Top 10 PlayStation Vita Games of 2012

Reports of the PS Vita's death were greatly exaggerated. Like the PSP before it, the PlayStation Vita got off to a sluggish start and failed to unseat Nintendo's handheld dominance, but it gradually carved out a niche and developed its own loyal fanbase.

Though the price tag remains a sticking point for many, a continually expanding library of downloadable games makes the Vita more lucrative with each PSN update. Here are ten of the greatest Vita games so far (limited to the ones I actually played, hence the omission of Persona 4: Golden).

10. Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Usually, portable re-releases of last-generation games aren't cause for celebration, but when they're games as good as these, the opportunity to take them everywhere is invaluable. The Vita's Metal Gear Solid HD Collection includes remakes of Metal Gear Solid 2, the reigning king of mind-bending post-modern video games, and Metal Gear Solid 3, a brutal satire of the Cold War spy movies that inspired Metal Gear.

These PS2 games show their age in some areas, but overall they maintain a level of forward thinking that many modern titles don't match. Best of all, these games support the badly-named yet extremely useful "Transfarring" feature, allowing you to share saves between the PS3 and Vita versions via cloud storage. Modern technology has further improved these games, which is ironic given how the series is about the dangers of technology run amok.

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