First thing's first.
FANBOYS OF ANY KIND, SIZE, SHAPE OR FLAVOR, GET OUT NOW.
*ahem*
So. PSP. I'm not gonna take a picture, because I'm too lazy to get out my digital camera, but I promise you it looks like every other picture of a PSP you've ever seen.
I've got to say, I'm quite impressed. I was worried that this would be more like a portable console than really a handheld, per se, but load times aren't very long at all- maybe ten seconds at most. The PSP also has this immensely useful "sleep" function. Simply hit the power switch and it'll go into "sleep" mode, which uses no power. The difference between sleep mode and off is that putting your PSP into sleep mode pauses the game/movie/slideshow, whatever you're doing, right there. Turn it back on, and you're right back where you left off. Very, very useful for when you're only playing in-between classes, because you don't have to wait for load times.
The battery...well, it's a PSP. It's not horrendous- I mean, it's long enough to last you through the day- but if you're going on a trip, I recommend getting an external battery pack. Alternating between Wipeout Pure and Untold Legends, I averaged around 5 hours. So, yeah, not great, not horrible. I played Spider Man 2 on it and the battery lasted long enough to play maybe an ~hour of games after that, but it was mostly drained.
The system is comfortable and extremely pleasing to the eye and to the hands. The analog knob takes a little bit of getting used to (it's very small and very sensitive), but after you get used to it you'll be too busy exalting the gaming gods for giving you analog control to notice. Seriously, analog control really is that nice. I mean, on games like Wipeout Pure it's kind of useless (I use the D pad anyway), but on Untold, it's absolute heaven to have 360 degree control. Excellent move by Sony.
UMDs are small and protected, very nice. They're like a mini disc you don't have to worry about smudging or scratching. As for the PSP itself...well, I'm sure you've heard the horror stories. This is not a system you want to drop. I suggest getting a screen protector at the very least, if for no other reason than to keep smudges off and keep your PSP looking nice and shiny (you can buy them for like, $4).
The screen...is GODLIKE. Seriously, it looks just as good as any other LCD I've used. You do get a tad bit of ghosting, but it has an excellent contrast ratio (16:9), so at least your blacks are nice and black. As for the dead pixels everyone's freaking out about? Totally not an issue at all. I had to download that dead pixel tester to even find any on my unit, and I ended up finding two. They're exceedingly small, and only show up when I have a pure black screen (which isn't often). So honestly? They're so not a big deal, I never notice them, quit you're bellyachin'.
So, games.
Untold Legends
Basically is Diablo in mini form. Good graphics, fun hack 'n slash gameplay, the works. Very fast paced and fun to do. The quests do tend to run along the lines of "Go to dungeon, kill boss, get item, come back for your next mission," but you won't really care. Why? Deep character building and customization. This game is for all you RPG nuts. Thousands of different items and configurations for your character- they adopted the Diablo item randomization, so items can have a quality level (worn, ragged, exquisite, etc.), as well as magical properties, all of which is randomized. Very neat. Oh, and a hint for you if you get this game- TURN OFF THE SOUND. RIGHT NOW. The music made my ears bleed. :<
Wipeout Pure
If you liked F-Zero, you'll love this. Same basic principle. Mind blowing graphics, groove to the beat techno tunes, and super fast paced gameplay. Dozens of maps for you to unlock, depending on how well you perform during your races. They modified the shield system a bit. Instead of going through pit stops to repair your ship, you now collect power-ups. You can either choose to use these power-ups (by firing/using them), or you can "absorb" them into your ship to heal some shielding. My one gripe is that the ships aren't customizable, and I kind of hate the default configurations. But, get good enough, you'll learn to live with them. Also, it does tend to ramp up the difficulty in the later levels, but what did you expect from a racing game?
They didn't have Metal Gear Ac!d, Lumines or Twisted Metal in stock where I went, so I'm getting MGA tomorrow, and the other two at *some point.* I'll write their respective reviews when they find their way in my lap.
All in all, I'm pretty impressed. Other than a shit marketing scheme (I DON'T WANT SPIDER MAN 2 THANK YOU VERY MUCH), Sony really pulled through on this one. Fun system, good lineup. Looks like they nailed it. I'll keep you guys updated.
FANBOYS OF ANY KIND, SIZE, SHAPE OR FLAVOR, GET OUT NOW.
*ahem*
So. PSP. I'm not gonna take a picture, because I'm too lazy to get out my digital camera, but I promise you it looks like every other picture of a PSP you've ever seen.
I've got to say, I'm quite impressed. I was worried that this would be more like a portable console than really a handheld, per se, but load times aren't very long at all- maybe ten seconds at most. The PSP also has this immensely useful "sleep" function. Simply hit the power switch and it'll go into "sleep" mode, which uses no power. The difference between sleep mode and off is that putting your PSP into sleep mode pauses the game/movie/slideshow, whatever you're doing, right there. Turn it back on, and you're right back where you left off. Very, very useful for when you're only playing in-between classes, because you don't have to wait for load times.
The battery...well, it's a PSP. It's not horrendous- I mean, it's long enough to last you through the day- but if you're going on a trip, I recommend getting an external battery pack. Alternating between Wipeout Pure and Untold Legends, I averaged around 5 hours. So, yeah, not great, not horrible. I played Spider Man 2 on it and the battery lasted long enough to play maybe an ~hour of games after that, but it was mostly drained.
The system is comfortable and extremely pleasing to the eye and to the hands. The analog knob takes a little bit of getting used to (it's very small and very sensitive), but after you get used to it you'll be too busy exalting the gaming gods for giving you analog control to notice. Seriously, analog control really is that nice. I mean, on games like Wipeout Pure it's kind of useless (I use the D pad anyway), but on Untold, it's absolute heaven to have 360 degree control. Excellent move by Sony.
UMDs are small and protected, very nice. They're like a mini disc you don't have to worry about smudging or scratching. As for the PSP itself...well, I'm sure you've heard the horror stories. This is not a system you want to drop. I suggest getting a screen protector at the very least, if for no other reason than to keep smudges off and keep your PSP looking nice and shiny (you can buy them for like, $4).
The screen...is GODLIKE. Seriously, it looks just as good as any other LCD I've used. You do get a tad bit of ghosting, but it has an excellent contrast ratio (16:9), so at least your blacks are nice and black. As for the dead pixels everyone's freaking out about? Totally not an issue at all. I had to download that dead pixel tester to even find any on my unit, and I ended up finding two. They're exceedingly small, and only show up when I have a pure black screen (which isn't often). So honestly? They're so not a big deal, I never notice them, quit you're bellyachin'.
So, games.
Untold Legends
Basically is Diablo in mini form. Good graphics, fun hack 'n slash gameplay, the works. Very fast paced and fun to do. The quests do tend to run along the lines of "Go to dungeon, kill boss, get item, come back for your next mission," but you won't really care. Why? Deep character building and customization. This game is for all you RPG nuts. Thousands of different items and configurations for your character- they adopted the Diablo item randomization, so items can have a quality level (worn, ragged, exquisite, etc.), as well as magical properties, all of which is randomized. Very neat. Oh, and a hint for you if you get this game- TURN OFF THE SOUND. RIGHT NOW. The music made my ears bleed. :<
Wipeout Pure
If you liked F-Zero, you'll love this. Same basic principle. Mind blowing graphics, groove to the beat techno tunes, and super fast paced gameplay. Dozens of maps for you to unlock, depending on how well you perform during your races. They modified the shield system a bit. Instead of going through pit stops to repair your ship, you now collect power-ups. You can either choose to use these power-ups (by firing/using them), or you can "absorb" them into your ship to heal some shielding. My one gripe is that the ships aren't customizable, and I kind of hate the default configurations. But, get good enough, you'll learn to live with them. Also, it does tend to ramp up the difficulty in the later levels, but what did you expect from a racing game?
They didn't have Metal Gear Ac!d, Lumines or Twisted Metal in stock where I went, so I'm getting MGA tomorrow, and the other two at *some point.* I'll write their respective reviews when they find their way in my lap.
All in all, I'm pretty impressed. Other than a shit marketing scheme (I DON'T WANT SPIDER MAN 2 THANK YOU VERY MUCH), Sony really pulled through on this one. Fun system, good lineup. Looks like they nailed it. I'll keep you guys updated.
Comment