There has always been a struggle in the realm of portable gaming: how does one make a title that is both easy to pick up and play, and stand beside full-length console titles?  Oftentimes, portable systems are inundated with quick, fairly easy titles that are meant to kill ten or fifteen minutes when on the go.  The portability of the system has bled into the design of its library, in other words.

With Metal Gear Solid:  Peace Walker, this trend is not only broken, but has been turned almost completely on its head.  With serious effort put toward making both a full Metal Gear experience as well as a portable-friendly design, Hideo Kojima has assuredly outdone himself with this newest entry, and possibly changed the way we see portable gaming.

How exactly does this one title stand to change the portable gaming scene?  Read on to find out. Read more… »

While the Sony PSP has had its ups and its downs, most people can agree that one the few shining examples of great game design on the system is God of War: Chains of Olympus.  Not only has it been heralded as one of the best PSP games released, it’s also considered by many to be one of the best God of War games to date.

It should come as no shock then that Ready at Dawn Studios is back to bring Kratos to the small screen one more time in God of War: Ghost of Sparta.  Being a huge God of War fan myself, I knew I had to get my hands on the game at E3 to see if this was really an adventure worth embarking on.  Now that I’ve washed the blood off my hands after the long 15 minute demo, I’m ready to tell you all about it. Read more… »

If you’re a PSP gamer, and the first two Patapon games somehow crept past you, then you’d really be well served to take a look at the series. A well designed and sharply implemented merging of rhythm game and real time strategy RPG made the first two games both addictive and joy inducing.

My wife used to laugh at me bouncing up and down on the couch in time to the beat, until I made her play the first one. She got the appeal right away, which was great because it was another game that we could talk about and share, but also a curse, since I didn’t see my PSP (or my wife) for the next month. Needless to say, I was excited to get my hands on the demo of Patapon 3 in the Sony section of the E3’10 show floor without my beloved one there to steal the system.

Read more… »

The Kingdom Hearts portable iterations and I don’t really get along too well. I wasn’t really a fan of Chain of Memories, and 358/2 was really just fan-service, and the fact that it didn’t have any new worlds really ticked me off.

All of that changed when I picked up Birth By Sleep for the first time. Read more… »

Today publisher Square Enix announced that the next iteration of the Kingdom Hearts series (and the first on PSP) will arrive in North America on Sept. 7. Our friends in Europe will have to wait until the Sept. 10 to get their hands on it.

Subtitled Birth by Sleep, the action-RPG will serve as a prequel telling the story of how Terra, Ventus, and Aqua face “a crisis affecting worlds far beyond their own.” Apparently the narrative will revolve around Keyblade Master Xehanort and how has gone missing. KH:BbS will feature worlds from Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White. Read more… »

Not much is known about The Force Unleashed 2 at this point, except that it will allow players to continue the dark adventures of Darth Vader’s secret apprentice, Starkiller.  We at least now know when the game will be releasing, thanks to the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2 Facebook page breaking the news today.

Xbox 360, PS3, PSP, Nintendo DS, and Wii owners can begin dual lightsaber wielding and force pushing themselves to glory on October 26th, 2010.  What and who they will be fighting is still unknown, but one can only imagine this series will continue to rip the fabric of the official Star Wars lore apart.  I expect that more information will be released as we get closer to E3, but until then, hit the jump to watch the first trailer for the game. Read more… »

Actually that Headline sounds a little too much “Summer Blockbuster” to be honest but I will press on none the less.  Sony Computer Entertainment America have released a blog post announcing their intent to publish an all new God of War title.  This will take the form of a portable title for the companies PSP system and will get a full reveal during Sony‘s E3 extravaganza.

What we do know, from SCEA PR Manager Eric Levine’s blog post, is:

…we are pushing the limits of what PSP can do with state-of-the-art visual technologies, higher resolution environments, and greater depths of scale. We’re also providing over 25% more gameplay, an improved weapon system, and new magical powers — all enjoyed anytime, anywhere.

Read more… »

Today EA announced that New Orleans’ Saints quarterback Drew Brees will be featured on the cover of Madden NFL 11. This honor should be a bit more meaningful to Brees considering that it was the first time fans got to vote on which athlete would appear on the cover.

It should also come as no surprise that Brees won out over Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen and Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne considering the fact that Brees’s team won Super Bowl XLIV and he was named MVP of that game. Read more… »

It’s no secret I’m fond of indie games. That’s why I’m sort of bummed about this announcement because I’m not a PS3 owner. However, for all of you lucky dogs out there who are, Mediatonic announced today that their new platformer Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess will be available on the Playstation Network on April 22nd. It’ll be available on both the PS3 and the PSP (hooray!),  with a price point of only $5.99.

Read more… »

You got coop in my Metal Gear! It seems as if all three proud PSP owners got together to film this new video for the upcoming Peace Walker.

The above segment features an encounter not present in the demo found on the Playstation Store. Speaking of the demo, I really enjoyed it- one of my favorite parts of the game (Demon’s Souls style) is that there’s absolutely no pausing, even in menus – this is most likely due to the fact that the game is meant to be played cooperatively, in order to force you to get used to constant action. Those are different classes you’re seeing in the video  - you can choose them at the start of a mission to suit your style.

Feel free to follow the YouTube link, and read all the “man I wish this was on the PS3!” comments.

I remember when Sony first announced the PSP at E3 back in 2003.  It was supposed to be the end-all, be-all of portable entertainment devices, with a brand new format called UMD that would revolutionize the industry.  When it finally came out in North America on March 24th, 2005, people quickly learned it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies like Sony promised.

Well it’s been five years to the day since it was released, and the little system with big dreams has come along way.  It’s had four different variations released, all with a plethora of color options, and there are now at least a dozen or more games worth playing.  Unfortunately, the runt of the litter, the PSPgo, is still an overpriced piece of crap.

Happy birthday Playstation Portable, and congratulations on reaching five years of mediocrity. Read more… »

Just a few months after Media Molecule claimed a sequel would be “counter productive” to the Little Big Planet community, a Sony exec has leaked news of a sequel. It shouldn’t be that big of a surprise since developers, and the like, will lie at the drop of a hat to keep something “secret,” but I’d assumed MM was above that, for some reason.

Then again, maybe their plans just changed. After all, a lot has happened since last November: Media Molecule was purchased by Sony, Playstation Move has been officially announced and detailed, and there hasn’t been a whole ton of support for the PS3 version of Little Big Planet since the PSP version was released. Perhaps it was just a perfect storm situation for either a sequel or a reselling of LBP as a Move launch title.

Read more… »