Relive Amplitude on DS and Monkey Island on PSP

Join us as we stride again into another week of homebrew subsistence. Although sworn off commercial games, I have increasingly found the homebrew community more than capable of serving up a feast. Case in point being our current picks: the musical rhythm-action of AmplituDS paired with some Lucasarts adventure reinvigoration from ScummVM.

This week my eye had been caught by the upcoming Guitar Hero III on the DS. Lucky for me that the game wasn't out yet, otherwise the temptation may have proved too much and the homebrew spell would have been broken.

But instead, and before I had too much time to consider playing Jam Sessions, I managed to dig up a great little homebrew treat called AmplituDS. A title that pays tribute to the classic PlayStation 2 rhythm-action game Amplitude – the game that came from the very same guitar-wielding gods that brought you Guitar Hero and, more recently, the console multi-instrument music fest that is Rock Band.

If you needed any more proof of Harmonix ability to turn melody into digital fun then look no further than this tribute offering. Amplituds has you piloting a craft down three ribbon-like tracks. Each track is colour coded for a particular instrument: percussion, synth, or vocals. You simply have to hit a corresponding button on the DS to match the notes that stream towards you.

Get the timing right and you the track is turned on. Keep hitting the right notes and you eventually unlock the whole song, instrument by instrument. A simple premise but an enjoyable and addictive one.

After all that musical exertion on the DS, I needed something a little more sedate on the PSP. ScummVM fitted the bill perfectly. This nifty piece of kit makes it possible to play your old Lucasarts adventures on your PSP.

After digging out my old discs and copying the data files to my Memory Stick, all I needed to do was copy the game itself (to GAME for 1.0 and 1.5, or GAME150 for 3.XX) and I was away.

I was amazed how good the old Monkey Island games looked in the palm of my hand. Not only did I pass a few happy hours that evening tracking down LeChuck, but I continued the adventure on my train ride to work. While this may seem dangerously close to playing commercial games – an activity banned while we undertake this homebrew round-up series – I was safe in the knowledge that this wouldn't have been possible were it not for the homebrew community.

With that potential contentious issue cleared up, that's it for this week. Join us again in seven days' time to see what weird and wonderful homemade games we'll have unearthed for you.