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New PSP Owner with Questions
Lindsay Lohan
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, I recently bought a PSP (fat). I'm insanely happy with it - it complements my DS nicely with all the genres the DS doesn't do well (3d platformers, fighters, racers). I have a few questions and am just looking for some general recommendations and the slash signal seems mildly out of date for the system.
First of all, I bought a bunch of cheap games:
Hot Shots Golf 1
Wipeout Pure
Daxter
Ratchet & Clank Size Matters
Twisted Metal
Ridge Racer
Pursuit Force
Field Commander
SSX
I have to go return Pursuit Force as they accidentally sold me a demo copy (grr...).
I'll play just about anything except I'm not into JRPGs that much (although I do like more strategic ones like Disgaea).
First - are the Prince of Persia titles any good? I loved the PS2 and 360 games and would even replay one of them if the port is good.
How is Splinter Cell? I haven't played one since the first one on the PS2 but I really enjoyed it.
What NFS/Burnout titles are decent? There's a glut of them, trying to figure out what to buy is tricky.
What are the best fighting games on the system - I see a bunch, are there any that are considered the best?
Any other recommendations are of course welcome too!
Thanks!
First of all, I bought a bunch of cheap games:
Hot Shots Golf 1
Wipeout Pure
Daxter
Ratchet & Clank Size Matters
Twisted Metal
Ridge Racer
Pursuit Force
Field Commander
SSX
I have to go return Pursuit Force as they accidentally sold me a demo copy (grr...).
I'll play just about anything except I'm not into JRPGs that much (although I do like more strategic ones like Disgaea).
First - are the Prince of Persia titles any good? I loved the PS2 and 360 games and would even replay one of them if the port is good.
How is Splinter Cell? I haven't played one since the first one on the PS2 but I really enjoyed it.
What NFS/Burnout titles are decent? There's a glut of them, trying to figure out what to buy is tricky.
What are the best fighting games on the system - I see a bunch, are there any that are considered the best?
Any other recommendations are of course welcome too!
Thanks!
Lindsay Lohan on
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Lumines.
Also, specifically speaking of Disgaea, Disgaea 1 and 2 PSP are improved over the PS2 versions and have additional content and characters, so that may be worth checking out. You ought to be able to find them relatively cheap these days.
Bounty Hounds is a good third person hack n shoot loot game.
Monster Hunter. Because, really, thats the only true reason to /have/ PSP. Grab Freedom Unite, do it.
Castlevania X Chronicles. Both because the remake is fantastic, but also because Symphony of the night is there as an easter egg.
megaman Power Up! is actually a lot of fun and has stage building type stuff. Real good things there.
Assassin's Creed Bloodlines is actually a really good part of the series.
MGS: Portable Ops. Similarly, Metal Gear Solid: Peacewalker.
The Armored Core portable remakes are fantastic games if you like that sort of thing.
Jikandia and Half minute hero are also really fun pick up and play games.
Burnout Legends I felt was the best one available on the PSP.
GTA Chinatown Wars is a spectacular game. It was good on DS but amazing on PSP.
Killzone Liberation and Resistance Retribution are both great shooters. Killzone is top/down, Resistance is third person.
The Prinny games were great if brutal and unforgiving classic platformers.
The Ys games. Action/rpgs. Good fun. Ys 7 is amazing.
Crush is really good puzzle game and should be cheap.
Rubbish! No seriously, Ubisoft + Handheld = Rubbish. It's math.
You know those flashback episodes that sitcoms love? The ones where they just repeat old episodes because the writers couldn't come up with any original jokes? That's Splinter Cell. And the Prince of Persia's are bad, buggy ports.
Other games that aren't JRPG's?
Valkyria Chronicles 2 (it's a SRPG)
Killzone Liberation (top-down third person shooter, great fun)
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (and if you like that, its sequel Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow)
Resistance Retribution
God of War: Chains of Olympus (probably my favourite of the series)
Metal Gear Acid (fun, card based SRPG and has a sequel, Metal Gear Acid 2, that's even better)
Jeanne d'Arc (SRPG from Level 5, really cool game)
Tactics Ogre (another SRPG but a classic)
LocoRoco (neat platforming game)
Patapon (cool little rhythm strategy game)
I'd recommend MGS: PO and MGS: PW but to be honest, I can't stand their controls on PSP. If you're really interested, go ahead but if you plan on getting a Vita (or have a PS3/360 for PW) then I'd suggest holding off. Their gameplay would really be improved with a second analog stick.
Also, by JRPG are you also talking about Action RPG's? Cause that's what most of Square Enix's PSP RPG's are (notably FFVII: CC, KH: BBS and Third Birthday). Whereas the Dissidia's are kind of like KH but fighting games (at least from what I remember, it's a pretty crazy series).
Action RPGs would be fine and even a good cartoony JRPG isn't a terrible thing - I just am tired of Square's overly linear, cinema filled RPGs in general. If they're actually fun and aren't like playing a movie that would be fine (I liked the original Kingdom Hearts) or if they are a more traditional RPG like Dragon Quest I like those as well. I just really don't care for the world of recent Final Fantasy in general - I liked it back on the NES when it was castles and magic and swords, but recent games seem to be more modern and filled with prerendered video of emo kids and just annoy me.
Card based Metal Gear sounds like a must have for me - probably my next purchase.
Trails in the Sky
Brave Story
Valkyrie Profile
Tales of Eternia (Old PSX remake, but most havent played the original. You can import a EU copy on the cheap.)
Star Ocean 1 and 2 are excellent
The Persona games are also good. (1 and 3 thus far, 2 coming out a bit later.) though I suppose 3 is a bit chatty/scene heavy, so eh. YMMV.
Lunar silver Star harmony is fantastic. Fan. Tastic.
Kenka Bancho Badass Rumble is a great game if you're feeling really desirous of some azn blood or something.
..Oh, right, man how can I forget GURUMIN? So good. So very very good.
..man, I am such a PSP fanboy.
My opinion regarding the Prince of Persia games differs a bit from Unco there, but admittedly, they aren't as smooth as their console versions and their extra content is largely inconsequential. I did enjoy Revelations, but that's probably in part due to my lack of access to a console version of Warrior Within at the time.
The Splinter Cell game is probably not worth your time. In the end, it doesn't really fit in the Splinter Cell story and is largely forgettable.
I can't say that the best fighting games on the system are, but I enjoy Guilty Gear. If I remember there are 2 versions available on the PSN, Guilty Gear Judgement and Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus. Judgement contains the fighting game and a side-scrolling beat-em-up (a small diversion from the real purpose, the fighting game). Judgement has ever character unlocked from the get go but is missing some modes like Story mode, so take that for what you will.
This. Portable Ops and Peace Walker were designed to be mobile titles and as a result are a string of short missions tied together. They were made to be played in short bursts. The games are fun, but taking a short "pick-up and play" style game and porting it to the console just doesn't fit. The God of War games can do this because they were designed to be like the console games and allowed you to move around the world seamlessly.
I did the b2g1 deal though - grabbed Darkstalkers, Patapon and Castlevania.
I have to find a bag for this thing at some point though - maybe this weekend. I'm going to see if it will fit in my tiny DS backpack first - maybe I'll be lucky and they'll both fit in there somehow. I really need some insert for my messanger bag that can hold a Lite, PSP, Nook, camera, phone, ipod and netbook so I can be ready for anything
The best game no one bought is DJ MAX Fever, if you like rhythm games.
I'm thinking a nice dungeon crawl might be in order this Father's Day.
I enjoyed Peace Walker a good deal. I know some people aren't fond of using the face buttons as a right stick substitute, but it never gave me any issues in PW, or the Syphon Filter games, or Resistance: Retribution. To each his own though. Peace Walker might not be too bad when it hits the console, if you take its co-op/versus nature into consideration. Short missions for portable may not "fit", but run those with a friend or two and it'll be a blast.
For hack and slash, I don't know if I'd recommend them, but I can think of a few that might be closer to what you're looking for:
Untold Legends
Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony
Dungeon Maker
Dungeon Maker 2, which is kind of quirky in that you get to make your own dungeon to lure monsters into it to slaughter them.
And dungeon siege: Throne of Agony. which was a fun little dark Alliance style romp to the core.
Again, though, I advise /Bounty Hounds/ which is sort of a dungeon crawler in that its massive loot whoring and such, but its done in a third person, and its with guns and awesome plasma axes and such. It's a lot of fun. The game can get kind of tough in some parts, but on the other hand you can use your awesome super energy to shoot things with a little pistol that then makes a laser descend from the heavens. Which is always badass.
I kind of got bored of it after awhile, but I'd also say the same with Untold Legends and Dungeon Siege. I guess it's just not quite the genre I enjoy for too long.
I dunno if you'd consider them close enough, but there's also the marvel games, X-Men Legends 2 and Marvel Ultimate Alliance. They're kind of similar, maybe?
Really, if you are looking for hack and slash action, I'd recommend Ys Seven. It's a revamped take on the Ys franchise, and it's both a "hack and slash" game and a challenging boss fight game. Something more like White Knight Chronicles: Origins or Phantasy Star Portable 2 might be good as well. I've enjoyed both of those games.
My personal recommendation (not hack and slash) is Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, but it's not for everyone. It has a sky-high learning curve, and people are often put off by the ways the game challenges you (for example, you don't instantly drink healing potions... you have to stand there and watch your avatar flex their muscles after chugging it, which annoys a lot of people).
[Edit]
Wait, there's a White Knight Chronicles game out on PSP?
Ys 7 & Ys: Oath in Felghana are both really good action-focused adventure games with mild RPG elements. Ys 7 is like a faster paced Secret of Mana, whereas Ys: Oath in Felghana is more like Zelda.
Half-Minute Hero is a spoof on JRPGs and plays like an Action/RPG in super fast mode. One of my very favorite games on the system, although if you have an XBox 360, you might want to wait and grab the upcoming XBLA version instead.
If you like tower defense at all, Pixeljunk Monsters Deluxe is one of the best on any system.
I'm a big fan of the PSP Rock Band.
EDIT: Patchwork Heroes is a very unusual game that's a PSP exclusive. It's an Action/Puzzle game where you run around on giant flying airships and try to destroy them by cutting them apart. Only $10 on the PSN and well worth the price (fun and a lot of content for a $10 game).
Steam ID : rwb36, Twitter : Werezompire,
Not in the US, but it was released in Japan and looks like Europe.
The crafting is straightforward, which is a refreshing change from crafting in most games... you will know EXACTLY what stat bonuses you are getting every time you upgrade an item. There's a hobillion crafting materials and every weapon/armor in the game can be upgraded 10 times.
The maps are basically interconnected rooms. I don't think they are procedurally generated, but they do have a procedurally generated feel because they are so modular. I had some flashbacks to Nethack or ADOM because basically the gameplay in the dungeon crawls was "You enter a room. Kill everything. Loot. Do you want to go East or North?" This isn't a bad thing (the "rooms" in the outdoor areas are varied enough that it feels more like an open world game), but it may not appeal to some people.
You have 3 AI partners to help you, and you hire/fire them from your mercenary company on a regular basis, as you get better and better hires. Each merc has 3 quests that are unlocked as you build affinity with them, and completing their personal quests gives them better equipment, and they may teach you one of their skills. It's a nice system that I wish was in another, better game.
God of War Ghost of Sparta is my single favorite game on the system
God of War Chains of Olympus
Valkyria Chronicles II
Otherwise I may just keep the system in a sleeve and pray for the best.
But basically if you can find a Hori, you're set.
I haven't used the sleeves in awhile, but I remember my 1000 used to get scratched to hell with the PSP sleeve it shipped with. I switched to the Playgear Pocket and never looked back. It's a bit bulkier, yes, but that thing is built solid. The 2000/3000 versions also have enough of an indentation on the back panel to accomodate using a stamina battery + extended plate.
edit: not relevant in this instance, but in case anyone with a Go is around; I used the Sony-branded screen protector for my Go and had no problems with it. Crystal clear, went on like a charm. I've got that PSP traveler case as well; it's a bit tight (for the slide) but is fairly sturdy without adding too much bulk.