Sony’s Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade was the first RPG to hit the PSP, and while its fighting was repetitive and its story was skeletal, it sold like gangbusters. For the sequel, Sony mostly left the core gameplay alone and concentrated on fixing the flaws. For the most part, they've succeeded. Untold Legends: The Warrior’s Code is prettier and more involving than its predecessor, though it's still standard hack-and-slash fare with little to separate it from every other action RPG. Then again, every other action RPG isn't available for PSP, and these games are popular for a reason: it's fun to chop trolls, goblins, and other fanged critters in half.

An overhead action game at heart, Warrior's Code lets players pick from five different characters - Guardian, Mercenary, Scout, Prowler or Disciple (check out our preview for full descriptions) - each with the ability to change into a hulking beast form. Unfortunately for them, such "changelings" are being systematically eliminated by an evil emperor, and they'll have to fight to free the world from his armies of monsters.

To be fair, Warrior’s Code adds some new gameplay mechanics to the old hack-and-slash formula. Aside from being able to transform into a giant were-beast, each character can switch between short- and long-range weapons, and each can earn 12 special abilities as they power up. Charged-up attacks and "attacks of opportunity" - which let you smack big opponents for massive damage when they're vulnerable - lend a little depth to the combat as well. The control scheme is needlessly complicated, requiring you to hold down one button and press another just to block or switch weapons, but dedicated players will get used to it with a little practice.