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The Sims 2: Pets (PSP)
by shaneo632
I love most of the Sims games. The Sims 2 was a huge landmark when released on the PC, but given how poorly it was ported to the PSP, does the Pets version fare any better? Simply, no.
My main praise for the game comes out of how much there is to customise and create, the most prominent of which is probably the pet creation ... mode, where you can dictate what animal you want, and then also what they look like. The buying and building is fine, except that a cheap method not to stretch the PSP's limitations means that if you put too much in your home, it will spontaneously combust (I kid you not!).
My main gripe with the game is that everything is so slow going, and the PSP clearly isn't designed to handle a game like this well. Furthermore, there are some clunky mechanics, which mean you're often forced to do something you don't want to do, because the game tells you to. Also, the aging aspect of The Sims 2 on the PC has been totally diminished, and it's not on here one bit sadly.
Visually, the game looks alright, and the sound is as poor as it has ever been in these games. On a technical level, the game just isn't that good because the PSP is clearly struggling to run the game properly.
There was so much potential here, and indeed, some of the new additions, like the pets, are a lot of fun, but you'll have to sit through frustrating loading screens in that stead. You'd have to be a pretty big fan of The Sims to give this game a free pass.
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The Sims 2 (PSP)
by shaneo632
The Sims games have had huge success on the PC, but elsewhere they just seem to flounder, such as with The Sims on the PS2, and now, The Sims 2 on the PSP. Every bit of innovation and uniqueness has been drained out of the game in this crass port that's not worth your time or money.
Visually, it looks decent, but it's hardly ... especially detailed and doesn't retain the same kitschy charm of the original game. Textures are fairly bland and it just doesn't pop with the same flare that it does on the PC, where it still holds up quite well today even in lieu of the third game. Aurally, the game has never been strong, but here it is at its most bland and tiresome; the same repetitive jingles and annoying Simlish is still irritating. This would be excusable, though, if the gameplay made the grade, which sadly it doesn't.
This PSP version takes away the brilliant God-sim idea and actually places you in the shoes of a Sim, a far less enthralling and fun role that winds up being very boring very quickly. Rather than preside over every aspect of the household, you instead control the limited array of options from just your Sim of choice, causing this to seem like a very limited game, presumably because of the limited architecture of the PSP. It's as though they've taken everything that made the Sims games great, gutted it, and left it for dead, giving us the offal that remained and expecting us to chow it down.#
If you own even a fairly medieval PC by today's standards, you should be able to play this on that, so don't bother with this horrendous version that I stuck on E-Bay not long after buying.
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World Rally Championship (PSP)
by shaneo632
With all the racing games out there, there aren't many that still tackle the Rally circuit, and perhaps none are as efficient and fun as World Rally Championship, which has now been brought to your PSP!
As has been successful in other games, WRC has the great "ghost car" system to indicate how well/poorly you're ... doing, and it also makes you feel as though you're racing an opponent when doing Time Trials which is welcome. Those expecting an easy ride will be surprised, though, because this game hurls quite a sufficient challenge at the player, if not through its stellar ghost players then through its controls. The controls definitely require you getting acclimated; they're not as intuitive as I would have liked, and generally I found myself switching to the D-pad despite the implication being that the analogue stick should be much better for this sort of thing (I found it almost hyper-sensitive).
Visually, there's a lot to like here. The frame rate remains consistent, and the tracks are especially well designed, throwing a lot at you like a crazy obstacle course at times. There are some nice elemental effects, and the vehicles look lovely in the rain, and a nice selection of camera angles was also a welcome addition. Aurally, there's a lot of no-name soft rock music, which makes the races more adrenaline-infused, but there aren't enough of them and so repetition occurs quite frequently.
For a PSP racer that's a little different, this definitely does the job for those with a more technical mind to their racing, and for those who want a more challenging race. My only real complaint is the lack of a customisation mode with regard to the cars, which would have been the icing on the cake!
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