welcome aboard.

you don't have to read all 12 pages, but it might help bring you up to speed on various aspects of the PSP we've been talking about for the last... few months or so, I guess.

http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/33145?from=330&comments_per_page=30

HSG is a great game... and HSG2 (currently import only) is even greater. Hopefully it gets released sometime soon in 2008. And JDA is awesome.

I'd rather we keep this in the main thread, but if that's not the way the wind blows, so be it

first stop, check out this list:

http://www.metacritic.com/games/psp/scores/

102 games out that have scored 75% or higher. The top 10 or 20 is a great place to start.

Personally, I think the FFT and Disgaea re-releases are way overhyped. JDA got little to no respect on any of the year end awards lists, but rocked my world completely. You're got it already, so be prepared for some fun.

It's been kind of a drought for new releases the last month or two, but the back catalog is so full that anyone can find at least a handful of games to satisfy. Me, personally... I'm playing the imported "Hajime no Ippo Victorious Spirits Portable" at the moment...

My favorite games so far that I've got for my PSP:

Gurumin
Mega Man Powered Up
GTA (either one, I like them both)
Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles
Daxter
Breath of Fire III (European import, never released here)
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
MGS: Portable Ops
beats (Playstation Network download, costs $4.99 - not worth it if you don't have any songs on your memory stick)

I'm really curious about PATAPON... getting pretty rave reviews from Famitsu... I tried fiddling with the japanese version, but I just couldn't figure it out. This is supposed to hit stateside in february (?) I've heard.

dhelor's got a pretty good list for you. I'll second Beats as a nice diversion if you have music on your memory stick, and I'm still wrapping my hands and brain around the control scheme for MGS: Portable Ops.

Disgaea, MLB 06 or 07, Madden (if you are into that sort of thing, I like it), FFT, Lumines

puzzle games:
---------------

Lumines or Lumines II -- not sure how hard Lumines is to find now, since it was preciously needed for downgrading, it was pretty scarce. Anyway, good game, although I still can't figure out how to get over 100,000 points.

Crush-- gotten very good reviews, although I've never played it

Puzzle Quest-- if you haven't played it for the PC or DS, check it out. Bejeweled meets RPG-lite.

EXit or Exit 2 -- The first one should be dirt cheap to find, and the 2nd never came to north america... but these are really great unique puzzle games.

Carol Vorderman's Sudoku -- yeah, its not a DS, so no touch input, but I found this game pretty entertaining AND informative. It really helped me improve my sudoku skills.

Capcom Puzzle World -- I'm not a huge fan, but it has Super Puzzle Fighter II (which lots of people loved on the PS1).

Luxor -- I don't care what the reviews say, I had a lot of fun with this... it's just Zuma, by another name.

LocoRoco -- I guess you could argue where this goes on the list, but it's ultimately about moving a ball to a goal...so... anyway, this is the kind of game haters say is missing from the PSP... original, quirky, and not available on any other system. Lots of fun Japanese wackiness.

Action Games:
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GTA LCS & VCS -- as has been mentioned, two complete full PS2-style GTA games in the palm of your hand. Yeah, there's pop-up, some wonky aiming, etc., but still... it's a full blown GTA game on a portable. Worth playing if you like the franchise.

Syphon Filter 1 & 2 -- both have gotten great reviews... in fact, #2 has made many "best of 2007" lists for handhelds... I've got the first one, but never played it yet.

MGS portable Ops -- tried playing it... just couldn't get into it.

Daxter/Ratchet & Clank -- Again, two PS2 quality platformers in the palm of your hand. If you like either series, give these a shot. Both are very high quality and worth your time.

Lego Star Wars II -- if you haven't played it elsewhere, this is a pretty much straight console port. Very fun and pretty solid... the only knock is that sometimes things can be a bit small on the handheld screen.

Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles -- the main game is pretty hard core... but if you're a fan of the series its worth checking out. Even though you can unlock the PS1 classic "symphony of the night," you might just want to skip that mess and download SOTN straight from the PSN store. It's pretty dirt cheap... great game.

Tomb Raider Anniversary -- another near PS2 console port... a nice revision of the first TR title... and I think it holds up really well on the PSP if you don't own it on another system.

Mega Man Powered Up -- a shiny new 2.5D platformer with our old friend Mega Man. It's cheap, looks good, plays very old school... allows you to design your own levels and share them, but I've never done that personally.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance -- Again, a quality console port... if you haven't played it elsewhere, it works well here.

Gurumin -- a fun little game... Japanese, quirky. Reminds me of the old Mega Man 3D games on the PS1.

Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron -- yeah, yeah... sounds lame, but it's essentially Crimson Skies with Peanuts characters.

SOCOM series -- Man, can't believe I forgot these. I only played the first one, and it's not quite as awesome as the PS2 version, but it's pretty tight for a handheld game. Also supports online voice chatting with the headphones/mic accessory.

Strategy/RPG Games
----------------------

JDA -- enough said.

Sid Meier's Pirates -- lots of people loved this game, but I just couldn't figure it out without the instruction manual. You might be smarter than I am, however...

Metal Gear Ac!d 1 & 2 -- lots of people hate these games, but I think they're some of the best tactics style strategy games on the system. Yes, it throws a trading card aspect into the mix, but that doesn't stop you from being able to do lots of stuff you do in any traditional tactics game. #1 is dirt cheap... try it and see what you think.

Field Commander-- essentially Advance Wars on the PSP (minus the anime influence). A solid title.

Brave Story -- probably the most fun I've had with an RPG on the PSP. It's very traditional, yet still scratched my RPG itch in a good way. Another bonus is that it's relatively short by RPG standards.

Monster Hunter Freedom 2 -- huge in Japan, but I just didn't get into the game. The world and graphics and gameplay are pretty great, but it's designed to be a multiplayer experience. It's sort of like playing WoW by yourself.

Legend of Heroes I-III -- these games get shredded in reviews, but I found them to be solid and dependable RPGs... sure, they're not A+ titles, but I'm happy playing a B or B- RPG sometimes when the mood strikes. Speaking of which...

Popolocrois -- two PS1 games in one (that never made it to the US before this). Simple, old school, yet very fun. I'm playing this game right now and have so far enjoyed it very much.

Final Fantasy I & II -- Graphically updated remakes of the first two FF games (nothing like FFIII on the DS, but still nice). If you're never played them before, or don't own the GBA cart, or the PS1 disc, and you can find them cheap, they're worth playing.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology -- I had a lot of fun with this for a while, but it got really repetitive and I eventually gave up on it. Might help if you're a fan of Namco's other "Tales" games.

Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon -- if you like the HM series, this is worth checking out... it's set in the future, and adds an exploration element to the game... no romance, though, but still a beautiful and interesting take on the franchise.

Fighting Games
----------------

Tekken DR -- Never played it, but it's supposed to be pretty solid.

Street Fighter Alpha III Max -- very cool game... tons of characters and "isms" and all that crap. Only caveat is that the PSP dpad is not the best for doing stuff like the "dragon punch." Capcom and others have offered a sticky disc that goes on top of the dpad to aid in play.

Power Stone Collection -- if you played this on the Dreamcast, you know what you're getting.

Sports Games:
---------------

Hot Shots Golf -- enough said

Tiger Woods 08 -- more advanced than HSG, but I don't think it's any more fun. If you're looking for a more solid console golf game, this is pretty decent though.

Virtua Tennis WT/3 -- fun, if repetitive.

MLB franchise -- I'm not a big sports guy, but many people who are find Sony's MLB series ti be the best handheld baseball you can find.

Driving Games:
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Ridge Racer -- the first, and still one of the best. Classic RR gameplay.

Burnout series -- surprisingly solid handheld conversions... if you're a fan of the series, worth a look.

Outrun 2006 -- a fun port of the classic coin-op game.

Man, I'm pooped... I'll have to come back to this later...

I wanted to like Disgaea, but it's way too hard core for me... too much grinding, not enough explanation of what you're supposed to be doing. Same thing with MHF2... it's obvious there is a huge and impressive game world there, but the fetch-quests were too generic and similar to hold my interest... never tried to play it online, though.

Wow, thats quite a list, SommerMatt! The strategy/RPG titles are particularly interesting - have to see about tracking some of these down.

If you have the chance to play Silent Hill: 0rigins alone in a large house in pitch darkness with noise cancelling headphones on, you should do it. That game really can get inside your head.

I'll second (or third or whatever) what was said about both Syphon Filter games: even now I am awestruck that they managed to fit so many features into something so small. It plays really well too, all the controls feel very natural. Silent Hill Origins is excellent too. As Switchbreak said, play it in the dark with headphones and it'll almost make you wet yourself on many an occasion. On the less intense side Locoroco is utterly charming, and lumines is horribly addictive.

Sadly, since I got my shiny new PC (a Commodore gaming pc! Woot!) everything is being horribly neglected as I can finally play all the games of 2007...

I don't have any new consoles either so I ply the PSP most of the time (besides PC games). If you like fighting games, Teken:Dark Revolution is a must have. One of the best fighting games around. Medal of Honor is an excellent FPS and has pretty good online multiplayer (up to 16 players online). It's standard deathmatch but it's ONLINE deathmatch on the PSP. Most psp games are local network only.

Dungeon Maker is fairly unique and it's fun for a while but becomes more of the same after a while. Dungeon Siege:Throne of Agony is a pretty fun RPG. I have not played Jeanne d Arc, yet.

Guh??

analog stick moves Logan, face buttons aim.

I just played it for the first time last night and didn't have any problem with the controls. It took a few minutes to get used to it, because the demo doesn't really walk you through it... but after that it became pretty natural. Tap towards a wall/door/crate to hide behind it. Use the analog stick to lean, use face buttons to aim, use R to shoot.

Seriously, I don't think I even got HIT once in the demo (and I'm no action game master).

Jean D'arc, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness. Thank me later = P.

never played that one...

man, I have fond memories of my old P1 166mhz PC playing the original "Interstate '76." Too bad that franchise never really had a modern remake-- Groove Champion must be reborn!