All Entries Tagged With: "PSP"

A Proposition for Sony: Worldwide PlayStation Store

One of the most appreciated aspects of Sony’s consoles this generation – and this applies to both the PS3 and the PSP – is that, when it comes to games, they are “region free”. What does this mean? For those of you who don’t know, various forms of media are typically locked into one region, and can only be played on devices that originate in that region. If you look on the front and/or back of any DVD or BluRay you purchase in North America, you’ll typically see a “Region 1” somewhere on it. This means that it can only be played in DVD or BluRay players native to “Region 1”, which is basically all of North America.

Cladun: This is an RPG Pushed Back Two Weeks

Cladun, the retro-style, dungeon-crawling RPG in your pocket from NIS America, has been hit with a two week delay. The cause for this delay? Two letters. Two itty-bitty letters. During the character creation screen, you are unable to use the “Y” and “h” characters to name your little guy (or gal?). To allow the final version of the game to go up on the PSN for public consumption without those errors, a new build of the game is being produced and submitted to Sony for approval. This process apparently takes exactly two weeks.

We’ll have a review coming for you for this title before the release date, so stay tuned. Just for the record, ours is the buggy copy, but I’m sure this won’t affect our review at all. Well, unless Jon is extremely partial to “Y” and “h”. If that’s the case, heaven help us all.

Portable White Knight Chronicles Officially Announced

In this week’s Famitsu, something that Sony has been hinting around finally was announced – White Knight Chronicles: Episode.Portable – Dogma Wars. This is a version of the title for the PlayStation Portable that is aiming for a release in Japan sometime in 2011. I’m tired of making jokes about how long the first White Knight Chronicles took to localize, so I’ll just tell everyone to not hold your breath for this to come stateside.

This new portable iteration features the White Knight once again, except this time around it’s the enemy. So, something must have taken place in the 10,000 years since Leonard’s adventures in the first two PS3 outings. Not a whole lot is known about this title yet, but it seems to continue the tradition of RPGs that start on a console making their way to a handheld platform, much like Valkyria Chronicles and Kingdom Hearts. I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on this one.

Ys Seven Review

I went into Ys Seven with few expectations, and even less knowledge of the entire franchise than I wanted. Needless to say, it was an RPG and I’m all for trying new RPGs. This one was no different. The Ys franchise has been around for a long time and, unlike other RPG franchises, this one sticks mostly with the same characters, just different stories in each title. Here we have the series’ main character, Adol, and his friend Dogi (is that pronounced like “doggie”?) arriving on a new land via boat. What is your goal? To search for treasures, of course.

Not being a series regular, so to speak, I didn’t quite know what was going on, as the dialog didn’t seem too cognizant that some players may not have played previous games. While the story is unique to this title, I just didn’t “get” all the character interactions between Adol and Dogi because I hadn’t played previous titles in the series. But, all that really isn’t needed to enjoy this game.

Valkyria Chronicles II is Now Available

Words fail at describing the awesomeness that the concept of Valkyria Chronicles contains. If you are a fan of the original you will undoubtedly have high hopes for the sequel. Check out our demo impressions of the sequel (which takes place two years after the setting of the original) , now available for PlayStation Portable on UMD as well as digital distribution on PSN. Enjoy the latest screens after the break!

God of War: Ghost of Sparta Special Edition PSP 3000 Bundle

If you thought that Sony would release another God of War PSP title and not accompany it with it’s own bundle again, I’d like to have what you’re having. We all knew it would happen it was just a matter of finding out when and what color it would be. Thankfully the guys over at the Playstation Blog have received the complete lowdown and decided to share it with the masses. Here’s what you’ll find inside the  entertainment pack bundle:

• Black and Red Two-Toned PSP-3000
• God of War: Ghost of Sparta UMD Game– After God of War concludes, Ghost of Sparta begins with the story of Kratos’ ascension to power as the God of War.
• God of War: Chains of Olympus PlayStation Network Downloadable Game Voucher – Before the events of God of War, experience Kratos’ journey during the 10-years of servitude to the Gods of Olympus in one of the most highly acclaimed action titles of all time!
• Kick Ass – UMD Movie
• 2 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo

The inclusion of Kick Ass makes this a must buy in itself. Hit the jump to check out the high-res gallery!

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep Will Not be Released for PSP Go

Square Enix disappointed some (but likely not that many) when their PR firm recently reported to IGN that Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep, the highly anticipated next game in the Kingdom Hearts series, is currently only set to be released via UMD only. Despite rumors to the contrary, Square Enix currently has no plans to release Birth By Sleep digitally on the PlayStation Network – which is bad news for the ten people out there that actually bought a PSP Go.

This news is especially astonishing because not only is Birth By Sleep almost definitely going to be a top seller, nearly every game released for the PSP in the past year has also had a subsequent PSN release for those who own the PSP Go, even smaller titles. Could this mean Sony is accepting that the PSP Go was not a successful venture?

Just one more reason I’m glad I decided not to upgrade from my PSP 3000.

Parasite Eve 1 & 2 May See a PSN Release

Speaking to VG24/7 recently, the producer of Square-Enix’s upcoming action/shooter The 3rd Birthday, Yoshinori Kitase, mentioned that they are actually looking at bringing the two core titles in the Parasite Eve franchise to the PSN. Apparently these games are in high demand to be re-released as PS1 Classics on the PSN store, so Square-Enix is looking into the possibility. This would be a pretty nice thing to do to drum up excitement and fan support for the next titles that is based in that world, which is The 3rd Birthday.

To make things doubly fine, Tetsuya Nomura himself mentioned on his Twitter feed yesterday that they would “like to do something for the numerous requests for the archives of 1st and 2nd”. Take that as you will, but these two titles would make excellent additions to the PS1 Classic lineup.

Valkyria Chronicles III in the Works?

That may seem like an odd question, considering the second game hasn’t even hit store shelves in North America yet. I can almost guarantee Sega is working feverishly on a third game for the franchise. I’d say that even before today’s discovery that the domain Valkyria3.jp has been purchased by Sega. You can’t get there now because it is password protected, but that almost confirms a third Valkyria Chronicles game is either in the works, or at least is being strongly suggested for production. What do you guys think?

Valkyria Chronicles II releases on August 31, 2010 for the PlayStation Portable.

Valkyria Chronicles II Demo Impressions

To many, the original Valkyria Chronicles was a masterly devised and artfully created strategy RPG, regardless of how much it actually sold, it received near universal critical success. The sequel is nearly upon us, so, I thought we would put together some demo impressions for you, in a bit of a different way this time around – through pictures and sound instead of words. After the break, contributing editor Jon Ireson and myself talk about the demo in a video that shows an entire demo mission play-through. Let us know what you think, and what your thoughts are on Valkyria Chronicles II, which hits stores on August 31, 2010.

Ys SEVEN Now Available In North America, Exclusively On the PSP

As our Senior Contributing Editor, Chad Awkerman (resident RPG guru), lays in bed at night, he dreams of being within the Ys SEVEN universe, counting sword slashes as he attacks the enemy and makes his way  to the end of his quest.

Ys SEVEN is a Japanese action RPG from Nihon Falcom and is available now exclusively on the PSP system in North America. The standard edition for Ys SEVEN is available for a suggested price of $29.99, and a Limited Collector’s Edition, which includes the soundtrack, a 60-page art book and a 12.5″ x 34″ cloth map is available for $49.99 through Amazon.com, Gamestop, and other fine retailers. You can also find Ys SEVEN as a downloadable version through the PlayStation Store for a retail price of $29.99.

GamesCom 2010: Detailed Trailer for The 3rd Birthday Revealed

Square-Enix has shown off a pretty lengthy and detailed trailer for their upcoming PSP shooter The 3rd Birthday. As you probably already know, this title is an extention of the Parasite Eve universe, carrying over many things, including the main character, Aya Brea. In the trailer you’ll get an idea of the story you’ll be playing through and you’ll see some very nicely rendered cut scenes, as well as a few pieces of actual game play. This is shaping up to be a great-looking title that makes use of the PSP to a pretty full extent. Hit the jump to check out the trailer and let us know what you think in the comments!