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The Simpsons (PSP)
by Rayman999
The Simpsons games is about the main Simpsons Characters you have to use to save the world from problems.
You start of using Bart and Homer in one of the stupidiest missions i have seen in adventure games. You have to kill rabbits and yes chase them which is really stupid and could turn the average person straight of the game ... because of the lame mission to start with.
I started to play the game and unimpressed with the first missions put in the game but as the game carried on it got better.
Graphics are outstanding in 2d though in the game the enviroment especially around the characters in the game has been done really well. Another thing I like about this game is the missions in the middle some of them are really cool challenging making you use your head more to figure them out.
This game is perfect in the long term value, the missions take their time to complete and are very tricky to figure out some of them. Every level you are not given a clue on what to do! You have to figure it out so great use of the brain there.Their is little help with the buttons pointing directions which do help an little but that is all the buttons do to help and its not much help to be honest.
Overall the graphics in 2D are good so the game looks exactly like the TV show it self! You can pick this up pretty cheap for around ten pounds. If you are a fan of adventure games or the Simpsons series this one is worth buying! In my opinion this is probably the best Simpsons game I have played yet!
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Diner Dash (PSP)
by cath_del
I have played Diner Dash on most platforms (the best being the computer version) and played the PSP version hoping that it might be different playing it on a handheld device. I have to say that I didn't really enjoy this game, but it did have a few positives.
This game is rated at 3 plus, but I didn't really see why it is for ... someone so young, as I would say this has more of a teenager/adult market. I bought this for around £12, but it seems to be very overpriced in some stores as I've seen it for £30.
Diner Dash is a game made by GameLab who usually make great games, but on this platform, they aren't as good as they could be. Their PC games are definitely better than PSP versions, and much cheaper! Diner Dash has had a lot of sucess and that is what has made it have so many versions and spin offs made. So far I have seen games like Soap Opera Dash and Cooking Dash being made as spin offs from the brand.
For those who have never played a Diner Dash game, the plot of the game revolves around Flo, a previous stockbroker who can't deal with the heavy amount of work. Then she manages to find a new diner, and this is where she sets up her own restaurant, and watches it amount to success!
Throughout the game, you have various tasks to do to get the goal score or the expert score. You must seat customers when they arrive at the store by placing them at the correct tables with enough seats and sometimes matching the right colours and then serving them. This will include taking their order and bringing them the right meals.
Points are gained through doing all these little tasks, and usually by making combos of doing the same actions in a row or by matching them to the correct colours. I found it pretty easy to get all the goals in this, and I'd finished all the levels pretty quickly, so it isn't much of a challenge for an experienced Diner Dash player, although some others may find it easier.
The levels start off as really easy and tutorial, to get you used to the game. But then once you have gone further in the storyline, it gets much more difficult and becomes harder juggling all the tasks that you have to do while maintaining the customers hearts at a high level. They do provide a great amount of challenge, and means the game is never too easy. They don't include too many things and new features at first, and as they slowly increase in the amount that goes on, it makes you easy to get the hang of all the features.
The controls are really easy for Diner Dash as it mostly consists of controlling the analog stick to make Flo walk around and then just pressing the contol pad to make her pick up things. They're really easy to get the hang of and most people will be able to pick it up quickly.
Aside from the normal playing mode of Career Mode, where you just play through the storyline, there is also 2 other modes. There is Endless Shift, similar to the PC game, where you can play as much as you want in different difficulty modes and gain a super high score. Then there is Multiplayer Mode, but this can only be played with someone who has a PSP with wireless connection, and you have to compete to get the highest score against them.
The graphics are pretty similar to the first design of the PC game as they are cartoony as they first were. They are not as developed as some of the games on the PSP and are not as sharp edged or detailed as they could be. However, everything moves pretty easily and the colours suit the mood of the game. The sound fits the game itself, and it does vary in the different levels that you encounter. They fit the moods of the restaurant, yet they can get annoying in the easier levels, but if you are in the hard levels it just passes you by.
I would recommend this game to anyone who is a hardcore Diner Dash fan, other than that I would say it is probably best getting the PC version. The controls are pretty easy to get the hang of and there is a lot of levels, but you will get through them really quickly and I would say it isn't worth the money.
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Tales of Eternia (PSP)
by sn0zb0z
Tales of Eternia is an RPG game for the PSP. I've found that certain games play better on the PSP than others and it's usually the ones with less button smashing and quick movements that play best. That's not to say the PSP can't handle fast movements or lots of action because it can, but I just find these games are better on a home ... console. That does, however, mean Tales of Eternia is perfectly suited for the console. You spend time walking around and there are battles, but they don't involve a lot of button smashing. But while it may be well designed for the console is it a good RPG game?
Story:
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Being an RPG the story is important. The back of the case simply says "follow the amazing adventures of two friends, Reid and Farah, in the legendary RPG Tales of Eternia." Not only does this sound really unoriginal, but it doesn't sound an in-depth story that keeps you wanting to play to find out how it all ends. With it also claiming 60 hours of gameplay on the back which is a lot of time to spend gaming if it turns out there really isn't much of a story.
The story begins near Reid and Farah's hometown of Rashea where the pair visit the crash site of a spaceship. A mysterious girl turns up who speaks an unknown language. The girl is Meredy and she came to prevent a collision between her world and theirs, which leads them on a journey to find the truth behind what is going to happen. First though they have to find a way to understand the girl, which leaves them searching for friends to help them. As the story unfolds you get to learn more about each character.
It is an original storyline and it is easy to follow what is happening.
Gameplay:
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You control Reid and Farah (and their friends and Meredy). There is a good sized map, although when you're walking it can seem to be taking a long time to get to where you're heading, especially as there are random battles along the way.
You travel across various terrain and visit towns. When you reach certain points there are cut scenes, which can be quite long and all the speech is in text form so if you're not a big fan of long scenes or reading in games this game probably isn't for you!
I found that there were far too many battles when walking along and the battles could be improved. Fights are messy as it's hard to see who is doing what and it is just a mad rush of one side into the other. If there weren't so many fights it wouldn't be so bad. You can run from battles, but you have to be ready to run the second a battle starts otherwise you'll most likely suffer damage. On the plus side, the people you battle vary in difficulty and you can level up by winning which adds to the game.
It doesn't take much for one of your group to die in a battle. There are items you can buy including a life potion which will bring you back to life, but these can be quite expensive. You also need to win at least some battles to get the money (known as gald) to buy these items. With so many battles there's plenty of chances to get hurt and you don't really want to be spending all your money on life potions, but it probably is a good idea to stock up on them while you can just in case. There are a number of different potions, items and food that do certain things such as restoring some of your HP (Health Points) so you need to consider which items will be most useful to you and make sure you have enough gald if you are planning on buying life potions.
There are clear instructions on which place to go to, but I quickly forget what they are as it's mentioned during cut scenes and as soon as you continue you're back to battling again. Luckily you can press Select when out on the field to get a clue. This is spoken though so make sure to turn you your volume up at this point and listen carefully because the reminder is quite fast!
I still tend to wander aimlessly until I make it somewhere as the reminder is only of the place and not which direction to go. There is a compass so you can always use that to guide you, but it helps if you at least know the direction of where you are trying to find. If you press Start the compass is replaced with a small map and if you press it again you can get both guides up (or press it again and they both vanish).
When the characters are walking they all go into one person so you don't have the group walking along. This is good as the others don't get in the way (although in towns where other people are walking you do get this problem at times), but it is rather strange. I see no real reason for it to just show one person rather than the group.
I noticed the back of the case mentioned mentions "tons of mini-games". I'm not sure what it means as I've not played any mini-games, but perhaps there's something I've missed. It's not mentioned in the manual so I have no idea what type of games they are either.
The main menu is ok and it is fairly obvious what everything is. The options are Skills, Strategy, Equip, Cook, Customize, Items, Formation (when fighting), Status, CCage and Save. With the exception of CCage and perhaps formation you can tell at a glance what each section of the menu is going to be and once you start playing it is obvious what the other two are as well.
The controls are simple and you can find them all in the manual. The characters all move as they should and it's quite easy to remember the controls, especially if you played similar games on the PSP or any PS console, even though they vary depending on where you are (e.g. field, battle or a menu).
Audio/Graphics:
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The audio isn't great. The music is tinny, high pitched at points and repetitive. I just found it annoying and ended up turning the volume right down.
The graphics are decent. The game is in 2D. It looks better during the cut scenes than during gameplay. The opening video before it gets to the start menu is in anime style and looks far better than anything in the game which is rather disappointing.
The manual:
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It's rare I bother looking at a game manual, but when I do I expect it to tell me all the important things I need to know. Bringing a character back to life is, to me, an important thing to add - after all trying to battle with one weak character left alive only a few hours into the game when you can still see them in the menu and in cut scenes suggests that there must be something you can do.
Sadly the manual is rather useless. It didn't tell me how to bring characters back to life or even give any hint as to whether it was at all possible. It basically just explains the main menu and controls all of which were pretty obvious to me anyway. It mentioned the words item and magic power with a very short description stating they had an affect or could be used in some way. Something along the lines of being able to buy items like health or life potions and use them would have been far more helpful.
Price:
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You can pick this game up for around £18 on Play.com and Amazon.
Overall:
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Overall this is a decent RPG. It would be better with less battles, or at least improved battles, but if you want a long game with an interesting storyline this is a good game to check out.
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