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Gamespot - PSP Hands on Impressions
- Thread starter sonycowboy
- Start date
cybamerc said:
Well, to be fair, most early PS2 software was rather weak (surely you remember the Matrix DVD playing on all those PS2s at the E3 prior to its US launch) yet the machince has become arguably the best console this generation. So, the fact that the PSP and DS both have a rather poor initial lineups at this time means little in the grand scheme of things. Just give them time...
dark10x said:
DS and PSP = GC and Xbox at the very best. Too late to affect GBA but there's space for more consoles.
cybamerc said:
I think you got it the wrong way round
Most wont use a case of course as well. The strap just looks silly however. The case lets you keep it safe in a bag.I take excellent care of my things but I don't carry my GBA around with me. In the event that I need to transport it from one location to another I put it in the original box. That's not how most ppl treat a handheld and most ppl don't invest in special protective gear either.kpop100 said:
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
OK, I'll adrress the first thought first by pulling my T616 argument again. When I bought it, and nowadays too, it looks a lot more like one of those professionaly made photos than one of those greasy, scrached, washed out flash photos. You actually need a very speciffic lighting, and using magnifying glass or something like that to bring out the level of nastiness that you can see on the photos like that.
OK, but as others said, that type of look makes it "sexy" in the world of gadgets. I'm a gadget fan after all, and have a huge appreciation for industrial design so I may be biased, but I don't see too many people who don't agree.
Please tell more! How exactly do you change the music while you play?
I just hope it's some kind of PSP branded Memory Stick, that will be sold in the EB and other gaming stores (right now you can't buy MS there) but that the unit will accept other, 'regular' memory sticks :|
Yeah, but at least this time you will be able to use that memory card for something other than saving games. Well, if it does accept something bigger than 32MB that is.Leave it to Sony to bring memory cards to the handheld scene.... $300 for PSP + $35 for memory card or no saves 4 U!
True, but you don't make something eye catching by making it look the same way as everyting else.
Go Go Ackman!
Banned
Why don't you idiots argue about semantics for another 5 pages?
We'll see. i wouldn't be surprised if Sony and third parties sold cases with belt clips. You don't spend a few hundred on a portable only to have it scratched up because you put it in your pocket with some change, at least i don't. i've already begun the search for a case for my DS. Granted, the clamshell design covers the screen, but doesn't protect the outside. Plus, i don't like having bulky pockets.cybamerc said:
DCharlie
And even i am moderately surprised
"Please tell more! How exactly do you change the music while you play?"
Seems to be related to how you are doing.
the screen itself is almost like a modtrack sequencer in feel...
you have to construct 2x2 blocks of the same colour, a 2x2 block comprising of 4 tiles of one of two colours falls (tetris style) from the top of the screen (you get a second or so to decide where the block falls from). Tiles fall under the laws of Puyo Puyo - ie: if there is space below one half of a block , but the other half is stuck on existing blocks, then the tiles will fall to the bottom of their row. The idea is to arrange the blocks so that you create at least a 2x2 blocks of the same colour tile. These become tagged as being ready to be removed from the board. Any config of 2x2 will be removed - it you have a 3x2 then this is classed as two 2x2 blocks (with one section overlapping) etc etc.
Now the blocks aren't removed until the "modtracker beam" sweeps over the blocks, this sweeps from left to right in time with the music and removes the tagged blocks from the board, with all the tiles above falling down into the gaps. This introduces an element of timing in that you can combo up the blocks you remove, so if you can you want to hold of triggering 2x2 squares to be deleted until they are all in the same sweep....
... that's not really a good explaination, but hopefully it gives some idea.
But anyways, basically, from what i can tell, how well you are doing on the block removal front influences the music.
After a while, the music will mix out and the "theme" will change. The two coloured bricks change , the back ground changes, the effects change, the music mixes to something else. The opening track of the demo had a nice Underworld style to it (sort of half reminicent of "spoonman" (contained lyrics) , but after levelling up the games music chilled as i stopped scoring as many blocks... then the more blocks that get removed, the more complex the track becomes.
As mentioned by a friend, the game itself could easily be just another flash game, but the graphics and sound make it a very nice experience indeed.
I'm sure i missed a lot of the complexities of the game, but hell, i can figure out the details when the PSP launches and i had fun with what i thought was going on
Seems to be related to how you are doing.
the screen itself is almost like a modtrack sequencer in feel...
you have to construct 2x2 blocks of the same colour, a 2x2 block comprising of 4 tiles of one of two colours falls (tetris style) from the top of the screen (you get a second or so to decide where the block falls from). Tiles fall under the laws of Puyo Puyo - ie: if there is space below one half of a block , but the other half is stuck on existing blocks, then the tiles will fall to the bottom of their row. The idea is to arrange the blocks so that you create at least a 2x2 blocks of the same colour tile. These become tagged as being ready to be removed from the board. Any config of 2x2 will be removed - it you have a 3x2 then this is classed as two 2x2 blocks (with one section overlapping) etc etc.
Now the blocks aren't removed until the "modtracker beam" sweeps over the blocks, this sweeps from left to right in time with the music and removes the tagged blocks from the board, with all the tiles above falling down into the gaps. This introduces an element of timing in that you can combo up the blocks you remove, so if you can you want to hold of triggering 2x2 squares to be deleted until they are all in the same sweep....
... that's not really a good explaination, but hopefully it gives some idea.
But anyways, basically, from what i can tell, how well you are doing on the block removal front influences the music.
After a while, the music will mix out and the "theme" will change. The two coloured bricks change , the back ground changes, the effects change, the music mixes to something else. The opening track of the demo had a nice Underworld style to it (sort of half reminicent of "spoonman" (contained lyrics) , but after levelling up the games music chilled as i stopped scoring as many blocks... then the more blocks that get removed, the more complex the track becomes.
As mentioned by a friend, the game itself could easily be just another flash game, but the graphics and sound make it a very nice experience indeed.
I'm sure i missed a lot of the complexities of the game, but hell, i can figure out the details when the PSP launches and i had fun with what i thought was going on
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
DC, just two more questions:
- Is the music licensed, or made by some known bands/musicians (like they did in Rez), or is it made internally in Mizuguchi's team?
- Can you rotate the falling blocks, like you can in Tetris?
- Is the music licensed, or made by some known bands/musicians (like they did in Rez), or is it made internally in Mizuguchi's team?
- Can you rotate the falling blocks, like you can in Tetris?
DCharlie
And even i am moderately surprised
"DC, just two more questions:
- Is the music licensed, or made by some known bands/musicians (like they did in Rez), or is it made internally in Mizuguchi's team?"
it didn't sound like anything i'd heard before - voice samples sounded like Japanese people speaking english, so i'd assume it's some Japanese artists (a la Rez) that aren't well known.
For Rez, as a massive underworld fan, i was disappointed Underworld pulled out. The other artists that were involved, i didn't see them fitting the feel of the game. I was happy with the music that was chosen, and i think i'll be happy again because the first track was STOMPIN!
"- Can you rotate the falling blocks, like you can in Tetris?"
no , you can't. And they are always in a 2x2 square shape, not in variations.
- Is the music licensed, or made by some known bands/musicians (like they did in Rez), or is it made internally in Mizuguchi's team?"
it didn't sound like anything i'd heard before - voice samples sounded like Japanese people speaking english, so i'd assume it's some Japanese artists (a la Rez) that aren't well known.
For Rez, as a massive underworld fan, i was disappointed Underworld pulled out. The other artists that were involved, i didn't see them fitting the feel of the game. I was happy with the music that was chosen, and i think i'll be happy again because the first track was STOMPIN!
"- Can you rotate the falling blocks, like you can in Tetris?"
no , you can't. And they are always in a 2x2 square shape, not in variations.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
OK, I hope it actually sounds good, like in Rez, though
(especially the bit with Japanese people speaking english, I mean)Really? So they were supposed to be featured in the game? Real shame, then.
SiegfriedFM
Member
Since there isn't much variation with the blocks (can they be any combination of the two colors at least?), would you say that getting the timing right and getting more points is the main idea? How does it become challenging?
DCharlie
And even i am moderately surprised
"Since there isn't much variation with the blocks (can they be any combination of the two colors at least?), would you say that getting the timing right and getting more points is the main idea? How does it become challenging?"
think about what happens when you have to try to arrange 4 tiles of the same colour together, when the majority of them are in this formation :
B = Blue
R = Red (real not colours used to protect the innocent!)
BR
RB
think about what happens when you have to try to arrange 4 tiles of the same colour together, when the majority of them are in this formation :
B = Blue
R = Red (real not colours used to protect the innocent!)
BR
RB
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
Yeah, I wonder if there can be three or four colours per block on the later levels, or if the speed increases.
DCharlie....Screen sounds great, but did you notice any interlacing? You know how with some LCD screens on clies etc you can notice that they are updating alternate lines, not the whole thing at once?
As for the memory card, my guess is its just a black 32MB card, to go with the styling of the PSP. Also so people understand you need one of these things and don't have to wander off to a digital camera store to buy one.
As for the memory card, my guess is its just a black 32MB card, to go with the styling of the PSP. Also so people understand you need one of these things and don't have to wander off to a digital camera store to buy one.
DCharlie
And even i am moderately surprised
"DCharlie....Screen sounds great, but did you notice any interlacing? You know how with some LCD screens on clies etc you can notice that they are updating alternate lines, not the whole thing at once?"
I didn't notice that at all - i guess if i do end up going again tomorrow (unlikely) i'll be on the look out for it, but i'd have thought i'd have noticed something link that.
I didn't notice that at all - i guess if i do end up going again tomorrow (unlikely) i'll be on the look out for it, but i'd have thought i'd have noticed something link that.
Lord Error
Insane For Sony
I believe it's been confirmed that PSP screen refreshes in a progressive mode.
KyotoMecca
Member
Prine said:
The handheld war is over.
Sexy motherfucker
$300 or not, im buying it now, cant resist its sexyness
Me too. However what if it only has 2hrs battery life? Me = yes. HA HA HA.