I reviewed Chinatown Wars on the PSP the other day and it’s my least favourite GTA game but still one of the best titles on the PSP. You can check out the review here. Actually getting the game working was a bit of a hassle. I got sent a code for it so I went to the PlayStation Store on my PS3 and entered the code. The game popped up and I downloaded it onto my PS3 hard drive, so far, so good. It didn’t take long to download and I plugged my PSP into the PS3 with the controller USB cable and downloaded the game onto the PSP. Once again it was nice and quick with no hassles.
Awesome, I thought, that was easy and I went to load up the game on the PSP. Denied, I need a software update before I can play the game. How do I get a software update for the PSP? Can I just hook it up to my PS3 again and do it the same way as I downloaded the game? No. I have to connect to my wireless network and get it directly. This meant configuring a new network connection on the PSP which actually proved to be pretty easy since I have a wireless router with a WEP key printed on the bottom. I entered the key, it connected and downloaded the update before auto installing it which probably took as long as it had taken me to download and install the game but at least it worked.
In the end it wasn’t too bad and it definitely took less time than going to the shop to physically pick up a copy would have. I’m a fan of buying and downloading games and I buy the vast majority of my PC games through Steam. I’ll probably do the same for the PSP from now on, we just need full console games to adopt the same system and we’ll never have to go to the shops again.
Tags: Chinatown Wars, GTA
Posted in Handheld, Playstation 3, Sony PSP | No Comments »
Sony made some interesting announcements at the GamesCom 2009 Expo. First up was the predictable news that they would be releasing a slim version of the PS3 on the 1st of September. It is 33% smaller, 36% lighter and 10% less loveable. I’m just saying that because I already have a fat PS3 and I love it anyway. None of this shallow obsessive dieting for my PS3.
They are also doing a firmware update for PS3s big and small. It will let you watch BBC iPlayer through your PS3 which is awesome and there are a few other bits and pieces as well. You’ll now be able to browse the PS3 via any Bravia remote so yet another reason why I need to buy a new Sony Bravia TV, the wife will surely cave this time.
There is also the PSP Go, the dinky version of the PSP which slides open. It will be getting a download service where you can buy mini-games, by which they mean under 100 MB puzzle games and casual titles. It has a way to go to catch the Nintendo DS but this still looks like a smart move from Sony.
Tags: GamesCom, Sony
Posted in Handheld, Playstation 3, Sony PSP | No Comments »
Just been playing a Nintendo DS game called Hysteria Hospital: Emergency Ward which I’m reviewing and it was really pretty poor. Like a Flash browser game except they want $20 for it. It’s something I’ve noticed in general about Nintendo lately, they’ve thrown the whole idea of quality control out of the window. This game had the Nintendo Seal of Quality on the back of the box, just like all the shovelware Wii games they churn out. Didn’t that used to mean something? Actually no, they always churned out more than their fair share of total crap you just tend to forget the bad ones.
I was thinking about it and came across this accurate article - How To Get A Nintendo Seal Of Quality
I’ve never been much of a fan of Nintendo and in the past they had games like Mario Kart which is undeniably awesome but now I could count the number of decent Wii and DS games on one hand and most of them are repackaged classics or multi format releases. The top selling game on the DS is Nintendogs and on the Wii it’s Wii Sports. Not exactly inspiring stuff. Anyway not sure what my point is just some aimless Nintendo moaning 
Posted in Handheld, Nintendo, Wii | No Comments »
Just back from a two week holiday in France and we drove. Yes all the way from Edinburgh through the Channel Tunnel and down to a tiny place near Josselin in Brittany. Couldn’t fly for various reasons so we were stuck with the two day road trip and so I dusted off my handhelds, charged them up and finally played some DS and PSP games.
It was only as I went to pick them up and coughed from the thick layer of dust that I realised I hadn’t actually touched either of them for quite a while. The DS has certainly seen more action than the PSP and I’m not ashamed to admit to some Mariokart toilet sessions. I find a Grand Prix comp is about the length of a good dump but you probably don’t need to know that.
Anyway I remembered that the PSP is actually really nice, the screen is awesome and I played GTA Liberty City stories and God of War. The shiny problem definitely cost me a few lives as the sun dazzled me momentarily and caused me to drive into the sea or zig when I should have zagged. Still it was fun and that wee thumb controller thingy is awesome.
Everyone else wanted to play the DS. Mariokart, The Curious Professor Puzzleface (you know the one), Brain Training, Sight Training, maybe I should bring out Toilet Training No doubting the mass appeal of Nintendo then.
Anyway now I’ve returned the handhelds have gone back to their shelves and despite my resolution to play them a bit more there is a PC and a PS3 and a Wii to contend with. I know the next time I reach for them they’ll probably have grown a new layer of dust. When I had a commute I played them daily but for some reason the whole portability factor means in my head that they should only be used in places where you can’t be playing a better game on a better system.
So how much do you use your handhelds? When and where do you use them? Do you think it’s morally wrong to use them on the toilet? Answers on a postcard please….or post them in comments.
While you think on it check this PSP ad out.
Tags: handhelds
Posted in Handheld, Nintendo, Sony PSP | No Comments »
The Nintendo DSi comes out this week and it is the third iteration of the most popular handheld on the market. So what have they done to it you may well wonder? Well it is thinner and slightly longer, the screens are a wee bit bigger, the speakers are improved and they’ve added not just one but two digital VGA cameras. It also has an improved CPU and RAM and you can download games onto it directly. All of which is a bit annoying since I’ve already got a DS. Why should these non-gaming latecomers get a better handheld than me damn it!
Nintendo want it to be “more than a gaming system, and more of a personal tool to enrich our daily lives” which sounds like something a tool would say. Anyway I know what they mean I’m just bitter because I can’t buy another one. The Nintendo DS assault on mainstream society continues and you can use the device to read books, check recipes, train for fitness, stop smoking or just as a notepad.
They’ve already sold well over a million of the new DSi models in Japan. If you want to buy one
it will cost you $170.
Tags: Nintendo DSi
Posted in Handheld, Nintendo | No Comments »
