Your Favorite PsP Launch Title?

[Gadfly2317]

I thought mine would be Lumines, but it turns out to be Wipeout Pure. . . not entirely surprising since its one of my favorite racing series. Lumines was great, it just doesn't really differentiate itself that much from Tetris. They could have called it Techno Tetris.

What are you guys digging? I also have Metal Gear Acid, but haven't played it because you actually have to learn how to play it. . . I tried putting it in and was just confused. I get the feeling its going to be a really cool strategy game though.

April 6 I will have Smart Bomb. There's really not that many titles that grab me right at the moment, but that one. . . hey, maybe it sucks for all I know. All I'm going by is concept and screenshots and it looks awesome. Puzzle games and slower stuff are my favorite for handheld, and Wipeout Pure and the PsP bigger screen hasn't changed that. Handhelds really aren't ideal for console style multi-button-heavy games.

Enough blah blah from me. . . what launch title are you guys enjoying most that you got?

[The Prince of Darkness]

I thought mine would be Lumines, but it turns out to be Wipeout Pure. . . not entirely surprising since its one of my favorite racing series. Lumines was great, it just doesn't really differentiate itself that much from Tetris. They could have called it Techno Tetris.

What are you guys digging? I also have Metal Gear Acid, but haven't played it because you actually have to learn how to play it. . . I tried putting it in and was just confused. I get the feeling its going to be a really cool strategy game though.

April 6 I will have Smart Bomb. There's really not that many titles that grab me right at the moment, but that one. . . hey, maybe it sucks for all I know. All I'm going by is concept and screenshots and it looks awesome. Puzzle games and slower stuff are my favorite for handheld, and Wipeout Pure and the PsP bigger screen hasn't changed that. Handhelds really aren't ideal for console style multi-button-heavy games.

Enough blah blah from me. . . what launch title are you guys enjoying most that you got?

I am absolutely loving all three games that I bought at launch. Lumines is like crack for me. I agree with you about it not differentiating itself too much from Tetris, but the promise of new skins and beats keeps me coming back everytime. The only problem with that game is that my girlfriend has now discovered the inner-gamer in her and she is stealing my thunder. Tiger is simply the greatest handheld golf that I could have ever imagined. Once I got the hang of the PsP stick I have had huge fun with the game. Similar kudos to Ridge Racer. No doubt it is the best handheld racing game of all time. For me that game is like DOA3 was for me at the Xbox launch. It just gives you such a rush because you can see how endless the possibilities are for your new system. Now if Mercury would just hurry up and get here...

[T.Tashi]

I am absolutely loving all three games that I bought at launch. Lumines is like crack for me. I agree with you about it not differentiating itself too much from Tetris, but the promise of new skins and beats keeps me coming back everytime. The only problem with that game is that my girlfriend has now discovered the inner-gamer in her and she is stealing my thunder. Tiger is simply the greatest handheld golf that I could have ever imagined. Once I got the hang of the PsP stick I have had huge fun with the game. Similar kudos to Ridge Racer. No doubt it is the best handheld racing game of all time. For me that game is like DOA3 was for me at the Xbox launch. It just gives you such a rush because you can see how endless the possibilities are for your new system. Now if Mercury would just hurry up and get here... No doubt Lumines will come off as the best launch title out of the 2 dozen or so.

Untold Legends: First the bad

Untold Legends is horribly generic. It lacks narrative and story telling initiative. Characters are blah. Random dungeon generator is equally blah. Mission based objectives uninspiring.

I've noticed my hands are a little cramped playing it and some functions that require a single button press on games like Baldur's Gate and Norrath require a cumbersome 2 button press on Legends.

The Good:

The hack n slash controls is solid. Movement is solid.
Nice eye candy. Purdy graphics and animation. Collision detection is tight.
Multiplayer frickin' rocks.
Lots to collect and trade. Too bad it's not online.

It's not a bad game. Just lacks spit and polish. But the basic formula is solid.

[Gadfly2317]

I am absolutely loving all three games that I bought at launch. Lumines is like crack for me. I agree with you about it not differentiating itself too much from Tetris, but the promise of new skins and beats keeps me coming back everytime. The only problem with that game is that my girlfriend has now discovered the inner-gamer in her and she is stealing my thunder. Tiger is simply the greatest handheld golf that I could have ever imagined. Once I got the hang of the PsP stick I have had huge fun with the game. Similar kudos to Ridge Racer. No doubt it is the best handheld racing game of all time. For me that game is like DOA3 was for me at the Xbox launch. It just gives you such a rush because you can see how endless the possibilities are for your new system. Now if Mercury would just hurry up and get here...

You know, my impressions of Lumines keeps expanding; Love the CPU challenge mode, the music, the skins, unlocking new "heads." Yeah, the basic formula is cubic tetris, but hey, they are ripping off a mastergame and coating it in tons of wonderful hypnotic audio-visual glory. This one is up to my Fave right now; I LOVE puzzle games and short little crack-head games for my handhelds. Sadly, the DS does crackhead little games well, but gets faulted for it. PsP is doing the too, and despite load times delaying the fix, I couldn't be happier.

I know what you mean about Mercury. I pre-ordered it today, along with Smart Bomb. That will make three completelyl different puzzle games for the PsP. Add that in with Poloarium (the DS puzzler 4/18) and I'm in puzzle heaven.

But I burn out on any genre if its over done. I really can't wait until some real substance comes out for the two systems. AC and AV and AoE for DS are along way off; same for Death Junior and Infected for PsP.

So PoD, do you play at home like you were saying? Have you noticed a handheld altering your game habits? Take it out on a town, for a drink, for the morning coffee?

[theWacoKid]

I bought Ridge Racer and lumines. Rented MGA and Ape Escape. My overriding concept here is gameplay with great tunes, which is why I picked up RR and Lumines. RR is an excellent ridge racer game. That analog nub takes some getting used to, but it is true analog. Having played Ape Escape, I can verify that. MGA is a very odd game, I'm still not sure what to make of it. I find it far too slow for handheld gaming. The card system isn't intuitive and things like editing your card deck didn't make much of any sense to me.

I have taken the psp to starbucks for a cup of joe. Nobody noticed or seemed to care, which was just fine by me. Once I'm ridge racered out, I'll probably pick up wipeout pure. EA wants too much money for tiger woods golf so I'll go with hot shots golf when ti comes out. As it is, Tiger hasn't hit the canadian market. But, I'm hearing the load times are long and frequent.

[Renzatic Gear]

I played alot of Wipeout Pure over at my friends house today. It's not better than Wip3out, but it's defiantely up there...I'd pick it up before Ridge Racer.

And Lumines, beyond the interesting soundtrack, didn't do much for me. I'll wait for Mercury instead.

[The Prince of Darkness]

No doubt Lumines will come off as the best launch title out of the 2 dozen or so.

Untold Legends: First the bad

Untold Legends is horribly generic. It lacks narrative and story telling initiative. Characters are blah. Random dungeon generator is equally blah. Mission based objectives uninspiring.

I've noticed my hands are a little cramped playing it and some functions that require a single button press on games like Baldur's Gate and Norrath require a cumbersome 2 button press on Legends.

The Good:

The hack n slash controls is solid. Movement is solid.
Nice eye candy. Purdy graphics and animation. Collision detection is tight.
Multiplayer frickin' rocks.
Lots to collect and trade. Too bad it's not online.

It's not a bad game. Just lacks spit and polish. But the basic formula is solid.

Well that does not sound as bad as the reviews would make the game seem. I think that I owe it at least a rental since it was a high priority at one time.

[The Prince of Darkness]

I bought Ridge Racer and lumines. Rented MGA and Ape Escape. My overriding concept here is gameplay with great tunes, which is why I picked up RR and Lumines. RR is an excellent ridge racer game. That analog nub takes some getting used to, but it is true analog. Having played Ape Escape, I can verify that. MGA is a very odd game, I'm still not sure what to make of it. I find it far too slow for handheld gaming. The card system isn't intuitive and things like editing your card deck didn't make much of any sense to me.

I have taken the psp to starbucks for a cup of joe. Nobody noticed or seemed to care, which was just fine by me. Once I'm ridge racered out, I'll probably pick up wipeout pure. EA wants too much money for tiger woods golf so I'll go with hot shots golf when ti comes out. As it is, Tiger hasn't hit the canadian market. But, I'm hearing the load times are long and frequent.

Yeah that would be a fair assessment on the load times in Tiger. Short loads in between shots, and long loads in between holes. It is just like the last PS2 version with its loads. It will take you about a half hour for 9 holes. In fact, when I was creating my golfer I ended up just plugging the PsP in because I figured it would be a long process and...I was glad that I did. Still that is the ONLY negative with that game once you get used to the controls and reading the greens on a small screen.

[The Prince of Darkness]

You know, my impressions of Lumines keeps expanding; Love the CPU challenge mode, the music, the skins, unlocking new "heads." Yeah, the basic formula is cubic tetris, but hey, they are ripping off a mastergame and coating it in tons of wonderful hypnotic audio-visual glory. This one is up to my Fave right now; I LOVE puzzle games and short little crack-head games for my handhelds. Sadly, the DS does crackhead little games well, but gets faulted for it. PsP is doing the too, and despite load times delaying the fix, I couldn't be happier.

I know what you mean about Mercury. I pre-ordered it today, along with Smart Bomb. That will make three completelyl different puzzle games for the PsP. Add that in with Poloarium (the DS puzzler 4/18) and I'm in puzzle heaven.

But I burn out on any genre if its over done. I really can't wait until some real substance comes out for the two systems. AC and AV and AoE for DS are along way off; same for Death Junior and Infected for PsP.

So PoD, do you play at home like you were saying? Have you noticed a handheld altering your game habits? Take it out on a town, for a drink, for the morning coffee?

Holy cow has it altered my gaming habits??? Absolutely. In fact it has brought them back from the dead. I sold off my PS2 and GC two weeks ago and kept my Xbox, but I have not even turned on the Box since I got my PsP. I love being able to just sit in front of the TV and play the PsP and sort of half watch a hoops game. If the game hits a stretch that I have to pay closer attention to then I just put the PsP into sleep mode. It is the greatest.
So far I have not really scratched the surface on its portability. Sure I have made an effort to take it to friends' houses to show it off, but I have not yet taken it around town. I am not really a coffee shop kind of guy, and I don't drink anymore so I don't go to bars much. The funny part is that my girlfriend is a bartender, so I do pop in to her place for dinner like once a week. I keep telling her that one of these times I am going to show up with that PsP in hand and be like one of those tech geeks that comes to the bar with their laptop. I will probably test that out this weekend because some of the regulars are DYING to check it out.

[Lara]

Okay guys. We really would appreciate it if you posted reviews for us on these games. We sure could use them. Long or short, it doesn't matter.

http://videogamereview.com/PLS_5846crx.aspx

[T.Tashi]

Well that does not sound as bad as the reviews would make the game seem. I think that I owe it at least a rental since it was a high priority at one time.
I thought of a couple more bad things. :)

Load times.... there's good and bad. First the levels are huge. I mean really huge. Sometimes I have trouble with directions because there's no North and it's impossible to view the whole map. While a lack of a North is confusing, there's no load times while you're running around these huge GTA type levels. The bad is, when you do hit a load time, it's l o n g. I'd say 20-30 seconds, give or take, and when you get proficient at traversing shortcuts between levels you'll see more load times.

Oddly enough, the only time I've noticed slowdown, is during the menu screens. And I mean it actually freezes for a second or two. While annoying it is not as annoying as it would be if it happened during actual gameplay. I've read reviews of slowdown during spells and mutiple characters on screen but if it's happening, it's so slight I'm not noticing it.

One odd thing... it is totally possible to fight bosses outside the storyline. So, you can literally wander anywhere outside the story and fight these bosses you'll encounter later on. They just respawn. I've never encountered that in any other game, but I suppose it's great if you wanna power level.


I noticed reviews are scarce, even for the handheld itself, so I'll be writing one for the hardware and for Untold Legends after I've dug a little deeper. I'd easily recommend it though, especially since I don't think we're gonna see another rpg for the psp for a while.

[theWacoKid]

Yeah that would be a fair assessment on the load times in Tiger. Short loads in between shots, and long loads in between holes. It is just like the last PS2 version with its loads. It will take you about a half hour for 9 holes. In fact, when I was creating my golfer I ended up just plugging the PsP in because I figured it would be a long process and...I was glad that I did. Still that is the ONLY negative with that game once you get used to the controls and reading the greens on a small screen.

I read if you turn off auto save, you can eliminate the loads between shots. I think golf is ideal for a handheld, but $50 for Tiger Woods on the psp when the console versions sell for $30?! EA needs to rethink their pricing especially when their games seem to suffer from atroicious loading. I expect load times, but c'mon, this system has 32 megs of memory, as much as the psp, but the rez of the system is less than half of a console offering. 32 megs should take a psp game much farther.

I've tried 4 psp games.

Ridge Racer, Lumines, MGA, and Ape Escape. RR, Lumines and MGA have acceptable loading times. AE is nuts, tons of loads. When you start play, you have to load to get to a level select screen. When you select a level you have to load to get to an intro screen telling you how many monkeys you need to capture to complete the level and then you have to load to get to the level. Awful. AE was a psone game. The psone was a 2MB system and so its understandable all the loads, but the psp is far more capable. The loads should have been greatly streamlined. That's the problem with ports, re-using code from the previous version. And that's the problem with EA's games, porting over and re-using code. For a stiff $50, these games should be perfect.

Out of EA's initial offerings, Tiger Woods looks the best. I'd pick it up at $30 canadian, but that won't be for a while, I expect, so I'll probably wind up getting HSG. Have no idea what's taking so long with this game. It was a launch japanese psp title. I hope theyr'e adding to the game, otherwise the delay makes no sense. Hopefully, sony adds online play.

[Gadfly2317]

Out of EA's initial offerings, Tiger Woods looks the best. I'd pick it up at $30 canadian, but that won't be for a while, I expect, so I'll probably wind up getting HSG. Have no idea what's taking so long with this game. It was a launch japanese psp title. I hope theyr'e adding to the game, otherwise the delay makes no sense. Hopefully, sony adds online play.

Well, aside from EA being on my SH-List (my oft-condemned hypocrisy about Strangers Wrath aside), does Tiger Woods offer much beyond what it's already offered on consoles?

A good golf game is in my Hand Held Future, and it's in my PsP's future, not the DS. I've never played Hot Shots Golf, and Glock (who has not been posting lately) shares my gaming tastes a lot of the time, and he's all about this game. I'm not keen on franchise bleedover of the PsP, but if its something I've never played, and if its good, and its a genre I'm looking to do on Handheld anyway. . . .hell yeah.

Bring on the Hot Shots Golf (and I hope I'm not dissapointed; hope its not too hip hop, poor culturally alientated Gadfly.)

[theWacoKid]

Well, aside from EA being on my SH-List (my oft-condemned hypocrisy about Strangers Wrath aside), does Tiger Woods offer much beyond what it's already offered on consoles?

A good golf game is in my Hand Held Future, and it's in my PsP's future, not the DS. I've never played Hot Shots Golf, and Glock (who has not been posting lately) shares my gaming tastes a lot of the time, and he's all about this game. I'm not keen on franchise bleedover of the PsP, but if its something I've never played, and if its good, and its a genre I'm looking to do on Handheld anyway. . . .hell yeah.

Bring on the Hot Shots Golf (and I hope I'm not dissapointed; hope its not too hip hop, poor culturally alientated Gadfly.)

Hot Shots Golf is more akin to Mario Golf than Tiger Woods. It's a cartoony affair. From what I understand the courses are all new. But, sony must be doing something to the game for it to be delayed like this. IGN has a tentative release date of June 14th. Ouch!

Since you're a puzzle fan, here's another puzzle title for you to peruse. Sticky Balls. Don't you hate that when it happens in real life?

http://psp.ign.com/objects/683/683273.html

On a side note, I've become hopelessly addicted to Lumines. I played it so long the other day, my right arm cramped up on me from holding the system in one position for so long. I think I put in 4 hours straight and didn't even realize it.

[Gadfly2317]

On a side note, I've become hopelessly addicted to Lumines. I played it so long the other day, my right arm cramped up on me from holding the system in one position for so long. I think I put in 4 hours straight and didn't even realize it.

I know what you mean. It's become my insomnia game (handhelds are great for middle of the night gaming--you don't have to get out of bed and drag to the couch. Yes, I often look like Edward Norton in fight club, without the bruises.)

Have you gotten very far playing head to head against the computer? I've gotten to the fourth stage but have not beat it yet. It's damned hard.

Unless I've got my release dates confused, we've only got a few more days to wait for Archer Maclean's Mercury. I definitely don't think the Marble Madness/Monkey ball puzzle genre is overdone (not as overdone as the dissapearing blocks genre for sure.)

Sticky Balls, what's that one about? I'm getting kinda loaded up on puzzle games; with Smart Bomb and then Polarium on DS, I'm starting to reach my limit on that genre (it's great though, because its been a long stretch since some good original puzzle games; since they are relatively easy to program (once they've got the design) I assume that's why we're seeing so many puzzlers with these two handhelds early months.

[theWacoKid]

I watched a couple of videos and I still don't know what to make of sticky balls. Part billiards, part puzzle game.

My screen is PINK! Pink, argghhhh. Couldn't take it, advanced a month to May. Its green again, but a different shade.

I thought you'd be all over Meteos. Same outfit that did lumines. Polarium, black and white, too frickin basic for me.

I suck at lumines. I tried the vs. cpu a few times, I beat it one time, but otherwise I've stuck to challenge mode. My odds of getting all the skins are slim to none unless I get downloaded save over the internet.

[Gadfly2317]

I watched a couple of videos and I still don't know what to make of sticky balls. Part billiards, part puzzle game.

My screen is PINK! Pink, argghhhh. Couldn't take it, advanced a month to May. Its green again, but a different shade.

I thought you'd be all over Meteos. Same outfit that did lumines. Polarium, black and white, too frickin basic for me.

I suck at lumines. I tried the vs. cpu a few times, I beat it one time, but otherwise I've stuck to challenge mode. My odds of getting all the skins are slim to none unless I get downloaded save over the internet.

I don't think Meteos is out until late june. I plan to get it. The simple graphics of polarium don't bother me if the game is as original and compulsive fun as I'm hearing.

On Lumines. . . have you tried the puzzle mode, too? I'm up to the Dog, but haven't gotten it yet. The puzzle mode is ingenious, trying to make the shapes out of the dark blocks.

I wish Lumines were online compatbable, or that I would encounter someone else with a PsP and the game, because vs. mode is great, but you are right, the computer is damned hard. I've got six skins and unlocked three extra heads; I'm feeling pretty bleak about unlocking much more, but I'm going to keep trying. This is the best PsP launch title hands down, even if its not as fun to show off the systems graphics to friends with (I use Wipeout or Ridge Racer for that.)

[theWacoKid]

I don't think Meteos is out until late june. I plan to get it. The simple graphics of polarium don't bother me if the game is as original and compulsive fun as I'm hearing.

On Lumines. . . have you tried the puzzle mode, too? I'm up to the Dog, but haven't gotten it yet. The puzzle mode is ingenious, trying to make the shapes out of the dark blocks.

I wish Lumines were online compatbable, or that I would encounter someone else with a PsP and the game, because vs. mode is great, but you are right, the computer is damned hard. I've got six skins and unlocked three extra heads; I'm feeling pretty bleak about unlocking much more, but I'm going to keep trying. This is the best PsP launch title hands down, even if its not as fun to show off the systems graphics to friends with (I use Wipeout or Ridge Racer for that.)

I've tried puzzle mode, I don't understand this one called 4x4. Hmm. Anyways, I downloaded a game save off www.gamefaqs.com to get the skins. I'm keeping this on the 32MB stick when I just want to listen to the tunes and zen out. The game save had all the skins except for one. This is another rather neat feature. If you get frustrated with a game and want to open up everything, just download somebody's else's game save. A very neat feature. Being able to back up on my computer is also very welcome.

[Gadfly2317]

I've tried puzzle mode, I don't understand this one called 4x4. Hmm. Anyways, I downloaded a game save off www.gamefaqs.com to get the skins. I'm keeping this on the 32MB stick when I just want to listen to the tunes and zen out. The game save had all the skins except for one. This is another rather neat feature. If you get frustrated with a game and want to open up everything, just download somebody's else's game save. A very neat feature. Being able to back up on my computer is also very welcome.

Cheater!!!! :D

(I'm not too far behind you on that download. I'll keep at it a bit longer, but I want to hear all the songs and see all the skins.)

I haven't done any downloading yet for the PsP--or anything else for that matter besides play the games. Do you just download it on your PC, and then move it to your mem card via USB cable?

[Tappy_Tibbons]

Either USB cbale, USB card reader, or USB jump drive.

Lumines is easily the best launcher. I also have THUG2 and Wipeout, which are both awesome games, but that are both merely sequals to other games. Lumines is extremely original and feels that way

[theWacoKid]

Cheater!!!! :D

(I'm not too far behind you on that download. I'll keep at it a bit longer, but I want to hear all the songs and see all the skins.)

I haven't done any downloading yet for the PsP--or anything else for that matter besides play the games. Do you just download it on your PC, and then move it to your mem card via USB cable?

I'm keeping all the downloaded game save files on my 32MB stick as backups. The 512MB is my primrary card. Yeah, its cheating, but there's no way I'll be getting all those skins. The final skin requires a 999.999 point total. Forget about it. My best if only 40k something. If I ever crack 100k I'll consider that a major victory. I've got 10 skins the hard way.

Basically, you download it to your pc as a self-extracting zip file. You'll have a game save folder with a wierd file name, like ULUS10002LUMINES. Get a usb to usb mini cable and attach it to the usb mini port on the top of the machine. Go to usb connection setting and hook up. Your psp will show up a removeable media file. It will have a game save folder and you can drag and drop to the folder.

Lumines is handheld crack. Didn't think much of the game at first, but, boy, oh, boy, I'm not sure what it is, I just keep wanting another crack at challenge mode. I've come close to draining the battery on a couple of play sessions. Time just melts away, you don't even realize how long you've been playing. I'm still bummed that Rez was never re-issued, but at least I got Lumines.

Next week should see Smart Bomb and Mercury which is getting kind of mixed reviews and if you need a baseball fix, MLB from sony.

I haven't touched my ps2 since getting the psp. I think I might become a handheld junkie. I wish the DS had more to offer, but right now, there's just not much there. although I guess the gba library is worth something. To me, its just a little sad that the two best games are still Super Mario DS and FTM.

[The Prince of Darkness]

I'm keeping all the downloaded game save files on my 32MB stick as backups. The 512MB is my primrary card. Yeah, its cheating, but there's no way I'll be getting all those skins. The final skin requires a 999.999 point total. Forget about it. My best if only 40k something. If I ever crack 100k I'll consider that a major victory. I've got 10 skins the hard way.

You are doing better than me Waco. My girlfriend has gotten us 10 skins, but I have personally only gotten through 5 with a high score of 28k. How many skins are there anyway? I want to tell my girlfriend so that I can break her spirit because she is so cocky about her Lumines prowess. It does not even matter that I can kill her at any other game out there. The fact that she is better at one is a moral victory for her.



Next week should see Smart Bomb and Mercury which is getting kind of mixed reviews and if you need a baseball fix, MLB from sony.

Yeah that's weird about Mercury. It seems like the reviews are fairly complimentary, but then the scores are mediocre. They seem to be in agreement that the controls can be frustrating at times, but then they praise the genius of the levels and the concept. I think that I will take my chances.


I haven't touched my ps2 since getting the psp. I think I might become a handheld junkie.

Boy ain't that the truth. It is likewise with me and my Xbox. I will tell you this much. If it was not for Jade Empire and Forza I would have sold off the Xbox along with the GC and PS2. This PsP has opened up a whole new world of gaming for me. Oh btw---now I have really done it. I had a mess of store credit from trade-ins at EB that I was dying for another PsP game, so I picked NFL Street 2. You know the conntrols are a bit trick-ass to get used to, but it is really a lot of fun. It seems very well suited for handheld gaming because it is fast paced and arcadey, and because there are fewer people on the field so it is way easier to play on the small screen.

[Gadfly2317]

I haven't touched my ps2 since getting the psp. I think I might become a handheld junkie.

Boy ain't that the truth. It is likewise with me and my Xbox. I will tell you this much. If it was not for Jade Empire and Forza I would have sold off the Xbox along with the GC and PS2. This PsP has opened up a whole new world of gaming for me.

See what I've been saying? I"m right there with you. And I'm not trying to troll the PsP forum or make this Handheld Wars, but I'm just saying, this might be a reason to at least consider the DS further down the road. Buying two at the same time is lame, but I'd had my DS for 5 months.

In your guys case, you are seeing what better graphics and and the more pick-up and play crack like addictiveness of this is. It's really great to be able to keep up with the news and game at the same time, and the ton of other benefits we've all discovered recently with improved handheld systems.

I realize the DS is a matter of taste, but especially Waco, with how you've enjoyed Lumines, the blazing fast kind of puzzling that can (and is) being done with the touch interface. . . I can't begin to explain how awesome this is,and with zero load times.

Just keep an open mind about it. Lumines is no mind-blowing graphics game, its all about gameplay. I'm liking Yoshi Tn Go for all the same reasons I'm loving Lumines. And I'm not just pimping the DS as a fanboy, I'm just trying to share as a fellow gamer about stuff I'm almost positive you'd dig; I'm finding it an equally fun, similar yet different experience to the PsP. Keep an eye on some of the titles. There's going to be a nice mix of more complex in-depth titles for both systems coming down the road--some more PC style stuff in the DS's case, more action/adventure type stuff on the PsP. . . as well as more of those kind of titles that are perfect for handheld but not so much so for consoles.

The titles have been slow coming; DS's are already available for $119 used (US); once there's a price drop and the titles start rolling in there's nothing redundant at all about having both of these handhelds. And if the wife is kicking your ass on one, you can play the other (I know what you mean PoD. . . my wife destroys me at the puzzler Zookeeper on DS, and though she's on extended business trip at the moment, when she gets her hands on Lumines, and I'm under no illusion--she will destroy me on that too. Just like she destroys me at Culdcept on Ps2. If there's any brains invovled. . . . well, lets just leave my shame at that.)

Either way, if you just stick with your PsP's, I'm still glad to see other people discovering just how awesome handheld gaming has gotten, and why gaming doesn't have to be full-blown big screen all the time. In many ways, I feel like some of these smaller games with their more arcade feel have brought me back to my gaming roots, but with newer tech and enough innovations that its not a re-run, its a rennaissance.

[theWacoKid]

I think there's 40 skins in all. 24 of them you get from challenge mode. You'll get two skins for just playing long enough. The rest are from vs. cpu mode and puzzle mode. Puzzle mode is actually a lot of fun. I'm playing that quite a bit.

I'm not missing console gaming at all, although I did pick up Lego Star Wars for my ps2. I needed a co-op game of some type for me to play with my 8 year old niece. It's very kid friendly, too easy, but hilarious just the same. Its such a hoot seeing all these characters in lego form and reliving episodes from the film. Why this isn't a gamecube title is a complete mystery to me.

Handheld gaming is all about freedom, not being a slave to that one room, that one setting. Also handheld gaming is simpler, more about skill than mastering a complex set of controls. Ridge Racer is all about steering and gas on, gas off. I haven't used the brake button yet. We're talking gaming distilled to its simplest elements. Slap on a pair of headphones and isolate yourself from the outside world.

I might check into a DS at its first price drop, if there is one this year. At this point, the lineup is so spotty. I have more interest in some of the gba titles than in the DS ones. Wario ware twisted sounds better than wario ware touched and minish cap is supposed to be a good one. FTM for sure, and Super Mario DS maybe. But the lack of analog control is a real downer. I'm really not excited by nintendo dogs and electroplankton. Mario Kart, meh. Metroid Prime Hunter, meh. Animal Crossing, depending on what nintendo actually does with it could pull me over. But, what does nintendo intend on doing with this title exactly.

When you take a look at the DS for the month of March, you were talking only 4 titles. 3 of which were pretty crappy. Atari Retro collection, pokemon dash, rayman DS and only yoshi's touch n go as a half decent title. Batting .250 won't keep you in the big leagues. Nintendo better start cracking down on what's being released for the DS, because they're releasing a lot of crap on this system. The DS library overall is one of the worst I've seen. This isn't fanboy talk, this is just looking at review scores. It's miserable.

[Cuddly Knife]

Good thread, guys. I'll be picking up a PSP in two days, and I've been debating on which games to get for it.

Some questions about the games...

In Lumines, how much a part in the game does the music actually play, or is it like Rez where it's more of an "advance in the stage, hear more of the music" type of thing?

What's the purpose in Metal Gear Acid, story-wise? Also, is there dialogue?

What other games are worth getting?

[Gadfly2317]

Good thread, guys. I'll be picking up a PSP in two days, and I've been debating on which games to get for it.

Some questions about the games...

In Lumines, how much a part in the game does the music actually play, or is it like Rez where it's more of an "advance in the stage, hear more of the music" type of thing?

What's the purpose in Metal Gear Acid, story-wise? Also, is there dialogue?

What other games are worth getting?

The music just sounds nice. . .. and you get to unlock more music. The game is addictive, and I'm not dissing it when I call it Techno-Tetris. It's the falling dissapearing block game, but it has enough variations that' its as good an update to the tetris forumula that I've seen since, well, any of them. There's even a cool little puzzle mode where you have to create shapes with the dark colored blocks; damned tricky stuff.

Metal Gear Acid; I bought this, I'm not sure why. . . I haven't played it at all yet.

[The Prince of Darkness]

Good thread, guys. I'll be picking up a PSP in two days, and I've been debating on which games to get for it.

Some questions about the games...

In Lumines, how much a part in the game does the music actually play, or is it like Rez where it's more of an "advance in the stage, hear more of the music" type of thing?

What's the purpose in Metal Gear Acid, story-wise? Also, is there dialogue?

What other games are worth getting?

Well since everyone else is putting in such a good word for Lumines, so will I. Lumines is the best launch title that I have played. If you even as much as LIKED Tetris you will LOVE Lumines. I also have Ridge Racer, Tiger, and now NFL Street. Ridge Racer is the game that you show off to your friends because the graphics and the speed are just awesome. Tiger and NFL Street are good representations of their console counterparts. They are both alot of fun, but they do each have issues that keep them from greatness. Tiger has big load times, and the analog stick is tricky at times, and NFL Street also has some issues with the control. Neither game has serious enough issues that I cannot recommend them, though. Also, Mercury comes out this week, and that one looks pretty cool from the previews and early reviews.

[Gadfly2317]

Tiger and NFL Street are good representations of their console counterparts. They are both alot of fun, but they do each have issues that keep them from greatness. Tiger has big load times, and the analog stick is tricky at times, and NFL Street also has some issues with the control. Neither game has serious enough issues that I cannot recommend them, though. Also, Mercury comes out this week, and that one looks pretty cool from the previews and early reviews.
.

I'm sure you guys might be tired of me doing this but I want to get it out of the way; that thing you said about the tricky control issues compared to console counterparts. . . I fully expected this with PsP on a number of types of games, but overall, unless its really extreme, its something you can overcome, the a-stick is not the dual shock, but you get used to it. There are always compromises, it seems, with going small. That's why I never understood the Mario 64 DS bashing from guys like G78, it wasn't perfect, and no it didn't control as well as the N64 controller, but it was, as you say "good represnetations of their console counterparts" except in the M64DS case, they added TONS of stuff, 30 unlockable mini-games, new characters to play as and multiplayer.

The load times really do get to me on PsP since I'm not used to them. To me, part of the joy of handheld is the instant gratification, and you lose a bit of that on the PsP. But again, not the biggest gripe, just a compromise you have to make for better graphics. But MERCURY! I've been coveting this one based on screenshots and concept alone. However, I'm starting to feel hesitant. I've read some of the reviews now that have come out and it's not the low 70's scores that bother me (LOTS of great puzzle games get low scores for valid factors that don't have anything to do with FUN). But in a game like Mercury, precision control is everything, and I"ve heard the game is frustrating, not solely because of a difficulty level, but because of touch, imperfect controls, camera issues, and some levels aren't well balanced in their design.

Those things are deathnells to the long-term enjoyability of a puzzle game. This one sounds like if they'd polished it a little longer, tweaked the levels and controls some more, they might have had a real gem. I still may get it, but I'm leaning towards switching my pre-order money on it over to Smart Bomb (that's the PsP puzzler I'm most stoked about based on screens and concept. )

I can't wait 'til the end of this year though for both DS and PsP. As good a launch as PsP "seems" to have had and as poor a one as the DS Actually had, they are both light on titles with real substance and depth. I'm really hoping the Nippon Icci Tactics titles make it over to one or both of these systems.

[The Prince of Darkness]

I'm sure you guys might be tired of me doing this but I want to get it out of the way; that thing you said about the tricky control issues compared to console counterparts. . . I fully expected this with PsP on a number of types of games, but overall, unless its really extreme, its something you can overcome, the a-stick is not the dual shock, but you get used to it. There are always compromises, it seems, with going small. That's why I never understood the Mario 64 DS bashing from guys like G78, it wasn't perfect, and no it didn't control as well as the N64 controller, but it was, as you say "good represnetations of their console counterparts" except in the M64DS case, they added TONS of stuff, 30 unlockable mini-games, new characters to play as and multiplayer.

The load times really do get to me on PsP since I'm not used to them. To me, part of the joy of handheld is the instant gratification, and you lose a bit of that on the PsP. But again, not the biggest gripe, just a compromise you have to make for better graphics. But MERCURY! I've been coveting this one based on screenshots and concept alone. However, I'm starting to feel hesitant. I've read some of the reviews now that have come out and it's not the low 70's scores that bother me (LOTS of great puzzle games get low scores for valid factors that don't have anything to do with FUN). But in a game like Mercury, precision control is everything, and I"ve heard the game is frustrating, not solely because of a difficulty level, but because of touch, imperfect controls, camera issues, and some levels aren't well balanced in their design.

Those things are deathnells to the long-term enjoyability of a puzzle game. This one sounds like if they'd polished it a little longer, tweaked the levels and controls some more, they might have had a real gem. I still may get it, but I'm leaning towards switching my pre-order money on it over to Smart Bomb (that's the PsP puzzler I'm most stoked about based on screens and concept. )

I can't wait 'til the end of this year though for both DS and PsP. As good a launch as PsP "seems" to have had and as poor a one as the DS Actually had, they are both light on titles with real substance and depth. I'm really hoping the Nippon Icci Tactics titles make it over to one or both of these systems.

First off Gad, personally I could never tire of your DS rants. You are like a walking and talking DS advertisement. Good thing too since Nintendo rarely advertises it themselves; they need more free PR out of good folks like yourself :p With that out of the way I can honestly say that I have never been a DS basher based on the controls. I am a bit indifferent to playing a game with a stylus, but I would not be opposed to it. I would bet that the people that are bashing the DS are simply attempting to get under your skin. The fact of the matter for me is that the PsP is way more my speed. There was never even a question of which one to get. Also, for me there is no good reason that I can think of to buy two handhelds. I just don't spend enough time gaming anymore.

As far as my PsP goes I could not be any happier. Sure it has some nasty load times, but it has not affected how I just pick it up and play at all. Last night I went for a run, and when I got back I will usually just sit out on my porch with my dogs and cool down with a water. Last night I added a session of NFL Street to the equation. I played two pickup games, and never did I feel like I was wasting my time waiting to play. It was no big deal. I guess that it is similar to the control issues that you are talking about. As long as you do not perceive it to be excessive than whatever. Also, I swear that the load times are worse on the PS2.

Have you read the Gamespot review on Mercury. It seemed good and fair---at least as fair as a reviewer can be. I think that you should read that one before writing it off. It seems like you could be right about Mercury suffering as far as long-term replayability goes, but lets face it. People like you and I have enough games to keep us occupied in the long run. If the game is cool, unique, and fun even in the short term I would think that you of all people should get it. Just my opinion of course.

[Cuddly Knife]

Well, I finally got one! Although, I'm going to have to take it back again because the screen is spotty(is that what they mean by dead pixels?). I've already replaced one, but it worked out for the best, really. I just kept the battery and memory card, and no one was aware because they're all morons at Wal-Mart. Plus, I had my moms Wally World 10% discount card, so I ended up paying $270.00 for the PSP bundle, Lumines, and an extra battery and memory card. Good deal. I might also do the switcharoo with the battery and card again when I take this one back, as it's always good to have more memory and power.. I love people who don't know anything about the stuff I know most about.

[Gadfly2317]

Well, I finally got one! Although, I'm going to have to take it back again because the screen is spotty(is that what they mean by dead pixels?). I've already replaced one, but it worked out for the best, really. I just kept the battery and memory card, and no one was aware because they're all morons at Wal-Mart. Plus, I had my moms Wally World 10% discount card, so I ended up paying $270.00 for the PSP bundle, Lumines, and an extra battery and memory card. Good deal. I might also do the switcharoo with the battery and card again when I take this one back, as it's always good to have more memory and power.. I love people who don't know anything about the stuff I know most about.

Way to go sticking it to Wal-Mart. . . they are pure evil anyway. Now you just need to get an external battery charger for that spare you've got :D

Post your Lumines impressions after you've played it. I would think you'd like Wipeout Pure, thought its not quite the challenge F-Zero on GC is (hey, I finally found a Triforce console version of F-Zero, not in America, but on a Cruise Ship. Arcade version is sweet, but I didn't have my Mem-card with me. I'd have LOVED to taken my custom built ship for a cruise on that sweet-ass looking arcade system. One of the best looking arcade games I've seen in a long time.)

OK, back to the subject at hand; if you haven't gotten the new Fantomas album that came out this week "Suspended Animation" lay hands on it NOW. Early versions, the packaging is an actual thiry day flip calendar for this month of April, 2005 illustrated by Yo****omo Nara. Truly the most elaborate packaging of an Ipecac release, and possible the best Fantomas release yet (I personally love Delerium Cordia, but this one hearkens back to the very first Fantomas album w/tons of micro-tracks, with way better "songs" and production quality.) Very cartoon-music themed.

I'm waiting for a PsP or DS freak game with a Patton soundtrack.