ShowMeWhatYouGot

have you imagined yourself wearing a gunbelt with a shiny 6 shooter in its holster? or even getting into trouble in a saloon instead of having a drink of whiskey and a bar wench on your lap? getting an itch on that trigger finger? well here’s one for those who fancy the wild west and wants to become a cowboy for a few hours with the PSP. howdy, partner, here’s Gun: Showdown.

at first i thought this is just another Activision mistake after that Transformers: The Game foul up (sorry guys but that game really sucks). but then again i told myself to give it a try. anyway it won’t harm me. and it didn’t. because i was the one hurting those bastards in the game. shooting them, cutting them or even decapitating them using a cherokee tomahawk or a sabre, and blasting them to kingdom come using dynamite, or setting them on fire using a whiskey flask bomb.

the game starts with an introduction where a group of Spaniards and their priest journey to the westlands, in search of gold, and they found it. unfortunately they get hacked by a group of Indians for messing up with their land. then 300 years later you narrate the story to the gamer, you play as Colton White, a young gunslinger who travels the westlands with his father Ned White, hunting game and selling them to the rich people you come across in your journey, until that fateful day you discovered that your father Ned is not actually your father, worse, it was his dying words before he got blasted out to oblivion on a steamboat where you get to play a little gunfight with some raiders looking for an item which holds the secret to the Spanish gold lost for 300 years.

traditionally, shooting games have developed their own sense of style and gameplay, like some other titles out there, they have their own gimicks in store for gamers. i say, here you get to use a whole bunch of weird weapons, some of it you barely heard, and some, only existed during the 1800s. each weapon has it’s own strengths and weaknesses. like a peacemaker pistol for example, this 6 shooter is your standard weapon the game, it reloads normally, damages normally, and acts like real gun. but you can also enhance it to perform or kill better for a price. shotguns are good weapons up close range but horrible when your enemies are at a distance. rifles are good for mid-range attacks, but reloads a slow. for the ral long range shots you can use the snipes, but are really a pain when it come to reloading. you can also use other weapons like bows, fire bows, loco dynamite bows (a bow and arrow with dynamite attached to it), and even throwing knives. there are also dynamites and whiskey flasks bombs to throw on to enemies and structures too. you heal yourself by gulping a shot of whiskey, ain’t that nuts?

graphically this game’s been polished to the the core, making it look like your in a western film. or better yet, try the cut scenes, they look like your watching an old western movie. the sounds of guns blazing and ammo hitting on pavements sounds real and even looks real. but the real deal is the gore factor of the game. animated blood looks almost real enough for some, but the decapitations and dismembering baddies are a common in this game. the fun part of this game is the actual physics of things, things would react as to how they should in real life. mobs have one of the best AIs i’ve ever tried, reacting quick to simple gun shots to movement on the sand.

so i rate this game this way, graphics gets an 8/10 for the western movie feel, 8/10 for sound, and i give 8/10 for gameplay. it’s a real cool and fun game to play if you wanna feel like someone who came out during the wild west years, and you can even play against another player using Wlan on your PSP for a head to head gun showdown. do you feel so lucky, punk? go ahead, make my day.

after releasing kaileena from her doomed fate and appeasing the Dhahaka, the Prince of Persia returns to his homeland Babylon seeking sanctuary and peace after 7 years of struggling against time and his fate.

unfortunately his homecoming was to become a living nightmare when he saw the destruction of Babylon. Kaileena is then captured by the minions of your most foul enemy, the vezier. yes, he’s alive. since you reversed the timeline itself, it turned out that the vezier didn’t actually die, unlike what happened on the first installmet of the series.

this has to be one of the best platform, adventure game made for a handheld console. Rival Swords is the exclusive PSP version of the PS2s Two Swords, only with a plus. in this version you get to play 3 chariot races with different kinds of stages. all stages have different difficulty levels. for example is the stage where you run yourt chariot inside a sewage facility complete with pipelines protruding out of the concrete walls and floors, and landmines scattered all over the place. the challenge of playing these races makes the game more fun though the actual game lasts only for 6 hours unlike the previous PoP: Revelations which could last for a little longer from exploration.

graphics still holds its actual flare from the Revelations concept but the atmosphere differs now, leaving you out it an open city of Babylon for exploration.

sound differs entirely from the 2nd installment. the original middle-eastern feel music returns. although the developers can’t help but snap a few parts of rock, and pop into the background music every now and then.

controls is still the same, giving you the amzingly cool free-form fighting style but this time with a bonus. the speed-kill concept is introduced. this time the Prince is able to kill enemies without having the difficulty of getting mobbed. with one move, he is able to kill 1 or 2 enemies at the same time.

the gameplay is the coolest part because this time players are able to play as the Prince of Persia or his alter-ego, the Dark Prince who wields a chainblade. if you guys have no idea what it is, imagine a whip, but instead of leather, every single chain is made of bladed steel.

as a result, the final verdict i give upon the Prince on his final mission to date, graphics gets an 8/10, sound gets a 7/10, and gameplay gets a 9/10.

although i bet this game won’t last long to pay, it will still hold gamers and fans alike to the edge of their seats with a great story and gameplay, and besides this one is worth to be a part of a collection.

Long Live the Prince.

there was once a legend of a man who killed monsters. a legend worth to be told to generations and generations. a legend that is unforgetable and worth listening to. a legend known to all as Beowulf.

unfortunately i must say that game never met my expectations. graphically, the game almost looks like the games we played on the PC, 7 years ago. 3/4 view and full of huhum.but the scenematics are eye-catching and clean-cut.

controls bites. you have 2 types of attack buttons. light attack button which gives you a chance to connect combos for one and the other button for a heavy final blow which never gives you the chance to hit an enemy again. you also get the chance to become heroic with the heroic gauge, giving you and your Thanes the edge in combat, and the other is the Carnal gauge which gives you the strength of 10 men but you will also be able to kill your own comrades in the heat of battle, most especially with a lot of button-mashing to do.

sounds have glitches in the game. now you hear them, then you die and must retry the whole episode again.when retry the episode, sometimes the background music you heard before disappeared. constant screaming of the main character and murmurs of your Thanes are annoying as hell. but the sound acting of Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and the rest of the cast is amazing, only during cut scenes.

all in all i give graphics a 6/10, sound gets 7/10, and gameplay comes with a huhum 5/10.

for fans of the legend,fans of the movie, or even fans of the actors, this is so unlike the movie. a poorly made game based on a good movie and a good legend. this one is not going to be on the history books.

once again Konami dares us to venture out to the unknown, and what lurks beyond the darkness that creeps in our deepest nightmares. into the realm of the unthinkable and the inimaginable. welcome back, to Silent Hill. and exclusive for the PSP.

in this game you play Travis Grady. a lonely truck driver who got stranded by driving through Silent Hill and starts seeing things on the road. thus, he ends up chasing after a girl named Alessa, into the town. and that’s where all things go muddled for Travis, and most especially you, which leads you to move around and around into the fog, and into the establishments and houses of the forsaken town.

the game looks good with monsters from the previous titles of the series returning or should i say originated. the straight-jackets and the nurses looks believable and scary. although there are some parts where the scenery can hardly be noticed like doors or gates or even potholes and the camera sometimes has a bad way of starting up infront of your face and by pressing the align camera button, still ends up the same way. making you walk forward to a bloody end without even knowing, all because of a crazy camera angle.

for a scary game there has to be a scary sound right?, here they developers didn’t miss the best part of the game. where you get to interact the unknown and beyond using your ears and not your eyes. clear, catchy and well orchestrated music plays at the right moment either in combat or on melancholic and explorations.

controls can sometimes be hard. although the dead-aim is simply a joy. now you won’t have any problem knowing where to point your gun or rifle.another addition to the game is that Travis gets tired if he runs longer than he should. making you stop or walk of you prefer just so he can catch his breath for a bit and run again. bad timing when your running from enemies. thankfully energy drinks are scattered all over the town. like the old titles, this game lets us explore and interact with the surroundings all we want, if we dare.

the story line is a bit crazy though, tends to end you up puzzled and making you say to yourself, " how the hell did that happen?" or even, " how is that possible?". thus making you play the game again and again until you get the point of the story, this is good though since you can unlock 3 types of endings and a lot of accolades and items.

to rate this, graphics gets an 8/10, sound gets 9/10, gameplay gets a 6/10.

if you still want to figure out how in the world did that town end up like that, this is the best answer to that question so far. by the way, this aint recommended to play with the lights on and on the speakers. best played only in total-darkness and with headphones.

enjoy the darkness.

once again the legendary count Dracula has risen from his eternal slumber under the sanctuary of an abandoned church. with the help of Shaft, the high priest, and his minions, they sacrificed the blood of an innocent to bring their master once again to the land of the living to wreak havoc. and yet the bloodline of the vampire hunters never cease to exist. the last of the bloodline, Richter Belmont charges towards Castle Dracula to fight the Nosferatu Lord and his ghouls and rid the town from the terrible onslaught.

for years the Castlevania series was one of the best and most challenging games i’ve ever played. and always, konami came up with ideas that would leave fans at the edge of their seats playing their hearts out. but as a reward for their loyalty, the developers came up with a cool idea of bringing back the original game. Castlevania: Dracula X Chronicles is a remake of the famous and fabulous Castlevania: Rondo of Blood from the old 16bit game systems of yesteryears. with a total makeover starting with the graphics, making the 2D cartoon game into an almost 3Dish like look.

but with looks also came sounds. all the songs from the original game were revived from their graves with a whole new twist of rock, classical, and even pop.and the sounds of the dying and the undead are more realistic than ever.

although controls are still the same as the original game, the biggest plus factor here is giving the gamers a chance to ulock the sountrack of the game and also the original game’s soundtrack itself.did i say original game? you can also unlock the original game Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. but that’s not the only one. you can also unlock Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as a bonus. beat that. now you can play 3 Castlevania titles in one sitting. that is if your battery will last for hours and hours of gameplay since the new game holds lots of secret rooms and passageways and unlockables hidden for players to find at their leisure.

to rate this, i give graphics a 7/10, sound gets 7/10, and gameplay an undying 9/10.

best recommended to play when you feel so nostalgic all of a sudden, a collectible you don’t want to miss.

who would have thought that the sands of time series was going to end with just one game from the Prince of Persia franchise… of course it continued… and with lots more surprises than before… but this aint a review of the PS2 version, its the PSP version.

of course gamers all know that the 2nd installment to the franchise was a bit more interesting. besides the Prince’s makeover, like looking more scruffier and more muscular and not wiry, he surpassed all the expectations from button mashers as well. unlike the 1st Prince of Persia, this game is not all about just pushing 1 button to attack, or 2 buttons, 1 for light attacks, and the other heavy attacks. here the developers came up the idea of giving players the edge in fighting. they created the free-form fighting style, a style where you can kill enemies with different strokes that will lead them to, yes, death. like stealing an enemies own sword to cut off his head, or maybe vault above an enemy and cut his whole body in half.a cool add-on to the game huh?

another is the graphics. although this game didn’t look quite like the Sands of Time game, this one doesn’t look like it’s well polished like a gem. but the whole dark image and atmosphere seems to blend together with the game’s new concept and storyline. you may see pixels everynow and then and a few bugs when running to walls and jumping on ledges and stuff, but still is good to look at, especially the new set of enemies like the raiders, blade dancers, and even the legendary griffin.

when it comes to sound, the first game came out with a sound traditionally with a middle-eastern feel. just the right kind of music for the 2nd game, don’t you think? wrong. in this game, it sounds better. it even features the song " I Stand Alone" by Godsmack as the Dhahaka Chase background music, and sometimes some fight scenes, and some other bands with their head-bashing music are introduced in this sequel. the voice actings are soap-operatic. makes you feel like you’re watching a movie instead of playing a game.

lastly the gameplay and the storyline. the story continues with the prince headed towards the island of time trying to change his fate by looking for the Empress of time for answers to his upending doom. no matter what the consequences are. the game holds at least 32 hours of playtime, iuncludes making so many mistakes on traps and falling off a ledge or maybe getting killed by enemies. but the time-consuming part of the game are the puzzles which will leave you dumb-founded for hours until you get it right. or not quite right. plus, the PSP version has extra bonus mazes and puzzles for fans which didn’t appear on the PS2 version.

to finish this review, 1 give graphics a score of 7/10, sound gets a 9/10, gameplay gets a 9/10 for making it more challenging and fun.

a must have not just for PSP fans and owners, but also for the fans of the series.