PSP Go – A Great yet Ultimately Failed Project

I’ve now had my PSP Go for a little over 3 months and I felt the need to share my thoughts.

First off, I love my PSP Go. I only have 3 games for it and a handful of demos but what I can say is that they all look great. it still amazes me the graphical capabilities on such a small machine. By small I mean it fits into my pocket. It even fits in my jeans pocket WITH the soft cover. That’s impressive. Even though it’s so tiny, it still feels solid and not cheap.

Being able to load up a game directly from the systems is awesome. There is something to be said about being able to carry your library of games without literally carrying your library of games. If I had to carry all of my games around via UMD’s I’d probably not do it. I’d have a single game in the drive at all times while I’m out and about only to switch out when I was at home. I’d have to plan ahead and I really don’t want to bother.

It comes with 16 GB of internal storage. It seems that the memory size of PSP games vary anywhere from 50MB to 1.2GB. That’s a pretty large margin and the 3 games I have on my PSP Go take up roughly 3GB already. If this is any indication of the average size of a PSP game for download, you should burn through that 16GB rather quickly. Well I guess it’s a good thing that you can expand that memory with a memory stick micro. I believe the current maximum is an additional 16 GB effectively doubling the storage.

Movies look great on the Go. I often let the lil girl watch Cars on it. She loves the thing. Entertainment anywhere I say.

Bluetooth is a great feature. I’ve sent photos and music to and from my phone. The bluetooth also allows my PS3 controllers to connect to the PSP Go. A handy feature that I have not yet used but a handy feature no less.

Remote play has been a great feature for me. Syncing up the PSP Go to my PS3 was simple and has been very handy in the proper situations. I have a large catalog of photos residing on my PS3 and being able to access them at any time has been quite useful. If I’m visiting family I can show them pics of the kids from my PSP. It’s great! I can also remote play some games but I haven’t done enough of that to really comment. All I know is that for the one game I played remotely, it did not seem responsive enough. I haven’t done it again.

Now overall this is a very high quality system that has some great features. I am very glad to have it. Even so I’ll tell you what I think the problems are with this system and why it’s just not doing well in the market. I’m sure everyone will agree with my first point.

The price point is unreasonable. $250 for a portable system when you can purchase a PS3 for $300. That’s only a $50 difference. It makes even less sense when you can get a standard PSP 3000 for about $170 which does almost the exact same thing as a PSP Go does plus it plays UMD’s.

Next big problem would be that the price of the download versions of UMD’s are typically equal to (if not more expensive than) their UMD counterparts. I don’t care how they argue it, a downloaded version of a game should be discounted. Publishers don’t have to go through the expense of creating a disc or packaging. Heck they don’t have to even worry about shipping costs. This savings should be passed on to the consumer.

Another problem with the download only concept is that not all UMD games are actually available for download. Prime example would be Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. Now if you are trying to push a download only gaming device, all the games should be available for it. I’m just sayin.

The biggest hurdle of the PSP Go to be successful is the total lack of support from Sony. They started off so gung ho about it last year but now you only hear about it in hushed tones. Hell even the PSP 3000 has more support than the PSP Go. They still make UMD’s and they come out with different PSP 3000 bundles monthly it seems. It’s very obvious at this stage that the PSP Go was a testing ground for the PSP2. Yes I know, the PSP2 hasn’t been announced yet but there are rumors aplenty and that’s all that’s needed for a large sum of people to just wait it out. At a price point of $250, I’d say they are right to do so. Actually, the fact that they aren’t bothering to support the PSP Go is further proof that they are working on a PSP2.

My opinion still stands that the PSP Go is an awesome system. A failed yet awesome system. It’s only failure is that Papa Sony just has no pride in his child. He loves the older brothers so much more and the PSP Go is treated as the red headed stepchild of the family.

Way to go Sony. Way to go.

Mushroom Wars

Simply put – I love this game. It’s so simple yet satisfying. I would liken it to a very very simplified RTS (real time strategy) game. I remember my first time playing Warcraft and Warcraft 2. I loved those games. You create units and send them off to harvest wood or gold. With these supplies you upgrade your buildings and units. You send your units to defeat the opposing forces. Pretty simple wouldn’t you say? Well Mushroom Wars is even simpler. You start with 1 or multiple mushroom “bases”. Each of these bases generates mushroom units at a steady pace. The speed at which the base generates units depends on the level of the base. In order to upgrade your base you sacrifice your units. So in essence your units are your defense/offense as well as your currency. You can send your units to other bases (either neutral or opponent controlled) and if you are lucky enough to defeat the forces, the base becomes yours. As you send the units to other bases, obviously the units in the base you sent them from dwindle. You can choose 100%, 75%, 50%, or 25% of your units to go from one base to the one of your choosing. You can of course divvy your units across all bases but that’s not always the best solution. With this basic tactic of moving units from base to base, you can play defense as well as offense. Learning where to send units and at what time is key to success. You can also convert your bases into towers or forges but I won’t get into these details. You’ll just have to find out on your own.

Does  this simplicity detract from the overall enjoyment of the game? Absolutely not, it actually makes it quite charming. The fast paced action, colorful and crisp graphics, and catchy beats makes this a must have game from the PSN.

Totally a $9.99/9.99

My Saweeet PSPGo Deal

Current prices at Dell.com & PSN as of August 16th 2010:

PSPGo = $249.99
PSPGo Cradle = $24.99
PSPGo Soft Case = $11.99

SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo = $39.99
Little Big Planet = $19.99
Ratchet & Clank = $14.99

Grand Total (excluding shipping/tax) = $361.94

Price I got it for on June 11th 2010:

Pearl White PSPGo (Dell Special)= $149.99
PSPGo Cradle = $24.99
PSPGo Soft Case (Dell Special)= $10.99

SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo = PSPGo 3 game promotion
Little Big Planet = PSPGo 3 game promotion
Ratchet & Clank = PSPGo 3 game promotion

Shipping = free
Tax = $11.16

Grand Total = $197.13

Exchange of 17,498 Sony Rewards Points for $174.98

Final price for the entire package = $22.15

I’m sitting pretty 😀

-MY- Demon’s Souls Review

Been sitting in my “to publish” list for over 4 months now. Figured I might as well publish it.

You know, I’ve actually beat this game twice (which is unheard of lately for me) and have yet to write a review on it. Why you may ask? Well the fact is that I consider it such a great game that I don’t even know if I could do it justice in describing it. I know this will be a long winded review so I’ll put my rating at the beginning rather than the end for your convenience ;D

I’m saying the deluxe edition of this game is well worth $80/$66.99 <— what I spent on it

For the standard edition that is currently available I’d say $60/$60 Totally worth the full price

What I consider so great about Demon’s Souls:

The biggest thing that makes this game great is that it doesn’t try to be any other game out there. It is its own unique creature. I guess you could lump it into the category of action rpg but it’s so much more than that.

Gameplay is superb. I love fighting the enemies in this game. Granted there are a few boss battles that I wouldn’t mind just not ever battling again. There is a definite weight to the battles. Each enemy seems to have substance. It’s like you are actually fighting something real. When your sword hits them, it feels like your hitting an object and not just swinging at air. When they block, you feel that block. Same when they swing at you. If you block or parry, it feels real. There is a true sense of accomplishment to defeating enemies because of this. In contrast, most hack and slashers allow your weapon to go through enemies like a hot knife through butter. This is rather unrealistic and it actually makes killing enemies kind of boring. It’s kinda like, would you rather swing a sledge hammer against a car door or a pile of pillows. Yeah, that’s what I’m talkin bout.

People complain about the difficulty in this game and I say shadddup ya babies. Difficulty is quite high but not impossible. What makes the game hard is that we’ve been spoon fed so many games that once we are forced to work for our food, we don’t know how to handle it. It’s only as difficult as YOU make it. Playing it like a standard button mashing hack and slash will kill you quickly. Hell the first enemy will kill you if you try the button mashing technique. This game forces you to relearn how a game is played. It forces you to be patient and alert. Running into the fray will only get you killed. Once you get surrounded, there is little chance of escape. This is even with the easy enemies.

This comes to another point about this game… Unlike in… well most if not all other games, enemies were put in Demon’s Souls to kill you… they weren’t put in the game for you to kill. This is a huuuuge part of why this game is different from many many other games out there. You have to constantly be alert and aware of your surroundings. It’s almost certain death if an enemy pulls a backstab on you.

The musical score is minimal if any. I only recall a little bit of music in the intro movie. In game I don’t recall any music at all. I only recall the sounds of enemy armor clanking, dragons breathing fire, barrels exploding and my own spirit being lifted away when I die. This is by no means a bad thing. There is more of a sense of loneliness and realness to it. I mean seriously, how often do you hear music blaring in the background as you’re taking a walk or working? I guess that’s where mp3 players come in. Anyway I feel it adds to the ambiance and it feels great.

Graphics are beautiful and dark all at the same time. It’s a lonely dirty world and Demon’s Souls portrays it perfectly. There are areas that are so dark in fact that you can barely see a car length in front of you. That’s of course if they had cars in the game. In these areas you need to be extra careful because enemies can get the surprise on you. Depending on the enemy it could be certain death. It creates tension almost all the time. Perhaps too much tension even.

Online play is unique to say the least. While playing online I still feel as if I’m playing solo. It’s the only lonely online multiplayer game that I have ever played. By lonely I mean that even though you have 2 others by your side in battle, they are distant. There is no traditional chat system. You can’t talk to them and you cant text them. It’s strange but in an odd way satisfying. You don’t have to get to know them. You just need to know if they have your back. It may be considered a flaw to some but I rather like it.

I really could go on and on but I won’t. Just wanted to say that this is definitely on my top 10 favorite games of all time. Even so I don’t think this game is for everyone. In fact I don’t think it’s for a large sum of the gamers out there. It’s for people like me. Some of the 30 somethings who grew up on difficult games like Contra, Ghosts’n Goblins, Ninja Gaiden, and Rush’n Attack. We never gave up. If it was tough, we’d try harder. If we died a lot, we’d just keep dying but we didn’t care. There was a simple goal. Beat the game even though there really wasn’t a story or even a real ending to most of those games. It was punishing but fun. This is what Demon’s Souls is to me. An updated version of the games I played back when. I’ve got no complaints.

Holiday Loot

Ok so the gifting season is over and I was just wondering what everyone got.

I was hoping to get Star Trek on Blu-ray but the ante was dramatically upped without me knowing it. Instead of getting what I was hoping for, three of my sisters and two brothers pitched in and got me a $100 gift card to Target and a brand new 250GB PS3. Yeah talk about a significant difference in what you want and what you get. Understand that this is not a typical family gift. It’s like going on a loot run in Diablo 2. It takes about 32 runs to get anything worth keeping 😛

Granted the PS3 isn’t completely for me, it’s probably more for the lady but I’ll probably be using it quite a bit as well. Family got it so that when Final Fantasy XIV gets released next year, we’ll both be able to hit the ground running. That’s gonna be good times.

I also wanted to mention that Sony has always done quite well with packaging their hardware. Just check out the corrugated sweetness holding the PS3 in place! That is some impressive package design work there I tell ya (ok that was the packaging geek comin out).

My only gripe with Sony is that both of my PS3’s only came with composite cables… How could you possibly tout a high definition system when it can’t provide high definition right out of the box? Just doesn’t make any sense. I figured the new slims would be shipped with HDMI cables but I guessed wrong.

Well I hope everyone else got what they wanted (and thensome). Keep gaming through the new year and just plain have fun!

PS I’ve ordered Star Trek and District 9 (which has the GoW 3 demo) from Amazon so I’m covered. Got everything and more this holiday!

My Resident Evil 5 (CE) Preorder

As the days have gone by and I’ve had more time to think, I’m doubting my preorder of this game.

I am a huge fan of the Resident Evil series and I absolutely loved RE4. That being said, it’s natural that I would want this game. I have also preordered it at an awesome discounted price. I’d say that $74.99 total (free shipping & no tax) is awesome considering that the Collector’s edition runs for $89.99 plus shipping and handling at most other online retailers.

There’s more than one issue that’s bothering me about the preorder. First off, I’ve played the demo and the fact is… I’m not really sold on the gameplay. I know that I’ll love the story because I love the series and I always want to know more. I just couldn’t get used to the controls and physics. I think I got a little spoiled with Dead Space. The controls were tight (aside from lack of a 180° turn) and the weapons had a real solid feel. When you shot something, it felt like you were hitting it hard. RE5 feels like you’re shooting with a BB gun.

Secondly, I doubt there will be a shortage of collector’s editions. If I wait it out, I’ll probably see a stack of them on an endcap somewhere for 50% off or so.

Which brings me to the third issue. I have too many games to play as it is. Even if I were to get this game on release day, it would inevitably sit on my shelf for the next year before I started playing it.

I know that I’ll be getting this game eventually. It’s a question of whether it’s sooner or later. So the question I leave you with is this:

Is it worth my time to get it on release day at a roughly $15 – $20 discounted price just to let it sit on the shelf for an unknown amount of time? Or should I just wait until I find the CE on sale somewhere else in the late future when I actually have time to play it?

PlayStation Home Beta

Check it out!

I was Invited! 😀

I’m kind of excited but at the same time I don’t want to be disappointed. Wish me luck.

Another Toys R Us visit

Just the other week there was a deal at Toys R Us that was a buy one get one (Playstation 2, Playstation 3, PSP) game half off. Naturally I went to check it out and see what was available and to my liking. There really wasn’t anything that I was dying to have but there was the standard bargain bin. In it there was Def Jam Icon, Virtua Fighter 5, Ratatoulle and Gundam Crossfire all for the PS3. Each was priced at 9.98 and the buy one get one half off was active for these as well. On top of that it was 20% off clearanced items! I have played the Icon demo and I found it to be pretty fun. Definitely not a $60 price point game but for this deal it was a steal. I decided to get Icon and Gundam which ended up costing me roughly $13.50. Can you honestly beat 2 Playstation 3 games for less than $14? I absolutely love bargains!

Grand Theft Auto IV

All I can say is… don’t expect any updates soon 😉