Deals Now On Psp Game

Review by M. B Cole:

When I saw that I had a package yesterday, I opened it up…and then nerd glee ran through my hands to my arms and then to my heart. Kratos had arrived.

I ran to my shop (actually I walked as fast as a grandma around a shopping mall) to open this tantalizing package of war. Screw work!! Actually I cant do that because I’m in Iraq and I have to get things done to help protect the troops. But once I was done with all the work for the day I popped the game in the PSP and hit the power button.

When I began to play, I couldnt believe the graphics. The PSP is seriously a PS2 in your hands. The game is just beautiful. The levels are nicely done. They even have the camera effect where it pulls out very far just to show you how small you really are compared to your surroundings. Your chains graphical effects look really good and even better as you upgrade them. Even the graphics for little things look great…for instance…when you open a chest under water, the chest begins to release thousands of tiny bubbles while you struggle to open it. I just thought that was a nice little touch.

The gameplay is incredible. Kratos is extremely easy to control. I’m just amazed at how fluid he moves. Bashing baddies…lifting them in the air…grappling them back onto the ground..and then finishing them off is nothing but a few well pressed buttons mashes. Not hard at all. And I’m not talking about the button sequence fighting either. Speaking of those, there are some really good ones in this game.

The sound is sharp and pleasing. The musical score can really put you in a mood to kill every living thing around…but then make you want to stop and smell the ashes of a burning hades. If you’ve played part 1 or 2, then you know what to expect with the sound effects, and it’s here also. Sound great in my Bose Earbuds.

I have only a COUPLE of gripes about the game. I’m not completely done with it, but I can tell the game is going to be short. That’s going to be a downer because I really like this game and just dont want it to end for at least 2 week..heh. Another gripe I have is that the game froze up on me once. Only once..so hopefully not again. Just make sure you save every time you get the chance.

Something that isnt a gripe, but a ‘Just so ya know’, playing on Normal is pretty dang easy. There are 4 modes…Easy, Normal, Hard, and God (which is greyed out at first). If you are pretty experienced with the game, I’d go with playing Hard.

Something parents should think about when pondering if they should get this game for their youngin. This game is based during when Rome was the hot spot. So when you see some of the female Gods, usually they are topless. Also there is a scene where Kratos frees two topless women and well…gets to have sex with them. You dont actually see it, but they show a vase or something rocking around while you hit a series of buttons to pleasure them both. Funny if you are older, but maybe not funny for parents with children.

All in all, I recommend this game completely for your PSP. It is definitely in my top 5 games for the PSP. That would include Ratchet and Clank, FF Tactics, Burnout Legends, and I dont have a 5th one yet..(it’ll probably be the new Final Fantasy).

UPDATE:

Well after beating the game about an hour after posting this review, I will say it’s definitely a short game. Also make sure you stay for after the credits. Well…you’ll have to because you cant skip cut scenes (which I LOATHE that you cant do it in any game).

Review by N. Durham:

God of War stands as one of Sony’s best original franchises, and now the vengeance-driven Kratos and his deadly chains have come to the PSP. Fans of the series will also be more than happy to know that God of War: Chains of Olympus stands as the best action title to hit Sony’s portable system yet, as it nearly flawlessly brings everything that has made the God of War series so good, and packs it into one small disc. Taking place before the events of the original God of War, Chains of Olympus finds Kratos as general serving the gods, and also finds him struggling with obeying his orders, or doing what he feels he should. Undoubtedly the best looking game to hit the PSP yet, God of War: Chains of Olympus retains the excellent production values, addictive combat, tight controls, solid puzzle elements, and unlockable extras that will keep you glued to the game. The only real downside to Chains of Olympus is that as a whole, the game is too short. This one flaw is acceptable though, as Chains of Olympus boasts a brilliant score, more fantastic voice acting, and some dynamic action sequences that are easily the best to be seen on the PSP yet. All in all, God of War: Chains of Olympus is a more than welcome debut of Kratos on the PSP, and is by far the best action game to hit the PSP yet. Needless to say, if you own a PSP, God of War: Chains of Olympus is an absolute must own, and the definition of “killer app”.

Review by ps2 gamer:

If you’ve owned a PSP for a long time you’ve probably kept hearing that it doesn’t have any good games. Daxter proves otherwise. If you’ve been bored with all of the games the PSP has now, be bored no longer! Daxter is quite possibly the best PSP game out there, with awesome graphics, gameplay, story, and many more features.

If you’re a hardcore fan of the Jak and Daxter series like me, then you won’t be disappointed with this game. It does everything great. The story takes place between Jak 1 and Jak 2. If you rememeber, at the beginning of Jak 2 Jak arrives at haven city. He is then immediately captured by the Krimzon Guards, but Daxter escapes. Jak is put in prison, and then the game skips 2 years later and you see how Daxter saves Jak. The game’s storyline takes place in those 2 years, and you’ll learn how Daxter saves Jak and what he has done in that time. At the beginning of the game, Daxter is offered a job as a bug exterminator. He takes it, because he hopes that while he goes around exterminating bugs he’ll also find Jak along the way. By the way, these are metal head bugs, so they’ll put up a fight.

Now, first of all, let’s get the bad stuff out of the way. This game is kind of short, and you’ll be able to finish it in 10-13 hours. Also, some people might find it disappointing that haven city is smaller than it was in Jak 2, and there aren’t any people walking in the streets, even though they’re flying in zoomers. However, these are very minor problems, and they don’t affect the game in any very bad way.

Now on to the good things. This game’s graphics are absolutely phenomenal. They are the best graphics on any PSP game out now, and I daresay that they’re even better than the graphics of many PS2 games. I’m not exaggerating. They are absolutely gorgeous. There is an impressive amount of detail in all of the environments you’ll visit, and they all look very unique and great. Just take a look at Daxter himself (the character). His fur looks so realistic and cool, and all of the textures in the game are similar. The character designs are also cool and unique.

Speaking of characters, here they are. There’s Osmo, which is an old man who’s also Daxter’s boss at the exterminator shop, yet he’s very kind. There’s his son Ximon, who is a surfer kind of guy. There’s Osmo’s daughter Taryng, which is a Lara Croft-like gal with a British accent who gives Daxter all of his weapons. There’s Kaeden, some kind of creepy guy who really hates Daxter and his friends. And there are a few other characters, some of them from the other Jak games, like Errol and Count Vegar.

Another thing that the Jak series are greatly known for is their variety. Daxter delivers that too. There is a big variety of missions and things to do, and you’ll do things ranging from simply killing bugs, to chasing a Truck on your scooter while it shoots bombs at you, to shoot down a bug with a turret while you’re on a vehicle, and more. Also, there’s lots of action and platforming to be done in this game. Like I mentioned earlier, you’ll be fighting metal head bugs, and they’re all different and unqiue. You’ll get several weapons in the game: One being an electric flyswatter, which is basically a melee weapon, a sprayer which lets you stun enemies, a flamethrower(self explanatory), and a sonic blaster, which lets you shoot a bomb that creates a shockwave. You’ll also have to pick up floating green orbs to power up tour sprayer weapons. Other than that, you also get an upgrade that lets you temporarily fly in the air with your sprayer, and you’ll have to pick up green orbs mid-air in order to feul your sprayer and allow you to stay up a longer time. Jumping and flying around makes up this game’s platforming, and its really very fun.

Also there’s a bunch of other distractions that keep you busy and allow you to do things other than doing the main missions. You can roam around Haven city (by the way, you get a scooter to do it with) searching for secret areas and collectibles, you can go to levels that you’ve already played in order to pick up secrets you might have missed there, and perhaps most importantly, you can play mini-games called “dream sequences”. These are very fun, and in them, you make Daxter go to sleep on his bed, and he’ll have dreams in which he’s the hero, and his dreams take place in movies like lord of the rings, the matrix, braveheart and more. They’re basically just minigames in which you have to mash buttons according to what appears on screen, and they’re really fun. You can unlock different combos for your flyswatter and other cool secrets if you play them. However, you must first collect enough precursor orbs in order to unlock these dreams.

There is also a multiplayer option called bug combat. You can pick up special bugs in your main game and use them in this multiplayer option. Each bug has 3 attacks it can use, and it’s sort of a turn based rock-paper-scissors game with RPG elements. Claw attack beats Spit, Spit beats trap, and trap beats claw. You also get all kinds of unlockables for this from the main game, if you find them. You can get power ups that improve your bugs’ health, attack, and more. You also get tokens that you can use in the middle of the combat, and they’re things like shields that protect you from attacks, things that cancel your opponent’s move, things that let you switch your attack after you already picked one, etc.

Overall Daxter is the best PSP game that’s ever come out. I hope that other companies keep making games like this. If they do, the future looks very bright for the PSP. So if your a Jak and Daxter fan, or if you just own a PSP, you should definitely buy this game.

P.S. You can also connect your PSP to your PS2 via USB cable, and if you have Jak X: Combat Racing, you can unlock cool stuff for it from the Daxter game. These things inculde: Four different characters to drive as, and a car called the Daxtermobile.

Review by Adam Sugarman:

I was truly worried about the PSP for a while there; it scared me that I saw people in the streets using their glossy new gaming system solely as an MP3 player becasue of the lack of games. After Mega Man: Powered Up was sold out in my area (the game store clerk said that people are asking about new PSP games all the time, in the hopes for a killer app), I knew the system was truly in trouble. Thank god for Daxter. As the first truly orginal great PSP game, it sure was a long time coming.

You pick up between Jak and Daxter and Jak and Daxter II. It takes place right in the middle (remember when Daxter bailed Jak out of jail? This game shows how that happened), and Daxter gets sidetracked by becoming an exterminator. Armed with an electronic fly-swatter of sorts, he goes up against the denizens of evil…er…the evil cockroaches and such of his world in the hopes of bailing his faithful buddy out. In truth, the story is purely functional. Don’t expect Final Fantasy VII or anything here.

The first thing you’ll notice is just how absolutely amazing the game looks on your little LCD screen. Bright and colorful (and high resolution to boot), I can safely say it is the best looking PSP game yet released. It is truly like having a PS2 in the palm of your hands. The one affliction of PSP gaming so far has been the terrible loading times, and thankfully Daxter all but eliminates it with its clever door system. Instead of breaking gameplay up with a loading screen, the game puts you in a small area, usually an elevator or something, while the game loads. There is some slowdown, too, but it is barely noticeable. Also, that Ottsel sure is animated well. Daxter wags his tiny tail back and forth, he has hair sprouting all over, and he looks just like an Ottsel should (if they existed, that is).

Once you’re done drooling all over your brand new PSP’s screen (and wiped off the saliva, hopefully), you’ll start realizing just how great the gameplay is. It hearkens back to classic 3D platforming. There are a few weapons to choose from, but combat takes a back seat to pure platforming fun. And platforming hasn’t been this fun since that little Italian stereotype hopped onto the scene. The level design is smart and interesting, never drab and thankfully corridor and warehouse free (it starts to scare me that even platforming games are starting to have corridors and warehouses). Despite the city setting, the developers have found interesting ways to get varied landscapes into play.

The voice-acting is pitch-perfect, too. The music is appropriate, and the sound effects are well done. You’ll swear you were there swinging around that little swatter, wagging your tail and climbing walls right along with Daxter.

Thank god for Naughy Dog. They have finally released the first true killer app for PSP.

Pros:

Incredible graphics

Fun gameplay

Varied levels

Great sound

Cons:

Slight slowdown at times

Review by Lisa Shea:

Talk about the ultimate mobile game for mature gamers who love the Sopranos and Godfather series. Grand Theft Auto Liberty City Stories is the perfect game for the PSP.

Let me say again – this is a MATURE game. There is sex, there is swearing, there is a LOT of violence. Anybody who buys this game for their 8 year old is making a grave mistake. It really bothers me a lot when people buy adult games for kids and say “Oh I didn’t know”. It clearly says right on the box. There are a TON of adult gamers out there, and we like mature games, just like we like R rated movies. These games aren’t meant for kids. They are made exactly the way us adults like them – full of adult situations.

That being taken care of, this is an *incredible* game. Let’s start with the gameplay. It’s hard to even imagine, looking at say a DS or GameBoy game, that any handheld could produce gameplay like this. You have a fully detailed, fully laid out cityscape. You can drive down any road, walk around amongst the people, watch the rain and sun and fog roll in. The storyline is great. The missions are great. Heck, even the sidegames are great. There are hidden packages to find, rankings to achieve, races to run, you name it. You could play this for months.

The graphics are spellbindingly beautiful. It’s hard to believe this is a handheld game. You get rain falling down around your car as it careens past easily identifiable stores on a road, while pedestrians stroll down the sidewalks. From shooting tasks, to driving races, to handling a number of other situations, the graphics draw you into this world.

Let’s talk about audio. There is a great selection of “radio stations” to listen to as you drive around. The voice acting really draws you into the story, to relate to the various characters involved. I’ve always loved the audio on the GTA games, and this is no exception.

Yes, this game requires a 2.0 update to run. The update is INCLUDED ON THE DISK. Anybody who has trouble finding it must be missing some basic computer skills. It’s right on the main disk menu when you put the disk into the system. It’s free, it’s included, it’s easy.

I can’t say enough good things about this game. Let me try to figure out some down sides. Hmmm, well it’s on a small screen. Heck, that’s the whole point, that it’s on a portable system. When I go on trips, I can bring it along with me. I think that’s fantastic, to have a GTA system to bring on the plane or bus. I *did* find the storyline in general to be on the annoying side, truth be told. I really liked the original GTA3 storyline where you were a valued employee moving up in the ranks due to your skill. I found it frustrating in this one to play in essence an “uppity jerk” who is constantly put down either by his own mob buddies or his mom or other people. It didn’t make the game nearly as enjoyable for me. This is my leisure time after all, to endulge in fun dreams. My fun dream isn’t of being berated and harassed. That being said, the mom in the Sopranos always drove me completely insane too. You have to give a writer the leeway to write his own story, and if that’s what he wants to write, you go with it.

This is a must-own game. It’s a game for ADULTS. But it’s a game with epic scope, great graphics, and great gameplay. Highly, highly recommended.

Review by :

“Liberty City Stories” continues rockstars succesful GTA sereis, this time on a handheld device. Dont let that scare you away though. GTA: LCS is the killer app the PSP has been waiting for.

- Liberty City is back from GTA III. Its the exact city.

- New story though. Completely new missions,mini missions, races, etc that will last you a while

- Over 70 vehciles, including classics like the Inferno, Cheetah, and more. Big rigs, motorcyles, boats, helicopters, and planes are included as well.

-Graphics rival PS2 versions of GTA, and with the PSP’s high res LCD screen, it will probably look better.

***A new element: Multiplayer. On the PS2/Xbox, you really couldnt have a multiplayer feature, because the game was played on one TV screen. On the PSP, up to 4 players can be thrown into the city all at once. Instead of buying weapons, you find and run over them, much like an FPS. You can grab cars, ram your friends, snipe/camp one area, etc. The possibilities are endless, and this type of multiplayer has never been seen before on ANY GTA game. This alone is worth purchasing the game.

Review by ehren m:

I picked up this game on release day 2 days ago. I’vd played the single player campaign, as well as the online muptiplayer, so i’ll comment on both.

SINGLE PLAYER:

So far, the campaign as absolutely awesome! Story-wise, it takes place between Resistance: Fall of Man and Resistance 2. You play an ex-soldier came across his brother in a conversion center, and was forced to kill him before he converted to Chimera. All of this is explained to you in the Resistance: Fall of Man fashion. There is the same woman narrating (alot of people did not like how R2 scrapped this). The story is very well told to you, and really gets you involved.

GAMEPLAY/CONTROLS

Sony Bend did the best they could with the controls, especially for an over-the-shoulder 3rd person shooter. First, i absolutely love the aim-assist function. The PSP isn’t the easiest system for aiming since it lacks a second joystick, so in Retribution you have a wide yellow box, any time an enemy is in the box it will automatically aim at them. (you can turn this off in the options to make it more difficult) Second, the cover system is actually pretty cool. Its a Gears of War style of taking cover minus having to hit a button every time: if you walk up to a wall you will automatically take cover, if you pull the trigger you pop out and start shooting, let go of the trigger and you go back into cover. As for guns, there are alot Lots of old ones from R1 and R2, as well as a couple new ones.

ONLINE:

This is one of, if not the best, games for online play on the PSP. It is Resistance: Fall of Man sized down for the PSP. You have death match, ffa, team death match, etc., with up to 8 players (4 on 4). You can chose ranked or non ranked matches as well.

Overall, this is probably one of the best games out for the PSP, both for single and multiplayer. Its about time a developer came out with something like this, nothing has been close since God of War. DEFINITELY worth 40 bucks. Go out and buy!

Review by Aaron P. Harmon:

I am a big fan of shooters and love my PSP, but have found very few decent portable games in this genre. I took a chance on this game because it was produced by the same guys that made the “Syphon Filter” PSP games (If you are not familiar with them they are very well reviewed, wonderful games.) I am so glad that I did.

This game is fantastic. I will briefly list the pros and cons.

The Pros:

1) You can carry more than two weapons again. One of the things that made Resistance: The Fall of Man so good was the plethora of unique weapons always at your fingertips. Resistance: Retribution reintroduces this feature. The player is able to carry up to 12 weapons each with an alternate fire option giving you much creative freedom is solving the challenges that the levels through at you.

2) The controls are well thought out and easily customizable. They work very well in the default configuration

3) The story is easy to follow and compelling.

4) The graphics are cutting edge for a portable game. They are stunning and really have to be seen to be appreciated.

5) There are “Skill Points” and “Intel” documents to collect on each level which allow you to unlock new weapons and additional features. Re-playability is very high for this reason.

6) “Infected mode” is an added value for owners of Resistance 2.

7) The “infrastructure” multiplayer feature allows you to connect wirelessly (via the internet) with players all around the world for what is arguably the best multiplayer experience on any handheld to date.

Resistance: Retribution “Plus” mode allows you to use a PS3 controller for PSP.

9) The difficulty scales well. I have not been overly frustrated with any part of this game.

The Cons:

1) The only thing that I would like to see improved is that in “Plus” mode, you PSP is tethered to your PS3 through the USB cable. I don’t know if it is technically possible to do it any other way, but it certainly limits the portability of your PSP.

Conclusion: At the end of the day, Resistance: Retribution will be remembered as one of the games that defined this generation of handheld games. Any fan of the Resistance series, or of this genre for that matter, would be remiss in not picking this one up. It is an absolute must have.

Review by blackaciddevil:

First, Dragonball Z Shin Budokai. Then, Tekken: Dark Resurrection. Now, Mortal Kombat:Unchained. With each new fighter released, I’m more and more convinced that the Playstation Portable can give a deep console presentation but on a portable and mobile device. Take Mortal Kombat: Unchained, for instance, -basically a port of Mortal Kombat Deception for the PSP that includes every last thing in the console game. Two fatalities per character with new death traps, stage fatalities-Completely redesigned single player Konquest mode-Features multi-tiered interactive backgrounds-With a mix of your favorite fighters as well as many new ones. It’s the definitive portable Mortal Kombat experience every fan has waited for. I must say, I’m impressed. The loading times for the game are a smidgen long but doesn’t mar things overall. Other than that, Mortal Kombat: Unchained is ‘off the chain’. Seriously, you’ll love it.

Review by jjjjjjj:

This game rocks. I played it on PS2 and I loved it and finally as soon as I heard it was going to be on handheld for the first time ever i thought to myself “this is great! Much better than those other MKs on GBA and on black and white game boy because the graphics just don’t cut it as well and PSP does.” The 3-D is awesome and I have to say I knew it was gonna be great and I was proven right buy purchasing it and playing it to be impressed by it! So all you Mortal Kombat fans out there that own a PSP; GET THIS GAME NOW!!!!! You won’t be sorry!!! And it’s even better than PS2 because it has extra characters like Shao Kahn, Blaze and Goro!!!

Review by Superstar Reviewer:

Sonic Rivals pits Sonic the Hedgehog against some of his buddies that appeared late in the series. Knuckles, Silver, Black etc. I think about the time Sonic started having buddies was when the franchise became less fun. You rocket around 3d tracks with no time to react to what you encounter which means if you play online, someone will have cold memorized the track and will kick you silly. If you play in story mode, its very little fun unless you have the reflexes of a chipmunk on crack.

Gone are the days of using your intellect and mastery of the controls to get through the map. Now, you hang on and I guess if its summertime and you are 10, you play over and over to learn the map thoroughly. The best thing about the original Sonic on Genesis was the imagination inventing puzzles and bosses. Now, the levels are stunningly pretty, and you go fast, and the bosses suck and the control is not trustworthy. I won’t play anything where I can’t control the character because the system is too busy doing something else, which begs the question : It’s 2d, why is it so hard to

make a game that plays as well as the Genesis (I guess the PSP is 100X faster)?

Pick it up if you want to play with friends. The story mode is useless.

Review by sirrahs:

I haven’t played this game very much but I can say that my wife LOVES it. She gets so excited that I cannot talk to her at all when she is playing. She yells at the opposing characters and sometimes has a few choice words but I won’t go into that. If you like a fast action game without too much strategy, then this game is for you.

Review by Daniel Kohlbeck:

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is an absolutely outstanding game that truly represents the pinnacle of platforming titles. Having been a fan of the genre since the original Sonic the Hedgehog on the Sega Genesis, I’ve seen more than my share of titles. The rankings break out for Ratchet and Clank as such (all scores are out of five):

Graphics: 5

For the PSP, the developers did an excellent job of pushing the PSP to its graphical limit. The use of character models, animations, and textures are simply phenomenal. This is just shy of looking just like its PS2 cousin.

Sound: 5

The biggest boon for this game is the use of actual voice acting combined with clearly distinct sounds for each of the weapons. Everything sounds like it just fits and all in all ties together to create a believable atmosphere.

Value: 5

One of the best parts of this game is that you can continue to play it well after you beat the final boss. Not only this, but you can do so keeping all the weapons you’ve already bought and have the opportunity to buy even better ones! It just adds that extra little bit that seems to be missing in many games today.

Story: 4

A tad weak and unfocused at times, all in all it’s still good. You really dive into the story of the Technomites and there’s quite a bit of humor along the way.

Overall: 5

This is a great game that all PSP owners should buy. I’ve dropped a good 15 hours into it myself (which is quite a bit for a platformer) and am still playing. The best part is that it really is a fun game that both kids and adults can enjoy.

Review by :

This game is definitely one of the best games on psp. Even though it is under the platformer genre, it has many styles of games implemented into the game itself. It’s worth the 40 bucks and if I had to buy it again I would. That’s how good this game is. I’ve played MANY psp games (I have the blockbuster pass) and this one ranks very high in my book. The developers did an excellent job and actually took time on this game. What are you waiting for? Buy it now for yourself and everyone you know.

Review by H Hobby:

I got this case for my husband’s psp. The psp fits great and the outer rubber shell of the case seems quite durable. However, if you look at the picture, you’ll see a carabiner looped through a little strap on the case. That strap is held in place by a large rivet that’s punched through the case and sits in the corner of the area the PSP should sit. This means that any time the PSP is in the case, that rivet is wearing on the PSP, potentially scratching, or otherwise ruining, the finish on the back of the system. If you buy this, be prepared to line the bottom with some heavy cloth or something to take the rivet out of the equation. That being said, this case is excellent for protecting and carrying a PSP. The designers just need to make an adjustment.

Review by Hadi Rahhal:

It can carry 2 UMD discs and the earphones with the remote wire including the PSP comfortably.

And the quality is excellent

Review by John M Spangler:

Retro games are good, but when they are done right, they can be great. This is easily the greatest arcade compilation I’ve ever played. Not only can you play these classic arcade games in the palm of your hand, but you can enjoy the best collection of them all in one. 20 games, including “redone” games of Pac-Man, Dig Dug, Galaga and RallyX.

The quality of each classic is amazing and they play nearly exactly to the old arcade cabinets from the retro 80′s, graphics, music, sound FX and all. The bestest of the best is clearly Galaga, Ms. Pac-Man, Pac-Man, RallyX and DigDug. But it doesn’t stop there. There are 4 new Arrangement games of those 4 classics, I like to view them as remixes. They are are redone, upheavels in levels, gameplay, sound and graphics. The arranged Galaga is very addicting and you’ll be hooked instantly. Dig Dug remade is basically the same game with better graphics and new enemies. RallyX, which was a decent game in the 80′s, is redone and very fun to boot. These “arranged” games could have been sold seperately and probably most would have been pleased with them.

The originals are as fun as you remember them and just as challenging. Getting to that “key” in Pac-Man is still no easy task. But for novice gamers, never threat, you can continue from where you left off on many of the old games. Some of the other titles included like Grobada, Motos, Bosconian, DragonBuster and Galaxian are very obscure, but amazingly, they still do offer some fun factor. The rest you may not spent much time with in the past and most you might not play much, but you’ll be happy with it overall.

Some might be a bit “squinty” eyed playing some of the old games like Pac-Man, the ratio of the originals were made for horizontal screens, so it’s very small on the widescreen PSP, but thankfully they offered a “stretch” option for most of the titles. It looks a bit weird all stretched out, but it’s better than playing on the little playing field.

Overall, this is clearly the best PSP game to buy, especially if you like classic arcade gaming, this is how it all began, no quarters needed…

Review by Arion Acurantes:

The Namco Museum Battle Collection is living proof that the past will always catch up with today’s advances, adding fuel to the argument that it’s all in the gameplay. Namco Museum showcases the founding concepts of most modern gaming, but, in essence, the sum of these games is all about the numbers. That, however, doesn’t change the fact that all of today’s games can trace their DNA to any one of these titles.

And gameplay is what you get with this collection. The PSP has been virtually retrofitted to give you a healthy dose of all your favorites from the early days of gaming, beginning of course with the immortal Pac-Man, the always imitated Galaga/Galaxian, and right on through to some little known but nonetheless engaging titles such as Rolling Thunder, Bosconian, and Xevious.

The four “arranged” versions (Pac-Man, Rally-X, Dig Dug, and Galaga) are sure to please a great many gamers with overhauled versions of their respective originals, but with a maximum six attainable levels in each of these games, sometimes the experience just seems a little short. The original versions, on the other hand, sometimes offer more challenge than their descendants, being impeded only by the fact that the only way to get the most of the PSP’s screen is to stretch the gameplay screen to fit and thus distort the original screen ratio.

If you’re the type of gamer who’s into the PSP mainly for its portability, Namco Museum could give you many hours of quick, satisfying casual gaming. Just pop it in and rack up those high scores.

However, if you have a PSP because you believe in its capability to equal its older brother and are on the lookout for seriously immersive, big-scale gaming, Namco Museum could do in a pinch, but it won’t rock your mind the way GTA:LCS, SOCOM, or any other hardware-maxing title is currently out there.

Namco Museum is seriously fun and worth a look. It may, on the whole, be old, but don’t dis this granddaddy just yet. There’s gold in them thar games.

Review by J. D. McGyver:

The all new slimmer PSP 3000 comes in with a couple of new upgrades over the 2000 model. Primarily for the Skype functionality, a microphone is onboard along with a reduced glare 4.3″ screen. Its a given that fingerprints will still be a continued issue for the PSP line. Thankfully, the age old problem of ghosting has yet to appear on my new PSP 3000.

One of the sweeter features now is an upgraded (AV) video output support. Owners can now operate their systems with regular (NON HD) TV. I suggest buyers pick up a good composite or component cable. With the usual collection of great games, improved graphics is a major plus.

As with all previous models, control buttons layout are very much like the classic Play Station. One area of concern is that load times for the UMD (Universal Media Disc) seemed to drag a bit. Its a given that purchasing the kit which includes the proprietary MS Duo Card is more cost effective in the end. Its obvious that Sony missed the boat when it went with its own proprietary format instead of the more widely used and less costly SD standard.

Even though Wi-fi capable, the unit is outfitted with possibly the slowest version (802.11b) on the planet. It powers up via a 5 volt ac adapter or USB. Video playback is great as long as you copy your favorites on the memory stick Duo Card. Going any other way is definitely a slow dragged out process. When it comes to television, Sony’s own version of Slingbox allows for free tv viewing.

This PSP won’t get confused with your IPOD anytime soon but music play is generally good. Another added feature is that it will even support music art. If one is going to display photos on the PSP I strongly suggest compressing your files. Photo display can be via slide show or singles.

Of note, the PSP is also a web browser. However, its hit and miss for flash. Streaming internet radio via Shoutcast is a freebie. PSP offers a regular schedule of firmware updates. As with the earlier editions, via a network or the internet the unit can pick up audio, video and photo files that are stored on a PS3. The PSP 3000 comes with the standard 1200 mAh rechargeable battery. Battery life runs almost a full 5 hours whether one is gaming or watching a movie.

Necessary accessories such as the Memory Stick Duo card, protective screen cover, headphones and a carrying case are not included. Not all PSP headphones are compatible with the PSP 3000. When purchasing headphones read the specs carefully.

Even without the included accessories, the PSP 3000 still brings it on. I would definitely recommend this model as a gift or as a personal purchase. After all, it is Play Station.

Review by A. Dent:

We’ve been a PS3 household ever since the 60GB version came about so, with two pre-teens in the house, we were ripe for a PSP adoption. We actually bought the Ratchet & Clank Pack for a few dollars more because one of my kids was a fan of the game.

The Core Pack includes the following:

- The PSP 3000 itself in shiny black (a fingerprint magnet)

- Manual, promos, registration card, etc.

Given the PSP’s built-in Wi-Fi and its PS3 integration you can do quite a few things out of the box if you have Wi-Fi or a PS3 but, for a better gaming experience you are going to need a memory stick and, of course, some games. Our bundle came with a 1GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card but we are planning to store a few movies when taking it on the road so we ordered an 8GB. Movies take about 0.5GB. We can still use the 1GB that came with the bundle in a camera.

First impressions:

I was surprised of how good and versatile and elegant this little console can be. It has most of the PS3 buttons, including one analog joystick, the display is large and bright, the resolution is good (480×272), and it responds quickly to controls. It appears to be solidly built. Unlike prior models, this one comes with a built-in microphone while the sound output can be either through the internal speakers headphones (not included). After charging the battery, my kid was up and running and happy in no time. But, let me proceed with a more structured discussion.

Stand alone operation (disconnected):

The PSP 3000 will play games or movies delivered on UMD discs or off a Memory Stick card. In addition, it will display photos and play music stored on the Memory card.

Networking and Internet connectivity:

The built-in Wi-Fi allows the PSP 3000 to access the Playstation Netowork and Playstation Store directly. Off the box, there is an Internet browser, a Search (the Internet) function, several Internet Radio applications and the ability to use the PSP as a Skype phone for as long as one has a Skype account and the PSP happens to be within the range of a Wi-Fi hotspot.

PS3 Integration:

After the PSP is paired with the PS3, the PS3 can ‘push’ video, photos, music and even PSP games downloaded from the Playstation Store when connected through a USB wire. When wireless, the PSP can basically take over the PS3 – actually display the PS3′s own screen and display photos stored on the PS3, play music stored on the PS3. Movie play is not supported.

Interestingly, when playing music, it’s possible to play it on the PSP’s on speakers/headphones or have the PS3 play it itself, the PSP therefore acting as a remote control device.

I suspect that additional capabilities exist that I am not aware of yet.

PC integration:

Through a USB connection, the PC will see the PSP’s memory card as an attached drive. This will allow for music, photo or movie files to be transferred directly to the PSP.

Room for improvement:

The PSP 3000 comes very close to being the perfect portable game-playing (and more) machine, at least in the Sony universe. Perfection would be achieved if the ‘keyboard’ interface were improved – it’s awful now – if it had touch screen capabilities and if file transfers from the PS3 were possible wirelessly. Also on the wish list, I hope that there were more legal ‘digital copy’ movies available for the PSP.

Rating:

It’s a 4.5 stars plus, rounded up to 5.