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Welcome once again to our PSP launch bonanza in this third part of our game review roundup. Here we will give you the low-down on the games from N to W in the alphabet.
NBA Street Showdown
The moderately successful 'Street' series comes to the PSP with this basketball game that allows you to play with veteran players as well as the latest stars. There is variation as you can choose to play with different team sizes, up to 3 on 3 on the street courses. There is also a 'King of the Court' mode where you must take a player to the ranks of success, allowing customisation that fares well in the 'short burst' nature of the PSP playing method. The ability to play multiplayer is obviously there, but the addition of a game sharing ability is very impressive, allowing one game owner to 'seed' to three friends. The graphics and sound are also quite impressive, especially when considering that this is the first generation in PSP games.
Overall: A good effort at carrying the 'Street' series of basketball games onto the PSP. As basketball is pretty 'love it or hate it' in nature, it will only appeal to a certain clientele. The basic physics and simple controls may not be what 'realism seekers' want, but it does what it does well. The multiplayer is the real life bringer though. 7 out of 10.
NFL Street 2: Unleashed
The second 'Street' game, as discussed above, but this time it's NFL that gets the 'gritty' treatment. With a more complex game than basketball, this does not quite live up to the standards of the NBA game, but the 'off the wall' moves do add a new strategy to the whole American Football approach. The standard game is okay; if a little boring after a while, but the street events such as slaloms and stand offs do add a little bit of variation, especially in multiplayer. The graphics and sound are again impressive, if not as smooth as the NBA game. The sharing multiplayer for up to four players again adds to the value.
Overall: As good as you would expect when converting a full field sport into a back street event. The normal game gets boring, but the extras are more than enough to compensate. 6 out of 10.
Need For Speed Underground Rivals
Aside from having one of the worst titles in recent gaming, this is a fair attempt at translating the popular car modification racer to the PSP. American and Japanese cars feature in official forms and the modification opportunities are almost limitless. The various modes allow for speed shifting, skidding and basic street racing. The ambition must be admired, but the controls leave a lot of room for improvement. Quite simply, despite the impressive 'night' graphics and lighting effects, the game does not feel like a street racer. You are never given the feel of actually controlling anything of weight and proportion, despite all your modifications. The multiplayer adds a little as you can take on rivals for their vehicles, but the overall package feels limited by the controls and physics.
Overall: An overly ambitious title that seems to pride visuals and presentation of actual game content. Could have been great, but we recommend that you hold out for Burnout Legends as it should be a better game. 5 out of 10.
Ridge Racer
This is the game that many will pick up by default as the heritage of Ridge Racer and Sony console launches remains intact. But this should not be a default purpose, for one major reason - it is that good that it should be brought on its merits. As you would expect, it looks great and has multiplayer for those lucky enough to own individual copies of the game (no share option, sadly), but what really shines is the gameplay. This plays as good as any racing game we have ever played; it feels so smooth and the power-slides and 360s are all here and correct. With an extensive career mode that sees new, classic and 'reimagined' tracks, and a time trial mode, there is no limit to the enjoyment on offer. The only real down point is that it may be a little too 'unrealistic' for some as it is pure arcade action, with no damage and physics from a cartoon. But this is what gaming is all about - forget the real world, sit back, and play!
Overall: A true classic from day one. The best version of Ridge Racer ever, and one of the most enjoyable games that you can pick up on any console at the moment. Burnout Legends will have a lot to live up to in order to nab the best PSP racing crown. If this is what Namco can do with the PSP, we would happily embrace any future games they release on the format. 9 out of 10.
TOCA Race Driver 2
The 'career' racing game arriving on the PSP is quite a surprise when you consider that the game is supposed to span a lengthy and realistic career. But here it has been condensed suitably, whilst still including 15 motor sports for variation. As the career mode progresses, you can race even better vehicles, allowing a feel of development. But the entire roster can be trialled from the start, allowing a taste of the world of racing. It is in this ambition, however, that the game falls - each of the racing styles feels similar. In most cases it is difficult to differentiate between the styles, the feel is clunky no matter which car is being driven. The graphics and multiplayer options are all pretty good, but when there is a certain Ridge Racer available with a fairly decent career mode itself, this is difficult to recommend.
Overall: Nothing special, but nothing disappointing either. Were it not for better games, this may have been a possible recommendation. But as it is this will be the first game to suffer from 'fat kid at school' syndrome of being excluded in a better crowd. 5 out of 10.
Tony Hawks 2 Underground Remix
The skateboard classic comes to the PSP in style, by improving upon its bigger brother. The visuals are well on par with the PlayStation 2 version and actually look sharper on that shiny LCD display. With a full 'tour mode' that spans over 13 huge levels, and a multiplayer mode, there is no lack of substance here. The new team, classic and modification features are sheer brilliance in a package that would have already have been great. The controls have been simplified for the PSP, allowing tricks to be linked more easily, but actually allowing more impressive moves to be pulled off. With the best soundtrack this side of a customised one, this is what skate fans want.
Overall: Quite perfect as far as a handheld skateboard game goes. The only people who will not like this are those who hate skateboard games, and that is a fair few it must be said. But they would not play any skate game anyway, so they can buy their FIFAs and Tomb Raiders until the cows come home. 9 out of 10.
Virtua Tennis World Tour
This is a port of the classic Virtua Tennis 2 with an added few bonus games, but you must remember how good that the game actually is to appreciate this fact. The visuals are as good as you could want for an arcade tennis game; the ball and court are easily visible on the screen and the players resemble their real life counterparts. The single player modes are limited to just career, exhibition and tour (as well as the mini games already stated), but the game is so darn addictive that you will want to play through the tournament mode with every player on every difficulty level, just to be a true devotee to the game. The career mode sees the creation of a male and female team who must be groomed from 300 in the rankings up to the world number 1s, with much training and costume buying in the meantime. Whilst the controls are so simple, there is much strategy to games, and a rally feels as enjoyable as any 'one thousand hit combo' on a fighting game.
Overall: The best tennis game ever - check. A game to convert none tennis fans - check. The best sports game ever - possibly. 9 out of 10.
Wipeout Pure
The futuristic racing game is certainly not an obvious choice for a handheld console as the technology should not be expected to handle such speed. But the PSP is no ordinary handheld and it handles this whilst yanking your jaw to the ground. The game feature old and new tracks and ships, each suitably varied. The new ability to 'absorb' a power-up for energy rather than use it for destruction of speed gain is inspired. The strategy offered by this addition is the gaming equivalent to choosing whether to spend your money in McDonalds or give it to a homeless person, only with better graphics! The multiplayer and downloadable content really add to an amazing package. Quite simply, this is the game to really show off what the PSP can do, and it does that admirably.
Overall: Amazing. Speed and graphics and gameplay and action and, and, and! Sorry, there is nothing like this available on any handheld ever and so we have no way to explain its superiority. F Zero may well argue, but it would be out of its league. 9 out of 10.
Chris Barnett
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