PSP launch line-up dissected

They say the best things are worth waiting for and with the PSP, boy, are Sony making us wait.

Following recent revelations of a concrete US launch date (those lucky Yanks) and then the disappointment of learning that Europe and the UK are probably only guaranteed a first half of 2005 launch, you could say our PSP chuff was most definitely feeling dissed.

Counterbalancing our disappointment, however, was a sudden and very welcome invite to Sony's London HQ, where we had a chance to check out the complete launch line-up of Sony's first-party PSP titles. All in one afternoon, oh yes.

Locked in the quiet sanctity of a shadowy Sony inner sanctum, it was easy to understand the frustration that Sony fans feel - and haven't been shy of expressing in our forums - over the question of a definite PSP launch window.

You only have to spend five minutes with the saucy little minx to know you want one so fervently that you might be prepared to do bad and extremely naughty things to get your hands on one. Why? Well check out our first-hand impressions of the PSP unit itself and you'll know why this is the closest thing to sex in a basket.

However any piece of gaming technology is only as good as the games that go alongside it, and while the PSP is a true multimedia device with movies and music a-go-go, Sony were keen to stress that the PSP will have what it considers to be the strongest first-party launch line up of any of its consoles, outclassing both the original PlayStation and PS2. It's a interesting claim and one that shouldn't cause too much of a stir given the rather sketchy launch line-ups of the home consoles.

But exactly what portions of first-party Sony goodness will PSP owners get to experience on day one of the European launch? Well, here's what we discovered...

To race is ace

One thing's for certain: if you like racing games the PSP is certainly not going to disappoint. The epic WipEout series fuelled sales of the original PlayStation with its trippy high-octane visuals and pumping dance soundtrack and the PSP's version, WipEout Pure will almost certainly have a similar impact. Funnily enough the clue's actually in the title, with the series returning to its high speed gravity-defying roots. There's splendid visuals, the untainted adrenaline rush of blasting along at speeds of around 600 mph, a good mix of weapons and power-ups and basically everything you'd expect from a title bearing the WipEout moniker. Even more thrills await in multiplayer, and Pure is definitely going to be one of the initial 'must have' PSP launch games.

Football

Next up were two classic racing series which were almost dead certs for a European launch. World Rally Championship is a good looking, hard driving extension of its PS2 counterpart, although it's not a direct port and boasts both a new code base and art to bring all the thrills, spills and officially licensed carnage of the WRC to PSP. There's more of an emphasis on arcade-style pick up and playability and rally fans certainly shouldn't be disappointed by the results.

The other official licensed offering, Travellers Tales' Formula One, also appears to be shaping up rather nicely with all the official teams and circuits from the most glamorous of racing paddocks. Once again the PSP's graphics are to the fore but the emphasis is more on instant arcade-style action rather than high-end simulation. F1 on PSP probably represents your best chance of beating Michael Schumacher this year.

Gapping the plugs

But what if racing isn't exactly your bag? Well hack n' slash fans may be somewhat appeased by MediEvil, which reminded of us of a 3D version of that arcade classic Ghosts n' Ghouls. But, of course, this is actually part three of the old PSONE MediEvil series and a right royal romp it is too. There's some pleasing hack 'n slash action, amusing graphics and a more than decent stab at the series' trademark humour, plus a bunch of mini-games to keep things fresh. Maybe not a classic but a pleasant diversion.

Of course a decent spread of sports titles is key to any platform launch and the PSP boasts a couple of decent offerings in the form of Everybody's Golf and Football. Let's tee off with Everybody's Golf which is basically a colourful, accomplished, easy on the eye Japanese-style golf game. There's not a huge amount more to tell really, as golf games have been around since the dawn of time and Everybody's Golf's cartoon style approach ticks all the right boxes - though as usual, golf games are best enjoyed and take on an extra dimension in multiplayer.

MediEvil

Football, on the other hand is an intriguing and rather pleasant surprise. Okay, so it's not exactly Pro Evo PSP, but it is instantly and surprisingly playable, has an official FIFA Pro license, so there's no Dwayne Roney-style nonsense and presents a huge variety of over 150 international and club sides to explore. Particularly intriguing was Football's challenge mode which lets you score points for attractive passing play, skilful moves and well-timed tackles, as well as goals scored and results gained.

Now it's time to journey into the world of the more than slightly surreal as we come to grips with Ape Academy, a massive collection of mini-games and strange monkey business (badumtish) from the creators of the Ape Escape series. With the apes from Escape acting as your mentors, it's a chance to explore their weird and wonderful world of the one-metre sprint, monkey salvage, counting monkeys and all manner of bizarre ape escapades. You can tilt the PSP sideways for certain games or have two players on the same machine for others, but unfortunately most of Academy was lost in translation as it's still in Japanese and so flew completely over our heads. However, we're assured it's a whole bunch of banana-influenced fun, especially if you like that kind of thing. But for us, the jury is still out on this one.

Race to the finish

Rounding off Sony's launch line-up were two more racing titles: Fired Up and Namco's splendid Ridge Racer. Fired Up brings to mind a sort of low-rent Mad Max, as it's a futuristic driving-shooter which boasts a spread of vehicles and weapons. These range from simple armed jeeps, to main battle tanks, and you can do battle with pick ups like rockets, lasers, EMPs and plasma. In the single-player game a story led campaign and two huge city levels initially await, with a number of relatively simple missions like hit the checkpoints within a time limit or escort or destroy convoys. Most of the game is free form and there's plenty of death-defying ramp jumping and auto-warfare to enjoy, but you can also leap into a scripted mission any time before unlocking a third unseen city and a presumably grand finale level.

Ridge Racer

Don't get ahead of yourself though. This is no GTA-killer, but rather a simple tale of automotive resistance against a faceless foe and it didn't really light our fire. More intriguing though is Fired Up's multiplayer mode for up to eight players with Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and King of the Hill among the many variants. It proves to be a more than enjoyable diversion and seemed to offer more fun and a longer term challenge than the single player game.

Namco's splendid Ridge Racer rounds off the PSP first party line-up and a most enjoyable romp it is too. A ton of power-sliding action (you seem to spend more time going sideways than forwards), great graphics, testing tracks, timed challenges and exotic motors (especially the strange rocket-types) making a more than successful PSP translation of a classic racing series. This one we like very much indeed and it's one of the first titles to make it over to these shores on import, so early adopters have already been caning it to death. We don't blame them: pass the PSP, vicar.

Some killer, some filler

So having had a chance to go hands on with all the first-party launch line up what do we think the prospects are for the PSP? Well, even though this is probably Sony's strongest launch line up to date, among these nine titles there are probably only two - WipeOut Pure and Ridge Racer - which we'd describe as essential, with honourable mentions for both MediEvil and Football. Racing fans are certainly well catered for with WRC and Formula One and Everybody's Golf is attractive enough, but Ape Academy and Fired Up are probably more filler than killer.

WipeOut Pure

So a more-than-credible though hardly essential line up then, but if the European launch mirrors the US one then Sony will be able to draw on some extremely strong third-party support with titles like Metal Gear Acid, FIFA 2005, Need For Speed Rivals, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Remix and Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade adding some welcome gravitas to the mix.

As well as the well catalogued sexiness of the unit itself, what also really impressed us on the day was the PSP's multiplayer capabilities, with wi-fi connection usually simple and relatively painless (the most difficult thing was synchronising eight hapless journalists into deciding who was hosting and who was joining each game - as well as making sure everyone had wi-fi switched on). With most titles boasting additional downloadable content post-release and the PSP's intriguing multimedia capabilities we've seen little to persuade us from the view that Sony will have a monster hit on its handheld. The only disappointment is what seems like the endless eternity of waiting for final launch date and price.

But then, they say the best things come to those who wait, don't they?

John Houlihan