PSP

Storm is a challenging new puzzle game which relies upon physics-related problem solving in order to complete each level. The purpose of each level is to move a seed along through the level, starting from a tree, and eventually getting to a dirt patch, where it is planted and a new tree grows from it. The levels are split into four major sections, which are patterned around...

This Is Not The Aya Brea You’re Looking For The 3rd Birthday was originally announced—to the disappointment of many—as a game feature Parasite Eve heroine Aya Brea, and it was going to be headed for phones as a mobile game. Then somewhere along the line, it switched up gears and went over to the PSP instead. Still not exactly the console revival people were hoping for, but it was...

You are Not Special In the Disgaea universe there is no weaker creature in the netherworld than the Prinny. As a final resting place for worthless human souls the Prinny’s penguin-like body explodes when handled roughly. As servants to the bitchy demon lord Etna they are treated with such little regard Etna thinks nothing of sacrificing a thousand Prinnies to find her missing panties. This is the...

Atlus has enough goodwill to burn these days. It’s hard to imagine another publisher taking the chances they do with what they choose to release. Whether it's Persona 3's modern-era high school sim masquerading as a classic RPG, Etrian Odyessy 3's amateur cartographer, or the cruel difficulty of Demon's Souls, Atlus’catalog is filled with games that are similar to so many other games, but with a radical idea embedded...

A friend of mine recently confessed a gaming sin to me: He hadn’t played any of the God of War games. He didn't even have a frame of reference. In a roundabout way, he asked me what made them so special. I stopped and considered the question for a few seconds. My answer: There's nothing special about God of War. This really shouldn't have come as a...

It’s perhaps a bit unfair to mention Pokemon in any discussion of Invizmals. Anybody attempting to list the most important games of the last two decades would be doing a major disservice by not including a Pokemon title, and mentioning it immediately casts a shadow that towers over Invizimals, making it insignificant by comparison. Yes, it’s unfair to compare Pokemon with a game like Invizimals, but Sony, to be...

After making a game like Metal Gear Solid 4, you have to ask, where do you go from here? Whether you liked the game or not, it was audacious and big, taking all of the ideas associated with of the Metal Gear Solid series—its stealth game play, its long cutscenes, its convoluted story, its fetishization of machinery, its daunting level of detail—to their extreme. The series’ auteur, Hideo Kojima,...

When Kingdom Hearts 2 was released in 2005, word immediately broke out about its successor, Kingdom Hearts 3. An impressive cutscene following the final battle convinced fans that the third game, in what was assumed would be a trilogy, wouldn't be far behind. However, fans worldwide were disappointed to learn this cutscene was part of a prequel destined for the PSP handheld. While it is easy to approach...

There's a reason high school and demons often find themselves intermeshed in fiction: Being a teenager can be hellish. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to countless anime series, it's a rich vein to mine, but one that's seldom touched by video games. Because of this Persona 3 Portable feels fresh even though it's a rerelease of a four year old game. There are a few drastic changes...

It’s ironic that tactical roleplaying games tend to have the most involved plots. Games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre sport long, convoluted epics, when, really, it’s a genre that requires the least amount of narrative backbone. Does a Risk game really need more than a map to explain itself? Does a rook need a back story? Valkyria Chronicles 2 (a PSP sequel to a PS3...

Horror in video games is difficult to achieve. Many times, playing such games feels exhilarating, like watching an action movie, which excites more often than it terrifies. Silent Hill has always been a series that follows the horror movie mentality, crafting worlds that never allow the player to feel comfortable, or even allowing the ability to fight, and keeping an atmosphere of powerlessness over their...