How To Fix Connection Problem on PS Vita Content Manager Assistant

Entertainment Buddha 2015, ‘How to Get PS1 Game Saves From the PS Vita or PS3 Onto a PS TV’ http://www.entertainmentbuddha.com/how-to-get-ps1-game-saves-from-the-ps-vita-or-ps3-onto-a-ps-tv/

(This Guide applies to Windows 10, but will likely work on Windows 7 and 8.)

When you have installed Sony’s handy Content Manager Assistant into your computer, you may find that you can’t connect your device. The most simple and straight forward way to fix this involves changing settings in the Windows Firewall. Under normal circumstances, you shouldn’t allow a piece of software to bypass the Firewall as it could cause intrusive and serious issues with your computer.

However, Content Manager Assistant is an exception because communication and information is sent and received from your personal Vita console to your computer. It is not like most software that have their information receiving blocked because they sent to out to unknown parties. CMA (Content Manager Assistant) serves the function of easily using and transferring imagery and music for the Vita and even lets you back up game data on your computer if you don’t have a PlayStation Plus subscription.

To solve the connection problem, go to:

Control Panel, System and Security, Windows Firewall.

Then click on ‘Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall’. Click on Change Settings and tick the box on the left for Content Manager Assistant.

After these steps have been done, open up CMA and go ‘Network Connection Settings’. Open up Content Manger on your Vita and select ‘Copy Content’. Choose the PC connection option and select WI-FI.

Click on ‘Register Device’ and make sure CMA on your PC has  ‘Connect to PS Vita System Using Network’ is ticked. Once that is done, CMA on your computer will generate a unique number that has to be typed in on your Vita. Type in the generated number and your Vita and PC are now connected.

I hope that the methods in this guide have been beneficial for you and please do not hesitate to point out an problem with these methods.

 

NekoBuro Cats Block Review (PS Vita)

Developer: F K Digital

Publisher: Neko Entertainment

NeoGaf 2015, ‘Nekoburo CatsBlock |OT| Bow before your (square cat) overlords’, ZeroAKA,

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1076165

Match 3 puzzle games are a profoundly simple genre of video games. Once the core working of its gameplay is made, its up to the other elements of engagement to engross the player and keep them playing. NekoBuro’s vibrant cutesy art style paired with gameplay that effectively spices up the match 3 mechanic with challenges and power ups serves to elevate it from monotony.

The only real flaw with NekoBuro is sporadic spikes in difficulty. Even with this problem, it will be revealed if this detracts from the noteworthy flow of gameplay and appeal of its adorable misfit Square Cats.

Gameplay

NekoBuro’s gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has played Teteris. Each level has a unique mission where 3 matching cats have to be aligned vertically, horizontal or diagonally. To help the player in matching up three cats, a power up gauge fills when a match is made or a chain goes off.

The missions keep the player on their toes in the later stages and the beginning stages do a wonderful job at easing the player into the later challenge down the road. Moments however of missions that bring a sudden increase in difficulty is a crack in a beautifully entertaining form of gameplay. In stages such as 4 -8, 5-2 and the ruthless but appropriately brutal 5-10, the player has little space for error, reinforced by the fact squares are randomly generated and what allow the power up gauge to increase. In these stages, the player is more or less hoping they can rapidly align a combo chain within the relentless conditions of these missions or that Lady Luck shines down on them because without her, the game over screen will be practically engraved in their minds due to seeing it countless times.

But the overall experience is a smooth fun ride across a majority of the game time. While these three highlighted stages aren’t going to cause hand cramped frustration along the lines of something like Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine(1993), they are noticeably frustrating by design and easily seen. They are simply however, small valleys in a enjoyable roller coaster of simple fun.

Presentation

While the match 3 gameplay proves to be entertaining, the heart and soul of NekoBuro lies in every inch of its presentation. The colourful art style paired with a peaceful cheery soundtrack invokes a tone and mood of a relaxed, joyful peace of mind. This is reflected in the design and personalities of the Square Cats.

The delightfully chaotic trouble they cause for their owner as they bring their group back together helps motivate the player to finish the missions. The appeal of the Square Cats is reinforced by the toys the player obtains from completing missions, allowing them to cause hilarious destruction to the cat’s home and have playful fun with them too. These elements of NekoBuro’s presentation come together to make a game that anyone can enjoy.

Value

NekoBuro has the unfortunate downside of being short to finish. That does not however ruin it’s incredibly sweet run time. The missions provide a varied and consistent gameplay experience with rare but overly difficult missions cracking at a standard yet flawless experience. The Square Cats are what make NekoBuro, having the right amount of cuteness without coming off as detestably annoying. Players looking for a fun casual experience with a satisfying feeling of accomplishment should try out this impeccably bare bones yet fulfilling tale of box shaped cats.

Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita: What Are Your Gaming Needs?

Gaming units sold worldwide in April 16th 2015

http://www.vgchartz.com/

It’s no secret how successful the 3DS is, selling a total of 52 million units worldwide. The PlayStation Vita has finally reached the 10 million unit mark, now 4 years old. Through these handhelds lifetimes, they have both crafted there compelling library’s that fulfill fundamentally different player needs.

The 3DS is guided by Nintendo, renowned for their handheld mastery, sweeping the competition with the Game Boy and original DS. The Vita finically suffers from past shortcomings of over ambition of console quality titles and not having universally approachable titles that define the Vita experience for all audiences. The fans of these handhelds will debate forever with themselves on their loved handhelds virtues, but today hopes to enlighten the reader why one handheld financially rises, and the other does all it can to be commercially relevant to audiences.

YO VIDEOGAMES! By Ry-Sprit, Deviant Art http://ry-spirit.deviantart.com/art/YO-VIDEOGAMES-315025594

The core of any gaming console is providing games that define owning the console. The Wii relied on motion controls to lower the barrier for casual audiences, the PS4 embraces third parties across the world, while having footage and editing features allowing anyone to share their gaming experiences. The 3DS understands the social workings of portable gaming.

Jetsetnick, WordPress, London 3DS StreetPass Event, Posted March 26, 2011, https://jetsetnick.wordpress.com/2011/03/26/london-3ds-streetpass-event-27th-march-2011/

Street Pass perfectly demonstrates the secret to the 3DS’s success. When a 3DS is in sleep mode and passes by another 3DS user, the passerby and the user have data for games and applications transferred onto their 3DS’s. This data can be used in games, and have the users Mii’s on various Street Pass games.

Nintendo Anthology by Lwiis64, Deviant Art http://lwiis64.deviantart.com/art/Nintendo-Anthology-265644879

It is an application encouraging users to discover others with 3DS’s. This leads to people having an interest in a very popular device, having them sharing their experiences or benefitting them in the Street Pass Games. Nintendo also have the privilege of their IP’s practically selling their consoles, and people see the 3DS as a fantastic console because titles such as Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Animal Crossing New Leaf, Kid Icarus Uprising and Mario Kart 7 are exclusives that can be universally approached and discussed by anyone.

YouTube, IGN’s Top 25 PlayStation Vita Games, thumbnail (click on View image in Google images to access the thumbnail image.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQh19tASkwU

The PlayStation Vita by comparison has nowhere near the universal appeal of the 3DS’s exclusives. Its exclusives such as Tearaway, Gravity Rush and Killzone Mercenary are fantastic games that provide an experience truly unique to the Vita. But the titles of the handhelds show a crystal clear expression on what fundamental needs they fill for the player.

Pixel 3DS by NintendoHeart, Deviant Art http://nintendoheart.deviantart.com/art/Pixel-3DS-339634259

The 3DS is honed in on players that want to share their experience with others and be able to discuss games they can all recognize. It creates a shared community that proudly represents the best of Nintendo’s games. Everywhere from schools and conventions are 3DS owners that are trading Pokémon, racing through Mario Kart’s courses and having a blast with Super Smash Bros 4.

The Vita has compelling titles, but are suited for delivering a special experience to the player. The array of games for the Vita, be it an exclusive or a title from another console, are incredibly varied in their engagement and construction of game design.

10 best PlayStation Vita Games cover image, Arcade Sushi http://arcadesushi.com/best-playstation-vita-games/

Tearaway perfectly displays the design possibilities of the Vita with a beautiful paper world art style. Gravity Rush’s liberating gravity based gameplay and world that wouldn’t be out of place in a Miyasaki film is a truly original title on the Vita. Killzone Mercenary is a product from the Vita’s more ambitious days, but is still a fun shooter romp that transitioned exceptionally onto the handheld.

The titles that originated from other consoles have mostly fitted well on the Vita. Notable titles include Dragon’s Crown, which fixed a clunky treasure search method on the PS3 version and became significantly better on the Vita’s touchscreen. Grim Fandango brings the brilliant Aztec afterlife film noir world on the go. But The Wolf Among Us Illustrates that not every game makes an optimal transition on the handheld, with the experience being there while the frame rate took a nose dive.

Free PS Vita Games, The Wolf Among Us, 2nd Slide Show Image (Click on View image in Google Images to access the image.) http://www.freepsvitagamedownload.tk/Game/The-Wolf-Among-Us

So when a Vita owner hears someone say there handheld has no games or it’s for remote playing PS4 games, they really mean there isn’t a universally beloved game with a social dynamic audiences can all recognize and enjoy with everyone. Nintendo have always had the gaming handheld in their hands. They been making handhelds long before the NES and have adapted and evolved with the gaming market to bring the best in portable entertainment.

Wikipedia, Nintendo 3DS Line, Comparison Chart, New Nintendo 3DS XL, Console http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_3DS_line

Poster artwork by Patrick Zachar, Deviant art http://patrickzachar.deviantart.com/art/Playstation-Vita-Poster-Blue-309933032

When making the decision to get the Nintendo 3DS or PlayStation Vita, you have to ask yourself one important question. Do you want to have a handheld that lets you connect with thousands of players all engrossed in the magnificence of Nintendo’s incredible IP’s evolving with every iteration? Or are you willing and craving for the labors of varied developers that provide all manner of original experiences that can enrich your gaming world?

Both handhelds have enticing titles that are worth getting the handhelds for. But the inner gaming needs you have ultimately decides which is the one for you. The finical peaks and valleys of the gaming industry come and tell cold harsh facts, but that hasn’t stopped the Vita’s quality titles.

Note: All non-referenced images were captured with Windows Snipping Tool and the Vita’s Screenshot feature. (Start and PlayStation Button at the same time.)

PlayStation Vita Review 2015

 Ps Vita wallpaper by mattsimmo, Deviant Art

http://mattsimmo.deviantart.com/art/PS-Vita-Wallpaper-275044577

(This Review is based on the original OLED modal that doesn’t have 1G of internal storage and bigger rear touch placers.)

Sony’s successor to the PSP has ventured an interesting journey through the gaming industry. Released worldwide in 2012, its early titles amazed with production values coming close or on par with home consoles. But the expense of making a Vita game at the time made the handheld suffer the chicken and egg predicament. How can you get people to buy the console without software support, but where can you get the developers willing to pay the expense for making the software.

It was a console that had so many excellent strengths from its design, features that can be used in inventive ways as illustrated in Tearaway and being 1 of 3 modern consoles able to play classic games, but its own excellence was its greatest weakness.

Artwork from Dorkly, Videogame consoles are your teachers, page 3, number 10

http://www.dorkly.com/post/45128/videogame-consoles-are-your-teachers/page:3

3 years later, the Vita’s solution to its problems was shifting focus to being a console thriving with unique and cult status games, a companion device for the PS4 and giving a solution to retro gamers wanting to play PS1 and PSP titles but own a PlayStation 4, as the Vita is able to play PS1 and PSP titles. As of the 25^th January 2015, the PlayStation Vita has sold 9.6 million units worldwide and its rival the 3DS has sold a dumbfounding 50.4 million units. By inspecting the negative and positive elements of Sony’s handheld and how its game library can be a utopia for aficionados of gaming, one will discover how the PlayStation Vita is the best handheld console that dared to compete against the unshakeable masters of the handheld console.

Design

Weighing 260 grams and having a stunning OLED screen, the original Vita fits well in a cargo trouser pocket though it doesn’t have the slimmer weight of the Vita Slim which makes it easier to fit in a regular pocket. Even though this model may need trousers with long and deep pockets so it doesn’t slip out and hit the concrete, its greatest virtue is the display.

OLED Vita Screen photo from Mobile Fanatics, Up close with the PlayStation Vita, http://www.themobilefanatics.com/2012/03/photo-gallery-up-close-playstation-vita/

Bright, vivid and colourful are a few words describing the majestic beauty of the OLED display. Games with colourful art direction appear crisp and pop out while games with a more realistic or gritty art direction have clear contrast and rare colours stand out.

The handheld also has the advantage of responsive dual analogue sticks that are as comfy as the DualShock 3 and 4 once the user is used to the small yet effective input range.The D-pad isn’t as separate or mushy compared with the Dual 4, but great for PlayStation 1 games with their more finicky and precision based gameplay, like in platformers. The traditional shape symbol buttons and R1 and L1 are also there, but how does one play a FPS (First Person Shooter) without the distinctly missing R2 and L2 buttons.

The Vita uses the touch screen and the obscure rear touch pad to make up for a lack of R2 and L2 button, and games for the Vita have used the touch inputs in varying degrees of success.

Impulse Gamer, Little Big Planet 

http://www.impulsegamer.com/vitalittlebigplanet.html

The front touch screen is an intuitive and sensitive input, and its sensitivity along with a dual shock control layout has been put to great use in fighting games as well as improving on functionality in games like Dragon’s Crown where it’s used to find treasure while fighting through hectic battles.

Tech Radar, PS Vita Review, March 05 2012,

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/gaming/handheld-consoles/ps-vita-1061138/review/4

The rear touch pad is a mixed bag in terms of intuitiveness and reliability. While being an inventive way of interacting with in game objects and makes actions more involved, the pad by its nature and placement is prone to accidental input, and because the original Vita is no longer in production and replaced by the vastly better Slim, OLED models are plagued with technical issues that all revolve around the rear touch pad. When installing games that heavily use it like Tearaway, such games may stop the pad from functioning completely which can cause critical progression issues in games where it’s used to progress in a Vita game. This issue only applies to the original Vita, and not the Vita Slim.

PlayStation PS Vita, WordPress, PS Vita Specs

http://psvitaplaystation.wordpress.com/ps-vita-specs/

The console with its screen and glossy finish is a dust, stain and finger print magnet that will often need cleaning. Even if it’s a bit unfriendly to fashionable trouser pockets, the Vita is an good looking handheld, and the rear touch pad issue only affects a certain number of games, with a large majority of the library being fully playable without the rear touch pad.

Features

A plethora of features reside in the Vita, with the most useful ones being Remote Play, Content manager, Videos and web browser. The other features, while having there uses are done better on other consoles, and even smartphones.

Pocket Lint, Hands-on video: PS4 Remote Play Explored

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/125119-hands-on-video-ps4-remote-play-explored

Remote Play allows the player to have PS4 gameplay streamed to the Vita with the handheld being the controller. This is a commendable feature for players that have their sessions regularly interrupted by people watching TV and is similar to the Wii U tablet. The function works with all PS4 games that don’t require the PlayStation Camera, and the L2, R2, L3 and R3 are mapped to the front touch screen with Start and Select being the Share and Options button.

Dragons Dogma Wiki, Dragon’s Dogma PS Vita backgrounds,

http://dragonsdogma.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ObsidianDraconis/Dragon’s_Dogma_PS_Vita_Backgrounds

Due to the compulsory need of a proprietary memory card, content manager will be a frequently used app as digital Vita games have sizes of 1 to 3 GB’s filling up 16 GB card quickly. (Psychical game cartilages are smaller in file size) Apps on the card are in coloured categories making space management a simple press on the screen.

Dragons Dogma Wiki, Dragon’s Dogma PS Vita backgrounds,

http://dragonsdogma.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:ObsidianDraconis/Dragon’s_Dogma_PS_Vita_Backgrounds

There is also 3 back up methods for games on the Vita and they are the PS3, PC and PS Plus cloud storage. Cloud storage keeps save files and is the easiest method that simply needs the player to be subscribed to PS Plus which is purchased on the PS Store starting at $10 for a month and won’t make you top up if the automatic funding option is turned off on the service list once purchased. The PS3 serves as a mass back up storage for Vita games and allowing music, videos and images to be transferred onto the Vita while storing PS1 save files that cannot be saved on the cloud. (The PS4 sadly does not support the PS3’s mass storage utility for the PlayStation Vita)

PC back up requires Content Manager Assistant to be installed on the PC, and makes it easier to organise one’s Vita games while serving as the best way for getting music files on the Vita. These methods offer great versatility for preserving Vita games as well as getting other forms of media, particularly music on the handheld.

The PS Store also offers movies to rent that are found on the Videos app on the home screen, and is an acceptable video player, with movies looking great on the OLED screen with reasonable rental prices at round $5 to $6. TV rentals however are lacklustre because the pricing structure will have the user purchasing one episode at a time instead of a whole season, making them more expensive and stopping binge watching.

The web browser is commendable for finding walkthroughs, and nothing else. Having only 512MB of Ram, the browser takes an eternity loading webpages and has virtually no security unless paying for Trend Micro Security to defend a browser that struggles to load and display any decent website. It’s a useful app for guidance in a game, but is terrible when compared against other respected web browsers.

The four features of the Vita are apps that give handheld strong potential as a multimedia device that provides great distractions when the player wants more than simply games from their console.

(P.S There are 32 and 64 GB memory cards but are available only in Japan, and other countries have only 4, 8 and 16 GB memory cards commercially available.)

Gaming library

The titles for the Vita cover a range of genres with the most popular games being JRPGS and Indies. One of the criticisms aimed at the handheld is the lack of exclusives in the library and how it pales in comparison to the 3DS library. The reason why the Vita thrives with Indies and ports while having sparse exclusive like Tearaway and Killzone Mercenary is due to one simple fact.

Vita games have production values that are close to the budgets of console games which makes them more expensive for handheld developers to create. When the Vita launched worldwide in 2012, its launch titles Gravity Rush and Uncharted Golden Abyss amazed with their production values and inventive use of the Vita’s control features. But these games set a high expectation that the Vita would have exclusives that matched or came almost close to console games, and resulted in a drought of games that wasn’t a popular IP like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed meant to be system sellers and being inferior to their console counterparts.

10 best PlayStation Vita Games cover image, Arcade Sushi

http://arcadesushi.com/best-playstation-vita-games/

The PS Vita would remain in obscurity in the handheld market until the PS4’s Remote Play feature gave the Vita some much needed attention. It wasn’t a solution to its problems, but people realised that a competitor to the 3DS existed and by that time, ports of games such as Dragon’s Crown, Persona 4 Golden, Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remastered and having backwards compatibility with PS1 and PSP titles gave people incentive to purchase the handheld. Then the Vita shifted its ambitions from the console experience on the go, and instead thriving on indie titles and hosting a gaming library of critical darlings and cult classics that were made in the Vita’s life time period of 2012 and 2014.

With the PlayStation Vita’s original and current ambitions, it has never had a popular system seller and is very evident with the 3DS’s 50.4 Million units sold and the Vita selling 9.6 million units. The game library of the PlayStation Vita clear cuts a gaming audience in half. One half will be having a ball as the library is stuffed and exploding with offbeat and specialised titles taking video game elements of eons past, and giving them a modern update or create a fantastical element that gives players an experience they will find nowhere else. The other half have found their gaming needs with the 3DS and its blockbuster titles of Pokémon, Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart and it’s stellar Street Pass social feature allowing them to have greater connections with gaming friends.

With such a broad and unique library of games, the Vita is the modern aficionados’ handheld console.

Value

Poster artwork by Patrick Zachar, Deviant art

http://patrickzachar.deviantart.com/art/Playstation-Vita-Poster-Blue-309933032

Sony’s little console is an exotic product of the handheld market. Even with a dwindling beginning and the problematic reliability of the originals rear touch pad and the borderline money sink of a compulsory memory card, its revision the Vita Slim fixed the pad’s issues and being less awkward in the everyday pocket. The library is a smorgasbord of unique IP’s and classic PlayStation games that epitomise the brands international third party developer’s innovative and evolutionary efforts in the gaming world.

The original Vita in comparison to the Slim, is one of the master disasters of the PlayStation lineage. But the original is a reminder to avid fans of video games that often it takes time and a lot of blunders before an entertainment device matures into a product worth spending dozens of hours on with all its incredible adventures waiting to be experienced.

Summation: If you really want to get the PlayStation Vita, I implore you to but the Vita Slim because it has a better touch pad and 1 GB internal memory, enough to play an indie game or two and the argument on what screen of both models is better won’t matter when you actually play on the Vita Slim. Please note that the images without a description and link to the source were captured with my IPad and the Vita screenshot feature (Start+ PlayStation button). And yes, now that I am beginning to credit the image and artwork sources of other people’s creations, I will be updating my older reviews and giving credit to the images and artwork of other creators they rightfully deserve.

Have a great day and don’t hesitate to point out an inaccurate detail in this review.