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Warhammer 40k Squad Command (PSP)
by Onionring
Squad Command is a perfectly effective turn-based strategy game in which the player commands a small squad of Scouts, Space Marines, Terminators, and even Tanks and Dreadnoughts in battle against the Forces of Chaos. Each unit in the squad has a budget of Action Points which can be spent each turn on moving around the battlefield and ... shooting at enemies.
The game features around 15 missions with varying objectives that usually centre around killing the enemy and keeping your squad alive. A steady trickle of new unit options unlock as you progress through the game - you start with lightly-armed scouts and steadily unlock new units from Space Marines to heavily-armoured Terminators, speedy Landspeeders and looming Dreadnoughts.
Squad Command is NOT a forgiving game, and therefore NOT for the faint-hearted. Many enemy abilities can kill your squad members with single shots, and if you mess up your positioning of the squad and leave them vulnerable to fire they WILL die and you WILL have to restart from the beginning again. Typical of a handheld game Squad Command does not feature saves during missions; if you fail a mission, usually by having your squad get wiped out, you will be forced to start from the beginning again. Late in the game this can become frustrating, but ultimately it contributes to the game's hardcore difficulty, which I for one found very satisfying.
Visually Squad Command is competitive for a handheld game, with a clean interface and some suitably explosive visual effects. It also features a few nice pre-rendered cutscenes. The sound design also feels like a good effort for a handheld game, with full unit speech, sound effects, music, environmental sound and narration for cutscenes.
Squad Command also features online and local multiplayer, which combined with the extensive single-player campaign feels like a decent amount of content for a handheld game. I'd have no trouble recommending this to action strategy fans who like their strategy brutally unforgiving.
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Wall.E (PSP)
by qswazxd
The game, like the film, follows the story of the robot Wall.e. Set in the future and all humans have left earth leaving Wall.e and other units behind to clean up the mess in the hope of one day returning. Wall.e is the last remaining robot that continues to clean up by taking the rubbish and compressing it into cubes.
After ... coming across Eve, a robot sent to find plant life on earth, Wall.e's life changes as he becomes friends with Eve.
The game starts with a tutorial of all the different actions and movements of Wall.e. You learn how to move Wall.e, make cubes from the rubbish to throw as well as his laser. The game play is simple enough and ok for adults and children alike.
During the game Wall.e has to collect cells to open up new parts of the levels as well as performing mini games. The game starts on earth and after Wall.e's encounter with Eve goes on to the ship where the humans are where Eve and Wall.e have to help the humans.
The game is rated a U so is suitable for all ages but may be challenging in places for younger players and can sometimes seem slightly repetitive. The graphics are good and the game has some nice added touches. There are also some extras unlocked when the game is completed.
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WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 (PSP)
by shaneo632
THQ's Smackdown vs Raw series just keeps on trucking, now available on the PSP. However, with its latest few entries, the series has run the risk of becoming like FIFA, routinely churning out new entries every year to make a quick buck while not really introducing anything new or innovative.
This game controls quite well for a ... PSP game, but the lack of a second analog stick is once again conspicuous. Still, THQ have managed a solid interpretation of the control scheme, and thankfully there aren't enough commands that it is overly awkward. Having played the PS2 version a lot first, it did take some getting used to, but it's fine after a few minutes. There are a few technical glitches, though, like the frame rate dropping every so often, and the game does generally feel quite minimal due to the technical limitations of the PSP, offering a simplistic distillation of the Road to WrestleMania mode.
Visually, it's a decent game, but like virtually every THQ wrestling game, it looks a bit behind the times (and did when it was first released); textures are solid but never brilliant, and the crowds always look awful in THQ games, resembling cardboard cutouts even on the newer PS3 and Xbox 360 ones. The animations are good, though, and the wrestling moves don't look clunky or unnatural. Aurally, it's a bit lacklustre; the commentary isn't in the PSP version, which is a big shame, and we get the soundtrack playing instead.
This isn't a bad effort given the PSP's substantial limitations, but those used to the PS2 and PS3 versions will be left rather sore. It feels like a minimal effort that really suffers because of the PSP's architecture, and as a result this is only partly successful.
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