PSP

The PSP or PlayStation Portable is a hand-held gaming system manufactured and distributed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The consol’s development was first announced during E3 2003 and unveiled only a year later at Sony press conference. The system was officially released on December 12, 2004 in Japan, then North America on March 24, 2005, and finally the rest of the world on September 1, 2005. The PSP is the first portable video game console to use an optical disc format. This disc format called, Universal Media Disc, can store up to 1.8GB of game memory. A distinguishing feature of the console is its large 4.3-inch 16:9 wide-screen LCD TFT viewing screen with a 480×272 resolution. It also has robust multi-media capabilities, which allow you not only to play games, but also listen to music and watch videos. It also allows you to connect with the other PSPs for multi-gaming and with the PlayStation 3. It has 802.11b Wi-Fi support allowing you to access the Internet. It has a USB 2.0 connectivity which allows you to easily transfer and store data from your PC to PSP and vice versa. Aside from that it has a Memory Stick Duo media slot for extra game storage. The PSP is easy to play especially if you have tried the non-portable PlayStation game consoles because the control button layout is very similar to the PlayStation with its cross control pads, analogue stick, triangle, circle, square, and shoulder buttons for L1 and R1.

Latest News

To compete with the Nokia N-gage, there is a rumour, which might actually be true, that Sony is currently working on a PSP-branded phone for this 2009 Christmas season. But, this PSP-branded phone would not be attributed to the Sony Ericsson joint venture. So, it would be purely a Sony release using the PSP as its model for the phone incorporating a lot of its key features into the device. The plan is to retain the PSP game controls and add more keys for the numeric keypad. What the phone would feature is a rotating screen that would make a 180 degree turn when gaming or using your phone. When in phone mode, you have the numeric keypad, menu and function keys and when rotated for gaming your menu or functional keys are transformed into game controls. There would also be no problems supplying the games as what is needed is only to make the PSP phone compatible with the standard PSP games.

Game Reviews

An interesting game out on the PSP is the Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories. The Liberty City Stories is the first Grand Theft Auto game in the series to hit the PSP and it has proved to be a sensation with its excellently clear graphics and superb audio with a jamming music. The game is basically exploring the crime-ridden streets of the city and accomplishing a couple of action-packed missions. You play the role of Toni Cipriani, a returning wise guy, who gets right back to work for Salvatore Leone, father of a well-known crime family. From an errand boy you ascend to become Salvatore’s right-hand man where you start participating in gang wars with the Mafia, triad and yakuza. If you are the type who enjoys exhilarating car races to ghetto smack downs then this is the game for you.

Game Previews

Here is a game worth waiting for, which would probably be released this summer. X-Men Origins: Wolverine PSP game, is based on the flick carrying the same title. It is an action-adventure game featuring X-men’s rough and tough Wolverine. The game focuses on his life story, before he joined the X-men. The story is set in real world locations where gamers are taken through and beyond the storyline of the flick. Armed with razor-sharp adamantium claws, animal instincts and fast healing abilities you dodge enemy attacks, perform amazing feats and take out anything that comes in your way while uncovering the truth about Wolverine’s grim past. Enjoy lightning-quick combat actions, evasive moves, mind blowing combo attacks and a variety of brutal finishing moves.