Hot PXL updated hands-on

There'll be more to Hot PXL than just rocketing through each of its chapters, of course. The goal is to offer players a game that never really ends, so besides being able to download new microgames to your PSP, the game will let players practice on individual, unlocked games at varying levels of difficulty in its Gallery mode. You'll also be able to charge through customizable "playlists" grouped according to play style or your personal preference.

Strangely, the game will also feature "buddy screens," pointless-but-somehow-entertaining toys that let the PSP simulate a glass of soda (add ice, refill or drain it however you want!), a skateboard (hold and release a button to ollie!) or a spraypaint can. All of these would probably be a lot cooler if the PSP had some sort of motion sensitivity, but they seem like a neat little addition nonetheless.

More useful will be the planned online rankings and ad-hoc multiplayer modes. Apparently, these will enable players to save and upload their best performances for other players to try to beat, but we're told some sort of head-to-head play is planned as well. We'll know more as we edge closer to February.

Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.