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Editorials and Features

Happy Birthday PSP   Article by: MrCHUPON

Article: Happy Birthday PSP [Written 2006-03-26]

As Trigames.NET celebrates the PSP's first birthday, we'd like to spotlight a few releases - and titles yet to arrive - that will wet your non-port-wanting whistle. When the Playstation Portable was announced a few years back, not a lot of people quite knew what to expect other than - quite literally - a portable Playstation. Many people - "I was expecting a bit worse than Playstation 1," said one Gamespot.com editor - ended up being blown away by the visual fidelity of the Death, Jr. video shown off at trade shows in 2004. With reports that the machine would be a portable video and music player to boot, Sony's little PSP was gaining quite a large amount of steam. When Nintendo countered with the Nintendo DS announcement and unveiling at 2004's Electronics Entertainment Expo, believers in Sony's portable were unimpressed by the grainy, unfiltered and N64-era graphics next to the PSP's sleek near-Dreamcast quality. The media used for the PSP would also double as a new format for movies. The Universal Media Disc, which was announced at a storage capacity of 1.5 gigabytes of data (about twice that of a compact disc), would play razor sharp movies on the PSP's beautiful widescreen display. The promise of Grand Theft Auto on the same machine as House of Flying Daggers was too much for media buffs to pass up. The PSP was almost instantly declared the portable console war "winner" by many media outlets and critics. After numerous delays, the PSP launched in Japan in December of 2004. However, naysayers attempted to put down the machine's reputation with reports of faulty UMD trays (discs popping out undisturbed) and a wonky Square button - which Sony's Ken Kutaragi touted as intentional design, but went back to fix anyway. Yet, this did nothing to stop the momentum Sony gained when it announced that it would have over 20 launch titles ready for the PSP's North American launch on March 24th, 2005. With sports titles, racing games, action titles, platformers, hack-n-slash role-playing and even Darkstalkers, the PSP would truly bring to life Sega's old slogan of doing "what Nintendon't." And that was to launch a next-gen portable with a launch lineup worth something. Lumines, from Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q? Entertainment, took portable puzzling by storm. Beautiful 3D graphics from games like Ridge Racer really showed the world that the console experience could be taken with you absolutely anywhere. While the Nintendo DS was going through its unfortunate dry spell, gamers who saved up the surprising and - to many - very reasonable $250 for the PSP were living their portable gaming dreams. Though there was somewhat of a dry spell that pelted the PSP during the summer months, the PSP wouldn't have to wait long for its next console-style hit. In the fall, Burnout Legends brought the same great thrills to the small screen as it did to the big one. The Madden bomb was dropped, as did the much anticipated Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. But wait a minute. These big titles were simply console ports. With the lack of a second analog stick and second set of shoulder buttons, some of them didn't feel so hot. Worse, some discerning gamers were beginning to get tired of the dearth of actual original content. After all, did everyone really want to sit through load times and games that required in-depth attention while on a 20-minute busride? Absolutely not. Some people demanded old-school, pick-up and play flavor, while others - who inevitably went and picked up Nintendogs - wanted their fix of innovation. Finally, those games are expensive. Most of the big names went up to $50 at retail, no less than a regular Playstation 2 game. For a watered down experience? What gives, people asked. While game players argue back and forth about the merits and flaws of Sony's first entry into portable videogaming, it's becoming readily apparent after the PSP's first year in existence that both camps will get what they want. We've already got our massive library of ports. Now, we're getting a slow but steady stream of original and simpler yet enjoyable titles - at more reasonable prices, too. As Trigames.NET celebrates the PSP's first birthday, we'd like to spotlight a few $30 releases - and a title yet to arrive - that will wet your non-port-wanting whistle. Lumines "What Lumines does is combine simple but solid core puzzle mechanics with succulent presentation to give PSP owners, both gameplay freaks and audiovisual whores alike, a puzzle title that's too stylish to ignore and too addictive to put down." Tokobot Tokobot combines good old 3D platforming with an exciting mechanic that has you managing multiple little "tokobots" that do your bidding. You can link them up to each other to provide various forms of attack, as well as use them as bridges or ladders to get to where you need to go. Mega Man Powered Up This is old school Mega Man at its finest - with a new coat of paint and slightly redesigned stages. If you thought you knew Super Deformed, you really don't until you play this game. Every bot and stage is candy-colored and sugar-coated, but while it may be offputting to some as child's play, go into it expecting that and it'll kick your butt just as hard as it did more than 15 years ago on the NES. Me and My Katamari Portable Katamari Damacy. 'Nuff said. PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient Sony's take on Nintendo's Brain Age games? Maybe, maybe not, but this $30 "IQ Test" (of sorts) lets you test your skill as you try to get your avatar from one place to another across playing fields akin to the ones from Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions. Mega Man Maverick Hunter X More retro Mega Man - only the soulless gamer could be upset at that. This time, Capcom has blessed PSP owners with a graphical restyling of the first Mega Man X game that released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. Differently placed items but the same classic, difficult design presents itself in a wonderful 3D visual package. Loco Roco This game hasn't released in the states yet, but according to Phil Harrison at this year's Game Developer's Conference, it will soon. You move a blob - literally - around 2D stages by rotating them with the L and R buttons. The heir to the Katamari Quirk throne? We think so. Guilty Gear Judgment Guilty Gear? On the toilet? Swoon.

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