Halo: Spartan Assault review

When Microsoft Studios first announced Halo: Spartan Assault on Windows Phone 8, I almost reeked with disgust. Here was a franchise which gameplay was deeply rooted as a first shooter genre. I admit that I have a deep seated biased against developers who attempt to shoehorn a gameplay designed for consoles onto smartphones. It would be unplayable.

Thankfully, the developer Vanguard alongside Microsoft Studios seems to have realised that and designed the Halo: Spartan Assault around a smartphone's more limited input options. The result is something beautiful and is easily one of the best tactical based shooter available on any smartphone. This isn't yet another Halo first person shooter. The huge difference in gameplay mechanics, not to mention the platform, Halo: Spartan Assault deserves a proper examination.

In Halo: Spartan Assault, you play a series of missions/campaigns using a UNSC training simulator (yes, it's a game withing a game!) fighting off an invasion of a bunch of Covenant thingies. The biggest change over its console and PC cousins is the change from first person's perspective to overhead camera. While there is no analog pad on Windows Phone to assist in aiming or movement, the game makes do with two virtual twin sticks which while aren't as accurate as a proper analog pad, is serviceable. It is by no means a perfect solution to a long standing problem but until Microsoft adopts a universal gaming pad for Windows Phone 8 platform, this is the best we can do. According to Microsoft, gamepad support is coming to the Windows 8 version.

Snes8x Super Nintendo emulator for Windows Phone review

Windows Phone platform has a surprising number of working emulators. The first released was vNES, an emulator for the Nintendo Entertainment System also known as the Famicom in Japan, a relatively old console and hence easy to emulate. There are also emulators for the Sega MasterSystem, Sega GameGear and Nintendo Game Boy Color. For a walled garden platform, Microsoft has been surprisingly lenient when it comes to allowing such apps on their Marketplace. Perhaps this is Microsoft's way of compensating and apologising for the severe lack of Windows Phone Xbox Live games...

Chrono Trigger, still one of the best Japanese RPGs

One of the newer and perhaps more impressive emulator on the platform is Snes8x, an emulator for old time gamers who wishes to relive their favourite childhood SNES games, many of which rivals even modern gaming. What is a SNES? Well any self respecting gamer will know about the SNES, Nintendo's second home console. The Super Nintendo is known to have created a whole new generation of gamers - in fact its influence can be felt up to now. Many of today's famous franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Final Fantasy and Street Fighter flourished on it. It isn't a surprise that the SNES became the dominant 16-bit home console to own in the early to mid 1990s.

RPGs like Final Fantasy VI plays well on a touchscreen display

Snes8x code is based on Snes9x, a popular free SNES emulator that works on a variety of platforms including Android and Windows. For a freeware app, Snes8x features a high list of features including options of import and export both game and save states via SkyDrive and portrait/landscape mode. The app also supports full screen mode, but this stretches the game to fill the display, ruining the aspect ratio. ROMs have to be uploaded to a SkyDrive account, of which every Windows Phone users will have one anyway, before being downloaded via the Snes8x import utility app. Update: with the latest version, Snes8x now allows you to import ROM files via e-mail attachments or direct download from a webpage - awesome! It's a painless process. Individual games can even be pinned onto the start screen.

DoDonPachi Maximum review

Smartphone gaming, what's there to talk about? Not much really. These days smartphone gaming are about quick first person shooters clone with no innovations, or racing games with high quality textures and tacked on accelerometer steering. In fact mobile gaming is the bane of the industry, filled with quick me-too indie-dev wannabes with little to no aspiration to innovate and stand out. You can't blame them though, gaming on a touchscreen only device is just, well, shit. Try playing GTA III on Android or iOS - it's unplayable. And don't let me get started with all the crap Gameloft puts out.

Developers has recently started looking back at older arcade games an. Old school arcade titles were the bastion of simplicity, often only requiring a single directional stick and a button or two. And more often that not, they work. Mind you, not all arcade titles will work on a touchscreen device, particularly those that were created with more than two buttons in mind. For example Street Fighter IV on iOS had to be reduced to such simplicity to make it work on the touchscreen you have to wonder, why did Capcom bother? Still, people get pretty excited when supposedly full console titles gets ported down to mobile games, and excited people pay good money to stay excited.

Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play review

The Sony Ericsson XPERIA Play is one of the first attempt to make a genuine gaming smartphone. Nokia has attempted this before with the N-Gage, which ended up as a spectacularly fail. The closest convergence device I can think off that almost pulled it off was the PalmOS Tapwave Zodiac, but it wasn't a smartphone and the lack of application support killed it.

The XPERIA Play is an Android smartphone, equipped with the latest Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) with Sony Ericsson customisation. I won't dwell on this section much, and you can read my XPERIA Arc review to get a gist on what the XPERIA Play can do as a smartphone. The only difference between the two as far as I know are the camera on the Arc is superior (8MP Exmor Vs regular 5MP) and the Arc's screen is significantly brighter than the Play. Even the software is identical, right down to the recent Facebook integration update that was announced with the XPERIA mini and mini pro. The only thing missing are the XPERIA Play exclusive app store and games launcher.

KILLZONE 3 review

Remember the original Killzone on PlayStation 2, the game that was hyped up by the gaming-press, as a Halo-killer? Well upon released it was quickly put in its place. Killzone 2 was similarly hyped, this time by Sony with the infamous target-render E3 video, but at least the game delivered. Gamers and critics loved it with equal measure. Can Guerrilla continue the momentum they started with Killzone 2?

As a review that focuses extensively on the single player campaign of Killzone 3, I will be forced to focus on the story. Story hasn't been the strongest point of developers of first person shooter games. Well with the help of Wikipedia, I am caught up with the world of Killzone and how the Helghan forces were wronged by the ISA at first, then decided to get revenge by invading a planet that was rightfully theirs only to be repelled and invaded by the ISA. Killzone 3 is a continuation of the story left from Killzone 2.

Killzone 3 has flying pests this time round

You play a character called Sev who bears much resemblance to a typical clichéd version of a video gaming marine, with a ridiculous haircut. This Sev person is accompanied by his marine grunt called Rico who swears a lot like a kid who just learnt cussing. Sev and Rico are kinda interchangeable in that both talks tough and prefer to shoot first ask questions later. Both are on the side of the ISA. While you control Sev during the entire campaign, Rico is almost always by your side if only to give you the medical help you sometimes need. Perhaps rather worryingly and annoyingly, you can't kill Rico off permanently, though you can injure him enough so he would not interfere.

Killzone 3's storyline is only there to serve the gameplay. The story is plain ridiculous and character development almost none existent. Despite six hours of pretty average story telling, the developers has even managed to reward the player with an abrupt and most unsatisfactory ending. Even the voice acting is bad, though perhaps this is also the fault of such an average script. Killzone 3 is one of those video games that makes me think why some developers even bother trying to tell a story. If developers like Valve and Naughty Dog (yeah, I know they don't make FPS games) can mix good stories with good gameplay, why can't Guerrilla?

Swap assault rifles for a rampaging mech? Don't mind if I do

As a friend of mine said, first person shooters aren't about the story. I disagree - I think they can have a good story - it's just that most mainstream gamers do not expect them any more. But moving on from story, has Killzone 3 changed my mind about console FPS gaming in terms of gameplay? Yes indeed it has. Controls were fluid, aiming was simple and while they were moments of inaccuracy, for much of the game I felt in total control. The only issue I have is the cover system, which isn't at all helpful. The game also supports Six Axis motion controller, but fortunately are only limited to a very small portion of unnecessary gameplay. Sony's PlayStation Move controller is also supported, but I've no such peripheral to test the game with.

There are plenty of weapon to choose from. You can only carry three weapons, a pistol, rifle and some special really awesome big ones like the WASPS rocket launcher which secondary fire can destroy tanks, or if you want to, bombard a large group a Helghast enemies together. Each weapon is as satisfying to fire as the next. My highlight is probably the bolt gun. Hit an enemy with one and they fly away and get stuck to a wall, blood splattered all around the body. Killzone 3 is an incredibly violent and visceral game. The brutal melee system in particular provides the player with a gruesome detail on how to kill an enemy combatant.

There is plenty of satisfaction in firing a WASPS rocket launcher

I found the A.I. of the enemies to be impressive. They hide whenever they spot you. If you do not time your grenade throw properly, they will scatter away to safety. During gun battles, they will attempt to sneak up behind you if there is a route, or flee to a better cover spot. Shoot that cover spot away and they will find another one. Your war buddies are equally clever, though they sometimes charge up at enemies without thinking ahead. However for most of the campaign they hold back, take cover measure and will even attempt to revive you if there is a chance. Some NCPs can not be killed, but you can always delay reviving them especially if you decide they are getting in the way rather than helping.

Despite the mediocre storyline, it keeps the pacing well in checked. Levels are divided into chapters with a suitable variety of locations to keep the average gamer interested. You get to play as a gunner of a tank, hover ship and space fighter (all on-rails); and control Exos, a mech exoskeleton. In one level Sev also gets hold of a Helghast jetpack. While the jetpack created some interesting set pieces, it was slow and I was glad to be rid of it. The jetpack is also available in a multiplayer map. There are no boss levels in Killzone 3, apart from perhaps the one with the gigantic MAWR. In one level the gameplay pace changes to that of stealth, though there is no stopping you if you wish to charge in.

Environment is stunningly detailed

Visually Killzone 3 is easily one of the most stunning games I've played on the PS3. Despite the environmental effect, hundreds of bullets wheezing by and explosions, the game hardly stutters. Frame rate is consistent apart from the few odd moments. Locations from nuclear wasteland, to the arctic landscape and alien jungle were all beautifully rendered. Cover areas can be shot at and thus exposed, and the tiles and plasters on pillars stripped away but as a whole Killzone 3 does not feature destructible environment. Despite the attention to detail, there is hardly any time admire the fantastic artwork when shooting at wave and wave of enemy troops.

Killzone 3's multiplayer support includes local splitscreen co-op (which I was unable to test) and typical traditional multiplayer components. These includes Guerilla Warfare (classic team death match), Warzone (objective based such as capture, search and assassination) and Operations (defend and assault). Players can choose from five classes: Engineer, Tactician, Infiltrator , Marksman and Field Medic, all of which have their own abilities. For example Medics can treat team members who are close to death while Engineers will come in handy in repairing broken turrets. Infiltrators on the other hand has the ability to disguise themselves as so on. You get to unlock new weapons for the class of your choice using skill points earned while fighting in the said class.

I've not played a game with such intensity and epicness as Killzone 3 in a long time. If you are a first person shooter fan and is willing to excuse the forgettable plot, this may just be the game for you. With local co-op and extensive multiplayer component, Killzone 3 represents great value for those looking for pure action and fun.

7/10 (single player score) 8/10 (overall)

Killzone 3 is available now for PlayStation 3. Buy it from Amazon UK or Amazon.com and you will be supporting this blog.

Thanks to Sony Computers Entertainment Europe for providing us with a copy of Killzone 3

Valkyria Chronicles: Selvaria's Mission DLC review

Playing and completing Valkyria Chronicles was one of my gaming highlights in recent years. It is the kind of game I would utter in the same breath of Uncharted 2 - that is just how impressed I am about the SRPG title. In fact if I've actually played it back in 2008 when it was released here, I would have named it my personal GotY. Unfortunately it is also the last great game SEGA developed. Consider this a LTTP review.

In any case, Valkyria Chronicles has been granted with a healthy dose of downloadable content (DLC). I've always been a skeptic of the DLC business model, viewing it as a way for lazy developers to charge gullible gamers for what should have been in the disc itself. Still Valkyria Chronicles's DLCs are a bit different as they offer missions from the perspective of people outside of the main Squad 7 main posse.

My love for Valkyria Chronicles combined with SEGA's recent price cut of the DLC ultimately prompted me to make my first ever DLC purchase on the PS3's PlayStation Store. Incredible what a quid and twenty pence saving can do to you... I am either a genius or a sad little man.

Two of the DLC available surrounds a character called Edy. She is a character whom I've only used only once before being unceremoniously and dishonourably discharged, as I have very little interest in the back story of a happy go lucky pop star wannabee. Apparently her character is quite a bit popular in Japan - which explains SEGA's willingness to create two DLC just for her. But how she became popular is beyond me, though I suspect that it may be a cultural thing. They do like their lolita pop singers there.

There is one DLC though that I'll never ever pay for and which I would not recommend any sensible people to pay for and that is the Hard EX Mode. I remember the time when increased difficulty mode (and then some) came with all games whether you like it or not, but not so with SEGA. With Valkyria Chronicles, you have to pay to play in hard. Ridiculous ain't it? Valkyria Chronicles is one of the most balanced game out there, so I can't imagine regular people getting much enjoyment from this mode. Still hardcore gamers with plenty of time on their hands would love this.

The DLC I decided to purchase is the Selvaria's Mission "Behind Her Blue Flame" pack. The fact that the DLC offers missions from the enemy's perspective is pretty compelling and in my opinion, the greatest incentive to purchasing this instead of the Edy stuff. It isn't just made up by a bunch of side quests by unmemorable and uninteresting squad members, but a whole new storyline that serves to flesh out the Selvaria character you thought you knew. At 224MB, you will at least be assured that the DLC isn't merely an unlocking code to content already provided on the disc.

In Selvaria's Mission, you follow Johann, an engineer assigned to Selvaria. The missions takes during the early stages of the invasion by the Imperial forces on Gallia, several years before the main storyline as detailed in Valkyria Chronicles. There are a total of four missions in the mission pack, one of which requires you to gain A-ranking on the first three missions in order to unlock. The second mission is also dependent on whether you meet an optional and undisclosed objective in the first mission (spoiler: destroying General Damon's tank).

Ultimately I love this pack and have had no regret making this my first DLC purchase. Any fans of Valkyria Chronicles would be a fool to want to miss this as it allows them to play as Selvaria themselves. Despite her weapon, Selvaria isn't as strong as she was in the main campaign. Here she is paired with the aforementioned Johann where the two must work together. You see, Selvaria carries grenades and ragnades out of principle. Her only weapon is her powerful Ruhm, easily the most powerful weapon in the game. So while she has the power of a Shocktrooper and the legs of a Scout, she can't really do much else. Johann on the other hand is pretty weak (both mentally and physically) but acts as her personal field medic. He also does rudimentary tasks like clearing the path for Selvaria. So you see, the two must work together.

The difficulty has also been changed significantly. In the original campaign the Gallians were a pretty weak bunch early on, but they pack a mighty punch in this DLC and have greater power, accuracy and evade stats. The Imperials are also terrible at accuracy, particularly the snipers. Getting A-rank will require plenty of patience as well as trial and error, particularly in one of the second missions. Completing the second mission will also unlock Selvaria's powerful Ruhm gun for use in the main campaign by Squad 7's shocktroopers, sort of a reward to the player. Complete the first three missions with A-rank and you get to play as Selvaria in her Valkyrur form - complete with lance and everything. Exciting isn't it?

For a £1.99 DLC, Selvaria's Mission offers plenty of game time. There's at least 4-6 hours worth of content here, more than the single player campaign of some full priced games. Plus we get to see the softer side of Selvaria's, and from the invading nation's point of view. Anybody who consider themselves a fan of Valkyria Chronicles, or SPRG in general, should seriously consider investing in this.

Valkyria Chronicles is currently available for a low low price of £13/$19.99. Selvaria's Mission DLC (as well as Challenge of the Edy Detachment, Edy's Mission and Hard EX Mode) is currently on offer (from £3.19 to £1.99) until 29 April 2010.

Heavy Rain Chronicles: The Taxidermist DLC review

The Taxidermist is the first of the Heavy Rain Chronicles downloadable 'episodes'. It comes bundled with the special edition version of Heavy Rain (HMV exclusive in the UK, probably pre-order bonus in other countries) and is rumoured to be made available on PSN later this week.

Each Heavy Rain Chronicles episodes will examine an event relating to one of the four main characters before the event of the main game. The Taxidermist stars Madison Paige, the journalist who is investigating someone whom she suspects as the Origami Killer. Spoilers warning!

The (only) setting of the game is a shabby house not too dissimilar to Ethan's post-Joshua era. There are five total endings to be found and each can be gained depending on the actions of Madison. The first time I played Madison accidentally broke one of the taxidermist's 'collection' which alerted him when he arrived home. This ultimately led to Madison being chased around the home before being killed. Or you can have Madison be a bit less reckless or clumsy whilst investigating before making her escape when the killer returns.

Those who has played Heavy Rain and has been hoping that The Taxidermist will focus on Madison's back story (for example the origin of her insomniac condition that has been mentioned plenty of times in the main game) will be disappointed. Alas perhaps some things are always meant to be left vague but again perhaps Quantic Dream is planning more Madison related DLC. The cynical person in me believes so.

As to whether The Taxidermist is worth the price of admission, I can't answer that as Sony has yet to release pricing details. The storyline isn't all that great and does not contribute in any way to the original story. In fact all five endings can easily be obtained in about an hour or two. Still The Taxidermist gameplay felt fresh compared to the main game. The stealth approach to gaining a few of the endings is something very different to the vanilla Heavy Rain game.

Personally I believe that it is worth no more than two quid (or about US$2.99) and only if you are a fan. It just felt more like a demo. Overall, a good add-on, but a very short one.

Heavy Rain review

Despite being somewhat a fan of Quantic Dream's Fahrenheit, I have never been really interested in Heavy Rain - at least not until only a couple of months ago. The original "The Casting" technology demo for example did not pique my interest, not least because I wasn't actually wowed by the apparent visual fidelity.

The lure to Heavy Rain isn't so much the gameplay (which it hardly has, but bear with me), but the actual cinematic story telling mechanism. The developers has gone to pain to stress the consequences of the player's choice. So in Heavy Rain, a character (there are four major characters) can die - but this won't result in a game over. Instead the story line will progress, just without the dead character, and ultimately lead to a different ending and lost storylines and 'opportunities'.

Once a player completes a chapter, the chapter will be made available on the main menu screen. Here the player can reload the chapter and replays it right to a new ending if he or she wishes. It is an impressive save system that allows for a high replayability especially if you are like me and wishes to gain the 'perfect ending' or explore other possibilities. Those who wishes to gain more 'Trophies' would also be happy with the system.

As Heavy Rain relies heavily on its dialogue and storyline it would be a great disservice to spoil the game for you. Still, a small synopsis couldn't hurt. The game revolves around the four main playable character's search of the Origami Killer (who is so named as the killer leaves an origami in his/her victim's hands - duh). That's about as much as I would like to say and if you have any interest in the game you would probably already knew that.

Gameplay wise the title is divided into two sections - third person exploration (including menial tasks like showering and heating up prepack food) and QTE cut scenes. For a game that is so tightly controlled, a gamer may feel claustrophobic as they struggle to do anything relevant. But as mentioned earlier, any action, or should I say - in-action, can lead to consequences which at times may lead to a playable character's death. In a game that is often dubbed one long movie, the futuristic ARI glasses (used to locate/view evidence) of FBI profiler Norman Jayden can break the monotone.

Visually, Heavy Rain is a very pretty game. Animations are fluid (if at times stiff) and Quantic Dream almost managed to get away with the dead eye look that is so prevalent in realistic animations and modern video games. The environment are detailed and varied though the lack of full interaction and 'invisible wall' did annoy me for a game that is supposedly based on a realism. Still I've to appreciate the game makers desire to keep the linear narrative as intact as possible to service the storyline.

The voice acting quality varies but certainly far better quality than most video games. I've read of complaints about how poor the British and European actors attempts to mimic American accent, but I have to say that they do sound convincing - certainly a far improvement over the majority (well, all) of American voice actors attempting to mimic British of French accent. So competent voice acting, but not quite Uncharted 2 level.

Heavy Rain is probably the first genuine cinematic (with visuals to back it up) interactive film, and I can see a bright future for this genre. Gamers who are expecting more gameplay wise will be disappointed. Whether you will enjoy this or not is not relevant - Quantic Dream's accomplishment with Heavy Rain and their unique way of telling a story should be applauded. So whilst Heavy Rain isn't quite there yet, in a world of generic Western brown shooters and colourful but stale Japanese RPG, it is still worthy of your attention.

One last thing: people who complain about the nudity in Heavy Rain ought to get their brain serviced. Luddite fools.

Update: Having played more Heavy Rain, I found the game to be quite buggy. These ranges from screen freeze to none-loading textures and glitchy animations.

Heavy Rain is out now in all regions. Buy now from Amazon.com or Amazon UK and support this blog.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (PSP) review

The original PlayStation Revelations: Persona was a great game but sadly very rare. The localisation was actually pretty awful as well, so it was great to see Atlus finally making do for their western fans (well America anyway, no idea yet as to when this will be released in Europe - so as usual hit the usual import stores). The PSP version of Persona is basically an enchanced port of the original game with some new features added on that makes an already compelling game even sweeter.

There is a new soundtrack for one. Personally I prefer the original soundtrack more, but Shoji Meguro's new 'modern' score isn't too bad. I guess they wanted to invite the new fans, those who are more familiar with Persona 3 and 4. The models used for characters does not seem to have received significant upgrade, if at all. On the other hand, the remake does feature new FMV cutscenes, a far improvement over the original clunky CG video. Also, unlike the PS1 localisation, Persona for PSP features the Snow Queen Quest, an alternative storyline to the main plot - something I have always wanted to play but could not bother with the Japanese version.

Unlike the slow build up seen in the later games, Persona storyline begins almost immediatelty, which was kinda disappointing. I was hoping Atlus would have modernised the storyline and dialogue a little bit (still cheesy as ever), but at least the localisation is more faithful (no longer is the game set in America for one). The game begins with the silent main characterand his friends in a classroom playing a game called 'Persona' when they find themselves knocked unconsious. Whilst still unconsious, they were visited by a masked man called Philemon, who bestowes them the ability to summon Personas.

In the meantime strange things has started to occur throughout town. This is caused by a machine, invented by a stereotypical evil corporation SEBEC, that allows for creation and passage into other alternate dimensions. Demons soon start to appear and it is up to you and your party to stop these evil geniuses from causing further mayhems and reverting the town to its original self before the dimensional rifts. It may not seem at all original, but trust me the game is worth playing for its storyline.

Persona for PSP has three difficulty levels, a new feature not seen in the original game. Seasoned RPG gamers should probably start with the high difficulty setting, as normal setting is pretty darn easy. There are more save points than before as well. Each characters can hold multiple Personas (summons) as well, unlike the recent games. As before the characters and their Personas earn EXP independently, so levelling up depends on how much the gamer uses each characters. Combat and general chit chatting takes place on an isometric 3D field, where as exploration is via a first person 3D field map. Unlike the original, where the city is rendered in untextured polygons, the remake features a lovely looking easier to navigate 2D rendered map.

The visuals has been upgraded, but only slightly and pretty much resembling the original PS1 visuals. The 3D rendered dungeons looks significantly smoother, with slightly better textures. The interface during combat (a pull down menu now) has been updated, and does not look as clunky as it was. Atlus has unfortunately left the sprites alone. Even the character cutouts are seriously outdated. It isn't a pretty sight to be honest, but it will do. Getting a definitive Persona game is better than the botched PS1 version, so I guess we all should be thankful that Atlus bothered to bring this over in the first place.

The game also features a demon negotiating system where you can earn demon spell cards. These spell cards can then be traded with Igor in the Velvet Room(s), who will then fuse a new Persona (two cards are needed). This works by conversing with the demons (contact). Each demons have their own unique personality and depending on the demon's reaction, it will offer you rewards such as EXP, loots or spell cards. Piss it off, or scare it and it may attack back or just bugger off.

The random encounter rate can get annoying. At times taking just two steps would trigger an encounter. It gets annoying, and this is from someone who played plenty of Japanese RPG in his lifetime. As I said earlier that Persona is pretty easy, but getting ambushed isn't something you would like. There are moments where it would be better to restart the game than continue attempting to save your party. Thankfully save spots are plentiful. Regardless K.O.'ed party members are automatically revived after each successful encounter.

New fans of Persona series will find the lack of social links a disappointment. Instead this is a pure dungeon crawler like those older Shin Megami Tensei games. Exploring mazes through first person mode is a huge chore and the mini map helps a little. Thankfully Persona 2 ditched the first person mode. Combats are random though the encounter rate will depend highly on the moon phase. The moon's phase may also have an effect on the creation of a Persona demon.

The game's replayability is high due to its multiple endings. As previously mentioned, there is also the alternative Snow Queen Quest. Also like before you will have the option to pick from a list of four, the fifth member of your party. Getting Reiji (Chris in the PlayStation localisation) is still a lengthy process, but probably worth it for first timers who do not want to miss out when doing the main SEBEC quest.

All in all, Persona for PSP is a brilliant game, one worth the attention of veterans of the old classics as well as those introduced via Persona 3 and 4. It is a definitive upgrade over the old classic, and best of all, you get to play it whenever and wherever you want. Now if enough of you buys this, Atlus will see that there is a market out there and will hopefully remake both Persona 2 titles as well.

Gran Turismo (PSP) review

Announced in 2004 as Gran Turismo 4 Mobile, Gran Turismo was initially pegged as launch title for the new PSP. A couple of years and three PSP revisions later, Polyphony Digital has finally shipped the game early this month. Is it worth the wait? Well read on.

To be honest with you I have never been a huge fan of Gran Turismo series. I am more of an arcade racer, preferring something like OutRun or MotorStorm, than a full driving simulator. Gran Turismo for PSP is still a driving simulator, but has elements that makes it such an arcade-fan pleaser. For one the career mode has been scrapped. Many has moaned about the lack of career mode, but as a portable pick-me-up title it makes so much sense to allow gamers to pick up the game and do a quick lap or two, rather than spend an entire bus journey fiddling around with the suspension, tyre pressure and what-nots.

The gameplay has been simplified. There are no upgrades, no career/campaign mode - just quick race, challenges and drifting. Cars are bought using credits, that are earned in quick races. To purchase a new car, the player has to wait for the appropriate manufacturer dealer to appear on the day. It isn't random, though it appears so at first. A small number of dealer appears every other day with a small selection of car models for sale. Miss it and you will have to wait for the cycle to repeat itself - which can be a frustrating experience. Fortunately credits are easy to obtain and you can always spend a half an hour or so on the test course farming a million credits. Tuning is available in a simplified form, which includes aerodynamics and customising the tyres. Controls are dead simple, d-pad and analog pad for steering and the rest can be customised to suit each player's need.

Car handling varies greatly among all the vehicles, as they should. A.I. opponents are a hit and miss, most will tend to stick to the racing line though some will attempt to use your vehicle's slip stream to gain advantage. The leaning curve of the game obviously depends, and with practice, is easy to get with grips with though mastering each and every vehicle would be quite a chore. A.I. opponents are selected based on your vehicle or choice as well as tyre selections. Bizarrely the game is truly inconsistent in this area - at times selecting vehicles that are dog easy and at other times truly competitive. Slip streaming opponents is crucial to winning most races, but this isn't something unique to Gran Turismo. As usual driving aids can be turn on or off.

Visually, Gran Turismo is beautiful, though not nearly as stunning as MotorStorm: Arctic Edge or WipEout Pulse. The graphics, which could have been better but at the expense of frame rate, is pretty darn close to Gran Turismo 4, though with obvious downgrades in a couple of areas. The screenshots here may look bland, but they do look good in motion. Cars reflect and shadows are where they should be. Four camera modes exists - chase view, roof view, cockpit (yes, it does exist) and bumper. There is one downside - only four vehicles per race. Even the more hectic MotorStorm: Arctic Edge managed eight!

There are 830 cars in Gran Turismo. I have yet to see a tenth of them, but those of which I have seen are beautifully modelled, and are very close to the real thing. Supposedly players will be able to transfer their car collection to Gran Turismo 5 when it gets released next year - we will see. There is nothing wrong with the design of the 35 tracks, but I do wish for a bit more detail. They just look bare when you compare it to MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, and also suffer greatly from aliasing. This is more apparent with the cockpit view as well as during the replay scenes. I also did not care much for the cardboard spectators. So yeah, I do think that Polyphony Digital should have paid the same amount of attention to detail in creating the environment as they did with the cars.

The sound effects, something I do not normally care about, are pretty good. Cars often sound completely different depending on tyre selection, camera viewpoints, as well in different locations (like tunnels). The soundtrack however isn't to my taste, so it was fortunate that I was able to turn them off. This is something I tend to do anyway with most games, with its The Fast and the Furious-like soundtrack (I blame EA for the trend). Whatever, you will be pleased to know you can customise the soundtrack to your liking by way of installing music on the Memory Stick, but only after completing a couple of challenges first.

So all in all, a lovely game with great polished production values throughout. It isn't perfect though. Track detail could have been better, and the number of cars (lack of) per race is just disappointing. People keen on a career mode and upgrades will be disappointed, though I personally believe that the removal of the features is for the better considering this is a portable game. It also appears to suffer from slight graphical glitch where pixelated white dots appears randomly on the tracks. Not the end of the world, but it can be annoying.

The lack of online (infrastructure) is also a bummer, though hardly surprising considering that the majority of PSP games do not take advantage of infrastructure mode anyway. As a flagship PSP title however, there is almost no excuse not to have infrastructure. Owners with a PS3 console can play online via Adhoc Party, but not everyone has the luxury to do so. As for those content with Adhoc, players can trade/share cars with each other as well as racing each other (no game sharing).

The PSP version of Gran Turismo may be stripped down, but it is still a game worth considering particularly if you enjoy the simulation racing part of a Gran Turismo game, but dislike the hassle of maintaining a virtual garage, adjusting suspension and other such nonsense that some of us just do not have the time for. If you are expecting a portable Gran Turismo game with some features tailored for short sessions of quick gaming, you will get it here. Just don't foolishly expect the full console experience.

Gran Turismo for PSP is out now, available from Amazon UK and Amazon.com

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge review

Evolution Studios's MotorStorm was one of the few PS3 exclusives that truly defined the console's early life. The off-road arcade racer threw out realism for all out mayhem and my gosh they succeeded. The franchise comes to the PSP courtesy of BigBig Studios - the developer behind the two Pursuit Force PSP titles. They know a thing or two about racing games, and they should considering they were established by a couple former members of Codemasters.

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge eschews the desert and tropical environment in favour of the harsh Arctic climate. This, I am guessing, was chosen first to spread the three different environments across many different titles as possible, as well as improving performances. The lush vegetation from Pacific Ridge for example would be too difficult for the PSP to handle. Still while the environment has changed, it is still instantly recognisable as a MotorStorm game, and best of all it plays just as well.

Little has changed with the gameplay. Before each race, the player chooses a vehicle type and a track. Like the previous titles, each track has multiple ways of racing through - with different terrains suited for different vehicles. Dotted around are obstacles as well as a variety of jumps, cliffs and canyons. The environment is destructible (avalanche for example can be triggered), though not as obvious as the previous games. Another feature that has been retained is the Nitrous Boost, where the player uses them to boost the engine at the expense of increasing engine heat. Do so long enough and the engine explodes. Use this wisely and the player can gain an upper hand by rocketing forward the finishing line.

The controls are of typical racing game with the d-pad or analog pad used to steer the vehicle, and are very easy to master. Due to technical reasons, only eight vehicles are allowed in a race - though this seems to be technically good enough (Gran Turismo only manages four). There are plenty of unlockables to be had, and each vehicles can be customised (unlike the previous titles). Each vehicle type (eight of them) has its pros and cons, and controls slightly differently. For example the snowmobiles are quicker than rally cars and control better but the fragility means you have to watch out for even the smallest obstacles. The snowploughs are tough, but slower (but still pretty competitive) and has a crappy acceleration. Well you get the gist - different vehicles control differently (duh).

Despite the lower polygon count, the game is very pretty. Visually, this is the most stunning PSP racing game I have played. Considering how the gameplay requires multiple paths, numerous on-screen mayhem, snow and rain effects, wide-spaced environment and distance vistas - I believe BigBig did good here. The vehicles - being the off-road types - tends to have more details than a traditional flashy car racer like the Ferraris in OutRun 2006. So it is even more impressive when they can fit eight of those vehicles in a race, with damage to boot. The screenshots posted here are all from the game, using the built-in Photo Mode. Like WipEout Pulse's Photo Mode, I see no form of touch-ups - so what you see here is what you see in the game.

The AI of opponents highly depends on the difficulty setting. In the early stages of the career mode (and easy setting), they prefer to stay on the racing line and so are mainly none-intrusive. As the player progress through, their AI and aggressiveness will ramp up pretty significantly Bumping other vehicles off course or into an obstacle is pretty normal at such difficulty. Snowmobilers will attempt to grab hold of other drivers. Get too close and they may try to boost away or, even worse, attempt to veer or crash the player out by any means possible. It makes for a hectic race, and one that made the original MotorStorm such a brilliant title.

The soundtrack is made of some popular music. I can't remember them as I prefer to play the game sans-music. Playlist can be imported as long as there are tracks on the Memory Stick. Arctic Edge also features an online multiplayer mode (infrastructure) as well as local (adhoc) allowing for multiplayer racing with other PSP owners around the world. BigBig has pretty much tick every possible box in their checklist. Impressive considering that this title was being developed alongside a PS2 version (due out in the next week).

I am quite surprised by Arctic Edge. To be honest I was expecting much less. I was expecting a much less stripped down game, especially considering that the title was being developed simultaneously with the PS2 version (which incidentally does not have multiplayer support, though it does have split screen support). Some compromise has been made (eight vehicles, graphical fidelity obviously no where near the PS3 version), but this is still a pretty darn MotorStorm racer, and one that deserves a look even by owners of the two other PS3 titles. Strip away the branding and this is still the best arcade racer on the PSP out there. A perfect portable pick-me-up.

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is out now in both UK and US.