HELLO GORGEOUS: For starters, the 5-inch OLED (organic light-emitting diode) color screen on the Vita is drop dead beautiful, emitting vivid colors with intense blacks that really make objects pop.
Vita's relatively large (unless you're now gaming on a Galaxy Note) playing field and 960-by-544 pixel image resolution are sufficiently sharp to track small details. A quad-core processor rarely loses composure.
That's all given software makers like EA and Ubisoft the confidence to deliver full-field experiences on titles such as "FIFA Soccer" and "Rayman Origins," two of the hottest launch games. And when designers do deliver dramatic close-ups of the world rushing by - say, on the high-flying racer "Wipeout 2048" - you can practically feel the wind.
PLAY MECHANICS: Not every game designer takes advantage of every control element in the PS Vita. But the arsenal of tools is huge and unique, guaranteed to keep the savviest trigger-happy multitasker busy.
Start with the twin analog sticks (a first in a portable system), a T-pad, the familiar four-button array (X, O, triangle and box), plus left/right corner bumpers, front-screen touch controls (only used sparingly) and also - ta-da! - a unique, rear-touch panel.
In "Hot Shots Golf: World Invitational," you deploy that backside panel to measure distance to the hole. Yeah, kinda gimmicky. But with "Little Deviants" (another special fave), sliding a finger around the rear panel undulates the ground beneath the aliens, nudging them in the right direction. For "Mod Nation Racers Road Trip," you're essentially drawing the course with the rear touch panel.
