Retro Downloadable Content Part 1

With downloadable content becoming more and more popular, and with the ability to download it onto pretty much any system, I thought I might take a minute to list off some of the retro games I'd like to see available for download, hopefully in the near future. As a portable gaming enthusiast, I'm going to make two lists. One for retro games I'd like to be able to download onto my PSP. The second list will be for the DSi and its DSi Ware store. The DSi list will technically be pointless simply because Nintendo will need to release a Virtual Console for GameBoy, GameBoy Color and possibly GameBoy Advance games for the DSi before any of my wishlist for it can come to be.10 Retro Games (Or Series Of Games) I'd Like To See On The Playstation Network (PSP List):

-The first games that come to mind are the Quake series. They may not be as retro as games like the original Mario, but they still take me back. If I had to settle for only one game in the series, it would have to be Quake 1. There was just something about that game that made me play it over and over. I'd love to be able to have a portable version to take with me. (They made Quake for the Pocket PC, why not for the PSP?)

-Another series I'd like to be able to download is the Hexen series. I know most of you have no idea what those games are, so I'll sum up. Hexen and Hexen 2 were basically Quake-like games, but with swords and axes instead of shotguns and nailguns. The gameplay was extremely similar to Quake, but with a medieval twist to it that I loved.

-With the rumors of Sega Dreamcast games coming to the Playstation Network, I thought I'd include a couple of them in this list. (Yes, I'm counting the Dreamcast games as a "series".) The orignal Soul Caliber would be an excellent game to download, though unlikely with an actual PSP version of the game coming out. Phantasy Star Online Episodes 1 & 2 were awesome on the Dreamcast and could only be better as PSP downloads. Sonic Adventure, while straying from the original side scroller versions of the game, was still amazing; I'd definitely like to play that on my PSP.

-Two PSOne games that I'd like to be able to download are Megaman Legends 1 & 2. They took the world of Megaman and made it into an RPG that was different than pretty much any other RPG. I really want both to become available on my PSP.

-With the release of Final Fantasy 7 as a download and the recent release of Final Fantasy 8 in Japan, I'd just like to say: "Keep it up!" I want to play some good old Final Fantasy 9 on my PSP, so just keep releasing them.

-Although this choice seems unlikely to happen, it would be cool if Lucas Arts' Grim Fandango became available. I loved the game for many reasons and still do, but it's becoming hard to find anywhere.

-Speaking of Lucas Arts, there are a couple other games from their lineup that would make excellent downloads. Obviously the Monkey Island games would be great, but I especially want to be able to play Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantas again. The game was similar to the original Monkey Island, but was based in the world of Indy. Nothing like a game where you get to outsmart Nazis to lighten your mood.

-While we're on the topic of Nazis, I know that Wolfenstein 3d, that classic Nazi hunter FPS, was released on the Playstation Network (PSN), so that won't be on my list, but what about some other classic FPSs? Doom or Duke Nukem, anyone? I know I'd like that.

-Does anyone remember the Descent games? If not, I feel sorry for you. I'm pretty sure there were only 3 of them. These truly great spaceship/FPS games were some of my favorites. At the time they came out, they had high end, 3d graphics, but now, they seem like they would run perfectly on a PSPs screen. These 3 games are probably the least likely to be released, but a guy can hope, right?

-For the last on my wishlist, I'm casting my fishing pole of hopes into the sea of retro gaming downloadable content and hoping to pull out a very obscure title: MDK. MDK was one of the strangest 3rd person shooters I've ever played, but one of the most addicting. With an odd assortment of weapons and items, which included a hand mounted gattling gun, mini-nukes, and a built in, retractable, reusable parachute, MDK changed how I think about shooters. This game also seems unlikely to ever be released, due to how obscure a title it is, but I'm going to keep my eyes out for any sign of it.

Well, that's my wishlist for the Playstation Network. Some seem more likely than others, but I really hope I'll get to see all of them available one of these days.

Watch for my DSi list to come in the next little while.

PSP Go... Again

Okay, I'm not trying to beat a dead horse with a stick here, but I've found out some interesting things about the PSP Go that I thought I might share with you. Yes, I know that I've already done 2 articles about it, but I just thought these few articles were interesting.

First off, I found this article on one of my favorite gadget sites. It's a pretty detailed review of the PSP Go. In the article they give a pretty informed opinion on the upsides and downsides of the Go. I highly recommend checking out the review. The review is a bit lengthy, but I think it's worth the read if you're as interested in the Go as I am.

The second article is from the same website. Basically, the article explains that, while they did try, Sony will not be releasing a converter to transfer your old UMD games to digital format... yet. A lot of people are still hoping for some way to get their old UMD games onto the PSP Go, but apparently there are a lot of legal issues in the way that are preventing Sony from releasing one. I can understand that. While Sony owns the rights to the UMD format, it's the game and movie companies themselves that own the rights to what is contained on said UMD. There would need to be universal allowance from the developers of the games before a UMD converter could be realized. But I, along with several others apparently, are still keeping our hopes up for something to come in the future.

Although the converter is a no-go, Sony is going to try to placate customers and boost sales of the PSP Go by expanding the selection on the PlayStation Network. On October 1st of this year (the same day the PSP Go is released) Sony will be increasing the amount of titles in the store to include more than 225 games, 2,300 movies, and 13,300 TV episodes, which, to me, sounds nice, but I'll hold judgement until I see what titles will be added. Who knows? They could just be adding a bunch of dumb games. Also, while the Playstation Network does sell normal, full length, large games, they will be introducing smaller, cheaper games called PSP Minis. The PSP Minis are Sony's attempt to combat the casual gamers who turn to the Apple iPod Touch for cheaper, easier titles. This sounds pretty cool, but again, I'll hold off judgement until I've tried a few of them.

The hardware has been changed slightly as well. Other than the obvious changes such as a smaller screen, the slide out controls, and no UMD drive; the analog stick has been moved to what people are calling "an awkward place for people who are used to the PSP 3000". Also, instead of the usual USB mini port, the PSP Go has been given a proprietary USB port, which means that none of the old PSP accesories are going to work with the Go.
All in all, I'm still really tempted to go pick up a PSP Go when they come out, but a voice is telling me to wait for a couple of reasons, which are: With a new sell price of $250.00, my wallet wants me to either wait for a price drop, or until I see a used system in a Game Stop. Or, wait and see if a better system comes out, such as the rumored/hoped for PSP2. Second, I do want to wait and see if, somehow, Sony is able to devise a way to digitize all my old UMDs. I just have too much money invested in those little discs to set them aside.

Batman: Arkham Asylum

Finally, a super hero video game that actually is not so bad. And by not so bad, I mean good.

And by good, I mean fantastic. And that still doesn't begin to cover it.

Having played the game the day it came out and beat it within a few days, I can say that it is a very well-made game. Only a handful of games have made me want to play it non-stop until it has been completed before this game came out. This game is now added to that list.

PS3 Box Art for the game.

For what I expected from a game where I can play Batman, the game delivers. It has stealth. It has fighting. And if you get good enough at it, you can take down large groups while doing both. Which I did, a lot.

The game even has a story, too. And is voiced by very recognizeable actors. Mark Hamill voiced the Joker; and Kevin Conroy as Batman. All the voices were done particularly well. The story itself is somewhat a stereotypical one; Batman had just captured the Joker and was taking him back to Arkham Asylum. When they get there and deep into the asylum, Joker breaks free and unleashes a plan that had been in the works for a very long time.

"I set a trap, and you sprung it gloriously!" taunts the Joker as Batman attemts to catch the Joker for the first time.

It is not just the Joker that you face in the game. You run across several villains from the series, and come across even more momentos from other villains that did not get to make a major appearance. Still, the ones who did appear were very interesting, such as Bane, Poison Ivy, Killer Croc, and Scarecrow. The Joker unleashes them all on Batman as a distraction so his evil plan can be completed in time and have no real interruptions from Batman.

Killer Croc looking at Batman.

At Your disposal is some typical Batman tools and gadgets. He was never really a hero with true super powers, and this makes no exception. He has batarangs, a grappling hook, and various high-tech gadgets that allow him to disable security doors or blow things up. He also has an X-ray vision of sorts (called "Detective Mode")that allows him to see through walls and tell whether an enemy is armed or not.

As stated earlier, the fighting system is rather impressive. It includes both fisticuff fighting, and stealthily taking down opponents. When Opponents are armed with guns, Stealth is typically the best option to go with. But there are several moments when the straight brawling was the best way to go. I will admit that the fighting portion is basically button-mashing with making sure you have the joystick pointing in the right direction, but even with that in mind the button-mashing aspect is made up for by how awesome the fighting ended up looking every single time. However, being a fan of stealth games like Splinter Cell, I preferred doing the stealthy takedowns as often as the game would allow me. I would even repeat a scene several times so that I could do the stealth and not be seen once.

Batman, using his super-vision to see through a wall (that can be destroyed) and looking at an escaped convict that is armed.

To make it even more awesome, the game featured an incredible variety of upgrades and hidden treasures for Batman to find. The largest collection is The Riddler's challenges. He left 240 clues and objects around all of Arkham Asylum for Batman to find. And while it feels like the upgrades are in general not required, they make the game a lot more fun and easier. One upgrade is being able to throw three batarangs instead of one, for example.

Koubo's score of the game: 4.5 out of 5.

Even with all of this awesomeness, there are still a couple of flaws that keep it from getting a perfect score.

As Bryson pointed out when I was playing the game, I was in detective mode a lot. And it was true. I was aiming to get all of the hidden objects, which required me to be in Detective mode for probably 70-85% of the game. And it was very helpful to be in that mode while doing stealth, since with it you could get a feel on where all of the bad guys were wandering in the room.

Another thing, and this is something I will dock every game that doesn't include it for, is the lack of the final boss having more than one form. You face the Joker in the end. But you don't face him as he is. You just watch him transform into a monster, then defeat his monster form. Then the game ends. No second form. Boo.

Other than those two things, it is an incredible game with very high replay value. That is a rare statement for a video game using a superhero. Too rare.

~Koubo

Little Big Planet--First Impressions

Little Big Planet (PS3) has probably been one of the most revolutionary games released recently. Instead of just playing prebuilt and preloaded levels, gamers have the option to build their own levels and share them with all the other people in the world online. Also, the sackboys (the name of the cute little characters you play as) are vastly customizable with both items you can obtain in the levels of the game and premade costumes you can download from the PS network.

The level of customizability in this game is staggering. I've seen people with Kratos (God of War) sackboys and I've heard there's going to be a Sephiroth Sackboy (Final Fantasy VII). I've also played levels themed after Super Mario Bros., Mortal Kombat, and Patapon. There are so many different levels to play, you could play the game for 24 hours straight and never repeat a level unless you really want to. And not all of the levels are going to be the same. Some are going to be platformesque levels while others will be racing.

One thing I love about this game is that it's always multiplayer. And it's not that you can play multiplayer, it's more that you'll want to play multiplayer. The game is just so much more fun that way.

The gameplay for Little Big Planet is fairly simple. You move across a level until you reach the judging platform at the end. You can run, jump, and grab onto most things (birds, cars, each other, or monkeys). Each level has elements from different genres of games. You are going to have to solve puzzles, but they aren't going to be the type you wrack your brains about for hours. Some will be as simple as sticking a flower sticker on a branch so that a giraffe lifts it's head to let you into a room. While the controls are fairly simple, some of them add a strange element of fun to the game. You can use the D-pad on your controller to change your Sackboy's expression from scared to angry to happy. You can also use the triggers to control your arms, which allows you to smack other players around. (This is especially helpful when another player won't stop grabbing onto you.)

This is one of the few games I've ever played where the main goal is to have fun, which you almost always will (even when you have to restart a level 3 times). Every time I've played it, I've spent a good amount of time laughing at the crazy yet truly funny things that have happened.

Right now, the game is only available on the PS3, but a version for the PSP is slated for release in the holiday season of 2009. If they keep the PSP version just like the PS3 version, it should do quite well. I'm excited for it for sure.

The good points:

Simple, fun and addictive gameplay make this a great title for anyone with a PS3 to own. The game also has great replay value thanks to people always making new levels for it.

The bad points:

Honestly? The only bad things I can think of in this game is that you have to pay to download some of the costumes and level packs. (Albeit, you don't have to pay very much.)

My score:

5 out of 5. It really is one of the best party games I've ever played. It puts games like Mario Party to shame.

PSP Go Revisited

Ok, so the point that I tried to get across with my last article about the PSP apparently wasn't taken the way it was supposed to. No, I wasn't trying to infer that Sony is replacing the original PSP with the Go. They are going to be selling both alongside each other. You will still be able to buy disc versions of games as well as some downloadable versions of the games.

The point I was trying to make in the last article was this: If you decided to buy a PSP Go, would it or would it not replace your original PSP? If Sony decides to start making every game a disc version as well as a download, would you start just downloading all your games? (Note: it probably won't happen this way. Making all of their games into two different versions would be hard and time consuming. Plus, PSP games are usually big files and would have extremely long download times.) I've heard rumors both ways. I've heard that the PSP Go is going to have a totally different library with games specific to it, but I've also heard that it's going to have normal PSP games available for download. I'm inclined to believe that they will be releasing games in both disc and digital format, mainly because they will make more money that way.

The news I've heard from E3 is that they are making the PSP Go a gaming system for people who don't want to bother with physical media. To me, it would only make sense to have normal PSP games available for download. If they really are just trying to make this Sony's version of the iPod Touch, then I really don't think it would do as well as Sony is hoping. Which is a problem. The iPod Touch has already been made and does well, but other companies keep trying to make their own version of it with their own version of the app store, none of which can match the vastness of the Apple App Store. It would be more innovative for Sony to make a system that can download normal games from a store to be played on the PSP Go.

Granted, if Sony doesn't decide to release all games as disc and digital, they'll probably still make money from people that feel the need to have both an original PSP and a Go.

I don't know. I don't think there has been enough information released about the PSP Go's game library, really. A lot of what I'm talking about is just speculation on both sides of the field.

The best link that I could find that says anything about how games will be released is this: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10254798-1.html and it seems to me that they are being doomsayers about UMDs. Which brings up an interesting thought: How soon until all gaming systems use a digital format? Will it actually happen? But, they do mention that games released for the PSP Go will also be released on UMD. I know it might seem redundant to release games for two systems, but I thought of a good reason why they should release games as both downloads and UMDs. When a company releases a game, they usually will release it for more than one system, right? (X-Box 360, PS3 and Wii, right now.) Why do they do this? Because not everybody has all three systems, so to make sure that they sell enough games, they release it for more than one system. The same will go for the PSP and the PSP Go. Not everybody is going to have both systems. Most people are going to have one or the other. So, to ensure that they still sell enough copies of a new game, and to appeal to both groups of people, Sony would probably want to release both digital and disc copies of games.

I guess what it all boils down to, in my opinion, is this: If Sony were to release all games as disc and digital, they would do something that no other video game specific company has done. (I'm not counting the iPod Touch because it's not made by a video game company.) Make a handheld, portable system more portable. Think about it. If you didn't have to truck all of your discs and cartridges around with your PSP or DS, the system would probably come with you to more places.

Yes, I know that what I've said in this article is not all fact, it's opinion. So, deal with it.

But, I could be wrong. Let me know what you think in the comments.

PSP Go

Now that the "worst kept secret of E3" is out of the bag, I'd like to get opinions on what everybody thinks about Sony's new PSP Go. Does the fact that it has no disc drive make people not want to get one? Or does the fact that you no longer have to carry around discs to play it make you want to get one? For me, I'm torn between the two. I like the idea of having a hard drive in my PSP and only having to carry around the system with no discs, but I worry that I'll have to re-purchase my old favorite games again. It probably won't happen, but I know a lot of people are hoping Sony will allow people to input the unique information from their disc versions of games so that they can download digital copies of them. But, as I said, this probably won't happen. There's too much risk for pirating.

But, what do the rest of you think? Do any of you have plans to purchase a PSP Go? Why or why not?

~Bryson