The PSP is good now.

wur1 · Postby **wur1** » December 24th, 2006, 3:56 am

I eschewed the advice to get a Wii rather than a PSP, for various personal reasons. (Such as the fact that I'm a graduate student living in a hovel with a tiny TV and very, very little room)

My preliminary (one-week) impression is this: the PSP is good now. After playing Gradius collection and Capcom classics, I'm fully convinced that this is the system for classic 2D compilations. I don't think the d-pad is as horrible as some made it out to be; it's no worse than a standard Playstation D-pad, and just takes some getting used to.

I must say, I've been enjoying SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo and Metal Gear PO quite a bit, as a fan of FPS's and stealth games. I especially enjoy Metal Gear Online; while some might claim it's merely "Metal Gear Quake", I think it breathes new life into generic online deathmatch. There are also some interesting RPG and strategy influences on the single player play of Metal Gear, as well.

Another nicity is that the games seem to be fairly cheap now, much more than DS games. For instance, I saw Street Fighter Alpha 3 for $15 at Circuit City the other day, and some of the games I have (such as SOCOM, Lumines, and Gradius) are only $20.

Anyway, for those of you who have been sitting on the fence for the last two years over whether to get one: the PSP is good now. There's probably a price drop on the horizon next, which I should have maybe held out for. Oh well.

I think most of the bad-mouthing of the PSP is from ex-Sony fanboys who stood in line ten hours to buy one, and then realized there were no games besides Lumines. (which I honestly haven't had time to play yet...)

I don't think the PSP will supplant the DS, but I think it's certainly the Gamegear of today, to say the least.

chrisbid1 · Postby **chrisbid1** » December 24th, 2006, 9:45 am

the dpad is very stiff and doesnt register diagonals very well

Postby **VideoGameCritic** » December 24th, 2006, 10:36 am

I really do enjoy my PSP. It's a technical marvel, and yes, there are plenty of good games now available for it.

It's really Sony's fault that it got such a bad rap. For one thing, Sony went for quantity over quality, releasing scaled down versions of existing games instead of new, innovative stuff. This may have been fast and cost-effective, but it's not a good value for the consumer. Even now, most PSP titles are repackaged old games.

The second issue is the price. Not only is the system far too expensive, but the games are often TWICE as expensive as their superior console counterparts. I didn't realize this was Sony's fault until Electronic Arts came out a few months ago and criticized Sony's pricing policies for the PSP. If EA thinks the prices are too high (of all companies!), there's a problem.

Sadly, I'm seeing the exact same trend with Sony's handling of the PS3. The price is exorbitant, and the only games I've seen for the system are combat games and first-person shooters. As a matter of fact, I see a direct correlation between the PSP vs DS, and the PS3 vs. Wii.

Sudz1 · Postby **Sudz1** » December 24th, 2006, 10:58 am

My son has a PSP and a DS. I see him playing games on his DS all the time, and every game he seems intersted in getting is for the DS. I see him use his PSP quite a bit too; but almost exclusively as an mp3 player or to watch "Family Guy" episodes he downloads from the internet. It's not that he doesn't play ANY games on his PSP, but it seems pretty clear to me that when it comes to handheld gaming systems the DS is head and shoulders above the PSP. The PSP seems to make a better 'jack of all traits' media device, but as a game system it's got nothing on the DS. My advice is, if you're buying a system primarily for gaming definitely go with the DS. If you're looking for something with more of a nod towards general functionality, you want to go with the PSP.
Sudz

a1 · Postby a1 » December 24th, 2006, 12:21 pm

[QUOTE=wur]

I think most of the bad-mouthing of the PSP is from ex-Sony fanboys who stood in line ten hours to buy one, and then realized there were no games besides Lumines. (which I honestly haven't had time to play yet...)

[/QUOTE]

I've got nothing against Sony, I just think the Wii was a better choice. It's your money, and if you like the PSP then you made the right choice. It has some good games, I just don't see enough to justify a $200.00 purchase. I might pick one up at some point ten years from now when I'll hopefully be able to find it really cheap used.

Alienblue · Postby **Alienblue** » December 24th, 2006, 1:02 pm

I am a handheld fanatic, and have gotten most systems I COULD. I couldn't get a Neo-Geo pocket because I couldn't find one, back in the day. I've gotten every GB system Nintendo made, including the GBC , GBA, GBA-SP, DS and DSlite. A also got a Lynx and Game Gear and even a Watra Supervision!

I really,really want a PSP but as someone mentioned the PRICE tag has kept me from purchasing one. If the system price drops below $150, and games below $30 ANNNNDDDD by that time there are still lots of 2-D compilations available, I'll eat ramen noodles for a month to get it! Right now , I am dissapointed with the new DS games coming out. Mario Vs. DK was the last DS game I purchased, since then I've bought 5 GBA games because nothing else on DS appeals to me right now! It may be the Wii's fault, but I think this xmas season was very dissapointing for the DS!

a1 · Postby a1 » December 24th, 2006, 6:15 pm

Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin just came out Alienblue. If you like other Metroid-style Castlevania games I'm sure it's good.

Crevalle · Postby **Crevalle** » December 24th, 2006, 7:25 pm

I used to be a Lynx fan, but the games just weren't that good. It was one of those systems I really TRIED to like a lot. In fact, I've got a sealed system in my closet (and also a sealed Turbo Express).

This Christmas I'll be getting both a DS and a PSP, and knowing this, I've already purchased several games for each, so it's going to be fun playing around tonight.

Merry Christmas

Edward M · Postby **Edward M** » December 24th, 2006, 8:52 pm

It took awhile, but it is finally becoming great. That seems to be how Sony systems are. I'm sure within 2 years, everyone will forget about how much the PS3 was bashed this year, just like its so forgotten that the PS2 got slammed by the dreamcast in 2000. The PSP is just getting some killer games.

I bought a PSP a few weeks ago used for about 150, and I don't regret it at all. My favorite are the MegaMan remakes. MegaMan Powered up and Maverick hunter are the two best megaman games I have ever played. Loco Roco looks like a great game, and I'm looking forward to getting Metal Gear solid and Syphon filter. Don't forget all the classic collections its getting, which are perfect for handhelds. Now that the PSP is coming alive, the race between the DS and PSP is only gonna get better, which should be good for gamers.

a1 · Postby a1 » December 24th, 2006, 9:27 pm

[QUOTE=Edward M]

It took awhile, but it is finally becoming great. That seems to be how Sony systems are. I'm sure within 2 years, everyone will forget about how much the PS3 was bashed this year, just like its so forgotten that the PS2 got slammed by the dreamcast in 2000. The PSP is just getting some killer games.

[/QUOTE]

I don't doubt that the PS3 will have some great games in a couple of years. Metal Gear Solid 4 and Devil May Cry 4 are both huge titles, and I know a lot more is planned. I also agree that the PSP has some good games now. Unfortunately, the price of PSP is still too high for a handheld, and the price of PS3 will still be too high in 2 years. I loved PS2 because it was a great system at a reasonable price, even when it first came out.