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Gitaroo Man Lives! (PSP)
by Uminobankai
From the training stage, when your reluctant hero is being instructed by a talking dog and playing guitar on a tennis racquet, you know this is going to be weird, and you know it's going to be awesome.
A port of the PS2 rhythm action title, it works very well on the PSP. The analogue stick is responsive and the face buttons ... never let you down. Prepare for some hand cramps, but it's not too bad at all. (I have big hands and it was fine!)
Each stage is a one on one fight against increasingly difficult and crazy opponents. The range of music is admirable, from techno rock to operatic goth metal and perhaps my favourite, the jazzy swamp blues of Mojo King Bee, a floating saxophonist in a bee costume.
The difficulty is just right - challenging but not frustrating. It's very addictive- that old school "just one more go" feeling is in full flow as your lunch break disappears to a perfect solo on "The Legendary Song". Very importantly, it feels fair - the on screen action and music are perfectly synced so there's no sense of being "robbed" - when you miss a big power chord, you know it was your fault. There's a quick restart available when you know you've messed up beyond repair. But it's often possible to mount a comeback and there's no need to keep repeating the start of the level to get it note perfect. It's highly satisfying when you just scrape through against a tough opponent in a glorious last stand of shredding!
There's also a goofy cartoony plot with loveable villains and plenty of comedic moments.
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Dynasty Warriors (PSP)
by shaneo632
Dynasty Warriors is a near enough verbatim port of the decent, if minimal, PS2 game series of the same name. It would be a mistake for those who have the original games to re-buy it for the PSP, but if you're new to the series and want a brainless hack-and-slash fest, this just about delivers. You control a number of characters in Feudal ... Japan, playing through several real campaigns.
The game has a mild strategic element, in that different officers have different attributes, and you can trade them with friends via WiFi, but ultimately the order of the day is just simple attacking in brute, enormous force (although the number of fighters has been scaled back somewhat to suit the PSP's lesser capabilities). It's quite repetitive, but there are a few extra attacks to shake things up just a little bit.
Visually, the game has some good textures, but it is very much prone to a poor frame-rate even with the draw distance and character volume being dialled back. Similarly, the camera angles are sometimes awkward, resulting in your health depleting for a while without you realising that it's the lucky sap who is stabbing you a few inches out of eye-shot. Aurally there are some good action sound effects, and the soundtrack is tolerable, but again there's nothing great here.
If you have the superior PS2 versions, don't bother. If you're new to DW, this is a fun, if vapid action game that's easy to get to grips with, and there is a nice WiFi feature, but ultimately it's not as satisfying as it could be, and fans might be a bit disappointed if they decide to get it.
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