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Game Review of Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier on Sony PSP

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Review of Ghostbusters: The Video Game on Sony's Hand held PSP

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A game review of Sony Entertainment's Gran Turismo on Sony PSP

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Read our Sony PSP Review of racing title Motorstorm Arctic Edge

Sony's Motorstorm franchise first wowed crowds as one of the PS3's launch titles and now, nearly 3 years on, developers BigBig Studios are bringing it to the PSP via the snowy wastes and ice caverns of the arctic tundra. Combining high-speed visceral racing with intricate multiple-routed tracks, Motorstorm Arctic Edge is a unique racer for those who don't take their driving too seriously.

The main premise is an icy racing tournament where all types of motorized machines, ranging in size from nippy dirt bikes all the way up to lumbering big rigs, fling themselves around twelve ice themed tracks. Although only twelve in number the tracks are easily the star of this game. Each is full to the brim with secret shortcuts and alternate routes which see your racer hurtling over chasms, through subterranean vaults, and across rocky snowy passes. These routes are a real pleasure to discover and really help make each track feel unique, especially considering that there are as many different types of vehicles for you to race with as there are routes, with lighter bikes and buggies zipping over the top of the trucks and snow cats which plow down the muddier central avenues. Each type of vehicle behaves differently and requires wildly different tactics. This ensures that the same track plays and feels very different depending on your weapon of choice. But one thing that can be said is that it is thrilling to play all of them. The jumpy handling of the bikes, the breakneck power slides of the rally cars and the unstoppable chug of the larger trucks are all immensely satisfying and it's hard to choose a favorite. Generally the handling is robust, but at higher speeds it can often feel too light and some suspicious physics and dodgy collision detection often ruin any sense of realism.

But this is not a game for racing accuracy, for a start each car is equipped with after-burner-like super boosts that can launch your vehicle ahead of the rest but at a risk of blowing up if you overheat them, (which the computer player is quite prone too). A nice touch is the ability to cool your boosts down by driving through deep snow or water, an important tactic as success in Motorstorm Arctic Edge is largely down to judicial boosting at the right places, as boosting at the wrong place can easily send your car flying off the edge of a precipice or straight into the wall of a cavern.

Motorstorm Arctic Edge holds up very well graphically, the cars look solid and the tracks are detailed. Atmospheric effects like snow, rain and splashes of mud are done really well and add finesse. Sound wise, the crunches of metal and scream of engines all fit well with the frantic action and the sound track, including The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers suits the pace and keeps the adrenalin pumping.

The single player career mode - festival - sees your chosen driver entering various races, earning points to increase your racing rank, thereby unlocking the harder races and challenges as well as customization options and new vehicles. The difficulty really does ramp up in the later portion of the career mode, early on it's a real challenge not to come first every race as your computer opponents blow themselves up all around you, but later you'll have to use every short cut and dirty trick in your disposal just to keep in sight of the top three. Other modes include, the obligatory time trial and a free play mode which lets you customize a race allowing you to explore the labyrinthine tracks without impunity in order to best plan out your alternative routes. There is also a solid multiplayer mode which will keep you occupied for a few hours racing online (if you can find any online PSP players) or with friends over WiFi. A joy that was sadly lacking from Motorstorm's first appearance on the PS3 but one that works well here.

Motorstorm Arctic Edge is a real success. Sublime exploratory racing and a solid handful of single player and multiplayer modes are only marred by slightly oversensitive controls and excessive load times. Easily the best racer currently available on the PSP and one which will hopefully breathe new life into Sony's flagging handheld.

8.5 out of 10

Daniel Howard

Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars
Review PSP

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Smash Court Tennis 3
Review PSP
Namco Bandai

Namco Bandai has been nurturing the Smash Court tennis series since the early days of Sony's first Play-station console. Like many other Namco titles it has always been a solid game, maybe it used to be a bit cute in its design and also quite Japanese in its style.

Now we are in 2007 and Smash Court Tennis 3 gets its release on Sony's first handheld console the Sony PSP. Is it the tennis title we have all been waiting for?

Well, I must say the first thing you will notice is that the characters with big heads and silly hats have been dropped. In Smash Court Tennis 3 you get a life-like rendering of the modern tennis game that handles well, has great modes available and will have you top-spinning and slicing your way top glory for many months to come.

Smash Court Tennis 3 has lots on offer when it comes to controlling your characters play. The three core shots; topspin, slice and lob are all present and correct but the way in which you achieve these shots and the many variations of each shot available will take a bit of mastering.

Hit the PSP face buttons for an 'Easy' shot - a return with little power and little control. On its own the easy shot isn't going to get you very far, to beat your opponents you will need to master the more tricky shots. For a "nice" shot you must hold down the button to power up for a couple of seconds before hitting the ball. 'Hard Hits' are the fastest and most accurate of shots. To perform Hard Hits you need to fill your power bar by holding down Square for a good amount time before the ball gets to you. Hard Hits are game winning shots and if you master the timing of them you will go far.

For each of these core shots, which on their own will take some practice, you can then use your D-pad or analogue stick to implement various modifiers to your shots. This is all explained in the very useful tutorial mode and if you take some time to practice you will find Smash Court Tennis 3 to be an incredibly precise game.

Smash Court 3 has all the modes a player would require. Arcade and Exhibition are both present and you can play as 1 of 16 licensed tennis stars in these modes but if you are serious about this game you need to be starting your own career in the Pro Tour mode.

In Pro Tour mode you create your own player and take him/her through an entire career. You organise your own schedule of tournaments, training, securing sponsorship as well as taking a rest every now and then. You are rewarded for your toil with experience points. Experience points will help you power up your character skills, buy moves, buy clothing and rackets etc.

Overall I think Smash Court Tennis 3 on the PSP is a resounding success. Namco have taken the best from all the tennis titles and bolstered up their own, already very good, title with the requisite elements from all.

If you haven't seen Smash Court for some years you will find a more serious, realistic title in SCT3. The only thing I can say that is negative is - SCT3 isn't easy or forgiving. Smash Court Tennis 3 is stern challenge for any PSP player and also to the best tennis titles out there.

Zenduko
Single number shenanigans

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The Warriors

"Come out to PSPlay.."

Here we go again; a game based on a film usually lacks any of the good parts of the film and next to no game play. In 1979 a film directed by Walter Hill attained cult status. "The Warriors" tracked the fortunes/misfortunes of a Coney Island gang wrongly accused of a crime against all the other New York gangs, this becomes a 9 vs 60,000 epic.

The game itself is a feast of rioting, rumbling, looting, mugging and just about everything else a late 70's New York gang got up to. You start by practicing your moves on a group of tramps in exchange for some flash (the drug of choice in the 1979 New York ghettos). It's not long before your mixing it with other members of the gang in order to earn your colours.

Next on the agenda is how to earn some money as lets face it aerosol paint and flash don't grow on trees. So firstly you learn to mug, you do this by applying pressure to a bystanders pressure points whilst holding them in a neck lock. Car stereos are the next victim and you soon master the art of smashing car windows and unscrewing the 4 screws holding the unit in place by use of the analogue controller. The only thing left is master the art of looting running into stores smashing cabinets and grabbing the contents.

The game then goes on to pretty much follow the line of the film with you playing various members of the Warriors Gang - Swan, Ajax, Cleon, Vermin, Cochese, Cowboy, Snow, Fox, and firstly Rembrandt tagging over a rival gangs "street art" and even the back of their gang h.q. During the course of the game you come across the many gangs made popular by the film such as my favourite the Hi Hats a hardcore bunch of hell raising mime artists or the baseball furies New York Yankees clad gang wielding large head cracking baseball bats. Many more gangs come and go including a gang made up of women called the "Lizzies" ignore what your dad said about hitting girls at this part of the game!

The Warriors is probably the best beat'em up I have played in many years as there is plenty to keep you engaged over the 20+ levels of mayhem.

As films go "The Warriors" Film was not the slickest of productions that's more than made up for with content.

The PSP game is extremely slick and engaging and captures all of the great bits of the original movie, so well deserves its...

8 out of 10

Power Stone Collection
Review PSP
Capcom

Originally released for Sega's Dreamcast console, the Power Stone games provided great joy to the gamers who invested in Sega's unfortunate flop. Not just a staged fighting game they include an array of weapons, active arenas and power-ups created in the wildest dreams of Japanese designers. It doesn't try to be realistic, close combat punching and kicking is usually a second best to picking up a weapon or object to pound your opponent. Sometimes it appears a bit hectic and fights are closer to resembling 2 irate bulls in a china shop than artful masters of fighting.

The PSP version has been slightly enhanced from the originals but overall they're pretty much identical. Extras such as mini-games, different modes and new weaponry do add a glossy shine but don't really enhance the gameplay - not that it's a problem because it already has much to offer.

Power Stone follows the popular theme of a best of 3 rounds to win a stage and as you progress through the 8 stages it becomes increasingly difficult before you face the big cheese on the last level. However, there are plenty of additions which separate Power Stone from other beat `em up games like Tekken. Firstly, the 3D arena you battle in is full of objects that can thrown at your adversary. Secondly, power-ups and weapons freely litter the ground to help give you an upper hand if you're in the right place at the right time. But perhaps the most significant difference is the Power Stones. Each fight commences with you and your enemy holding 1 Power Stone, at some point a 3rd Power Stone will drop into the arena for collection. If you manage to collect this Stone and beat the other Stone out of you opponent so you hold all 3 then you become a super-charged inflictor of damage! As well as being able to perform special moves you get a huge increase in power so make sure you make the most of your superiority whilst you can.

It's not exactly easy to collect all 3 stones because the constant flow of weapons and objects lying around means power swings quite freely between the 2 characters. 1 second you're creaming your opponent and about to reach full power and the next second he's lobbed a box at your head from the other side of the battleground and your stumbling around looking for the next weapon. Because the balance of power changes so frantically it can feel that skill isn't the most important factor - getting a more powerful weapon at the right time is what tips the balance- Either way, it's lots of fun.

The sequel, Power Stone 2, offers much of the same but with optional 4 player fighting and an added story mode to make it a bit more appealing to single players. To be honest, you aren't really gonna buy this game for the solo adventure though - it's all about multiplayer frenzied fighting! You can use ad-hoc multiplayer mode to get 4 players on the go at the same time but I personally found that to be a bit too messy on the small screen.

Graphically it looks sound and even with so much happening on screen the PSP does the game justice and will give you lots of fun if you're got some friends round over Xmas. Because its yet another release on the PSP which is just an old game with a makeover it can't be given a higher rating than 7, even though it is a very appealing multiplayer game.

7 out of 10

Leeroy