PSP games & accessories: recommend them to me

Lunker

During the Great Forum Crash of '07, I finally snapped on a great deal and landed myself a PSP. The combination of DS and PSP means that I can cherry-pick the best games on each platform and not have to worry about missing anything. I am a handheld gaming god. The ol' PSP has suffered many slings and arrows across the Internet, though, which makes it difficult to find honest discussion about it with people who use complete sentences.

So I'm trying to make up a small shopping list of games that I want to pick up, and I was hoping you all could help me out. My main priority is price right now. Nothing over $30; I refuse to pay anything beyond DS pricing. :razz: Right now I have:

* Wipeout Pure
* Virtua Tennis
* ATV Off Road Xtreeeem Whatever (it came with the eBay bundle, I'm probably going to trade it in)
* Lumines (coming sometime next week)

So toss me some more recommendations. I'm a very eclectic gamer, aside from sports titles not named "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 200X," but my main interests are puzzlers, rhythm games and platformers. I've heard lots of good things about Daxter, but should I just wait for the new Ratchet & Clank to go down in price? How's DJ Max Portable? Is Lumines II worth it if I'm just starting Lumines I? Also, I'm actively seeking out the European version of Tales of Eternia, which I've heard is quite good, but aside from that are there any RPGs that rank better than "meh"?

I'm also curious about accessories. Right now I'm using an old DS Fats case to house the PSP (poetic justice, seeing as how I use an old Sony earbuds case to hold my DS games), but the Logitech Playgear clamshell case is on sale at CompUSA next week for $13. Anything else you kids would recommend?

Gorilla Salad

MGS: Portable Ops
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood(not out yet.)
POhoenix Wright(on the DS, but I need to pitch it to everyone whenever possible so we get the 3rd one in the states)

Lunker

Senor Fish wrote: »

MGS: Portable Ops
Castlevania: Rondo of Blood(not out yet.)
POhoenix Wright(on the DS, but I need to pitch it to everyone whenever possible so we get the 3rd one in the states)

Actually, Rondo of Blood (Dracula X Chronicles?) was what pushed me over the edge from "buy curious" to "bi handheld." I may have to break my "no games over $30" rule for that one whenever it releases.

Hbox

Every Extend Extra
Sega Genesis Collection

Neo Rasa

I would investigate all of Capcom and Falcom's stuff.

Wonder_Hippie

If you liked it, Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth is definitely worth the buying. You should be able to find it used for under the price mark. Lots of game there. Also, the two Metal Gear Acid games, as much as they get maligned in general, are really fun, especially the second one. The Burnout was good, a nice balance between the third and fourth ones. You might want to skip the first Lumines all together and just grab the second one. Essentially the same games, but the second has enough stuff to warrant that over the first. Lastly, if you don't have it on any other console and don't mind some maddening load times, the X-Men Legends port is entirely worth the purchase, lots of fun to be had, and extremely well done for a port from a console to a handheld. Oh! And PopoloCrois, can't forget that. I enjoyed the piss out of that when I was doing laundry in a laundromat, but it also came at a relative game drought, so that may have skewed it a bit.

Folken Fanel

Congrats on your purchase. As far as accessories are concerned, you need this:



Seriously. Go ahead and put your psp in here and then drop it. Then turn on your psp and be amazed at how it still works despite being dropped! You will not regret the purchase of this accessory.

ben0207

Surely the whoile point of a portable console is that it doesn't weight seventeen tons? The PSP is bulky enough as it is!

Anyway, buy Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) Collection. It's worth it for Sonic 2 alone, but there is some awful good other stuff on there (and some real shite)

(Also of note - this quick reply type thing is bloody handy)

Gorilla Salad

It is necessary. You just spent 200 bucks. You need to spend another 20 on that. If you have a PSP and don't have that, you are screwed.

And besides, you can't see the PSP in the day. It's mainly for home and night use, so yeah...

ben0207

Senor Fish wrote: »

It is necessary. You just spent 200 bucks. You need to spend another 20 on that. If you have a PSP and don't have that, you are screwed.

And besides, you can't see the PSP in the day. It's mainly for home and night use, so yeah...

Night use eh? :winky:




Seriously, my PSP gets used near exclusively for porn. DOWNLOADED STRAIGHT FROM THE AIR!

Gorilla Salad

ben0207 wrote: »

Night use eh? :winky:




Seriously, my PSP gets used near exclusively for porn. DOWNLOADED STRAIGHT FROM THE AIR!

Well, yes, for porn a lot. But also Metal Gear.

And more porn.

And maybe some Lumines.
And more porn.
And then EX!T
And then porn.

The PSP's for porn, porn porn porn!

Pb

I totally suggest the Logitech case as well. I've dropped my PSP from like 5 feet up more than a few times, and it works flawlessly because of that wonderful thing. I'd also suggest a plastic screen coating as it keeps dust from getting under the screen, and you can be a little rougher when cleaning it, but that's not required. For games, I'd suggest:

Portable Ops
Syphon Filter
Daxter
Ace Combat
Gitaroo Man
maybe Metal Gear Ac!d (it's not so great at first, but once you get enough cards to do themed decks it's good)
maybe Loco Roco (there's a demo out there somewhere, try it first)

Luftwaffles

For $20 games you can't go wrong with:
Megaman Powered Up!
Megaman X
Loco Roco

I think the GTAs should have dropped in price by now.

DJ Max portable is a great rhythm game. Beatmania clone in a sleek package.
But I find myself playing PSP Revolution http://pspupdates.qj.net/index.php?pg=49&aid=73793 more often, mainly because I can mod the songs. It's a port of Stepmania, so it's fairly versatile.

The_Spaniard

Well as far as games that haven't been named yet;
Socom Fireteam Bravo 2
Hotshots Golf: Open Tee
Kingdom Of Paradise
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Tekken: Dark Resurrection
Pursuit Force
Field Commander
GripShift
Burnout Legends
Me and My Katamari
Metal Gear AC!D 2
Killzone Liberation
The Warriors

If you can find it cheep enough the Nyko theater case is pretty awesome. I got it for 20 bucks and I use it as a portable charger when I'm on long trips or at work.

Gorilla Salad

Not me and my Katamari. Controls are horrible


(or so I've heard.)

The_Spaniard

Senor Fish wrote: »

Not me and my Katamari. Controls are horrible


(or so I've heard.)

How about you stop "hearing" and comment on things you know about first hand. The game is awesome and the controls take "getting used to".

Gorilla Salad

The_Spaniard wrote: »

How about you stop "hearing" and comment on things you know about first hand. The game is awesome and the controls take "getting used to".

Because I don't have any money to see these things and feel them, and must instead rely on hearing.

Jebral

I just did the same thing, actually, and it was all because of the forthcoming Rondo of Blood.

Anyhow, I got MGS:PO and GTA Vice City Stories. It goes without saying that MGS is quality to the bone (shout out to them for letting you configure the controls any way you please. Every game on Earth should allow that, honestly).

I'd also heard VCS wasn't so hot..... And yes, the story so far does kind of suck, but it's classic GTA, only with the property angle from Vice City kind of mixed with the turf wars of SA. There's something about that combo that spells awesome to me! So if you aren't sick of GTA yet, I recommend that. I thought LCS was kind of..... Eh, personally. Mainly because I've grown to love many of the conventions brought forth by more recent GTA games, and it wasn't really anything but more of what 3 offered.

Lunker

Folken Fanel wrote: »

Congrats on your purchase. As far as accessories are concerned, you need this:



Seriously. Go ahead and put your psp in here and then drop it. Then turn on your psp and be amazed at how it still works despite being dropped! You will not regret the purchase of this accessory.

This is the Playgear Pocket, right? I bought it, but have yet to open it -- got it for $15, but I'm wondering if I really need it or not. Money's craaaazy tight, and right now I have an old DS Fats case that I'm using for the beast, so returning the case could mean an extra game right now. Still, it does look really nice and sturdy, and I wouldn't mind having a kickstand to watch movies/TV with it.

Anyway, Metal Gear Acid -- 1 or 2? I found 1 used for $12, but I can get 2 new for $15, so it's a wash either way. I'm normally not a fan of card-based gameplay, but this looks strange enough to attract my interest. I see most people recommending 2 here; should I return 1 (it's used, so I have a 7-day window) and get 2 instead?

ben0207 wrote:

Anyway, buy Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) Collection. It's worth it for Sonic 2 alone, but there is some awful good other stuff on there (and some real shite)

I'm tempted by it; it's at $30 right now, though, so I'll grab it when it's a mite cheaper or I can find a coupon. Portable PS4 alone makes this a worthy purchase, but again, I'm just really, really cheap right now. I also found EA Replay for $15, but since I'd really only be buying it for Mutant League Football I decided to wait on it.

The_Spaniard wrote:

GripShift
The Warriors

I had forgotten all about GripShift; I remember that making good buzz on the forums. And I saw The Warriors; I know that the PS2 version got pretty good acclaim as a beat 'em up, so is the PSP version pretty faithful to it?

nefyave

Syphon Filter : Dark Mirror

It takes some getting used to but its a real nice portable stealthishy game.

And about the playgear pocket, USE IT! It's solid as rock, your psp goes from not handling anything to taking quite the beating and living. Really, really usefull. And the size increase in neglectable (the psp is already Teh huge)

mntorankusu

If you don't already own it on the PS2, get Gitaroo-Man. Retail price is $40, but I found a site that has it cheaper, here:

http://www.gameexpress.com/product_detail.cfm?UPC=040198001601

$27.99! It's a steal for what I think is the greatest rhythm game ever made.

Lunker

mntorankusu wrote: »

If you don't already own it on the PS2, get Gitaroo-Man. Retail price is $40, but I found a site that has it cheaper, here:

http://www.gameexpress.com/product_detail.cfm?UPC=040198001601

$27.99! It's a steal for what I think is the greatest rhythm game ever made.

Oh hell yes

Thank you! I've been gnashing my teeth every time I go into EB, because I see this game and I want it (never got the chance to play the PS2 version, but I'm a total rhythm-game whore) but I can't bring myself to spend $40 on a handheld game.

This is going to be bought so hard.

I also found a site that has the European version of Tales of Eternia for about $30 shipped, although I don't have the link on me right now.

The_Spaniard

Lunker, PSP version of Warriors is VERY faithful, it's a solid port.

PowerLlama

So where the hell do you guys actually buy these games? I can't find anything I fucking want in Best Buy or Target or anywhere.

I haven't tried EBStop though.

It's starting to make me mad. I want to play Lumines 2, but I can't find it anywhere.

tulkas

The_Spaniard wrote: »

How about you stop "hearing" and comment on things you know about first hand. The game is awesome and the controls take "getting used to".

I own Me and My Katamari and it was a definite disappointment. You should be able to find it for 20 dollars, but don't spend any more than that!

Shadowfire

The only accessory you need is your receipt so you can return it OLOL SORNY!

Seriously, EA Replay. Syndicate, Mutant League Football, Ultima VII, Wing Commander, Road Rage 1-3, Desert Strike, and Jungle Strike combine to form the mightiest combination of win to grace a compilation. Also, only $19.99.

As for accessories, some kind of screen guard or protector is worthwhile. Wether it's a film screen, or a full on metal plate that goes over the screen, the PSP is not exactly scratch-resistant. Every little thing shows, so do all you can to keep it looking silky smooth.

Also, a polishing cloth that attaches to the system, or whatever bag you carry it in. Especially if you're like me and fingerprints piss you off.

tulkas

I would pay 20 dollars for Ultima VII alone.

Lew Zealand

Considering the cost of the system, I think it would be silly to NOT keep the Playgear Pocket case. It's saved my bacon at least once. Like, I took a hard fall right onto the system and it came out unscathed. My PSP games case, however... I was using an Altoids sours tin at the time. I've upgraded to the official Sony PSP8 case and it's aces.

Since you already have Lumines, I'd recommend Every Extend Extra and GTA: Vice City Stories as must-have PSP games. I don't have very many PSP games in total so I can't recommend much beyond that. Burnout Legends is okay if you want a portable Burnout but I don't think it's a must-have.

The_Spaniard

tulkas wrote: »

I own Me and My Katamari and it was a definite disappointment. You should be able to find it for 20 dollars, but don't spend any more than that!

I loved it and to be perfectly honest it took me a solid hour to get used to the controls. Up to the point that they clicked for me I would agree with all the disappointing reviews. But then like I said about an hour in the controls made sense for me and they weren't an issue at all.

cwapfobrains

My favorite games so far are Daxter, Burnout Legends, Pirates!, and Lumines. Pirates is a really good version of the PC/Xbox game, with some changes to make it more PSP-friendly. Really well done, tons of fun.

Lunker

PowerLlama wrote: »

So where the hell do you guys actually buy these games? I can't find anything I fucking want in Best Buy or Target or anywhere.

I haven't tried EBStop though.

It's starting to make me mad. I want to play Lumines 2, but I can't find it anywhere.

Strangely, the mall by me has an EB Games, a GameStop, a FuncoLand and a Software Etc. It's like an anomaly of time. I trolled around there yesterday, scoring Metal Gear Acid 1 for $12 used. I think BB and Target stock is fairly YMMV.

Also, for anyone else who wants it, a 1GB Pro Duo stick for $10 with coupon at Staples. How much memory do people have/are comfortable with? I think I'll actually use this as a portable video device now, but music isn't really a big deal for me.

Lew Zealand wrote:

Since you already have Lumines, I'd recommend Every Extend Extra and GTA: Vice City Stories as must-have PSP games. I don't have very many PSP games in total so I can't recommend much beyond that. Burnout Legends is okay if you want a portable Burnout but I don't think it's a must-have.

I'm normally a huge shmup fan, but I played the PC version of Every Extend and it seems really sparse. I've seen a homebrew port of rRootage, though, which may actually get me to do this whole homebrew thing. I'm still leery of bricking the goddamn thing, though. And I'm not really a fan of the GTA series, but I've heard a lot of good buzz about it; I think it's just Not For Me.

And yeah, I decided to keep the Playgear Pocket. It's actually really nice, and I actually like the extra junk in the trunk it adds. Gives me more to hold on to. :winky: