I only have a small selection of PSP games since I only recently bought myPSP (limited edition Dissidia, so cool!). But I'd highly recommend each game I have.
These are:
Soul Calibur Broken Destiny
Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core
Dissidia Final Fantasy
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite
Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles
Dissidia is an absolute must have title in my opinion for PSP. Superb graphics, original gameplay and a story that could only make sense in an FF context. Besides, haven't you always just wanted to lay some serious beat down on Tidus? And when folks are always like so and so would beat so and so. Well now you can prove who is actually the best (Sephiroth :blush2:).
Crisis core boasts the one thing all Final Fantasy 7 fans wanted. A tie up to all those lose ends. The graphics are amazing, easily on par with the top end PS2 titles and the cinematics are flawless. The gameplay is unique and easy to use. The character growth and materia fusionsystems are original and will take people hours to figure out how to get a decent materia that also boosts stats well. The story is both deep and exciting and the game has plenty of side missions to keep players entertained.
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite is another in the series of dragon slapping games that orginited on the PS2. I believe in its portable format it is actually better than its console predecessors. The graphics are fairly average, with good cinemtaics. The difficulty in this game is the gameplay. The controls are quite hard to get to grips with if you're a casual gamer and it is easy to take on things that are far beyond your capabilities and get completely wiped at the start of the game. In fact I remember some gathering missions where a Tigrex decided to drop in on me and completely batter me to nothing when I was still running round in the gear you start the game with. However, those little problems aside, there is a lot to do in this game. The missions are plentiful and the addition of the farm and the felines gives players other things to distract themselves with. Monster hunters winning feature however, is its only play. Teaming up and taking down a monster is made all the more fun when you do it with your friends.
Soul Calibur Broken Destiny is probably the best beat em up you'll see on the PSP. Fact is even Soul Cal 4 was still an awesome game despite its fallbacks (and the stupid advertising addition of those star wars characters). In my opinion the Soul Calibur games are always gonna be loved because of there easy to pick up, hard to master approach. In Broken Destiny the main emphasis is on customization and online play. The customize options and amount of different combinations you can make a character wear are almost infinite. The gameplay is standard sould cal, with a challenge like story mode which in my opinion is a little lame (standard character story mode would have been better or something akin to the tales of souls from soul cal 3 would have been best). There is also an infinite cpu versus mode where you can pick many opponents to fight, all boasting stupid costumes and varying degrees of difficulty. The graphics are pretty good and the gameplay in fight is sharp and fast, I find that sometimes there is a lack of connection in certain attacks with characters I amused to playing on console but I put that down to slight tweaks made to characters to balance them in the handheld version. Overall a good effort and a must for Soul Calibur Fans.
Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles is probably my favourite hidden gem amongst PSP titles and mainly for one reason only: Symphony of the Night. I'm a big Castlevania fan anyway but this game is actually really good retro gaming action. Worth playing for the fantastic cinematics alone this game is just an updated version of the original Rondo of Blood which came out on the old Nintendo years back. The graphics are good, updated and smooth and the cinemtaics are surprisingly great. The gameplay is standard castlevania. A little slow to be honest now compared to some, but even seasoned veterans will still find this game difficult. There are a good amount fo levels and different paths to choose from and the usual rock solid bosses. Even the good old two seperate endings. But the real prize in this game are the extras. There are hidden throughout the game secret items you can pick up, these come in the form of both music, an unlockable character and 3 complete games. The games are the best bit for me. There is the original version of Rondo of Blood for those that like that old 2D feel and then there's Akumajou Dracula Pekes, which as far as I can tell was the original build for the game which looks like they tried to use the same format as the old Sonic games (you'd have to seeit to believe it). But then there's the reason I bought the game. Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Widely regarded as the best Castlevania. This boasts probably some of the best 2D gameplay any game can produce. It is a huge game with 2 entire castles worth of exploration and divine smackdown on a wide range of beasties. This immersive game boasts standard graphical detail with superb and smooth gameplay. The character growth and equipment systems are well balanced and allow for a challenging experience all the way through the game. With loads of secret room and tonnes to explore as well as fantastic voice acting and just buckets of awesomeness, this is the best Castlevania to get. Besides who wants to pay £60 or so on ebay for a PS1 title when you can get a PSP title for as little as £6? But all in all the range of things you can do and the replay value of Castlevania Dracula X Chronicles make it a must also.
So there you have it folks, a stack of mini reviews that I hadn't intended when I started. But hopefully you'll all find some gems there with those games.
