14 out of 14 people found this review helpful.
I have all the systems yet I can't put this one down!
Date of Review: Apr 21, 2005
The Bottom Line: This console really is as good as the regular systems. I looks great, feels great, and runs great! But expensive.
I told myself that I wasn't going to buy the PSP when it came out. I even bought myself the Nintendo DS to hold me over. I thoguht the DS was great and I'd love it forever and never stop playing it. But soon I noticed the screen was still hard to see under bright lighting.
Then one Sunday I woke up and had a huge urge to buy the PSP. SO I get dressed and drive to the mall. I make myself a deal, if I find the PSP I can buy it. I went to gamestop...sold out, Circuit city...sold out, ebgames...sold out,target...sold out, toys r us....WOOHOO! One left! But they would only sell it to me with the purchase of 1 year warranty which I said heck yah! wrap that thing up! An extra year warranty should always be done because this is the 1st generation model and would have glitches. So I bought the PSP along with Tony Hawk Underground 2 and Dynasty Warriors. I love these 2 games and I have them for my PS2 and X-Box, and I was really happy that I got THUG2 because I haven't played this one yet and I basically bought the PSP to play Dyanasty Warriors and Grand Theft Auto which I pre-ordered already.
The system was easy to set up and start playing. It would even charge when playing games! I was in heaven. The screen was so clear crisp and I knew that the lighting wouldn't be as annoying as my DS. I tried out their demo disc and now I want to purchase some movies to watch on my PSP because it's just that clear and nice!
Wireless was easy to set-up, had no trouble there.
I tried to try out the wireless but no one else was connected to Lumines when I wanted to play, which is a flaw. But I connected to the room with no trouble.
I wanted to change the background color on my PSP but then found out that the colors change with the month so yah.... It'd be cool if I could stick my own background picture on the PSP but oh well...
Now the gaming time came. It was PERFECT! So smooth and loading time took as long as the Playstation would. I always hated the loading time for Playstations so was not surprised that the game took awhile to load. It's why I buy more Xbox games, because Xbox loads faster. But the Xbox didn't come out with a portable for me, so Playstation is one step ahead of them now!
I didn't have such high expectations for Dynasty Warriors, I figure a game that has this much action and details could not run smoothly. They'll end up taking some stuff off and making it weaker. But they didn't! They did modify the game itself a bit. Different areas and way of playing, it's more strategic now. The game play was as smooth as on my xbox and playstation and now I get to play anywhere I want!
The analog stick takes some getting use to...I sometimes feel like I'm gonna break it the way I'm moving it around so quickly and aggressively during game play. But definitely a cool addition to the portable gaming experience.
THUG2 was great too. No complaints at all about the graphics and processing speed. I even bought Lumines because of the raving reviews and I must agree with them all. Definitely an addictive game that is very very fun and I can't wait to get other hooked...though I don't want them touching my PSP.
This leads to the main flaw of the PSP. FINGERPRINTS EVERYWHERE!!! The entire front of the console is covered in the same shiny clear material that shows the slightest smudge! My boss bought the screen protectors from the Pro kit and he says don't get it, they're useless. I recommend just placing those screen covers that PDA's use. I might even try serran wrap.... But yah, the fingerprints can be very very frustrating on such a beautiful screen. Definitely find a way to protect that screen of yours...especially from scratches because you never know when a freak accident will marr it's beauty!
Even though I have the DS and am playing with the PSP more I don't think you can compare the two because of the different games Nintendo and Sony manufacture. Nintendo games are more cute and for girls or youngsters or people who just want to see some friendly characters. While playstsion games are more geared towards dark, violent, sports, and agressive game playing. I'd play my DS for games like Mario Party or The Sims: Urbz where I just wanna be light hearted and enjoy a mild game, and the PSP for games like GTA and THUG2 where I just want some action and blood.
The sleep function on the PSP is cool cuz then it'll just start right back up on where you left off, even in the middle of a game. And it starts up quicker than if you turn off the PSP. But I don't like how I can't tell if the PSP is in sleep mode or turned off because you press up once to turn onto sleep mode but you hold it up longer to turn off the PSP. This part annoys me and I think they could've done a better job there.
Another flaw is that if you want to take advantage of the PSP to it's fullest you need to purchase a memory stick DUO. I had Sony stuff before and so I have tons of regular memory sticks...these won't work. The Duo is backwards compatible though so you won't need those old sticks anymore...see, Sony is sly like that. You have to buy their newer sticks if you want to use their newer stuff. So yah, if you want music and movies and pictures from your comp to play on the PSP you should get at least a 1gb memory stick which is sold for over $100. But it is possible to transfer movies from your comp onto the stick so that you can watch it on the PSP. Should search PSP Forums for the programs.
