 8.99. And I paid 9.99 for it. There is waaay too much loading. It crashes the PSP (did it for me twice, and it cannot be my fault, I take care of my toys). The world is decent looking, but sparsely populated, so you trek quite a bit to find people to talk to. Maybe that's supposed to be some comment on the plight of the lone gamer. Hate the inventory system, and I hate that space in your inventory is a constant constraint--very early in the game I loaded my character with every bit of equipment I could put on, and that leaves you with 1-2 slots available to pick up new items; true, my strength was low (strength affects inventory slots), but I was a mage! I SHOULD be a weakling. This is a Diablo clone (and as far as I know the closest to on the PSP), but it just made me miss Diablo and led to the frustration of trying to get Diablo working on Windows 7. Go to Diablo, Windows 7!

I'll just start by saying that I'm a huge Uncharted fan. I loved the original Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and loved the sequel Uncharted 2: Among Thieves even more. So I've been looking forward to this third installment since I finished the second one.

Maybe my expectations were too high, but to me this game ranks lower than the original, when I expected it to top or at least match the second one.

Uncharted 2 had some pretty big wow sequences--the collapsing building, the train level; even though the boss fight at the end was a b*&%ch on Crushing difficulty, at least it was challenging enough that the ping of the trophy for it felt rewarding.

The Pros: still a nice adventure, beautiful graphics, nice mix of shooting, platforming, puzzle solving, exploration, even hand to hand and stealth combat.

And the Cons: (more detailed only because I'm bitter) Uncharted 3 by comparison feels a little more small scale--I don't mean the scenery, which is breathtaking, or the globe-trotting, but the game-play. More disappointingly, Chloe from UC 2 makes an appearance for no good reason, and then disappears with absolutely no reason; the top baddy is a mystery throughout the game, the second in command also. The end-game falls flat and presents no challenge whatsoever--it played the same on hard as on crushing. I am thankful still that there are only 2 trophies on multiplayer that are required for the platinum--but boy was the competitive multiplayer a bore; I admit I am no fan of online gaming, but in particular this one feels so disconnected from the campaign and the uncharted experience that I couldn't wait for the time to run out on it. And lastly, they took out my favorite trophy: one-punch killing after softening up with gun of ten in a row. WHY? You naughty, naughty dogs!

This is a rather slim offering from Nintendo. There are a few game modes: campaign, time trial, periscope shoot and a version of battleships. But the meat of it (the campaign) is rather short--you only have 7 missions to go through, increasing in difficulty, 3 submarines to do it with (a maneuverable one that's low on fire power, a balanced one, and a clumsy one that's got plenty torpedoes). There are rewards for beating the ghosts of the developers--you get a medal, but there's no benefit to doing so (and the medal doesn't even show in your records!); you can collect decals that boost stats of the subs, but I've reached the last mission and haven't been able to collect enough of the cool ones to make a difference. Maybe I'm wrong and there's something in the campaign past the 7th mission. But I wouldn't hold my breath.

It would have been nice if there was a more fleshed out story, some over-the-top nonsense a la Advance Wars: Dual Strike; this could have/should have been a downloadable title, and most annoyingly, the 3d here is underwhelming.

But it is pretty cool to seat in an office chair and use your 3ds as a periscope. In retrospect, I wouldn't pay more than $15 for this title.

Love the ability to take 3D photos, love the user interface, love the Augmented Reality game (included), and the Face Raiders sort-of-game (also included); both of these apps are short but they ooze Nintendo quirky goodness. Love that Ninty decided to include a 2GB SD card (though I've replaced it right away with a 16GB SDHC, in preparation for storing obscene amounts of 3D baby photos, and downloadable titles). Love the notion that I'll get rewarded for walking around with my 3DS in sleep mode; love the possibility of my 3DS meeting and playing other 3DS's without me knowing about it. Oh, and I love the charging cradle as well. Love the build quality.

Hate that there's only one game that interests me at this time, Steel Diver,(UPDATE: NO WAIT, THERE ARE NO INTERESTING GAMES STILL; AND STEEL DIVER TURNED OUT TO BE A DUD) and it is rather overpriced; hate that even though I ran the system update, the 3ds store hasn't popped up yet, as promised - come on people, I've 16GB of SD HC card to fill up. (UPDATE: IT'S UP AND RUNNING, BUT SLIM PICKINGS AT THIS POINT.) Hate the battery life--I hope there will lately be a better one available, and that it will be user replaceable.

Nintendo! Did you forget you had this system? Oh well, I can still use it to take 3D pictures of my baby-girl.

I agree with the "I want my money back" reviewer. Love the Boynton board books and managed to collect some 20 of them; they are usually funny and quirky and cute. But this is not a book. It's 5 animals, 5 textures, pointless; you can get about as much textures for your baby to experience without getting off the couch. And it's a rip-off for $10. Or for $5 for that matter. I'm sure that Lady Boynton put more words in her average greeting card. Apart from the last question on the back page (to which the answer is NO) there are 9 words in total, with 2 of those in triplicate. If you liked this book, insert a couple of cute animal drawings in my review, and you can call it a novel; send me $10.

I've purchased these headphones after one of my neighbours in my condo building complained about noise, described as a bang followed by a noise that increases in pitch; claimed innocence of course, then realized it was the sound of the Resistance 2 gun going off and then re-charging. I've done some research, and at the time I purchased them they were the only true (not simmulated) surround sound phones. They are incredible! I've tried Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: Special Extended Edition Trilogy (12 Discs) (Widescreen), there's a scene where the 9 leave Minas Morgul, and the horses gallop over the camera--you do feel like they are running through you. But where these things really shine are in video games: if you haven't tried already, I highly recommend the original Bioshock; playing at night, in the dark, with the phones on, it is a completely different experience; I freaked out in a room where I could see only the shadow of the character I was supposed to take out, just from the ambient sound--I actually ran out of the room, then thought "I'm a grown man, this is a game, what am I thinking?".There are some cons--they are heavy (though you get used to them, eventually); they need 2 power adaptors (included), one for the phones, one for the receiver; I couldn't quite get the microphone to work on the PS3 (though to qualify this, I didn't contact Tritton about it as I'm not really into online games); there are some issues with sound not coming through the phones in some games (though a bit of research on the net will provide the answer--it's in the PS3 sound options); and there's crackling sounds in some menus (minor annoyance, except in games where you need to access menus a lot - Resistance: Fall Of Man the gun menu is used a lot).

BTW, don't be turned off by the "by MadCatz" under the product name; Mad Catz bought Tritton lock-stock-and-barrel, these things are built solid. For now.

If you check out reviews on other sites that have been selling this for a while now, don't be discouraged by complaints about build quality--I've seen photos myself of phones on which the paint is peeled off; it's just that some people do not take care of their stuff--I've used mine for about a year and a half, every other night, sometimes for 4+hours in a row; but I never swing them by the cord, if I nerd-sweat them I always let them dry before storing them away; they look brand new, and I haven't even switched the ear cups on them. Oh yes, they come with every possible thing you might want, cables - a handful, for any sort of connection you want, leatherette AND cloth ear-cups and liner for the bridge.

I'm not entirely sure why a machine that runs 200p (I think) needs composite cables to connect to a TV, as I was under the impression that those cables only make a noticeable difference when outputing 720p. But since this is only one of 2 options I know of (the other being an S-video + L/R-audio cable, and not saving anyone considerable money), and since it's actually the only one available on this site, darn it, I forgot what I was gonna say...

Ah yes. If you're a bit of a ding-bat like I am, you likely stare at your portable console, and wonder how you could make it less portable. Well, why not tether it to your TV? The visuals are passable, provided you seat about as far away from the TV as the cable length allows you to; incidentally, that reduces the relative size of your TV to about twice the size of the screen of your PSP (provided you keep the console at about 1ft in front of your face, like G-d intended you to). The upshot is that your spouse can enjoy you playing your games in your family room--and what spouse doesn't enjoy that? Another upshot? Since the Playstation 3 Dualshock 3 Controller works through most walls, and the PSP can operate the PlayStation 3 160GB remotely, you can play your PS3 through a set-up more convoluted than this sentence in a room with a TV not attached to the PS3; this upshot has a downside--the visuals are seriously downgraded. UPDATE: jumped the gun on that last sentence. You can play stuff like PixelJunk games off the PS3 by hooking up the psp to a tv and using the remote access; but you cannot play regular games, and the dualshock won't work when the PS3 is in remote play mode.

So I say buy these cables. They are well made. They are made by good people. Good people need you to stimulate the economy. Or just save the money and download Valkyria Chronicles 2 from the Playstation Network while it's still on sale. Do note these cables are meant for the old PSP (they do work on the PSP 3000 Core Pack system series in spite of their name, I can attest to that), not the new PSP-Go.