PS Vita

Platform: Sony PS Vita

Price: €219.98 (3G) / €239.97 (Wifi bundle) - Prices Gamestop.ie

 

If the Nintendo 3DS is for everyone and their granny, the PS Vita is firmly in the other camp. Good battery life, strong graphics and gorgeous hardware (with a slightly gick user interface) it's definitely designed for people who already love to play games. The controls are excellent, there are so many different ways to control and play a game, from the touchpad on the back to the dual cameras and GPS, there's a lot of room for innovation.

Its focus on high-end games mean that while you get fast-paced action and good graphics, there are long load times and sometimes the controls can be delicate. If you're trying to play on the bus, you could spend a lot of that time waiting for games to load and, depending on the game, cursing the motion of the bus as you try to use the motion controls.

Unfortunately, the selection of games isn't great at the moment, but it's swiftly getting better. If you're eyeing up more than one game you'd love to play on it, definitely consider putting this on your birthday list. Otherwise, it might be better to wait until the summer and see how the lineup improves.