Editorial: Resisting the Sony Olympian

My Trials in the Road Not-Yet-Taken

In the beginning, Atari reigned supreme. On the first day, Atari lifted its joystick, pointing to the Earth, and Pong was born from the dust and air. All rejoiced in its splendor, and console gaming was (truly) born. On the seventh day, however, the world was torn asunder. Atari's creation, the Jaguar, was an ultimate failure with a large price tag driving away customers and major competition from Sega, Nintendo, and Sony. As Zeus with the Titans, Sony summited Mount Videogamus and cast Atari into the console underworld and took its seat as a new regime. Much good came of this new regime, but the pain of watching Atari die at the hands of Sony stealing market share burned me.

When Microsoft announced their entry into the console market, I was immediately on-board. I had resisted the Playstation 1 and 2 and had instead turned to PC gaming to fulfill my gaming addiction, and so hearing about a competitor to the near-monopoly of Sony had me tickled green. Powering up the black & green beast for the first time to see how combat had evolved with a little diddy called Halo was like being reborn into gaming. My passion increased exponentially and suddenly I was having difficulty dividing my time between PC games and Xbox games. My pockets were (are) not deep, and so grave choices in which game to purchase had to be made. The 360 Train arrived, and I got onboard and rode that sucker through Gears of War, Halo 3, and Modern Warfare. I was a devout Xboxite.

Through all of this, Sony was constantly nagging me...pulling at my sleeve like a little street urchin. God of War videos blew my mind, and the hype and reviews from the sequel burned at

me. Final Fantasy continued to test the boundaries of the system through impressive graphics and fantastic art design. Uncharted took story telling to a whole new level, they say, but yet I resisted. Running out into the rain outside after reading the Uncharted review, I yelled, "Who needs a reinvention of storytelling and adventure gaming when I have Master Chief?! Cortanaaaaaaaa!!!!" to which the person walking their dog screamed and called the cops. In the clink, I had time to reflect...why am I resisting so? Why am I passing up so many amazing experiences and changes to video gaming?

Indeed, you can imagine my conflict when this Christmas I received a 1st generation Playstation 3 from a friend who purchased it from a reliable source (read "no existing hardware or software issues"). Finally, I could play Blu-ray movies on my new 47" LCD tv and experience true HD gaming (since my Xbox does not have HDMI). At long last, I could experience the epic God of War gameplay and understand the Uncharted hype. And yet, I felt as if I was selling out. The giant that had conquered my childhood hero Atari had finally won me over...the street urchin turned out to be a farse, a cover. Alas, I cast all doubt aside and fired the black beast up.

Wanting to first see what Playstation Home was all about, I stupidly began downloading the patches. One after another, they sped through downloading and installing and with each 100% I grew more and more excited. My dual-console future was finally here...and then, 67% installed and....error. The patch failed to install, so I restarted the PS3 and it went right back into the installation. 67% and error. I tried over and over to restart with the same result. A quick Google search using the error code showed that this was a common error with this particular patch: the installation fails and you are put into an inescapable loop of install, fail, install, fail. I tried replacing the hard drive, resetting in different ways, and yet nothing worked. The 1 failsafe solution that I read about was to call Playstation and send it in for $150 repair. A repair needed because of a failed Playstation patch that costs $150...and through my research I discovered this was not the first time Sony had failed its customers: the Yellow Light of Death, other patch failures, the list goes on. Not once did Sony admit fault or offer a free fix.

I was defeated...and yet relieved. There was a valid reason, it turned out, for me to resist the Sony-giant for so long. Though Xbox is not angelic, it has proven to be responsive to customers. The Red Ring of Death resulted in an extended warranty, which was excellent since my Xbox died soon after that extension. Two weeks later, I had a brand-new 360 under my tv without ever reaching for my wallet for shipping, repair costs, etc. Being the new entrant into the console race, Xbox may be a bit more driven to keep their customers happy so as to continue to try to pull market share from Sony. Sony, on the other hand, sits on its throne deaf to all cries and pleas from those around it. Like a regent rolling his wrist to all who visit him, Sony is not interested in your issues.

Unwilling to pay the $150 to repair it, the PS3 now sits on my bookshelf for all to see. It serves as a reminder that despite my feeling that I am missing out on some areas of gaming, the value

of a console working for the gamer is more important. Having won the DVD-format battle and sitting pretty in 2nd place in console market share, Sony has lost sight of their customer. If you need me, I'll be in the camp that is working hard to gain my approval with my Atari tucked snuggly under my arm.

SCP

Preview: Mercenaries 2 - World in Flames

Mathias, you gorgeous gorgeous man you

Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is set to release a hair over 15 days and I am giddy with anticipation. Pandemic Studio’s flagship ’08 release is hyped to nuke the faces off of newbies and vets alike, but will this title go the way of so many ’08 high profile releases that did not have the guts to live up to it all? With such promising ’08 titles like GTA IV, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, and Frontlines: Fuel of War failing to deliver on what initially looked to be great graphics, gameplay, and story arc, Mercenaries 2 could very easily fall in line with the trend. Though Pandemic is building from a foundation as strong as Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction, this also gives Mercs 2 a lot to live up to. So what are my initial impressions: I’m a scarrrred!

There is no denying that Mercs 2 looks f-ing gorgeous on the trailers, co-op videos, and pictures. I just watched the recently released co-op videos on IGN.com and I have to say that between the helicopter missles, RPG, and water effects while in the patrol boat, I have never been more excited to blow some shit up. The graphics are obviously competitive to COD4 with most of the environment destruction leaving little to be desired. Mercs 2 takes an immediate step above its predecessor by taking place in Venezuela which allows for a much wider range of environments than the nearly-tan-everything Koreas in the last one. Cities are much bigger and skyscrapers in one city are just BEGGING to have a bunker buster blast out the bottom floor to watch the building come tumbling-tumbling down. I can tell you right now that between the three mercs you can play as, Mathias is my obvious choice with his lack of tactics and stealth making room for outright destruction to get to his target. That is, after all, the beauty of the Mercenaries franchise: blowing shit up.

Despite all the beauty that is Mercs 2, there are some unanswered and graphical questions still in play. Unless Pandemic releases a trailer showing the start-to-finish of a true mission (not the first mission, which they did release), we will not know what the story arc and contracts will look like. Pandemic has a lot to live up to here with Playground of Destruction’s Deck of Cards being an ingenious and fun-as-shit way to chase after the mean old men in North Korea. No matter what, being a mercenary is fun but, as was the case in GTA IV, the missions have the high possibility of becoming repetitive. Go-kill-this-pee-pee-head or go-pick-up-something-uber-important-for-some-reason can become a little unoriginal over time and no matter how many bunker busters, daisy cutters, and napalm you drop, you will get bored if they do not mix it up in some way. The only remaining thing worrying me is the environment destruction. I love that Pandemic took the hint that if you can destroy a 30 story building, you should be able to drive your truck though a gal-darned tree but the tree destruction effect looks subpar. Yea yea, I AM being picky but the devil is in the details. In Crysis or Battlefield: Bad Company, you shoot a tree and it breaks where you shoot. From what I have seen, Mercs 2 has trees that break the same way whether you hit it with a bullet or C-4. General building destruction is also a bit usual. Bad Company set a high standard, and so the dust-particles-covering-screen-fading-in-destroyed-building is very Mercs 1. Though it is still amazing, I guess I just expected a little more.

The bottom line is that Mercs 2 looks gorgeous and it seems like a hell-of-a-lot-o-fun from what I can tell from the previews released from Pandemic. In the end, we will not know what Mercs 2 is like until we get our hands on it. I have had my heart broken at least once this year with the disappointment that was GTAIV and I pray that Mercs 2 is a much gentler lover.

SCP

Coming Soon: GTA IV - Was SCP Too Hard?

A Look Back at a Potential Game of the Year

Yes, it has been some time since you have all heard from me and for that, I apologize.

Please look forward to a look back at GTA IV soon, as well as reviews of the Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and WoW: Wrath of the Lich King betas that are soon to launch. SCPGaming is still just as committed to providing you with the most unbiased and up-to-date reviews and news, so please stay tuned!

SCP

Review: Grand Theft Auto IV

The Pleasure of Red-headed Stepchildren named GTA

When the first Grand Theft Auto was released on PC over a decade ago, I celebrated with top-down-pixilated-gory-collateral-damage-text-dialog-cop-killing-too-young-to-play revelry. The release of GTA I was a day of days. When GTA II was released, I was first in line to play what was simply a graphically improved version of numero uno but was still a hella good time. Then came GTA III, which was refined into the masterpiece that was Vice City, and finally degraded into the still fun but not-quite-VC San Andreas. Everyone all caught up? So when GTA IV was announced and the first video posted, I strayed from the crowd and decided to not submit to the hype. I watched video after video with hesitation until suddenly I realized I had bought into it all. Suddenly April 29th was a few days away and I was telling friends how freaking sweet it was going to be. Well shucks. So go on. Yup, go ahead and scroll down to the review score you silly bastard. Let’s find out where my buying into the hype I so adamantly resisted for so long got us. That’s right, 8.2. Let me repeat that to show conviction: eight-point-two. Now before you go all Niko Bellic on me with your eastern euro accent and ak-47, let’s take a breather grab a cuppa and have a little chat.

While GTA IV is obviously not a complete failure, it is far from a perfect score. Slapping a 10 on this top budget project for “breakthrough innovation” is like saying a 300 pound heiress with pizza-grease-leaking-skin was just signed by Mattel as the next Barbie concept. It just ain’t right. So why has it taken so long for me to write a solid review for something I am so disappointed in? For that exact reason: I am so disappointed in something everyone else is raving about that I wanted to give it a chance. Since launch, I have spent a great deal of time building my in-game friendships, completing the single-player, kicking n00b ass in multiplayer, and finishing side missions. Every area that brought my review score down received multiple chances to change my opinion. I remained patient, and was rewarded with nothing more than more frustration. Two weeks ago, I would have given this title a 9.4. Every additional minute playing this game has dropped that score to the 8.2 you see now.

Where GTA IV fails the most is in how immersing the environment and game play is. That may come as a shock to some since the NYC-esque Liberty City is almost an exact copy, but let me explain. Liberty City (LC) is a fantastic achievement; between the level of variety in the pedestrians and the bustling nightlife, LC is a grand ol’ city. Whether walking down the street in Bohan or cruising through Middle Park a-la Die Hard 3, it’s all yippee-ki-yay. In fictional writing, they call it the “fictional dream”. So there I am with my RPG, ak-47, and bullet proof vest taking out helicopters and SWAT and little old ladies; you know, just living the fictional dream; when I get into a car and suddenly the pavement becomes ice and my fictional dream received a metaphorical C-4 explosion. Some of you may say, “SCP, they tweaked the physics to be more realistic you silly billy” to which I will respond, “Yes, and walking through Star Junction with an RPG on my shoulder and no one reacting is the 100% realistic”. We are playing GTA, people, not Project Gotham Racing. Remember how goddamn fun it was to corner in GTA I?

The issues run deeper than driving though. A good chunk through the game and you can “inherit” a playboy penthouse from an old friend. As I explored my newly acquired accommodations, I remembered Roman saying, “Don’t worrrrry, cousin! Before you know it, we will be living the life!” and I realized, “Yes Roman, we have finally made it”. Just then, I received a call from Roman to pick him up for some darts. “Come pick me up,” he says as a waypoint appears on my map at our old dingy apartment. When I pick him up, he continues to tell me how I have not had that much fun but that things will get better and that we will make it someday and get rich and bang all kinds of girls. Roman, I have $300k in my account and we own a penthouse in a nice area of LC. I kept looking for the “Update Roman” button. I became nostalgic for the days of Vice City when gaining a property filled it with all of your lackies and it came alive. The days when you were building an empire, and it actually felt like you were on the up and up. In GTA IV, finishing missions and earning money means nothing except for Euro-trash clothing from Pearrrr-see-ooose and more ammo than you will ever use. Besides the storyline and satisfaction of completion, there really is no actual point to GTA IV. If this was a decade ago, and you were playing GTA one then all would be kosher. The concept of GTA-as-pseudo-RPG had not been introduced yet and so one could get away with such a thing but this is gee-tee-ai-four, folks. This is a 6th generation GTA game, if you think about it, and so there should be more than just storyline and (annoying) friendships.

While my frustrations with GTA IV run deep, I have to admit that Rockstar excelled in some key areas. The new targeting system is spot on, and with a simple flick on the thumb I found myself clearing out an entire room with naught but a scratch on my bulletproof vest. Adding to the targeting system was the cover system. Though flawed, and often frustrating as hell, the cover system helped tremendously in the intense firefights that permeate the storyline. Pop behind a vertical support column, flick the thumbstick, and off you go wiping out a room of cops. Jumping off of that is the new wanted level system which was an interesting twist to it all. I thought it fun that you could actually outrun the cops by ducking and dodging out of the search radius, but cops tend to talk on the radio and if one says, “We are looking for a red sedan that is all f-ed up because we ran into it a shitload”, chances are driving 10 blocks away does not make you any less hard to spot. I know, I know, I am basically going against my realism rant earlier in the review but my point is that if Rockstar wanted to revamp the wanted level system, they should have headed in the opposite direction. Less realistic would have simply increased the fantastical nature for which GTA is so well known.

Niko is absolutely one of the best GTA main characters so far and so that I must give Rockstar kudos. Brucie, Roman, Dwayne, and Patrick are all well acted and thoughtfully built out. My in mission time with each of them was far too short, and I found myself frustrated when Niko told Brucie, “I think we should end our working relationship”. The depth of Niko’s character was obviously very carefully planned and I was impressed with his level of internal conflict. While he wanted to make something of himself and make some (useless) money, he does not necessarily want to kill people and you can see this conflict when accepting difficult missions. Very well done indeed, but this success simply is not a large enough lypo-machine and scalpel to make GTA any less fat and ugly.

While overall I was happy to break out my GTA driving gloves, I was overall disappointed with this showing from Rockstar. I spent a great deal of time in this review highlighting where GTA IV dropped the ball, but this is only because you merely need to type “GTA IV Review” in Google to see where GTA IV was great. While I did not hit this game with a 6.0 since the successes make this an overall good game to play, GTA IV has some glaring imperfections that cannot be ignored. In the end, GTA IV is the redheaded stepchild of the GTA franchise: new and fun, good to have around, but just not the major progression of the family everyone had hoped it would be.

Editorial: The Dell XPS 630

Is Dell's new sub-$2,000 System Reflective of the Price?

Oh Dell, you are such a fickle friend...In November of 1996, my family took a step away from our IBM ways and purchased our first Dell computer. The move was spurred by a plethora of reasons, but the most important was that we were able to get a powerful system for a discount price. When the computer first arrived, there was a strict "no kids" policy put in place by my father which actually meant absolutely nothing. Those were the glory days of Dell. Across the next 8 years, my family and I together purchased 7 Dells and in the past 5 years I have been responsible for 2. Two computers that have put me through my paces: the Dark Ages O' Dell.

Within 2 weeks of receiving my current Dell Dimension 8400, my computer shut down suddenly and would not turn back on. I proceeded to call the infamous and outsourced Dell Customer Support to have a thick accented individual ask me, "Could you please confirm that your power cord is plugged into both your computer and an active power source?" to which I responded, "Are you serious?". 3-minutes later, I was disconnected. I called back and was connected to a new representative 20-minutes later and mentioned my plight. He could not find a record of my previous call and so he began, "Ok, so could you please first confirm that your power cord is plugged into the system and the wall?" And so began the charade.

After a cornucopia of "Could you please repeat that?" and "I don't understand you", I finally proved my case that a on-site technician needed to come by. In the end, after 3-weeks of arguing with the onsite technician, he finally replaced the motherboard and the power supply since they had (obviously) fried. Yay! A working computer! 6 months ago, my power supply an motherboard fried once again, outside of warranty, and so I popped on eBay, broke out the screwdriver, grounded myself, and replaced the two for around $200. *sigh* Fifteen blue screens later, I sat down on April 1st to purchase a new computer. Woe's me! Who to buy, who to buy!

Looking through my options, I quickly eliminated a few. HP didn't have any GREAT gaming rigs, save the Blackbird, but my price range was sub-chop-my-manhood-off. Apple was a consideration using the Windows Beta, but a Mac Pro speced to what I wanted was looking close to $3,000; plus, I would be selling my soul to Steve Jobs and his crack-whore ways. I even checked out Alienware, but my brother reminded me that his Alienware laptop became a $3,000 paperweight after just 1 year and 2 weeks when something broke 2 weeks outside of warranty and Alienware sighed an out-of-this-world, "tough bibbies, Earthling". With all the crap out of the way, I stumbled upon a CNet.com article praising the brand new XPS 630.

Cautiously intruiged, I built out a system totaling ~$2,000 with some pretty impressive specifications: 2.4 GHz Quad Core, 4GB RAM, and Dual nVidia GeForce 512MB graphics cards. In the words of the late Steve Irwin, "Isn't she gooooore-geous!". Doing a quick Google search, I came across a discount coupon which brought my total price to ~$1,600. Ooooohhh, I am quite tempted....Then a quick checkand PCWorld.com showed me that the XPS 630 was an Editor's Choice; CNet.com had bestowed the same honor. After a week of mulling and thought, I submitted my credit card.

As I wait for my new system to arrive, I feel as if I have just tossed the dice in a wicked game of chance, yelling at the top of my lungs, "Fortune, please be gentle with me bum!" The bottom line is that purchasing a Dell at this point is a gamble. Michael Dell has stepped back into role as CEO as of January 2007 to improve sales and, from what I read, customer service but Dell is not yet reliving its glory days. My purchase could end up being one of the best or worst purchases I have ever made, and a good deal of this is left to chance.

I have done a few things to improve my chances of success. Firstly, I purchased an XPS which means that I have a devoted customer service team in the United States ready to take any of my technical and customer support related questions. Without this, I would be sunk if an issue arises. I have also invested in the 3-year warranty which is an absolute necessity when buying a computer you are on the fence about. Though I purchased my computer online, I did call a customer service representative and made sure to get his name and direct phone number. This is my last advantage: If I have any customer related issues (like a return), I have someone who I know to be friendly, intelligent, and available to help. I often read people complaining about Dell saying they called multiple times and got different agents. While the Tech Support does not offer direct dial, Customer Support does and so it is important to jot down their information and go to them for all issues.

In order to write a proper review of the system, I intend to spend a few months learning the ins and outs so please stay tuned. In the meantime, you can expect a few new PC reviews on the way. I heard through the grapevine that in a Top 10 Recent Villains editorial, Crysis was named due to it murdering high end systems with impunity. How can I resist such an offer? For all you MMO lovers, please expect a review of EVE Online's recent Trinity release since the graphics were improved. Of course, if you do not hear from me then I fear the worst may have come to fruition. If this be the case, Fortune has stuck something improper in my out and I ask that you pray for my recovery.

Editorial: The Red Ring of Inevitability?

One ring to rule them all...

On Monday, April 7, 2008 at 8:32 pm in downtown Washington, D.C., a certain Xbox 360 celebrated its 2-year anniversary in silent revelry. Over the course of the next 14 minutes while trying to load Call of Duty 2, it contracted typhoid fever, hepatitis, gonorrhea, and a bad case of the Monday’s which concluded in a soundless loss of life. Cause of death: general hardware failure (e.g. Red Ring of Death). Happy anniversary, my love.

On Tuesday morning, my friend (we’ll call him DB) wrote to me in GChat, “hahahahaha” and signed off. When he signed back on, I asked, “Why did you write ‘hahahahaha’ and then sign off?” to which he responded, “Because my freakin’ 360 died! Hahaha”. DB’s lack of disappointment, shock, or fear is not so shocking with the number of 360 general hardware failures rising every day. Microsoft, of course, will not release the specific figures on how many hardware failures they have repaired since the extension of their warranty but all someone has to do is log into a Halo 3 or CoD4 Live game and ask. In a game of 16, the typical response to my question is 12 out of 16; an overwhelming 75%. Note: To gain a more accurate understanding, I have included a poll on the right side of my blog; let’s see where we stand. So instead of logging onto Xbox.com to discover how to get his 360 replaced, DB’s first step was to find his receipt from 2 years ago. Ah yes, to return the console, you might say. Good move, good move. No, DB was more interested in how much time had elapsed between purchase and death. “2 years to the freakin’ hour,” he said, “It’s like it was planned or something”.

The scary truth underlying DB’s reaction is that 360 owners seem to have become complacent to the fact that their 360 has, can, and will die at any time. My own died 6 months ago after just 1 year of loyal companionship and a replacement system was sent just 3 weeks later. Despite having a brand new system post-Microsoft-revelation-that-we-built-an-impractically-designed-system, anytime my 360 hiccups, freezes, or otherwise lays a technical fart, I reboot my system expecting to see a beautiful red ring staring back at me. Shine on you crazy diamond, shine on. Part of me realizes that sending back my system would be a minor issue since Microsoft handled my last replacement beautifully, but another piece of me just knows there is a chance my system will run the way of the phoenix once again.

So could our complacency be a result of Microsoft living up to their warranty extension with flying colors or a simple, but frightening, truth that we have come to terms with the inevitability that our Xbox 360 will not escape the eventual, but peaceful, death? In the words of Michael Jackson, “It don’t matter if your black or white” or Halo 3 version, it looks like your 360 will suffer a common fate and die by the hands of the one ring that will rule them all.

One Ring to rule them all,

One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all

and in the darkness bind them.

-J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Review: Patapon

Is the PSP chugging to a new beat or banging on the wrong drum?

When I first stumbled upon a preview of Patapon in December 2007, I was immediately intrigued. But come on, you might think, a 2-D side-scroller on PSP? It's bad enough that it is a 2-D game at a time when 3-D has been so refined and mass published, but then to put it on the gaming system that has sat in dust on your desk for the last 6 months? Bah humbug! Well Ebenezer, dust off that PSP and break out some killer headphones because Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) has struck a new chord with Patapon.

The game centers around a race of beings called "Patapons" who hold within their hearts...wait...eyes, a warrior drive to overcome and defeat all who stand in their way. These warrior-eyeballs-with-arms-and-legs are no longer willing to let the enemy tribe, the Zigaton, hold them in defeat and at their moment of absolute despair, their deity rises again to lead them to victory. Who be this awesome and most pious deity, you might ask? You, of course. And as is only natural of just and powerful gods, you have a hankerin' for a beat!

The Patapons are motivated by the rhythm you provide and depending on the beat you play, the Patapons will proceed to attack, defend, move forward, charge, and even run away. Sound simple? While the premise is simple to understand, the gameplay is quite difficult since your orders (always 4 drum hits) must fall in line with the "Pulse of the Earth". By keeping tempo with this beat, your Patapons build combo points which eventually put them into Fever mode. This mode is not only fun since the Patapons suddenly triple their attacks and the music gets more varied, but it is essential to beating the game. If you cannot maintain Fever, you will not win; it is that simple.

Though gameplay is difficult at times, SCE succeeds in building a game on such a simple premise that also fully immerses you in the gameplay for 15-20 hours. When Patapons die in the field, you care. When you cannot beat a 20-foot crab, it drives you nuts and makes you try harder. You will tap your foot to beat and not even notice. While playing Patapon on a flight last week, the guy in front of me turned around, and said while looking me in the face, "Will you stop tapping my seat?!". Dude, my Patapon's just rocked the hell out of a tribe of Zigatons, charged through the Guardian Of Knell, and then launched a massive attack on Backikoi Fort with a god damn catapult! PON - PATA - PON - PATA, man.

Patapon would not be what it is if SCE had delivered a sub par soundtrack, and thankfully the game is spot on here. Pop in the UMB and wait for Patapon to load and you are greeted with a fantastic introductory song that mixes Scottish bagpipes, Aboriginal didgeridoo, and marching band snare roll. In a word: awesome. From this moment on, your ears will dance to a variety of tunes that only get better as you play and if you are rhythmically blessed, keeping Fever will only enhance this experience. When you successfully complete a mission, your tribe will sacrifice the head of whatever great beast you have slain and celebrate around a fire to a tribal beat: all of which is a completely immersing experience thanks to the music and background effects.

Graphically, Pataon is simple but as we have learned time and time again in the gaming world, something simple can still be terribly executed. Since Patapon is a 2-D platformer/RPG, its graphical strength comes from its art design. Environments are beautifully rendered and appropriate to the music that is playing. Your Patapons dance around the fire in a seamless and humorous enactment of a battle, and nothing can match the look of the sea of spears and arrows that fly through the air at your target in Fever mode. Patapon's graphical engine will not win any awards, but the artistic approach deserves the highest praise.

Though one of the best games released on PSP to date, Patapon is not perfect. To progress through the game, you must collect alloys, ore, wood, meat, and veggies to build more advanced units of different sorts. Each unit costs "Ka-ching", a currency that you collect by hunting and progressing through the game, and depending on the level of unit the more Ka-ching required. While earning more Ka-ching is as simple as hunting on specific lucrative hunting grounds, rare materials can only be gathered by killing bosses (which you can do over and over). With each death, a boss gets harder and so rare materials get harder to attain. While innovative, the system is flawed and without the proper units in your ranks, missions become virtually impossible. From time to time, you will find yourself at an impasse and the frustration this causes could have you putting down your PSP for a day to cool off.

At times overly difficult, Patapon is a killer achievement for PSP. Having been built for "pick-up-and-play" gameplay, the PSP absolutely shines with this title. Patapon is a full package, mixing great artistic design, an unforgettable soundtrack, and fun gameplay all into one. At only $21, Patapon rivals The Orange Box in best value due the level of content within. If your PSP has been sitting in a corner gathering dust for the past few months, it is time to dig it out, brush it off, charge it up, and hit this killer launch. Seriously people, who doesn't like to play a god who just wants to dance?