We all love a good scare, right? Horror games are some of gaming’s greatest past times. Usually booming in October, horror games from the past and present are played all around the world. The problem is, there just aren’t a lot of them made, and the best ones are far and few between. Usually, this is a great time to dig up old classics rather than trudge through recent crap. While the PS1/PS2 era was the golden age of horror games, the HD era, or the seventh generation of consoles, struggled and was probably the most anemic when it came to horror games, especially the good ones. There’s a reason why some of the rarest and most coveted physical games are horror. It’s the genre that’s been the least explored and not done well enough most of the time. If you can look past clunky controls and awkward gameplay most retro horror games do provide good scares, atmosphere, creepy monsters, and good visuals. I’ve compiled a list of the best and the worst.
American McGee is well known for his dark interpretation of the Alice in Wonderland series. The first game, American McGee’s Alice, was clunky mechanically but was a visual treat. The same goes for the sequel. It’s a gorgeous game with a lot of dark themes dealing with mental illness. The enemies are fantastically designed and the levels themselves are living art. Despite the incredibly repetitive gameplay, this one is a blast to play through.
A lot of people didn’t like Homecoming due to its more action-oriented combat, but I actually quite liked it. I feel it was the last good Silent Hill game in the series and it still retains the creepy atmosphere and insane creature design. The haunting music is still present as well. While it’s not as tense as the original trilogy, Homecoming does have better combat despite it being the wrong focus here. This was the first game in the series that was part of the jump to the next generation. The next game in the series, Downpour, would be considered the worst in the series, and I personally hated it. These would be the last games in the series to date.
Metro 2033 and Last Light, these were some of the best horror games to grace the seventh generation of consoles. While they played and looked best on PC, the console versions still looked great and did a good job giving us scares. The post-apocalyptic horror series had an intriguing story and tense atmosphere along with crazy creature designs. The final game in the trilogy, Exodus, would be on the next-generation systems and receive mixed reviews.
While not inherently designed to give you nightmares, Shadows has a lot of horror elements in its design such as creepy enemies and an overall atmosphere of dread. It’s more of a comedy horror title, but it has tons of style that help make swallowing the shallow substance a bit easier. It’s also not very good-looking, on a technical basis, but the art is awesome. Most of Suda 51’s games were one-shots and never saw sequels. SotD never saw high enough sales even if he wanted to do a sequel. To date, it hasn’t seen a remaster, remake, or port.
Condemned Series
Condemned: Criminal Origins really showed us what next-generation visuals could look like. The E3 2006 demo blew me away and it was one of the reasons I got an Xbox 360. This was one of the few games that looked the part and really pushed the industry into a new era of HD visuals. It’s a game that can be replayed many times and you will always have a fun experience. It’s too bad the series is dead because Monolith nailed the atmosphere here. The game is intense with crazy melee combat and incredibly dark and haunting levels. Crazy bums coming out of nowhere breathing and panting and trying to attack you in dark hallways is something else. The sequel, Bloodshot, was great but focused more on combat and less on the atmosphere, so it’s not quite as scary. It was also the nail in the coffin as due to the poor sales of the sequel Sega shuttered the series for good. To date, the series hasn’t seen a remaster, remake, or port of any kind.
Dante’s Inferno is one of the best hack and slash games ever made, but EA was bound to make sure you didn’t know that. It didn’t get much attention or was considered just another God of War rip-off. While the game was short, it had incredibly responsive and fun combat, an interesting protagonist, and insanely gory and adult-themed levels. It’s just too bad the story wasn’t fleshed out enough. What’s here is a fun 4-5 hour game that you won’t find anywhere else. Sadly, the game’s low sales sealed its fate to have no sequel, caused Visceral to shutter, and hasn’t seen a port, remaster, or remake to date.
Specifically speaking about the first two games, BioShock had a crazy dark atmosphere and some creepy enemies and horror that kind of just oozed everywhere. There was no jump scares or downright frightening scenes, but you always had a sense of dread and fear and that’s really hard to pull off in games. The game was more about psychological horror and isolation and it sure pulled it off mostly the best in the first game. Surprisingly, the entire trilogy was released during this generation and would receive barely passable ports later on as the BioShock Collection.
While Dead Space 3 was mostly about the action and less about horror, the first two games were damn scary. I would consider them one of the scariest games I have ever played. Jump scares aside, there was a constant foreboding presence of something lurking around every corner and the Necromorphs are some of the greatest video game enemies of all time. This was peak horror during the HD era. Another trilogy that saw its ending in the same generation cycle. The series would stall here and the first game would receive a remake two generation cycles later.
Deadly Premonition is the perfect game of it’s so bad it’s good. The gameplay is dated and feels like a PS1 game, the graphics are terrible, and the voice acting is awful, but the writing and overall atmosphere the game presents are well done and memorable. It really feels like a PS2 game that was quickly ported over to next-gen consoles without any improvements in mind. It can be scary in the sense that its trippy Japanese horror weirdness will freak you out more than scare you. This is one of the few games you should stomach the terrible design for the weirdness. It’s worth it. It would get a sequel in the next generation, but not look like it and would be poorly received
Oh man, this one brings me back. The first game was very scary with crazy The Ring girl vibes that were all the rage in the early 2000s. The gunplay was genuinely solid and you needed a NASA PC to run it back in the day, but forget about understanding the story. The second game had some really scary elements, but was more action-oriented and had less of a mid-2000s PC shooter Half-Life 2 style vibe to it. The third game, well, just isn’t scary at all. Another trilogy that was released all in the same console cycle. While the first game was a port and was released during the PS2/Xbox era, the entire trilogy would never see a remake or remaster.
The Resident Evil series really took off after the previous generation. This generation would see the most action-focused games yet. Resident Evil 5, 6, and Operation Raccoon City were the main releases. There was also an HD port of the 3DS exclusive Revelations as well as Revelations 2 as a sequel. Some would consider this the weakest run the series had only to go back to its roots in the next generation cycle starting with Resident Evil VII. The games also weren’t very scary around this time. They were just too action-focused and didn’t have the nuanced scares and puzzles as before. Revelations would be the only sub-series to feel scary or have any tension at all. Operation Raccoon City would be lauded as the worst game in the series.
The Last of Us would be considered one of the best horror games ever made. It was wildly praised and made waves throughout the gaming industry receiving awards and praise from all angles. The tense stealth scenes with the Clickers were awesome. These monsters are some of the creepiest and eerie creatures ever made for a horror game. This wasn’t just another zombie game. It would receive a sequel in the following generation as well as some of the most controversial decisions ever for a game. It would also receive a full remake and remaster.
Outlast
Released at the tale end of the HD era of gaming, Outlast never saw a port to consoles until the next generation. It was damn scary. This small indie game made waves and became one of the top streaming games of all time. The tense atmosphere and overall great design, in general, made Outlast terrifying. The sequel would be released several years later on PC and consoles as well as a port of the first game released about a year later.
Amnesia was probably the top-streamed video game of the year in 2010. Game streaming was new and scare reactions reached the charts on YouTube. There hadn’t been many really scary games during this generation. It was all action-focused and multiplayer-focused to generate sales. That’s why this indie game was released on PC only at the time. It had interesting puzzles and enemies you couldn’t fight. It wouldn’t receive a port until many years later and two-generation cycles later. The sequels A Machine for Pigs and Rebirth would be poorly received, and I personally didn’t like them that much either.
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Series
The STALKER series wouldn’t sell well at first but would gain a huge cult following. The entire trilogy was released around the mid-life of the HD era and was exclusive to PC. It’s rough around the edges, but a huge following of modders would improve the game and it wouldn’t be until two generations later when a true sequel would be released. The game never saw a port to consoles and for a reason. The engine is already poorly optimized on PC and wouldn’t do well on consoles. It would be a huge undertaking to port the entire trilogy and it would be hard to market.
Alien Isolation
Alien Isolation wasn’t technically developed for HD consoles, but mostly for PC and next-generation systems. It came out right as the next generation was coming in and the HD versions were quickly forgotten. Isolation is considered the best game in the Alien series and one of the best horror games of the last couple of decades. It captures the 80s aesthetic of the movies and tells a great story while being terrifying. I still haven’t completed it to this day because of how scary it actually is.
Penumbra Series
The original horror trilogy, Penumbra, was developed by Frictional Games who would later go on to make the Amnesia series. This was released for PC only and never received a console port. It was a less talked about indie series that was loved among horror fans, but indie PC games didn’t receive the same spotlight that they do now. Console gamers didn’t care unless they were ported. Penumbra is a slow-paced, puzzle-focused horror series all about adventure and discovery. It’s creepy, full of psychological horror, and is a must-play for any horror fan.
While this is stretching it a bit, The Evil Within was mostly meant for next-generation consoles and PC. It played and looked nice on PS3 and Xbox 360, but those weren’t the intended systems. This was Shinji Mikami’s next opus and was definitely creepy and had some good elements, but was too action focused and unbalanced and the story made no sense. Some say that’s the charm of survival horror games. There’s a bit of jank that’s needed. I personally just thought this game was okay despite the amazing monster designs. A sequel would later come out, but not sell as well.
This is one of my favorite horror games of all time. It has a great story, memorable characters, and a great combat system that plays off of light and darkness. I’ve replayed this game many times and it wasn’t an instant hit for Microsoft. The sales were slow and it wasn’t appreciated until much later. It received a PC port and a recent remaster. It’s a must-play for any horror fan.
Siren: Blood Curse
It was a surprise to see a niche and obscure horror title return to PS3. Siren didn’t sell or review well but is considered a cult classic and part of the classic survival horror era. Blood Curse was a digital-only episodic release that had some great scares and an overall fun adventure. Sadly, only Japan received a physical release.
Oh man, where do I start? My favorite horror series was butchered with this release. I rented this from GameFly and had to follow a guide through most of the game. It was a confusing convoluted mess and felt like a chore to play. It wasn’t scary, wasn’t fun, and was the worst game in the whole series.
While the movies were quite enjoyable despite their flaws, the games were just awful. They weren’t as gruesome as the movies and played it too safe. Pretty much every bad conventional video game flaw was present here. Awful voice acting, terrible graphics, bad puzzles, and poor level design.
Vampire Rain
Easily considered one of the worst games of the HD era there was no redeeming value in this game. There was nothing you could overlook. There wasn’t any “it’s so bad it’s kind of charming” to this game either. It was just a disaster and an unplayable mess. It wasn’t scary, it felt like it was trying to be several games at once, it looked bad, it played even worse, and wasn’t any fun despite all the hype leading up to release.
Aliens: Colonial Marines
This game needs no introduction. It’s been covered by every “worst of” and “most controversial” video game on YouTube out there. Its history has been extensively documented. From broken AI to awful visuals, and just a completely unfinished and broken game. It’s also considered one of the worst games ever made. It’s a stark contrast to Alien Isolation.
I had the displeasure of actually finishing this game when it came out. I was hoping it was going to be a great reboot of a classic horror series. I followed the developer’s diaries all the way through the release and played it without reading any reviews. The game is pretty bad. It’s one of the worst games of the HD era. It was just an awful chore and a mess of a game. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t scary. It was just plain bad.
Amy
Probably one of the worst games ever made. This was a small indie game that was supposed to be full of suspense and horror, but instead, it’s a chore of a game with awful controls and graphics. The game was also poorly optimized and suffered terrible framerate issues. The story made no sense, and overall, it was just a stupid and lazy game.
I was so excited about this game, and every time I think about or have to write about it break’s my heart. I absolutely love Clive Barker’s work and had it since I was a young teen. I fawned after the figures from Todd McFarlane and loved the characters in his movies. Undying was also a cult classic. The game was just trying to do too much at once. It had cramped level design, awful performance, dated visuals, and just felt like a chore. The only thing it had going for it was the art design. It’s one of the worst games I’ve ever played and one of the saddest scars of the HD era.
The Sega Saturn has always been a system that felt like unobtanium to me. It’s expensive, fiddly, has a very obscure and small library, most of the good games are Japanese imports, there are very few accessories and they are big and expensive, and on top of all that, the games are insanely priced. Saturn games are some of the highest-priced games of any system. These days there are things like optical disc emulators, RAM cart hacks, and things like the Satiator that allow you to run games through the video CD port. A lot of people are defensive and go to bat for their favorite way to emulator games on native hardware. I get it. There is no correct way to do it with each having strengths and weaknesses. I went with the TerraOnion MODE due to its high build quality and support as well as its multiple storage options.
I will run through an install of TerraOnion MODE, but unlike most install videos or articles I want to talk about snags and problems I ran into that other people might discover. I want this to be a comprehensive resource for beginners to just buy a Saturn second-hand and know what to get and how to set things up correctly. I will also talk about proper video setup, and again like various disc emulators, there are numerous ways to get good quality video out of the Saturn.
“When you have Sega Saturn, nothing else matters”
Do I want a Japanese, European, or US console? For disc-based gaming, this matters as the Saturn is region locked. There are also Saturns with a power supply mounted to the lid (VA0 model) but are not that common. Most disc emulators work on any console since it unlocks the region locking, but thankfully most hacks for the Saturn have every version in mind. Usually, you can rest easy without seeking out a specific model, unlike the Dreamcast.
Japanese Saturn
So, even if your Saturn doesn’t read discs this is a great option for you. There are also other mods like the ReSaturn that replace the power supply completely if yours is failing. It’s a good idea to open up your Saturn and check the capacitors on the PSU for leakage.
There are also new shell mods you can swap your guts into if your Saturn is in bad shape cosmetically. Overall, these are some mods to consider and systems to look out for when shopping for a Saturn.
It Needs to Look Good
The first thing you probably want to invest in after getting a Saturn system is the video output. There are two main things you need to consider. Good S-Video or Component cables and a good upscaler. I went with the Retrotink 2X Pro and HD Retrovision component cables. Yes, these are expensive but worth their weight in gold. I have never seen a retro console look so crisp and nice as this setup. While that’s the high-end of things there are also cheaper ways to hook up your Saturn and that also includes the TV you’re playing on.
Of course, this is mostly if you’re gaming on a newer HD TV. Buying cheap composite or S-video upscalers on eBay isn’t going to get you good results. Even plugging the console into the back of your TV would be better than those awful upscalers. However, there are cheaper routes and that might be to just buy a CRT TV. They are going up in price due to retro collectors, but you can get many locally for free. While the tube itself might be aged it’s the most authentic experience.
With that said, there are other upscalers that do a good job like an OSSC, but these can be a little much for just casual players who want a good picture. Cables are a huge thing as well. Don’t get cheap S-video cables off of eBay. Most S-video cables actually don’t have the Chroma/Luma in the actual S-video part and are empty. Most are fake that just feed in composite. If you have a Retrotink you can find fake cables by plugging into the S-video and it will be in black and white or won’t display correctly under the S-video input. A correctly wired cable won’t do this. There are some better-known brands out there like KMD. I own one for my N64 and it displays S-video correctly. If you can find them, proper S-video cables won’t have a yellow plug.
Good KMD S-video cables
Optical Disc Emulators – Pros and Woes
These range from carts to full-on boards, and while there are plenty of good choices I’m going to cover the TerraOnion MODE. It’s a very well-made board with both positives and negatives to it, but overall I am very please with it. I’ve had it for two weeks now and figured out some kinks and bugs using various hardware and software that I thought people might run into. A lot of these issues I had to figure out myself as there just isn’t enough info out there.
Installing the MODE is pretty straightforward, but new casual users may be a bit scared to dive into this. If you already did some other mods listed before like the ReSaturn or checked the PSU for leaking caps then you clearly shouldn’t have an issue up until this point. The Saturn is a very single device in the end. Just a disc drive, motherboard, and power supply. Literally only three components in this thing. One thing I do recommend when installing the MODE is StoneAge Gamer’s 3D printed bracket mount. I personally also don’t see the need to use an actual hard drive in this thing and I will get to that later, but they also make an adapter to allow easy access to the drive.
The Optional Power Cable
Now one snag I ran into when installing was for the “optional” power cable. It’s needed for running mechanical drives as the Saturn doesn’t have enough juice to power them, but I recommend installing the cable regardless just to relieve strain off of it. The installation shows pushing the leads into the power supply clip but doesn’t explain how. I watched a few videos and no one has covered this. When you push the power supply down into the motherboard the pins will push a metal “pincher” to the left of the pins. If you press the PSU down slowly you will see this in action. The leads need to get “pinched” by this. I tried sticking them in while the PSU is installed and it just won’t work. You need to fully lift the front side of the PSU and stick the leads into the correct spots. Hold them firmly down and then press the PSU down onto the pins and the “pincher” will firmly hold those wires in place. The other alternative is to just solder the wires directly on the pincher area.
Firmware Updates and Freezing on Boot
Other than that snag the installation went smoothly and I had no issues. Now comes the majority of issues with the software. When I botted up the MODE there wasn’t any explanation on how it actually works. My Saturn booted straight into the CD player mode and I didn’t understand why. Without changing settings you need to put the lid on! I then got into the MODE and it froze up and wouldn’t do anything. After several reboots, the MODE would just read games and freeze. I then updated the firmware and this worked. Remember, the MODE will only auto-detect firmware on SD cards and USB drives. I couldn’t get into the menu to access the update on my 2.5″ laptop drive so that was a major issue. I don’t know what caused the freezing but this fixed it.
Action Replay Flash Carts Not Working
This was one of the biggest headaches I had. The Action Replay 4M carts you can get everywhere are supposed to work with the MODE, but mine didn’t. I didn’t have one with the physical switch, but the auto-switching one. When you plug one of these in their menu takes priority over an ODE because it’s technically just a disc. While this is fine and it works it’s irritating to have to quit the menu of the flash cart to get into the ODE menu. You have to erase the boot menu from the flash cart and make it a standard “dummy” cart. With MODE this is fine as there are manual save backups. You can now easily just fill up your save RAM and then back it all up on the MODE for more games. I will walk you through the process of making an Action Replay an annoying free dummy cart.
The first thing you need to do is download a boot loader called Pseudo Saturn Kai. This is a “game” you can put on an SD Card and launch from the main menu of the MODE. It’s important to download and install the tools cue/iso so you can actually erase the entire menu. This is found in the full version of the download. The lite version for “other” ODEs just erases the firmware, but still boots to PSK every time. We also don’t want to boot into another menu. Remember, you can always restore the flash cart back to the way it was through this utility as well. Just remember what firmware version your flash cart had.
Load up the utilities and go to the save manager and press the R button and go to erase boot menu. This will now turn your cart into a standard RAM cart. Mine works flawlessly for 1MB and 4MB games. I tested nearly every game that uses one and didn’t have any issues.
My Flash Cart Isn’t Being Recognized
This is common and it probably isn’t the cart itself. When you insert the cart to erase the menu you might notice that the detection of the cart in yellow text flashes or it seems the cart is wiggly. This is usually a dirty RAM slot or one that’s too loose or too tight. There are two screws in the RAM slot and you can try tightening it first to see if that works, but if not you need to loosen it. Sega didn’t solder the RAM slot to the board so 6 to 7 turns with a screwdriver on each screw should help until they’re really loose. Mine had this issue as I would load up games and it would only see the cart sometimes despite the cart working fine. Loosening the screws fixed this and I no longer had to set the cart in softly, head-on and not at an angle, or pull it out a couple of millimeters. It’s not the best fix, but it’s better than sticking paper between the cart and the slot.
***My guide made it to the sidebar of r/PSP subreddit. Check it out!***
“Come Out And Play”
March 24, 2005, was a very important day to me. It was one of the most memorable as well. In 2004, when I saw an article for the reveal of the PSP, I lost my mind. It looked so futuristic. Sony created a handheld? No! It was mind-blowing and shook the entire game industry to its core. Sony daring to challenge the almighty GameBoy and DS line? Nintendo was no longer the dominant handheld maker now.
I saved up my allowance for 6 months to get the Value Pack launch unit which I still have to this day. I remember waiting in line at Game Crazy 30 minutes before they opened along with a few dozen other excited people. I remember the employees playing their system inside (I remember talks of Lumines) and I also remember putting down my final deposit and coming up a single cent short. I didn’t want to lose my place in line so I had my youngest sister run out to my mom for a penny when the guy behind me gave me one. I remember the joy and sheer contained excitement when I saw my box get scanned and handed to me. Thankfully we lived a few blocks away so when I got home I tore the box open (not literally) and I had Ridge Racer to play. I remember the sheer beauty of the LCD display and the widescreen picture blowing me away.
My Monster Hunter Portable 3rd PSP-3000 and launch unit 1000
The look of the system is striking still to this day, but in retrospect, the PSP had a rough life and there were a few issues for each iteration as not a single one was perfect. This is a guide on info for each iteration, their strengths and weaknesses, custom firmware, hacking, settings, and various other things regarding the system in 2022. The PSP has a vast library of games and I honestly prefer it over the Vita. It held strong from 2005-2009 before sales and releases declined greatly. During those four years, the system saw some amazing things happen to it.
PSP-1000
The PSP-1000 was the launch unit. This is my favorite unit out of any iteration. Not just because of my nostalgia for it, but it’s the only one that feels truly solid and well built. It has more aluminum parts, a stronger UMD door, and a bigger battery. Overall, the 1000 unit will feel the most solid in your hand. The biggest weakness is the ghosting on the original LCD. These screens were pretty new back in the day so no one really noticed the ghosting. What was there to compare it to? LCD TVs were insanely expensive as well as monitors for PCs. This stemmed from the panels having a low refresh rate. There were also issues with dead pixels. Sony had to send reps out to nearly every game store to explain to them that they won’t warranty out screens with dead pixels as this was expected with the technology at the time. My launch unit had a few, but some people had full lines out of the box.
If you find a launch unit they usually came with the value pack box. While this is meaningless today, it was a great deal back in the day. Most units are loose however and they used to have the most hackable motherboards, but that’s irrelevant today.
Strengths
Best build quality of any unit
Best UMD door
Biggest battery
Most compatible with every custom firmware
Shell swaps
Weaknesses
Terrible screen with ghosting, dead pixels, and dull colors
Lacks the larger RAM that newer systems have
No USB charging
No Bluetooth
No TV Out
How do I make it a better experience?
IPS Panel Mod
You can easily make this PSP the best out of any unit by just modding the IPS screen. Sadly, this isn’t exactly a drop-in mod. You need to solder a bridge between two points on the motherboard otherwise the screen will be shifted to the left and off-center. They are at least cheap being less than $25 and are a breeze to install. It takes all the ghosting and “screen door” effect away and makes it the best panel out of any unit. The below shot is my board variation, but there are two others I will also list.
My own work is shown here. You need a magnifier to really do this mod
The History of PSP Hacking
“Hello World”
Out of respect for the community I wanted to put a little history behind the PSP hacking scene. I was there from day one. I remember the Japanese 1.0 firmware PSPs had already been easily hacked and Sony had fixed this between the US launch with the 1.50 firmware that the launch units shipped with. There was the MagicGate swap in which you had to swap your sticks in the middle of loading a specific file to exploit a loophole. Dark Alex was the father of PSP hacking and without him, we wouldn’t be here today.
ISO Compressor
He created the first ISO compressor called DAX ZISO due to the very small storage sizes for Memory Stick PRO DUOs back in the day. Remember, readily available MicroSD card converters from China weren’t a thing yet. You had to get either a genuine Sony card or a cheaper SanDisk or Lexar card. When the PSP launched it only had a 32MB card for saves. That was it. Eventually, 64/128/256MB cards became available and then after the first year, 1GB cards were around $70-$80. 2GB cards and even 4GB were available but they were $200+. It’s stupidly absurd to think about in 2022, but that was the state of removable storage media in the early 2000s. For a teenager with broke parents, I had to save all of my allowances to finally get a yellow 1GB SanDisk card and I remember ordering it from Newegg and it came in a giant box. I was stoked. I could finally put a single compressed PSP game on my memory stick. Yeah, laugh it up, but without insane compression methods, we couldn’t even play a single full-size game.
Pandora/JigKick
The Pandora battery was something I never explored as I didn’t have the knowledge or know-how and was too scared to destroy my precious PSP that I had saved up for 6 months to attempt. This allowed you to restore a hard brick no matter what firmware you had used the battery’s PCB. Dark Alex teamed up with the incredible Prometheus Team to create this magic.
From the PSPDev Wiki about JigKick batteries:
JigKick (also widely named Pandora) Battery is a PSP battery with its serial number changed to 0xFFFFFFFF.
You can either Hardmod a battery or Softmod it.
Hardmod is when you make a JigKick Battery by opening it up and removing a pin, this can be done to ANY battery.
Softmod is when you make a JigKick Battery by using a program. But it has to be suitable. New Batteries cannot be softmodded.
Hacking Tools
He also created the PSAR dumper used to unpack and decrypt Sony’s firmware. The creation of the TA-082 motherboard was a headache for the scene and was used in PSP-2000 models for 2.71. The great HEN CFW was created for these boards. Owners of this board could breathe a sigh of relief. He also created an Update Flasher that users could easily jump between 1.50 and 3.11 firmwares.
Dark Alex was involved in legal issues with Sony and he left the scene right around its peak but emerged with team M33 to create the M33 firmwares most of us all remember and used the most.
6.61 PRO Infinity 2.0 Custom Firmware
Installing custom firmware to play ROMs, emulators, and homebrew, as well as the quality of life hacks, is a breeze these days. I remember when the first hack was available with firmware 1.50 at launch so we could play videos on our 32MB memory cards.
Tech James has a super easy tutorial video you can follow. You just simply download a few files and drag and drop them onto the memory card. It’s super simple.
Essential Custom Firmware Plugins
Once you install the custom firmware above, you will want some plugins to help with the quality of life for everyday PSP use. This won’t cover niche things like RemoteJoy or oddball hacks. These plugins are quick and easy and just make using the PSP a nicer experience.
Here is a link to a Google Drive folder with all the below plugins. For a great source of almost every CTF theme available, you can visit PSPunk
CXMB
This is essentially the biggest and most popular plugin for the PSP. CXMB allows you to use custom themes and is a good way to figure out how to install every other plugin. I will post Tech James video below as it’s a great tutorial.
Game Categories Lite
This is one of the most useful plugins ever made, and it only became useful after removable storage expanded and got larger. I don’t recommend an SD card over 64GB as the read speed of the PSP is very slow.
CW Cheat
CW Cheat is basically a Game Shark or Game Genie for hacked PSPs. It also works on PS1 games. Here is a link to a video tutorial (embedding is disabled on this video) for a more in-depth guide. CW Cheat has always been troublesome to work with as it’s different for each firmware.
PRXShot
Want to take screenshots of your games? Well, look no further.
Brightness Control
Always wanted more than just the three standard (or four on hacked PSPs) brightness options? This gives you fine-tuning from 0-100 and allows you to set stages and even a default brightness upon boot in a config file.
POPs Loader
This allows you to use Sony built-in software emulator to play PSX games. It’s an incredibly finicky plugin and needs exact versions for each firmware. When you load your game you will be presented with pretty much every version of POPs from previous firmware. There’s no reason to select anything but 6.61 unless there’s a compatibility issue.
Dayviewer
This simple plugin expands the clock on the XMB to show the day of the week, extended time, and various other clock-related things via a text edit.
PSP CustomHome + PSPStates
This mod simply is a combo mod. One allows you to change various things when you press the home button and the other allows save states when pressing the home button. The two work in tandem and can be incredibly useful.
MicroSD to Memory Stick Pro DUO Adapter
One of the first things you need to do is get a MicroSD adapter. They’re cheap on eBay or Amazon for less than $10 and it allows higher capacities than the MSPD came in. These aren’t made anymore and can be quite expensive due to camera collector’s so the adapter is needed. A 64GB one should be sufficient and allow you to put 50-60 games on it. More than enough. Higher capacities aren’t recommended as it slows down the XMB UI by having to read all the games when you open the games folder. It can sometimes take a couple of minutes if you have any more than this just to open the folder. Also, avoid dual-slot adapters as they are awful and of low quality. It also doesn’t matter what speed the SD card is. Even the slowest SD card is 10x faster than the read/write speed of the PSP these days. What will matter is using a USB 3.0 or lightning adapter to transfer stuff to the SD card, so you want a fast card for that purpose.
Battery
There’s an issue with PSPs having swelling batteries that started a couple of years ago. If you have an original battery do not throw it away! You can mod the battery using the good Sony board inside and swap out the cell. Aftermarket batteries today are pretty terrible and barely work, but if you have an original it’s like finding gold. Here’s a guide on how to do the cell swap yourself.
If you don’t have an original battery there are a few Chinese brands floating around such as Ostent, Cameron Sino, Tomee, and Insten are the big names you will see. The best one to get is the Cameron Sino battery for any unit with my own testing and some other research by the community, however, there isn’t enough info to designate a definitive battery brand. Mileage has varied wildly and this is still a weird and challenging issue the community is tackling. There’s a PSP battery guide on the subreddit with people actively doing testing. The general consensus is that they are all pretty much garbage with charges lasting less than an hour, to dead on arrival, to leaking, to just not charging at all, and reporting stupidly inaccurate battery life. But, some people claim great results.
Accessories
There were a ton of accessories for the PSP. The most noteworthy ones are listed below, but you also had the same stuff that the Gameboys had. Magnifying lenses, various cases both hard and soft, rubber grips, screen protectors, various charging cables, AV out cables (2000 and up), grips, stands, cleaning cloths, car adapters, UMD holders, you name it. The list goes on, and most of these are still easy to find today thanks to Chinese sellers.
Cases
Official Sony Soft Case
The case that came with the 1000 Value Pack is the one I use on my unit. These held up well over the use due to not using cheap vinyl or plastic. It won’t survive a big fall, but it helps keep dust and scratches off the unit.
Wrist Strap
The official white wrist strap came with the launch Value Pack and many people said it made the PSP look like a “woman’s purse”. While their insecurities within themselves clearly reflect the look of their handheld console, it’s a striking accessory with well-made leather. These also held up well over the years.
Logitech PlayGear Pocket Case
I had this case for quite a while and it was popular because you could print out inserts for the inside of the case. I printed up tons of these and made my parents mad because I used up the ink a lot. Fun Times.
Camera Go!/Chotto Shot
The PSP was the first handheld system to do AR with the Chotto Shot from Japan. Only a few games support this, but it was cool to take photos on your PSP back in the day. It turned it into a cheap point-and-shoot.
There were two camera models released. The better camera was released in Japan as the Chotto Shot and was 1.3 megapixels while later on the Camera Go! was released in Europe and the US with a measly 0.3 megapixels for Invizimals. The Japanese camera is more sought after and can fetch higher prices.
Chotto Shot 1.3MP
Camera Go! 0.3MP
My personal Chotto Shot. Bought this on PlayAsia back in 2009 for $60
GPS
One of the strangest accessories for the PSP was an unofficial GPS receiver I believe it came with a UMD for the software and required a subscription, but this was the kind of potential the PSP had and no one really carried it. It was truly a swiss army knife of potential thanks to the accessory port, disc drive, expandable storage, wifi, and power. It’s a shame no one took advantage of this.
External Battery Chargers
External battery chargers were big back in the day as people would buy multiple batteries. After a while, third-party batteries started cropping up. They were bigger and offered “battery cover extensions” as well as various snap-in grips or backpack packs so you would game for 10 hours I guess. I never understood the extended battery thing. It’s not meant to be played for hours on end by design. The PSP got four hours of life on the most demanding games (I remember getting four hours playing God of War: Chains of Olympus and nearly beat the game before my battery died), but they were there if you needed them. I personally just swapped out a second third-party battery at my job and got 6-8 hours on two standard-size batteries.
In 2022 your best bet would be to buy a regular battery bank with some sort of barrel jack or USB mini-B adapter as all the accessories back in the day have long gone bad. I also wouldn’t use the official Sony wall charger unless you’ve re-celled an official Sony battery.
Sound Systems
Yep, these were a thing and they were everywhere. There were so many different types, and I’m not sure if Sony even released an official sound system. I personally had the Logitech one as it was the sturdiest and had pass-through charging. These were made because of the PSP’s UMD video and MP3 player capabilities, but most of us at that point had an iPod or another MP3 player. The PSP was a pretty basic and crude MP3 player even after all of its updates. The UMD video format quickly died and I never could understand this even back in the day. I watched two DVDs rips on this thing and gave up. The visible screen matrix made watching movies at sub-480p really annoying and it was eye-straining. However, you now see more UMD videos on retro game stores than games. In 2022, these are nothing more than cool weird thrones to sit your PSP atop of.
Variant: A PSP console that has a different shell color or a unique design Bundle: Standard color PSP systems with pack-in games and content Note: Every video game-specific system usually came in a bundle with the game. These bundles won’t be listed to reduce redundancy
Photos for variants are thanks to consolevariations.com
Official Variants
Ceramic White – EU/JP
Ice Silver – EU/JP
Piano Black – All Regions
Champagne Gold – Japan
Rose Pink – Europe
Blue – EU/JP
Red Bull – Europe
Coca Cola – Japan
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops – Japan
Signature Tsukimi – Japan
Signature Kachofugetsu – Japan
Official Bundles
Loco Roco – Europe
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories – Europe
Daxter – Europe
Pursuit Force – Europe
Rain Wonder Trip – Japan
PSP-2000
“Dude Get Your Own”
This did not go down well. What was Sony thinking?
This unit was the first iteration of the system. It was also dubbed the Slim & Lite as it was 30% smaller and fixed the screen ghosting issue as well as having a brighter screen and video output. There were more colors and pack-in bundles with this version, probably more than any other. This was the peak of the PSP life cycle so Sony really pushed it hard. There were over a dozen colors combined from all regions as well as super rare and more interesting special versions in Japan. If you don’t want to mod your 1000 screen then this is the next best option as it doesn’t feel as cheap as the 3000. It’s a good middle ground if you really want a large variety of colors.
Strengths
Smaller and lighter
Brighter screen with no ghosting
Video output
USB charging
Extra RAM for faster load times from UMDs
Larger variety of versions and colors
Shell swaps
Weaknesses
Build isn’t as high quality as the 1000 model
Smaller battery
No Bluetooth
Official Variants
Ice Silver – All Regions
Piano Black – All Regions
Ceramic White – Japan
Rose Pink – All Regions
Mint – Japan
Lavender Purple – All Regions
Felicia Blue – All Regions
The Simpsons – All Regions
Blue – Japan/US
Deep Red – Japan
Spider-Man – All Regions
God of War: Chains of Olympus – US
Bronze – Japan
Monster Hunter 2 – Japan
Star Wars – US/Canada
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Europe/Japan
Star Ocean – Japan
Official Bundles
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines – US
Buzz: Brain Twister – Europe
1Seg – Japan
Madden NFL 09 – US/Canada
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII – Europe
LocoRoco + The Sime 2 – Europe
Daxter – US
PSP-3000
“Everywhere Just Got Better”
I wound up skipping the 2000 when they came out and got a 3000 unit shortly after release. The 3000 unit was the last regular PSP to be released and had a lot of cost-cutting measures. It was an extremely cheap feeling, but had the best screen and offered USB charging. The 3000 is the most readily available unit on the second-hand market and the one you will find like new more frequently on eBay from Japanese sellers. However, there were still awesome special editions mostly released in Japan that were available. Like my Monster Hunter Portable 3rd one.
Strengths
Even smaller and lighter
Best and brightest screen of the three and better contrast
USB charging
Shell swaps
Special editions
Weaknesses
Incredibly cheap and light feeling
Terribly flimsy UMD door
Some can see scan lines on the screen
No Bluetooth
Smaller battery than the 1000 unit
How do I make it a better experience?
Same as the above minus the screen mod. The 3000 unit is pretty much ready to go without any issues. Horray!
Most of the same accessories worked from the 1000 unit minus some batteries and very specific grips and battery pack snap-ons.
Official Variants
Pearl White – All Regions
Piano Black – All Regions
Mystic Silver – US
Winning Eleven 2010 – EU/JP/US
Blossom Pink – Japan
Carnival Vibrant Blue – Japan
Camouflage – Japan
Hanna Montana – Russia
Dissidia: Final Fantasy – Japan
White and Blue – Japan
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep – Japan
Carnival Radiant Red – Japan
One Piece – Japan
Uta no Prince – Japan
Red and Black – Japan
Carnival Bright Yellow – Japan
Carnival Spirited Green – Japan
Turquoise Green – US/Canada
Gundam vs Gundam – Japan
Hatsune Miku – Japan
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – US/Canada
Marine Blue – Japan
Black and Red – Japan
AKB48 – Japan
Dissidia 012: Duodecim Final Fantasy Chaos & Cosmos – Japan
Green Lantern – US
Official Bundles
Dissidia: Final Fantasy – US
Monster Hunter Portable 3rd – Japan
Poka Poka Airou Village Monster Hunter Diary – Japan
Jill Stuart – Japan
Hanna Montana – US/Europe
Rock Band Unplugged – US/Canada
BlueInvizimals – US/Canada
Silver Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters – US/Canada
Killzone + Tekken: Dark Resurrection – Europe
LittleBigPlanet – Europe
Black Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters – US/Canada
Cars 2 + FIFA 12 – US
Monster Hunter Portable 2G – Japan
Black Invizimals – Europe
Buzz – Europe
PES 2010 – Europe
Mod Nation Racers – Europe
Tomb Raider: Legend – Europe
My Monster Hunter Portable 3rd New Hunter’s Pack is straight from Japan. You can still get like new complete systems there on eBay.
PSP-E1000
Also known as the PSP Street, the E1000 unit was released in PAL regions only and is the least liked system of them all. Sony stripped a lot of features, including wifi, which isn’t a big deal today, but back then you couldn’t play multiplayer games at all with this thing among other cut features. These are only sought after by collectors mostly. It’s also the most expensive to buy because of the limited quantities that were produced. Unless you collect, don’t bother with this unit.
Strengths
Same screen as the 2000
Smaller and slimmer than the 1000 unit
Weaknesses
Cheap build quality
No wifi
Mono speaker
Lacks color variants
No USB charging
No Bluetooth
No brightness setting
Non-removeable battery
No shell swaps
How do I make it a better experience?
Same as the above minus the screen mod. The E1000 is pretty much ready to go without any issues. Horray!
Official Variants
Ceramic White – All Regions
Piano Black – All Regions
Official Bundles
God of War: Chains of Olympus + Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories – Europe
Gran Turismo + Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories – Europe
Cars 2 + Geronimo Stilton Return to the Kingdom of Fantasy – Europe
Gran Turismo + LittleBigPlanet – Europe
Cars 2 + Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension – Europe
FIFA 2010 – Europe
LEGO Harry Potter – Europe
Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier + Cars 2 – Europe
Cars 2 – Europe
PSP GO
Also known as the N100 model, the PSP GO cut a lot of features in favor of a sleeker and more radical form factor, but it was too little too late. Sony claimed there would be some sort of program for UMD owners to get a digital version of their games, but they couldn’t figure it out and it failed. The GO is incredibly expensive these days due to its unique form factor and is usually mostly in pretty rough condition. It also requires different settings when hacking with custom firmware due to the internal storage. There was also the change in removable media format to the Memory Stick Micro which are pretty much insanely priced these days. Sadly, there’s no alternative to the external storage option and no adapters have ever been made. You’re stuck with just the 16GB.
To help stave off angry fans, Sony launched the PSP Mini program that were small download only games. A couple of months later support was added for PS3 and then at launch for the Vita. There were quite a few Mini games released, but most were pretty terrible.
Strengths
Solid build quality
Extremely fun and unique form factor
Bluetooth
Video output
Docking station available
16GB internal storage
Double internal RAM for faster UMD load times
Weaknesses
Smaller screen size
No UMD drive
Uses a new proprietary charging port
New external removable storage format is incredibly expensive and only went up to 32GB
No current simple way to adapt external storage
Only two colors
No shell swaps
Non-removeable battery
How do I make it a better experience?
Replace Scratched Up Lens
These units usually come with really scratched-up lenses, but the problem is that they are glued to the LCD underneath. Thankfully, LCD replacements are cheap on AliExpress and cost around $15. You can also easily get the backside of the shell replaced as well, but currently, there are no front faceplate replacements.
Everything else is the same as above minus most of the accessories. The PSP had an official cradle/base (which I have myself) to turn the system into a desk clock and grips, but that was about it. The cradle goes for a ton of money these days and is probably the most expensive and sought-after accessory for the PSP. There are two variants floating around. A seemingly genuine one with a barrel jack plug and TV-Out and a possible Chinese knock-off that feels light and plasticky with a USB mini-B port.
Official Variants
Black – All Regions
White – All Regions
Official Bundles
Gran Turismo – US/Canada
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs – Fireteam Bravo 3 + LittleBigPlanet + Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters – US/Canada
The Games
If you didn’t already guess the PSP launched with proprietary optical disc media. This was a flaw in the PSP design as it used up more battery life and more moving parts=more failures, and it also created longer load times, but there was no other cheap way to gain gigabytes of storage. The Nintendo DS cards maxed out at 512MB and this wouldn’t do for Sony. They needed something that prevented them from charging $50+ for games and making manufacturing an expensive nightmare for publishers. To also prevent pirating, Sony was future-proofing their system in that regard as well along with the proprietary removable storage. The PSP UMD or Universal Media Discs (universal they were not) were small GameCube size CDs inside of plastic housing. Sony claimed this helped protect the disc from scratches, but others were saying this was to prevent disc copying as they couldn’t be inserted in any disc drive. And it worked. There were no issues with pirating PSP games…physically anyway.
Not long after custom firmware came around people started ripping discs straight to their hard drives via USB. In the pirate community, there’s no if, but when, and it didn’t take long. Within months ISO files of PSP games were floating around the internet forums and various torrent sites. Was this an oversight on Sony’s part? Probably.
No, this doesn’t exist, but I thought it was funny. There was a rumored external UMD drive being worked on by Logitech that never came to be probably due to copyright and patent issues, and mostly…lack of interest
Unless you want to physically collect PSP games there’s no reason to even bother using your UMD drive. In fact, not using it will preserve the drive from wear, but if you have a UMD, it’s good to pop one in here and there and make sure it still works and to prevent parts from sticking. Some UMD drives are starting to have horrible grinding or scraping noises due to the lubricant drying up. A simple application of lithium grease on the worm drive usually helps with this. The drives got cheaper as you moved up the line. The 1000 unit has the most solid drive with a full metal slot while the 3000 is just a door you smash onto the UMD and is mostly plastic.
Solid 1000 UMD drive
Cheap smashy 3000 UMD drive
The Best Mainstream Games
So, let’s open up with the games most people will recommend first or what most mainstream gaming sites like IGN’s top 25 or something will always recommend. When you Google “best PSP games” these are the ones that will most commonly pop up. Think of this as your starting list to get your appetite wet before diving into the “hidden gems”.
#
The 3rd Birthday (All Regions) – It’s okay. A spiritual successor to the Parasite Eve series on PS1. It’s a confusing and convoluted story with somewhat overcomplicated gameplay, but it was one of the last AAA budget PSP games and one of the last releases in general. It also looks damn good. Overall, it’s worth playing for its weirdness.
A
Ace Combat: Joint Assault
Ace Combat Series (All Regions) – A definitive mix of arcade and sim dogfighting. These were spin-offs from the PS2 series. Both look great and play exceptionally well.
After Burner: Black Falcon (All Regions) – I don’t care for this game, but it was really popular when it was released due to the many arcade game fans.
Ape Escape: On the Loose
Ape Escape/Academy Series (All Regions) – Ape Escape: On the Loose was a launch title for the PSP and sold very well. The typical mini-games and charm are here that you loved from the PS1 games.
Assassin’s Creed: Bloodlines (All Regions) – A very faithful spin-off of the first game. It really feels like a full-fledged mini Assassin’s Creed game with an entire small open area to explore and the same great gameplay we loved from the first game. It looks great too and is considered to have one of the better stories of the AC series.
B
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II
BlazBlue Series (All Regions)– Some of the best-looking fighters on the PSP. These were faithful ports from the PS3 versions. They were packed with content and looked amazing and ran very well.
Burnout Legends
Burnout Series (All Regions) – Easily regarded as one of the best racing games on PSP due to the blistering framerate. Legends was a technical marvel back in the day and were one of the most anticipated post-launch titles for the system. Both games look great and feel like faithful ports of their console counterparts.
C
Call of Duty: Roads to Victory (All Regions) – While a very rudimentary WWII shooter in the same style as Finest Hour or Frontline, Roads to Victory isn’t a terrible shooter, but it’s incredibly basic. A quick play-through is satisfying as there aren’t many shooters on the PSP due to that pesky single analog nub.
Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (All Regions) – A highly regarded remake of Rondo of Blood, this is some of the best 2D platforming you will get on PSP.
Coded Arms
Coded Arms Series (All Regions) – This isn’t the most exciting series, but it’s heavily talked about as it was the first-ever first-person shooter on PSP, and I pre-ordered it. Despite how generic it is, and the procedurally generated levels, it plays well and has solid controls and visuals, it’s just basic.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (All Regions) – Oh man, Final Fantasy was at its peak hype was back in the mid-2000s. The Final Fantasy VII saga (that feels like it’s still going on today) was all about a Japanese mobile game, the movie, and this game. There’s a large divide with some people flat-out hating the game, but it’s worth a try even if you aren’t a Final Fantasy VII nut. It has some of the best visuals the system has to offer as well.
Crush (All Regions)- A puzzle game being talked about a lot? This is by far one of the most unique puzzle games released on PSP or ever to be quite honest. Use both 2D and 3D planes to solve puzzles by “crushing” the plane you are on to reach new platforms and pathways. It’s a must-play for any puzzle fan.
D
Darkstalkers Chronicle: The Chaos Tower (All Regions) – This is one of the best fighting games on the system and was a fantastic and surprise launch title. It’s a port of the Dreamcast game and does an amazing job as well. A must-have for any fighting fan.
Daxter (All Regions) – It’s no surprise that a new Jak and Daxter game popped up on the PSP as the series was still going strong around this time. In fitting irony, tiny Daxter has his own adventure on PSP. It’s a solid and charming platformer and will make any Jak and Daxter fan happy.
Dead Head Fred (All Regions)- A weird and bizarre platformer that fits the PSP ecology. While the camera is a bit of an issue, the game oozes charm, character, and fantastic voice acting. It’s a fun romp that looks great too.
Death Jr. II: Root of Evil
Death Jr. Series (All Regions) – An incredibly unique platformer series that had charm and fun characters, but had camera issues that knocked it down a few pegs. It still has that “PSP DNA” that many games helped form in the early years of the system’s life and is worth a play.
Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days
Disgaea Series (All Regions)- There were two PS2 ports to the PSP and all to critical acclaim plus an original title. If you love Final Fantasy Tactics or turn-based strategy games then these are for you. Disgaea is well known for its humor, eccentric characters, and crazy story.
Dissidia: Final Fantasy
Dissidia: Final Fantasy Series (All Regions) – Of course, pretty much anything Final Fantasy is going to be talked about and recommended quite a bit. The Dissidia series is strange as it was almost a Super Smash Bros. clone but with Final Fantasy characters, and of course, it was over-complicated. It’s a weird game, and with this one, unless you like Final Fantasy, you probably won’t get into this. Tons of fan service.
DJ Max Portable
DJ Max Series (All Regions) – Originally released in Korea and Japan this was a fantastic rhythm game with addicting gameplay and music videos playing in the background. It replicates the Japanese rhythm arcade experience in handheld form. It blew up with many people importing the games and it finally came to the US with DJ Max Portable 3 and Fever. There are many versions and collector’s editions released in Asia territories.
Dragon Ball Z: Shin Budokai – Another Road
Dragon Ball Z Series (All Regions) – Yep, Dragon Ball Z fighting games were a huge hit on the PSP and most were damn good and looked great too. I remember my cousin being obsessed with these games on his PSP back in the day.
E
Echochrome (All Regions) – This debut made everyone go nuts at E3 2006. Essentially this is MC Escher: The Game. A very clever and unique puzzle game based on perspective kind of like Crush. The strikingly simple visual style helped push sales and is considered one of the best puzzle games ever made.
F
FIFA 09
FIFA Series (All Regions) – This series is generally considered strong the PSP. The last few entries were mediocre, but 09 and 10 were the best.
Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy Series (All Regions) – I’m talking about the core Final Fantasy RPGs here and not the spin-offs. Some people regard the ports of Final Fantasy 1, 2, and 4 to be the best out there in terms of content and sprite work. These ports were fantastic and a lot of people’s first time experiences with these games. There was also an ambitious 3D game called Type-0 that was only released in Japan until it was upgraded to HD for home consoles. It looked stunning. There was even an amazing port of Tactics as well. The PSP was a fantastic home for Final Fantasy.
G
God Eater: Burst
God(s) Eater Series (All Regions) – This Monster Hunter clone based on the anime was wildly popular on PSP. I couldn’t really get into it, but there is a solid game here, and the series went on the other consoles thanks to its popularity. One trivia fact is that the title was changed to Gods (plural) for the West as to not offend religious folks.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
God of War Series (All Regions) – Well, you can’t have a Sony console without a God of War game showing you what it can do and then no one ever topping it and making you upset. Chains of Olympus was probably the single most anticipated PSP game ever next to Gran Turismo. I pre-ordered it the day it was announced and played through the entire game at work on launch day. It was gorgeous, it felt like the PS2 games, and it was the first game to overclock the PSP to 333MHz achieve what it did. Ghost of Sparta somehow topped all of this and is considered one of the best games in the series.
Gran Turismo (All Regions) – As stated above, Gran Turismo was a myth, a legend. The one PSP game to come out and somehow unlock hidden power no one would ever be able to achieve. To have the ultimate racing sim in the handheld form to never be topped again. While it took the entire life of the PSP for the game to come out, what we got was a solid racing sim that felt like the PS2 games we grew to love. The game upset people due to a lack of a career mode. It felt like Sony said, “Meh, just release it anyways the PSP is nearly dead”.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
Grand Theft Auto Series (All Regions) – This is probably the most played PSP series by far. When Rockstar announced a “port” of GTA3 for PSP it drove sales up and people lost their minds, but how would it work with only one analog nub? Well, it kind of didn’t, but it was still faithful to the PS2 game. The later side story was well received and the DS port of Chinatown Wars was fantastic. There was a long rumor of a San Andreas Stories that never saw the light of day.
H
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Extend
Hatsune Miku: Project Diva Series (Japan) – The popular rhythm game saw the same treatment as DJ Max. Lots of people importing. The series has grown to become a fantastic and addictive game and has spread to many other consoles. The PSP versions had great visuals, catchy Japanese pop tunes, and overall addictive rhythm gameplay that only seemed possible o the PSP.
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2
Hot Shots Golf/Everybody’s Golf Series (All Regions) – The Hot Shots series saw a lot of love on the PSP. Both entries are solid entries and tons of arcade golfing fun.
J
Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier (All Regions) – The last entry to the beloved Jak & Daxter series was on PSP and PS2 despite the PS3 being out for some time at this point. It wasn’t anywhere near as memorable as the original trilogy, but it was a fun game and well worth a playthrough.
Jeanne d’Arc (All Regions) – Considered by many to be the best turn-based strategy game on the PSP and one of the best ever made. This original game had a great story, deep strategy, and just overall tons of content.
K
Killzone: Liberation (All Regions) – While many expected a first-person shooter killer app we got a top-down shooter instead, but a damn fine one at that. The game feels like Killzone and looks great too. There is some strategy to the game, and while the story is lame, it’s all about the fun gameplay.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (All Regions) – Yeah, this was to be expected. The mid-2000s was the peak of Kingdom Hearts and this was easily one of the most anticipated games for the system. It look fantastic and was actually a lot of fun and felt like its PS2 counterparts.
L
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky
The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky Series (All Regions) – A much-beloved port of the two chapters and they are great on PSP. This is by far one of the best JRPGs on the system due to its wonderful story and great characters.
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
LEGO Series (All Regions) – The LEGO series was a huge hit on the PSP thanks to its portability. Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Star Wars all made it to the system and they looked nearly as good as the PS2 games. These are some of the finest platformers on the system even if you don’t care about the IPs.
LittleBigPlanet (All Regions)- One of the only PS3 series to make it onto PSP, this game had it all. Downloadable levels, a level editor, and a vast campaign and it looked fantastic. It’s one of the best 3D platformers on the system.
LocoRoco 2
LocoRoco Series (All Regions) – The tiny yellow singing balls were a huge hit for the early days of the system. The quirky Japanese gameplay was bright and fun and the game looked great too. While the physics got a little weird, the series is part of what makes up the “PSP DNA”.
Lumines II
Lumines Series (All Regions) – The launch title that really helped set the standard for the “PSP DNA”. It was a much talked about game with its unique rhythm and puzzle gameplay mash and was also an instant hit. The series later went on to continue on other systems.
M
Madden NFL 06
Madden NFL Series (All Regions) – Of course one of the most popular sports franchises of all time wouldn’t miss the opportunity to cash in on the PSP. This is one hit-or-miss series on this system. The quality is all over the place so the best thing to do is try them all.
Manhunt 2 (All Regions) – One of the most controversial games on the system due to Jack Thomspon’s violent video game crusade of the mid-2000s. The game was censored blurring out kill scenes that were later patched out for those with hacked PSPs. It’s a solid stealth horror game and one of the most violent on the system.
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance Series (All Regions) – Top-down dungeon-crawling superhero games were all the rage in the mid-2000s and Marvel was doing them the best.
Me & My Katamari (All Regions) – Riding off the success of the first two games on PS2 this was a solid entry to the franchise and worked surprisingly well despite the lack of a second analog stick. It’s one of the best “PSP DNA” games out there.
Medal of Honor: Heroes 2
Medal of Honor: Heroes Series (All Regions) – The other WWII shooter. Surprisingly this series had the more solid foothold on PSP and the most solid entries. Quick and fun objective-based first-person shooting action. Both games back to back are a ton of fun.
Mega Man Series (All Regions) – Capcom hit the ball home twice in a row with two solid platformer entries. Both are considered some of the best entries in the franchise.
Metal Gear Ac!d Series (All Regions) – Hideo’s card-based strategy spin-off was received with mixed reception, but strategy fans loved it. The first game is really rough but improves with the second. The series shipped with weird 3D glasses too.
Metal Gear Solid Series (All Regions) – Probably one of the most popular games on the system and a huge seller. Peace Walker was an official entry while Portable Ops was more of a handheld tailored affair with a follow-up re-release. This is seriously one of the best series of games on the system and helped define the PSP for what it is today. Not to mention the stunning visuals.
MLB 10: The Show
MLB: The Show Series (All Regions) – Probably some of the best sports games on the system and the most consistent with quality. Sony’s exclusive licensed baseball game was a huge hit on the PSP and looked good doing it.
Monster Hunter: Freedom 2
Monster Hunter Series (All Regions) – The Monster Hunter series blew up in the mid-2000s thanks to strong entries on the Wii. Portable 3rd is considered one of the best games in the series, but sadly never made it the West. These games are best played in Ad-Hoc co-op. I had many fun nights with a co-worker playing Portable 3rd.
Mortal Kombat: Unchained (All Regions) – Being a massive Mortal Kombat fan I was stoked to hear the announcement of Unchained. A port of Deception with all content intact? Sadly, there were to main factors that kept this game from achieving the greatness of Deception. No online play and horribly compressed sound. It is still one of the best fighters on the system.
MotorStorm: Arctic Edge (All Regions) – Considered by many to be one of the best-looking PSP games and one of the best racers on the system. The fast-paced arcade action was a ton of fun and sadly was the final entry in the franchise.
N
NBA 2K10
NBA Series (All Regons) – Now there’s a lot of different developers under the NBA license. There was EA’s NBA Live and Street, 2K’s NBA 2K series, Midway’s Ballers and Sony’s own series. The entire license was all over the court in terms of quality. I actually enjoyed Street quite a bit as I loved the console series, but there’s qualities to them all and you should give them all a shot.
Need for Speed: Most Wanted 5-1-0
Need for Speed Series (All Regions) – These were probably the most popular racing games on the system and sold a butt-ton because Need for Speed was the Call of Duty of racing back in the day. Neither entry is amazing, but they all have their qualities and are all worth checking out
P
Patapon 2
Patapon Series (All Regions) – The Patapon series was part of the PSP’s DNA and was incredibly unique and there wasn’t anything else like it on other systems. A turn-based strategy game fused with rhythm-based gameplay was addictive and fun and was a huge hit. I personally got frustrated with the first game and never continued, but I do want to go back and try again. It has striking visuals and cute characters.
Phantasy Star Portable 2
Phantasy Star Portable Series (All Regions) – Phantasy Star was a huge hit on the GameCube and continued on the PSP. While most popular in Japan, the series had an online co-op, but the single-player campaign was also there. It’s a fun pseudo-MMO and the closest we ever got to one on the PSP.
Prince of Persia Series (All Regions) – The Prince of Persia franchise was at its peak in the mid-2000s with The Two Thrones having just been released and the trilogy concluding. The PSP received a fantastic port of that game as Rival Swords, and a decent albeit buggy port of Warrior Within. There was also a port of Forgotten Sands that was completely unique for the PSP.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2013
Pro Evolution Soccer Series (All Regions) – There were many entries on the PSP, and like all the other yearly sports titles, the quality varied. It’s best to play them all and find out which one suits your taste the best.
Pursuit Force
Pursuit Force Series (All Regions) – A surprisingly short-lived series, it was so popular the game got a fun sequel. Tons of popcorn Hollywood action scenes and great visuals. Nothing to really complain about.
Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords (All Regions) – One of the few mainstream puzzle games. Puzzle Quest kickstarted the match 3 RPG mash-up genre we know today on mobile phones. It was incredibly addictive as I remember clocking in 30 hours on the campaign before completion and I couldn’t put it down.
R
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (All Regions) – One of the biggest profile games for the system, Size Matters smashed down on the Earth with a bang. It was everything we loved in the series and somehow managed to make playing with one analog nub fine. It looked great and captured all the fun from the PS2 games.
Resistance: Retribution (All Regions) – Another high-profile Sony exclusive. With PS3 games doing well, the PSP version was a third-person shooter and controlled well and looked amazing. While the story was nothing special it was the great gameplay that made this stand out from the crowd and show the PSP could do shooters.
Ridge Racer
Ridge Racer Series (All Regions) – One of the most high-profile racing games of all time just due to the fact that it was one of the biggest launch titles for the system and a return to a dormant franchise. The game looked stunning, probably the best-looking game at launch, and I remember picking up my pre-order two days before the PSP launch and reading the entire manual over several times. It was exciting and played so well. Perfect controls and tons of content. A sequel was released everywhere but in the US and was mostly just an upgraded version of the first game with new content.
Rock Band Unplugged (All Regions) – This was one of the oddest games to release on the system. A game that is normally totally reliant on external peripherals, but somehow made the game work by switching instrument tracks and using the same button timing system as other rhythm games on the PSP. It was tons of fun and was a full Rock Band experience with DLC songs and all.
S
Secret Agent Clank (All Regions) – Two Ratchet features on a portable?! It was crazy talk. Like Daxter, Clank got a pint-sized adventure all on his own and actually was overall better than Size Matters. The charm was there, the more interesting gameplay, and it just felt tailor-made for the PSP.
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 – Portable
Shin Megami Tensei Series (All Regions) – These were probably some of the biggest RPGs on the system. Person 3 Portable FES was a direct port of the PS2 game with added features and content. It was, and still is, the definitive Persona 3 experience. There were both PS1 ports and a Devil Summoner game exclusive to Japan.
Silent Hill: Origins
Silent Hill Series (All Regions) – It was a huge surprise that the PSP would get two Silent Hill spin-offs. Shattered Memories was a reimagining of the first game with more action and less horror, and Origins was a traditional game and was fantastic and looked stunning. I enjoyed the crap out of Origins and plan to back to it again.
SOCOM: US Navy SEALs: Fireteam Bravo 2
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Series (All Regions) – SOCOM making a showing on the PSP was brave. No one thought it could work, but it was one of the most popular franchises on the system. With four entries, more than even the home consoles, the series was rock solid. Playing through all Fireteam Bravo games will give you a fantastic tactical shooter experience.
SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny (All Regions) – Nearly every high-profile fighting franchise made it onto the PSP. Broken Destiny was a full-fledged original entry and featured Kratos as a guest fighter. It looked great and played well, but sadly there was no online play.
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron
Star Wars Series (All Regions) – There were quite a few Star Wars games on the system from LEGO to three whole Battlefront games!. There were also mediocre ports of The Force Unleashed and a Clone Wars game. Overall, the quality was all over the place, but you should check them all out.
Street Fighter Alpha 3 MAX (All Regions) – Considered by many as the definitive version of the game, the PS1 port is a fantastic entry and looks great to boot. It was the only Street Fighter game we got and thankfully it was a good one. Japan got Zero 3 which was a favorite for importers.
Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
Syphon Filter Series (All Regions) – Syphon Filter is one of my favorite video game series of all time. I played the hell out of the first two games as a kid. My dad and I would rent it every weekend until we eventually just bought them and memorized every enemy placement, weapon, and could eventually get through each game without ever getting hit. The level design was just so fantastic, and when the series got revived for PSP I was so stocked. It was a pre-order for me and I even wrote my own walkthrough guide for them both. That’s how much I love this series. It showed how to do shooters right on the PSP despite its limitations. These are considered the best shooters on the system bar none.
T
Tactics Ogre: Lets Us Cling Together (All Regions) – Despite the strange name, Tactics Ogre is considered by many to be superior to Final Fantasy Tactics in both story and gameplay. While this game didn’t sell very well it is one of the most beloved PSP exclusives mainly because it’s a remake of the SNES game. If you want to sink into a deep game with a lot of story this is one of the best on the system to do it.
Tekken: Dark Resurrection
Tekken Series (All Regions) – Tekken 6 and Dark Resurrection are one of the best fighters on the PSP. The visuals are stunning, the controls are great, and it’s just an overall solid 3D fighter which there weren’t many good ones on the system.
Tiger Woods PGA Tour
Tiger Woods PGA Tour Series (All Regions) – Just like any sports franchise on the PSP the quality was all over the place. While Tiger Woods 07 would be considered the best overall, you need to try them all to really find out what you like. They’re still solid titles on the system with some great graphics and packed campaigns.
Tomb Raider: Anniversary
Tomb Raider Series (All Regions) – Both Tomb Raider ports are some of the best on the system. These are nearly identical to their PS2 counterparts with fantastic controls and excellent visuals.
Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 Remix
Tony Hawk Series (All Regions) – Underground 2 Remix was an amazing game on the system. It ran well, looked good, controlled perfectly, and was packed full of content. I played this game religiously when I was able to pick it up for cheap. It’s just one of the best games on the system. Period. Project 8 was decent, but not the kind of quality that Remix was.
Twisted Metal: Head-On (All Regions) – An ambitious launch title for the PSP. Just one more franchise to come out of the woodwork for the little system that took the world by storm. It was one of the only online infrastructure games back in the day as well.
V
Valkyria Chronicles II (All Regions) – Sadly, the sequel to the popular strategy game was a PSP exclusive and has remained so. An odd choice for sure, but it’s one of the best strategy games on the system and is rock solid all the way around.
Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth (All Regions) – A port of the PS1 game, Lenneth is one of the best RPGs on the system. It has beautiful art, fun characters, and stellar gameplay. The PSP was truly an RPG lover’s dream machine and has some of the highest quality ports of any system to date.
W
Wipeout Pure
Wipeout Series (All Regions) – Wipeout Pure was one of the best launch titles for the PSP and featured a hidden web browser for DLC. I remember leeching off of a neighbor’s Wifi (we didn’t have any wifi devices in 2005 yet) and just thought it was so school despite how terrible the experience was. The series was colorful, had a great framerate, and just looked good.
WWE Smackdown vs RAW 2007
WWE Smackdown vs RAW Series (All Regions) – I’m not a wrestling fan by any stretch of the measure, but this was a very popular series on PSP. 2006 suffered from insanely long load times on the UMD and every entry has varying levels of quality in different areas like any other sports series. Play them all to find your favorite.
X
X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (All Regions) – Seriously, this is one of the best dungeon crawlers on PSP and there aren’t many. Tons of characters, content, and the graphics were great.
Y
Ys VI: The Ark of Napishtim
Ys Series (All Regions) – 2D 16-bit RPGs were a staple for the PSP thanks to many ports from the SNES. Ys had a few solid entries on the system.
The Best “Hidden Gems” or Underrated Games
I want the term “hidden gems” to go away. This term just isn’t relevant anymore as every single retro game from niche and obscure to the mainstream has been documented and probably reviewed numerous times on YouTube. Even the Phillips CD-i and Nokia N-Gage aren’t obscure or hidden anymore. If they were then they wouldn’t be $400 on eBay because they would be “hidden”. This term was more relevant 15 years ago when you walked into a retro game store and someone suggested said game to you. You then took it home and realized how fun it was and why you overlooked it. That’s a hidden gem.
Thanks to the internet that term lost all meaning and the same goes for “underrated”. I prefer the term underappreciated. Underrated in terms of critical reception maybe, but most gamers cherish the underdog so nothing is really underrated anymore, but can still be underappreciated because a casual onlooker may not like the screenshots or understand it from a first glance. Games like Gunpey or Beaterator for PSP may be new to you but just Google those games. Tons of YouTube videos, and top-something lists with them in it. Because of the internet, nothing can truly be hidden anymore. Once something is dug up everyone rushes to go buy it to stick it in their collection.
The following games are underappreciated due to one factor or another. Not enough marketing, low budget, low print run, bad release timing, too hard to understand at first glance, not a big hit with critics, a niche genre, or many other reasons.
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7th Dragon 2020-II
7th Dragon Series (Japan) – A fun Japanese-only RPG with great graphics and fun gameplay. There is a fan translation patch available.
A
Activision Hits Remixed (All Regions) – Fans of 8-bit consoles will have a blast here. Well emulated classics for Atari 2600. Includes 44 games.
Adventures to Go! (All Regions) – A really good dungeon crawler that wasn’t American made.
ATV Offroad Fury Pro (All Regions) – Probably the best in the MX/ATV lineup on PSP in terms of visuals, physics, and content. It was a rock-solid well-balanced racing game, but other entries are worth taking a look at too.
B
Beatorator (Europe) – A well-made music creator from Rockstar Games and producer Timbaland
The Bigs
The Bigs Series (US) – Usually left in the dust by EA’s MLB series, The Bigs was a better baseball game on PSP, but sadly just couldn’t find the sales to keep it up.
Bleach: Heat the Soul 5
Bleach: Heat the Soul Series (Japan) – While incredibly redundant this was a smash hit on PSP in Japan and attracted many importers. There are subtle differences between all seven games so playing them all is the only way to find out what you prefer.
Bomberman (EU/JP) – While it didn’t have any online replay it was the most faithful in the series for consoles up to that point and was a solid entry.
Brandish: The Dark Revenant (US) – Released very late and long after the death of the PSP (2015!) Brandish gave us one last dungeon crawler that was surprisingly fun and well made.
Brave Story: New Traveler (All Regions) – This was actually quite a high-profile RPG since it was released early in the PSP’s life, but no one paid attention. It had great visuals, fun combat, and an entertaining story.
Brothers in Arms: D-Day (All Regions) – While the game was a big clunky it had fantastic visuals and played quite well. All three major WWII shooter players made it onto the PSP, which is quite a surprise in hindsight.
Bust-A-Move Deluxe (All Regions) – This is one of the coziest puzzle games on PSP. While it doesn’t do anything new or exciting it delivers the same great Bust-A-Move gameplay we all love with bright colorful visuals.
Buzz!: Master Quiz
Buzz! Series (Europe) – No, it’s not a game about Kevin McAlister’s brother. A Europe exclusive franchise, Buzz! is a fun trivia game series for people who love that kind of thing. No crazy button peripherals here, but multiplayer is a blast.
C
Cake Mania: Baker’s Challenge (US) – If you love time management games like Diner Dash then this game is up your alley. It was released as part of the “PSP Minis” library.
Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded
Capcom Classics Collection Series (All Regions) – A good amount of classic Capcom games were released on two different UMDs. Games like 19xx, Street Fighter II, Ghosts and Goblins, Mercs, Exed Exes, and many others were well put together and run great here.
Cars
Disney/Pixar Cars Series (All Regions) – Yep, I’m dead serious. The Cars series was pretty solid on PSP and offered a fun arcade racing experience. It looked good and played surprisingly well. Because of the kids-only relationship with Cars, no one really gave it the time of day.
Chili Con Carnage (All Regions) – A crazy over-the-top third-person shooter with lots of humor injected in. It had an unfair checkpoint system, but other than that, it was a solid action title.
Class of Heroes 2
Class of Heroes Series (All Regions) – A “labyrinth crawler” with surprising depth and a fun cast of characters. You’ll definitely sink dozens of hours into the entire series.
Crash of the Titans
Crash Series (All Regions) – Crash Bandicoot didn’t do too well after his PS1 outings. The Crash games that came after were mediocre to just okay at best. The PSP Crash games are decent fun, but nothing amazing. They scratch that itch for a platformer and a kart racing game on the PSP, but nothing more.
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars (All Regions) – A fun and faithful port of both Dreamcast games. While the graphics haven’t improved much it will satisfy the arcade racing craving you might have. There was even online multiplayer at the time.
Crimson Gem Saga (All Regions) – A sequel to Astonisha Story, and a much better game overall, and it offers some wonderful characters and turn-based strategy gameplay. If you finished up Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics then this could be your next time sink.
D
Dante’s Inferno (All Regions) – A cut-down version of the console game content-wise, but the gameplay is rock solid and feels similar to God of War. The console version was short enough as it was, but some boss fights are stripped down to cut-scenes instead. Despite that, the gameplay itself holds up for a few hours of fun.
Dead to Rights: Reckoning (All Regions) – Released alongside the console game Dead to Rights II, the series had one last go before finally disappearing into the ether. It’s a decent third-person shooter all around.
Def Jam: Fight for NY – The Takeover (All Regions) – Def Jam: Fight for NY is one of the best fighting games ever made. Hate the hip hop part of it all you want, all though it features tons of “golden era” hip hop artists from the 90s-mid 2000s, The Takeover was released a year after the console versions with great visuals, solid controls, and tons of content. Easily one of the best fighters on PSP.
Diner Dash: Sizzle & Serve (All Regions) – A port of the DS version, this is Diner Dash greatness through and through. While the DS version is superior thanks to its touch screen controls, it works fine here.
Downstream Panic! (All Regions) – A mix between LocoRoco and Worms. This is truly one of the most unique puzzle games on the system and was criminally overlooked.
Driver ’76 (All Regions) – A prequel to Driver: Parallel Lines for PS2, this is a fun and action-packed driving game. Lots to really like here.
Dungeon Siege: Throne of Agony (All Regions) – a big boy dungeon crawler on a handheld? Many were skeptical, but it really shined and is one of the better dungeon crawlers on the system albeit very rudimentary and basic.
E
Every Extend Extra (All Regions) – Tetsuya Mitzuguchi was at his peak in the mid-2000s. Riding off the success of Lumines his next music-based game didn’t make as large of a splash but was still excellent. This is a bigger version of a freeware game he released for PC back in 2004. He also went on to create the excellent Meteos for DS.
Exit
Exit Series (All Regions) – A very unique puzzle-platformer that had that “PSP DNA”. The game was colorful and tons of fun and had downloadable levels. One of the better puzzle games for the system for sure.
F
Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake (All Regions) – While this was better played with other people, Fat Princess is a cartoony and whimsical tower defense-like game that fits well on the PSP.
FlatOut: Head On (All Regions) – This is what all FlatOut fans wanted. A good portable experience. Spectacular crashes, a great sense of speed, and awesome graphics. It’s one of the better racing games and was sadly completely overlooked by most.
Football Manager Handheld Series (Europe) – If you love spreadsheets you will love this game. Jokes aside, there are many fans of the Football Manager series and it’s pretty decent on the PSP despite the control limitations. If you want some deep strategy involving your favorite sport there’s nothing quite like it on the system.
G
G-Force (All Regions) – A surprisingly good movie tie-in. No joke. While the game is easy it has charm and will keep you interested until the end.
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (All Regions) – Like the anime or not, this was only the second FPS game to be released on PSP right after Coded Arms and before Metroid Prime: Hunters on DS came out. This one kind of did it better. It had a less generic feel to it and did well for the hardware’s limitations.
Gitaroo Man Lives! (All Regions) – A faithful port of the PS2 game. This quirky Japanese rhythm game is in the same lane as Parappa the Rapper. Great tunes and a fun game all around.
Gladiator Begins (All Regions) – A sequel to the PS2 game Colosseum: Road to Freedom this really took me by surprise. I didn’t even see this one come out until years after. It’s a solid Gladiator sim and has solid controls and great visuals.
Gradius Collection (All Regions) – There weren’t many shmups for the PSP, but Gradius Collection is probably the best. Five Gradius games on one UMD and all run great. What more could you want?
Grand Knights History (Japan) – Sadly, this never saw a western release just like Princess Crown, but there is a complete fan translation. Vanillaware has a unique art style and fantastic 2D gameplay. This turn-based strategy game oozes color and personality and is one of the best on the system.
GripShift (All Regions) – One of the best arcade racers on the PSP. Fast-paced action, crazy tracks, and the level editor was a huge hit.
Guilty Gear Judgement
Guilty Gear Series (All Regions) – Three solid fighters on PSP and were all upgrades to previous entries in the series, but that’s okay. Great visuals, excellent controls, and overall just added on to the solid lineup of great 2D fighters.
Gun: Showdown (All Regions) – A stripped-down version of the console games, but not in a negative way. They took the best parts of the console games and stuck them on the PSP. There isn’t an open-world here, but it’s best you will get to Red Dead Redemption in portable form.
Gunpey (All Regions) – Another of Tetsuya’s weirdness, but more on the Rez end of bizarre. It doesn’t meld the magic of music and puzzles like Lumines did, but you should play this more for its oddball magic than the gameplay.
Gurumin: A Monsterous Adventure (All Regions) – This is seriously one of the best action games on the PSP hands down. It received raving reviews, but no one paid attention because of its quirky Japanese exterior and cutesy visuals. I think we’ve all learned that cute visuals don’t make a bad or easy game. Incredibly charming and addictive throughout.
H
Half-Minute Hero (All Regions) – Probably the most unique and original JRPG on the system. You literally have to beat the game in 30 seconds. Level-up, battle, buy equipment, and more all within a 30 second time limit. It’s hard to explain, but it’s something that must be experienced. It’s also pretty funny.
Hammerin’ Hero (All Regions) – It may be simple, but its charm is what will get you. This is one solid platformer with that fun Japanese flair from the early 2000s.
Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley
Harvest Moon Series (All Regions) – Three games came to the PSP, and while not critical successes they are decent sim life fun. A PS1 port also made it over. If you already love the series or want something similar to Animal Crossing this is the closest you will get.
Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (All Regions) – A hilarious FMV game based on the Adult Swim show. There’s tons of humor and video game cameos thrown in. It’s really short but super entertaining.
Hexyz Force (All Regions) – The story won’t blow you away or have you weeping tears, but the gameplay and item management here is stupendous. A really fun tactical RPG that was sadly missed by most.
Hot Pixel (All Regions) – Yep, you guessed it. This is the PSP’s answer to WarioWare. Lots of fun and silly microgames and just as much of a blast as the WarioWare series. It’s too bad no one bought it.
I
The Idolm@ster Shiny Festa: Funky Note
The Idolmaster Series (Japan) – These were huge hits in Japan ending up in the second spot in the sales charts upon release. There are three different versions with different lead idols, but what’s inside are super addictive and charming rhythm games in the same spirit as the Hatsune Miku series. Thankfully there are fan translations now.
Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings (All Regions) – This original Indiana Jones title is a stripped-down version of the PS2 game, but it’s rock-solid action with great visuals.
Infected (All Regions) – This was one of the first post-launch releases and was highly anticipated. This third-person shooter had a unique gameplay loop and online feature. Shooting a hole in a zombie would allow you to use your blood and infect others and start a chain reaction to rack up points.
J
Jackass: The Game (All Regions) – This was based on the movie at the time and featured acting from the original cast. The mini-games are fun, the action is dumb, and it’s pretty hilarious and was done surprisingly well.
James Bond 007: From Russia with Love (All Regions) – The only James Bond game that made it to PSP. Various developers have been able to perform amazing feats of programming for handheld Bond games and the PSP looks fantastic and plays well.
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights
Juiced Series (All Regions) – Another really fun arcade racing series. Looks good too.
Justice League Heroes (All Regions) – One of the few good dungeon crawlers on PSP. Marvel had one of the best and DC’s take isn’t too bad. Great graphics help too.
K
Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble (All Regions) – A Japanese game that made a surprising debut in the West. Kenka Bancho is a fantastic beat ’em up with lots of boss fights and plenty of action.
The King of Fighters Collection: The Orochi Saga (All Regions) – For a system that didn’t have the best D-pad for fighters it sure did get a lot of them. This is a fantastic collection of Kind of Fighters games from the past and they run well and look great. It had a bunch of extra content to unlock too.
Kingdom of Paradise (All Regions) – This game is reminiscent of PS2 action games of yesteryear such as Genji, Onimusha, and others of its ilk. It’s a bit clunky, but still fun and captures that moment of nostalgia.
Knights in the Nightmare (All Regions) – A really high-profile SRPG on DS ported to PSP and was well done. Be warned that the game has a steep learning curve and can be hard as balls. There are multiple endings and should be great for people wanting a deep strategy game to sink into.
L
Lemmings (All Regions) – A fantastic port of the original game with 36 new levels and the ability to download user-made levels. While that isn’t possible anymore what’s here is awesome. If you love deep puzzles this is a game for you.
The Lord of the Rings: Tactics (All Regions) – Another good strategy game on PSP. It’s crazy how many good strategy games this system got. The game looks good and is a strange one-off game for the system that you can’t get anywhere else.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
Lunar Series (US/JP) – The Lunar series was ported with care and quality. The first game was released only in the US while the second game was Japan exclusive. It’s a real shame there was no Western release, but they are both excellent games still.
M
M.A.C.H.: Modified Air Combat (Europe) – This air combat sim was exclusive to Europe and played well and looked great. There were a surprising number of combat sim games on PSP and this was among the best.
MediEvil: Resurrection (All Regions) – A remake of the original game. This was very well done minus the camera issues, but it looked good and is one of the “PlayStation DNA” games that got ported to the system.
Mercury Meltdown
Mercury Series (All Regions) – This is one of the best puzzle games on PSP. The physics are awesome and the clever puzzle designs are addictive. Color coding to open gates and switches, tilting the world to move the mercury and split it apart. It’s a unique game that really needs another entry.
Metal Slug XX
Metal Slug Series (All Regions) – While XX was its own game, the Anthology has all six games and are fantastic ports and play well. The D-pad isn’t the most ideal, but the fact that all six games exist on one UMD is unreal.
Miami Vice: The Game (All Regions) – What. A good movie tie-in game?! Yeah, it’s a surprisingly solid third-person shooter that was heavily overlooked due to the terrible movie and the whole tie-in stereotype. It’s not a super interesting game, but there are very few shooters on PSP to begin with.
Michael Jackson: The Experience (All Regions) – This is an interesting take on the game. While the console versions were motion-based, the PSP one had chibi Michael and button presses similar to Hatsune Miku. It’s not the best version, but it has all the same tracks and is a lot of fun if you are a Michael Jackson fan.
Midnight Club: L.A. Remix
Midnight Club Series (All Regions) – Two console racing games ported with grace on the PSP. While LA Remix has some slowdown unless you overclock your system they both play well. The PSP had tons of great arcade racers and these are no exception.
ModNation Racers (All Regions) – An ambitious if generic kart racer that has a good amount of content and colorful visuals. It’s safe and fun.
MX vs ATV Untamed
MX vs ATV Series (All Regions) – The PSP was not short of racing games and the long-running motocross series made it over in two releases. Both are good for a different reason so I suggest trying them all out.
Myst (EU/JP) – Never released in the US. Myst is one of the few adventure games on the system and this is a fine port of the PC classic.
N
N+ (All Regions) – If you like Super Meat Boy you will love N+. A sadistic platformer with over 200 levels mixed from other versions as well as a level editor with sharable maps.
Namco Battle Anthology
Namco Museum Series (All Regions) – This was a popular series that came back from PS1. Five volumes and a Battle Anthology. A lot of classic Namco titles if that’s your thing.
NCAA Football 09
NCAA Football Series (US) – Probably the best football series on PSP. Even though it’s college football, the NCAA series has long been regarded as superior to Madden.
NFL Street 3
NFL Street Series (US) – Ports of the arcade NFL games. This whole Street series has been highly regarded among fans and should really come back. EA’s strongest time in sports was with their EA BIG lineups such as SSX, NBA Street, FIFA Street, Freekstyle, and Def Jam.
NHL 07 (All Regions) – Easily the best hockey game on the system, and sadly there weren’t many options. EA didn’t release another version despite their other sports titles getting yearly releases.
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Obscure: The Aftermath (All Regions) – This horror title doesn’t do anything new. Solve puzzles and kill monsters with multiple characters while you unravel a story. Fairly dated gameplay-wise, but it fits right in on the PSP.
Outrun 2006: Coast 2 Coast (All Regions) – Probably one of the very top arcade racers on PSP. It looks amazing and clearly given time and care to feel right on the system.
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Pac-Man World 3 (All Regions) – The Pac-Man World series has always been fairly decent, and World 3 on PSP is just as strong as the console versions. What sets World 3 apart from the first two games is its hilariously serious tone in its story.
Pangya: Fantasy Golf (All Regions) – A spin-off of the Korean MMO game, this right here is the single best golf game on PSP. Colorful visuals, a quirky story, lots of content, and great ball physics. It feels like a complete package and less like a port.
Parappa the Rapper (All Regions) – This is probably one of the highest regarded PSP games, but despite raving reviews it just didn’t sell. It’s a fantastic port of the PS1 classic and looks great too.
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
Pinball Hall of Fame Series (All Regions) – The best pinball games on PSP. Two collections allow you to play them in Tate mode. What more could you ask for?
Pipe Mania (Europe) – This puzzle game is really colorful and addictive. Its simple approach is what makes it so accessible and fun.
Power Stone Collection (All Regions) – Ports of the Dreamcast games and well done too. Power Stone is a great fighting game, but better over multiplayer Ad-Hoc.
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient Series (All Regions) – A really fun and weird puzzle game similar to Brain Age, but more 3D and interactive. It really has that weird “PlayStation DNA” attached to it.
Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?
Prinny Series (All Regions) – A spin-off of the Disgaea series, and surprisingly a platformer. This is highly considered one of the best platform games on the system, but it’s really hard and has terrible voice acting.
Puyo Pop Fever
Puyo Pop Series (Japan) – You can’t go wrong with portable Puyo Pop. The Fever series was a fantastic way to play this one the go.
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R-Type Command (All Regions) – Another weird IP to go tactical. One of the best tactical games on PSP, and it’s surprising as R-Type is not a slow methodical game.
Race Driver 2006 (All Regions) – An absolute blast of a racing sim. One of the best on the system, and one of the best looking games on the system period.
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Shrek Smash N’ Crash Racing (All Regions) – Yep. It’s a Shrek game. Yes, it’s actually decent. While no Mario Kart competitor it looks decent and has some fun tracks and fun Shrek characters. You could do a lot worse with the license…and boy did they.
The Sims Series (All Regions) – Fantastic spin-offs of the main PC version. These games hold up surprisingly well and are hand-tailored for mobile play. If you already love The Sims or want some sort of relaxing game on PSP these are it.
Smash Court Tennis 3 (All Regions) – Probably the single best tennis game on PSP and there were a few. Great visuals, controls, and overall content.
Sonic Rivals Series (All Regions) – The only Sonic games to come to PSP. These are considered some of the better games in the series according to Sonic fans. While not perfect they are miles better than most of the 3D turds Sega was pumping out in the mid-2000s.
Space Invaders Extreme (All Regions) – A freaking amazing remix of the Space Invaders game. Like Pac-Man Championship Edition it keeps the addictive formula but turns the volume up to 11.
Split/Second (All Regions) – While it tries hard to capture the magic of the console games, the PSP does a decent job. Not the best racer on the system, but it’s still fun and looks great.
SSX On Tour (All Regions) – A rock-solid entry in the SSX series and looks and feels great on PSP. It’s also the only snowboarding game on the system. Thankfully it’s good.
Star Ocean: First Departure
Star Ocean Series (All Regions) – Great ports of the PS1 games. Safe ports though without many new enhancements, but they’re solid 2D RPGs.
Star Trek: Tactical Assault (All Regions) – Another odd strategy license. While not the best tactical game on the system it does a decent job. I just wish it used the license more.
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Tales of Series (All Regions) – While the West only got Radiant Mythology there were a bunch of ports in Japan. A solid RPG and the sequel is great too.
Test Drive Unlimited (All Regions) – Quite a risk of a release due to Unlimited’s reliance on constant internet connection. The game is still a solid single-player experience and looks awesome.
Thrillville Series (All Regions) – The only amusement park sim on PSP and both games are great. They look good and have a smattering of content to keep you coming back.
TOCA Race Driver 2
TOCA Race Driver Series (Europe) – One of the best racing sims on PSP and was only released in Europe. They look amazing and have great physics.
Tokobot (All Regions) – A criminally underlooked game and one of the best looking too. Lots of fun puzzles here and hours of fun.
Tom Clancy’s EndWar (All Regions) – A genic but fun hex tactical game. The series isn’t the real-time strategy graphical powerhouse that the consoles got. This is more about the strategy than the visuals.
Toy Story 3 (All Regions) – The console version was a surprisingly solid platformer with charm and great visuals. The PSP version is no different. Don’t let the Pixar name fool you either. This is a solid movie tie-in game.
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UFC Undisputed 2010 (All Regions) – A surprisingly solid entry for PSP. Great visuals, controls, animations, and content. Sadly it was the one and only.
Ultimate Ghosts’N Goblins (All Regions) – One of the best platformers on PSP, but also the hardest. The difficulty that the series is well known for is here too.
Untold Legends: The Warrior’s Code
Untold Legends Series (All Regions) – Originally a launch title for the PSP it’s a decent dungeon crawler albeit generic. Nothing amazing but it will scratch that dungeon crawler itch.
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Valhalla Knights
Valhalla Knights Series (All Regions) – An interesting and unique RPG, but has some flaws and issues. If you can look past all of that you will enjoy the series quite a bit.
Virtua Tennis 3
Virtua Tennis Series (All Regions) – A great tennis series all around and there really isn’t a bad one. It’s just a matter of what your preferences and tastes are. You know you have a good library when you get a choice between good tennis games.
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Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command
Warhammer Series (All Regions) – Both games are surprisingly good. Just another great tactics game to add to the PSP’s lineup. If you love the Warhammer license you will really love these games.
The Warriors (All Regions) – A fantastic port of the Rockstar action game. Even if you don’t know anything about the movie its based on you will really enjoy this game.
What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?!
What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord?! Series (All Regions) – A humorous and unique game where you play the bad guy and have to create dungeons to stop the hero. It looks simple but has a lot of spirit.
Wild Arms XF (All Regions) – A fun hex-based SRPG with a lot of dialogue, cut scenes, and story.
World Championship Poker 2 Featuring Howard Lederer (All Regions) – Not sure who Howard is, but this is probably the only good poker game on PSP. The graphics are rough, but it has fun poker gameplay.
Worms: Open Warfare Series (All Regions) – Worms was just another awesome strategy game on PSP. It’s insane how many awesome ones there were. Both games are worth playing and have fun levels and great humor.
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Xyanide: Resurrection (EU/JP) – A direct sequel to the Xbox shmup. It has great visuals and just overall plays well. There weren’t many shmups on the PSP.
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Yggdra Union: We’ll Never Fight Alone (All Regions) – Overall a solid port of the GBA game with upgrades. This is just another solid SRPG with great visuals.
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Z.H.P. Unlosing Ranger VS Darkdeath Evilman (All Regions) – A fun roguelike SRPG with great humor and colorful visuals. Heavily overlooked.
The seventh generation of consoles was really rough. While we did get some awesome games there were a ton of experiments as developers struggled with rising development costs and complicated hardware tech. With the rise of HD gaming, being games rendered in 720p or higher, there was also the struggle to evolve genres with this newfound hardware. First-person or third-person shooters struggled probably the most in this era as open-world games were evolved and, mostly, well done with games like Grand Theft Auto IV, The Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Skyrim, and Saints Row. Shooters were stuck in the past gameplay and design-wise. Corridor shooters with no story or interesting characters, and not to mention lacking an identity which helped make up for the lack of the latter. Your favorite shooters like Doom and Quake didn’t really have a good story or characters, but they had an identity that helped them stand apart from other shooters. The look, feel, weapons, and overall design were unique to that game. This just didn’t happen with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 shooters, and if it did, it was rare. We’re going to take a look at the worst and best shooters in this generation of consoles and why the genre stalled and didn’t really evolve much until the next generation cycle.
This will be a multi-part series due to the number of games. The next feature will talk about the worst third-person games of this generation.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter Series
Ghost Recon was one of the best FPS games for the longest time. It was one of the few good military shooters in the sixth generation of consoles and dominated the Xbox space. Advanced Warfighter was one of the few real next-gen games upon release and was one of the reasons I bought an Xbox 360. It helped introduce me to a real next-gen experience along with Gears of War and Condemned. Advanced Warfighter was nearly perfect. Fantastic level design, perfect gunplay, amazing visuals and animations, and somewhat interesting soldier banter. It still holds up to this day and looks great on Xbox One X. The series went to shit with Future Soldier and completely changed everything.
Gears of War is probably one of the best third-person shooters of all time and by far the single best series for the seventh generation of consoles. It’s the main reason I got an Xbox 360 and I have replayed these games numerous times over the years. They are just perfect. Excellent weapons design, great cover system, well-balanced difficulty, a wonderful cast of characters with depth and backstories as well as a fascinating world to just be in. The games were also leaders in visual and graphical design at the time. Each game pushed the Xbox 360 to new limits I didn’t think it was capable of. The first three games are gems, but Judgement lost me. Developer by the Bulletstorm guys it just felt like an arcade shooter and pretty much ruined the flow of the original games. You aren’t missing anything bypassing that one up.
Lost Planet Series
Lost Planet was an interesting attempt at a third-person sci-fi game from Japanese developers. It felt dated and clunky but was overall a fun game. It looked pretty good too and the PC version was even better. Fighting aliens with orange explodey blood is a blast and the game could get downright hard. The second game was fairly decent mostly focusing on online multiplayer and was incredibly difficult. The third game was more story-focused but didn’t really explore its story to its full potential or gameplay mechanics. The last two games are worth playing through the campaigns but don’t expect anything amazing.
Stranglehold
This was a game that stood out from the crowd. Directed by John Woo and starring Chow Yun Fat, the Hardboiled team took a crack at a video game and it mostly succeeded. The game had great cinematic flair, fast-paced arcade-style gunplay, and great visuals. Sadly, it wasn’t enough to push sales as the game mostly flopped, and Midway canceled a sequel. It’s a lot of fun, if not repetitive, even today and still looks decent. Think of this as an Eastern Max Payne.
Kane & Lynch was a promising series. The first game had a lot of ambition and the first part of the game was mostly decent in scope, but the gunplay felt really bad and it was just a mess. The second game was much better and was an enjoyable cinematic corridor shooter with interesting characters and much tighter gunplay. The game was graphic and a roller coaster ride of bombastic gameplay and was quite a fun evening despite how short it was. Sadly, these improvements weren’t enough to keep the game alive and Square Enix quickly shuddered the series and we haven’t seen anything since.
Does this series need explaining? It’s one of the best third-person shooters franchises of all time and one of the most consistent in terms of quality. Every single game is solid and you can easily spend a weekend going through all three games and have a blast. While the first game feels more dated than the others they are gorgeous games pushing the PS3 to its absolute limits and featuring memorable characters and fun adventures. The gunplay never quite felt right to me, but it’s still solid. The puzzles were fun and the best parts are the huge vistas you get to explore. Each game feels like a new adventure and Nathan Drake is a very lovable character.
Despite Mass Effect is an RPG it’s mostly a third-person shooter with RPG elements. This was a juggernaut for nearly a decade when all three games were released. The first game, while clunky and had poorly implemented RPG elements and loot system, felt vast and large in scope with great characters and a huge system of lore and space fairing universe to dive into. The races, planets, and overall mythology of everything surrounding the story were fascinating and memorable. The series tightened up with Mass Effect 2 and fixed a lot that was wrong with the first game and ME3 was probably the most refined. Great gunplay, tighter explorations, amazing visuals, and a great conclusion to one of the biggest franchises of all time.
The Ratchet & Clank reboot series for PS3 was just as good as the PS2 series. The games pushed the PS3 to its limits and featured the same tight gunplay, unique and zany weapons, and fantastic voice acting with a colorful and well-written cast of characters. The locales were varied with lots of secrets to find and the entire game was just so well balanced and well done. While there is a lot of platforming involved there is also a lot of mini-games and various other things to do in this series. You can spend a week playing this trilogy and have a blast doing so.
Surprisingly not based on the movies, The Bourne Conspiracy was a sleeper hit low-budget title that was really good. I rented this and was surprised at just how solid it was despite its very short length. There were great animations, visuals, voice-acting, and tight controls. The story was pretty forgettable, but it was just so varied and well done I’m surprised it never got a sequel despite the low sales. There were a lot of games like this in the HD era that was pretty good, but no one knew about them and sold poorly. It’s such a weird license to choose and never capitalize one as the Matt Damon films were still coming out at this time.
Another series that doesn’t need an introduction. This was one of the few good horror games of the HD era and a surprising new IP from EA. I remember the first game very clearly as it was so unique and new at the time and was a visual treat. The limb system and using power tools instead of traditional guns helped carve Dead Space into its own thing that separated it far from other shooters and horror titles. It was tense, eerie, and had some good scares. I picked this up on day one with the strategy guide played it straight through and went through it again. The entire series has great replay value, but the third game is a lot to be desired. It strayed too far from the traditional ways of the series and implemented microtransactions and a weird loot system. Still decent to play, but nothing like the first two.
We’re specifically talking about RE5 and RE6 here. These were the two mainline games released during this generation. RE5 was a hotly anticipated sequel and follow-up to RE4. How can you fill those massive shoes? RE5 was pretty much the same as RE4, but a little blander and less interesting. It incorporated co-op and online play which I wasn’t interested in. I was so excited for this game I stood in line at midnight and picked up the collector’s edition. It was a solid game and still is, but doesn’t hold a flame to RE4. RE6 was something that grew on me. I feel like if the game only focused on two campaigns instead of 4 it would have been more focused. I hated this game at first, and it still has balance issues. It can’t decide if it wants to be survival horror or action game. It looked dated at launch, and the PC version is the best way to go as the console versions just look like total crap. Still, the series introduced great new characters into the series that are well-loved today. Revelations were ported from DS and are also a fantastic shooter despite being more simple and linear than the mainline games. It had solid mechanics and some creepy monsters and felt more like RE4 at heart to me.
Hear me out here. This is actually a decent if forgettable shooter. While the first game was a huge deal because 50 Cent was one of the biggest names in the world at the time, this game fell under most people’s radar. The shooting is tight, the graphics are decent if bland and Mr. Jackson’s terrible voice-acting is hilarious. The story is also really stupid, but you get good music, lots of explosions, and shooting action, and after a few hours, you finish the game and put it aside. It’s still a fun romp and is endorsed by a celebrity makes it strange that it turned out halfway decent.
Despite this being an open-world game, it doesn’t quite break the rules being on this list as it’s very underrated and not as well known. While there is an open world it’s still rather small and there are a lot of linear missions in the game. While pretty clunky in most departments, Pandemic was one of the best studios when it came to open-world games and this was one of their last games. The story was forgettable as well as the characters, but the art style was fantastic, and an open-world setting in WWII? Can’t beat that. The stealth gameplay was a lot of fun and the missions were quite varied. There’s a good weekend here waiting for you.
While the first two games were linear FPS games the reboot sequels were “open-world” destruction simulators that were quite entertaining if forgettable. The story and characters were pretty dumb, but Guerilla featured a fantastic destruction system in which you can destroy every building from the outside in or reverse even. I remember playing the PC version and the DirectX 10 version made my PC chug. It looked good, but the open-world part was barely that. It was just an excuse to extend the time between missions. Driving around on the boring Mars sand just to get to another mission was an excuse, but the gameplay was still fun. Armageddon was better in my opinion as it focused more on the story, was still forgettable, and introduced new weapons and less on the open-world stuff. A very interesting franchise for sure, and sadly we haven’t seen anything in a decade.
A lot of people consider this game to be the third Ghostbusters entry. There was a lot of skepticism around this game and rightfully so. The franchise has always been in turmoil due to creators arguing and rights being discussed, but the game turned out great if not forgettable. The story was pretty basic and paper-thin, but we got all the original voice actors and they sounded except for Bill Murray who mostly phoned his lines in. The gameplay was fun and you actually felt like a Ghostbuster. The locales varied from the hotel to a library to a graveyard and while it was short it was sweet.
WET was one of the few new IPs during the HD era that never got a sequel due to poor sales. The game was a boatload of fun with varied gameplay, exciting visuals, an awesome protagonist, and a style similar to Quentin Tarintino’s films. It was brutal, looked good, and had tight controls. Sadly, the story was nonsensical and there wasn’t anything to remember the game by after its short length. It’s still an awesome experience to this day and should be played by anyone who missed it. Sadly, it never got a PC release.
Alan Wake is one of my favorite games of all time. I picked this up on launch day and just remember all the hype leading up to release. It was supposed to be an open world and then not, the story changed numerous times, and we never quite got an idea of what it was until just up until release. I have played through this game many times on both Xbox 360 and PC and thankfully the new remaster can be played by all. I eventually moved into the area where the film was researched. The PNW, and I’m not far from Snoqualmie, WA where the setting was inspired. Whenever I drive around in more remote areas of where I live I think of Alan Wake every time. It has the same atmosphere and feels that the game does, or the game captured the atmosphere here. The gameplay of light vs dark is awesome and unlike any other game at the time. It has a confusing story, but after a couple of play-throughs, you catch what you missed.
I have to be very specific here. There were a lot of Transformers games released during the HD era on both consoles and handhelds, and most were trash. What I’m talking about is probably the best Transformers games ever made and these are both developed by High Moon Studios. War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron not only looked good, but you felt like a Transformer. The controls were tight, each character was detailed and had the same weapons they do in the show and abilities. The story was a bit mundane, but it kept you going. Despite how good all of this was the game was still repetitive and got tiresome towards the end, but thankfully that’s around when the games ended. Even if you aren’t a Transformers fan these are great mech shooters in their own right.
An open-world game you say? You could barely call this game that. It’s an excuse to extend the game time and have driving missions. Outside of missions and going in between missions there’s no reason to be out in the open world. It looks good, feels authentic to the time period, but is mostly pointless. The game has an entertaining story and characters, but they aren’t memorable or anything. The gunplay is tight and the missions are varied. Overall, it’s a great Mafia crime thriller that you can kill a weekend with. The series has always been rough around the edges, but Mafia II is probably the best in the series.
Vanquish kind of came out of nowhere. Like Wet, Binary Domain, Shadows of the Damened, and many other original IPs it just didn’t sell very well. This was an era dominated by mostly sequels. Statistically, these mostly sold the most for any publisher or franchise, and with rising development costs and an economic recession, that’s what publishers stuck to. Vanquish was a gamble, and while it has its issues like severe repetition, a short length, bad voice-acting, and a stupid story, the gameplay itself is fast-paced, frantic, tight, and it looked decent doing it too. Sure, it looks like any other Japanese futuristic military shooter, but the sliding gameplay worked here. Platinum Games was on a roll around this time and every game they made paid off.
Around the time this game came out I was out living on my own and moved away from my parents. Money was tight and I could only afford to rent games for a good couple of years. Shadows of the Damned is a perfect example of a rental you play for an afternoon or evening and send back. There’s nothing memorable about it, the story was dumb, the characters were lame, but man was the game crazy! There were a lot of good ideas here with interesting weapons and some crazy gameplay ideas and monster designs, but the game also looked ugly and dated. Grasshopper Manufacture’s Suda51 was pumping these oddball Japanese games and some were hit and miss. This is still worth a bargain bin purchase for a fun evening.
