The ten best PSP games of 2007

Has 2007 proved the best year yet for Sony's PSP? Undoubtedly. And not because we awarded our maximum score to a PSP title for the first time. Twice, in fact, and within the space of two months.

No, what really cements the last 360-odd days as the handheld's finest to date has to be the raised standards across the board and, primarily, the quality of most of the year's heavy hitters. We may have (eventually) narrowed down a selection of the ten we feel represent the best set of experiences, but if the list instead consisted of, say, Jeanne d'Arc, Madden NFL 08, Sega Mega Drive Collection, Sega Rally, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Tactical Strike, The Warriors, TOCA Race Driver 3 Challenge, Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Tony Hawk's Project 8, and Worms: Open Warfare 2, you'd still be guaranteed an excellent time.

And if we'd included Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions in that lot, you probably wouldn't have had time to play anything else. (You'll have to read the Disgaea entry below to find out why we didn't.)

But even that alternate selection doesn't cover all of the games worthy of your attention this year. If you go by score alone, you'll find another 16 titles we'd class in the 'strongly recommended' category, even when taking the ever-changing gaming landscape into account.

Of course, it's not just numbers and statistics. The one thing you take away from looking at these games is that while there is still an obvious leaning towards franchises (more so than last year's PSP Top 10, in fact), the PlayStation 2 ports that plagued the format in its infancy appear long gone, with the majority of the brand extensions now turning up on the handheld having been exclusively designed for it. That's most likely one of the contributing factors to the continuing quality increase. Another is the fact developers are both getting to grips with Sony's handheld and often being given full development schedules to work to.

There are other reasons, naturally, but why dilute the message? This year's PSP line-up has been particularly impressive. You'll find the highlights below. (And if this all a little too positive for you, consider our ten worst PSP games of the year.)

10. Dead Head Fred Developer: Vicious Cycle Publisher: D3Publisher Released: October We haven't seen the sales figures for Dead Head Fred but suspect, alas, that it probably didn't break any records. Which is depressing from the acceptance that original, non-franchise associated titles stand little to no chance of commercial success nowadays (and therefore are increasingly likely to disappear from publisher's release schedules). And original titles are precisely what handhelds should be championing. Particularly when they offer as hugely entertaining and wonderfully distinct an experience as this impressively realised action adventure.
9. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Developer: Kojima Productions Publisher: Konami Released: May The position may seem odd for what remains one of the pleasure spikes of the year yet, after nearly 12 months (having obtained the US version of the game, which appeared nearly six months prior to the European release), our relationship with Portable Ops has developed into 'comfortably familiar' territory. That's not to say we don't remain fond of tactical action espionage – we'll forever welcome it when it's conveyed this expertly. Indeed, its inclusion in this list is indicative of our continuing fondness for Solid Snake's first 'real' handheld outing.
8. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Developer: High Impact Games Publisher: Sony Released: May Another of the considerable number of PlayStation franchises turning up on PSP, true, but also the perfect example of a brand extension specifically designed for the handheld and therefore not constrained by any of the usual limitations of a standard platform port. Judged on its merits alone, this is a splendid 3D action adventure – one of the most charming and finest you'll find on PSP. The franchise association will no doubt help its status at retail, and deservedly so – pleasingly, this is one of the stronger offerings in the series.
7. WipEout Pulse Developer: Sony Liverpool Publisher: Sony Released: December Normally we'd be worried about including such a recent release in an end-of-year 'best of' line-up but in WipEout Pulse's case we're confident this isn't one of those decisions that'll come back to haunt us years down the line. And for once, that confidence has nothing to do with arrogance. You see, we're so familiar with the WipEout dynamic (and, specifically, the PSP WipEout dynamic) that we know we'll be playing this well into 2008. How do we know this? Well, because until no so long ago, we'd still slide WipEout Pure into our UMD drive for a fix of the finest anti-grav combat racing around. And Pulse is better than Pure.
6. Sid Meier's Pirates! Developer: Full Fat Publisher: 2K Games Released: March The trouble with the brilliance of GTA-style sandbox gameplay is that to enjoy it you generally need to play, well, GTA (or its clones). And that's fine if what you're after is gangster-related thrills. Search for a different theme, however, and the choices can be disappointingly narrow. However, criminality existed long before Mafiosos showed up on the scene and any of its many facets can be turned into great gaming material, as the open-ended brilliance of Sid Meier's Pirates! so convincingly demonstrates. Not bad for a game that was originally released 20 years ago.
5. Football Manager Handheld 2008 Developer: Sports Interactive Publisher: Sega Released: November Third time out on PSP for the life engulfing stat-obsessed franchise and the best so far. Not so much a revolution as an evolution, but the new elements are nevertheless worthy and most welcome – there's certainly no sense Sports Interactive isn't giving it 110 per cent. On the contrary, you're never in any doubt the goal throughout development has been to make this the most impressive player on the handheld footy management pitch. It's a convincing win.
4. Virtua Tennis 3 Developer: Sumo Digital Publisher: Sega Released: March "An extraordinarily refined video game," we said of Sumo Digital's tinkering with Sega's established tennis franchise when we reviewed it earlier in the year. That's after we'd mentioned the "exquisite control", the "expertly pitched difficulty and pace", not to mention the "brilliantly engaging" nature of the game's core mode, which sees you develop your racket-swinging avatar while rising through the ranks of the tennis circuit. Oh, and you'll be enjoying "one of the most rewarding sporting experiences around" while doing so.
3. Crush Developer: Zoë Mode Publisher: Sega Released: May Innovative games these days are as rare as a television channel without reality TV programmes on its schedule. And encountering an innovative puzzle title is that rarest of things: a reality TV programme that's worth watching. But they do exist, and they're as precious as you might imagine. Crush, which sees you switching between 2D and 3D perspectives in order to negotiate the game's ingeniously designed levels, is one such title and arguably the most exciting concept to have appeared on PSP this year.
2. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow Developer: Sony Bend Publisher: Sony Released: December Want to see what the PSP is capable of doing? Get yourself a copy of Logan's Shadow. One of the first batch of titles to utilise the full (now unlocked) processing speed of the handheld, this covert ops-flavoured sequel is arguably the year's greatest technical achievement. But, if we may, we suggest you purchase a copy not so much for the pretty visuals and presentation as for the exceptional action adventure that awaits. And once you're done with that uncommonly rich slice of gaming, try out the multiplayer for more memorable thrills.
1. Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness Developer: Koei Publisher: Koei Released: November Just as you wouldn't necessarily take two bottles into the shower, it seemed illogical to include two strategy RPG titles in our end-of-year Top 10. Not when we're keen to ensure the selection is as broad as possible and occupying another slot with what is, at its core, a very similar game (even if the experience differs considerably) felt at odds with that approach. Even if that other game is a Pocket Gamer Platinum Award winner, an astonishing example of the genre and one of the very finest PSP experiences we've had this year. But then, so is Disgaea, and if held at gunpoint and forced to make a very difficult choice, more often than not we'd pick it over the exquisite Final Fantasy Tactics.