Don’t Own a PSP? Here’s 7 Reasons to Pick One Up Cheap
The PSP is knocking on death’s door. Sony’s Vita is out in Japan and its US launch in February is inching closer and closer. Sure, a huge portion of its games will be available through PSN, but the PSP is a officially a relic from a previous generation. Its no longer cool, and you can bet your ass ebay, craigslist and Amazon will be lighting up with rock bottom prices on Sony’s first handle.
A lot has been said about the PSPs library of games…and most of it is bad, but if you are willing to overlook the dated graphics and the at times frustrating battery life and load times, a PSP is still a good purchase, and here’s why.
Lumines 2
Every time I talk about the PSP, I feel obligated to mention Lumines. It was the best PSP launch game and my PSP probably spent half of its life playing Lumines 2. A simple puzzle game that combines stunning visuals and abstract music creation, Lumines is the Tetris of the PSP. Had this been a pack in game, the PSP would have sold double! Ok, maybe that was an overstatement, but you get the point.
God of War: Chains of Olympus and Ghosts of Sparta
Kratos is no stranger to epic adventures and these two PSP titles accurately translate the experience of console God of War games. The stories told may be completely disposable, but any PSP owner deserves to have something as good as God of War to play. These may not look as good as the PS3 rereleases in the God of War Origins Collection, but no other handheld game will allow this much bloodshed.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories, Vice City Stories and Chinatown Wars
GTA is one of the highest rated series in all of gaming, and the PSP titles are no different. Following the release pattern of the GTA3 PS2 era games, Liberty and Vice City Stories give you more stories and missions in those respective settings. Given the rabid popularity of the source games its hard to go wrong with their spin-offs. Chinatown Wars is a port of the DS game of the same name, and is the highest rated of the three.
Crush
As a relatively obscure Sega game, this may seem like a weird choice. Crush is a 3D platform puzzle game that features level “crushing” abilities. At any point during the game the player can make the entire level 2D, giving it completely different traversal options. The puzzles get twistedly difficult and the structure of the game lends itself to pick up and play gaming.
Resistance: Retribution
As one of the best looking PSP games, Resistance Retribution stands out. It also has all kinds of weird, “connect your PSP to your PS3 features”. Probably the thing Retribution does most successfully is handle the lack of a second analog nub. Through classic shooter controls, and very generous auto-aim, Retribution doesn’t feel clunky and drops you in the action cleanly.
The Litany of Passable Dumbed Down Sony Games
Sony is guilty of sticking to their guns on a lot of things. One of those is establishing a franchise and making games in that franchise. Nearly all of Sony’s first party lines make an appearance on the PSP. Everything from Littlebigplanet, to Gran Turismo, to Jak and Daxter have games at varying levels of quality. There are some flops, like Killzone Liberation, and there are some winners like Wipeout Pure, but if you are fond of Sony game(s). You’ll definitely find something you are at least interested in.
Japan
One side effect of the PSP being crazy popular in Japan is the flood of Japanese developed games being localized for the states. Companies like Square Enix, Capcom and Konami have huge catalogs of Japanese style games on the PSP. Hell, the PSP is where Monster Hunter thrives! The decline of Japanese games since the last console generation has saddened many gamers (at least the ones paying attention and not the ones still playing Chrono Trigger like its new) and for the last 6 years Japanese game’s home has been the PSP. Even weird Japan developed Sony games like Patapon and Loco Roco were PSP exclusives.
The PSP, will be remembered as a risk, to many a failure, and few of its games will have longevity, but is it worth experiencing? Yes, many of the games above can be grabbed for a fraction of the original cost, and if you’re not ready to pony up the cash for a Vita, a PSP is a respectable purchase.
