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[Wario64]

http://psp.ign.com/articles/596/596257p1.html

9.0 Presentation
Japanese high character design, compelling scenery and swanky wallpapers make for one slick package.
8.0 Graphics
PSP sprites are as clean as you'd ever want them. Impressive, especially for a handheld.
9.0 Sound
All the ambiant blings and guitar rifts of a 7-11 arcade.
5.0 Gameplay
The controls are wonky and it's difficult to complete moves consistently.
5.0 Lasting Appeal
Your soar thumb from the gross amount of failed fireball swivels will help you lose interest fast.
7.0 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)

As good as some parts of the game are, DC: The Chaos Tower is still waiting for greatness. If developers were able to port some of the console features to PSP, they should have taken the time to make sure that the controls translated as well. If they know their game like the fans do, than they should understand how important an integral move like fireballing is. Not only does this hurt the reputation of title, but also cheats loyal fans out of the experience they deserve.

 

[Odnetnin]

5.0 Gameplay
The controls are wonky and it's difficult to complete move consistently.

gamplay = 5 which = average or very poor... and the lasting appeal is a 5... and the game still scores 7? What a bunch of graphic whores.

 

[Culex]

gamplay = 5 which = average or very poor... and the lasting appeal is a 5... and the game still scores 7? What a bunch of graphic whores.

A game could be a graphical masterpiece with a presentation rivaling Lord of the Rings, but if the controls suck ass and make it nearly unplayable, it deserves a terrible score.

 

[Agent X]

I read that review earlier. The reviewer really had some gripes regarding the control in that game.

To anyone who has played this game (including the Japanese version): Is the control really that difficult? I've got the PlayStation Darkstalkers 3, as well as several Street Fighter games on PS1 & PS2, and I haven't had any problems doing circular motions on the joypad. If I'm fairly adept at using a Sony PS1/PS2 joypad for these types of games, is there much difference in using the PSP joypad?

I'd like to hear some personal opinions, but only if you've actually played this game on PSP.

 

[newsguy]

gamplay = 5 which = average or very poor... and the lasting appeal is a 5... and the game still scores 7? What a bunch of graphic whores.

Considering how high IGN scores games, a 7.0 is a low score. I read the review and it was so poorly written I got upset. He says that the PSP's D-Pad is no good for 2D fighters, then he says that he couldn't pull off fireballs. After making such strong points, he never says what it is about the D-Pad that makes it bad. Is it that using the second thumb joint covers the screen? Is it that the pad just doesn't offer a smooth rotation for the finger? Is it the placement... WTF is it?!?!?!? I don't think he's lying, but if you're going to write off an entire fucking genre, please give a specific reason.

 

[Drinky Crow]

"soar" thumb (sore)
guitar "rifts" (riffs)

ILLITERACY, THY NAME IS IGN.

 

[Pedigree Chum]

"soar" thumb (sore)
guitar "rifts" (riffs)

ILLITERACY, THY NAME IS IGN.

Yeah, I noticed that too. idots. the lot of them.

 

[Odnetnin]

"soar" thumb (sore)
guitar "rifts" (riffs)

ILLITERACY, THY NAME IS IGN.

ambient... ambiant...

you might have a point :lol

 

[gutter_trash]

as soon as the Review compared Felicia to Blanka and did it by calling him "Blanca"
-Strike One

he talked about being unable to do fireball motions for ever and ever,,, and also says it's the first time he ever played a Darkstalker
-Strike Two

He's not even a fighting game player,, who can he review it? It's like a gamer like me who rarely plays RPGs but decides to review an RPG
-Strike Three

don't take this ign review too seriously,, wait for EGM magazine to get 3 way opinion, and EGM has experience in reviewing fighters

 

[DECK'ARD]

I have the Japanese one, and the controls did bug me as well.

It's difficult to get the same move to come out twice, and doesn't make any difference if you choose arcade controls or simplified controls. Whether it's just the game or the PSP's d-pad who knows, but it's very hard to get the half or even quarter circle moves to come out. And even if you choose simplified controls, they use the diagonals and seem hard to hit consistently as well.

I've never played any fighter on a Dual-Shock - it was always Saturn pads, or arcade sticks for me - so that might have something to do with it. And maybe it would get easier with more practice, but it's frustrating to the point of not wanting to make me stick with it. Which is a shame as it's otherwise a great port.

 

[Lyte Edge]

5.0 Gameplay
The controls are wonky and it's difficult to complete moves consistently.

Haha, no, sorry. Playing the game on PSP is exactly like the same as playing any other 2D Capcom fighter with a PSX or PS2 control pad. It works great.

There's also this choice line from the review:

This is even tougher for someone like me who has never been that adept with the fireball maneuver in the first place.

Why the hell is this guy reviewing a fighting game, then?

I also have to wonder if he was playing with the control set to "easy," which makes it so all the moves are done differently. Similar comments happened with people who got Street Fighter Alpha 3 for the GBA and didn't realize the default control scheme was set to "simple."

No mention of the load times; I'd like to know if they were improved at all for the U.S. THANKS FOR A GREAT, INFORMATIVE REVIEW IGN.

 

[drohne]

except for its proximity to the screen, the psp d-pad is very like the standard playstation d-pads. it's full-sized and moves fine. i've only played vampire chronicle briefly, but i had no problems with the control.

...and yeah, someone who struggles with qcf motions now, when we've had better than 13 years to practice, probably shouldn't be writing about a fighting game. someone who produces multiple homonym errors in the space of a game review probably shouldn't be writing about anything, but that's a separate issue.

 

[Lyte Edge]

This is really getting to me. Does the reviewer have an e-mail address where I might be able to send him an angry fanboy letter?

 

[Roland Hood]

I assume mapping fireball to the square button probably isn't a good idea?

 

[DECK'ARD]

Hmmm, I will have to give it some more practice then, and get my PlayStation d-pad fighting skills up to scratch.

 

[Fantasmo]

Well, I don't know if this qualifies or not, but joysticks and Saturn pads made a tremendous difference in my ability to pull off moves consistently on Xbox SF: AC.

No matter how much practice I get, I can't reliably get moves out on PS2 or Xbox controllers in the same game. Frustrating as all hell when you need a reversal or combo to win or turn the tides. My technical guess would be that it has something to do with the rigidity of said controllers.

 

[Brandon F]

The real reason to fear this series on PSP is for the uncanny chained dial-combos and EX overcharge hits that Darkstalkers...well it's full of em.

Then again that stuff probably doesn't account for casual play, but somethin like Lilith's "NAKED HOTNESS!" super requires ninja-like response shifting from tiers of punches/kicks that were hard enough even on ol' reliable Saturn pads. The equivalent of a Tekken 10-hitter sorta.

Still, I'm such a fan of this series, that the art gallery alone practically ensures a purchase. Will this collection also happen to give us all the backdrops from each game, or just recycle the third game stuff?

 

[BenT]

IIRC it has Savior backgrounds (bleh) but all the music from the various games.

 

[The End]

Gah. That review was useless.

If the d-pad is the same as the Dualshock , I'll have no problem.

alright, this review is somewhat better

http://www.honestgamers.com/systems/content.php?console_id=53&review_id=3258&game_id=15102

the d-pad is fine, but the square=jab issue kinda sucks.

 

[TheDiave]

Your soar thumb from the gross amount of failed fireball swivels will help you lose interest fast.

Uhm, don't they mean "sore" thumb? Dumbasses can't even spell. :lol

 

[tedtropy]

Uhm, don't they mean "sore" thumb? Dumbasses can't even spell. :lol

See response #6-8.

 

[mr_sockochris]

7.0 is way too high. I like the Darkstalkers games but the controls in this version are appallingly unresponsive. I've been playing Capcom's fighters for about 15years, I know how to do a fireball on a dpad, but i'll be damned if I could get them to work frequently in this game. A fighting game lives and dies by its controls, there's no way this should have been released in the state that it is. It's not the fault of the d-pad either, i've never had a problem with 2D fighters on the PS2 pad.