PSP Exclusives to Look Forward to this Year

We’ve already taken a look at both PS3 and Xbox360 exclusives set to hit consoles this year. Normally we would have hit the PC platform next but since this year is dry as a bone for PC gamers as far as exclusives are concerned we’re jumping straight to Sony’s handheld console and the list goes something like this:

Gran Turismo PSP

Set to launch on the same day as the PSP go, Gran Tursimo for the PSP will feature over 800 cars to choose from along with visuals running at a steady 60 FPS. You’ll also be able to share cars with your friends using the PSP’s ad hoc abilities.

GTA Chinatown Wars

Rockstar wowed DS audiences with a mature GTA game and now PSP owners can look forward to that very same game enhanced by improved visuals and newer missions among other details we don’t know much about yet.

Assassins Creed: Bloodlines

Altair and his love for Parkour will be assaulting the PSP this year in the form of a brand new game, built ground up for the PSP. Details are scarce at this moment but we do know that it will be a full-fledged 3rd person action game and will shed a bit of light between the events of the 1st and the 2nd game.

LittleBigPlanet PSP

Not that I was surprised by this announcement at E3 2009 but it was nice to hear that Sackboy and his cute little friends will be available on the PSP later this year. The handheld version of the game will retain its core mantra – Create, play and share (or is it the other way around?) but offer players newer levels and tools to mess around with.



Soul Calibur Broken Destiny

Not only is this game built from the ground up for the PSP (no port treatment here) but Kratos will be a playable character in the game. If that’s not incentive itself to pick this game up, I don’t know what is.

Duke Nukem Trilogy

As long as I’m breathing I will not give up hope for Duke Nukem Forever but in the meantime I can take solace in the fact that the King will be assaulting the PSP this year in the form of a Trilogy consisting of three games: Critical Mass, Chain Reaction and Proving Grounds. The King left the building... but now he’s back again.

Tekken 6

Since Tekken Dark Resurrection was one of the best fighters to grace the PSP, Tekken 6 automatically scores a comfortable place on our list. Also it won’t be a mere port but will ship with tons of new content exclusive to the PSP.

Army of 2: 40th Day

Similar to Killzone Liberation: Army of Two: The 40th Day will be an isometric third person action game with a strong emphasis on co-op. Expect certain locales, co-op moves and multiplayer modes from the console versions to make an appearance as well.

Strategy Games for Beginners

If the idea of complex resource gathering, micro-management, base planning, and all the other common ingredients of traditional features of real-time strategy games seem too tedious to you, we're here to help bridge the gap between you and this genre of gaming. To do this, we've made a list of some of the best off-beat RTS games out there, that do away with the potentially boring stuff in RTS' and give you the best of the genre in ample doses. Just pick any one of them, and discover the joy of strategy games...

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

Relic Entertainment's masterpiece - Dawn of War II - did away with base building and resource management altogether, and threw you straight into the action with powerful units and a crapload of ammo. The mantra of this game was - a little less boring RTS, a lot more action. The entire game, be it the lengthy (and awesome!) single player campaign or the wholesome multiplayer, required you to dive in and capture power, resource or victory nodes in order to gain the upper hand. This ended up in an insane amount of small skirmishes rather than large scale wars, keeping you on your toes constantly! I recommended this one to RPG fans out there, since the single player campaign plays out pretty much like an RPG, and the great gear and level up systems are comparable to some of the best sci-fi RPGs out there.

Company of Heroes

Company of Heroes was another amazing RTS by Relic, which managed to breathe new life into the age old World War II setting. Everything from the Omaha beach invasion to the Battle of Okinawa was captured with more intensity than most shooters could dream of. The game's strong point was its squad-based unit structure and cover system, that required you to focus more on positioning your troops than building fortifications or accumulating resources. The game followed the formula of a few powerful, well-placed units, over the traditional rush of units you'd see in most RTS games, and it worked incredibly well for this one. The squad system ensured that managing units was as easy as rich, wholesome, RTS-pie, making this game ideal for those who've found the squad system of action games enamoring, but lacking.

Defense of the Ancients

What started off as a community made map for Warcraft III became so popular, that it spawned not only one of the biggest gaming communities, but it grew into one of the most widely played online competitive games out there. The premise is simple - this RPG/RTS hybrid requires you to pick one of two sides, Sentinel or Scourge, each of which can have up to 5 players. Each player picks a "hero" out of 80+ choices, each with a unique play style, and locks themselves in battle against the opposite team. There's no resource management, no base building, no micro-management. All you have to manage is one hero, help him level up, and work with your team to take down the enemy's base. The game's so accessible that almost anyone can pick it up; all you need is the competitive spirit, a copy of Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne, and a working net connection!

Demigod

If you find even DotA's too complicated, or the dated visuals are a little inadequate for the graphic-whore within, this one might be right up your alley. Demigod is a complete retail game inspired from DotA, with amazing RTS/RPG features that work together to please both audiences. Just like DotA, you have two sides with unique heroes to pick from, only here there are various maps, and detailed skill-trees to deal with, much like a complete RPG. There's a lot more eye candy here and the game's a lot simpler to pick-up than DotA, or most other RTS games out there.

Overlord

If you can't get the hang of DotA or Demigod, chances are you're either strategically challenged or not inclined to playing RTS' at all. You might be a lost cause, but I'm not ready to give up on you yet - hang in there, little budding strategy gamer! Our last attempt to introduce to you the goodness of RTS games is, ironically, a game that's more action than strategy - Overlord. In Overlord, you play the role of an evil Overlord that, with the servitude of a bunch of the most devious and brainless minions, is bent on wreaking havoc. It has none of the potentially annoying elements you might hate in RTS games, the only thing left here is a bit of strategy involving how you control your minions. As you progress in the game, you can access different types of minions that each have their own special ability. You can use this to your advantage and build a unique army of your own. This is the most dumbed down of strategy gaming, with all the edges chipped to fit into the action gamers' brain. If it still doesn't appeal to you, I give up.

Overlord II

Ever hear of the phrases “Bad guys have all the fun” or “It pays to be evil” or “Being evil is so totally awesome”. Ok so I’m pretty sure I made the last two ones up but my point is that it’s fun to be evil in games - if not in real life. And developer Triumph Studios’ latest game, Overlord II allows you to heavily indulge in that very same urge. Overlord II serves as a sequel to Overlord in which you wreak havoc as an evil overlord helped every step of the way by your loyal gremlin-esque minions.

In case you haven’t played the first game, the premise is very simple. You control your Overlord, the way you would control any third person action game protagonist while you can send your minions to attack, pillage, plunder people and objects alike. It’s essentially an action adventure with minor elements of strategy and RPG tossed in for good measure.

Overlord II grants you two views to choose from. You have your regular third person camera for a more up close and personal view of combat while the isometric view gives you a wider view. In both views however both the minions and your camera are controlled by the right stick. Now this creates a certain amount of conflict at times as you’ll send your minions scurrying across somewhere when all you want to do is get a better view of your surroundings and vice versa. This tends to get a lot more problematic when you’re up against bosses.

Not much has changed as far as core gameplay is concerned. Your Overlord is restricted to just moving around and smashing people with his weapon or zapping them with a few spells. Don’t go expecting a deep combat system over here since the minions and not your Overlord are the starts of the show here.

Unlike the first game (that I barely played for an hour) your minions in Overlord II have new found awesome abilities. They can now ride mounts like wolves and spiders, sail the open seas, use stealth to kill unsuspecting enemies etc. Initially you’ll have access to just one variety of minions but as you play through the game you’ll gradually unlock more. There are four variants altogether: Browns, Reds, Greens and Blues. Browns are your basic grunts and are adept in close quarter melee combat. Reds dish out some fiery attacks and are good at ranged combat since they can obliterate enemies with fireballs from a distance. Greens are sneaky little hand-claw (think Wolverine) wielding devils that are perfect for stealth attacks while Blues are adept at magic.


Once you get access to all these minions how you use them is entirely up to you. You could send in your greens first to kill unsuspecting enemies, following it up with a full frontal attack using your browns while your reds keep hammering away on enemies from a distance. During certain levels you’ll even be able to possess a minion and play as the little critter. These levels are thoroughly entertaining and offer a much needed respite from the ‘kill-everything-that-moves’ formula.

As opposed to the first game, Overlord II offers a healthy amount of environmental variety and you’ll find yourself moving from snow laden villages to tropical islands to the Roman empire. While variety is appreciated, path finding leaves a bit to be desired and there were times when I found myself moving around in circles clueless about my next goal. Also the game’s mini-map isn’t very accurate in displaying your goals.

Visually the game is impressive. Environments are vibrant and very well detailed thoroughly immersing you in the game’s twisted fantasy world. Character modeling is top notch and watching your minions in action is just plain entertaining. Humor is the game’s strong point as every dialogue is laced with tongue-in-cheek humor and/or a satirical look at modern society. Some of it worked for me while some was just plain unfunny. The minions are on the other hand are a constant hoot and their constant demented babble is guaranteed to make you smile if not roll on the floor. Your Overlord himself is the silent brooding type and isn’t half as entertaining as his faithful minions.

So yes Overlord II is a lot like Overlord; only this time developer Triumph studios has injected it with a good amount of variety. It can get repetitive after a while so I suggest you play it in short bursts. It has a few multiplayer modes (that I sadly didn’t get to try out) and the single player itself is pretty lengthy so you’re looking at sinking 15 – 20 hours into it, especially if you end up doing all the side quests as well. Even if you didn’t much care for the first game, I suggest you give it a shot while if you’re new to the series, I’d definitely recommend it. I mean how does killing baby seals using gremlins not sound like fun?