Madden NFL 13 PlayStation Vita Wi-Fi Bundle

Updated 12/29/2013This is the bundle for the PS Vita WiFi with NFL Madden 13This is my first handheld gaming system I've ever bought. I usually don't buy new systems until at least 2 years, it seems the systems need at least 2 years to come out before good games and/or good updates start to come up from the surface. But, i thought why not and with a $30.00 Promotional Credit it helped make this review system a 5 star rating.First off you NEED a memory Card, with the $30.00 credit from Amazon i bought the 32 GB memory Card which is originally 80.00(Amazon) for $50.00...which helped a lot. I disagree with the price for the memory card and i think its the reason for the slow sales of the PS Vita. The vita has a 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB in north america. In japan they started to produce a 64GB card, which i believe is needed for the U.S. My 32 Gb is filled but mainly since ive recieved the free ps plus games I did not purchase the PS Vita with 3G only because i didn't want to have a payment plan, i just feel its like paying for Xbox Live and PlayStation Network has been great for me on the Ps3.After a few days without a memory card and limited options of only being able to look at the PlayStation Store on the Vita. Only able to download or send a message or two to a friend, not being able to try out Madden 13, just look at the owners manual. I set up the vita in terms of WiFi connection and linking my PlayStation account to the Vita.Now i finally received my memory card, and it was like i bought a new system, i was able to download all apps from the store, was able to use the front or back camera which is a cool feature but low megapixel. Play madden 13, download demos, play music, video, and transfer some classics from my Ps3 via the content manager.Madden 13 is overall a good not great experience, but a great start for games if you like playing football or sports games in general. I'm going to keep this short because you can see madden 13 reviews in the actually game section of amazon. But if not for lag in cut-scenes even after updates of the game, it would be a great experience. I rate this game now a 8.0 until they fix those issues.The system comes with AR cards which i have not yet used but have seen it in motion on YouTube. Looks great and will later update very soon when i do use them.The actual catalog for vita is still in need of improvement, it has a least 1 or 2 games of each genre that wont disappoint. I know for a fact the games will get better and after another year of gaming for the vita it soon will be pushing games out on a regular pace. It does have trophies for the games which is a plus to add to your ps3 trophies collection.Backwards compatibility is gradually getting there, each week they are adding a few psp and/or ps1 classic games to the catalog that works for the PS Vita. Has no disc slots though for PSP games.The apps for the vita are great, and hopefully more to come.YouTube, twitter, Facebook , Netflix, Flickr etc.Ps Plus was added a little after i posted this review, its been great i have several games for free since i bought ps plus in feb of 2013, these games with the addition of the ps3 games i get, i have over 30 games ive received free and many with nice discounts so i can be able to keep them till the end of my subscription which is not till may of 2014. Its nice to also use the ps store on the computer if you dont own a certain system but have ps plus. I was able to get the free games given to ps4 users even though i dont own the system yet.Also has an internet browser which is very similar to the ps3 internet browser because it has no flash player. :(The front touchscreen is a 5" OLED Screen that shows off the games well so the movies or TV shows you watch on Netflix look great. I wound get a Microfiber Cloth to keep it clean from finger prints. You can pick the option to use the buttons instead of the touch all the time for most apps and navigation. Graphics are as close to ps3 as your going to get now.If you get a great WiFi Connection its the greatest. Just to be able to watch a movie anywhere or go to YouTube to play a song or video is great.The speakers are good but not great...i would buy headphones, it also saves battery life.Speaking of battery life, its all depends on what you doing (Gaming, Music, etc) it ranges from a good 5.0 to 10+ hours.I purchased the external charger, which is great, if the power goes out in your area or on the go without a car charger or just going for a walk. A good 4-8 hours of battery life on it.Overall this is a near perfect handheld system. Here are my scores and explanation why.Graphics- 9.6- Some games can blow your mind, and they will get better.Navigation- 10.0- Very easy and with ability to use the button also helps, can open and close apps with ease. Touchscreen is cool. :-)Hardware- 9.4- Great so far having use alot of things and have not been disappointed. Speakers need an upgrade by using headphones or portable speakers.Has built in memory to open multiple apps and can also play music in the background and continue using the system like it standard background music and go back to a game or netflix and it pauses whatever you doing.Backwards compatibility- 7.0- Has a good amount of games for both the Ps1 and Psp and after some time they will all be there. But without a slot for PSP games, it makes former users of the Psp to keep there system. I've never purchased a Psp before so i will just have to use the store to get those games.Controls- 9.5- In the palm of the hands it feels great and has all the buttons needed without the L2 or R2 on a ps3 controller. With analog controls, also a tilt feature like the six-axis that works well. No vibration though.PS Store- 9.1- Nothing special but not bad at all has what you need. And shows you what will work on the system instead of navigating through the ps3 to find out. UPDATE: PS PLUS added...what a great addition, because to to get free games use while you have the subscription or games with huge discounts to keep forever. If you own a ps3, or ps4 you will have free games for all systems.Internet- 9.0- So far ive done good with it, i was hoping where i work i would be able to have a great WiFi connection but its a little slow and not good enough to keep a Netflix show going smooth without buffering after a min or two...but at work and its business not pleasure. But one night i was driving with some friends and i let him use it and he used his phone as a wifi hotspot and it was great he said and i was driving all around. Needs Flash for Internet Browser!!!Games- 7.0- With the system out for 2 years being it came out in Japan first at the end of 2011...it has its fair share of games so far but to compare to a console lineup is hard. With additions of Killzone, Tearaway, Walking Dead(needs patches), and hopefully dead Nation which was announced at e3 2013. I still believe it needs to start making more game system sellers like a GTA or God of War, or even bring back an old franchise like crash bandicoot exclusive to the vita...syphon filter, anything really. SO far So good though.Remote Play- The device can be used as a second screen device for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 for streaming content directly from the console to the PlayStation Vita. For the ps3, there hasnt been ps3 games available to be played, but you can play ps1 games or play your music, videos or look at photos via your xmb from the ps3. I don't own the ps4 yet cause as i say i always wait for new systems, but from what ive seen there isnt much lag or off screen or audio problems with remote play even with many known titles. It will be a nice addition to the ps vita functionality. From what i hear all ps4 games should be remote play except ones used by the camera. And also a hint for people looking at the ps4 game box in the back to see if hbas remote play. I looked at nba 2k14 and it had no symbol for remote play but it does do that. Other boxes do have that, so make sure you do a little research if your buying the game for the remote play capability aspect. I cannot review it though cause i don't own the Ps4 yet.Overall- W/O Memory Card 3.0 or even less lol- You need a memory card unless your using the vita to send a message to a friend or going on the internet browser, or looking at products on the store that you cant download and save. You cant do much at all and i felt at times i never owned the Vita.With Memory Card- 9.4-(Update) This is the review after a year, my previous review score was a 9.2. With the addition of ps plus, a few great games and the lowered price since black friday i had to bump the score up. But with the lack of game system sellers, the lack of ps1 backwards compatibility and memory card prices still far too high. I had to lower the score, so in my option it went up .2 instead of even more. I couldn't contribute the remote play into the review to be fair cause i dont own a ps4. They have added Vita bundles and i hear they may bundle the ps4 and ps vita...that should help with the sales. As i said when i first posted this review it should continue to raise in rating, raise in sales, and become the best handheld you will ever own IF they answer some demands of consumers.

There are a lot of things I can say about this system even after a few days of using it. This is a long review, and it covers a lot on the vita. Ask my any questions about they system, and I'll do my best to answer, I have comment notifications so I will get your comments, if you have any!I'll start off with the madden game.This game is awesome, I love playing it, but I had to get used to it at first. After I got the hang of it, I was scoring touchdowns, and making awesome plays. One thing I would have loved to see was custom routes. It would have been sweet to be able to touch a player change his route, and drag on the screen where you want him to go. As some seasoned madden players know, they have Madden Moments mode where you can replay games from the past. BUT I don't like it in this game. If you want to play it and have it count you have to be signed in to the EA network. And if you get disconnected nothing you do counts. I had to replay a game 3 times because I got disconnected from the server. Overall I think its an awesome game, if it weren't the requirement to be online in some modes, this would be an even better game.I did get MLB, but I'm not a baseball kind of guy, I love watching, but I'm not into the games. So I went to gamestop and sold it to get mortal Kombat. (Which is AMAZING if you like fighting games) *Note* if you decide to sell your MLB Game to gamestop you NEED to have a receipt if its still in the plastic. Apparently its a rule that they cant take games back if its still in plastic. I pulled up my online order from my phone. So either take it out the plastic, or show a receipt. They cut it out of the plastic to show it was used anyways.Now on to they system itself:The Good:The UI (User interface) Is cool, I like how they made everything big, and easy to see. I had a psp, and I liked that as well, I wish they would have kept the same scheme though, especially since you can use this with the ps3.I don't know if this works EVERY time, but I was playing madden, and my vita ran out of battery life and turned off. I got up in the morning and hooked it up, and the game I was playing was still on. I don't know if it just went into a sleep mode, or has a save state mode but I thought that was awesome.I love the screen! The size, the colors, the touch (lol). I just love everything about it, It's sleek and just looks really nice. I also like that it has the back touch panel, I found it hard to play some games though. Like with Fifa 13, the back touchpad was basically the goal and anywhere you touched that's where you would shoot. Well while you are playing and running down the field, you quickly have to remember to take your hands off the back touch pad or your guy will just shoot wherever your hands were. There is an option to turn it off which is nice.Dual analog sticks are awesome, one thing I like about gaming is dual analog sticks, and one thing I hated about the psp was that it didn't. Also the fact that the stick on the psp was horrible. The Vita's sticks are comfortable, and they feel sturdy. I don't really like the triggers, I kinda wish they went down a little more, but for the most part they are okay. The buttons, and the D-pad are nice, I don't have any issues with them. The start and select buttons also cool, they are flush with the system, which some people might like, I with they came out a little though. While doing this review I was just pressing buttons and found out that if you press the vita home button, and the start button, you can take a screenshot! I always like systems, and phones that can take screenshots. If you hold down the home button and select it will bring up a menu that lets you control sound, brightness, and has a music controls as well. It also has 2 microphone options. I didn't know if the vita had a microphone, and if it does I don't know where it is. Maybe under one of the speaker holes? Anyways I'm pretty sure you can take video with this so, having a microphone is always a plus.I haven't been able to go outside and use the camera, but inside isn't bad. I recommend using in light, because if you use it in the dark you get crappy photos. Both cameras are nice though, I like having dual cameras. There is also a dew different games that you can use with the camera right out of the box. You have to go download them, but you use the AR cards that are included with your system if you want to play those games.I'm not a fan of the speakers, they aren't very loud, but maybe its dependent on the game, and what the developers did with the sound. I was playing Mortal Kombat, and it was really quiet, but I played madden, and it had nice sound. The system has a 3.5mm jack so you can always use headphones.The BAD:I felt overall sony went cheap on this system. It's nicely built, but there's no FIRE to it. With the psp you got a small memory card, I don't remember what the size was, but it allowed you to update your system, and have a few game saves. You also got headphones, and the controller adapter to change songs and all that good stuff, and this vita came with NOTHING! I was very lucky to catch the deal amazon is having.With the ps3 you are able to steam content from your computer, and you cant with this vita. My cell phone can stream content from around the world, but this cant stream some music, or a movie from my computer? It's not like its interfering with their sales on the memory cards. If I have a wifi vita, I only can stream while i'm at home. Not when I'm outside, I would still have to load music onto a card if I wanted to take it somewhere.Other than those few things I think the vita is an awesome system, and with a few updates that Sony can make I think the vita could get a lot better.

My one star is for the bundle.Don't purchase this bundle without a memory card. Sony Vita games are unplayable without a memory card - a little fact that is clearly on the box but not mentioned on Amazon's site.A delivery of this bundle and 3 games - zero playtime until I can get to Best Buy and buy a card tomorrow.Here's a thought Sony - ship with a 1GB card, or smaller - the bare minimum - OR better yet, let me play the game at my own risk (can't save) nope. -You're just left with a shiny brick. I knew a Sony device was a mistake.