DOWN AND DIRTY REVIEWS PSP

Down and Dirty Reviews: PSP Reviews -- A - Z

Welcome all PSP users here! OK, you just got this shiny little piece of technology but you need to know more about the games? I can help with a few reviews. All reviews are by StarSoldier unless noted.

The overall scores are out of 100.

The graphics, sounds, and game play are out of 10.

SCORE

NAME

84 CASTLEVANIA DRACULA X CHRONICLES (Konami, 2007)
Ohya, the awesome and once Japanese only PC Engine Super CD game finally arrives in North America. Dracula X PSP retells the story of Richter Belmont and how he is on a mission to save his kidnapped relatives and bride to be from the resurrected Count Dracula. You can even save a 11 year old girl Maria and she can become a playable character too. The game is still as fun as ever and it's great to see the graphics get touched up for the PSP release but the simple 2D game play won't be for everyone especially since this is based on a 1993 game. It should also be mentioned that you can even unlock the PCE original (fully translated too) and the amazing sequel Symphony of the Night in this disc as well so this is a great find for Castlevania fans.
For 1 player only
Rated (T) for Teen
graphics: 8
sound: 8
gameplay: 7
Find Castlevania Dracula X on eBay here!

61 DARKSTALKERS CHRONICLE: The Chaos Tower (Capcom, 2005)
Capcom's popular Street Fighter clone comes out for the PSP and even though there isn't much new here, this one on one fighting game is still not that bad. If you are a Darkstalkers fan you get all 18 characters found in the original trilogy and they range from hot looking young underdressed girls to freaky monsters like zombies and ghosts. The action is fast and intense and the game gives you the option to pick different versions of certain characters in the series. There are no new fighters here though and the controls are not the most responsive on the tiny PSP either but the game has a lot of cool modes and unlockables to keep things interesting.
For 1 or 2 players
Rated (T) for Teen
graphics: 6
sound: 6
gameplay: 6
Find Dark Stalkers on eBay here!

70 GRADIUS COLLECTION (Konami, June 2006)
The original Gradius dates all the back to the NES era of the late 1980's but despite it's long history this semi-popular shooting series only saw limited success here in Canada and the US. Still a lot of gamers were upset at Konami when they only released a few of these shooting titles over here and this PSP game may have games you never seen before. Gradius Collection is a set of 5 classic Gradius games and it even introduces us to Gradius II and Gradius Gaiden for the first time since they were only released in Japan. This collection also has the original Gradius, Gradius III, and Gradius IV in one massive 5 games set here complete with bonus CG movies and sound tests. Now I would love to give this collection a really high score since I really loves these games as a kid but the reason the games never took off especially the arcade editions here because they are all way too hard. Only one will kill you in each game and even the easiest difficulty settings are insanely hard. Gradius Collection is great for fans but casual gamers should stay far away from these cheap games.
For 1 player only
Rated (E) for Everyone
graphics: 7
sound: 7
gameplay: 8
Find Gradius Collection on eBay here!

71 LUMINES (UBI Soft, 2005)
One of the more popular launch games for the PSP but is it any good? In this puzzler you guide around falling blocks (yeah, I know real original) but there are only two colours to work with at a time. The objective is to create a successful match or combination of colours so when the constantly moving line clear the field it can create points for you. It sounds simple enough but the game gets faster the further you advance and that's where the game gets really intense. Once it's all said and done though the game can get very repetitve and the different VS. and Time Trials modes just don't feel unique enough. Lumines packs some great visuals and cool techno music but this basic puzzle game doesn't out shine Tetris.
For 1 or 2 players
Rated (E) for Everyone
graphics: 6
sound: 7
gameplay: 6
Find Lumines on eBay here!

73 MEGA MAN Powered Up (Capcom, 2006)
Capcom had a real hit on their hand with the original 1987 NES classic Megaman (or Rockman in Japan) and in 2006 they released a special remake of that famous here on PSP with a bunch of new features. In this action game you control the little robot Mega Man on a mission to stop the evil Dr. Wily and the 6 robot friends he just captured. The game plays too slowly at times and not everyone will like the new super cute look here but if all the different playable characters, stage creation mode, and multiple difficulties help make this remake worth buying for both casual and expert players.
For 1 player only
Rated (E) for Everyone
graphics: 6
sound: 7
gameplay: 8
Find Mega Man on eBay here!

77 MEGA MAN X Maverick Hunter (Capcom, 2006)
Capcom originally got yet another Mega Man franchise started in 1993 back on the Super Nintendo and it was another big money grab for the company. The game was a amazing action/shoot em up with a new futurist story line and a slightly different graphical style. Although the Mega Man X series has been nearly beaten to death with a bunch of lame sequels (ever play crappy Mega Man X7 before for example), Capcom is going back to what made the series great by retelling the first ever Mega Man X game in Maverick Hunter here for the PSP. If you don't know the story it's Mega Man X's mission to destroy rioting robots before they manage to wipe out the entire human race. OK, you still have to hunt down the renegade Sigma and fight 8 animal bosses like before but the new Mega Man here can now climb walls, earn new weapons or upgrades, and he can even collect new armours. The graphics have gotten a nice 3D face lift (sadly there is some slowdown here and there as well) plus the game even has some voice acting so you can get more into the story. Although all the shooting action here is fairly intense, the game is still on the short side with only 13 levels. Mega Man X is still a great non linear action game that will definitely challenge you.
For 1 player only
Rated (E10+) for Everyone
graphics: 7
sound: 7
gameplay: 7
Find Mega Man X on eBay here!

72 RIDGE RACER (Namco, 2005)
Although I wasn't the biggest fan of Ridge Racer 6 for the Xbox 360 (c'mon stop emailing me, it's crap!) I really liked this Ridge Racer for the PSP here. As soon has you start up the game you'll be greeted with a stunning CG intro and then you can move on to either World Tour or Arcade modes. The racing itself isn't too new from past editions. You can help maintain your racing speed by performing drifts and you can even get nitrous bonuses if you manage to successfully pull them off. The game play is simple but it works. Ridge Racer not only as great graphics and a huge music list but Ridge Racer is very easy to get into.
For 1 to 8 players
Rated (E) for Everyone
graphics: 8
sound: 8
gameplay: 7
Find Ridge Racer on eBay here!

54 ULTIMATE GHOULS N GHOSTS (Capcom, 2007)
Sure, the original Ghosts 'N Goblins games were insanely difficult but it was a fun kind of hard and it's great to see a all new game in the series on the PSP. Like before you are a brave knight on a mission to save your girl from several monsters that will kill you on site but fortunately you can take a couple of hits before you bite the big one. The graphics look stunning with an excellent amount of detail in both the hero and multiple enemies plus the different haunting scenery also look outstanding. There are tons of new weapons and save options too so I was ready to give this a great score but something was holding me back. OK, these new loose controls just suck and it's easy to over shoot dangerous jumps or get hit by enemies because of the slow response time. This is definitely not Ultimate but it's Decent Ghouls 'N Ghosts if it's cheap.
For 1 player only
Rated (T) for Teen
graphics: 8
sound: 7
gameplay: 6
Find Ultimate Ghouls N Ghosts on eBay here!