It's been a while since we had any PSP reviews, and seeing as there's been a whole lot released recently, I thought I'd run through a bunch, quick-fire style. There's the usual plethora of racing titles and sports games, rounding off with a head to head battle between FIFA 06 and Pro Evolution Soccer.
Virtua Tennis: World Tour
Virtua Tennis is, of course, a port of the old Dreamcast classic. It looks simply brilliant here on the handheld, with gloriously slick animation and a faultless framerate at all times. It also plays a mean set of tennis, no doubts there, however after being knee deep in the supreme beauty known as Top Spin for so many years, I find Virtua Tennis a wee bit lacking in depth. Baseline slogs are great fun, and in that respect the game shines, but it's the net play I find less impressive, with drop shots and the like rather tricky to pull off on the fly.
 | | Even non-Tennis fans should dig VT |
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The other slight annoyance in this game is the career mode. Rather than concentrate on tournaments and such, 90% of it is taken up by truly bizarre mini-games that come straight out of leftfield. These include such oddities as knocking down ten pin bowls with your serves, and running over tin cans to practice your foot work. Basically, you have to "level up" your skills by partaking in these crazy shenanigans in order to participate in any of the (somewhat rare) full-blown tourneys, and it's all a little odd on first glance. I guess some of these mini-games are fun, but...it's a bizarre choice of game direction if ever there was one.
Even though this career mode takes some time to, well, "get", it's worth the perseverance by all means, as the reward is the truly beautiful game buried beneath it all. The tennis itself is endlessly addictive, not to mention visually stunning, and in fact, I'd put this bad boy just one notch below Everybody's Golf (aka Hot Shots) as the system's best sports title right now.
Prince of Persia: Revelations
 | | Revelations is a spruced up version of Warrior Within. Although the worst of the new Prince of Persia trilogy, the game sure shines on hand held |
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Revelations is pretty much a PSP rendition of Warrior Within, the second of the "new skool" Prince of Persia trilogy. I'm forever banging on about how I was
disappointed in the artistic direction this game took over its prequel, Sands of Time, so I'll try and refrain from all that here and just chat about how well it ports to the PSP instead.
Fucking brilliantly, to be honest; I am
amazed how well they pulled this sucker off. Everything's there; the rewinding time, the acrobatic manoeuvres, the wall-running, the combos, the dual wielding, the shimmying, and of course the good old platforming. Even the bloody CGI cinematics are crammed in for gawd's sake, albeit squashed down to widescreen mode. In fact, this version arguably improves on its big brother rendition by reportedly adding in a whopping great 20 new levels on top of all that, although I've yet to reach any. All in all, I am genuinely speechless, to be frank.
Okay, Warrior Within ain't my favourite game on the big consoles, decked out with way too much combat and some truly horrible rock music (oh God, here I go), but while that stuff bothered me hugely on the Xbox, some major concessions can be made when the damn thing is running in the
palm of your freaking hand. It looks truly stunning for a portable game - fully featured in every way - with massive levels, great animation and multiple camera angles abound. Revelations is right up there as one of the most solid looking games on the system, in fact.
 | | For me, it's all about the platforming |
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If you haven't experienced any of these new Prince of Persia games yet, they're basically a more cutting edge re-imagining of the old '80s classic. The Prince has made the move from standard 2D platforming, to an amazingly rich and detailed 3D world, one just ripe for balletic jumping, swinging and gravity defying brilliance. It's a series that, despite the odd hiccup, has set a new standard for the genre in my book, and turned the simplistic notion of hopping around platforms into a beautifully sleek skill.
The PSP has been crying out for a decent platform/adventure game after the double disappointments of Death Jr. and Medieval Resurrection, and at long last it has one. After Warrior Within originally let me down on the main consoles, I never thought I'd recommend it to anyone, what can I say? It's Prince of Persia man. On a hand-held. In 3D. And fucking tight at that. When concentrating solely on the wonderful platforming segments - ignoring the frustrating combat in the process - it's simply brilliant fun.
There are a few audio glitches - voices that don't quite sync up to mouth movements and the like - plus yeah, I would have much preferred a PSP incarnation of Sands of Time, or even The Two Thrones over this, but not sandwiched between those two rather splendid titles that put it to shame on the consoles, Revelations works oh so much better here in PSP land by its lonesome. Until the day comes that the rest of the trilogy hits PSP, I'll be enjoying the heck outta this sucker on my commute every day.
Whether looking for a violent beat 'em up or a good old platformy puzzler, this is the best on the machine right now and I can't recommend it enough. Who would have thunk it?
Burnout Legends
 | Burnout is a series everyone
needs to play at least once,
racing fan or not |
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And yet
another port to chuck on the pile. Or perhaps not. Burnout Legends goes more of the Ridge Racer route than anything, grabbing different courses from a variety of different games in the Burnout series, and pulling off a bit of a "best of" in the process.
For those who have yet to saviour the delights of Burnout, it's the most over-the-top, cut-throat and utterly ridiculous racing game you've ever played...in a good way. Think of it as part racer, part bash 'em up, with you not only having to contend with driving and steering your car to victory, but also ramming and smashing your opposition off the road in the process. In fact, some of the levels care not who comes first, just who specifically manages to, well, kill the most competitors instead.
What makes this work so well though is the incredibly insane car crashes the game pulls off. When I say these things are over the top, I don't exaggerate - we're talking Hollywood style mega pile-ups that'll make you laugh out loud like a gay hyena. We're talking paint grinding, sparks flying craziness of the highest order.
 | | Burnout Legends on the PSP is an above average collection that more than does the series justice |
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Witnessing your car crunch and distort as it collides with a lorry is actually considerably more fun than steering around it and winning the race if you ask me. This is made even cooler by the game's expert use of in-game slow motion and super fast turbo boosting.
It's also worth noting, the full game's hilarious "crash mode" comes fully intact too. This heavily fleshed-out mini-game involves ramming your vehicle into a traffic-heavy junction and basically wiping out as many cars, trucks and caravans as you can, with your total amount of damage in dollars being your ultimate score. It's way too much fun to be legal, and actually makes you yearn to try it out in real life...or is that just me?
This PSP version is amazingly faithful to its console counterpart, missing out only on some of the extended detail in the crashes and a slightly smoother frame-rate. It's a damn solid conversion, and even among the PSP's over abundance of racers,
easily one of the best games on the system.
SSX On Tour
Ah, SSX. EA Big's single great title. It's a racing game, but unlike any other. It's a "trick" game, but a million times cooler than that Tony Hawk shite. Most of all, it's a snowboarding game...but for people who've never touched snow.
 | | SSX On Tour is basically a mini-port of SSX 3 - minus the free-roaming elements - with some thrown in ski races |
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My mate Rob introduced me to SSX a few years back now, over on the PS2, and although I had absolutely zero interest going in, by the end of that first race I was completely and utterly hooked for life. Since then I've enjoyed many an SSX marathon over the years, battling everyone from fellow pro gamers to ultra noob girls along the way. SSX really is a blast in that respect; so simple and accessible to the newcomer, yet deep and complex enough to really go the distance.
SSX On Tour here - the series' first appearance on the PSP - bears little resemblance to SSX On Tour on the big consoles. Instead, this PSP version has way more in common with the far superior SSX 3 - its prequel from a few years earlier. It reuses a ton of courses from that game in fact, which alone prompted a purchase from me, and thus was already off to a good start before I even fired it up for the first time.
My immediate worry going in was more to do with how EA planned to adapt SSX' amazingly deep control system to the handheld's scaled down layout though. Having now played it to death, I can report that the answer is...quite adeptly, truth be told. There's nothing really missing here - all the original's functionality is present and correct - it's just been slightly rejiggered to compensate for no second analogue stick - and on the whole works nicely. Admittedly, the analogue nub is a comparative bitch to control with at first - way oversensitive and swinging wildly in all directions - but a few practice races later, all settles down.
 | Not an extreme sports kinda
guy? Neither am I. SSX is still an
absolute friggin' blast |
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At this point, SSX becomes a blast. Everything stays intact from the original; that wonderful sense of speed and vertigo, those same epic slopes with multiple routes down, and those breakneck jumps off sheer cliff faces into the great unknown. SSX 3 was always a brilliant game, but to pull off a handheld rendition that plays almost identically to its elder brothers is really quite a feat.
Graphically, things aren't
quite so shiny as on the Xbox or PS2, mind you. In terms of layout, the courses may look the same, but where this port differs is in that extra level of sheen which always made SSX so gorgeous to look at. Your special effects, your motion blur, your fluorescent lights - all this stuff is either a wee bit tame in comparison, or just flat out missing. Don't get me wrong, SSX On Tour still looks beautiful in its own right, but is ever so slightly drab when compared to the "real" versions on the big systems.
A larger gripe would be the camera placement in the PSP version. It's considerably closer to your boarder here, pointing more towards the ground, thus obscuring much of the track up ahead in the process. We can only presume this was done to improve the framerate, but it has the unfortunate side effect of making it impossible to see too far into the distance. As a result, dodging obstacles is a heck of lot trickier now, as is prepping for jumps and rail grinds.
 | | On Tour does its best to cram in all that visual detail from the console versions, but falls ever so slightly short |
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EA really seem to have done their best to cram every single aspect of the console versions in here, from the courses, to the music, to the insanely over the top tricks 'n' stunts. Even though all of this stuff is surprisingly present and correct, each and every one is ever so slightly downgraded as a result. A custom built SSX created from the ground up around the PSP - one working with its strengths and playing down its weaknesses - would have been a much more welcome addition, most likely rid of these slight annoyances, but Instead, as always, we're in port-ville.
Never the less, SSX is still an ambitious and successful snowboarding racer. Despite the slight downgrading on the visuals, fans of the series such as myself will most definitely not be disappointed, finally able to flip and rail-grind while on the bus, riding the train or squatting mid-dump. Surely the dream of any sane gamer.
Newcomers who fancy a racing title that's a little different to the normal cars crashing into each other variety will also find many a laugh to be had here. Give it a whirl, it's ace.
Star Wars Battlefront II
Battlefront II is...scaled down port...PS2...Xbox...zzZZZzz...sense a pattern here? One has to question what is up with the PSP line-up at times. There's some nice games out there, but it's still all port, port, freaking port. Where are the exclusives? The originality? Even a supposed killer app like the recent Grand Theft Auto is significantly similar to that of its console brethren.
 | | It does a resonable job of bringing the Battlefront experience to a handheld, but is let down by an incredibly short lifespan |
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And yes, the same can be said of Star Wars Battlefront II here. It's a solid enough rendition I guess, cramming 13 of its big brother's 24 maps in there, which impressively includes the space combat missions too. The PSP isn't particularly built for this sort of fast-paced real-time shooter combat though, something to know going in.
With the lack of a second analogue stick to control your view, it certainly takes a while to get to grips with. The configurable control system throws in a multitude of different choices though, not to mention some useful targeting and auto-aim features to help compensate, which in my opinion works reasonably well.
It's the technical accomplishments that really make this game shine for me though. As the first Star Wars game to hit PSP, there's seldom been a better sounding title on the machine in particular. The music's as glorious as ever, all the famous sound effects are present, and with a pair of headphones jacked in, the sound quality is flawless. The graphics are obviously scaled back a little, but still impress on that gorgeous widescreen view with all the sheer chaos that the game continually fires off.
 | | Amazingly, Pandemic even got the space combat shoved in there too. Portable X-Wings, anyone? |
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If you've played Star Wars Battlefront before (or indeed, any of the Battlefield games) then you know what to expect. Pick a class, capture outposts, jump in vehicles and take down the opposition. And it's good fun too...especially when you unlock the arse kicking Jedi toons.
Sadly for this port, Pandemic have castrated the awesome single player mode known as Rise of the Empire - the one thing I truly
worshipped about the game on the other systems. As a result, this one gets old pretty darn quickly I'm afraid. There's a few bonus single player missions where you have simplistic objectives - kill a certain amount of enemies, or collect certain items for example - but they won't hold your attention for too long.
Unless you have four mates available for local multiplayer action on a regular basis, I just don't see this one going the distance I'm afraid. This is compounded by the complete lack of an infrastructure mode for internet play, surely something of a must-have for such a multiplayer focused offering.
More dedicated Star Wars fans will still mop it up, no doubt, and in this third person shooter genre, there's little else on the PSP besides the over-rated SOCOM to contend with it, but unless you're a true Star Wars obsessee or a complete FPS nut, personally I think your money might be better spent on some of the others mentioned here. Definitely not this next one though...
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects
Ya know, I could so easily make a crack about that "Rise of the Imperfects" sub-title, and how it pretty much sums up this game as a whole, but instead I...actually, I guess I just did.
Marvel Nemesis practically defined average on the PS2, Gamecube and Xbox. While I liked the visual style of that game, the single player mode was truly dreadful, made up for ever so slightly by a bonus versus mode that was kind of, sort of, okay...ergh.
 | Spider-Man provides
some reasonable laughs,
but unlocking him's a bitch |
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For the PSP incarnation, we lose the entire single player mode for better or worse, and are just left with a slightly expanded version of that same versus mode. It's Marvel heroes facing off in 1 on 1 brawls, chucking cars around and using their super powers. It's The Thing, it's Wolverine, it's err...Johnny Ohm. You know the drill. Round one, fight, bash bash bash, you win. Repeat. It gets old before the first match is finished unfortunately, and I honestly had trouble completing the second before turning the PSP off and burying it in the garden. Needless to say, the game is dreadfully trite and dull.
The single positive note is Spider-Man. As always, Spidey comes to the rescue with some great web slinging abilities that almost make ya crack a smile. If more of the characters demonstrated that same sense of agility and inspired brilliance, Nemesis could have been a contender. That is of course, discounting the complete lack of a decent story, zero depth and horrendously poor longevity.
While the game has tons of unlockable characters and some reasonably good visuals, even Spidey himself can't save the dieing inhabitants of this burning building. In fact, he'd probably change into Peter Parker and walk the other way, whistling. Avoid.
FIFA 06 Vs. Pro Evo Soccer 5
 | Pro Evo is finally on PSP,
but the transition is far
from flawless |
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And finally, it's face-off time. Forget what you think you know though, this is a considerably tighter battle than you may realise. Are you a FIFA hater, convinced it's a cheesy sell-out of its former Megadrive days, and one that offers nothing barely resembling the great game? Think again; FIFA 06 is surprisingly good in a whole host of different areas. And to compound that, this long awaited handheld conversion of Pro Evo soccer hasn't arrived without hitting some bumps along the way either.
Pro Evo has some major slowdown issues you see, which could really be a deal breaker for many. To make matters worse, its camera placement is very poor on top; even at its furthest zoomed out setting, the view is incredibly tight. This unfortunately means you can't see a whole lot of your surroundings, making passes (and especially crosses) a little like shooting in the dark...literally.
It is noticeably more zoomed in than in any of the PC or console versions, and most interestingly of all, than FIFA too. That all said, visually this is good old Pro Evo in every other way.
FIFA 06 suffers no such issues. It provides a nice wide view of the field, and framerate-wise holds together much better too. FIFA actually uses a sneaky little bit of failsafe trickery to keep things running smoothly no matter what; when there's a huge amount of action on screen, or too many players in view, it'll start reducing the quality of animation to compensate. This works as intended - the game remains beautifully stable at all times - but it does mean occasionally players will look a little jerky and stilted in return.
In terms of sound, FIFA also reigns supreme. I'm sad to say it, but Pro Evo features absolutely no commentary. Zilcherino. You'll hear nowt but the crowd and the odd kicking "oomph". FIFA on the other hand, has full on audio commentary from the big names as per usual, and to be honest, it never sounds anything less than stellar.
 | While graphically not so
impressive, Pro Evo's got it
where it counts |
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It's in terms of good old playability that FIFA finally gets pipped at the post though. It's come a long way in recent years, don't get me wrong. The AI for instance, is now incredible, with the opposition pulling off beautiful dribbling moves that often leave me laying with my dick in the dirt. The game is also very fast-paced, easy to handle, and has my fave control system of any soccer game currently on release.
It is however,
very set around passing play. In fact, making a charge through the defenders with fancy footwork is nigh-on impossible here. You need to set your men up in good positions, send them off to lose the defenders, and catch them with superbly delivered crosses and through-balls if you want any success in scoring. That's fine I guess, but I miss the 1 vs. 5 charges through the box that FIFA just doesn't deliver on.
Pro Evo has a way better dribbling engine thankfully. If your skills are up to scratch, a defender can in fact make it all the way down to the box with the ball in a single charge. Realistic? No, but it
is damn fun. And this fundamental difference is what makes Pro Evo the superior PSP game for me. Constant passes just aren't as much fun as utilising that super slick footwork. As a result, you can have a wonderful 0-0 draw on Pro Evo that's still an absolute joy to play, while on FIFA the emphasis remains on getting all your men into the box and scoring, or fun takes a serious nose dive.
Sadly Pro Evo has absolutely no tournaments to enjoy with this superior football engine. There's single one-off matches and an on-going league you can enter, but that's pretty much it. This is rather surprising, and even a little depressing, holding back the game's longevity quite severely.
FIFA on the other hand has tons of tourneys, cups, leagues and much more besides. It also has bags of unlockables, such as menu music, balls and stadiums, all earned through exceptional play on the field. When thrown together, all these features provide a game with a hefty lifespan on it, one that'll last you a good long while. The only missing feature is the career mode from the PC and console versions, but there's more than enough left in its wake.
 | | FIFA 06 is a fine game in my book. Online play and wonderful technical presentation offset some minor quirks in the gameplay department |
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FIFA also has full online multiplayer. No mere link-up, this lets you actually play other players over the internet via the PSP's wireless connectivity. It's strictly 1 vs. 1, and is plagued by a horrendous EA front end that has the nerve to charge you ?1.50 for account creation (unless you accept a spam-heavy free account), but once you get in, all looks good. There's lobbies, ranked games, a leaderboard, and even a fab little "quick message" feature to chat to people and arrange games.
The downside? It's startlingly empty right now. In fact I've yet to get a game going to try it out, in stark contrast to something like Mario Kart on the DS, where a match is available 24/7. Will things pick up for FIFA? More importantly, buried deep within the overly complex maze of menus and EA Trax as it is, does the average player even
know this amazing functionality is in there? Time will tell, but on paper it's certainly a major plus over Pro Evo.
So it boils down to a reasonably tricky decision I'm afraid. FIFA continues to grow with each year, from the long-gone joke of a game to one that's actually remarkably solid here in 2006. The fact that in recent years you can even compare the two of these speaks volumes, never mind the fact FIFA beats the champ in one or two key areas too.
Ultimately, Pro Evo has its faults, but for all the corner cutting in the graphics, the lack of commentary, the poor selection of game modes and no damn internet play, it still has it where it counts; the god damn beautiful game at its core. It's my pick of the two here on PSP - just by a midget's pube - and fans of the series won't feel
too let down, but next year it could well be knocked off the throne. Either way, it's great to be spoiled for choice for a handheld footy game on our beloved PSP.
Coming Soon
Lastly, you can expect a full run down of Grand Theft Auto on the PSP coming very soon indeed. In fact, some might even have caught a glimpse of that when I posted it last week, before the web site inexplicably gobbled it up and deleted the sucker for no apparent reason. Until I can get that reposted, I think there's more than enough beauties mentioned above to keep you going.
The PSP is coming along quite nicely right now, with some great conversions that certainly do their original counterparts justice. Some of these titles have never been available on a handheld platform before, and certainly not as fully featured and graphically solid as they are here. I do love the fact that the PSP has managed to worm its way into the inner circle of consoles at last, one that gets its own port of all the big cross platform games now. That's a great sign.
As I say though, it's the more original and exclusive games I look forward to myself. We know a brand new Katamari game is all but ready for release, along with a Devil May Cry title and, perhaps most interestingly of all, the new and as of yet unannounced game from Ico creator Fumita Ueda. I dunno about you guys, but I'll certainly be stocking up on hand lotion and some baby wipes in preparation for these three inevitably awesome bad boys...
