There's a school of thought among videogame developers, one of which being Bungie, that believes the secret to creating an enjoyable game is identifying five minutes of intense, fun gameplay and re-creating it over and over and over again in slightly different surroundings. Doing so, according to these developers, ensures that the game will include lots of classic moments and, if all goes right, become an instant classic. But what happens when that formula goes wrong? Enter Pursuit Force, a new racing/chasing game for … [Read more...]

What is it about monkeys that makes people crazy? From Super Bowl ads to Hollywood movies to handheld and console videogames, monkeys and their outrageous hijinks never make for bad entertainment. Well, almost never. You see, the new PSP game Ape Escape Academy does darn near everything it can to debunk that theory for good. The basic premise of Ape Escape Academy is for players to hop into the diaper of an ape in training. Through a series of college-like "courses," players learn how to protect bananas, smack other … [Read more...]

One of the PlayStation 2's dynamic duos, Jak and Daxter, has been an inseparable combination for several years, but even in the world of videogames, all good things must come to an end. Fortunately, with the forthcoming PSP game Daxter, the creativity behind the series still appears to have some life in it. Daxter for the PSP is the first game to feature Jak's sidekick as its solitary star, but it fits into the combined story of the characters by serving as the prequel to Jak II. In the game, players will see how Jak's … [Read more...]

After playing a recent preview build of Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror for the PSP, I must say that the game holds a lot of promise for fans of the stealth-action genre, regardless of the fact that it's appearing on a handheld system. Not only does Dark Mirror feature a single-player campaign with 28 missions, putting most of the console-based stealth games to shame, but it also has online multiplayer action. Add some bonus unlockables, and there's a whole lot of Syphon Filter to look forward to on the PSP. The multiplayer … [Read more...]

I must admit that I never thought a game with the kind of scale and freestyle gameplay that made the Grand Theft Auto franchise such a hit could be done justice on a portable game system. But surprisingly, although Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories for the PSP has some flaws, all things considered it is just as good as, and in some ways even better, that its console and PC counterparts. Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (or LCS for short) places you into the shoes of a former mobster, Tony Cipriani, who has … [Read more...]