Back in November there were three promising titles being released on the PSP, two of which were almost supposed to be counterparts to their console versions. Having played through one of them (Assassin's Creed Bloodlines), I was a bit worried to see what the other had to offer. However I was pleasantly surprised to find out LittleBigPlanet Portable (LBP) is actually really well done for a PSP game. So much so I wished I had gotten a hold of this game earlier so I could have been creating levels today. In comparison to the console version, it definitely doesn't stack up, same as how ACB couldn't stack up to it's console counterpart either. As opposed to the ACB approach by letting the limitations bog the game down though, LBP made good use of the PSP and created a rather unique and great experience on the handheld.
To start off, the game is not perfect in the slightest. My complaints range across the board from personal preferences to technical problems with the game itself. For instance, loading times in the game are horrendous. Just to get to the main menu of the game, you have to fight through a ridiculous amount of loading screens, intros, and company logos, that by the time you reach the game, several minutes have already passed. What's unusual to me is the placement of the loading symbol, rather than in the bottom right corner or center of the screen, placement is in the bottom left, and it's a rotating circle. It would have been more appealing to place the circle as the letter O in "loading" and drop that below the centered image on the loading screen. It's also interesting to see how little the data install is used to help in aiding the load times considering how small that file is.
Music is fantastic in the game, it's actually a very eclectic well put together soundtrack. The sound effects are great with everything working together so well in the game. Unfortunately this is all bogged down by the game choosing to keep itself quiet. With headphones, you have to crank up the volume on your PSP just to hear the music. Using the built in speakers of the PSP, the game sounds absolutely fine cranked or lowered strangely. I attempted even plugging it into my sound system and found I had to crank it there as well just to get volume at a decent level. Gameplay is great as well but poorly structured for the handheld. The game isn't designed to be played in short bursts. On bus rides or on the go for instance, I always found myself having to put my PSP to sleep in the middle of a level. Although technically this is alright given how long it takes to load up the game anyways, it breaks the flow a bit starting up a level and pausing it.
LBP has a good structure though, you play through story levels as well as levels you've downloaded or created yourself. Even though I despise playing through a mode to unlock content, it gives you reasons to play through those levels. Which is good because it allows you to see what the game is actually capable of and what sort of things you can put together in the create mode. Unfortunately the create mode from what I've read is temperamental and is known to crash, plus from what I've experienced, you have to sit or skip tutorials just to unlock new tools in the mode. All the materials aren't unlocked either, requiring you to find all the materials in story mode. Which means you might play a level up to three times just to clear it, gather all the gifts, as well as to ace the level by not dying once.
What is both beneficial to the game, as well as ironically hurting it, are the downloadable levels created by the community. While these levels help extend the life of the game by providing new content to play, most of the levels present on the network are your basic platformers and not much more. You may find yourself only checking once a month for new high rated content, unless you want to play every single level that is entered in. For the most part, lack of decent content stems from the buggy create mode and the amount of time the game has actually been out. I'm sure there are some great levels in the work, it's just going to take a while before some of them show up on the network.
Despite several glaring technical problems the game has, what it does offer is a unique experience for the handheld and a very solid game for the PSP. The ability to download and create your own levels really adds to the capabilities of the game even if they are both limited in their use. It has a unique art style with a lot of great music, and the story levels are really well done. It's worth picking up if you're interested in game design since it allows you to construct your own levels, but if you're looking for a game to spend hours on you might want to try elsewhere.
// Overall review in a nutshell:
Gameplay - 4
Music - 4
Replay - 3
Graphics - 5
Difficulty - 4
// Overall Score - 20 - A Game
(Highest score possible is 25 with AAA score)
There are games on the PSP that are worse than Assasin's Creed Bloodlines (ACB). The port of Mana Khemia instantly comes to mind remembering the awful loading and lag that stopped me from finishing the game. I wouldn't exactly rate ACB as bottom of the barrel in the PSP line of games, however it doesn't exactly fair well stacked next to other games I've played for the handheld this year. Some games this year have really pushed the boundaries in regard to how PSP games can be presented on the handheld both graphic and gameplay wise. Games with sub-par graphics or piss-poor would have worked earlier in the PSP cycle, but really the bar has been set with some of the most recent releases. Which is really confusing looking at ACB because seeing the trend in how PSP games are headed, it's interesting to see such a sloppy game appear in the market.
Now to start, I haven't played the console counterparts of this series. Although I have seen enough gameplay footage of them to have a good enough impression of what Assassin's Creed is all about. Quite frankly, the console counterparts of ACB are superior hands down, and there would be no way a PSP port of the game could capture that experience 100%. However they did try and capture as much as they could and brought it to the handheld. The result unfortunately is a sloppy game that could have had some potential but it does try as hard as it can. ACB flows in a pretty linear fashion. You play as Altair, a copy and pasted version of Prince of Persia's main protagonist, hidden under a white cloak with a bunch of sharp weapons at your disposal. You go from area to area performing missions to move the story along. In each area you can choose to do side missions, collect coins "hidden" in the area, or just waltz about killing random people while trying not to drown yourself.
That is if you can get over the controls first. One instant gripe I had starting the game were that the controls didn't make sense. Being used to any PSP game where you move the character with the analog stick and rotate the camera with the directional buttons, it was unusual having the directional buttons mapped for weapons. To control camera, the game requires you to press L and the face buttons, or just move Altair in the direction you want and press L to center the camera on his back. It takes a bit of time to get these controls working the way you'd like, but they could have been better off swapped. I assume the reason controls are like this is due to the lack of a second analog stick to control camera, but even so, controls could have been better mapped.
Beyond messy controls the whole game is a pretty big mess. Saving the game for whatever reason doesn't always function correctly. I've had times were I've done side missions, collect coins, move to a new area, and the game won't save the progress despite saying it is saving to the memory stick. It'll save that I moved on to that new location, but strangely none of the progress made. It doesn't help either that there is no manual way to save the game, all you're allowed to do is turn the autosave function off. You really have to rely on the "memory log updated" narrator to tell you when it's safe to quit. The whole game is actually full of weird bugs, it's odd to even consider this game the final draft with it looking the way it does. I've run into invisible walls in the oddest of places, I've had the sky break in areas when panning the camera up, people disappear while you talk to them, and my favorite which is the civilian mess. For some reason the game hardly has a library of stock characters to use as walking civilians, so occasionally it'll load up the same character multiple times. With the monks it would be acceptable since they appear like that in the console version, but it's not always the case.
Which really comes to probably the biggest problem this game has. Rather than create a unique experience for the PSP, they just tried to make a clone as best they could of the console version. ACB to me is just a solid skeleton of a game that could have done better fleshed out. The environments are crafted well, character design is done well, gameplay mechanics are done well, even the music and sound effects are done well despite the weird occasional audio skip. There's just not a lot in this game to keep you playing, or re-playing actually, since the game is short and easy to fully complete. The story is pretty mediocre, it's really just to advance the game from location to location and to provide things to do. Which is another problem, the story is so short that that there really isn't much to do in the game as a result. I would have even settled for a Monster Hunter approach in the game if it had you doing tons of quests and missions, even if they weren't all spectacular. Side missions are pathetic as well, most of which require simple deliveries or assassinations.
If you've played the console versions, you might want to skip out on this game since I'm sure you might just be trying to compare it the whole time. If you haven't and are looking for a PSP game, you might want to borrow this from a friend or try and find it cheap. The game is entertaining to play despite a lot of it's flaws, almost like how a B movie is enjoyable.
// Overall review in a nutshell:
Gameplay - 4
Music - 4
Replay - 2
Graphics - 3
Difficulty - 3
// Overall Score - 16 - B Game
(Highest score possible is 25 with AAA score)
It's a been a long disappointing road with Im@s SP DLC, not to mention an expensive one at that. Recently the most latest catalog of DLC has been released, and for the third month in a row, I've just been bothered with the direction it's gone. I've always had one major complaint with Im@s SP which unfortunately is still persistent to this day. It's the lack of outfits for the characters to wear, and the slow release of them. What's great about SP is that there are huge variety of accessories, a huge variety of songs, a bunch of stage backgrounds (not to mention unlimited since you can edit in your own), yet there's this lack of outfits for some reason. Really you're only given 3 outfits with a ton of palette swaps and the 3 rival outfits. After that you're forced to pay to get more outfits, which seem to only be released in one month intervals.
The part that gets me is that most of the Im@s catalogs before SP died around the 12th. L4U catalog pretty much died after the 12th despite receiving content from SP to keep it running to 17. Which has me worried because I've been looking at the SP catalog wondering, "Is this it? This is all we got?" Especially when you look at L4U's catalogs, many of which sported a ton of content, remixes to existing songs, and sometimes multiple dresses being released in one month. The quality is especially absurd not just graphic wise, but concept wise seeing some awesomely crafted dresses and outfits. Here are my opinions regarding the catalogs that I wanted to write down:
Catalog 1 This was a good start. It had a decent dress and decent accessories, plus a good start in the missing songs. Catalog also contained the idol mails which is good bonus material. Only major gripe is the price on the songs, which is a constant gripe I've had throughout the many catalogs, that they should have all been 500 yen to unlock for all idols, rather than paying individually.
Catalog 2 This was a decent release, almost felt like a good sequel to the first catalog. The dress is nice but it's limited with accessory matching due to it's color. The training outfit is a nice bonus, although it's a bit annoying to pay to unlock something that already exists in the game.
Catalog 3 One of the first catalogs I disliked. The outfit is awful and just looks awkward, and the accessories for it are terrible. While it did introduce the puchimasus, the catalog was more repetitive than productive.
Catalog 4 A very interesting catalog, it contains one of the most daring and impressive dresses of the SP catalogs. It also introduced the Dramas which don't interest me much, but the thought and what they accomplish is interesting. What's nice too is that this catalog finished up all the SP songs allowing for new songs to be brought in from L4U.
Catalog 5 Second catalog I really didn't care for. The dress while being decent, for some reason doesn't match well with any accessories. Plus the first song brought over from L4U isn't that great. Honestly the catalog felt like it was just releasing the worst to get it out of the way.
Catalog 6 One of the best catalogs in memory. The new outfit, while very novelty-like in appearance, is actually quite nice. Plus the swimsuit outfit helped make this catalog feel like you got a lot more bang for your buck. While the accessories are very bland, the new song is fantastic. Plus this catalog introduced downloadable stage backgrounds. A very well rounded catalog overall.
Catalog 7 A very awkward catalog, but it was a decent following to catalog 6. The new song introduced was mediocre for all the hype generated around it for being new to the world of Im@s. The new stage backgrounds were quite nice. The outfit is pretty decent and works well, but the accessories are quite a weird mesh of things. The boots are absolutely amazing, one of the must have accessories. The school wear outfit is sorta meh considering anyone who pre-ordered the game got the code to download it.
Catalog 8 Third catalog I didn't really care for. Probably would have been the worst catalog of all time if it weren't for the song. The outfit is bland and awful stand-alone, it literally requires the other accessories, however you can make better outfits just using the accessories and matching them with other outfits.
Catalog 9 Fourth catalog I didn't really care for. The outfit and accessories are alright but pretty average in comparison to previous catalog outfits. Stage background is pretty bad, and the new song is pretty average.
Catalog 10 This is the fifth catalog I didn't really care for. The new song, second of the new songs made for SP turned out to be a slow song of disappointing proportions. The new outfit is just the wedding dress from L4U brought to the PSP. Which I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't the only content for this catalog. To make things even more disappointing, the palette swapped dress has awesome colors but would have been more interesting if it was a new dress entirely.
Catalog 11 This is the sixth catalog I didn't really care for. The dress is average, and screams to much of the Christmas theme. It's not a bad dress, it's just not something you could use stand-alone with accessories to well. The accessories in this catalog are quite terrible and mostly just for novelty in their use. The new song for SP here is again brought over from L4U, and isn't really that impressive of a tune either. Stage background is alright, but like the latest BG stages, just recycled from old imagery.
Catalog 12 Sorta curious if this will be the last catalog, but I'm not really sure. Following the puchimaru pattern, it should have the last idol Hibiki. Unless they start using the idols from the DS version... Based off the Catalog 11 PV, I really believe the gothic outfit and the song Overmaster will be in this catalog. Just looking at the presents for those who are going to purchase the Best versions of the game.
- - -
To me, it just looks like all the catalogs after the 10th are just going to be L4U carry-overs. Which isn't a problem to me, it's just been taking so long to get outfits. It's nice getting DLC, but it just feels like all SP players got were a bunch of songs and palette swaps.
The part that gets me is that most of the Im@s catalogs before SP died around the 12th. L4U catalog pretty much died after the 12th despite receiving content from SP to keep it running to 17. Which has me worried because I've been looking at the SP catalog wondering, "Is this it? This is all we got?" Especially when you look at L4U's catalogs, many of which sported a ton of content, remixes to existing songs, and sometimes multiple dresses being released in one month. The quality is especially absurd not just graphic wise, but concept wise seeing some awesomely crafted dresses and outfits. Here are my opinions regarding the catalogs that I wanted to write down:
Catalog 1 This was a good start. It had a decent dress and decent accessories, plus a good start in the missing songs. Catalog also contained the idol mails which is good bonus material. Only major gripe is the price on the songs, which is a constant gripe I've had throughout the many catalogs, that they should have all been 500 yen to unlock for all idols, rather than paying individually.
Catalog 2 This was a decent release, almost felt like a good sequel to the first catalog. The dress is nice but it's limited with accessory matching due to it's color. The training outfit is a nice bonus, although it's a bit annoying to pay to unlock something that already exists in the game.
Catalog 3 One of the first catalogs I disliked. The outfit is awful and just looks awkward, and the accessories for it are terrible. While it did introduce the puchimasus, the catalog was more repetitive than productive.
Catalog 4 A very interesting catalog, it contains one of the most daring and impressive dresses of the SP catalogs. It also introduced the Dramas which don't interest me much, but the thought and what they accomplish is interesting. What's nice too is that this catalog finished up all the SP songs allowing for new songs to be brought in from L4U.
Catalog 5 Second catalog I really didn't care for. The dress while being decent, for some reason doesn't match well with any accessories. Plus the first song brought over from L4U isn't that great. Honestly the catalog felt like it was just releasing the worst to get it out of the way.
Catalog 6 One of the best catalogs in memory. The new outfit, while very novelty-like in appearance, is actually quite nice. Plus the swimsuit outfit helped make this catalog feel like you got a lot more bang for your buck. While the accessories are very bland, the new song is fantastic. Plus this catalog introduced downloadable stage backgrounds. A very well rounded catalog overall.
Catalog 7 A very awkward catalog, but it was a decent following to catalog 6. The new song introduced was mediocre for all the hype generated around it for being new to the world of Im@s. The new stage backgrounds were quite nice. The outfit is pretty decent and works well, but the accessories are quite a weird mesh of things. The boots are absolutely amazing, one of the must have accessories. The school wear outfit is sorta meh considering anyone who pre-ordered the game got the code to download it.
Catalog 8 Third catalog I didn't really care for. Probably would have been the worst catalog of all time if it weren't for the song. The outfit is bland and awful stand-alone, it literally requires the other accessories, however you can make better outfits just using the accessories and matching them with other outfits.
Catalog 9 Fourth catalog I didn't really care for. The outfit and accessories are alright but pretty average in comparison to previous catalog outfits. Stage background is pretty bad, and the new song is pretty average.
Catalog 10 This is the fifth catalog I didn't really care for. The new song, second of the new songs made for SP turned out to be a slow song of disappointing proportions. The new outfit is just the wedding dress from L4U brought to the PSP. Which I wouldn't mind so much if it weren't the only content for this catalog. To make things even more disappointing, the palette swapped dress has awesome colors but would have been more interesting if it was a new dress entirely.
Catalog 11 This is the sixth catalog I didn't really care for. The dress is average, and screams to much of the Christmas theme. It's not a bad dress, it's just not something you could use stand-alone with accessories to well. The accessories in this catalog are quite terrible and mostly just for novelty in their use. The new song for SP here is again brought over from L4U, and isn't really that impressive of a tune either. Stage background is alright, but like the latest BG stages, just recycled from old imagery.
Catalog 12 Sorta curious if this will be the last catalog, but I'm not really sure. Following the puchimaru pattern, it should have the last idol Hibiki. Unless they start using the idols from the DS version... Based off the Catalog 11 PV, I really believe the gothic outfit and the song Overmaster will be in this catalog. Just looking at the presents for those who are going to purchase the Best versions of the game.
- - -
To me, it just looks like all the catalogs after the 10th are just going to be L4U carry-overs. Which isn't a problem to me, it's just been taking so long to get outfits. It's nice getting DLC, but it just feels like all SP players got were a bunch of songs and palette swaps.
Another update to the list of games that have caught my attention. Actually this might be the last update for a while considering the outlook for PSP games. For the next couple of months, all the PSP releases I've seen look pretty shitty. After this week, it's going to be a long wait before something decent comes out for the handheld.
LittleBigPlanet Portable
-Sadly the game I didn't have much hope for this month actually blew away the other November releases. I didn't want to pick this up because I was fearing it would be a crappy port of the PS3 version, but apparently it's so well done that it has received a lot of high marks. I'll definitely be picking this up sometime in the future, maybe in January. I want to finish up a few PSP titles I'm still working on and sell a few games before picking up something new.
// To update on pt. 3 of these entries:
Phantasy Star Portable 2
-The demo came out recently and it was amazing! It was like they took the first Phantasy Star Portable, and just improved everything that needed to be improved. Character customization is absolutely top-notch, controls and battles are more fluid, basically the whole game is looking promising. I haven't tried out the online multiplayer modes even though I have an access code to it, but I don't think I will since you don't have access to much in the demo. I really do hope this comes stateside, even if I have to wait till like Q3 of next year.
Persona 3 Portable
-Still not sold on this yet, even though it has a good chance of coming over stateside. Considering the drought of games coming up, it might be good filler to revisit the world of P3 considering the amount of time it takes to beat the game. Surprisingly, no demo on the JPN PSN, however you could download the title.
Pop'n Music Portable
-More information has come out regarding the title and so far so good. It has a release date in Japan for February 2010 so it's coming up at least. Konami put up an image on their website depicting the button layout for the game and pretty much 9 buttons is going to be impossible it seems. I'm hoping you can edit the layout of the buttons because it just may be too hard to adapt for veterans or newbies. I might end up just playing it on 7 buttons (or 5 buttons if it permits that style). They've listed a few songs on the site, and some of them seem very promising. I'm hoping the Karma song they have listed is the GF&DM version or the original by Bump of Chicken.
Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
-I played the JPN demo and was really disappointed. Overall, it seemed like fun, but the environments were bland and it was oddly quiet. Reading a review for the English version, the game seemed fairly short and most of the fun came from how silly the game presents itself. English reviews didn't favor the game to well, and a lot of problems I had with the demo still persist, so I might not pick this one up. Even though it was up there with Assassin's Creed Portable as probably one of the better games for this month.
// To update on pt. 2 of these entries:
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
-Very disappointed in how this played out. For a big name title like this to completely make a fool out of itself is ridiculous. I'll probably be picking this game up to play it since there are mixed verdicts on it. Some praise the game as a suitable PSP game, others condemn it for not being a clone of it's console counterpart. If the game is only 4-6 hours with really no replay value, I might be heavily disappointed as well.
Harvest Moon: Sugartown
-This game disappeared off the charts or the name got changed to the version listed to be released in Q1 of 2010. Still keeping an eye on this game since there's not a whole lot of info out, especially since the list of psp games for 2010 looks barren.
Duke Nukem Triology
-Game got pushed back to Q1 2010, assuming it's going to come out at all that is. Still keeping an eye on this game, but much like Harvest Moon, there's just not a lot of information out there then what already exists.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
-I played the JPN demo that got released on the PSN. I wasn't that pleased with it despite some redeeming qualities in the game. The game looks good and feels nostalgic, but the whole beginning of the game is littered with fetch quests. The battle system has an auto function, which really removed all challenge from battles, and for some reason FMVs are still in 4:3 ratio format. I wouldn't mind so much if they had put something to cover over the black bars, but that's not the case. Overall it looks like a sloppy port.
LittleBigPlanet Portable
-Sadly the game I didn't have much hope for this month actually blew away the other November releases. I didn't want to pick this up because I was fearing it would be a crappy port of the PS3 version, but apparently it's so well done that it has received a lot of high marks. I'll definitely be picking this up sometime in the future, maybe in January. I want to finish up a few PSP titles I'm still working on and sell a few games before picking up something new.
// To update on pt. 3 of these entries:
Phantasy Star Portable 2
-The demo came out recently and it was amazing! It was like they took the first Phantasy Star Portable, and just improved everything that needed to be improved. Character customization is absolutely top-notch, controls and battles are more fluid, basically the whole game is looking promising. I haven't tried out the online multiplayer modes even though I have an access code to it, but I don't think I will since you don't have access to much in the demo. I really do hope this comes stateside, even if I have to wait till like Q3 of next year.
Persona 3 Portable
-Still not sold on this yet, even though it has a good chance of coming over stateside. Considering the drought of games coming up, it might be good filler to revisit the world of P3 considering the amount of time it takes to beat the game. Surprisingly, no demo on the JPN PSN, however you could download the title.
Pop'n Music Portable
-More information has come out regarding the title and so far so good. It has a release date in Japan for February 2010 so it's coming up at least. Konami put up an image on their website depicting the button layout for the game and pretty much 9 buttons is going to be impossible it seems. I'm hoping you can edit the layout of the buttons because it just may be too hard to adapt for veterans or newbies. I might end up just playing it on 7 buttons (or 5 buttons if it permits that style). They've listed a few songs on the site, and some of them seem very promising. I'm hoping the Karma song they have listed is the GF&DM version or the original by Bump of Chicken.
Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
-I played the JPN demo and was really disappointed. Overall, it seemed like fun, but the environments were bland and it was oddly quiet. Reading a review for the English version, the game seemed fairly short and most of the fun came from how silly the game presents itself. English reviews didn't favor the game to well, and a lot of problems I had with the demo still persist, so I might not pick this one up. Even though it was up there with Assassin's Creed Portable as probably one of the better games for this month.
// To update on pt. 2 of these entries:
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines
-Very disappointed in how this played out. For a big name title like this to completely make a fool out of itself is ridiculous. I'll probably be picking this game up to play it since there are mixed verdicts on it. Some praise the game as a suitable PSP game, others condemn it for not being a clone of it's console counterpart. If the game is only 4-6 hours with really no replay value, I might be heavily disappointed as well.
Harvest Moon: Sugartown
-This game disappeared off the charts or the name got changed to the version listed to be released in Q1 of 2010. Still keeping an eye on this game since there's not a whole lot of info out, especially since the list of psp games for 2010 looks barren.
Duke Nukem Triology
-Game got pushed back to Q1 2010, assuming it's going to come out at all that is. Still keeping an eye on this game, but much like Harvest Moon, there's just not a lot of information out there then what already exists.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
-I played the JPN demo that got released on the PSN. I wasn't that pleased with it despite some redeeming qualities in the game. The game looks good and feels nostalgic, but the whole beginning of the game is littered with fetch quests. The battle system has an auto function, which really removed all challenge from battles, and for some reason FMVs are still in 4:3 ratio format. I wouldn't mind so much if they had put something to cover over the black bars, but that's not the case. Overall it looks like a sloppy port.
Once again, another update to the ongoing list it seems (all of these are PSP releases).
Phantasy Star Portable 2
-I already know I WILL buy this game once it comes out in the states. If Sega for some reason refuses to bring it over, I'll most likely import it. Either way, I am getting this game somehow. Actually I'm thinking of getting the demo once it comes out on the JPN PSN so I can check out the character customization. The first PS portable was a great game but with a ton of problems. Looking at what's been done this time around, it appears a lot of these problems are being corrected. This game is arguably shaping up to be the best game released on the PSP to date. The ability to create your own character, awesome graphics, fantastic boss battles, multiplayer ONLINE, being able to form parties with friends and chat with them on PSP; aside from the heavy hack-slash nature of the title, it wouldn't make sense not to get this game.
Persona 3 Portable
-The title alone is enough to get excited about, but so far I'm not sold on it yet. So far there have been some major improvements looking at videos and screenshots, however I'm not liking what I'm seeing here and there. Navigation around town and interacting with people is kinda MEH. They've taken the Phantasy Star Portable approach by just taking screenshots instead of rendering areas for you to explore. Which I wouldn't mind so much had they not slapped your main character onto the side of the screen for no reason. Plus some scenes which were emphasized more through the animations in the PS2 version are getting shafted it appears. New music for the female protagonist storyline sounds awful so far, especially the new battle music. I probably will purchase this game if it comes over stateside, but I'm not really too excited about it considering I've played the PS2 version.
Pop'n Music Portable
-What's with all the P titled games? Anywho, not a lot of information on this one yet other than it's another one of Konami's music games they refuse to bring over stateside. So far it looks like a greatest-hits sort of game made portable. I love that the songlist is rather large, like 80 songs or more, however I hope they are decent. There looks to be a storymode as well which could be a pain in the ass for people like me who are planning on importing the game. Especially if all the content is required to be unlocked in that. This is definitely an odd move for the series considering it's supposed to be played on big-ass hand sized buttons, however logically it makes sense to put it on a portable medium. Since the series gameplay wasn't designed to represent any real musical instrument at all. I've always wanted to try this game out but didn't want to plug an expensive amount of money importing it, so this should be fun. Maybe if we wait long enough, we'll see a PSP DDR Portable sometime =/ They'll make it for the gameboy and the iPod touch, yet not on the PSP.
Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
-The demo for this is actually on the JPN PSN; I should probably download it, but this is another title that has caught my eye. It looks very similar to Yakuza on the PS2 so I'm hoping it's decent enough to play. It's coming out next month stateside, so I'm looking to get a hold of it since Atlus is bringing it over. Which means it might be over-the-top translated which could be good or bad seeing as how ridiculous this game plays out. I think the most troublesome thought I'm having is that I want this to be a portable Yakuza, but it may end up not being like that. That's really the only real thing drawing me into the game is that thin amount of hope.
To update on first list:
Let's Tap (Wii)
-This was a fun game but I've stopped playing it because
1) It's on the Wii.
2) All the games are arcade style and lose their appeal over time.
3) No life bar on the rhythm game made it less challenging.
Pangya: Fantasy Golf (PSP)
-Got this and was pleasantly surprised.
Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite (PSP)
-Got this and really haven't been that pleased with it. Way too challenging, and I'm not having a lot of fun with it despite all the positive aspects of the game.
Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP)
-Got this and actually had a decent time with it. Not the greatest PSP game of all time, but definitely keeping it in my collection.
Duke Nukem Triology (PSP)
-Shit got pushed back to Q1 of next year D:
Tekken 6 (PSP)
-Decided I'm not going to get this next month.
Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy (PS2)
-Probably will get this game after I sell off a few PS2 games on ebay. Most likely I'll just wait and see if the PSP port of the game is coming stateside.
Phantasy Star Portable 2
-I already know I WILL buy this game once it comes out in the states. If Sega for some reason refuses to bring it over, I'll most likely import it. Either way, I am getting this game somehow. Actually I'm thinking of getting the demo once it comes out on the JPN PSN so I can check out the character customization. The first PS portable was a great game but with a ton of problems. Looking at what's been done this time around, it appears a lot of these problems are being corrected. This game is arguably shaping up to be the best game released on the PSP to date. The ability to create your own character, awesome graphics, fantastic boss battles, multiplayer ONLINE, being able to form parties with friends and chat with them on PSP; aside from the heavy hack-slash nature of the title, it wouldn't make sense not to get this game.
Persona 3 Portable
-The title alone is enough to get excited about, but so far I'm not sold on it yet. So far there have been some major improvements looking at videos and screenshots, however I'm not liking what I'm seeing here and there. Navigation around town and interacting with people is kinda MEH. They've taken the Phantasy Star Portable approach by just taking screenshots instead of rendering areas for you to explore. Which I wouldn't mind so much had they not slapped your main character onto the side of the screen for no reason. Plus some scenes which were emphasized more through the animations in the PS2 version are getting shafted it appears. New music for the female protagonist storyline sounds awful so far, especially the new battle music. I probably will purchase this game if it comes over stateside, but I'm not really too excited about it considering I've played the PS2 version.
Pop'n Music Portable
-What's with all the P titled games? Anywho, not a lot of information on this one yet other than it's another one of Konami's music games they refuse to bring over stateside. So far it looks like a greatest-hits sort of game made portable. I love that the songlist is rather large, like 80 songs or more, however I hope they are decent. There looks to be a storymode as well which could be a pain in the ass for people like me who are planning on importing the game. Especially if all the content is required to be unlocked in that. This is definitely an odd move for the series considering it's supposed to be played on big-ass hand sized buttons, however logically it makes sense to put it on a portable medium. Since the series gameplay wasn't designed to represent any real musical instrument at all. I've always wanted to try this game out but didn't want to plug an expensive amount of money importing it, so this should be fun. Maybe if we wait long enough, we'll see a PSP DDR Portable sometime =/ They'll make it for the gameboy and the iPod touch, yet not on the PSP.
Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble
-The demo for this is actually on the JPN PSN; I should probably download it, but this is another title that has caught my eye. It looks very similar to Yakuza on the PS2 so I'm hoping it's decent enough to play. It's coming out next month stateside, so I'm looking to get a hold of it since Atlus is bringing it over. Which means it might be over-the-top translated which could be good or bad seeing as how ridiculous this game plays out. I think the most troublesome thought I'm having is that I want this to be a portable Yakuza, but it may end up not being like that. That's really the only real thing drawing me into the game is that thin amount of hope.
To update on first list:
Let's Tap (Wii)
-This was a fun game but I've stopped playing it because
1) It's on the Wii.
2) All the games are arcade style and lose their appeal over time.
3) No life bar on the rhythm game made it less challenging.
Pangya: Fantasy Golf (PSP)
-Got this and was pleasantly surprised.
Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite (PSP)
-Got this and really haven't been that pleased with it. Way too challenging, and I'm not having a lot of fun with it despite all the positive aspects of the game.
Dissidia Final Fantasy (PSP)
-Got this and actually had a decent time with it. Not the greatest PSP game of all time, but definitely keeping it in my collection.
Duke Nukem Triology (PSP)
-Shit got pushed back to Q1 of next year D:
-Decided I'm not going to get this next month.
Mana Khemia 2: Fall of Alchemy (PS2)
-Probably will get this game after I sell off a few PS2 games on ebay. Most likely I'll just wait and see if the PSP port of the game is coming stateside.
Ever since I got my PSP 3000 this year I've been really happy with it. It fits comfortably in my side pocket, the battery life lasts more than enough to get some gaming in on the go, and the games I have for it are amazing. When the PSP Go was announced I was a little turned off to it due to the fact I just recently purchased the 3000 model. However reading into it I realized I made a safe purchase and that the Go wasn't even worth upgrading to. I really don't mean to bag on Sony but I think the PSP Go is a nice piece of hardware, but it's just going to waste with how they've set up their solution to gamers. Here are some thoughts and opinions I wanted to write down regarding the Go.
// Digital vs. Hardcopy
This seems like a no-brainer to me. Because no plan is in place to allow UMD owners to swap or transfer their games to the PSP Go digitally, current PSP owners have no reason to move toward the digital change. However, if PSP games sold in store came with both the UMD and a code to redeem for a digital version, we might be moving in the right direction. At that point, it wouldn't matter what PSP you owned, you could still play the game. Also if you didn't like the game, you could just sell/trade in the UMD to get something else and not feel like you got cheated. Of course it could be argued that a person might just buy the game, use the redeem code and sell the UMD or give it to a friend. From a company stand point, I can understand being angry that the game won't sell as many copies if consumers are doing that. Then again with the new digital downloads, what's stopping two-five people from sharing a PSN account anyways and paying only once?
// Buying digitally + returning for credit
Probably a really bad idea, but it covers complaints people could have about not being able to do anything with their digital copies. Let's say you buy a 20 buck game off the network and didn't really enjoy it. You have no other option than to delete the game since you can't return it or sell it to a friend. What if you purchased a game digitally, you were offered a trade-in value for the game. So let's say that 20 buck game had a trade-in value of 10 bucks, when you're done playing the game, you de-activate the game from your PSP, it gets deleted from your download list, and you get 10 bucks credit added to your account to spend on new titles.
// Price tag for $50
Reasons aside for why Sony marked their PSP Go at $250, I think it would have been wiser to sell it limited time for only $50 before jacking the price up. That number is low enough to screw with the Nintendo DS sales and other portable devices, because I can't imagine those companies wanting to take a large hit as well just to discourage people from buying a PSP. For those who pre-ordered for the $250 pricetag, maybe throw them $200 worth of downloads or something. The thing is, the price is currently to expensive and a game of logistics. Why buy the Go when the 3000 model is capable of doing what it does + more? Why shell out money for a device that costs almost the price of a Wii and PS3? For someone like me, I have no reason to get the Go since none of the games I play on my PSP are available on the PSN network. I'm sorry, but the whole reason I bought a PSP was to finally play a more affordable version of Idolm@ster.
It sounds crazy to suggest selling the Go for that low, and it's obviously not going to bring in money for Sony selling the device for that cheap. However imagine all the people who are going to go out and purchase it due to that price tag. I bet sales of games and accessories for the handheld would dramatically increase as a result by selling it that cheap. It'd probably be more comforting to game designers knowing they're designing for a platform a lot of people own that's for sure. Understandably consumers would get pissed off and sales would decline once the price goes up, but in that short period the device would become incredibly accessible.
// PSP Communications Network
I'm actually curious as to why the PSP doesn't have some sort of gamers network established. The PSP has the ability to connect to the internet, so what's stopping Sony from making some sort of communications program available other than Skype present on the device? Even if it was just a basic core texting service, being able to send messages back and forth at a leisurely pace would be amazing. Skype is nice if you want to chat live, but in certain settings, it's just not convenient. Imagine a high school setting where you jump from class to class; it's not possible to keep your PSP on with WiFi going all day since the battery will die fast. However, it would be much different if you could turn your PSP on and send messages over an internet connection in short bursts. Yes, technically the PSP could connect over the internet and use a WAP enabled e-mail address that wouldn't strain the device. And yes, technically creating user profiles could be considered ripping another page off the Xbox. However, with a portable device that has an extensive library of multiplayer games, it seems illogical for the handheld to not have some form of way to communicate with gamers you meet up with.
This technology could even be advanced further in quite a scary way if you think about it. Imagine if stores like Gamestop or Starbucks setup kiosks where you could connect your PSP to them. Using your PSP you could transfer over your profile to the kiosk and basically leave your name there telling other people that not only were you there, but what sort of games you play. Maybe have a way to plug in the region code number off the box without having to type it out or risk people putting inappropriate messages there. Other PSP users then could walk in, see your name, see that you play a multiplayer game they own too (like Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star), then send a message your way asking you to meet up at the store to get some games in. Stores could benefit from the kiosks too by adding their own wallpapers, themes, even downloadable games/menus, etc. Heck, even Konami could integrate the kiosk technology into their Dance Dance Revolution cabinets, sell a DDR portable game, and create a new way to revive the DDR scene. To seal the deal, if PSP accessible WiFi was present on these, it would have the whole communications network come full circle in it's ease to connect with others on the go.
- - -
These are just my thoughts on the matter. Always arguable of course.
// Digital vs. Hardcopy
This seems like a no-brainer to me. Because no plan is in place to allow UMD owners to swap or transfer their games to the PSP Go digitally, current PSP owners have no reason to move toward the digital change. However, if PSP games sold in store came with both the UMD and a code to redeem for a digital version, we might be moving in the right direction. At that point, it wouldn't matter what PSP you owned, you could still play the game. Also if you didn't like the game, you could just sell/trade in the UMD to get something else and not feel like you got cheated. Of course it could be argued that a person might just buy the game, use the redeem code and sell the UMD or give it to a friend. From a company stand point, I can understand being angry that the game won't sell as many copies if consumers are doing that. Then again with the new digital downloads, what's stopping two-five people from sharing a PSN account anyways and paying only once?
// Buying digitally + returning for credit
Probably a really bad idea, but it covers complaints people could have about not being able to do anything with their digital copies. Let's say you buy a 20 buck game off the network and didn't really enjoy it. You have no other option than to delete the game since you can't return it or sell it to a friend. What if you purchased a game digitally, you were offered a trade-in value for the game. So let's say that 20 buck game had a trade-in value of 10 bucks, when you're done playing the game, you de-activate the game from your PSP, it gets deleted from your download list, and you get 10 bucks credit added to your account to spend on new titles.
// Price tag for $50
Reasons aside for why Sony marked their PSP Go at $250, I think it would have been wiser to sell it limited time for only $50 before jacking the price up. That number is low enough to screw with the Nintendo DS sales and other portable devices, because I can't imagine those companies wanting to take a large hit as well just to discourage people from buying a PSP. For those who pre-ordered for the $250 pricetag, maybe throw them $200 worth of downloads or something. The thing is, the price is currently to expensive and a game of logistics. Why buy the Go when the 3000 model is capable of doing what it does + more? Why shell out money for a device that costs almost the price of a Wii and PS3? For someone like me, I have no reason to get the Go since none of the games I play on my PSP are available on the PSN network. I'm sorry, but the whole reason I bought a PSP was to finally play a more affordable version of Idolm@ster.
It sounds crazy to suggest selling the Go for that low, and it's obviously not going to bring in money for Sony selling the device for that cheap. However imagine all the people who are going to go out and purchase it due to that price tag. I bet sales of games and accessories for the handheld would dramatically increase as a result by selling it that cheap. It'd probably be more comforting to game designers knowing they're designing for a platform a lot of people own that's for sure. Understandably consumers would get pissed off and sales would decline once the price goes up, but in that short period the device would become incredibly accessible.
// PSP Communications Network
I'm actually curious as to why the PSP doesn't have some sort of gamers network established. The PSP has the ability to connect to the internet, so what's stopping Sony from making some sort of communications program available other than Skype present on the device? Even if it was just a basic core texting service, being able to send messages back and forth at a leisurely pace would be amazing. Skype is nice if you want to chat live, but in certain settings, it's just not convenient. Imagine a high school setting where you jump from class to class; it's not possible to keep your PSP on with WiFi going all day since the battery will die fast. However, it would be much different if you could turn your PSP on and send messages over an internet connection in short bursts. Yes, technically the PSP could connect over the internet and use a WAP enabled e-mail address that wouldn't strain the device. And yes, technically creating user profiles could be considered ripping another page off the Xbox. However, with a portable device that has an extensive library of multiplayer games, it seems illogical for the handheld to not have some form of way to communicate with gamers you meet up with.
This technology could even be advanced further in quite a scary way if you think about it. Imagine if stores like Gamestop or Starbucks setup kiosks where you could connect your PSP to them. Using your PSP you could transfer over your profile to the kiosk and basically leave your name there telling other people that not only were you there, but what sort of games you play. Maybe have a way to plug in the region code number off the box without having to type it out or risk people putting inappropriate messages there. Other PSP users then could walk in, see your name, see that you play a multiplayer game they own too (like Monster Hunter or Phantasy Star), then send a message your way asking you to meet up at the store to get some games in. Stores could benefit from the kiosks too by adding their own wallpapers, themes, even downloadable games/menus, etc. Heck, even Konami could integrate the kiosk technology into their Dance Dance Revolution cabinets, sell a DDR portable game, and create a new way to revive the DDR scene. To seal the deal, if PSP accessible WiFi was present on these, it would have the whole communications network come full circle in it's ease to connect with others on the go.
- - -
These are just my thoughts on the matter. Always arguable of course.
So this is an update to the list I made earlier. Mostly just keeping an eye on PSP games right now. Next couple of months are sadly a bit dry for the system (actually all systems look pretty much in a dry spell) although that gives me some time to catch up on other PSP titles I've been working through:
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PSP)
-This game caught my eye but I'm not 100% sold on it yet. I'm not that impressed with how the graphics are being handled, especially after seeing what the PSP is capable of after playing games like Monster Hunter and Dissidia. However, there aren't a lot of screenshots to shift through so it's not possible to get a good glimpse of the game. It could actually play well and look beautiful enough to stay in par with it's Xbox/PS3 counterpart. It's not coming out till mid-November though so something new could come up in the next two months.
Harvest Moon: Sugartown (PSP)
-I've played a Harvest Moon game before a long while back on the GBA but didn't really enjoy it. The farming was pretty interesting, but everything else felt bland from the characters, the world, story, etc. It just felt like work without any sort of reward or motivation to keep going. Because of that experience I've avoided the series and haven't really kept tabs on it. Out of curosity, I looked up this title since it's coming out sometime before the end of the year, and was actually quite surprised with what I saw. I really liked the art style and characters, and some of the gameplay looked entertaining. A poor dub would really kill a game like this though; here's hoping they do something a la Klonoa with the voices. I'm still looking for my Radiata Stories clone on the PSP; here's hoping this could be as close as I can get.
Duke Nukem Triology (PSP)
-Still keeping an eye on this game although information is still pretty slim on the triology. From what it looks like, Critical Mass (the first in the triology) isn't coming out in September as it was stated everywhere. Now some places are saying December or just Q4 for when it's supposed to show up. So who knows when it'll come out assuming it even does this year. This could be good or bad for the series considering how dormant Duke Nukem has been for years. If the game is fine-tuned and turns out to deliver a really wonderful experience, then the extra wait is worth it and the series could step forward again. If it turns out to be exactly what has been shown in screenshots, then it's going to turn away an audience that has sat waiting patiently with false hope. They might as well at that point just port the 3D version to the PSP and call it quits.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP)
-This remake simply looks classic all over with it's 90s anime style look and 2D art. Screenshots look promising so far but the battle system definitely looks questionable. Can't really say much since there are so many factors involved like the dubbing and the gameplay that I don't have a clear picture yet. If it does play like the original then I could easily look at the original to get an idea of what this is. So far so good, but it's quite a wait since it comes out in December.
Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines (PSP)
-This game caught my eye but I'm not 100% sold on it yet. I'm not that impressed with how the graphics are being handled, especially after seeing what the PSP is capable of after playing games like Monster Hunter and Dissidia. However, there aren't a lot of screenshots to shift through so it's not possible to get a good glimpse of the game. It could actually play well and look beautiful enough to stay in par with it's Xbox/PS3 counterpart. It's not coming out till mid-November though so something new could come up in the next two months.
Harvest Moon: Sugartown (PSP)
-I've played a Harvest Moon game before a long while back on the GBA but didn't really enjoy it. The farming was pretty interesting, but everything else felt bland from the characters, the world, story, etc. It just felt like work without any sort of reward or motivation to keep going. Because of that experience I've avoided the series and haven't really kept tabs on it. Out of curosity, I looked up this title since it's coming out sometime before the end of the year, and was actually quite surprised with what I saw. I really liked the art style and characters, and some of the gameplay looked entertaining. A poor dub would really kill a game like this though; here's hoping they do something a la Klonoa with the voices. I'm still looking for my Radiata Stories clone on the PSP; here's hoping this could be as close as I can get.
Duke Nukem Triology (PSP)
-Still keeping an eye on this game although information is still pretty slim on the triology. From what it looks like, Critical Mass (the first in the triology) isn't coming out in September as it was stated everywhere. Now some places are saying December or just Q4 for when it's supposed to show up. So who knows when it'll come out assuming it even does this year. This could be good or bad for the series considering how dormant Duke Nukem has been for years. If the game is fine-tuned and turns out to deliver a really wonderful experience, then the extra wait is worth it and the series could step forward again. If it turns out to be exactly what has been shown in screenshots, then it's going to turn away an audience that has sat waiting patiently with false hope. They might as well at that point just port the 3D version to the PSP and call it quits.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (PSP)
-This remake simply looks classic all over with it's 90s anime style look and 2D art. Screenshots look promising so far but the battle system definitely looks questionable. Can't really say much since there are so many factors involved like the dubbing and the gameplay that I don't have a clear picture yet. If it does play like the original then I could easily look at the original to get an idea of what this is. So far so good, but it's quite a wait since it comes out in December.
I could make this review really concise by just saying Monster Hunter is popular in Japan; end of story. Though that doesn't explain a thing about what I experienced so I'll have to elaborate that statement. After spending a full week pounding through this game, all I can think about is how this game doesn't fit in to well here in the states. Unfortunately I don't know where to start in explaining my argument so I'll just start from the basics. I was originally looking for this game out in the stores back when Pangya PSP came out but couldn't find it. So I ended up ordering it alongside Pangya off the internet. I played both games when I got them but ended up spending more time with Pangya because it trapped me with it's addictive nature. It feels very similar to what I did when I got Yakuza 2, I put it aside for a while because I was more occupied with Dance Dance Revolution X but ended up loving the game once I got more into it. I was hoping maybe after a while when I came back to Monster Hunter, and spent some more time with it, I'd probably end up with another classic like I did Yakuza 2. Unfortunately I can't really say the same.
My first impressions of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (MHFU) were pretty good, although puzzling. The game is incredibly beautiful with some decent environments that feel almost realistic and authentic. When you're traveling through these places, you'll see every little detail, and no place just looks slapped together or randomly generated. They look crafted and handbuilt with care, even though most areas are purposely made wide and large to allow for large creature battles. Load times are amazing since you can do a data install, allowing you to traverse from place to place on the map without having to wait long. Same when you start up quests, it feels almost instantanious that you're out on the field ready to go. This obviously makes good use of the battery since I found with the data install on it was really only killing 8% of the battery every hour of play. So from the start, MHFU has the makings of a good portable game with great graphics, small loading times, and low battery usage. Even though the game is a repackaged improvement of previous installments, it's full of a bunch of snags that really just killed the experience for me.
To start, MHFU has no storyline you follow other than the obligatory intro story to explain who you are, what you're doing, and why you're doing it. After that you just do quests, kill things, and gather items. That pretty much sums up the main gameplay, all you do is hunt and gather really so it does become a bit repeatitive. The game I feel is very much like a portable MMO, with no real goal, you just play it for fun or play it multiplayer with friends. Which is probably the main problem or benefit of this game is that it's designed to be played with multiple people. Yeah it can be played single player, but the experience if anything is like filler; just something to occupy your time while waiting for a new game. The only point to play the game alone is to get better armor and weapons, get access to new areas, etc. which is alright but not very rewarding. I'm not saying the game is bad, it is pretty enjoyable and challenging to play, I just feel like this game caters toward a certain demographic.
In Japan this game makes sense, or in any area with a high density of people who don't often get to scale mountains or run through swamps while in the city. You're bound to find someone who plays because the conditions are more ripe to run into someone who has a copy of the game. However when you're like me in a small town where no one touches their PSP, it's more of a challenge to find another player than it is to kill your first Khezu in the game. It would have been nice if alongside ad-hoc, online infrastructure could have been used, but that won't happen because that service is offered currently only in Japan, via a PS3 PSN network add on. So if you have a PS3 and are willing to get a Japan PSN account, you'll definitely find more players but that just gives more reason as to why this game is popular in Japan. The opportunity to connect with more players just hasn't arrived statewide, so it's a much more lonely experience than the game pans out to be based on it's box description "You're Never Alone."
I should probably mention the controls since they're a mess to get used to. Analog stick for movement much like Phantasy Star portable, which I gripe about because I wish I could swap that with the d-pad to handle camera work instead. All the buttons do a variety of things and sometimes you're pressing multiple buttons just to perform an action, so the controls really become a test of memorization. The controls aren't bad, they're just hard to get used to at first, especially while performing make-or-break gameplay decisions. The one thing that has become tiring to deal with are the animations to everything. Whether you're drinking a potion, eating an item, pulling your weapon out, etc. there is always an animation associated with it. Your character wastes so much time doing these stupid animations that it can really screw you over in a tight spot. I don't see why the character for instance can't just eat a well-done steak and throw the bone away. Instead there's these added on animations where the character will pat his stomach and the game announces your stamina increases. In the middle of a battle this is terrible, especially if you're trying to heal. It forces you to run away from the action just to take care of some basics to survive. Which would be okay but even when you run off, smaller monsters can follow you and intrupt this. It would have been more handy in my opinion if there were some elevated areas where you couldn't be touched, but that could have make things too easy by allowing you to sit up there and shoot at things.
I can continue on with the negatives, like the poorly put together menu, the bizarre aztec looking font that seems out of place, etc. Or even with what could have helped the game like a story mode, more complex environments to navigate etc. but there's not much point. MHFU is still a pretty good game despite a lot of things that could turn people away. You're able to customize your own character to a degree, and the characters and monsters come across pretty realistic in their personalities. The soundtrack is pretty good, especially since you don't have to listen to some theme play while traveling through the jungle or snow really adds to the atmosphere. Although it doesn't offer much beyond the few tunes which you'll probably find yourself humming here and there after you play a session of the game. The game is essentially endless, with tons of quests to do and places to go, so it makes a decent time killer while on travel or when you're out and about. The difficulty might be cranked up a bit too high, and with it's almost do-what-you want attitude, it's easy to get puzzled on the whole point of the game. However with what the game offers, it's worth it to give it a try.
// Overall review in a nutshell:
Gameplay - 3
Music - 3
Replay - 4
Graphics - 4
Difficulty - 5
// Overall Score - 19 - A Game
(Highest score possible is 25 with AAA score)
I'm both angry and happy with Pangya golf, and it's funny to see how consumed I've been with this game for the past several weeks. At times it's been so annoyingly challenging, yet so rewarding at the same time that I've just been at a lost for words. Now let me say that I really didn't think I'd be that interested in this game in the first place. I'm not a big fan of golf, plus I haven't really played golf to an extent other than mini-golf. I have played some videogame golf, like the minigame in Yakuza 2 where you drive the ball, plus whatever that experience was that I had with Neo Turf Masters on SNK Arcade Classics. Despite all these obstacles, Pangya did a nice job of keeping me interested as well as introduce basic golf mechanics. Which I think should be commendable in a game which takes a classic, often unappealing sport but keeps it fresh and interesting for a new crowd.
Now the one thing I love about the game is how addicting it is. There are 16 characters to unlock and a ton of outfits and accessories for each character. Along with clubs, items, and rare items you can only get randomly through the Papel Shop, you're going to be playing a lot just to get the money required to unlock stuff. I love games that reward you like this because it encourages you to try and get better at the game to earn more money, as well as keep you playing. While the game is mostly a one player experience, it doesn't fall short on that end. There aren't a lot of modes, which is okay since the existing modes are solid, but some creativity would have been nice. I would have loved to have seen some sort of mode where you just drived balls to see how far you could shoot them, or hit moving targets. There is a multiplayer mode but it is ad-hoc tournament, meaning you need people around you locally. Also it's tournament fashion meaning you can't see what your opponent looks like, you'll just see where they land their ball. For single player, you have License modes which offer a ton of challenges you must play to unlock different tournaments. Then there are those tournaments you can play which are very worth unlocking and playing due to the rewards that get handed out in them. There's also a very lengthy Story mode which will take you probably 20-30 hours to get through alone.
Story mode is where you unlock all the characters, so you're sort of forced to play through that just to get them. While it's a pain in the butt to work through, the plot is entertaining enough to balance things out. The story is told in a very linear fashion and the game requires you to play from one character to the next, which can be a pain if you're trying to unlock a character specifically. It also becomes questionable considering some character paths in episode 2 don't really connect to others, and it leaves you wondering why you couldn't play that episode out of order. If you've played DDR X's story mode, then Pangya's story mode should feel awfully similiar. Most of the episodes just involve you meeting a character an challenging them every chapter. I was really hoping for something other than this but very rarely would the game branch out and be clever. Since episode 1 for each character were mainly to introduce who the characters were, I think it would have been more effective to have those episode chapters be score missions or something else where you just played Pangya as you went. As opposed to just all the random versus matches you have to end up doing. Another thing that's often annoying are the CPU characters and how they play. Sometimes they'll do rather poorly, either getting bogeys or making bad moves allowing you to get some easy wins. Other times they're very malicious shooting eagles or making expert moves with their plays that screw you over or force you to constantly replay a match. I really wish there had been some option to control CPU difficulty to fix this problem.
One thing that's very noticable while playing the game is the music. Now while the music itself isn't that spectacular, it's not so terrible that you want to turn it off or lower it. The opening themesong is really nice, albeit you'll probably just want to hear it on occassion as opposed to each time you turn on the game. What I do appreciate is that Tomy left the Korean lyrics in the song as opposed to just putting an instrumental track in it's place. Considering it's common place with Namco and how they remove the lyrics in all their Tales of intros, I was sort of expecting the same done here with this Korean port. Actually looking through the game and comparing it to the Korean version, almost everything was pretty much left alone. All you really see is the translation, which is another interesting point. The translation was well done and the dialogue was entertaining, but there were several noticable gramatical errors like words missing, or some sentences repeating words.
The graphics are quite a mixed bag across the board. The menu interface is so beautifully done and organized, it works amazingly well. A lot of the character models look nice in the game and come across very exceptional for the system. However some menus look pretty slapped together and some character models just look too plain. There are also a bunch of graphic bugs and glitches that spoil the experience a bit. The rendered fields often flicker or the camera clips through the ground or wall, breaking the fantasy look and feel and reinforcing the matter that this is just a game. Which is kind of sad considering how nice some of the golf fields look. While they might not be the most beautifully crafted areas seen in a PSP game, they still have their own bright and unique charm that they feel very alive. There is also a large variety of them that half the time you play, you'll feel like you're golfing on new turf which is nice. Camera control was quite nice as well considering it allowed you to pan the golf course, although it would have been more appealing to me if you could walk your character across the field. Maybe let them sit on the benches, swim in the water, etc.
The manual that came with this game was a disappointment. It was a mere 3-4 pages of basic information looped over again in different languages. Understandably the tutorials in the game showed you how to play, but it would have been nice to have more information about the techniques and what they did rather than just how to execute them. Maybe even some character bios or explaining the clubs a bit, but I can see why it was left so short. This sort of game is a gamble so I imagine the manual was kept so short to reduce costs. Speaking of techniques, there weren't really a lot of them, so it was a bit dissappointing that you couldn't perform some crazy shots. I guess it is to keep it as close to golf as possible, but it would have been nice to have seen the opportunity taken here to really expand the creativity. Like taking turns for instance in versus matches, that really bothered me because I couldn't skip watching what my opponent did. Sure it's nice to see what the opponent looks like or what they did, but if I really needed to see where they landed, I could just check on my turn. Plus I really didn't learn anything from watching them other than what not to do on occassions.
One last grievance I have involves how constantly the game checks the UMD. I find an hour session kills 25% of the battery on my PSP-3000, which isn't that great be honest. While you can play this game on the road, it's probably only best in quick bursts or for a short session. If you sit around for two hours playing this game, you'll lose half your battery life, which could suck if you're on a long road trip, etc. If you're hooked up to power you're probably fine, but I'd hate to imagine what would happen if someone sat down playing dress up with the characters for an hour with no AC power. Considering it searches the UMD each time you slap on a different piece of clothing, that'd be quite an excessive drain than usual. I also found for some reason, most likely as a result of this constant checking, the game can sometimes twitch and do odd things as well. For instance, if I jerked my PSP too suddenly while it was searching the UMD, the game would pull up the home menu and stop the music in the game.
While Pangya probably isn't the best game I've played, it does a good job at what it does and was worth picking up. There's a lot to do and a lot to unlock, it's definitely a game I can see myself playing for a long time.
// Overall review in a nutshell:
Gameplay - 4
Music - 3
Replay - 5
Graphics - 3
Difficulty - 5
// Overall Score - 20 - A Game
(Highest score possible is 25 with AAA score)
I never really looked into the DJ MAX series due to the high resemblance it has to the Beatmania series. Remove the turntable from Beatmania and there's not really a whole lot of difference between the two other than the platforms for which you can play them. It's very similiar to the Pump it Up vs. DDR arguement, two different series with similar aspects in the same genre. Much like how Guitar Freaks and Guitar Hero look the same, one did come before the other one even though one is more popular than the other. Originally a PC game, this series jumped to the PSP and it's headed to the arcade in a different format, but the PSP version stays close to how it's played on the PC. I decided to give this series a chance though much like I gave Pump it Up a chance when it came out in the states on the PS2. I had some mix results, but overall it's a decent game, it's just put together in a really sloppy fashion.
Gameplay isn't much to talk about since it's your standard fare for a music game. If you've ever played a music game before you can easily figure this game out. In DJ MAX notes fall from the top of the screen and you catch them by pressing the appropriate buttons. Green notes you have to hit to keep the music going, and long notes you have to holddown for a while. You have several different modes to pick from, the basic being 4 buttons, then it progresses to 5 buttons, 6 buttons, and even 8 buttons. When you begin playing, you have to create a DJ profile to keep track of scores and unlocks. There's a leveling up system which uses a guage that fills as you play more songs, with unlocks at certain levels. A lot of things are unlocked from the start, a majority of the rest requires you play to unlock them.
I think overall if you like music games, you will definitely enjoy DJ MAX Fever. If you have a PSP and don't want to import the Korean versions, this is a very good way to get involved and try it out. It's very flashy, and it has some pretty decent songs to pick from. However there are a lot of problems I found with the game including bugs people have discovered while playing. One of the major problems I have with Fever is the same I had with Pump it Up Exceed when it was released in the states. The graphics don't feel coherent in the slightest and there's just too many different styles and directions of artwork. Each video has a different style with the background animations that some appear more fresh, others feel like earlier tagged on versions. Several things look cluttered as well both as a result of the art as well as just unnecessary things like disk accomplisments. Comparison purposes, take a look at DJ MAX Classiquai and compare it to Fever and you'll see how ugly the game really looks with both it's organization and interface. While the graphics aren't necessarily bad, the different art styles used don't flow together and aren't presented well.
Graphics aside, there are a lot of strange choices I felt were made in the game. In Album mode there are a ton of songs listed that aren't even playable in the game. To make it worse, you can listen to the song in Album mode, so the songs are on the UMD, just not playable. This wouldn't be much of a concern to me if the songlist was much larger than it is. Normally with a music game, the songs need to be licensed to play, so it can be understandable for a song to be on the disk and not playable (similiar to Butterfly existing on the PS1 DDR release, just not playable in the game). It seems odd to me that you can listen to them in this mode, just not play with them in the game. Other problems I have with the songlist is that some songs only have one difficulty or such a low level of difficulty that some songs become uninteresting to play due to lack of challenge. Along the same lines, when you go to select a song, each one has two loading screens for some reason. With Taekwonburi for instance, the first screen is a static image of the duck with Korean text dictating the song title, then it cuts to the second one which is in English and has animation. There are mistakes and bugs all around as well. In Collection, there is a section for unlocking pictures. A majority of the pictures I've unlocked already have been mistitled, or the image says it's from a song, but it's labelled as part of another song. Also one of the gears called the Ruby Spinal Gear causes the game to freeze up forcing you to restart it.
There are also some other really bizarre choices made. The game manual included is almost useless as it won't even dictate what buttons to press to play or what certain things in the game will do. You have to experiment to figure it out which also leads to another problem. There's something in the game called auto-correct which as titled, automatically corrects a mistake. So if for instance you were playing 4 buttons and you press the circle button when you were supposed to press the left arrow button, it will count it as correct. When I was first trying to figure out the controls, this was confusing because I could hit any button and it would take it. It is helpful though to a beginner, and exploitable if you don't want to twirl the analog stick for the rainbow colored notes. At the same time, it just lowers the difficulty a bit making it not that hard to hit the notes. Although the game does offer some difficulty and makes up for the auto-correct feature with missions which mostly require accuracy rather than correct button pressing.
Even though those complaints don't seem like much, having content not playable and a glitchy looking game can be quite dissappointing. Plus it's a game that really likes to drain the battery from what I've experienced. I notice an hour session on my PSP-3000 can kill a little over 40% of the battery sometimes. It would have been nice to have an option to export song previews to the memory stick that way it doesn't have to constantly twirl the UMD. Despite all this, the game does have a lot of positive aspects like good solid gameplay. Also some neat options like ad-hoc play and the ability to export pictures unlocked in Collection for use as wallpapers on your PSP. It's not a game you can sit around for hours playing, but it's not that terrible of a game either where it's not worth picking up.
// Overall review in a nutshell:
Gameplay - 4
Music - 3
Replay - 3
Graphics - 3
Difficulty - 4
// Overall Score - 17 - B Game
(Highest score possible is 25 with AAA score)
Edit: Thanks to the people who uploaded those videos.
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