GamesRadar - PSP Reviews

Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 (Review)

Nov 7, 2008

With PES 2009, Konami have now released four versions of their legendary footy series on PSP. ...

Crash Bandicoot: Mind Over Mutant (Review)

Nov 6, 2008

Last time we saw him, in Crash of the Titans, Crash Bandicoot was a brainless chump, lacking both charisma and charm. The game wasn’t much better either. But things are definitely better forboth parties this time round. ...

SNK Arcade Classics: Volume 1 (Review)

Nov 3, 2008

While SNK has been teasing us with Metal Slug, Art of Fighting and World Warriors collections for the last few years, the one we wanted was a one-disc SNK history, and now it’s here. SNK fans will be in heaven.

SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 follows in the retro footsteps of the Genesis/Mega Drive Collection and the Capcom Collections in bringing a bunch of classic titles from yesteryear back on this PSP UMD. ...

WWE SmackDown! vs Raw 2009 (Review)

Oct 31, 2008

The cruiserweight version of SmackDown has come into criticism from fans over the last few years for its crushing loading times, which, when combined with a typical match length, only ever really made it suitable for excursions to the Kuiper Belt. It’s a problem no more; this year’s load times are down to a miniscule 10 seconds, and the bite-sized, episodic nature of Road to Wrestlemania makes this an ideal takeaway. ...

Star Ocean: First Departure (Review)

Oct 22, 2008

Though Star Ocean: First Departure is technically a remake of 1996’s Japan-only Star Ocean for Super Famicom, most of us missed out on its magical fantasy meets space travel story and real-time battles, which at the time were drastically different from the Final Fantasy series' orderly turn-based system. Although not quite as outstanding as other Square-Enix remakes as of late (Final Fantasy IV, Dragon Quest IV, and the upcoming Chrono Trigger), First Departure holds its own if you can squeeze it into your bust RPG schedule. ...

Midnight Club: LA Remix (Review)

Oct 20, 2008

LA Remix is the series’ second foray onto PSP. The last game, MC3: DUB Edition, was a massive hit Stateside, and in the UK it was the best-selling racing game on the PSP. This year could be a similar story as well, as LA Remix is easily the best racer to go portable in 2008.

The real secret to Midnight Club’s success is that it avoids so many of the banana skins slipped on by other street racers whilst retaining the air of ...

NBA 09 The Inside (Review)

Oct 9, 2008

A funny thing happened on the way to another lukewarm PSP review of Sony’s latest pro hoops title – the more we played NBA 09 The Inside, the more we realized just how much fun we were having. Instead of throwing together a barely-improved rehash of the last couple of versions of their game, Sony has produced a remarkably enjoyable portable basketballer that surprised us in all the right ways. ...

Pipe Mania (Review)

Sep 30, 2008

If you’re proper old, you’ll know that Pipe Mania was a game first released in the late Eighties on the Amiga, and if you’re reading this review with the intention of buying it because of that – good work! You’ll be well catered to. ...

LEGO Batman: The Videogame (Review)

Sep 23, 2008

Who is Batman to you? The violent lawman of the modern comics? The wink-wink star of the 60’s TV show? Tim Burton’s gothic icon, perhaps? The point is this: Travellers’ Tales have never had a subject so open to LEGO interpretation, and with it, playful experimentation. And boy, do they love it. Did you feel that Indy was a tad shackled to his tombs and dusty continents? ...

Yggdra Union (Review)

Sep 22, 2008

If you’re going to port a Game Boy Advance game to the PSP, this is how you do it. Yggdra Union, a unique and meticulously deep strategy-RPG tragically over-looked on the GBA, shines in its spiffied-up PSP incarnation. With a skillful re-localization, fully voiced story scenes and updated graphics that enable the great 2D sprites to really shine, Yggdra Union blossoms on the PSP.

Aside from the dialed-down difficulty level, the ...

Buzz! Master Quiz (Review)

Sep 4, 2008

Buzz without the plastic buzzers? It won’t work, surely? Well, the results are mixed. The hard part – making the game fun in both single and multiplayer – has been nailed by Sony perfectly. PSP’s face buttons are mapped to answers, so buzzing in is easy, and thanks to the ability to play via WiFi (or better yet via Gameshare Buzz with four mates) the game stays faithful to its social roots. ...

N+ (Review)

Aug 27, 2008

You’re looking at a screenshot of N+ right now, and thinking “simple” right? Well you’d be correct, but don’t be fool enough to say it’s easy, because it’s not something you’ll finish quickly. What N+ does fantastically is boil down everything we all love about platform gaming - wall jumps, collecting crap and enemy avoidance - then flings it at you in perfectly sized chunks. ...

Madden NFL 09 (Review)

Aug 20, 2008

Few, if any, games translate from a console to a portable like Madden football does onto the PSP. For years now, the NFL juggernaut hasn’t felt gimped on Sony’s handheld machine; in fact, it’s eerily close to the PS2 version in all of the most important ways. What’s more, this season’s portable Madden actually surpasses its PS2 cousin. For the first time we can remember, we’d rather throw down on the small ...

NCAA Football 09 (Review)

Jul 22, 2008

Like that slacker college roommate of yours who took a few semesters off to “find himself”, NCAA football has taken a bit of a break the last two years on the PSP. It returns this season none the worse for wear, sporting a slightly different attitude but a remarkably similar look and feel to the collegiate gridiron games you’ve been playing for years now. ...

Hellboy: The Science of Evil (Review)

Jul 11, 2008

The Hellboy comics, with their cast of classic movie monsters and folkloric freaks, wear their influences proudly on their sleeves. Likewise, Hellboy: The Science of Evil doesn’t make any show at pretending it’s not a thoroughgoing God of War clone. ...

NARUTO: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress (Review)

Jun 25, 2008

Not even publisher Namco seems to be sure as to whether this arcade-style fighting game needs the subtitle "The Phantom Fortress" - it appears on the box art, but not the in-game splash screen, and both ways in the manual. But whatever you call it, Naruto fans will want to pick it up. The problem is that most will already have the original Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes, released less than a year ago. And we're not certain three new ...

Secret Agent Clank (Review)

Jun 20, 2008

What do you do when your best buddy gets thrown in jail? If you're like most GR editors, you visit long enough to take some cell phone shots of him in the clink, run back to your Tijuana hotel to post them on your Facebook page, then try to figure out how to get his girlfriend into the sack. Luckily, if this 3D action adventure is any indication, robots are more loyal. When his fuzzy buddy Ratchet gets framed for a jewel ...

Space Invaders Extreme (Review)

Jun 13, 2008

The original Space Invaders arcade game is the videogame version of a 78 RPM phonograph record - it's a sacred totem of nostalgia for the veteran generation, but it's so primitive and clunky to youngsters that they feel actual pity for the old guys. That's why it's so great that this reinvention, Space Invaders Extreme, blends old and new into a colorful, hyperactive, deeper than you'd guess shootathon that ...

Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (Review)

Jun 10, 2008

If you're headed to the virtual links expecting something markedly different from the second portable extension of the long-running Hot Shots Golf series, think again – Open Tee 2 is a game of minor tweaks and extensive content, and aside from the advent of online play (missing from its predecessor), the game largely goes through the familiar motions. ...

LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Review)

Jun 4, 2008

How can a game that’s identical to the brilliant LEGO Star Wars in almost every respect not be as good? Simple - the setting. The Star Wars universe is vibrant, colourful and fantastical, while Indy’s real-world ’40s setting is more subdued. This works in the context of the films, but recreated in LEGO it has none of the outlandish flair of Lucas’ galaxy far, far away. ...