Game Freaks 365's PSP Review Guide

Game Freaks 365's PSP Review Guide

By Kyle W. Bell

Smashwords Edition 3, September 2011

(Originally Published May 2010)

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Copyright © Kyle Bell 2010

License Notes:

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Cover design by Angel Cortes cortesangel@live.com

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Table of Contents

Reviews (Alphabetically Ordered)

A-E

F-I

J-M

N-Q

R-U

V-Z

Acknowledgements

About the Author

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Introduction

You earn a check that only gets you by enough to pay your bills. Maybe you struggle to make a car payment. You really want to play the latest video game, perhaps Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars or Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, but your budget does not allow you to buy both. What should you get?

Picking good games can be hard. Avoiding duds can be even more difficult. That's why smart consumers turn to experts on the subject. Game Freaks 365 was founded to help people choose games that are worth their hard earned dollar and bypass games that are better suited for the trash can. Writing about video games is our passion. This guide aims to help the smart consumer pick the best games that the PSP has to offer.

Nearly 70 reviews from some of the finest games on the PSP are included in Game Freaks 365's PSP Review Guide, including popular titles like Burnout Legends, Coded Arms, Death Jr., FIFA Soccer, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, LocoRoco, Metal Gear Acid, Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Ridge Racer, Wipeout Pure, and many more!

So what are you waiting for? Get reading!

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Please Note: Reviews for multi-platform games may be from other platforms, unless major differences between the versions are present.

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Armored Core: Formula Front

Developer: From Software

Publisher: Agetec

Release Date: December 13, 2005

Available On: PSP

The Armored Core series has had a rusty life the last few years. Despite a cult following, the mech customization video game has lost its touch time and time again. With the PSP version, Armored Core: Formula Front, this trend continues. Formula Front isn't as bad as the recent PS2 outing, Nine Breaker (reviewed and scored a 5.3 by our very own Matt Evangelista), but arguably so. I wouldn't consider this an action game as much as I'd consider it a big game of chess, where the pawns and bishops are replaced with guns and different body parts of each robot.

In Armored Core: Formula Front, you are the engineer and leader of a team in the mech league known as the FFA. You customize and alter five of your very own mechs, each of which you try to differentiate in order to formulate strategic game plans and strategies. Through winning matches, you progress the ranks of FFA and eventually become the top AC team. Throughout the experience, you'll be informed of all the latest FFA and team rules, you'll be challenged by beaten opponents, and more. This stuff kept me into the experience more than I expected.

Customizing your mechs is the name of the game here, and you could spend hours on each of your hulking robots. Each of the dozens and dozens of parts have different parameters that alter the performance of your AC. You can equip your mech with the strongest weaponry around, but those big guns will bog you down and overheat your mech faster than you'd ever believe. Of course, smaller guns make way for better agility and terrain movement as well as decreased energy use and better cooling.

Equipping parts isn't the only thing you'll do. In fact, you'll tune those parts, replace them, set the AC's personal artificial intelligence, and more. It's all about your personal preferences, and of course the competition ahead. If you're about to go up against a defensively weak but speedy AC, you will want to plan accordingly and try to counter the AC with a speedy but powerful mech. If you're about to face a beefy pile of steel, you'll want to slow down the pace and have enough power to outlast your opponent, perhaps from long range. If you're into this kind of customization, you're going to absolutely love Formula Front. It's like a slower, virtual game of chess that involves robots and guns. If you don't, to put it bluntly, you're going to hate this game.

In the Japanese version of this game, you couldn't actually PLAY as your mechs--you could make them, coordinate their AI, and watch them fight. In the American version, you can actually control your ACs on the battlefield but the controls are so broken and the computer AI is so good that playing the game is a worthless effort. I eventually gave up and decided to watch the mechs fight instead. Fortunately the graphics are very attractive, and the mech action is fast-paced and exciting to watch. After playing a few matches I decided to stick to watching my mechs after tuning the AI, and I had a much better time. I'm very upset, though, that it's not as fun to play Formula Front.

As I said, the visuals are top-notch. This is a very attractive PSP game. You'll scope out individual parts and intricate details on your mechs. Explosion effects and particles look fantastic. Overall Formula Front looks like a second- or third-year PlayStation 2 game. The music isn't bad, either--and when paired with the explosive sound effects, realistic warning sounds, and gunfire, this title is a nicely-presented game. Of course, it doesn't have an excuse to be anything otherwise. If a game's actual gameplay is intended to be observed rather than played, the game in mind should look and sound fantastic. This is Forumla Front's saving grace, and if you're one of the people I said would love the game earlier, these factors will only improve the experience to you.

I regret to report the rest of the PSP crowd that Armored Core: Formula Front isn't the action game you're looking for. Armored Core fans might enjoy it for its customization and impressive superficial qualities, but almost anyone else will immediately regret a purchase because there isn't much gameplay involved. From Software, I know you're capable of making an Armored Core that is more fun to play than watch. Please do it next time.

Graphics: 9

Sound: 8

Gameplay: 3

Creativity: 6

Replay Value/Game Length: 5

Final: 5.9 out of 10

Written by Cliff

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ATV Offroad Fury Pro

Developer: Climax Studios

Publisher: SCEA

Release Date: October 26, 2006

Available On: PSP

I've always been a fan of racing games. I suppose that started back in the SNES days with games like Super Mario Kart, which led to watercraft racing with the release of Wave Race 64, Mario Kart 64 and Cruisin' USA. More recently I have been most impressed with the Burnout and Need for Speed franchises, as well as a brief stint with Midnight Club 2 and some Dreamcast racers like Metropolis Street Racing and Sega Rally. For whatever reason, I've never got around to playing Sony's ATV franchise. The whole idea of mixing tricks and racing never much appealed to me. Now that I've played ATV Offroad Fury Pro for the PSP, I wish I had given the franchise a chance earlier.

First thing's first: this is not a port of the PS2 version of the game. People are so used to playing the same game on the two systems that they've just decided to ignore the PSP altogether. I wouldn't blame them, except for the fact that ATV Offroad Fury Pro has exclusive tracks, new race modes and mini-games such as Rings of Fire (drive through a series of rings), Pool (use your ATV as a cue ball) and Card Battle. There are also new event types including Endurocross, Rallycross, Circuit, Snowcross and Rally.

One of the first things that you need to do in order to avoid frustration is enter the training. This will teach you all of the basics, such as how to perform the different aerial stunts that will help you accumulate points. This game can be unforgiving if you get careless on the track. You're going to lose a lot of time against your opponents if you wander off the track, crash and fly off of your bike, etc. Make sure that you get down your landing technique, braking and turning.

Most of the single events are locked and will require you to place well in order to unlock them. In the Championship mode you are going to need to choose a sponsor. They'll give you bonuses and whatnot depending on your performance, with each sponsor having different requirements. Some sponsors are tailored for specific event types, so choose a sponsor that will fit you best. By competing in events, you will earn yourself cash and unlock parts for your vehicle. For a handheld game, ATV Offroad Fury Pro is pretty deep.

Sony takes full advantage of the PlayStation Portable's Infrastructure online multi-player capabilities by taking ATV Offroad Fury Pro to the Internet. You can compete with other people in single races or championships, as well as the mini-games that I talked about earlier in this review. You don't have to play online though, as Ad-Hoc multi-player is also an option. No matter which one you choose, you'll have up to three other racers jumping the hills with you.

The graphics in ATV Offroad Fury Pro really show off the power of the PlayStation Portable. This is definitely not something that you would find on a Nintendo DS. You have a large variety of courses, all well-designed and vehicles that are easy to see for performing stunts. The frame rate is also never a problem. Fury Pro certainly is not as pretty as ATV Offroad 4 for the PlayStation 2, but it's not bad on the eye at all. It's also not bad on the ear, depending on what kind of music you like. They have some recognizable names like Alkaline Trio, although I can't say I really care for the music.

If there is one racing game that you should have on PSP this fall, it's ATV Offroad Fury Pro. Whatever problems I read about with the first game that coincided with the system's launch have been fixed. You have nice handling, superb graphics for a portable game, a bevy of game modes and the option to play multi-player both Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure. There's really no way you can go wrong if you're a fan of ATV by buying Offroad Fury Pro.

Graphics: 9

Sound: 7

Gameplay: 8

Creativity: 8

Replay Value/Game Length: 8.5

Final: 8.1 out of 10

Written by Kyle

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Babel: The King of Blocks

Developer: StormBasic Games

Publisher: StormBasic Games

Release Date: June 15, 2011

Available On: PSP & PS3

Babel: The King of Blocks is an obvious budget title just by its appearance. In fact, this is something that you would almost expect from a flash game. Despite the lack of pizazz, Babel is a decent puzzle game set in Egypt that tasks you with balancing the pieces used to construct objects in the game.

There are three different game modes to choose from: Balance, Construction, and Tower. In Balance, you play by dropping pieces from a bridge onto a swiveling level. You have to try to distribute the weight evenly or else it will all fall off.

This sounds pretty simple, but the pieces that you deal with are irregularly shaped. Some of them are triangles, others are squares and they even throw in round objects for good measure (yes, they roll). The game lets you know what the upcoming pieces will be, so there is some strategy involved in placement.

The idea of the Construction mode is to build a structure that does not collapse under its own weight. I did not care for it as much as the Balance mode. Tower basically has you build as high as you can without having it fall completely over.

The graphics are the weakest part of Babel: The King of Blocks. Very simple characters and animations were attempted. The backgrounds are uninteresting as well. I found the sound to be annoying, too, so basically the whole presentation is bad.

Overall, Babel: King of Blocks is a decent budget puzzle game. As a PlayStation Mini, Babel is a competent game, yet graphically unimpressive. There is a multi-player component, although I do not recommend it. You either take turns in the Balance mode or end up sabotaging each other in the Tower mode. If you have PlayStation Plus, you can download this for free, otherwise, skip it.

Graphics: 5

Sound: 5

Gameplay: 7

Creativity: 7

Replay Value/Game Length: 7

Final: 6.2 out of 10

Written by Kyle

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BattleZone

Developer: Paradigm Entertainment

Publisher: Atari

Release Date: October 31, 2006

Available On: PSP

It was only a matter of time before BattleZone resurfaced in some form or another. The classic 1980s arcade shooter is being updated to the modern age on Sony's PlayStation Portable. Atari has brought vehicular military combat to a handheld system, hoping to create a game that would perhaps borrow a little bit of arena shooting action, though in third person, from