Kratos is stunned: there isn’t a flock of identical zombies…

After the short and sweet opening cinema detailing the you-whomp-‘em-Persian-guards objective, you’ll become immediately aware that the tried and true hack-‘n-slash formula is in full, familiar force in Ready At Dawn’s God of War: Chains of Olympus. Fortunately, that means loads of enemies on screen to catch the business end of Kratos’ blades in the neck, eyeballs or frequently bisected torso. In true God of War fashion, Chains of Olympus flows at a smooth pace as players progress through mythological Greece as a tormented and violently angered, hopping from one legendary location to another.

Unfortunately, the amount of backtracking required to progress to a new setting limits the amount of scenic routes to about a half dozen. Puzzle solving on COO, while equally satisfying and tedious, requires hiking it through entire temples or caves, which are shockingly huge and completely devoid of load times. Navigating Kratos from one end of a city to another, through buildings, over bridges and vertically towards rooftops, is seamless and without framerate drops.

The scope of this game is as impressive as its art style and visual design. Epic views of a crumbling town, complete with a look-out of your future path, compliment the great character models and beautiful textures. Facial and combat animations are spot on, and the dialogue – while irritatingly pretentious – is well delivered throughout the entirety of Kratos’ six hour, vengeful adventure, which will requre you to do nothing but rapidly beat the hell out of your square button to succeed.

Oh, there they are.

The length of the game might seem too short, but the repetition of the square-square-square combat and overpowered magic attacks will have you thankful that it’s over when it is. The story is almost non-existent – perfect for those who just want to get their killin’ on – focusing exclusively on Kratos trying to, you guessed it, rid himself of his torturing memories in this prequel to the console predecessors.

Because this has no reference to the original games, anyone who’s been avoiding the franchise until now will be completely at a loss as to what’s going on, and the limited insight COO offers to fans is practically worthless, with a mere taste of satisfaction in the final moments of the game.

Until that point, you’ll be mashing away on the square and triangle button – with little deviation from square – to deal with the identical mass of undead baddies. It makes for boring action when you’re smacking the same action button repeatedly until everyone falls down, and when you consider the complete absence of enemy AI outside the monstrous enemies, it’s even less of a satisfying experience.

The complexity offered is in the magic, adding a press of the R button in sync with an attack as Kratos brings on the fury of flames in punching and throwing form, and holding L while attacking to make the angry fella spin in circles, making him an almost invincible death dealer in an already too-easy game.

Adding a Gauntlet as a secondary weapon is, for the most part, useless. Intuitively tied to the Down d-pad key, Zeus’ Gauntlet costs you limited attack range in exchange for an unnoticeable increase in attack damage and loss of speed. You’re best off if you stick to the Blades of Chaos, since the aforementioned square tapping will get the job done in no time.

If you want the job done even quicker, combat can be completely eliminated by the Circle/ grab move. The insta-kill shaves off seconds of time and mounds off effort. Without having to weaken soldiers down, you’ll avoid the need to execute enemies, which consists of tapping buttons at the correct time that rarely correlate to anything that’s happening on screen, save for the inaccurate analog-nub rotation for decapitation. It’s annoying to have beaten the snot out of a mini-boss, such as a Cyclops – of which there are too many, eliminating bigger bosses and, in turn, crazy-awesome memorable moments – or bigger-than-usual minotaur.

The Mini-Taurs [sic]. A quick press of Circle drives it home instantly.

Sound familiar? That’s because new enemies are nearly non-existent. I don’t know if they skipped town at the beginning when Attica is being burned by a gigantic Basilisk in the opening scene (one of the best fights in the series) but if you’re looking for anything resembling even a pallet swap, you’ll be disappointed to see the same sword wielding, helmet donned zombies eating your sword over and over.

Still, despite the lack of “holy crap, that was awesome” moments, God of War: Chains of Olympus is still fun. The combat never struck me as entertaining, but fans of the franchise will appreciate the similarity to the console versions, including the same controls and attacks, as well as an intuitive R+L+Move replacement for the right-analog-roll. This feels like a God of War game from front to back, inside and out. Epic battles may be scarce, but if you’re in to cutting up legions of faceless baddies in a batch of new, beautiful scenes, Chains of Olympus is absolutely worth your time. This probably won’t convert the haters – though it did kind of impress this one – it’s definitely one of the most impressive titles on PSP, with a ton of replay value if you feel the need to wreck more cow-men and single-eyed monsters. The ending pulls everything together in a pretty emotional set of decisions made by the loathing Kratos, but everything leading up to it is just more of the same.

But hey, if you’re in to that, this is the stuff from the heavens. If not, just hold Earth on your shoulders for all eternity – it’ll be more exciting.

[Rating: 7.5/10.0] 7.5/10

7.5/10

If you weren’t around for the launch of the PSP, or didn’t pay much attention to what it was I’ll give you a basic overview. Lumines is a puzzle game with a simple play mechanic. Basically you drop blocks to try and make coloured matches. Each block you drop is divided into 4 smaller blocks that can be one of two colours depending on the level or skin that you are on. When four of more of these sub blocks form a square or rectangle, they get tagged for removal. The whole game is set to the tune of a particular music track and there is a sweep bar that runs left to right removing any of the blocks that have been tagged. Basically that’s all there is to Lumines; it’s simple, but incredibly addictive.

Well enough on what Lumines is, lets talk about what Q entertainment has added to the original. Not wanting to just put out more of the same, Q Ent. has really upped the ante for this title. You can play through the modes present in the original, those being challenge mode, puzzle mode, time attack mode and Vs. mode, and most of these modes have all received significant upgrades. There are some new modes making an appearance in this title but the only major one is the Mission mode, but everything down to the interface has received some sort of polish differentiating it from the original title.

Challenge mode, again, is the main play mode in Lumines II. You goal is to clear as many blocks as possible to generate as high a score as possible, with the stages getting faster and faster as you progress. The core game mechanic remains the same, but Q Ent. has added a difficulty selection to the mix. Also new this time is the addition of video skins. A “skin” refers to the background graphics and music track in each level, it’s a weird name but skins are more important in this version so you should know the term. Lumines II boasts over 80 skins that can be unlocked and played in the single player modes, many of them being full on music video skins. Artists such as Beck, the Black Eyed Peas and Missy Elliot have all given the go ahead to have their music featured in this game. These skins are not all available at the start of the game, so you’ll have to get very good if you want to see them all. This slow ramp up in skill is one of the reasons why this game is so addictive in the first place.

The puzzle mode and VS CPU modes have seen an upgrade as well, but nothing as significant as the challenge mode. Puzzle mode now contains more puzzles, so you can form crosses, giraffes and UFOs to your heart’s content. The VS. CPU mode returns, but it’s a poor substitute for real multiplayer. It seems that the CPU opponents you play against are either way too slow or godly fast. It’s nice to have these modes, but I could take them or leave them really.

The major new mode that was added in Lumines II is the Mission Mode. This is similar to the puzzle mode in the way that you have to complete a specific challenge to beat the level, but it is different enough to be enjoyable. Most of the missions have you dropping one or more blocks in an attempt to clear the board. I actually really enjoyed this mode, and it also has the side benefit of giving you some advanced techniques for your block dropping. Other new modes involve a skin edit mode that allows you to rearrange the order that the skins come in, and an interesting remix mode where you can remix the included sound tracks. The new features provide a few extra things to do, without changing any of the core features from the first game.

One aspect that I was hoping would of seen significant improvement was multiplayer. I was hoping and praying that this title would include online multiplayer, but alas only ad-hoc multiplayer made this version. I mean local multiplayer is fun, but online would add a whole other level to the online experience. Oh well, maybe Lumines III?

All in all I enjoyed my time playing Lumines II. While I wish there were online multiplayer, or that the original game was spiced up a little bit; the sheer number of skins combined with the great soundtrack and enhanced visuals left me feeling very satisfied. I can’t see this title straying too far from my PSP in the near future.

If you enjoyed the original, or were in anyway curious as to what the fuss was about, you need to pick this up right away. Puzzle gaming is perfect for handhelds, and Lumines II is that perfect puzzle title.

IGN: 71
While rough around the edges, Tomb Raider Legend still manages to offer a unique, worthwhile experience on PSP.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine: 70
So, basically, TRL is a good game that kind of lost its way when it came over to the PSP. [July 2006, p.80]

GameSpot: 62
If you can get past the poor controls and irritating camera, Tomb Raider: Legend on the PSP offers the same fairly enjoyable experience as its PC and console counterparts.

PSM Magazine: 50
Lara Croft’s PSP adventure is surprisingly close to the PS2 version in many respects. Unfortunately, where it differs, the experience really suffers. [July 2006, p.86]

Overall: 69

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine: 100
Turn-based strategy doesn’t get any better than this. [May 2006, p.97]

IGN: 84
It offers enough depth and flexibility to warrant a look from any serious gamer. It blends an engrossing single-player campaign with great production values and a robust set of multiplayer options.

Play Magazine: 90
If it’s combat you crave, Field Commander won’t disappoint. [may 2006, p.59]

Electronic Gaming Monthly: 78
Field Commander isn’t bad. It just lacks “Advance Wars’” energy and verve, leaving you with a game in traditional military drag with solid but uncompelling gameplay.[June 2006, p.118]

It’s not often that you get a game centered solely on a popular sidekick. I mean you never see anything starring just Robin or Mini Me out there. When the geniuses at Ready at Dawn studios saw the small and sleek PSP, they saw it as the perfect platform for a game starring the wisecracking Ottsel from the Jak series, Daxter.

The story for Daxter takes place between the first and second Jak games for the PS2. Jak was just caught and incarcerated by the crimson guard, and Daxter tries to get him out. In the game fiction you knew that this rescue took 2 years to happen, but the whys were never explained. This game is the why.

In Daxter you take on an extermination job, as Haven City is overrun with both Metalheads and the regular garden variety bugs. You start out the game with only an electro fly swatter, but quickly earn the spray tank that also doubles as a jet pack. Over the course of the game you’ll receive some tank upgrades to unlock other capabilities, but its usage is the same; use the spray to kill bugs or jet yourself over small gaps.

While the Jak games took on more of an action flair, Daxter is more of a straight platformer. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of battles to keep you busy, but your deaths will come mostly from a mis-timed jump, or a bad hover. Not that this is a bad thing, as your lives are infinite. There is a great checkpoint system as well to make sure that your deaths do not have you replaying too much of the level. You can really tell that this game was designed to be on a handheld system, not just squeezed down as an afterthought.

One thing that really stuck out for me was how polished the animation was, and how fluid the camera system is. I think that this is the first game on the PSP with a near perfect camera. Thinking back, I can’t recall one time where the camera got in the way of my exploration. The camera can be rotated with the L and R triggers for those times when you want to look around corners, or simply hit up on the DPad to zoom into first person mode and have a look around with the analog stick. I really think this camera system worked due to the game’s focus on platforming.

I mentioned the jetpack mode of the gas canister earlier, but I should talk a little more about it due to its use in nearly every level. The gas in the canister can be used to stun bugs while you are on your feet, but hit the button while you are jumping and you’ll hover there for a few seconds. You have a limited gas supply so you either have to use this weapon sparingly, or pick up some gas recharge orbs to get more fuel. You can use this makeshift jetpack to cross small gaps, or longer gaps if you manage to pick up some gas while hovering. Most of the bigger puzzles in the game utilize this play mechanic, so it’s a good thing that it controls so well.

Running, jumping and jetting aren’t the only ways to get around the levels though. Being an Ottsel, an imaginary combination between an otter and a weasel, also means that you can slither around like a lizard; apparently. This mode can be used to sneak by certain traps, but mostly means that you can climb up certain walls. The animation while you are crawling around is amazing; it’s also quite creepy how real Daxter’s crawl looks!

Graphically this game is outstanding. This looks like something you would see on your PS2, not a handheld system. While you are running from level to level, you can actually explore almost the entirety of Haven City from the PS2 games. I’ll say now that this world is huge, and one can only notice a slight touch of slowdown while running around. One other thing to note is that just like the Jak games on the PS2, there are no loading times while playing in any of the huge levels. In fact the only loading times are just before major cut scenes and when you enter a building. These levels are streamed in real time, and if there is one I didn’t notice a battery hit. I was getting nearly 4 hours on a charge, which I found amazing.

Daxter wouldn’t be Daxter if he couldn’t wisecrack, he is a wisecracking sidekick after all. You can rest assured that the great voiceover talent from the Jak games also voices their respective characters in this game. This adds a lot to the authenticity and kicks in a bit of comic relief when it’s most needed. The soundtrack for this particular title is more atmospheric then epic, but when there is a battle going on the tunes pick up and add a sense of urgency to the whole thing. I’ve said it a few times before, but a good soundtrack is one that doesn’t pop out at you; they should accentuate not overshadow, and Daxter’s soundtrack is a good example.

Another mainstay of the Jak games makes its way to Daxter as well, that is secrets. Strewn throughout the levels are precursor orbs. These orbs not only help you to attain 100% completion in the game, but the collection of them will unlock secret dream sequences at certain milestones. Each of these sequences takes place with Daxter in a starring role from a popular movie, such as Daxter as Neo in the Matrix, but gameplay consists of hitting the proper button at the right time. You could think of the gameplay as a live action DDR or Beatmania. Not that I’m complaining though, as these sequences provide a nice and well needed break from the rest of the game. Plus they look cool, which makes them good in my books.

Beating these levels for the first time also unlocks some secrets such as extra health or new moves, but getting gold will unlock something bigger. Some even unlock website codes that you can enter on the official website to gain access to exclusive content. I won’t spoil any of these secrets though, as they are best left to discover for yourselves.

All of you multiplayer hounds will be happy to hear that there is a multiplayer mode in this game; although it is Ad-Hoc only and consists only of a battle bugs game. During each level in the game you can find a hidden battle bug, a potion and a stat increasing powerup. This battle game plays out like a game of paper rock scissors, but it was a neat little diversion. Personally I don’t see myself playing this mode too much, but finding the hidden items to use in this game is at least always a fun time.

So if my description thus far hasn’t clued you in, I loved this game. This is just that fresh new original game that the PSP needed. Looks like the detractors and critics will have to find some new fuel, as the “There are no games” joke will just not be true any longer.

This game receives a coveted PGR Must Buy award. You should do yourself a favour and pick this title up.

I managed to get my hands on a pair of the high-end Shure E3g headphones for testing, and have to say that I’ve been loving them. Retailing for $179US the E3gs are the midrange earphones in Shure’s gaming line. Like most of you, when I first saw the price I didn’t understand why someone would pay $200, or basically the price of their PSP, for a set of headphones. After using them for a couple of weeks now I realize how wrong I’ve been.

The E3g earphones use Shure’s leading edge in-ear sound isolation technology. Basically this technology entails the usage of rubber or foam tips to seal off the ear canal from outside noises, creating an earplug-like seal. Unlike noise canceling headphones, this does not require the introduction of other negative frequency sounds to cancel out outside noise. Instead this technology allows full fidelity audio, while still blocking most of the outside noise from reaching your ears. Having been wooed by the Bose booths in the airports I was a little bit skeptical on how well these would work, but I have to tell you that I was more than impressed.

In testing these earphones I put them through a number of trials that would best duplicate all of the places I listen to music and game. The most impressive being my playing in the living room while the TV was on. I was able to game with virtually no bleed through of the TV noise. I actually continued to play for an hour of so forgetting that the TV was even on until I turned off the PSP and heard it. All in all these earphones were able to block out the ambient noise at home, in the car and on the bus; quite impressive.

I also tested an assortment of audio types ranging from podcasts to music to gaming. The sound quality that came out of these little earphones was nothing short of amazing. I’d become accustomed to the sound that my old headphones put out, and had forgotten just how good portable audio could sound. The frequency response was great all the way from thumping bass up to the high end; these earphones literally did not miss a beat. One nice side effect of using these earphones was that they didn’t require me to turn up the volume quite as loud as I was used to. This helped to remove some of the sound distortion that occurs at high volumes, but still allowed me to enjoy my music while riding home on the bus; a noisy bus I might add.

The only thing that puzzled me with these earphones was my initial fitting. Shure ships the E3gs with a pair of foam sleeves and sets of both the Flex and Soft Flex Sleeves in small, medium and large. It took me a little bit to find a perfect fit, but only after visiting Shure’s website did I notice that these earphones are meant to have the cord run over your ear. When I was using them and letting the cord run down I would constantly shift the cord, breaking the seal in my ear. Once I found out about the proper usage, I quickly found the proper sized sleeves for my ears.

I also loved the fact that the E3g’s come with both the soft and regular flex sleeves, as I have switched back and forth a few times now. The varying sizes also allowed me to let my wife try them out. Her ears are a fair bit smaller then mine, so the flexibility to change out the earpieces when needed was nice.

If you are looking for a great set of headphones for your gaming or music needs, I would heartily recommend the Shure E3gs. If price is a big issue for you, the E2gs retail for $99. I haven’t personally tested them, but I hear that they are a great set of earphones as well. Personally I’m going to be investing in a pair of these myself, I enjoyed them that much.

Exit is one of those gems.

In Exit you play the part of Mr. ESC, an escapologist. It’s your job to rescue people from various predicaments. Think Spy vs. Spy meets Lemmings and you’ll have a good idea on how this game plays out. In this game your are presented with a series of levels which have you running around rescuing people from various predicaments. There are different types of helpless trapped victims in this game, each one with their own set of strengths and weaknesses. For example the child is small enough to squeeze through small tunnels, but is unable to get himself up high ledges. You’ll have to take each victim’s abilities into account when you are planning how to solve the levels.

And yes I just said solve, Exit is an action strategy game. You’ll have to plan out your solution to the levels, sometimes replaying them a few times to figure out the proper solution. While this can be frustrating at times, I found the actual gameplay quite addictive.

The victims in the levels aren’t just robots either. If you use the analog stick a little mouse cursor pops up allowing you to give general commands to the ones you are saving. These are very basic commands mind you such as telling them to pick up a key, or unlock a door. But having some form of control is a great thing. I did run into a few instances where my commands would be ignored, or the victims following me would get lost. A quick tap on the Left trigger stopped them in their tracks and allowed me to regain control. So it wasn’t all bad.

Exit contains 100 levels total, which are divided into 10 chapters. You have access to the first 7 chapters when you start the game, so if a level stumps you, you can leave it for later. I think it was a very smart move to divide the game up into 100 little levels. It makes it that much easier to just pick up the game for a quick run through a level or two and also just as easy to put it back down again when you get a little too frustrated to continue. They definitely kept the portability of the game in mind in this way.

Ubisoft took an interesting design direction for the art and graphics. The star of this game, Mr. ESC, is nothing more then a few polygons making him look like a shadow. The level graphics look almost paper or comic-like, almost as if you were looking at something that came out of the Viewtiful Joe games. I’ll have to admit that it was this design direction that first interested me in this game, even before I saw or heard about the gameplay. When you first get into the game and start moving around it seriously looks like you are inside a comic book. This is a very cool design direction, and way different then the normal drive for photo-realism.

The soundtrack is decent in the game, but nothing about it stands out. Ubi threw in a few sampled phrases that your character says, and some for the victims as well, but they didn’t over do it.

The one complaint that I would have with this game is the control. It’s quite muddy in places, almost to the point that you think you are playing a turn based game. The delay between hitting say the jump button, and your character actually jumping is quite jarring. When you are using various environmental items like ladders or ropes you lose all control of your character. To use a ladder for example you stand in front of it, and press the action button. The computer then takes over the control and plays out the animation of you walking up to the ladder and climbing it. You are not able to stop in mid climb, change directions or anything. Basically if you make a mistake and climb the wrong ladder or whatever you have to wait out your character climbing, then turn around and climb back down.

This is a huge step back in gameplay. This is something that you would never see in and of today’s games. Hell, even older games like the Lost Vikings or the original Prince of Persia series had more interactive control. Personally I can’t see why this was included, except to make completing levels with all the possible points extremely difficult.

While Exit doesn’t feature any multiplayer modes, there is a very cool online download system. At the time of writing you could go online through the wifi network and download 5 more level packs. Each of these packs contains 10 levels and adds a huge amount of additional gameplay to this title. No word has been given on the total number of download packs available, but I can easily see 10 if not 15 or 20 packs coming out after all is said and done.

I guess other developers have finally taken a cue from the success of Wipeout Pure and added downloadable content. This really goes a long way to promote the long term success of a title, and helps it to not just fade away by the next release Tuesday.

I really had quite a bit of fun playing Exit, admittedly more then I thought I would have had. While the learning curve was quite steep, the levels were paced in such a way that you were quickly trained for the numerous sorts of obstacles that lay ahead.

If you were a gamer growing up in the 80s and 90s like I was, you would definitely recognize the name Mega Man. The little Blue Bomber has been in countless different games starting out with the original series in 1987, on to the X series, redone in 3D on the Playstation and even played out on the portables with the Battle Network series of games. Personally the newer releases, especially the 3D ones had left a sour taste in my mouth. To me Mega Man will always be a 2D sidescroller, anything else is just blasphemous. It was with great anticipation that I waited for Maverick Hunter.

If you listened to Cara’s preview in the PSP Podcast #35, you’ll know that this game retains its roots. This game is actually a remake of the 1997 Super Nintendo classic, Mega Man X. It ups the ante, and adds in a little bit of graphic flair by keeping this a sidescroller, but this time with a redone 3D engine.

I’ll have to be honest and say that I was a little bit skeptical of how a 3D sidescroller engine could stay true to its 2D roots. After slapping in this UMD, and upgrading to firmware 2.5 so I could start the game, all doubts quickly evaporated. This game plays like the Mega Man games of old, and that is really the biggest compliment I could give it. I’ve played some other games that have tried to do a 2D engine inside a 3D one and the control was always a little muddy or just off. Capcom hit a homerun with this conversion though; all the character movements feel spot on and tight. There are times in this game where you have to quickly dodge a bullet, or make a series of timed jumps, and it all just works and feels natural while doing it. I quickly found myself forgetting that I was playing a 3D game, which I previously would have thought was impossible. Kudos to Capcom, they’ve succeeded in a proper port where others have failed.

The Maverick Hunter game starts out with a great looking anime intro detailing the first bit of story line, and then presents you with the main menu where you can start your battle. Like all of the early Mega Man games your mission is to destroy all the level bosses, taking their weapons when you do. Once they are all defeated you can then go after the big bad guy to save the world and beat the game. If you are familiar with the series you’ll know that the order you beat the initial bosses in will affect the difficulty, due to each level boss having a weakness to one of the other boss’ weapons. To keep things interesting however, Capcom has remixed the locations of some of the other powerups like the Energy Tanks and Armor upgrades. The levels themselves remain largely the same as the SNES version.

Ok I’ve talked enough about the 2D engine conversion, let’s talk about how the game looks on the PSP. The effects of the 3D engine are subtle. The backgrounds all are highly detailed without becoming distracting. Things like explosions and some of the weapon effects are well done in 3D without looking gaudy. Cut scenes on the other hand are all done in a pleasing anime style with full voiceovers. You can really tell the attention to detail Capcom had with this conversion.

One major departure this version takes from the original is in the soundtrack; nearly all the tunes have been redone and remixed, adding in a new school flavor to the already classic tunes. For the most part I am quite impressed with these soundtrack changes. They retain the original feel, but add in a little bit of fun. I do have a place in my heart for old midi and chiptunes though, so I would have loved it if the original midi tunes were included as an option setting. That is a small complaint though, and did not affect my final score of this game.

If there is one place where Maverick Hunter is lacking, it would have to be the lack of Multiplayer support. But truthfully I can’t really consider this too highly in my final score seeing as the SNES original was single player only. I would have loved it if Capcom threw in a multiplayer co-op mode, or even a fighting game based on the Mega Man arcade game, but made using elements of this release would have been nice. Again, the original didn’t have it, so I shouldn’t complain. Instead Capcom threw in a couple cool bonuses for beating the game.

Firstly, once the game has been beaten you can replay the game as the Maverick Vile. The cool thing is that this game is totally different. Vile has different abilities including shoulder and leg canons, and you’ll have to use different strategies when making your way through the levels and while fighting the boss battles. It’s always cool to see the developers provide a mashed-up version of their game as a completion bonus.

Also unlocked when the game is beat the first time is a short Mega Man X Anime Movie. This movie delves into some more of the story line presented in the game, and is a nice little addition as a freebee.

Finally, this game also includes a playable demo of Mega Man Powered Up, the remake of the first Mega Man game being released later this month. You can play through one level of the original in remix or original mode, and wirelessly share the demo with your friends using the Game Share features. Powered up is a little cartoony for my tastes, but the demo gave me a nice little break from the intense action in Maverick Hunter.

All in all Mega Man Maverick Hunter X is a great game. If you are a fan of the original or just the series as a whole you should definitely pick this one up. Even if you are new to the series, you will still probably enjoy this outing. There is a reason why the Mega Man games have been around so long; Capcom has found the perfect balance of strategy, action and exploration that keeps the gamers coming back for more.

Now who said that 2D games were dead?

If you’ve played the PS2 version of this franchise then you’ll be facing the same game. Something about two teams of little men kicking balls in my pants scared me, but I was wrong. World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 was a surprise on the PSP that I never seen coming.

First and foremost, the game is almost untouched from the PS2 version. That is the most commendable aspect of this title. Konami put the renowned gameplay of this franchise on the PSP, without any hacking and slashing that other developers do. If you loved the other ventures on the consoles then you’ll never be left wanting more with the PSP version. Nothing was more exciting than getting that goal time and time again. Right now this title has dominated the soccer aspect of the PSP. One thing that almost every single game has ended up with is a problem with the controls, whether it is quirky response or just poor planning on the button layout. World Soccer has none of the above. It was extremely easy to pick this up and begin the goals raining down on the opposing team. One sad thing is that the “Master League” career mode is absent, but don’t worry, there’s more. You have Match, League, and Edit modes to keep you happy. Don’t know jack about the way World Soccer plays? Have no fear, the training available is well done and is actually helpful.

Graphically, World Soccer is astounding. This title is a testament to how powerful the PSP is. The realism is unprecedented. The movement is fluid and truly magnificent. There’s really nothing I can say that sums up the beauty that is World Soccer considering all that’s going on. On the other hand, there is one thing that results from the beautiful graphics, longer than usual load times.

The sound is the only disappointing part of this game. The music is dull and repetitive. Not something that should really bother you, but when you sit back and listen to it it’s like buying a brand new flat-panel HDTV and finding that there’s one dead pixel right in the middle of the screen. Yet, on the other hand, will you really be listening to the music when you’re going down the field?

Multiplayer is where I figured I would spend most of my time. I was sort of right. Although there is no infrastructure, the ad-hoc that is available is something. The ad-hoc only lets you play against one other person. Two… that’s all we’re going to get, but maybe someone, somewhere will be dawned upon by the light of intelligence and let us go further in numbers…maybe not today.

I have to say that I’m not really a soccer fan. I grew up playing football, but this game makes me want to go out around town and kick soccer balls at random people. Yeah, it’s that good! If you have a PSP and you love or even slightly like soccer, then this game is a must have. Other games come close, but World Soccer Winning Eleven 9 takes the win.

With the Release of the arcade game Street Fighter 2 in 1991, Capcom single-handedly changed the way we play games. The popularity of arcade gaming was on a decline, and the gaming public needed a shot in the arm to maintain interest. Street Fighter was just that shot we needed. While it wasn’t the first fighting title, Capcom introduced hidden special moves and ushered in the age of furious 2 player matches across the world.

Appearing in arcades in 1998 Street Fighter Alpha 3 was the last true street fighter game to be released. This title combined most, if not all of the characters from all the Street Fighter 2 incarnations, and even included some of the favorites from Street Fighter 1. Also new to the series was the introduction of the ISM. When selecting your character you could choose 1 of 3 ISMs, those being X, V or A-ISM. Essentially the ISM choices control how your super gauge fills and how your super moves go off. This would be one of the more confusing aspects of this game, so it pays to read the manual.

Anyways, that’s enough on the history of Street Fighter, what you’re all wondering is does this game play well on the PSP? The answer to that is a simple yes, but there is more to it. The game looks gorgeous, it’s games like this where you really can appreciate the quality of the PSP’s LCD screen. The game sounds good too. It’s the control that brings this game down from a must own. I’ve said this in previous reviews, and it’s been beaten to death on all the websites. The PSP’s DPad is horrible for games like this, hitting the diagonals is iffy at the best of times. This will mean that your fireballs and uppercuts may fail at the worst possible time, or that you’ll end up jumping straight up when you really wanted to jump back.

It’s an example on how great the game is though that you’ll keep on playing despite the controls. They are flawed yes, but not because the game was designed wrong. Capcom had to make due with a slightly flawed portable system, and they a commendable job.

Street Fighter Alpha 3 contains a surprising number of gameplay modes. In fact when you get to the main menu and notice that there are 12 options to choose from you may feel a little overwhelmed. Examples of the modes are: Arcade mode, where you take your chosen fighter through 10 fights, earning his or her ending sequence. World Tour mode, where you take your chosen fighter on a series of fights earning upgrades in the process. This mode plays out like a mini RPG, and it was a great addition. The fact that your fighter gains abilities and strength while playing through this mode is enough of a carrot to keep you going back for “Just 1 more match”. I’ve seen modes like this done before in other fighting games, like Soul Caliber and Mortal Kombat for instance. But Capcom just did it right in this game. Kudos to them.

My other favorite modes were the Dramatic and Variable battle modes. Dramatic battle has you and a computer controlled character taking on a foe, while variable battle is essentially the reverse of that. I would have loved a true and developed tag system like the Capcom versus series of games had, but I can’t fault them for leaving one out. I’m personally hoping for a Marvel vs. Capcom game to come out in the future to fill that craving.

When you are tired playing through the various play modes, you can do what I did and try unlocking the endings for all the 40 or so characters in the game. While a true story may be a little bit much to ask for in a fighting game, the endings have always been fun to watch in the Street Fighter series. Basically what I’m saying is that you’ll be playing this title for a while before running out of things to do.

If multiplayer battles are your thing, Capcom has also thrown in a slew of multiplayer modes. Sadly these are available only through Ad-Hoc play. You can battle in versus mode, team battle, dramatic battle and variable battle, but I still would have loved some form of online multiplayer. You’ve heard me whine about the lack of Infrastructure enough here though, so I’ll save it for another time.

All in all Street Fighter Alpha 3 is an amazing port of a great fighting game for your PSP. While the controls take some getting used to, there is enough meat here to keep the gamers coming back for more. If you are new to the Street Fighter series you may want to rent first, but if you are a fan this is a must buy. You may want to look for one of those limited edition DPad covers on Ebay as well, I hear that that work wonders to fix the DPad control issues.

PQ isn’t far from the normal IQ quiz in the aspect that it is essentially a hundred question test; although these questions are far from normal. You control a white male silhouette and are required to move your character through 3D “cyber” stages. In order to advance through the stages you have to move boxes, press buttons, block lasers, and the such. In essence the game measures your practical intelligence quotient by noting how long it takes to complete stages and the amount of moves it requires you to advance. Moves can be anything from pressing a button to moving a box. Be aware that you are only given a certain amount of moves to complete each stage.

The gameplay in its self is quite unheard of, but this isn’t to say that puzzle games are new. There’s not much to it either, just get to the end within the allotted amount of time and do so without using too many moves. Granted, the first couple of stages are extremely easy, but like any test, the stages will get harder the further you get. Feel like you messed up badly and want to give it another try from the beginning? Then you can, you are given the option of restarting the stage that’s giving you problems. It returns you to the start and puts everything back where it was when you started, but your time and moves will remain the same, in order to accurately assess your progress.

This kind of game really wouldn’t be known for its music and that’s exactly how it comes off. The techno music in the background is nothing special and you can barely remember a note of it.

There’s no real replayability in this game either, even with the ability to submit your PQ score on a worldwide scoreboard. Unless you’re the type of person that would go back and do the whole thing again to see if you get a better score.

Personally I would rent this title before going ahead and buying it. The simple lack of replayability is what worries me. It’s still good the first time around, but probably does not warrant a purchase.

I remember back when some of the games on MAT:EP were first released. I say “some” because there are a few games like Joust, Defender, and Spy Hunter that came out a while ago. Making its comeback is the one trilogy that almost everyone knows, Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat I, II, and III for your violence inducing pleasure. Games like this have never left our memories… but maybe they should have.

MAT:EP has taken our favorite games and placed them in one pack. Yet I’m left with the feeling that they don’t want to be there. Many of the supplied games feel different, altered. It’s not the same gameplay that I was once so enthralled to compete in. For example, Mortal Kombat II and III have the feeling that the framerate was altered. Other games that were meant to be played vertically are now shoe-horned in on the horizontal PSP screen, giving you a very small view. Maybe they should have thought that over before picking some of the games. There are also noticeable load times in MK II and III, so much so that I found them a pain to play. Loadtimes combined with the noticeably shorter finishing time for the fatalities left the MK trilogy nearly unplayable. That is really a sad thing to see because MK was one of my favorite arcade franchise growing up.

These games were made a little while ago, so don’t expect spectacular sound. They are, for the most part, intact. Some game’s sounds come in at the wrong time or at the wrong pitch. It’s only really apparent if you really pay attention. Ol’ school sound on a new school hand held! As for the graphics… don’t say a word, these are old games, but it’s the gameplay that got us so addicted when they came out.

Replayablility comes to mind when I think of how many quarters I used at the arcade. There’s only so far that a game can go until its boring, even more so when we’re talking about these old classics. What Midway has done is incorporate two player using ad-hoc. The multiplayer is basically the only replayability this title offers, besides going back and trying to beat your high score.

Overall this title promised a pleasurable trip down memory lane on the go. What it actually did was kill them in subtle and quiet way that rivals the efficiency of team “Ghost.” The only advice I can give you is to rent it before you buy it otherwise don’t even look at it.

Whether or not you have seen the extremely popular movie, the gaming experience should still be about the same. In its roots, it’s a FPS. The first introduction of odd things is that there is no HUD whatsoever. The only clue the game actually gives you of your amount of ammo is your character saying things like “I have enough” and “Three magazines on backup”. Health goes the same exact way. This is used to add to the immersive-ness of the game, but a hardcore FPS player like me is bugged by it. It’s kind of hard to shoot without the all too familiar reticule, but when you think about it… if you can’t spear a dinosaur the size of the side of a house then maybe you shouldn’t be playing this game, or any game for that matter. On the console versions there are 40 chapters, yet on the PSP version there are only 15! The list kind of goes on and on when looking at things that they decided to take out of the game.

Graphically the game is pleasant. It feels like your really watching the movie or playing it for that matter. One thing that really gave me the impression that they put no effort into this was when some cut scenes would popup. Some of them are letterboxed in a letterbox. This might sound confusing, but imagine a movie that is letterboxed like normally would, Then imagine that in a letterbox of its own. Really sucks. While actually playing the game I noticed this other little bug that really caught my eye. The graphics seemed to tear at its edges if you viewed it in a specific way. This shows up as a really white line around some scenery that really drew me back from the immersion that the game does so well. Since the PSP is no where near the capabilities of the consoles, less critters appear on the screen at the same time. If you never played the console version than you’ll never notice this.

The sound is where this game shines. It does a very nice job of making you feel like you’re in the movie. Every little thing has its own voice. It gets even better when you use some good headphones. The way the music jumps when something appears always seemed to have me on the edge of my seat.

As far as the gameplay goes, it’s sort of a new thing. They managed to eliminate everything on the screen that would make you think that you’re playing a videogame. This in turn makes you feel like you’re in the movie, or at least playing an interactive movie. It definitely does that and very well I might add, but since they took so much out as an actual game… it lacks in the game aspect. This game really felt like they rushed through it just to have some big monkey pleasure on the most platforms available. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and play the game to find out exactly what I’m talking about.

I didn’t have a chance to play the multiplayer at all because no one that I knew actually had the game, but the only multiplayer mode available is Ad-hoc.

I personally, would only recommend renting the game before actually buying it. Even so, probably only fans who really loved the movie would buy this game. I’ve been told that the console versions of this title are better, but that’s neither here nor there. Like I said before it feels more rushed than any other thing.

This installment of the popular WWE wrestling franchise is a major leap over what was once acceptable as a wrestling game. For example, the introduction of two gameplay mechanics that revives the lost art of “a whoopin’ dat ass.” What am I talking about? Stamina and Momentum. These two aspects alone shift the game’s feel from an arcade fighter to more of a simulation. In past installments of the WWE franchise you would be able to slew together a mess of powerful moves in order to keep your opponent firmly glued to the floor. This isn’t the case anymore. Each move you perform decreases your stamina. No longer can you keep performing the same power moves over and over and over again. Now you have to use your stamina wisely, otherwise when you run out of stamina, your WWE superstar becomes a sluggish target. Thus steps in the strategy. Can you regenerate your stamina? Why yes my little friend. There’s one of two ways, hold down the select button and you’ll begin to regenerate your used stamina or it’ll happen slowly by just standing still. Obviously the more powerful moves drain your stamina quicker, as well as being on the receiving side of them. Momentum is where the “crowd pleasing” nature that is the WWE business comes into play. If you make a more interesting fight by changing up your moves and taunting your opponent then your momentum will increase, thus giving you your finisher. If you decide to do the same old thing over and over again, the crowd will grow tired and your momentum will go down. If the stamina is a little too much for you, you can always just turn it off in the options and go back to the old ways things were. I personally, can’t imagine going back to the old way. It spices things up a bit.

Think you can make it to the top of Smackdown or Raw? Then go ahead and find out! The vastly improved, Season Mode puts you through one year of the WWE business. You can use one of the WWE superstars or use one of your created characters. This time around, the season mode has been nicely modified. The voice acting has been very nicely done. The story is filled with nice plots, twists, and turns that are all presented in a way that makes you feel like you’re watching the actual show. The story doesn’t branch off as much as I would have liked it to, nonetheless, it’s still better than what we were giving in past installments. A new mode that was added in SVR2006 is the General Manager Mode. Your goal is to basically choose either to be the GM of Raw or Smackdown or beat your rival GM by ways of getting the GM of the Year award. This accomplished by arranging shows in a way that keeps fans watching your show, not your rival’s. Spark rivalries between your superstars to keep the show exciting, Put together extraordinary matches, talk trash about your rival’s show. You have to do whatever it takes to make your show better. You can simulate, play, or watch all the matches you put together. Yet keep in mind your roster of superstar’s needs too. Some might become whiny when they haven’t got a title shot in a while. Their fatigue goes up when you constantly put them in strenuous matches. Even the occasional injury becomes a factor. The GM mode feels like a nice start to something that could be even better if the developers put sometime into it. Its a great idea, but they don’t have it down just yet. The next mode is a PSP exclusive, Arcade Mode. Arcade Mode is most likely a sad attempt to add some “quick play” in the game. It has Texas Hold’em Poker, Eugene’s Airplane Challenge, and WWE Trivia. Like I sad before Exhibition is where you would go to fight a match, outside of season mode. You have a SHITE-LOAD of different matches you can fight in. Classics such as Hell in a Cell, Ironman Match, Royal Rumble, etc. The list goes on.

The “Create Modes” have been nicely worked on. A new feature is the “Create an Entrance.” Now instead of using the entrances of the other superstars, your created character can have his/her own entrance, or you can alter a WWE superstar’s entrance. Create A Stable has also been revised. Your teams actually have teamwork stats. The better their stable stats are, the better they will dominate as a team. You can also use Create a Move-set. A feature that lets you customize the moves of the already available WWE superstars or of the soon-to-be superstars you created. To add to the mingle of things; you can also create a WWE Championship. In this feature you can make your own title that you can fight for. Last, but definitely not least, there’s Create a WWE superstar. My favorite part of the customization aspect of this game. This should be nothing new for people that have played a wrestling game before. In general the menus have been streamlined to an extent. Caution: Patience is required when using any of the customization features. Load times are horrible.

What’s that you say? Are you asking about the Multiplayer? Yes, we have some multiplayer, Ad-hoc. That’s all, no online play. Nothing would have been better than to take your created superstar and dominate the online arena. You can play up to four players in Exhibition, Title Match, and Party Modes. Party Modes lets you play the PSP exclusive Arcade mode with your friends. If you would like, you can trade your created superstars.

Graphically the game is beautiful. Even more so when you take the capabilities of the PSP into consideration. Every once in a while the game will hiccup, but that’s not that disturbing as you would think. The load times are horrendous, that’s probably due to the detailed graphics. Believe me, the load times are a small price to pay for the sheer beauty of the graphics. The sound is great. Voice work is just like the TV show, which adds to the immersive gaming experience. Granted, there is no ring side commentary, but it’s usually nothing but corny remarks and puns. For some reason or another, the music just works really well with the whole ‘butt-thrashing” theme. It includes an assortment of rock, heavy metal, rap, etc. You get the point.

As I said before, the best part of this game is that the gameplay is left nearly intact. You get to carry the whole WWE experience in your pocket, what more can you ask for? The PSP version of WWE Smackdown versus Raw 2006 is so far the best wrestling game in the handheld arena. GO GET IT!!!

Many a consumer will have received a PSP from Santa this year, it is inevitable there will be a rise in the demand for complimentary peripheral products such as adapters that put the PSP on tv screens. There are now three solutions on the market (Well 2 I would consider as a solution really) and we have been shocked by the unethical behavior and false advertising that has been seen from two of these 3 manufacturers. This editorial will take a look at all three, it is full of opinion and welcomes a nice debate ;).

So what were the results?

In our eyes the PSPonTV is the only product with the LEAST product flaws, yes we can all make jokes about it being a chin rest, or its semmingly simple concept and such – but it does its job very well and due to its lightweight and good distribution – the pyramid shape on the PSP is only a minor annoyance, one which isn’t felt at all when playing UMD movies or your media files. We were wrong on our initial speculation as to how such a concept would work.

If you are interested in getting something like this setup, I highly recommend reading this entire article. It is full of great information and is very througouth (hence the length).