Excellent gaming in the palm of your hand (Sony PSP)

Member Name: valve90210

Product:	Sony PSP
Date:	10/09/08 (20 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well specified, loads of functions

Disadvantages: Having to fight my girlfriend for it when I want to use it

I first saw a PSP in a small independent shop in my home town that sold any thing and everything games related, from second hand

consoles and games to merchandise and even full size arcade cabinets. In addition to this they sold imports, games, consoles etc etc.

I was in the shop looking for games for my N64, and whilst I was browsing I noticed a device, sitting in a display cabinet, which I had never

seen before, and being someone who doesn't spend money on gaming magazines etc, I had no idea what it was. All I knew was that it

looked cool and from the demo that was running (some racing game or other), it had an amazing quality and good resolution screen.

I asked the shop owner and he told me all about it. I must admit it sounded good. However it was, at that time, only available on import and

was rather pricey.

Time passed by and eventually it came out over here and did fairly well. However it was eclipsed by the new handheld console from

Nintendo, the DS.

For a long time I avoided handheld consoles despite being a big fan of gaming and a bit of a collector of consoles. I had found that previous

handhelds were not my thing, too bulky, short battery life, etc etc. I eventually caved in after having had a go of Big Brain Academy on my

girlfriends Dads' DS, I loved it! I liked using the stylus to control the game, I like the whole premise of a game which could help you improve

your brain functions, basically I liked everything about it so I got a DS.

I've played loads of games on the DS and I have really enjoyed a lot of them. The ones that have stood out the most have been those which have been completely different to what might be deemed as 'normal' games. I've enjoyed the brain training, cross word games, a version of boggle etc etc. However a few weeks ago I was craving some more conventional games but didn't find anything that I really really enjoyed. I was wanting something that I could play for a while, do what I wanted and whenever I wanted switch it offf but I just couldn't find anything that took my fancy.

I realised that GTA was exactly what I wanted but I didn't want the hassle of either firing up the PC or going into the bedroom where my xbox is... naturally I started to think about the PSP...

Just under a week ago, I finally bit the bullet and purchased a PSP Lite. I also got a 1gb memory card and 2 games (yes one was GTA). I have to say, it has hardly left my hands since! I have been revelling in playing GTA Liberty City Stories for the last few days, it plays just like GTA games on my xbox, except I can play it in the lounge without having to be stuck in front of the PC, it doesn't disturb my girlfriend when I'm playing (I either turn it down or stick some headphones on) and it is great fun!!

The unit itself is very well made, it is slightly longer than the DS but a little narrower, all in all there really isn't much difference size wise. The buttons all feel nice and sturdy and operate well. I was quite amazed at the analogue joystick, which works really nicely though does take a little getting used to to begin with.

The screen is a good size and seems to be a great resolution, it is also nice and bright (with three adjustment settings). The audio is good and the speakers handle the sound nicely.

The games for the psp come on a proprietary format called UMD which is basically a tiny cd (or dvd) in a plastic protective case, rather like a minidisc really thoug a different shape. They fit in the back of the psp which opens up in a similar way to a top loading vcr used to, the disc slots in and the back closes (manually)

As well as the usual directional buttons you'd find on a controller or handheld console, there are 4 (for want of a better word) fire buttons, two shoulder buttons and an analogue stick. In addition to these there are:

Home button which when pressed in game allows you to quit the game and go back to the main menu system of the console, from which you can play audio files, or video files, change settings, check out the contents of the memory card etc etc.

Volume buttons - which obviously turn the sound levels up and down
Display button which switches between 3 brightness settings for the screen
Mute button - at least I think that's what it does...
a select button - as you would find on a controller
a start button - again as you would find on a controller.

Connectors wise, there is a mains connector for charging the battery, a headphones socket, an AV socket for connecting the psp to a television, a USB connector for hooking the psp up to a computer for file transfers etc.

Also there is a switch to turn wireless on or off.

as you can probably tell from all that, this is a well specified piece of kit!!! I have not really played with it very much beyond playing games at the moment but I look forward to the possibilities it offers. It can play back MP3s and videos so as well as a beinga great games console in the palm of your hand it can also function as a portable media centre, very useful for long journeys!!!

In the main menu there is a web browser, which combined with the wireless capabilities allows you to browse the internet on the psp, also there is a skype program for internet based voice calls, and an instant messenger program. I've yet to use any of these but if they work well, it really will make this a wonderful little console!

Having only had the console for under a week and not having tried most of it's functions my conclusions on it are still forming but so far I would say that it is a very good console. Ok it's not as inventive as the DS and doesn't feature as many innovative games which is what makes the DS so great, but it is still great fun, it is much more conventional gaming but the ability to do this in the palm of your hand is what makes it great. The media functions have the potential to turn this into the ideal peice of kit to take away with you. WIth a decent sized memory card (I have an 8gb one coming) you can store plenty of music and videos and games, and have everything you want for entertainment in one small unit, wonderful!!!

I may well come back and amend this review as time goes by and I have tested more of the functions etc but in the meantime I'm having too much fun with playing games at the moment!!!

Summary: Not as innovative as the DS but great for traditional gaming on the go.