Be Excellent To Each Other

I guess that whole Content Manager thing is a result of all the hacking and soft-modding that happened to the PSP. The CM app plus the proprietary memory cards means the only way you can move files to and from the memory card is the Sony way. It's very, very, very shit, especially compared to the PSP's standard memory cards and PC-readable file system, but I can understand why the decision was made. I don't like it though.

Tried to buy Velocity Ultra in the sale the other day only to discover I already owned it via PS+. So I thought I'd play some and blow me down if it isn't great. You'd be forgiven for mistaking it for a 2d shooter but it isn't, really; it just looks like one. It's actually a fast-moving puzzle/time attack game. The first few levels aren't interesting (but very bite-sized at a minute or so each) but it quickly starts to introduce the more intricate game mechanics.

Yes, it's a brilliant game. I need to go back to it, as I'm about three levels from the end. The problem is that you need to go back and max out all the levels in order to unlock the later ones.

To move four game saves from a 4 to a 16 gig card I had to:

1: connect to my PC (why can't I just hold them in system memory and swap cards?)

2: download and install CMS or whatever it is called.

3: watch it insist that it must scan all my media files before running. Try to change the directories it uses for this. Find out this is impossible. "Tell me what's in /pictures, /videos, /music or you can' transfer your save game.

4: resolving to delete it immediately after, concede as you'll probably never use it again then watch it spend ten minutes adding one pixel of green to the progress bar because it's cataloguing a terabyte of data that' stone of it's fucking business and I will never need it to know.

5: quit out and try again to change my media folders using the there-but-unworking button to do so. Fail. I've now had my new card a couple of hours and not been able to start playing any of my new games. I've got to go to bed early and I'd like to try one.

6: reading up, I find that once it has a list of EVERYTHING ON MY COMPUTER it will insist on phoning home otherwise I can't transfer my save game to the card I want to use.

Why? Really, how the fucking hell is that in any way reasonable?

7: Try to run it on a laptop instead, as that's got no media on it to tell Sony about. It refuses to install because I "Haven't got windows media player installed". I haven't got barbie horse adventures installed either. So what? No explanation. I didn't know media player handled video game save files.

8: Try it on another laptop. Same issue. Of course, windows media player is on both of these laptops. It comes with fucking windows.

9: Try it on a third laptop. Fails again. Elect to update media player on that machine, which I don't otherwise need to do, as I'll never use it. CMS suddenly works.

Apparently it 'needs media player 11+ for that media transfer thing'. I'm not trying to do that. Some guy on a forum told me that though, not the installer.

Now I'll never have need to use it again. The most disappointing thing, apart from idiots felling me to 'Just' use PS+ which I don't want or need for cloud backups (on buying the machine I was told you could do cloud backups. No-one mentioned you had to pay for it, even if you just need to do it one time) is that there's a means of stopping the damn thing insisting on phoning home when doing stuff, which renders the entire episode pointless.

The actual backing up of game data works nicely though, so why tie it to unrelated media management. No-one listens to music or watches films on one of these anyway, we've all got phones.

Sony are worse than apple on this score, I vaguely remember the carnage when I installed their media manager for a phone about six or seven years ago. I think in the end I reinstalled windows to get rid of it.

I'm glad I have online storage with PS+.

1. Transfer data from 4GB card to online storage from the Content Manager app on the Vita itself
2. Remove 4GB card and put in 16GB card
3. Transfer data from online storage to 16GB card using the same app

If you dont have PS+ then at least grab a trial code for it and get Guacamelee / Uncharted / Sonic All Stars Racing for this month and you'll get BlazBlue and Soul Sacrifice for next month

14 day trial link (sure there is a facebook link somewhere which you can use for a 30 day trial instead if you'd prefer)

https://store.sonyentertainmentnetwork. ... 14DAYTRIAL

Items should be switching over on the 23rd or 24th so if you sign up on the 23rd , take your 14 day trial you'll have both sets of games until the 6th of Jan (and all the PS3 titles as well)

To own a Playstation 3, 4 or Vita for gaming purposes and not have PS+ seems tantamount to madness to me, I must say. But I do feel your pain, Content Manager is a massive pain in the arse.

I basically never use it - I have my vita games on my memory cards and download the new stuff from the PSN directly on the Vita - no need to mess around with files on the PC

Until you want to delete a downloaded game without losing your saves.

I have 2 memory cards and plenty of space at the moment although I think the answer as you put it earlier was 'upload it to the cloud' so i doubt i'll have more than a gig's worth of save games.

Having a PS3 and a backlog of disc based games to play renders it surplus to requirements.

It's a commitment to paying for things in the future and I have a tiny income which is subject to fucking by cuts. I'd sooner save and buy the individual titles that really interest me cheap when I can. Besides, I can't sell those games on and services come and go, but my physical games are going nowhere. Well, maybe on the bus.

Fair enough - as I said hunt around and get the 30 day trial which will get you 30 days worth of a few games (enough to finish some at least and then you can cancel it) - then keep your eyes out for offers (Blockbusters for example were selling off 3 month cards cheaply) - if you can get the right price then it would be cheaper than your physical copies even with the resell value.

I'd still say that if your gaming on a budget I think PS+ makes sense for Vita - especially if you are going to buy more than 3 'cheap' games or 1 full priced one a year

Velocity Ultra finished. Great little game.

I didn't have to replay any past levels to unlock later ones. Perhaps you suck.

Really? How odd. It's not really possible to collect all the bits when you're attempting a speed run. Maybe it's been patched since I last played it.

I wasn't doing speed runs. I was collecting all (or most) of the bits instead.

Yes, but you need to complete each level under a certain time in order to get a gold medal for it, so I've had to do two runs of each to get all the points needed to unlock later levels. Sounds like they've patched it - I might reinstall it to have a look.

I mostly got bronzes for time, then gold for kills and rescues.

Edit -- the company blog shows one patch in June and it doesn't appear to affect difficulty.

Weird.

But bronze on time wasn't good enough to get the requisite points for unlocking the later levels.

Santa has done buyed me a Vita.

It's jolly nice on initial impressions, lovely screen and that, and all the buttons seem nicely placed. Don't like the rear touchpad thing though, mind you I only did the tutorial thing for this, still I didn't like it and hopefully most games don't make much use of this.

Minor quibble though - seems a great gadget and it's currently downloading assorted free games which I'd been saving in my PS+ queue for a few months.

There aren't many games that use it, don't worry. It gets more use for me now because I use my Vita for Remote Play with my PS4, so the rear touchpad takes the place of the R2 and L2 buttons for some games.

Same with any PS1/2 classics.

Being as I have a PS4 and PS+ again, getting a Vita seems like a bit of a no brainer now.

A bundle for £150 seems to be the best deal out there at the moment, unless anyone knows different? I was hoping for a little cheaper than that to be honest, closer to the £100 mark in fact

I think you'll see them back around the £130 mark 'with a game' but remember you'll need to buy a memory card and your basically talking £40 for a 32gig (or 60 odds for a 64 if you dont mind importing them)

Just as an example - £137 from Zavvi : http://www.zavvi.com/ps-vita-hardware/p ... filiateWin with Killzone

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sony-PlayStatio ... words=Vita

This seems the best deal I can find at the moment. £145

What about a 2nd hand one from GAME - they're £99 and a 16 megabit card is about £25? That's cheaper, riiight?

Mind you, a 32GB card is about £40-odd quid, right? So yours might be better.

For the sake of £20, I'd prefer a new one I think

£6 cheaper and a slightly better selection of games (although it depends what you want out of them) at Gamestop :

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/ps-vita ... op-1776255

Game had the driving pack for £139 in store, but they had no stock.
I'll wait till after new year and see what is around, I've got plenty to be going on with this week anyway.

I fell into the same trap Trooper but never use my Vita.

Whereas I use mine daily.

They seem to go for around £120 on ebay, so if I get one for £140 and I don't like, then i've only paid £20 to try it out

What can you fit on 16 megabit? Secret of Mana, I think.

My sister has a Vita now. Spent all Christmas day playing a Japan-orientated game, based in a Japanese school or something. Looked pretty cool, for fans of the JRPG genre. Know so little about the Vita's software library, but I do think it's looks pretty high technical in a good way.

Probably Persona 4 Golden - one of the top rated titles on the Vita and was on offer just before Christmas for £13

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shin_Megam ... _Persona_4

http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstat ... a-4-golden

That's the one! I recognise the rotund robot(?) on the box art.

The Vita really is a criminally under-appreciated handheld. It's a terrific machine! Plus, the PS4 Remote Play function and the fact it let me continue playing Assassins Creed Black Flag on my PS4 at home whilst 200 miles away at my girlfriend's parents place over Christmas is largely responsible for keeping me sane over the festive period.

I think the main issue it has is a 'perception' that there are no games , and the fact that its main competitor (the 3DS) had such a great year last year.

The remote play is almost a system seller in itself but I do think they need a few Vita 'special' games this year and I guess we'll see more about it come E3

My Vita is packed with awesome games. This perception (which definitely exists) is wrong.

So's mine, and 95% of those games are from the utterly awesome PS+.

Snap - and my 32gb card is running out of space !

I had to delete good games I don't care about (SFxTk, Mortal Kombat) to make room the other day. The good news is I have 6 GB free on my 32 GB card. The bad news is, I'm down to only games I care about and I only have 6 GB free!

Is 32 the biggest card you can get?

You can get a 64 imported from Japan I think.

What Trooper said. I'll probably just be ruthless and delete more games, rather than upgrade again to the 64. I've got about 20-25 games on there so it's not like there's a shortage of stuff to play (and you can back saves up to the cloud, delete the game, and download it again any time.)

If you delete games, can you re-download them?