Although we've only had it for a couple days, I am absolutely LOVING the new Sony PSP. If the Sony PSP was a 10/10, I'd have to say that the Nintendo DS is probably a 3/10, (4 tops). Everything seems to be good on the PSP. Of course, that isn't saying that it couldn't be better... I find that the console is a little bit awkward for some games. For example, if you're playing Wipeout Pure, and trying to use the top triggers and the thumbstick and the X and O buttons, the console feels like it could just pop out of your hands at any moment. There were a few times that I felt like I was almost going to drop the PSP on the floor by mistake. Personally, I prefer the Nintendo DS's sliding volume control rather than the up and down buttons. I'm sure most people don't care, or disagree with my slider preference, but sometimes it is just nice to see how high the volume is before you turn on the console, or want to quickly change the volume without having to move your hand over and press some buttons until you get the perfect volume. But apart from those minor things, I have to say I am extremely happy.
Currently we only have 3 games; Wipeout Pure, Spiderman 2, and Need For Speed Underground. I strongly feel that Sony's launch titles were years ahead of what is available for the Nintendo DS. I believe that the Sony PSP launched with about 13 games, whereas I doubt that the DS has many more than that. I also find the graphical abilities between the two recent handhelds to be worlds apart. Whereas the Nintendo has two pretty decent screens (one regular screen, one touch screen) the Sony has one VERY nice (and very large!) screen. I much prefer looking at the Sony screen over the Nintendo. The Sony definitely feels a lot bulkier in your hand and bag or whatever, whereas the DS probably travels a lot nicer (plus, it folds closed, so you don't have to worry as much about the screens getting damaged.
As for the games, we've only tried the 3 games we purchased so far, although the console DID come with a sampler disc and a copy of the Spiderman 2 movie (which we haven't bothered checking out yet). Out of the three games, I think I'd say that Wipeout is the best. It has beautiful graphics, and the sound is pretty addictive after a while (if techno doesn't make your ears bleed). I found Wipeout to be a game that you could pretty much just pick up and play, although I've logged MANY hours on Wipeout XL and previous versions on my old original Sony Playstation. Of course, being able to play and being GOOD are worlds apart in this game. Sure, your first time out you can probably rank 6th (of 8) or higher, but I find that getting in the top 2 or 3 is a lot more challenging. You have to learn to master drifting around the corners at just the right spot. I'd definitely give this game a 4.5 out of 5.
Next I'd have to say that Need For Speed (NFS) is the next best game. Again, I find that the graphics are outstanding, especially considering the size of the PSP. I think that the Nintendo DS graphics were fairly mediocre after playing with it for a bit. Most games we have or have tried at EB or Gamestop felt more like playing the Gameboy Advance, but with a larger screen. After playing with the PSP for a couple days, I have to say that the Nintendo's graphics are almost embarssingly bad. It's like comparing a Xbox to a NES. After a few hours at Need For Speed, I managed to finish a few races in top spot, unlock a few extras, and find a few "hidden" shortcuts on a few of the tracks. Much like Wipeout, the sound was very good (although a bit "club" like). This game seems to have a very large amount of unlockables. I'd say this game is probably a 4/5.
The last (and somewhat least) of the three games is Spiderman 2. I've played a few previous Spiderman games (mostly on PC or on the Xbox), so I somewhat knew what to expect when I bought the game. You have a fair bit of freedom to swing around a city, and the graphics are definitely impressive for a handheld gaming console (especially after a couple years playing with the Gameboy Advance and Nintendo DS). Ultimately though, the game felt a bit "gimmicky", and the controls were a bit sloppy. I'd say this game is probably a 3/5, and I'd definitely recommend renting the game before buying it.
The 13 games that Sony had at launch?:
And, according to EBGames.com, Sony has quite a few more top quality games supposedly coming out in the upcoming months. Games like Midnight Club 3, ATV Offroad Fury, NBA Street Showdown, and Grand Theft Auto.
I'd definitely give the Sony PSP at least 9.5 out of 10. On the other hand, I don't see much of a compelling reason to keep the Nintendo DS around, unless Nintendo starts getting some decent quality games for it sometime soon (which means graphics that are somewhat better than the Gameboy!). After browsing through EBGames.com, I managed to find about 18 Nintendo DS games, which doesn't sound TOO bad, until you realize that the console has been out for 4-5 months. That doesn't even take into account that a lot of the Nintendo DS games are just crappy. I honestly find a lot of my Gameboy games to be funner than the DS games (oddly enough).
Oh, one last thing. I was flipping through a Mac magazine the other day (MacAddict -- Apr 2005 issue) and they have a brief look at some software (iPSP) which allows you to use PSP with your Mac. I haven't had a chance to try it out yet, but apparently the software lets you play music and movies on the go. They claim you can make an iTunes playlist, copy photo albums from iPhoto, or dump all of your videos into iPSPs conversion queue. You can even use iPSP to back up your save'd games. I wonder if that means people can put their saved games online for other people to download. Instead of actually finishing Need For Speed, you could just download a finished game and play with all the fully loaded cars. Check out iPSP (free!) at http://www.kaisakura.com/.
Check out Sony's PSP mini-site at http://www.us.playstation.com/psp.aspx
Check out Nintendo's Offical site for Nintendo DS at http://www.nintendods.com/
Microsoft and Bungie announced today that they're releasing some new multiplayer maps for Halo 2. So if you're a diehard multiplayer person and may be willing to drop some of those hard earned dollars, read up!
You can check out the press release over at Xbox.com; Newsflash:
Halo 2 Multiplayer Maps in June! and sports this little quote (among other details and screenshots):
The retail version of the Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack carries a suggested retail price of $19.99 (U.S.). More information about Halo 2 is available at http://www.halo2.com/.
If you want more info, head on over to Bungie's site and read their top story; Halo 2 Multiplayer Madness. Bungie offers the following handy bulleted list:
So the basic details for the new map release plan go like this:
- We're releasing a total of nine new multiplayer maps.
- All nine maps will eventually be available as Live downloads and as a normal boxed game disc - available at retail for $19.99 (US).
- The release on Live will be staggered, some paid, some free!
- The first two maps are free and coming in a few short weeks. (late April)
- The same day the 2 free maps are released, 2 additional maps will be available for purchase.
- The remaining 5 maps will be made available as a paid download on the same day the retail package goes on sale.
- The retail disc will contain extras, including a documentary, a cool project from our cinematic and animation team, every Halo 2 update released so far and possily one or two other little treats.
- By late summer, ALL the maps will be available for free.
Sorry about the long title or if this has already been blogged to death (didn't see it during a quick search of Fullasagoog), but I just noticed that Rockstar has released Beaterator, their online real-time music sequencer.
I only played with it briefly, and it can take up a fair bit of CPU to run, but it is pretty impressive! Sure, it isn't as good as say, Garageband, but it's free and online and built in Flash. Great work!
Check it out at beaterator.rockstargames.com.