Portable Gaming Revolution

We first reported about Blade Dancer back in early December and hadn’t heard much since then. Well today, Gamespot has posted the English trailer for the game in addition to a hands-on preview.

Blade Dancer’s story centers on the reappearance of the malevolent dread knight of myth, who has again come onto the scene to cause a bunch of trouble. It doesn’t help that this one particular bad guy is apparently the herald of an entire empire of demons, which probably isn’t going to spell a good day for anyone. In defense of mankind, you’ll take control of a hero named Lance, who’s joined by a diverse group, including a monk named Gozan and the elf Tess, as you take on the dread knight and try to prevent the coming of the demons and the end of the world. No pressure or anything, of course.

Finally, IGN has posted a slew of screenshots and artwork from the game as well.

Overall the game looks great and as an avid fan of Nippon Ichi, I am eagerly anticipating this one.

PSP Updates has posted some information regarding Accessing Your PC Through PSP Web Browser.

SpeedBrkr has discovered a way to access your PC remotely with your PSP.

The key is the service provided at http://www.logmein.com. They are offering a remote access technology service, which can be accessed through an internet browser. The steps are also very simple:

* Sign up for the service and get yourself an account. Install the PC server-side software on the PC you want to be accessed remotely. The process should be very simple.
* Load http://www.logmein.com in your PSP web browser, then get to your PC through that.

SpeedBrkr has succeeded in connecting and remotely using his PC from his PSP. I should say it’s a smart way. Good job, SpeedBrkr, and thanks :-)

While this only applies to the firmware with browsers (2.0+), 1.5 and 1.0 users can do a similar function using TedZero or PSPVNC.

peter32892 has released PSP Ins And Outs Issue #2.

Welcome to PsP Ins And Outs. We have just released issue #2 of our magazine. We are looking for new people to help make our magazine better and better. Issue two is out with 82 pages!!

You can download PSP Ins And Outs Issue #2 here.

IGN has posted some details regarding LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, sequel to the surprisingly fun and successful Lego Star Wars. LucasArts has teamed up with Traveller’s Tales and Giant (the game’s original developer and producer) to create LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, which is due on PS2, Xbox, GameCube, GBA, PSP, PC and DS this fall.

IGN talked with David Perkinson, one of the people working on Lego Star Wars II about the game in a fairly in-depth interview. Some items he mentions are that the game will not be online, the fact that there will be over 50 playable characters from the original trilogy, the game will have two player co-op on all platforms (With DS being 4 player go-op) and more.

I was surprised at how fun the original game was and I look forward to the sequel.

Joost, Thomas, and Paolo have released ScummVM v0.8.2, the lovely ScummVM Emulator for the PSP.

Updates in this version include:

General:
– Fixed OS X bundle building when using GCC 3.3.

SCUMM:
– Added support for rotating and scaling of sprites in HE games.

Sword2:
– Fixed last-minute crash when playing sound effects.

WinCE Port:
– Should fix weird crashes with DOTT stamp and in FOA (#1399830 #1392815)
– Fixed Monkey Island blocking keyboard panel on Smartphones (thks Knakos)
– Fixed QVGA Smartphone detection (mean it this time :p)
– Fixed Smartphone double right click issue.

You can download ScummVM v0.8.2 here.

For those who have not yet tried this, I only have 4 words – Day Of The Tentacle.

Jake over at 8BitJoystick has posted about a new book he contributed to called PSP Hacks : Tips & Tools for Your Mobile Gaming and Entertainment Handheld (Hacks). This is a paperback book that focuses soley on the PSP and hacks for it.

Some of the hacks included are surfing the Web with a PSP, chat in IRC, and use the PSP to read web comics, ebooks, and RSS feeds. Other expert tips and tools allow you to sync an address book to your PSP, watch UMD movies, fool iTunes into thinking the PSP is an iPod Shuffle, and much more.

Jake contributed How to Read Web Comics on a PlayStation Portable and How to throw a PSP Wifi LAN Party.

Sounds like a great book for both advanced and new PSP users. I for one will be checking it out as soon as I can.

Koba has already updated his homebrew app and released PSPInfo v0.02. For those who missed it originally, PSPInfo is a cool little homebrew application that gives you system information on your PSP such as CPU Speed, GPU Speed, Battery Life, Battery Temperature and more.

Changes in v0.02 include:

*new PSP Info Menu*
PSP Firmware Version Detection
PSP Memory available Detection
UMD Detection
USB Cable Detection
PSP remote Detection
Headphone Detection

You can down PSPInfo v0.02 here.

Gamers Galaxy has released PSPGalaxy Issue #5.

Welcome to Issue #5 of PSP Galaxy. What you will get in this monster issue:

*Exclusive interview with Pursuit Force developer BigBig Studios. Find out everything you need to know about this hot PSP title.
*Scary Movie 4 video trailer!
*Mag Redesign.
*PSP News.
*Game Reviews: Tokobot, Ultimate Block Party and Talkman.
*Homebrew roundup.
*Homebrew Reviews: PSPshot and PSIX.
*Retro Review: The Dig and Shining Force.
*Gamers Galaxy Member Reviews.
*Terranova Comic.
*Movie Watch.
*Over 60 pages!

As well as the regular articles. Don’t miss PSP Galaxy Issue 5!

You can download PSPGalaxy Issue #5 here.

Game Infowire reports that SEGA and DemonWare are partnering up to power the multiplayer features in the upcoming OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast.

“We’re very proud of how OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast is looking and by working with DemonWare, we’ve ensured that the online play on both PS2 and PSP lives up to the standard players expect from a Sega product.” commented Ben Gunstone, Senior Producer at SEGA Europe Ltd. ” The integration of the matchmaking systems and leader boards into the PS2 and PSP versions was seamless and support provided by DemonWare was always lightning fast and efficient.”

“We’re delighted to be working with Sega on a title that is both a fantastic game and a huge favorite with the rest of the DemonWare team” said Dylan Collins, CEO DemonWare. “We’re very pleased that our technology has allowed Sumo Digital and Sega to develop such a unique multiplayer gaming experience across several platforms”.

For more information about Demonware, check out the official site. Essentially it is a service that provides publishers and their advertising partners to access real-time player data in order to deliver advertising or other types of content tailored to the player.

Gamespot has posted 12 new screenshots of the upcoming PSP version of the already console-released Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble.

Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble for the PSP sports the following features:

Features
* New ‘versus’ gameplay for the Viewtiful Joe universe –The gloves come off during the ‘audition’ as players participate in intense versus fighting action.
* All-star cast of playable characters – Reacquaint yourself with familiar faces or discover new and original characters from the Kids’ WB!’s television series, Silvia, Alastor, Sprocket, an ice princess that intimidates people with her cold stares, and Captain Blue Junior.
* Interactive environments – In addition to new set designs, players will be able to use background elements to attack their opponents.

Gameplay Modes
* Story Mode – A single player mode where gamers face off against the AI-controlled characters and advance through the story
* Multiplayer Battle Mode – Duke it out wirelessly via the PSP system’s ad hoc mode with up to three other players and see who reigns on the big screen.

Exclusive PSP system features
* Dante, of Devil May Cry fame, is an unlockable character with his own unique moves and storyline in tow.
* A single player Trial Mode has been added which offers an assortment of quick and challenging mini-games.
* Game sharing feature allows others to play selective stages and characters using only one disk

While the game was not a great success on the Game Cube, hopefully Capcom has released and corrected their mistakes for the PSP version. We will find out in March.

Gamespot has posted 10 new screenshots of the newest game in the recent plethora of “Collections” games, Capcom Classics Collections.

This game is the PSP version of Capcom Classics Collection which contained 22 classic Capcom games. Remixed contains only 20 games but is including games such as Street Fighter, Strider, and 1941 that were not included in the original release.

Remix will sport ad-hoc wireless and different aspect ratios for each game to take advantage of the PSP widescreen format. Additionally, it includes downloadable music, customizable controls and a plethora of new bonus materials. Capcom Classics Collection Remixed will be released on Mar 21, 2006.

Gamespot is a on roll with screenshots today. This time we have 8 new screenshots of Dragonball Z: Shin Budokai, the first PSP entry in the Budokai fighting series.

The game looks great and for the most part, the Budokai series are great fighting games. The game currently has a release date of Mar 7, 2006 and will have 18 playable characters with all the moves you come to expect and feature ad-hoc wireless mode.