A few months ago I decided that I was going to get a new PSP (to replace the old one that I broke dropping down the stairs) and get a few games to occupy the small amount of free time I have during the week. The games are:
1) Patapon 3
2) Dissidia Duodecim
3) Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
4) Ghost Recon Predator
5) God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Let the ratings begin
1)
Patapon 3 – 4/5
This was the first game of the series that I tried out and I enjoyed what I managed to play (before I misplaced the case with games 1,2 and 3 in it). At the beginning you choose an Uberhero class to lead your group: the Spear Uberhero, the Bow Uberhero or the Shield Uberhero. Each Uberhero has their own strengths and weaknesses. The point of the game is to lead your little group to the end of the level while trying to march forward, attack and defend yourselves all at the same time. The square, triangle, circle and x button each represent a drumbeat; four drum beats is a command and if you keep in beat long enough you go into Fever mode where you deal more damage and move a bit faster. Simple enough but comically entertaining.
2)
Dissidia Duodecim – 5/5
I originally had Dissidia (before I traded it in so I could get New Vegas) so I was somewhat familiar with this game. For those of you that don’t know what Dissidia is, it’s a fighting style game with characters from all the different Final Fantasy games; in the campaign you work your way through dungeons RPG style which transition to one on one fights when you attack an enemy piece. The new features of Duodecim that were not in the original Dissidia are: a few new characters such as Lightning from FFXII and Tifa from FFVII, the addition of the assist gauge and a couple new maps. Combat is smooth and flows together quite well plus if you need to practice you can always beat up a computer controlled enemy in Battle mode.
3)
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep – 4/5
Honestly I have no real clue what to say about this game, its great but hard to describe in a single paragraph due to a large back story since this is the sixth game in the Kingdom Hearts series. It takes place (in game time) before all of the previous titles and it follows three characters: Terra, Aqua and Ventus. Each character has their own campaign story that eventually (after you have played all three) forms the entire story of the game. There is also a multiplayer area called the Mirage Arena where you can team up with a few others and fight waves of enemies or race them. A great game that plays well, is action packed and very immersive.
4)
Ghost Recon Predator – 2/5
This is the first Ghost Recon game that I really don’t like. It looks ok (this is the only third person shooter I have for the PSP so it is kinda hard to compare with another game for me) but where it really falls short is in the gameplay. The enemy AI, while stupid (stands out in the open and will ignore you unless you run into them or shoot at them) , has the distinct advantage of being able to shoot you when you can’t shoot back. Getting to cover in many places just means that your bullets will hit the magic invisible wall that surrounds many parts of the environment and will blocks your bullets but not theirs. The friendly AI…well anyone who plays any game will tell you that the enemy AI is always smarter then your ally AI. So if the enemies are dumb do the math and you can figure out that your teammates are the equivalent of toddlers. If you want them to do anything right you have to switch out of one and into another, it makes the whole game feel like an escort mission which I really don’t like. The only reason it is getting 2/5 is because of the customization options.
5)
God of War: Ghost of Sparta – 5/5
The first God of War game that I have played left a great impression on me. In Ghost of Sparta Kratos is on a quest to find his brother Deimos (who was thought to be deceased) who is being held captive by Thanatos , the God of Death. The game is the God of War standard hack’n slash gameplay wise but is incredibly fun and addicting. After the campaign is finished you can always go into the arena area and complete challenges that are difficult (such as fighting off four waves of enemies without being hit once) and fun to play.
Now I know what some of you might be thinking, “Why are four out of your five games rated so high” or “But I don’t like Dissidia Duodecim, why did you give it a 5/5?” Well to answer the first question, the four games I rated highly were games that I bought myself…with Ghost Recon being a birthday gift. For people that don’t know me I will spend 30+ minutes in Gamestop looking at all the games there and trying to find something I think I will like, and as you can see when someone else picks a PSP game for me it can be disastrous (never had a problem with people getting me 360 games though). To answer that second question, just because I like a certain game doesn’t mean everyone else will. I like playing a certain kind of PSP games that maybe someone else doesn’t like, that’s why its MY review of them.
