christian

PSP Demo Roundup

Two noteworthy demos have hit the PSP in the last two weeks. Here are some impressions from yours truly:

Patapon: The guys behind locoroco are at it again, this time with their own take on both strategy and music games. Made in a similar, gorgeous 2d style as LocoRoco, Patapon has you lead armies of little Patapons towards victory and freedom. This is done by banging magic, godly drums in order to issue orders to your army. It is a very interesting setup; while the demo only allows you to move and attack, these two commands alone offer quite some depth. Since play alternates between you banging the drums and the Patapon singing and acting in response, you have to time commands while not screwing them up. This is part strategy game after all, so issuing a move command while in attack range is a waste that will cause damage to your units. Between missions you can create units with the resources you gather, as well as equip them and form units.

I didn’t know what the hell this game was about before the demo, but now I am guaranteed to buy it when it is released next week. With more drum commands and units, this game should play unlike any other, and the deliciously cute Patapons and their tribal chants make even the locorocos feel jealous. I’m not sure how long of a game this concept can be drawn out to, but it’s so curious that I don’t really care.

God of War: Chains of Olympus: God of War is one of the most graphically compelling PS2 games out there, so it makes sense that the PSP side story forced a firmware update to allow the handheld to use its full 333mhz CPU speed. The result is the best looking game on the PSP. While lower in certain details compared to the PS2 originals, Chains of Olympus doesn’t look like it belongs on this console, especially when I compare it to other games I own.

A mighty technical achievement to be sure, and the controls actually translate to the PSP very well. Pretty much everything good and bad about God of War is here, including my tradition of renting, not buying into this series. While it is tough to expect a handheld version to offer anything new, the fact that Chains of Olympus has the same look, sound, controls, and even combos meant that I was able to blast through the demo level with no threat of dying. I didn’t even have to use all the health chests I found.

The first God of War was at least worth a look, and they duped me into playing the sequel just so I could see how much more excessive they could get. I can’t think of anything else they could show me with this one. It literally looks as if I have done it all already, and while developer Ready at Dawn gets huge kudos for what they have accomplished, I am starting to wonder how long this series will go before the gaming press gets tired of the GoW formula, if they ever do at all.

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Matt
16 years ago

While I love God of War’s combat system, I’m not a huge fan of its story and/or general style. For some reason, the game does not grab me for long enough to finish. I have yet to complete the first GoW game, and I don’t see a need to keep trying. I would much rather play Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden. Those games seem to be more palatable for me. But I don’t really know why….

Shota
Shota
16 years ago

I love God of War but for me the Onimusha series is the Mom of them all. Matt, if you have not tried it, do. I’d be curious to hear what you think of it.

Matt
16 years ago

I loved Onimusha 1, and thought it was the bee’s knees. I loved the homage to the old-style Resident Evil games, and the combat was somewhat simplistic, but very enjoyable. I tried playing the second one, and felt it was a little too convoluted, what with the gifting system. I only played maybe an hour of it and gave up. I also missed Samanosuke, which added to my overall disappointment with the sequel. I’m sure the game is great overall, but that initial hurdle stifled my enjoyment. I’ve been meaning to try the third one, but I’m sure some other game grabbed my attention at that point.

pat
Admin
pat
16 years ago

thats interesting matt. i was also disappointed by the lack of samanosuke when i fired up the sequel.

Shota
Shota
16 years ago

oh, Matt you simply must ignore the second installment. Jubey even looks retarded to me. But the third game got everything back on track and added a couple of new ideas. It features a team of Samanosuke and Jean Reno (playing the standard badass French cop) battling monsters. (and NOT-surrendering to them as you’d expect from a Frenchman) The game does time travel very cleverly and is visually great. Three is the way to go. I really want to get my hands on the fourth one but my 360 is getting in the way.

Christian
Christian
16 years ago

Onimusha 2 is such a stain on Capcom in general, and it upsets me when diehard fans of the series try to excuse it, or actually claim it is their favorite.

It simply can’t be possible.