PSP Game Players

Filed under: News

Remember when this movie was going to be the next big thing? August was an interesting month, especially for PSP news:

$149 PSP coming soon? CNN reports
Then: “The analyst expects that Sony will drop the price of the PSP to a mere $149, $50 less than what it is right now.”
Now: While this would be a smart decision, Sony’s still not budging from the $199 mark.

Fun = DS, not PSP, says EA exec
Then: “There’s no doubt that EA has historically bet more on PSP. I think we were excited by the technology, but the consumers have proven that actually what they want is fun. We must never forget that what we need to focus on is fun and so EA is putting more effort behind DS games.”
Now: EA may start supporting Nintendo more in the future, but with titles like Burnout coming in the future, it doesn’t seem like Sony fans have to worry.

PSP on Snakes on a Plane
Now: The PSP was prominently featured in the film, which failed to make the impact that the blogosphere had predicted.

Rumor: PSP redesign coming before March 07
Then: “Well, a very believable scan of PlayStation Magazine seem to suggest that Sony’s working hard on one, and it’s coming very soon: March 2007, two years after the US release of the handheld.”
Now: If a redesign is coming in three months, we’d know about it by now, wouldn’t we? Or will Sony do a surprise launch? Keep an eye on this one.

New questionable PSP rumors surface
Now: It’s interesting to note that all of the rumors came true, including the most specific one about the PSP Entertainment Pack. Guess some rumors are spot-on, huh?

DevHook reeled in by Sony?
Then: “The web host of DevHook has received a cease and desist order.”
Now: The homebrew scene is stronger than ever. Many sites are careful about the kinds of files they host, although its not uncommon to find other sites providing some very questionable content.

See entire year in review.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: Reviews

File Size: 534MB
Price: $5.99
Developed By: Namco
Published By: Namco
Original Release Date: September 15, 1996

Short Review
Not Recommended. Tekken 2 unfortunately shows its age. There’s a great deal of gameplay to be discovered in this treasured arcade classic, but the advances made by Tekken: Dark Resurrection are so significant that it’s difficult to appreciate the technical shortcomings of Tekken 2. Gamers will have to choose if they’d rather spend $6 for a great classic game, or $40 for an even better modern one.

PSP Fanboy Retro Review: 5.5 out of 10
See all Retro Reviews.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: News, Software, Fan Stuff

What is PSP Fanboy’s Game of the Year? You chose it, by an overwhelming margin:

PSP Fanboy Game of the Year:
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (32% of the votes)
Is there any surprise? Portable Ops is no side-story, spin-off, or card game. This is the real deal, with console-quality presentation to prove it. The surprisingly deep story and incredibly detailed graphics made Portable Ops a great game; but the online multiplayer, recruitment abilities and GPS functionality made this a system-defining game. Portable Ops proves that a handheld game can not only follow in the footsteps of its console brethren, but actually surpass it.

Runners-Up:
Loco Roco (17% of the votes)
You know a game is special when it feels like nothing you’ve ever played before. The brilliant three-button control scheme, colorful graphics, and charming personality made this one of the year’s best.

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (15% of the votes)
You can drive, kill, chill, golf, swim, and more in this insanely huge follow-up to last year’s Liberty City Stories. The incredible graphics and fantastic presentation values showcase why the PSP is a technical powerhouse.

Andrew’s PSP Game of the Year:
Daxter (7% of the votes)
Daxter may not be innovative, but it shows how a PSP game should be made. The silky graphics are made even sweeter by non-existent load times, and controls that make you never, ever beg for a second analog stick.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: Software

This is not the best way to start the New Year. Unfortunately, no new game or UMD releases this week. But, we’re still doing this post so you are not left wondering if we’ve just plain forgotten given all of our New Year festivity preperations and what not.

Next week should look a bit better. Stay tuned and keep the faith!

PSP Game Releases

• No new releases

PSP UMD Releases

• No new releases

As always, availability is subject to manufacturer delivery (even when nothing is supposed to come out).

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: Reviews

The shooter genre is easily one of my favorites: classics like Ikaruga and Gunstar Heroes, demonstrate how much fun it is to blow up lots of stuff with rapid-fire lasers. The aforementioned games have brilliant simple controls, utilizing just two buttons, but they feature great gameplay mechanics that challenge the gamer considerably. Platypus, however, features none of these attributes.

You know you have to be a little suspicious when the promotional quotes on the packaging don’t actually praise the game. Unlike Ikaruga’s notorious “frothing” quote, Platypus‘ box notes that its “graphics are made entirely of clay.” Huh? Yes, that’s true. But does that say it’s good? (No, it doesn’t!)

The truth of the matter is: there isn’t really anything good to praise in this game. Not even the unique claymated graphics. While unique, the graphics leave a lot to be desired. One of the biggest problems with the game? The claymated bullets. While Platypus should be commended for not taking place in a generic sci-fi fantasy future like every other shooter created, it fails to take advantage of one of the genre conventions: lasers. Why are lasers such a good thing? Because in games, they’re bright and visible. Clay bullets are tiny, gray sprites that blend in with the environment. Even worse, the bullets will sometimes hide behind clouds that are placed in the foreground. Not fun. Shooter afficiandos know that shooters tend to be more about dodging than shooting, but even the casual gamer will be frustrated when invisible bullets continue to destroy their fragile one-hit KO ships.

The backgrounds also leave much to be desired. The repetitive and unchanging backgrounds are visually qutie boring. The claymated enemies don’t fare much better, as they seem to be a few frames of animation short of looking smooth.

While the visual presentation suffers greatly (and even hinders gameplay), not much more can be said about the game’s audio presentation either. The music is horrifically generic–I’ve heard better soundtracks from porn movies. Ikaruga was so beloved by critics and fans because every aspect of the game added to the gameplay: the music was orchestrated to give players auditory cues as to what will happen in the game. Through memorization of the music, players would be able to learn what enemies were coming, and prepare accordingly. Not so in Platypus.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much to enjoy in Platypus‘ old-school gameplay. The development team clearly failed to learn that the shooter genre is supposed to have some depth to it. The enemies are uninspired, but even worse: the weapons and power-up mechanics are incredibly limiting. Power-up stars are picked up by destroying a specific group of enemies, and the stars enable you to fire mostly useless projectiles at enemies for a set period of time. Most of the projectiles are too slow, or too underpowered to make them enjoyable. Even worse, there’s no strategy behind the power-ups: there’s no way to switch weapons, no way to store a power-up. The lack of depth in the combat system is the final nail in the coffin for this horribly underwhelming game.

Shooters aren’t hard to make at all (you can make one for yourself at DigiPen). However, it’s up to a game developer to use the genre’s simplicity to their advantage and create interesting gameplay mechanics and scenarios. The team responsible for Platypus fails on almost all levels: the graphics, the music, the sound, and the gameplay all fall short of what good game design teaches. The sheer lack of effort placed into this game shows why Treasure is still considered one of the best dev teams in the industry … and why MumboJumbo is not.

PSP Fanboy Score: 3.5 out of 10

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: Final Fantasy

The Ivalice Alliance is strong: Final Fantasy Tactics makes a triumphant return in a remake, enhanced specifically for the PSP. PSPHyper has some gorgeous scans of the latest issue of Famitsu, showing off the game’s new cutscenes and yes … gameplay too. What a great way to end the year look forward to the next!

[Thanks, Thien!]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: News

The media is so eager to predict Sony’s doom in the upcoming year. While both the PSP and PS3 deserve some of the criticism they’ve been dealt, many ignore the fact that these two systems have a ton of potential, especially when linked together. Pocket Gamer has broken out of the usual mold and declared 2007 a year where PSP can truly shine, and have its best year yet. Some of the reasons?

• A redesign? It’s been rumored quite often. Will 2007 see a DS Lite-like revolution?
• Price drop. The system has been at $200 US since its launch (if you consider the initial Value Pack to add $50 of bundled value).
• Downloadable video content: partnerships with Amazon and other service providers may make the PSP a valuable media player.
• Even better technology: we’ve seen progressively better graphics each year, and that’s on a system running at 222MHz. The PSP is capable of 50% more horsepower: that can launch a whole new era of games.

There are even more reasons listed by Pocket Gamer, but to me it’s clear: with an already excellent lineup of games coming down the pipeline, one should feel pretty excited about PSP’s future.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: Ratchet and Clank, Video

You probably know this by now: Ratchet & Clank is a beautiful, beautiful game. As if the previous deluge of videos wasn’t enough to satisfy you, GameTrailers.com has uploaded two more of the game in action, proving that guns can make any genre more fun. Check them out, after the cut.

>
/>
/>
/> >

>
/>
/>
/> >

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: News, Software

It’s been a long time since the last time we’ve been able to write up one of these reports. Why? These Japanese charts haven’t been too friendly to PSP fanboys…

Thankfully, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops has changed all of that, resulting in quite an impressive showing for the PSP last week in Japan. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

1. Pokémon Diamond (DS) - 209,379 / 2,329,227
2. Metal Gear Solid : Portable Ops (PSP) - 178,370 / *NEW*
3. Pokémon Pearl (DS) - 164,670 / 1,931,445
4. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 154,107 / 3,771,128)
5. Wii Sports (Wii) - 152,756 / 471,229)

The PSP also sold an impressive amount of hardware. Sure, not as much as either the DS or the Wii, but isn’t that expected by now? The PSP represents the strongest part of Sony’s three-pillar strategy:

1. DS Lite: 485,584 165,876 (51.88%)
2. Wii: 279,277 171,040 (158.02%)
3. PSP: 138,588 89,626 (183.05%)
4. PS3: 76,882 5,940 (8.37%)
5. PS2: 46,209 8,479 (22.47%)

Look at that surge of demand for PSP. It shows you that as long as interesting software continues to come out on our beloved handheld, gamers will rush out and buy it.

[Via Jeux-France]

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy

Filed under: News

Firmware 2.80 released
Then: Sony’s 2.80 firmware upgrade was probably the most significant one in ages. Featuring video podcasting, better video support (no need for weird file names!), and a few minor adjustments made this release one of the most exciting.
Now: The PSP is at version 3.03 currently, and most people aren’t enjoying the “new functionality.” Why? Most of us don’t have PS3s. Hopefully, Sony will get us excited about upgrading again.

Rumor: Half-Life 2 on PSP?
Then: “The research people of Penn, Shoen, and Berlan Association Inc. are notorious for slipping future releases of games. In fact, they revealed the Xbox 360 version of Half-Life 2 a full three days before Valve admitted to working on it. Considering how Half-Life 2 is branching out to other platforms, is PSP next?”
Now: Unlike Oblivion, this title hasn’t appeared on anyone’s radar. I guess most people thought it a bad idea. Or, most people have already played it.

Jaffe’s episodic crying adventure
Then: “His new adventure will go all Half-Life on us, becoming an episodic adventure. Each “episode” supposedly comes in at a whopping 700MB!”
Now: Nope, isn’t happening. Why? It sucked.

Lumines II to feature “pretty famous artists”
Then: “Speaking at the Develop conference in Europe, Tetsuya Mitzuguchi revealed that the PSP-bound Lumines sequel will feature some “pretty famous artists”. Who could these artists be? I’ll guess that they’ll be Japanese.”
Now: I was wrong. Real headlining artists like the Black Eyed Peas ended up in the game… but gamers didn’t care. It bombed pretty badly at retail.

UMDs killed at Target
Then: “UMDs are now discontinued in all Target stores, as of last week. Could this be the beginning of the end of yet another one of Sony’s proprietary formats?”
Now: Yes. UMD is a dead format, only to be found in bargain bins, or online retailers. No one was surprised.

Homebrew that gets you out of the home
Then: “In CollecTic, you’re charged with doing something that no game has asked you to do before. You must get up and go. Go where, you ask? Wherever there are WiFi hotspots. See, that’s the point of the game.”
Now: Sounds a lot like Metal Gear Solid, doesn’t it?

See entire year in review so far.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Originally Syndicated via RSS from PSP Fanboy