 |
Ace Combat X: Skies of Deception (PSP)
by honest-word
Ace combat has been the regular flying action game on the Playstation since its humble beginnings on the Playstation 1, as growth in the series continues , the seventh title flys onto the PSP and the first Ace combat game to do so. Released in 2006 the game set out to show that Ace combat would control the skies of whatever console it ... wanted to.
Set in 2020, the land of Aurelia is at peace. Reclining in its wealth of resources and pleasurable climate, the peace is soon broken as a invasion from neighbours, Leasath, engulfs the country in a war. Unarmed and unprepared , Aurelia falls after 10 days and only one small force still remains in a small airfield. Flying in Glyphun sqaudron, it is your job to save the country and restore happiness to the land.
The story is good enough and the main motives are clear, the narrative travels at a good pace with the aid of cut-scenes during gaps between levels. If it weren't for the difficult names used for everything important to the story , it would be as easy as the ABC's to follow.
The campaign mode takes place in upto 17 missions, as the narrative can change at 3 specific points in the game which limits how many missions happen. This makes the game feel more personal to you, adding to this is the customisation options for aircraft and the ability to be awarded medals for certain actions.
Campaign mode has a handful of different mission types to help the story along, whilst many of these are search and destroy missions where you have a certain amount of time to destroy whatever the target is , either ground to air missile launchers or enemy aircraft. Other mission types include, escort, base assaults, playing with instruments jammed and restriction flights (keeping below a certain alltitude or speed). These all generally link with search and destroy so it can soon start feeling a little bit monotonous due to the lack of variety.
As you go through the campaign mode you earn money which you can spend on unlockables such as paint or aircraft kit. This makes it more interesting to go back and try missions with an improved aircraft, some of the kit you can get includes more powerful engines, better weapons and improved wings for handling.
In addition to the campaign there is arcade mode, which lets you play single missions after unlocking them in the campaign mode.
Multiplayer is put into the game with 2 different modes, CO-OP and versus. In CO-OP you and 3 freinds can fight upto 6 enemy aircrafts controlled by AI.
In versus mode you can fight against 3 freinds, this is in straight dogfights, base attacks, domination, capture the flag and escort. This mix of modes makes the multiplayer really exciting to play and mean that you can have hours of fun in a smooth running group. I play this with freinds on a regular basis and it's always a clean and polished online experience, definatley one of the top online games for the PSP.
Combat is mainly done off of the action buttons and the lock on for attacking enemies is pretty quick, so you don't need to waste any time. As soon as the enemies in site there are the options for missiles or bullets, these aim true and are really effective, although lessons from space invaders shows up and you should remember to aim infront of your target to take in flight time.
All the worlds main military planes are available to use with a range of statistics to give the plane a specific feel, some are fast and some are great at handling, it's important to find a nice mix that suits you if you want to survive. 40 planes and 120 weapons make sure their is something for you to go back to and try the missions with a different style of attack.
The replay value is increased with the support for playing at different difficultys, it increases the AI and number of enemies as well as the damage your aircraft can take. The increased damage is what makes it the most difficult, as the aircraft are made realistically so one missile will mean it's all over.
The AI of your comrades and enemies are both of a good standard and it's good to see the AI getting some kills or a change, the enemies will try to dodge your missiles and attacks with their abilities increasing through the course of the game.
The analoug stick of the PSP handles the flight of the plane very well and makes handling it a dream, controlling as well as any home console game. The acceleration and brake on the shoulder buttons helps keep your speed in touch and the plane really has a weight to it.
The game looks fantastic with water effects that carress the side of the levels and shimmer in the sunlight. Some of the level rises up into 3D but most of it is flat, you don't notice this too much as your flying at speed and altitide but when your close the flat shape is evident. That's not without saying the detail on buildings and roads are good for the PSP, and overall their is a nice polish over the whole game which makes it fun to play.
The game can be quite atmospheric as long as you turn off the rather annoying soundtrack, radio crackle and brief messages boost the excitement and make it feel as though you really are a small group against an army.
The sounds of dogfights are engaging with missiles, explosions and sonic booms going off all around and you have to keep reminding yourself this is all coming out of the tiny PSP.
On Amazon the game retails for £16 , this is a fair price considering the quality of the game. Theirs probably a good 25 hours available before you get tired of the different planes, the only problem is that the campaign is a bit short and the missions are unvaried.
Read the complete review |
 |
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PSP)
by honest-word
Jak and Daxter : The last frontier is the 5th game in playstations other big platforming exclusive (The other of course being Ratchet and Clank). The game throws in a variety of shooting and drving platform areas, all with a 3rd person view and was released late 2009.
Jak and Daxter is set in a world where gods once stood, ... now though they have all gone and all that is left is the strange substance called Eco. Eco has many different forms with certain colours giving strength, life or darkness, this is used in many ways throughout the series in weapons and machinery. It's an ongoing story for the two characters to learn about Eco whilst travelling the galaxy, along the way meeting new characters and facing new challanges. Their are pleenty of twists in the story and the world around you is constantly changing with new alliances being made, as Eco begins to run short and every one wanting a peice of it.
The story moves at a good pace and you are constantly moving and meeting new people, this gives the game a lot longer playtime than its competitor.
The game is quite similar to Racthet and Clank but many see it as a bit more for the older audience, due to difficulty and style. You still play as a main character , Jak , jumping around the level and solving puzzles whilst fighting a huge amount of enemies. But the game is less kind to the player as Jak can only take a small amount of damage before he is down, but thats where the frequency of green life Eco comes into play.
Vehicle sections are very important to the developers and the very first level is a edge of your seat fight against space pirates, this sets a great standard for the rest of the game and grabs your attention. Not only that but the game knows how to control vehicles, so quickly dodging and moving around in the ship is a pleasurable experience. The lock on system may not be equivalent to HAWX but it does the job and is easy to use.
The games level design is also alot less linear than other PSP games , with the world being semi-open and several routes can be taken to the final objective. This gives a bit more freedom but also adds a value to replaying through levels as something different is always around the next corner.
Most of the levels finish off with a token boss battle, these can be hit and miss as it is of the , wait around for the same movement than attack, type boss battles. As well as the usual issue of the camera rearing its ugly head again in the game, although this is only now and again when you are at the edge of the area.
Upgrading and unlocking is as bigger part of the game as ever, with the constant need to get new weapons or vehicles, or update your character to make them suitably powerful against the next boss.
Its also worth a great mention to the developers for the complete lack of any loading screen , as the next level begins to load whilst your on the current one. This means the hours can soon be whisked away from you as you realise you can't just stop at the next screen.
The combat in the game is well made, with 4 weapons to be used it may not seem much, but these are all powerful and upgradeable to a big level. They all work around 4 different types of Eco so the continuity of the games universe flows through every section, it also very easy to jump, roll and strafe when in times of danger.
Melee attacks are also powerful although getting into the middle of the enemies is not always the best idea, both Jak and Daxter(occasionaly) have their own moves and abilities making fights more intresting depending on the character.
As well as the storyline game, their is also the optional missions like going hunting for objects like orbs and weapons. These aren't anything too special but they add some extra gametime and are fun to playthrough as their are many and none are exactly the same.
Graphics are quite good for the PSP although not the best, colours seem slightly drab against Ratchet and Clank, as well as the graphics seeming slightly less smooth in their design.
However the game never lags or jutters , the whole way through the game it shows off all the different levels at 60fps.
The characters are nice with many different personalities, from the british posh pirates to the american pretty boy leaders. Their voice acting is one of the best on the PSP with everything coming in crystal clear.
As is the soundtrack, it's suitably epic for the adventure and is as good as a blockbuster movie. The atmosphere off of this is great and really gets you sucked into the game,suprising considering its a portable console.
The controls are very comfortable and a tutorial level appears at the start of the game for anyone new to this style of game, but the controls are pretty standard and respond well so you shouldn't have any issues with them.
The game is available on Amazon for £14 which is a good price for about 20 hours total gametime.
It's a very good game but a shame it doesn't get as much credit and following as Ratchet and Clank. I reccomend the game as long as you dont have anything important coming up soon.
Read the complete review |
|
|
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP)
by ADVP
The game has an interesting storyline, as the main character that you play (Kratos), was first forced to kill his own family, and in a fit for revenge, he seeks to kill all of the gods. God of War: Chains of Olympus is magnificent, and in my opinion this game has everything that one could desire in a game of this genre (action/adventure) ... inclusive of lots of gory graphics, exciting fighting moves and a variety of different settings and themes amongst the various game-play areas.
There are several bosses you encounter throughout the game, and the upgrades that are placed around various areas are more or less out in the open, and unlike in Prince of Persia: Revelations for example, where you have to move boxes around and look at the screen carefully.
There are certain games on the PSP where you are restricted to moving left or right such as Street Fighter or Loco Roco, but in this game, like in many other PSP games although, you are able to move in any direction and this gives a much better gaming experience in my opinion because the lack of restrictions on movement in some other games makes them slightly boring.
A feature of the game that I think is great is the ability to zoom in on a fight against another creature and when you're zoomed in on that fight, you're automatically equipped with blades (whereas you may have been equipped with a bow or blades when you first engaged in battle), and you're offered various different moves that wouldn't be possible when you're in the normal view, and this feature is activated with the push of a button when prompted.
You also get to use a variety of weapons when playing the game such as daggers and bows to large golden fists and even a weapon that is the head of a god which has the ability to stun what you're fighting, and this variety is what I find helps enrich the gaming experience.
Also, there are very few loading screens that stop your enjoyment frequently, although they do last a good few seconds but they're really not that annoying due to the lack of an excessive amount of them. Personally I believe this game is probably one of the best games that I have had the pleasure of playing and it is extremely enjoyable!
Read the complete review |
