GamesRadar - PSP Previews

SBK-08 - first look (SBK-08)

23/04/2008

Regardless of whether you had any affinity for motorbike games, there was no denying SBK-07 was a bit on the hard side. There were options aplenty to mess about with so that there were umpteen degrees of slavish simulation, but there were a couple of notable problems which prevented the game from surging to the front of the two-wheeled racer pack.

Firstly, there wasn’t a whole lot of eye candy on offer - aside from the umbrella ...

Secret Agent Clank (Secret Agent Clank)

10/03/2008

Ever since Jak's ottsel sidekick scored with his self-titled Daxter, we've been dying for another sidekick-centric spin-off. The wait is over, as Ratchet's partner in platforming gets his Bond on in the upcoming Secret Agent Clank. While it's similar to the Ratchet games, this spy-themed spinoff - based on a TV show that Clank stars in - adds gadgets and stealth play to the bolt-collecting mix. As the plot unfolds, Ratchet becomes the target of ...

Sega Genesis Collection - updated hands on (Sega Mega Drive Collection)

17/11/2006

With the releases of the PS3 and Wii dwarfing just about everything else happening with videogames, its easy to forget that there are games for other platforms. Sega, however, is doing its part to keep the dream alive by choosing this rather questionable time to re-release a PSP collection of 28 games originally released between 1989 and 1996 for the Sega ...

Sega Genesis Collection - hands-on (Sega Mega Drive Collection)

18/10/2006

At the tail end of 80s, the Sega corporation introduced us to the 16-bit machine-god Genesis. Although this ancient deity decayed into obscurity long ago, Sega Genesis Collection seeks to reconvert the American herd with a compilation of 28 games released between 1989 and ...

Sega Rally: PS3 into PSP will go (Sega Rally)

28/08/2007

Aug 28, 2007 Sega's brand-new Sega Rally has got a lot to live up to. Few games can attract gamers over a decade after release (especially early 3D titles), but the feeling of weight, roll and momentum in 1995's Sega Rally is still as convincing now as it was on its release. We've already had a look at the PS3 and Xbox 360 version of the 2007 reimagining of the game, but now we've got the previously unseen PSP version in our hands. Can it possibly measure up to the console versions? Deep ...

Silent Hill Origins - further impressions (Silent Hill: Origins)

21/08/2007

Aug 21, 2007 By now, its pretty obvious that if you wind up in thick fog staring at the “Welcome to Silent Hill” sign, then it means youve an unresolved skeleton or two in your closet. Nobody stumbles upon the town by accident, and thats exactly why we expect trucker Travis Grady is harbouring a guilty secret. He begins the game pursuing a girl he thinks hes knocked over, which eventually leads him to the towns dreaded hospital - home to many a familiar monstrous nurse who display ...

Silent Hill Origins - updated impressions (Silent Hill: Origins)

23/04/2007

When we last saw Silent Hill Origins, it was something of an abomination, and we don't mean that in a good way. Sure, it was kind of cool to see the series go all Resident Evil 4, with an over-the-shoulder view and a bigger focus on action, but it wasn't scary, and it sure as hell wasn't Silent Hill. A lot of fans didn't react well to the gameplay shift, and for months, rumors circulated that the game had been canceled. It turns out the rumors were half-right. Silent Hill Origins, or at least ...

Silent Hill Origins - hands-on (Silent Hill: Origins)

24/08/2006

The over-the-shoulder gameplay of Resident Evil 4 is popping up in a lot of PSP titles these days. Miami Vice used it, Gun Showdown will use it and now - blasphemy of blasphemies - Silent Hill Origins will too. We've finally had a chance to play the handheld prequel to the landmark horror series, and so far, it's shaping up to be a lot more action-oriented than its moody predecessors. Starring a bearded trucker named Travis, Origins will finally reveal how the sleepy town of Silent Hill was ...

Silent Hill Origins (Silent Hill: Origins)

17/05/2006

One of the more mysterious games at last week's E3, appropriately enough, was Silent Hill Origins. According to Konami, that was intentional - the best way to get people interested is with mystery. With only a confusing video trailer full of images of a trucker in the night, meat hooks and a house full of disturbed spirits, we still aren't sure what the game is all about. Click "movies" up above to see it for yourself. We do know that this new PSP version of the popular series is not, as was ...

Pre-E3 06: Silent Hill Origins first look (Silent Hill: Origins)

9/05/2006

Fans of Silent Hill who were disappointed by the movie's endless exposition can get a different, more interactive look into the town's history this winter. In Silent Hill Origins for the PSP, they'll step into the boots of a waylaid trucker who finds himself trapped in the town somewhere between South Carolina and Hell. Set before the first game, this prequel will finally reveal what happened to make Silent Hill the way it is. Konami has promised that the game won't reveal too much of the ...

The Simpsons Game - hands-on (The Simpsons Game)

12/10/2007

We've played a fair few Simpsons games in our time. It goes with the job - there have been so many they're hard to avoid, like the Army Men games, or Dynasty Warriors (just considerably better). But none have really gone down as classics in the Videogaming Bible of all Things Great (if such a thing existed obviously). It looks like this might be about to change, however, with a game that comes from both the company who (arguably) knows most about videogames, EA, and the people who (unarguably) ...

The Simpsons Game (The Simpsons Game)

1/10/2007

Oct 1, 2007 Theres never been a game that truly captured the The Simpsons essence. Not that thats stopped them from being successful - Hit & Run was one the all-time biggest selling PS2 games. So when The Simpsons Games Executive Producer Scot Amos began work on EAs first crack at the license, he knew that the only way forward was to rip up the yellow rulebook and start ...

The Sims 2: Castaway (The Sims 2: Castaway)

31/08/2007

Aug 31, 2007 The Sims 2: Castaway, or "Sims 2: Guess where the idea for this came from," as we're renaming it. Clearly a Sims game - we'd recognize that mix of skill building, house construction and clothes making anywhere - EA have ignored Ubisoft's Lost license and made their own version of the TV show. Washed up on a beach, the name of the game is building a community with mysterious "other" Sims (read: the Others). A more plot-led experience this time, reaching certain skill milestones ...

The Sims 2: Pets (The Sims 2: Pets)

1/08/2006

In an announcement that will likely send more than a few Nintendoggies to the pound, EA is letting several different breeds of The Sims 2: Pets off the leash in October. Your addictive sims family won't be complete until you've adopted one of over 40 breeds of dogs and cats that you'll be able to customize, breed, train and dress up. Highly trained pets can even take jobs in the service, show business or security industries as seeing-eye dogs, circus acts or ferocious attack... kittens. But ...

Smash Court Tennis 3 (Smash Court Tennis 3)

1/06/2007

Baseball this, basketball that. There's more than one athletic pastime that emerges once the snow has melted and the sun begins to shine. The Anglo sport of champions returns later this year, and one of tennis's most renowned franchises receives a slap shot over to the PSP in the inimitable form of Smash Court Tennis 3. And it brings with it an assortment of circuit pros and twice the customizable features of its ...

Snoopy vs The Red Baron - hands-on (Snoopy vs. the Red Baron)

16/10/2006

We know, we know. A concept like Snoopy vs The Red Baron just has "crap" written all over it. Most games based on comic strips do. But Peanuts isn't just any comic strip, and Snoopy vs The Red Baron isn't your typical slapdash kiddie game. It is, in fact, a crazed series of life-or-death dogfights in the vein of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron or StarFox, in which Snoopy and his pals have to battle their way through a cartoonified version of World War I. Everyone who's ever read Peanuts knows all ...

Snoopy vs. the Red Baron (Snoopy vs. the Red Baron)

10/05/2006

When you think of viable franchises to wrap around yet another World War title, Peanuts is probably last on the list. Yet here it is - and you know what? It makes sense. Snoopy's always been dreaming of taking down the Red Baron, so why not let a new generation act out that decades-long dream? Snoopy vs. the Red Baron is clearly aimed at the youngins, but from what we've seen there's actually some decent dog fighting to be ...

SOCOM: Tactical Strike - in the trenches (SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike)

20/08/2007

Aug 20, 2007 In case there are any Fireteam Bravo fans out there who still haven't heard, the next SOCOM game for PSP won't be a shooter - which probably won't come as crushing news to most of you, seeing as traditional SOCOM never felt quite right on the PSP anyway. Instead, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike takes a real-time strategy approach, putting players in command of a four-man SEAL squad that they'll need to carefully guide through firefights, hostage rescues and other tense ...

Sonic Rivals - hands on (Sonic Rivals)

15/05/2006

When we first heard that Sonic Rivals was going to be more of a competitive racer than a standard, 2D side-scroller, some brows began to furrow. After playing through a race or two, that area of concern seems pretty well founded. The E3 demo of Rivals put Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehogs against each other on a left-to-right raceway that looks right out of the classic Sonic titles - springboards, spiky pits and giant loops all made several appearances, but the most important aspect, speed, was ...

Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny – hands-on (Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny)

27/07/2009

Okay, it’s pretty. It’s very, very pretty. Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny is so good-looking that we can’t even say, “It looks good for a portable game.” The game looks good for a Dreamcast game, it looks good for a PS2 game – heck, we’ve seen plenty of Wii games that look cheap by comparison. ...