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PSP FEATURE
What great software drought? |
 Here we are, then, in the final week of the year – the nebulous period between Christmas and New Year. A good time to let others do the thinking for you, perhaps.
As such, we've looked back at the PSP releases over the last 360-odd days and picked out ten that should slot into your UMD drive at some point.
Feel free to disagree, obviously, but first bear in mind that in order to celebrate the variety of experiences found on PSP, we've deliberately strayed from obvious genres such as racing and football (otherwise you would have found the likes of OutRun 2006: Coast to Coast and FIFA 07 listed below). Similarly, we've concentrated on official UK releases, which explains the absence of, say, Every Extend Extra and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, amongst others.
So that just leaves a handful of very difficult choices between our top ten and those that after much consideration just failed to make the cut (Exit, Gradius Collection and Power Stone Collection spring to mind).
Enough stalling and excuses. The list has been finalised and we stand firmly by it. Below, then, are our final ten.
The top 10 PSP games of 2006
Daxter
One of the early titles to showcase the PSP's potential as a handheld able to match home consoles in terms of delivering accomplished, highly polished gaming, Daxter is noteworthy for being one of the very few 3D adventures available on Sony's portable hardware. That and the fact that it's an excellent example of the genre, of course. Playing as the eponymous furry orange 'ottsel', you're tasked with exterminating the city's metal bugs with a variety of increasingly efficient gadgets. Doesn't sound like much, but a tight game dynamic and exceptional visuals ensure it emerges as one of the PSP's more compelling rides.
| .jpg) | Gitaroo Man Lives!
Any game featuring a talking dog who coaches you in the art of air guitar would immediately make any top ten list, right? Perhaps it's me, then. How about one where you fight progressively harder opponents through the power of music alone, by hitting the right notes at the right time? Sound better? Good, because Gitaroo Man Lives! is here not because of chatty canines, as it happens, but specifically because it's an exceptional rhythm action title that will enchant those who play it with its outrageous soundtrack, quirky storyline, extravagant visuals and perfectly pitched gameplay. | .jpg) | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
The year's biggest release, though not necessarily its finest, Vice City Stories easily makes the list thanks to its unrivalled status as the free-roaming urban criminal simulation of choice on PSP, a position it predictably takes over from its predecessor, GTA: Liberty City Stories. The game's plot may have gained an unwelcome darker edge, but it's not something that ultimately quashes the great fun to be had playing reckless lawbreaker within Vice City's vast, living, breathing metropolis. The freedom to go off and create your own enjoyment, regardless of narrative constraints, has always been GTA's special genius, and thankfully that part remains gloriously intact.
|  | LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Hardly a surprise of Death Star proportions, true, but LEGO and Star Wars are as perfect a partnership as Ben and Jerry. Lego Star Wars II is an exceptionally designed, technically impressive and brilliantly accomplished adventure (masterfully converted from the home console versions), offering one of the most compelling and delicious playgrounds in videogaming. It will delight both Star Wars fans and anyone who's been hiding in the Tunisian desert for the last 30-odd years. |  | LocoRoco
If you could encode pure joy into the pits and troughs of a UMD, it would look something very much like LocoRoco. One of the most delightful games we've had the pleasure to discover on our PSP, no doubt in part to the wonderful uniqueness of its aesthetic and, of course, concept: with only the ability to jump, squashy locoroco blobs rely on gravity to negotiate an increasingly inventive game world while eating flowers in order to grow in size, with the player's work confined to rocking the environment left or right using the shoulder buttons. It's that simple. And it's brilliant. |  | Lumines II
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. When Lumines, a superlative puzzle game involving grouping – and so eliminating – four squares of the same colour together while blocks continually fall from the top of the screen, turned up on PSP last year, it was love at first sight. Wisely, the sequel doesn't mess around with the core concept but it does add additional play modes, a wider range of visuals, and a better selection of music (a fundamental component of the Lumines experience). Call us easy, but we've fallen in love all over again. |  | Me & My Katamari
When you're a six-inch tall green alien prince, son of the galaxy-tall King of All Cosmos, you know your role in life will be special. But not special as in spending some time helping out villagers high up in a Peruvian mountain or building schools in the middle of Africa. No, here your royal role is to push a sticky ball around town, picking up anything and everything until it grows big enough to be dumped into the sea to act as a shelter. A shelter for animals. Me & My Katamari is as unique and delightful as it sounds. As such, it's one of the PSP's indispensable games. |  | Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
True, initial impressions are worrying but persevere past the dreary tutorial section and you'll soon be relishing the astonishing 3D stealth action adventure that awaits. Tremendous presentation is effortlessly matched by a rousing tale of espionage that has you embarking on the kind of varied missions even Bond would envy. Some of the most intense gunfights on PSP are balanced out by sections of stress-soaked sneakiness, and while the expertly designed levels conspire with decently intelligent enemies to provide a tough challenge, it's a challenge whose difficulty is always immaculately judged. |  | Tekken: Dark Resurrection
Occasionally, a game is so accomplished within its genre that it effortlessly beats its competition into a cowering, twitching pulp. Enter Tekken: Dark Resurrection, which this year takes the spot of most satisfying PSP beat-'em-up with considerable ease. Some 30 wonderfully animated characters, more combos than you can shake a bo at, a fine variety of play modes (including a neat way of fighting players from around the world), a rewarding learning curve, and, crucially, fast, flowing action dressed in some of the finest visuals yet seen on Sony's handheld.
|  | Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins
Looking for the harshest, most unjust game experience on PSP? Look no further than Capcom's masterful update of one of the 1980s' most notorious arcade games. Glorious graphics, sumptuous sound and the cruellest of challenges make up Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins, resulting in a mix that intoxicates to the bone and keeps you coming back to face off the horde of the undead and the ghoulish that shuffle between you and the princess you've sworn to save. At a time when most games hold your hand from start to finish, it's refreshing to find one that's intent on biting it clean off.
Update: Don't miss our best PSP games and worst PSP games of 2007, and our other PSP charts. |  |
| Have your say! |
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Joined:
Oct 2006
Post count:
643
what's the order? Us listmeisters demand to know each games ranks!!
Joined:
Jan 2007
Post count:
2
 For me, Tekken, Dark Resurrection is probably the best game for PSP. But, Gun and Dark Mirror are also very good. Dark Mirror gets rather difficult, in my opinion. But, that makes it more challenging, too.
I like Tekken because of the learning that is necessary. One has so many characters to learn, each one with different and unique characteristics of fighting. I believe it would take many, many months of playing to exhaust your interest in this game and it could cause one to want to do it over and over, as a different character.
Dark Mirror is full of intrigue and mystery and challenging to any player. The storyline is great, too. It made you feel like you were the character, himself.
Gun is very fun to play. It's just a shoot -em-up game of the Old West, with a great storyline. It just came out, in the last month or so. I have been looking for it for some time, now. I'm still working my way through it and enjoying it thoroughly. So, for an old guy, who has a yearning for gaming, this is a great game on a great platform.
Overall I like the PSP system. The only thing I see, where there is room for improvement, is in its ability to surf. It can WiFi, but doesn't use this for anything other than upgrades of its own system. That doesn't really make any sense, considering that it has a great, decent sized video capability. It would be a great little pocket computer platform, if it only had the software. I'm sure that very little hardware change would be necessary. Go figure. But, the gaming part of it is just great!
Joined:
Jan 2007
Post count:
2
O. K. What's the order?
For me, I have spent more hours on Tekken than the others. So, Yes I like Tekken, Dark Resurrection the best.
Dark Mirror is barely second best, in my opinion. In many ways, it is best of the few games I've tried. I also tried a racing game, but I'm not into these types.
I tried Lord of the Rings, but it sucks, for sure. I look for first person action, where the computer interacts with you, immediately upon your responses. Lord of the Rings is like playing chess with the computer, as your apponent. I hate that, 'cause after you make your move, you have to wait to see what the computer did to all your characters before you can make another move.
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