I am here. First off, let me say that I am not a serious gamer. Secondly, this:

Admittedly, it has few rivals battling for our affections. There’s the Nintendo 3DS and, er, that’s it. Some might say that the Apple iPhone or iPod touch are valid competitors, but to compare it to an iOS device, in gaming terms, is to compare a Lamborghini to a Ford Ka, and anybody who tries will come across as an idiot.

(...)

Of course, we’d all like it to have been cheaper at launch, but £230 for the Wi-Fi version (with a free 8GB memory card, if you pre-order a bundle through Amazon and retailers like it) is comparatively affordable against a highly-spec’ed Android or iOS device. Yes, they allow you to make calls, have better cameras, access the ‘net faster and more effectively, but they are no good for the kind of gaming that requires tactile response. And they cost anywhere up to £500.

How convenient to bring up a price comparison with iOS devices to make it look like the PSV is not expensive. Like it has been mentioned in the beginning of the review, anyone who makes such comparisons comes across as an idiot. And the author is right, he is an idiot.

Thirdly, Ajescent and pezus, drawing such a conclusion would be fine if the thread existed for hours and had barely any posts in it. But after nine minutes... most people will need longer than that to read this review thoroughly, much less so reading it and writing a constructive post on it. Heck, even a troll post takes longer. You two make it sound like that's an easy job and people have files saved on their computer that enables them to copy-paste appropriate negative responses within a minute.

Fourthly, in addition to the second point, why is there no comparison with the 3DS in the verdict of the review? Instead there's another paragraph about a 170 pounds iPod that plays casual games, but for only 60 pounds more you get a machine that plays real games. But okay, it has already been established by the author of this review that he is an idiot.

Lastly, the 3DS battery life is up to five hours for 3DS games which works out to about four hours under normal conditions. Four is a higher number than three, but again, the author of this review is an idiot.

He could have compared the PSV to the 3DS spec-wise to justify the cost. He didn't, because he did his best to avoid any comparisons with the 3DS. Ctrl+F the review for "3DS" and you'll find barely any hits. There are really no critical comparisons in this review. Everytime the Vita is compared to something else, it's against a device that makes the Vita look better. Since he talks about the quality of games found on iOS devices, wouldn't it have made sense to at least once compare the Vita to its actual competitor, the 3DS, game-wise?

He doesn't lie about the PSV's battery life, but the 3DS's. If you take his word for the PSV's battery life (which he says is three hours), that's shorter than the 3DS's under normal conditions (and he certainly did test the Vita under normal conditions, not low end or high end). You don't need to believe me, you can quickly google it for yourself, because there have been numerous tests for the 3DS. On minimum settings, the 3DS lasts about five hours, with everything on maximum the battery dies in about two hours and 40 minutes. I don't need time with the Vita, because I can take the author's word for it. Someone who writes a glowing review like this wouldn't put a negative spin on the Vita's battery life.

Only a 4.5 out of 5?!? Microsoft must be the owner.

You either review a product in a vacuum or you don't. Only drawing comparisons when it makes it the product look better is a dishonest review and goes into the territory of advertisement. At this point the reviewer has either been paid or has a clear bias. In this case, I would go with the latter.

Are you sure? You like the score of this review, so you give no second thought to why the PSV has never been compared to the 3DS in the games department (or in general), despite it being a lengthy and detailed writeup.

Are you sure? You like the score of this review, so you give no second thought to why the PSV has never been compared to the 3DS in the games department (or in general), despite it being a lengthy and detailed writeup.