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PSP Fanboy hands-on: Patapon
Beneath its charming exterior is a complex, deep game. Patapon is not as simple as its childish graphics may lead on. The dying tribe of the Patapon need their God to command them, and after a mysterious absence, you are ready to return to their lives and lead them.We've been spending some time with a localized near-final version of this PSP exclusive, and we have to say we're impressed. We wouldn't expect any less from the team that brought us LocoRoco. It's hard to pinpoint a genre to this innovative title, as it fuses elements from the music and strategy genre. At its core, it's a rhythm title, as you're required to input commands using various drums at your disposal. At first, you only have two: the Pata and the Pon drums. By inputting notes on the beat, players will be able to command their growing Patapon army. For example, by pressing Pata-Pata-Pata-Pon, the creatures will advance forwards. Then, attacks can be executed by inputting Pon-Pon-Pata-Pon.There are a number of drum entires possible, and we've yet to learn them all. Eventually, you'll be able to tell the Patapon to hold, or retreat. We're certain that more advanced moves will be unearthed when we unlock the other drums. (Each drum is assigned to a face button, for four drums in all.) Crucial to successful gameplay is keeping with the beat. As you input commands in sequence, the combo meter increases. When a 10 combo is reached, the Patapon enter Fever mode, which greatly increases their killing power. The spears they throw, for example, can traverse from one side of the screen to the other (as seen in the image above). Timing is crucial, as telling the Patapon to advance at the inopportune moment can lead to a number of unfortunate deaths.%Gallery-11630%
PSP Fanboy hands-on: Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice
Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice has everything we look for in a handheld title. Its bite-sized missions allow for the game to be picked up and put down at any time, while the tongue-in-cheek story and fun characters make even the exposition entertaining. While the game isn't anything particularly astounding, it has its moments of excellence and is fun throughout. This is mostly due to the nature of the gameplay - with each new level you may be expected to perform on foot, in a car, a hovercraft or in control of a heavy machine gun. This removes any chance of the game getting monotonous, though if there's a particular mission type you prefer then you may find yourself getting bored waiting for it to come up again. Pursuit Force really shines during car chase missions, when you can jump from car to car popping baddies in the head and ramming into other vehicles on the road. Not only is it great fun, but it looks pretty good too. %Gallery-3216%
PSP Fanboy hands-on: Wipeout Pulse
What could possibly be better than Wipeout Pure? Simple: a sequel. It may be hard to tell from the videos, but Pulse is a vastly improved sequel in almost every way possible. Visually, the graphics have come quite a long way. With the full 333MHz of PSP's power unlocked, it appears Studio Liverpool has doubled the framerate. Yes, Pulse appears to run at a silky smooth 60fps. This is almost unprecedented in a handheld game, especially one that looks as good as this. The new HUD and announcer is intense, adding a lot of tension to the already-exhilarating gameplay. Weapons are much more important in this iteration of the franchise, as it appears that ships are far less durable than before. Just after a few nicks on the wall, you'll see significant damage accumulate on your shields. Thankfully, you can absorb items by pressing O. We expect the increased power of the weapons to cause far more ships to explode during a race -- and that's just cool. Another significant change is the way ships control. Even though we're familiar with the teams from Pulse, we were surprised to see how differently they control in this sequel. The ships are much more responsive, and the over-compensation we typically used in the previous game actually had us crashing into walls more often. Obviously, the easier controls will be better for those that found Pure a bit too difficult. With better graphics, better presentation, better controls, a brand new screenshot mode that lets you capture images in-game all add up to an experience that betters its predecessors in every possible way. We're insanely jealous of our European friends that can play the game now. For the rest of us, we'll have to wait until next year. %Gallery-4074%
PSP Fanboy hands-on: God of War: Chains of Olympus
We got a chance to try an updated version of the upcoming PSP-exclusive God of War: Chains of Olympus and walked away impressed, yet again. Somehow, the tech team at Ready at Dawn has managed to make the game look even more stunning than the demo disc version earlier this year. We can't pinpoint it exactly, but it appears the framerate has improved, as has the lighting and anti-aliasing. (Maybe it's due to the developer's access to PSP's full power?)Of course, impressive visuals are only a small part of what makes the God of War experience so much fun. Ready at Dawn has managed to capture the feel of the PS2 originals by adapting the controls quite smartly to the PSP. We tried swimming, and found it remarkably easy to get used to. To perform Kratos' underwater dash, players must hold the L and R shoulder buttons together and release. Because it's mapped the same way the dodge move is, it feels rather intuitive.We also got a chance to use some of Kratos' later moves. As in God of War II, Kratos will now be able to reflect enemy attacks by pressing L (block) right before an enemy strikes. We don't know if its our experience with the PS2 game, but we found returning enemy projectiles to be quite easy. Maybe the timing is more generous in this handheld iteration? Regardless, it was easy to catch projectiles and throw them back -- even without a second analog stick.%Gallery-3212%
PS3 Fanboy hands-on: Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is now available in Japan. However, US drivers will be able to get behind the wheel at the beginning of next year. The game, which will be available as a retail Blu-ray disc and as a downloadable title, is shaping up to be one of the best looking games ever made. Running at 60fps at 1080p, Prologue sports an incredible amount of detail. The cars are undeniably beautiful, but what really steals the show are the incredibly meticulously crafted car interiors. Not only do they look realistic, but the displays on the dashboard will accurately represent information to the player. Rear view and side view mirrors offer graphics just as detailed as the main game. We're sure that with Logitech's steering wheel installed, this will be the closest representation of real-life driving ever created in a video game.We were surprised to see the wide variety of car models and colors offered. Prologue may be a "taste" of the final GT5 (whenever it's done), but this sampling feels just as realized as full retail game. We'll have to spend more time with the final code, however, to make any final judgments.In addition to racing, Prologue offers an early version of GTTV, a VOD feature that grants access to the world's most prestigous car-related programming. Thanks to Sony's efforts, US owners will be able to watch programming that was once available exclusively in other territories. Esteeemed shows from both Japan and Europe will be available through the service.Prologue is yet another fantastic release for Q1 of next year. Some will want to hold off until the full version of Gran Turismo 5 is readied. Real car enthusiasts will find Prologue to be a fully featured, well crafted release that's worthy of their collection.%Gallery-4885%
PS3 Fanboy hands-on: Hot Shots Golf 5
At a recent NYC media event, PS3 Fanboy was able to get our hands on a newly localized version of Hot Shots Golf 5. The newest iteration of Clap Hanz's casual golfing game keeps the franchise's highly accessible gameplay, but gains a new level of unprecedented detail and personality, made possible by the PS3. The visuals are impressive, but considering how old the Japanese original is, it no longer has the "wow" factor it had when we first saw the game. The build we played featured the same characters from the Japanese game and the same charming voice acting from the Japanese original. However, localization is not yet complete, and the Sony representative on hand was unable to comment whether or not both English and Japanese language tracks will remain in the game. We urged them to -- let's hope they take our advice. The traditional three-press model returns in Hot Shots Golf 5, which has you timing button presses to determine the strength of a shot. However, a new advanced mode of swinging has been introduced. In this mode, you must look at the character and the position of their club. As they lift their club, you will press X to command them to swing. Because it doesn't use a HUD, it's a very natural way of interpreting the sport, although it does take some time getting used to. Supposedly, you'll be able to add a bit more slice and spin to the ball in this mode. Solid graphics, solid gameplay and fantastic presentation make Hot Shots Golf 5 a worthwhile addition to the PS3 library. The beginning of the year is usually slow for games, but this will certainly make a splash when it releases in March, exclusively for the PS3. %Gallery-11629%
