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"Well whaddya know..."

They haven't deleted my login yet!

Oh well, while I'm here...

First off - hello all. Hope you're all having spiffingly wonderful lives. Well, most of you... ;-p

Now that's out of the way...

I have my PSP on pre-order with a certain other online retailer, and I need to get some games for it too. So any of you importers got any recommendations? I'll be buying official UK versions first off, but importers may be in a position to advise, having played the games. Yes, I have read reviews, but personal opinions can give a better balance.

What I'm thinking of so far are Ridge Racer, Mercury, Virtua Tennis, Metal Gear Acid, Ape Academy and Coded Arms. I know some of these are out in other regions, others may not be. Anyone have them and care to share their opinion?

Obviously there are a few must-have games which will be out shortly after launch (I'm thinking GT4 Mobile, Daxter and Pursuit Force specifically), but what of the current games? Is Mercury as much fun as it looks? Does Metal Gear really work as a 'card game'? How does Coded Arms play with only one analogue stick? Is Ape Academy fun? Should I choose a racer other than Ridge?

Also, as PSP is region-free for gaming, what websites would you recommend for cheap import games? Now I know some people at SR get particularly arsey about naming competitors here, even when they sell a multitude of things that SR don't... so feel free to e-mail me (about this only) - address on my profile page. And thanks in advance.

Hmmm lol. I loved PGR2 but yeah the Cones were horrible..I still got all golds on that too...I love my racers like you I guess. From what I've read about Wipeout and Ridge Racer they have both put each franchise back on track, I've yet to see any negative reviews about the two. Wipeout especially looks like being a big game what with the new tracks and all. Burnout is one I think you'll either love or hate. Sometimes I hated it though, getting gold medals on those damn F1 races where-by you went around 250mph around 3 laps without crashing once was a pain in the ass, not to mention the handling in those cars was so twitchy!

sPiKeCaSt wrote:
> does the PSP version of Pro Evo 5 have online play?

[URL]http://uk.videogames.games.yahoo.com/0d/news/pro-evolution-soccer-5-21530d.html[/URL]

"There will be several PSP-exclusive features including wireless play, with a running total of things like goals for, against, wins and so on keeping up with play.

There will be six different leagues, various cup competitions, and the facility to link-up with the PS2 version of PES5 to exchange data including teams created on PS2. Players will then be able to use these teams against other PSP users and swap teams with them too."

I'm undecided over Wipeout. I love the original game on the PS1, but they got progressively worse (I loved the second at first, but tired of it quite quickly). I never bothered with the PS2 version. I think I'll have to try it before I make up my mind.

Burnout, as I've stated elsewhere, isn't my sort of thing. I had the first, but got tired of it quickly, and haven't bothered with the others. I've played demos, but didn't really enjoy them. The pauses for the crash replays did my head in!

I like my racers to be about racing - that's why I stopped enjoying Project Gotham on the Xbox when all I had left were those damn cone time trials! I even find many of the non-racing license tests in the GT games tedious, but I stick with them because I know I love what comes after! :-D

Pro Evo 5 looked quality from the footage I've seen, exactly like the PS2/Xbox versions, I dunno if I'll get it though as the Xbox version looks better, does the PSP version of Pro Evo 5 have online play? I've only so far seen Twisted Metal that has a dedicated online option. Hopefully the online games will start to appear soon, as the DS will be online by the end of the year with MK and Animal Crossing.

I personally cant wait for Pro Evo 5, Smackdown vs RAW and GTA.

They'll be damn fine, along with Virtua Tennis and a few others perhaps.

I should be getting these next week:

Need for Speed Underground: Rivals (ENG version, as I cant read my JAP one)
Metal Gear Acid
World Tour Soccer
Untold Legends
Twisted Metal Head On
Coded Arms
Hot Shots Golf
Gretsky NHL 2k5
Dynasty Warriors
MVP Baseball

Woo.

I think I need to have a closer look at what's coming, some of the launch games look sweet, Wipeout has caught my eye - it looks great plus there has been numerous content packs released. Plus they've just released one with classic tracks in so I've read on IGN. Burnout looks like being good fun though, I loved Burnout 3 and spent 50 hours on it, completed it 100% with all golds, so if Legends is anything like that I'll be getting it :)

The pricing isn't too bad - you can get a US import Value Pack from Lik Sang for $279.90, which equates to around £160. A £20 difference isn't too bad - certainly not as much as you'd normally expect, and a lot less then the approximately 2:1 ratio we normally get in the UK!

Thankfully, there are more than just ports coming for the machine. Daxter, though based on the Jak & Daxter series, is a totally original title. As is Pursuit Force, which - to me - looks amazing, and wouldn't be out of place on a regular console. Lumines is fairly original, though it looks a lot like Tetris. And Mercury looks like Marble Madness on a steroid overdose!

What titles are you particularly looking forward to?

Oh, and nice to see you, too! :-)

Yeah..I agree with you there. I personally wouldn't complain at the price point if it wasn't for the annoying fact that we always get shafed with prices over here. I've got a DS myself and a it's a nice "different" bit of kit which isn't at all trying to be a PSP or offer anything other than a gaming machine. However I think that Sony and Ninty are going for different types of gamer, the PSP however looks like it has it a lot going for it, but ultimately personally I think the UMD movies are pointless..you can't watch them on anything else making it a limited format and I'd rather spend £15 on a DVD with all of the extra's than £15 for a bog standard version. However the online functions and some of the games coming out for it look mighty fine.

I'd like more than just ports though, it'll be a nice alternative for my DS too, I can have the best of both worlds. I'll probably hang on until I see how GTA turns out though, that's looking great so far though. I feel like I haven't been in this forum for ages..I miss this place and all of the older posters! Nice to see you again Wookiee!

I thought so too, but then the DS is what, £100?

Now I don't say this to cause arguments etc., but with the PSP you're getting a machine with significantly more 'oomph', a movie player, an MP3 player, and a whole lot more.

Okay, you may not want to use those features, but they're there nonetheless. If you dont want to buy UMD movies, you can get software for your PC to convert your current DVDs, which can then be stored on Memory Stick for playback. So it's effectively a portable DVD player also - the cheapest of which would set you back around £100 to £130 anyway.

Even the industry folks will tell you that it's a lot cheaper than it should be, given what it can do.

Fair enough, as a Sony fan I probably would say that - but the fact is, it's true.

The more I read about the PSP the more I want one. I'm hoping to get one on launch..but I might hold out until the end of Sep when I get my student loan..plus I get paid again on the 9th of Sep. Burnout looks sweet as, Virtua Tennis looks so damn addictive, and then you've got Ridge Racer and Wipeout..then GTA a month later, I might just have to get one. Loads of good games out for it though. I like the look of Toca 2 as well but I'll hang on for reviews before I shell out. I still think £180 is a little pricey though.