Posts filed under 'PSP Reviews'
Game: From Russia With Love
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
Bond is back – way back in the case of the latest offering in the Bond game franchise and the first to hit the PSP. From Russia With Love takes you back to the days of classic Bond, when Connery was at the helm, the gadgets had lots of flashing lights and M was definitely not a woman.
The game is a close port over from the PS2 version that came out just before Christmas and it matches its grown up cousin closely in terms of graphics and sound. However, in terms of gameplay it’s not quite there, but then, the PS2 version was never any great shakes in the first place.
Like all the Bond games before it FRWL is a fairly linear third person adventure. 007 moves from one crisis to the next with terrible inevitability. The only respite comes in the form of the nicely animated cut scenes that bridge the gaps between game sections. The plot is based around that of the film, the second in the series which introduced much of what has now become Bond mythology – Q for instance. 007 is sent to Turkey to liaise with an attractive Russian defector who plans to give the UK a secret Soviet decoder machine. Mixed in with this are some shadowy agents from the super-criminal underworld who have another agenda altogether. If you’ve seen the film you’ll know what I mean.
This game pretends to be more than a simple third person shooter – there’s an opening sequence that sees you flying a jetpack and several sections where you have to pilot the remote-controlled Q-copter, but 95% of gameplay is spent running down corridors shooting Soviet soldiers with a variety of weapons. The Bond of the films spends a lot of time sneaking around before knocking off the bad guys with his bare hands – here Bond is reduced to a sub-par Duke Nukem and it doesn’t work. In fact we seem to remember the PS2 version included a ’stealth’ mode and the ability to quietly throttle a victim. That’s missing from the PSP version, presumably for control reasons.
That’s not the only aspect of the PS2 game that has been dropped on its way to the portable. One of more fun parts of the original game was a manic driving section around the streets of Turkey in Bond’s Aston Martin. I was eagerly waiting for this on the PSP, but when Bond lands in Istanbul he is whisked straight off to an underground lair with only the briefest hint that his car comes under attack. The cut scene even makes reference to this which makes it all the more unsatisfying.
There are two main quality factors that let FRWL down.
1) Controls. The PSP always suffers from only having one analogue stick, and this is really exposed on console ports. Bond is virtually impossible to steer and thank heavens for the auto-targetting of weapons or he would have next to no chance of ever hitting anything.
2) Opponent and other character AI is laughable. Bad guys are foxed by you moving out of their line of sight, even during a pitched battle. Characters remain static as you walk up to them, have a conversation and walk away – even their lips don’t move. Half Life managed to make this kind of thing believable nearly a decade ago – FRWL can’t manage it in 2006
So what is good in this game? The graphics are pretty good for the PSP, although the pre-rendered cut scenes flatter to deceive. Bond’s animation is fluid, even when the poor controls have you spinning around in a circle. The sound more than does the job, but it doesn’t stand out.
All in all, it’s a clumsy port of what was a poor game in the first place. From Russia With Love had a lot going for it – great source matter, the first Bond game on the PSP – but in the end it’s a let down and we don’t recommend you add it to your collection unless you’re a Bond nut.
Graphics
Bond is well animated and cut scenes are stylish, but it doesn’t pull out of the PSP’s stops - 7/10
Sound
Does exactly what it says on the tin. Musical score is good enough to make this a decent mark - 7/10
Gameplay
Linear to the point of being boring. There are better third prson shooters out there, there are better flying games out there. This is a hard to control mish-mash. - 5/10
Verdict
From Russia With Love is not the Bond game we were waiting for. The unexciting PS2 version should have tipped us off, but even by those standards, this game is poor - 6/10
May 4th, 2006
Game: From Russia With Love
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
Bond is back – way back in the case of the latest offering in the Bond game franchise and the first to hit the PSP. From Russia With Love takes you back to the days of classic Bond, when Connery was at the helm, the gadgets had lots of flashing lights and M was definitely not a woman.
The game is a close port over from the PS2 version that came out just before Christmas and it matches its grown up cousin closely in terms of graphics and sound. However, in terms of gameplay it’s not quite there, but then, the PS2 version was never any great shakes in the first place.
Like all the Bond games before it FRWL is a fairly linear third person adventure. 007 moves from one crisis to the next with terrible inevitability. The only respite comes in the form of the nicely animated cut scenes that bridge the gaps between game sections. The plot is based around that of the film, the second in the series which introduced much of what has now become Bond mythology – Q for instance. 007 is sent to Turkey to liaise with an attractive Russian defector who plans to give the UK a secret Soviet decoder machine. Mixed in with this are some shadowy agents from the super-criminal underworld who have another agenda altogether. If you’ve seen the film you’ll know what I mean.
This game pretends to be more than a simple third person shooter – there’s an opening sequence that sees you flying a jetpack and several sections where you have to pilot the remote-controlled Q-copter, but 95% of gameplay is spent running down corridors shooting Soviet soldiers with a variety of weapons. The Bond of the films spends a lot of time sneaking around before knocking off the bad guys with his bare hands – here Bond is reduced to a sub-par Duke Nukem and it doesn’t work. In fact we seem to remember the PS2 version included a ’stealth’ mode and the ability to quietly throttle a victim. That’s missing from the PSP version, presumably for control reasons.
That’s not the only aspect of the PS2 game that has been dropped on its way to the portable. One of more fun parts of the original game was a manic driving section around the streets of Turkey in Bond’s Aston Martin. I was eagerly waiting for this on the PSP, but when Bond lands in Istanbul he is whisked straight off to an underground lair with only the briefest hint that his car comes under attack. The cut scene even makes reference to this which makes it all the more unsatisfying.
There are two main quality factors that let FRWL down.
1)Controls. The PSP always suffers from only having one analogue stick, and this is really exposed on console ports. Bond is virtually impossible to steer and thank heavens for the auto-targetting of weapons or he would have next to no chance of ever hitting anything.
2)Opponent and other character AI is laughable. Bad guys are foxed by you moving out of their line of sight, even during a pitched battle. Characters remain static as you walk up to them, have a conversation and walk away – even their lips don’t move. Half Life managed to make this kind of thing believable nearly a decade ago – FRWL can’t manage it in 2006
So what is good in this game? The graphics are pretty good for the PSP, although the pre-rendered cut scenes flatter to deceive. Bond’s animation is fluid, even when the poor controls have you spinning around in a circle. The sound more than does the job, but it doesn’t stand out.
All in all, it’s a clumsy port of what was a poor game in the first place. From Russia With Love had a lot going for it – great source matter, the first Bond game on the PSP – but in the end it’s a let down and we don’t recommend you add it to your collection unless you’re a Bond nut.
Graphics
Bond is well animated and cut scenes are stylish, but it doesn’t pull out of the PSP’s stops - 7/10
Sound
Does exactly what it says on the tin. Musical score is good enough to make this a decent mark - 7/10
Gameplay
Linear to the point of being boring. There are better third prson shooters out there, there are better flying games out there. This is a hard to control mish-mash. - 5/10
Verdict
From Russia With Love is not the Bond game we were waiting for. The unexciting PS2 version should have tipped us off, but even by those standards, this game is poor - 6/10
May 4th, 2006
Game: Madden NFL 06
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
American football has never really caught on in the UK. Channel 4 made a concerted effort to get us all talking about gridiron in the mid 80s and for a while it worked, but then the viewing figures started to decline and once again we Brits claimed back the term ‘football’ to refer to a game where the primary way of controlling the ball is actually with your feet rather than your hands.
Of course we have a vaguely similar game in rugby to get excited about (being World Champions and all that - yes, US readers, that’s the whole world, not just the ‘world’ that the NFL ‘world’ champions reside over) so the chances of American football games hitting it big in Europe are slim.
Still, this reviewer must admit to an gameplaying pedigree in this genre. Back in 1988, when the peak of gaming hardware was the Commodore Amiga, I owned Mirrorsoft’s TV Sports Football. This was a game of all style and very little substance, but I loved it, so it was with a tear of nostalgia that I prepared to dive back into the world of gridiron and fired up Madden NFL 06 on my PSP.
First impressions are that the game is slick, benefiting from EA’s usual great presentation. The visuals are reminiscent of the Channel 4 graphics of old and presumably those of current US television coverage. There is the usual pumping EA Trax soundtrack, although the bias is heavily towards rap in the playlist which isn’t necessarily the only music genre I would associate with American football, so it grates after a while.
Starting a game can be as simple as choosing ‘Play now’. If you have already chosen your favourite NFL franchise then you’ll be dumped straight into a game involving that team. You can even select to play as one of the great teams of the past, although as I was playing as the Minnesota Vikings that didn’t leave me with many options (sorry Vikings).
Let’s get one thing straight. It helps if you understand the rules of American football and I don’t just mean the basics. This is a very detailed simulation and you will be lost within seconds if you don’t know your linebackers from your quarterbacks, or your 4th downs from your field goals. Madden NFL 06 pulls no punches when it comes to the terminology, the avalanche of statistics and the myriad of subtle plays. Assuming you get past the kick off stage without having a touchdown scored against you, then you are immediately asked to choose a formation and then a play. Having not a clue what to do at this point I called upon the soon-to-be-heavily-overused function of the game - ‘Ask Madden’. Yes, this is the eponymous Madden of the game title, who seems to be a sort of American Jimmy Hill, only still on TV. Hit the square button and he will immediately suggest the best tactics for the next down, backed up with a remarkably small selection of supporting phrases such as “this’ll stop’em for sure” and “the smart coach would choose this play”. It’s not great commentary and it doesn’t add much to the game.
Once the tactics are chosen you are taken to the field of play. If you are playing offense you control the snap using the cross button. Watch out for the play clock which counts down from the moment the previous play finished. Exceed the allotted time and you will be penalised. Once the ball is snapped back you have control of the quarterback. If you are aiming for a running play he will automatically toss the ball out to the back at which point you take control of that player and it’s time to barrel up the field using all the tricks in the Madden armoury (stiff arms, diving, spinning) to avoid being tackled. If you chose a passing play your quarterback will step back and you have to quickly scan the field for an available receiver. This all happens incredibly quickly and if you don’t make a quick decision you will find yourself being sacked. Each receiver is assigned a PSP key which is indicated beneath them as they look for space. To make the pass hold down the appropriate key and the quarterback will toss the ball in that direction. The longer you hold it the harder he will throw. All being well the receiver will make the catch (there are some things you can do to influence the success or otherwise of the catch, but generally it will either happen, or it won’t) at which point you have control of that player and it’s time to head off towards the end zone for a potential touchdown.
Of course, you can also choose to punt the ball or try for the field goal and these use a control system reminiscent of golf games with a balance to be struck between power and accuracy.
The gameplay in Madden is fairly easy to get into and it won’t be long before you find yourself winning matches. However, there seems to be an imbalance between the ease of playing the running game and that of the passing game. It would be natural to assume that running would be easier, but the scales are heavily weighted in favour of the defence and it’s pretty hard to make good yardage. The passing game suffers from being almost too easy. Bizarrely, passing short can be tricky, but choose a long pass of over 30 yards and it becomes almost impossible to miss - the wide receivers totally outclass the defenders and make catches even when outnumbered. This somewhat removes the satisfaction of winning, especially when the opposition doesn’t seem to be blessed with the same infallible ability to score at will.
The in-game graphics are excellent. The players are exceptionally detailed, but the range of movement demonstrated during play is astonishing and the ragdoll physics are the best seen yet on the PSP. Players bend and twist on impact in a very convincing way. Alas, the stadium graphics are not as good with the crowd apparently composed of grey cardboard cutouts. Mind you, this is an improvement on FIFA 06’s colourful cardboard cutouts that jump up and down and is less distracting, so maybe no progress is a good thing. The game sounds are good with the crunch of tackles being very realistic. However, again the crowd lets the side down with a dull hum of noise except when thew home team does something good (highly pitched hum) or bad (low pitched hum, with a hint of ‘boo’).
The game mode that you will probably play first is ‘franchise’ where you take control of a team and guide them through training camp, pre-season and then regular season. If you choose to go down this route then one thing will start to dominate the game - load times. They are certainly the longest I’ve yet experienced on the PSP and the disc seems to be accessed at every conceivable opportunity. Heaven knows what this is doing for battery life, but at the very least it makes the game disjointed.
Madden NFL 06 is a decent game, solid in most aspects. It saw a surprisingly long amount of playtime in our review PSP, but a lot of this could be accounted for by the rush of enthusiasm when I started winning before I realised that the ‘throw and hope’ tactic was a guaranteed route to success. Once the game was mastered then the desire to return disappeared, unlike other sporting sims like FIFA where the pleasure of playing keeps the UMD close to hand. This could be because of a lack of familiarity with the sport, but is more likely to be because it became repetitive too quickly. Old Madden is repeating his stock phrases before the first game is finished and the after touchdown celebrations only seem to come in one or two flavours. If you are a fan of the NFL then this is a good way of getting your fix on the handheld console, otherwise Europeans may like to borrow a copy in case they get hooked, but certainly don’t buy a copy on the off chance.
Graphics
Player animation is out of this world and TV-style visuals are nice. The only let down is the stadium crowd that looks like a painted wall 8/10
Sound
Good crunching tackles, but stadium noise is a boring hum and the commentary is repetitive - 6/10
Gameplay
Addictive at first, but once mastered there is very little to come back for. The non-expert will find that the game sometimes seems to be happening around them rather than their being a full part of it - 7/10
Verdict
Madden NFL 06 is a solid title that wouldn’t be a bad buy, it just isn’t a great one either. If you’re an NFL fan then this is a must-have, otherwise borrow a copy before you hand over the cash. It may not be your cup of Gatorade. - 7/10
March 2nd, 2006
Game: FIFA 06
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
The FIFA series of games needs no introduction. Anyone who has owned a football game has probably owned one of the previous versions, either on the PlayStation or the PC. Now we have a new platform in the shape of the PSP and it was only a matter of time before there was a version of FIFA that we could play on the handheld. The PSP was very poorly served for football games at its launch, with the much-maligned World Tour Soccer the only option. Just like waiting for a bus, two new footie games with big reputations have arrived at once and fans must now choose between Pro Evolution Soccer 5 and FIFA 06. We’ve been spending some time with FIFA 06, so read on for our verdict.
Firstly, portable devices are made for games like FIFA 06, which you can just pick up in a spare moment and play a quick game. For some reason it doesn’t seem quite so appealing to grind out another few levels of a platformer in a stolen moment on the train. There are a variety of game formats in FIFA 06, including standalone matches, where you can choose both teams, their kit, the weather, even the stadium. These will take about 15 minutes to complete on the default settings which feels just about right. If you’re in for the long haul then there are tournament and season modes to keep you busy, in which you work your way through an entire league season, or World Cup style competition. FIFA 06 is also blessed (or possibly cursed, depending on your point of view) with a ball-juggling mini-game. The object here is, predictably, to keep the ball in the air for as long as possible. You can choose a player to control, but this is mere eye candy. The ability to play keepy-uppy is entirely dependent on your ability to press the right key at the right time. As mini-games go its accessible, but not exactly thrilling. We’re more interested in the real guts of the game - playing football matches.
Is your eyesight up to scratch? It will need to be. There’s a lot of pitch packed into the PSP’s screen and the size of each player can’t be much more than 75 pixels high with the standard camera view. As a result there isn’t really anything to distinguish between players until you get closeups after a piece of noteworthy action. At this point you realise that the players are very well modelled and you can generally recognise most of the likenesses. For some reason Robert Pires is spot on, but Frank Lampard leaves a lot to be desired.
The controls are a little fiddly. The analog stick, which you use to control player movement, is a little unresponsive and in moments of pressure it’s all too easy to have you player heading in the wrong direction. Dribbling is made all but impossible and you finish each game with your left thumb throbbing from the punishment it takes. The passing and shooting controls are pretty standard and a good variety of moves can be put together without being a FIFA 06 expert. Once you master the basics there’s a wealth of special moves that can be attempted, but again, beware the punishement this will inflict on your fingers and thumbs, especially after a long duration match.
Player AI is getting better with every version of FIFA, but it’s still not perfect. Your teammates often do a good job of supporting you. They’ll go on runs with their arm aloft to get your attention, or track back quickly when the opposition breaks. Strangely, the opposition AI seems a little flakier. Your opponents will often, when faced with one of your defenders, turn around and run the other way back up the pitch. We’re not complaining though as this often leads to a mistake on their part if you press the player hard.
The commentary is better than average. In the UK version EA have managed to enlist the ’skills’ of ITVs Clyde Tyldesley and Sky’s Andy Gray. Readers familiar with the former’s style will know that he has to be the most scripted commentator in football, never one to miss the opportunity to unleash a 20 second pre-pared witticism. This may be his undoing in live commentary, but it does mean that you hardly notice that you’re listening to a computer commentate and not the real thing. Mr Gray sounds a lot less real than his virtual colleague and starts to repeat himself with alarming regularity. As much as we whinge about football game commentaries, there’s no doubt that they add something to the gameplay and FIFA 06’s isn’t really a bad attempt, despite the inevitable one second lag between a goal being scored and the commentary catching up.
At the time of writing we’ve played around 40-50 matches and the game is still difficult to master, even on the easy settings. Scoring is hard enough to give you a real thrill and we’ve yet to come across a ‘killer’ move that guarantees a goal, the point at which interest generally wanes in football games. FIFA 06 is a solid title and one that deserves a look by fans of the series and casual football fans alike, but it doesn’t reignite the genre.
Graphics
The PSP’s small screen isn’t ideal for displaying the vast areas of pitch necessary to make the game playable, but the odd close-up shows the players to be well modelled. The stadia are nothing short of excellent - shame about the 2 dimensional crowds though 7/10
Sound
Decent attempt at commentary and ambient sound. The crowd’s language-ambiguous chanting get annoying after a while though - 7/10
Gameplay
Bizarrely tiring on the thumbs to play after a while, but great fun while you still have the stamina - 7/10
Verdict
Although Pro Evolution Soccer 5 is a strong challenger, FIFA 06 is a good footie title on the PSP and deserves a playtest. If you’re not a fan of football gaming this one won’t change your mind though - 7/10
January 17th, 2006
Game: Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Platform: PSP
Publisher: Rockstar
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
The GTA series is obscenely popular (in fact some would say just plain obscene after the Hot Coffee scandal), but even the most hardened fan would have to admit that since GTA 3 it’s been a case of same-old same-old. However, this new installment really is a case of deja-vu as we leap back to Liberty City where it all began for a PSP-exclusive dose of Mafiosi action.
Set in 1998 GTA: Liberty City Stories sees you take control of Tony, a Mafia heavy who returns to the town after laying low following a big job for the Don. He immediately falls back into his old ways and the crime spree commences.
The general format hasn’t changed. Steal a car (or a bike - that’s the new innovation for GTA:LCS) and head over to a gang-land boss’s hideout. He’ll give you a job and off you head to complete it by whatever means necessary. If you’re successful you’ll get some cash and move up the underworld ladder of badness. Screw up and you’ll end up busted, or worse, dead. However, this being GTA, even death won’t keep a good (bad) man down and you’ll show Lazurus-like abilities at the local hospital. The only permenant effect is a dent in your wallet.
In and around the main career path are a variety of mini-games; taxi driving, working as a paramedic, crazy driving stunts. All will earn you cash, or at the least, kudos.
Once again, you’ll find your immersion into the world of Liberty City is complete. The place feels lived in. It’s a pleasure just to steal a car and cruise around town. If the weather’s good, we’ve even taking to strolling along the sea-front.
The graphics are the best yet on the PSP and really push the handheld to the limits of its abilities. In a way this almost feels a shame as it’s hard to believe that there’s anywhere to go from here for the device, but for the moment just forget that you’re looking at a 3.5 inch screen and drink it all in.
If you thought the graphics were immersive, wait until you hear the sound. The ambient sound is remarkably detailed - cars passing, people arguing on street corners. The radio stations, which play whenever you get in a vehicle, are back but there is less variety than before. Even so, most of the DJs will have you in stitches the first time you hear them. Even once you do get bored, the ability is there to import your own playlists, adding even more to the feeling that you really live in Liberty City.
The only area where GTA:LCS is a let down is the controls. As a gamer I was brought up on the PC, not a console, so I’ve never been a fan of mouse-less gaming. Even allowing for my own deficiencies, the analogue stick makes steering, walking and even fighting a bit of a pig. More often than not you’ll end up going in the wrong direction as the camera pans wildly around. However, this is more of a flaw with the PSP in general than in the game, so there’s not much that Rockstar could have done to improve things.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is the standout title on the PSP so far and if you haven’t bought it yet then get yourself a copy before you do anything else.
Graphics
The best yet seen on the PSP. Good textures, good frame rate, great visuals - 9/10
Sound
Fantastic ambient sound and (as usual) an entertaining soundtrack - 8/10
Gameplay
As fun as GTA ever was, but the difficult controls just stop us awarding a 10 out of 10 - 9/10
Verdict
A “must own” game for all PSP fans. The fact that it’s exclusive to Sony’s hand held is certainly going to shift a lot of devices and we can find very little reason to doubt that it will stay a benchmark game for months, if not years, to come - 9/10
January 3rd, 2006
Game: Need For Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
Need For Speed has made its long awaited debut on the PSP and let’s get one thing straight from the off - it doesn’t disappoint. Falling neatly into the category of ’semi-authentic racer’ Need For Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0 delivers a tasty mix of arcade thrills with handling authenticity and it’s the first title we’ve seen on the PSP that actually ‘fits’ on the handheld. Of course, we’ve been reviewing NFSMW alongside Grand Theft Auto, so it’s all the more amazing that it remained a firm favourite in our main PSP even with the stiff competition from Rockstar’s magnum opus.
Followers of the Need For Speed series won’t need any introduction to the concept. Take a variety of cars that you could buy from the forecourt of your local garage and take them onto the streets of a fictional city, racing against like-minded underground racers. If you find success you’ll win the cash to start to upgrade your car, both in terms of performance and visuals. If you do really well you’ll start to unlock new cars which you can start to pimp up all over again adding ridiculous body kits and go faster stripes.
What makes NFSMW different is the addition of the cops. Other street racers, such as Burnout, see you cause complete destruction to whole city blocks without ever attracting the attention of the boys in blue. NFSMW is different. Every piece of agressive driving - breaking the speed limit, driving in the wrong carriageway, running cars off the road - sees your ‘heat level’ increase. At first the police will give chase in a fairly half-hearted way, but as the heat level rises, so does the interest of the law and before you kinow it you’re being chased by high-powered cop cars (and even vans) trying to run you off the road. They’ll try to make you stop, or get so far ahead that they can mount road-blocks or throw tyre-shredding stingers across the road. If you are stopped you’ve got three seconds to get going again or you’re busted and that’s the end of the race. At the very least the attention of the police slows you down and you’ll often find a winning position can get turned into last place in a matter of seconds thanks to a carefully placed roadblock.
The core of the game is a career mode which sees you start on the bottom rung of the illegal street-racing ladder. Win four events (there’s a variery of formats - time trial, race, tournament and heat challenges) and you’ll get the right to challenge the ‘boss’ racer above you in the ladder. See off the boss and you unlock a new level which might see new tracks and new challenges. There are fifteen levels in all and the difficulty level increases as you advance.
As a racing game, NFSMW doesn’t miss out in many areas. The tracks are interesting and have a myriad of shortcuts and alternative routes. The feeling of speed isn’t quite as intense as, say, Burnout, but then NFSMW is a different animal as it strikes a balance between arcade fun and realism. The compromise is just about perfect.
The controls are adequate. Although you can use the analog stick, we found it easier to use the direction buttons to steer. Accelarating and breaking use the right control buttons. Alas, applying the nitro for extra speed involves simultaneously holding down the accelerate and o buttons which requires a remarkable bit of finger-contortion. At the end of a long session we had index-finger ache. Despite these complaints you certainly feel part of the car and the difference in handling between vehicles, and even after applying new suspension upgrades, is noticeable.
The graphics are sub PS2. There’s no getting away from the fact that you’re looking at a handheld device, but they do the job. Lighting effects are nice and the cars are well rendered, even if a long way off photo-realistic.
Sound is a little tinny. The car engines tend to sound like buzzing bees, especially through the PSP’s built-in speakers. The typical EA rock soundtrack plays in the background throughout and actually adds to the game for once. Street racing and pumping bass seems to fit with boy (and girl) racers, but you’ll need the headphones to get the best out of it.
We heartily recommend Need For Speed Most Wanted 5-1-0 to anyone looking for a great handheld racer. It has technical failings, but on a pure gameplay level, it’s a winner.
Graphics
About as good as you would expect on a handheld, but not as good as GTA: Liberty City Stories has shown they could be - 8/10
Sound
Tinny sound effects, but nice tunes - 6/10
Gameplay
It’s just a racer, but an excellent one. The driving is fun and intuitive and the career mode is just difficult enough to provide a challenge while keeping the interest alive - 9/10
Verdict
The best racing game on the PSP to date, with enough variety to keep you coming back for more again and again. If only they could have slightly improved on the graphics and sound, this would be a handheld classic - 8/10
December 13th, 2005
Game: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Platform: PSP
Publisher: EA
Price: £29.99 (Amazon.co.uk)
Reviewer: Jay Neill (TechSmec.com staff)
The Harry Potter phenomenon is one that you either love, or hate. There is the obvious division along age lines - if you’re under 15 you probably think that the spectacled junior wizard is the best thing in English literature. However, it’s not always that simple with a lot of adults guiltily confessing that they preorder the next tome from Amazon for themselves and not just for their children. Can you apply the same profile to Harry Potter gamers? Well, whereas the books have a charm that cuts across the generations, the tie-in video games have, until now stayed locked firmly in the genre of ‘kiddy platform puzzler’.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the first film in the series to be released since the advent of the PSP and as such is the first game to get the handheld treatment. The movie’s director, Mike Newell, freely admits that such a doorstop-sized book had to be mercilessly cut to fit into a 2 hour timeframe, but surely the game, without any such time restrictions will cover the full range of the JK Rowling’s intended plot? Er no.
The game kicks off with a whistle stop summary of the Quidditch World Cup that forms the primary focus of the first few chapters. Before we know it the campsite is under attack from Death Eaters (followers of Lord Voldemort for the un-initiated among you) and Harry, Ron and Hermione are thrown in at the deep end, with the task of getting out of there. This opening level forms a gentle introduction to the gameplay to follow. Choose a character to control and set off down a predetermined path casting spells whenever you need to. At this stage two particular spells come in particularly handy - the Jinx and Carpe Retratum. The first is a simple weapon that makes the various beasties that come your way turn up their toes, the other allows you to pull various objects out of your way - rocks, tree trunks….more rocks. There’s not much of a challenge here, especially as the two non-playing characters do a lot of work for you and this is a theme that continues through much of the game. We would be surprised if you have any difficulty getting through the first level in one go and that’s the cue for another dramatic fast-forward through the book to Hogwarts while a husky voiceover fills you in on the plot that is being skipped past at full speed.
If you’re expecting some variety in gameplay then this is the point at which you start to doubt if this game is for you. The variety of spells and charms at your disposal increases, but the basic gameplay principles remain the same - run around, remove an obstacle, ‘kill’ a beastie, run some more. This is a departure from earlier games in the HP series which were strictly exploration / puzzlers. However, Harry is growing up and he likes to show this by dispatching salamanders and other nasties in a variety of entertaining ways. No doubt conscious of the fact that the game is aimed at children the developers have retained a healthy puzzle element, but in the early stages they aren’t much of a challenge, particularly as the solution is often printed up on the screen for you to read. There’s also little chance to get creative with casting spells. With only four spell-casting buttons to choose from the game decides which are available to you at any time, so approach a rock and you’ll be able to pull it out of the way. Walk up to a fire and you’ll be forced into casting an Aqua Eruptus to put it out. This lack of decision-taking tends to make you feel removed from the game and is a shame.
The visuals are good, in fact they are indistinguishable from the PS2 version. However, one of the PSP’s failings is that character detail is often too small to make out and the Goblet of Fire suffers from the same problem. We often found ourselves holding the screen right up to our noses in an attempt to make out what was going on. However, the day is saved by the quality of the environments which manage to defy the small size of the PSP screen and somehow envelop you while you play. The Hogwarts Exterior levels in the early part of the game are particularly good and you get a feel for the immense scale of the school. Cut scenes are cinematic to say the least and really show off the quality of the PSP screen.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a solid, yet unspectacular game which brings nothing new to the adventure/puzzle genre. The action never takes your breath away and the puzzles never make you rack your brains for too long. It is a kid’s game and that has to be borne in mind, but adults won’t find much here to get excited about.
Graphics
Good environments, but characters too small to score top marks - 7/10
Sound
OK, but unspectacular - 6/10
Gameplay
Repetitive action / puzzler. Controls are sluggish and the spinning camera sometimes makes it hard to work out where you’re going - 6/10
Verdict
Your kids will love it - adults may find that their interest wanes after a few levels. Harry Potter fans will probably make this an essential purchase, but we say there are better examples of the genre out there - 6/10
November 25th, 2005