GamesRadar - PSP Reviews

LocoRoco Midnight Carnival (Review)

Nov 25, 2009

In LocoRoco Midnight Carnival, the cute blobs and bright and breezy soundtrack remain but the tweaked gameplay strikes a bum note all too often. Never mind humming along to the song of the Loco Rocos, you’ll be too busy filling the air with colorful cuss words.

The major change here is the addition of boinging, a new super jump activated by holding and releasing the shoulder buttons as you land. ...

LittleBigPlanet Portable (Review)

Nov 24, 2009

Play LittleBigPlanet PSP, and you’ll get the disconcerting feeling that someone’s woolly little mitts have been rifling through your dreams. From fleeing an angry dragon to playing movie stuntman to riding a surfboard away from a great white shark, these are experiences fantastical and familiar. ...

F1 2009 (Review)

Nov 24, 2009

So, if F1 2009 on the Wii has been created for father-son gaming and presented in a fashion that caters for the differing skill levels of both, F1 on PSP is obviously for the motorsport fan on the move. We’ll assume that it’s a particularly long journey if you’re attempting the full 70+ laps. ...

LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues (Review)

Nov 20, 2009

No matter how hard you try, you just can’t beat a LEGO wookiee. Lucas Arts and TT Games’ have struck stud – that’s gold, in LEGO terms – with their lighthearted, blocky take on the Star Wars franchise. Though moving on to tackle Indiana Jones offered similar charm and adventure, the subject matter just doesn’t captivate players as readily. ...

Marvel Super Hero Squad (Review)

Nov 11, 2009

Who decided that Marvel’s lineup of classic super heroes had to be transformed into grotesque Cabbage Patch Kids to be cool? Hardcore comic nerds will cry heresy over Marvel Super Hero Squad’s squat interpretation of our favorite X-Men and Avengers, though the game isn’t meant for them; it’s aimed at an infant audience. The kicker? ...

Ghostbusters The Video Game (Review)

Nov 11, 2009

If you're a PSP owner who correctly answered the query "Who you gonna call?" when the other versions shipped back in June, then you've been waiting a long time for Ghostbusters: The Video Game to hit Sony's portable. ...

Armored Core 3 Portable (Review)

Nov 11, 2009

Armored Core is one of those franchises with an abnormally high concentration of hardcore devotees. That means that if you scour the internet, you're bound to come across reviews praising the series for its allegedly compelling combat and seemingly endless garage of mech-building parts.

This is not one of those reviews. ...

Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron (Review)

Nov 3, 2009

Star Wars! Truly it’s the game license that keeps on giving, providing a universe that, even now, is capable of providing fresh stories and experiences. Elite Squadron further stripmines the Clone Wars era to tell the tale of two clone brothers, X1 and X2, one of whom (somewhat predictably) falls to the dark side. ...

Naruto Shippuden Legends: Akatsuki Rising (Review)

Oct 29, 2009

It’s unsurprising that an anime series as popular as Naruto has spawned so many games, but what is surprising is how few are actually any good. Akatsuki Rising doesn’t buck that trend. An uneasy mix of brawler and RPG-lite, it never reaches the heights of Naruto’s better games (Naruto Ultimate Ninja and The Broken Bond). ...

Thexder Neo (Review)

Oct 29, 2009

Giant robots are cool. But giant robots from 1985 that shoot homing lasers from their eyes and transform into jet fighters are infinitely cooler. Thexder Neo slaps a fresh coat of paint on an antiquated PC shooter from days long past and proves a few moments of fun can still be squeezed from this stone. ...

Astro Boy: The Video Game (Review)

Oct 26, 2009

It seems Astro Boy returns every decade or so, and now American film makers have retooled the iconic character for another reboot. Albeit low budget looking and feeling, High Voltage Software put more life into Astro Boy: The Video Game than we’d expect from a movie tie-in. Bright, sleek and silver, Metro City sets the stage for Astro Boy’s adventure against an evil robot-wielding president. ...

Half-Minute Hero (Review)

Oct 21, 2009

We don't regret the hundreds of hours we've sunk into Japanese role-playing games over the years. Not even the time we sketched out dungeon maps on graph paper for Phantasy Star. Honest. It's just that Half-Minute Hero has taught us that a game can deliver a true RPG experience without any of the time commitment ...

NBA Live 10 (Review)

Oct 20, 2009

Thanks to dreadful exclusive contracts and shrinking development budgets, it’s rare these days for two good sports titles to come out on one platform, much less three. That’s the happy dilemma hoops fans find for themselves this fall, though, as a trifecta of solid basketball games have hit the PSP. ...

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (Review)

Oct 20, 2009

When it was first released on Nintendo DS several months ago, Chinatown Wars was an ambitious, unprecedented use of the system's capabilities. Not only did it implement touch screen and microphone controls in clever, unobtrusive ways, it also proved that a "mature" experience could be had on a system best known for Brain Age and Cooking Mama. ...

NBA 2K10 (Review)

Oct 15, 2009

Mobile hoops fans have quite a smorgasbord of basketball this fall, as no less than three NBA titles have dribbled their way onto the PSP. The gang at 2K Sports decided to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their franchise by tossing their hat in the portable ring, and the results are surprisingly good – considering it’s their first go-round on the platform. ...

FIFA 10 (Review)

Oct 15, 2009

While the success of this year’s FIFA 10 on PS3 and 360 is built upon the technical bells and whistles of a still-sparkly next-gen engine, its PSP counterpart is still based on the same pile of code as the old PS2 games. Which, it turns out, is just fine for a satisfying, if pared down, game of handheld football. ...

NBA 10 The Inside (Review)

Oct 13, 2009

The NBA has put a full-court press on the PSP this year, with no less than three full releases for the 2009-10 season. In case you’re scoring at home, that’s one more than any other console, as NBA 10 The Inside shows up only on Sony’s handheld. ...

Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days (Review)

Oct 12, 2009

We are addicted to leveling-up. We love boosting stats, learning new skills, and watching our characters grow from wimpy weaklings to powerhouses that can unleash 9,999 points of damage with a single move. And when it comes to satisfying our urge to grind our way towards a god-like state of greatness, the Disgaea series has always delivered. ...

PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe (Review)

Oct 10, 2009

Like the creatures that slowly crawl towards your helpless tribe in the game, PixelJunk Monsters can sneak up on you. Those deceptively cute graphics, the bouncy music and the initially gentle difficulty curve draw you in and before you know it you’re addicted. ...

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge (Review)

Sep 29, 2009

Sometimes a change of scenery can do a world of good. In a shift from the arid deserts of the original game, and the tropical climes of sequel Pacific Rift, Arctic Edge sees the MotorStorm series going through a cold snap. It’s a startling transformation, but it’s most welcome. Tracks are noticeably slippery in places, occasional avalanches will bury unwary vehicles, and you can cool down your boost meter by driving through deep snow ...