Reviews - Phantasy Star Portable 2 by IGN

In many ways the PSP is starting to show its age. Even with numerous redesigns, it seems to be losing ground to the competition, as handheld gamers are ready to move on to the next thing --whether that "next thing" is touch control or 3D. But the PSP can still pull off tricks that just aren't possible on other devices. For example, Phantasy Star Portable 2 is a subscription-free MMO in the palm of your hand.

Phantasy Star Portable is somewhat based off of Phantasy Star Universe from the consoles. Anyone familiar with the franchise will recognize the content immediately and gamers who played the first game on the PSP will remember that it had a number of notable problems. The presentation was lacking, and it didn't have an "infrastructure mode," meaning you couldn't play with others over the internet, only over the local wireless connection. Both of these issues have been addressed, making the sequel far more attractive.

Phantasy Star Portable 2

The game starts out with a story mode that introduces some genuinely likeable characters and a mediocre story that acts more like a giant tutorial, at least for the first 10 hours. Players create a character (and there are plenty of visual options) and choose a class that carries over from single-player to multiplayer and back again. They are then introduced to their home base, a space colony where a group of mercenaries called Little Wing make their home. Here you find your room, office, shops, eatery, and teleport terminal where you can take on new missions. The surroundings are simple enough but they house a bevy of options.

Players can decorate their room, upgrade weapons, trade for rare objects and converse with the locals who usually have something new to say. I found character management to be deep and rewarding, with plenty of ways to improve your skills and weapons. Playing as a Vanguard, I found Phantasy Star Portable's greatest strength to be its accommodation of players who can't make up their mind. Players can either change or extend their class at a shop using extend points. Your class dictates how many points it costs towards each weapon class. At any point you can remove points from one and put it toward another, if the item is outside your class it just costs more. Experimentation with different weapons kept me interested in grinding levels and collecting a whole new set of weapons for hours on end.

In fact, once you're in the swing of collecting items, the world hub it one of the most fun areas of the game. Whether you're decorating your room with found trinkets or trading items for that next level gun, the customization features will hold your attention.

When you're fully outfitted, you'll spend most of your time fighting through dungeons and the gameplay is just deep enough to keep each dungeon interesting. The useful "action pallet" from the first game is back and it quickly gives players access to their important items during combat. Players that time their basic attacks are far more deadly. And chaining basic attacks together before using a special photon attack results in a huge damage bonus. There are certainly gameplay differences between sabers, whips, and sniper rifles, but they aren't so different that varying classes will approach the game all that differently. I was tempted to try new weapons more out of curiosity, or a rare item pick-up, and it was plenty of fun to try out a new implement of destruction.

My only gripe with combat is with the lock-on feature. Simply tapping a shoulder button will lock players onto the nearest enemy or center the camera, while the second shoulder button brings up their alternate weapon. This setup works until you have a short range weapon and go up against a fast enemy. You'll need to constantly adjust the camera with the d-pad, or center it behind your character while trying to capture the right angle. This makes range an overly important weapon attribute, and it's a fundamentally frustrating control scheme that is difficult to avoid.

When it comes to your comrades, the party AI is functional; though it can't be relied on to get you out of a bind. Basically, if you can't handle a level on your own, don't put too much faith in your AI controlled teammates.

While the short cutscenes and beautifully drawn character art help to build interest in the story, visually, Phantasy Star Portable reaches beyond its means. There's a considerable amount of pop-in in the environments and some of the menu icons are just too small to make any sense. But what matters, the combat, is flashy and smooth even when playing online. My teammates would stutter on occasion, but my actions were always represented faithfully. The game isn't ugly, but it focuses on function over form and this decision plays to its credit.

I first jumped online when my character reached level 20 or so. I wasn't finished with the story yet, and my first multiplayer experience was with characters ranked far above me. It was fun to see how powerful these higher level characters had become, but it was ultimately pointless because I couldn't inflict a single point of damage against enemies in the dungeon we entered. There's a way to edit the search criteria to deal with this problem, but there were never that many people to choose from online, even later when I'd upped my level. I recommend having at least one friend who can join you in the adventure if you plan to spend a lot of time online.

Finally, Phantasy Star Portable does plenty to accommodate players with in-game options and adjustments. You can check on the many metrics of your character's progress, adjust tons of minor presentation details, and there are plenty of quick ways to communicate through text and character animations online. Missions are rated by length, difficulty, and reward, allowing you to pick the bite-sized challenges when you're on the go. It seems the details are all in order.

Reviews - God of War - Ghost of Sparta by Rickshow & IGN

I've played this game for a couple of days and kani ra akong ma sulti. Grabe ka ayus. Same set of gameplays, na dungagan ug new moves and attacks, refined graphics pero in game ang camera control. Meaning dili ma control nimo ang view to appreciate the surrounding. Pero overall, mga 8 out of 10 ang ratings. Siguro if this game was released two years ago, I would've ranked it 10 like the previous God of War Chains of Olympus. If you are a PSP gaming fan, this title is a must have. If you have a library of PSP games, this would prove to be a heavy favorite.

Here's what IGN says

Kratos might possibly be the angriest game character ever created. We all know he accidently killed his wife and child in service to the gods, but his belligerent attitude has often made me wonder what else might have happened to him to make him so filled with rage. We get some insight into this in God of War: Ghost of Sparta, which does a wonderful job adding depth to Kratos' character while delivering one of the most fun and beautiful gameplay experiences on the PSP.

Set between God of War and God of War II, Ghost of Sparta picks up right at the end of God of War, with Kratos sitting upon his newly claimed throne looking appropriately grumpy. After all, becoming a god didn't remove the disturbing memories of his past, but now he's being plagued by a vision we've never seen before -- an old woman lying sick on a slab of stone. Convinced he can actually change this vision, Kratos sets off for Atlantis on a quest that eventually takes him back to his home of Sparta and into the realm of Thanatos, god of death.

At E3 this year, reps from Ready At Dawn Studios said they were skeptical about doing another God of War game because they felt they had accomplished all they could on the PSP with God of War: Chains of Olympus. Luckily for us, they discovered they actually could push the system further, and it really shows.

Ghost of Sparta is gorgeous. Graphically, it looks better than a big chunk of PS2 games, and is absolutely the best-looking game on the PSP thus far. Detailed environments featuring constant rain and cascading water and lava create beautiful backdrops and really bring the world to life. Kratos looks wonderful as well. In fact, his character model was rebuilt from the ground up to add more detail for this game, such as the fact that he can be bathed in blood during battle, like he could in God of War III.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, there's nothing super unique here, but that's not a bad thing. You'll still spend your time slaying countless enemies, traversing dangerous domains, and solving light puzzles. Combat has been perfected throughout the series, so there's not a lot to improve upon, and too much change would have been jarring. That said, there is a brand new weapon and two new magical attacks that add something new to the experience.

 Kratos starts the game with the Blades of Athena, which function exactly like blades do in the other games, including the special moves. However, you unlock the ability to add fire to the blades. Known as Thera's Bane, this power functions similar to the Rage of Sparta in God of War III, with its own separate meter (which replenishes over time) and the ability to activate or deactivate it at will. One important difference, though, is that Thera's Bane is necessary for more than just adding power to your attacks. Doors and other obstacles require the power in order to be destroyed, and it's also necessary to break through the armor of certain enemies.

The other weapon you acquire later in the game is the classic spear and shield known as the Arms of Sparta. This combo is one of the most diverse I've seen in the series as it serves as both a ranged and melee weapon with Kratos able to throw the spear at distant enemies or perform a succession of quick jabs up close. The shield can be slammed into enemies in addition to its blocking duties, and most importantly, Kratos can move while blocking with the shield, giving it functionality outside of battle such as walking into fire or freezing wind.

The two new magical attacks in the game are the Eye of Atlantis and the Scourge of Erinys. The former is a lightning attack and isn't terribly unique. The latter, however, is a much more creative ball of energy that sucks nearby enemies into it and occasionally delivers green orbs to Kratos in the process.

The game is filled with all the blood and gore, the great voice acting and dramatic music we've come to expect from a God of War installment, as well as the most ridiculous sex mini-game the series has ever seen, where a whole of swarm of women jumps in on the action. There are also more gigantic bosses than in Chains of Olympus, giving the game more of the awesome sense of scale that's a hallmark of the console versions. Upon beating the game, there are a number of challenges that become available, as well as the Temple of Zeus, where players can sacrifice red orbs in order to purchase concept art, videos, and enemies to battle in the combat arena, a free-play area where players can customize a number of settings and rip apart enemies to their hearts' content.

Some functional improvements have been made as well, such as showing button prompts on the side of the screen that corresponds to the button's placement on the PSP and using of the analog nub less in quicktime events, which could be terribly frustrating in Chains of Olympus. Load times are still practically non-existent, though the game will occasionally pause in mid-action briefly to load, but it's never enough to interfere with the gameplay.

Beautiful graphics and solid gameplay aside, where Ghost of Sparta really sets itself apart is in its ability to add depth to Kratos, who has remained a largely two-dimensional character throughout the series. We still see his rage, but we also see regret and even compassion as he thanks Spartan soldiers for serving him well. The use of lesser-known mythological figures as the main antagonists also distinguishes the game and is a refreshing change from Kratos' epic battle with Zeus, who surprisingly plays no role in this game.

Ghost of Sparta is not perfect, but there's really little to complain about. I would have liked to see some bigger and more challenging puzzles in the vein of the Hera's Garden puzzle in God of War III. The fixed camera can also make it difficult to see Kratos when surrounded by lots of enemies. Usually this isn't a problem, but there were a few occasions when I ended up grabbing the wrong enemy when going for the one with the circle above his head, simply because I couldn't see Kratos in order to turn him in the right direction.