Quick Bytes: PSP Demo's

Ever wondered whether a PSP Demo was worth your time to download, install and test? Are you too busy playing to have your PSP on standby for all that time? Well, yours truly spent the gross amount of the duration doing this for you. This way you’ll know in a minute if it’s worth your time and you can resume your PSP fun immediately. No need to thank me; I’ll just send the autographs your way promptly.

Undead Knights II: This is a mediocre Hack & Slash game, in the lines of Dynasty Warriors and the recent Ninety-Nine Nights II. The demo allows you to play 1 Chapter in the campaign with one of the characters in the game: Romulus. The other characters are named after the same Roman myth, for those of you who were stuck in Basic Latin class.

Anyways, the point is the same as ever: There are hundreds of enemies and you wave a sword around to destroy them all, move on and then repeat that process, until infinity breaks the 1 button on your controller. There’s a very nice addition in the game where you can turn your foes in zombies, to serve as your minions. You’ll use these zombies in multiple gameplay situations, for extra “depth”. However, maneuvering both zombies and yourself goes paired with rigid controls. That stammering is fairly common amongst these Hacky Slashy’s though.

Recommended: If you like mindlessly hacking souls, yes.

Little Big Planet: In this well-known platformer, the point is to make your loveable sackboy get from point A to point B, using your imagination. That imagination is also applicable for all the customization available in the game. The demo will only allow very minimal options to alter your character though.

You get to play 1 chapter, in which you learn the basic handling of the game. By jumping around and moving crates, you solve some easy puzzles to get to your goal. The jumps are a bit awkward, but overall the controls feel pretty good.

At the end of the level, you’ll receive a rating and can get some prices awarded. This is enticing for replay value and getting the most out of the game. It’s also a good way to sell the demo.

Recommended: Sure; see if you can best yourself a few times.

Motorstorm: Arctic Edge: Racing around, where ice and snow are parts of the local scenery; that wasn’t hard to decipher. You start off the game by having to sit through a long, annoying and, above all, non-skippable movie about the awesomeness of the game. With just one track and one car, there’s little awesomeness to behold.

The control scheme is rather strange and doesn’t handle well for the fast pace needed in a race game. Not that there really is a sense of speed, even with the use of boosts. And what’s up with giant bulldozers speeding you by?

Stranger still, is the overall handling of the car, which feels like you’re racing with skates on. I know it’s supposed to be driving on ice and such, but they went insanely overboard with it. If I wanted to play a game that handles like WipeOut, I wouldn’t play this garbage. And so I won’t.

And guess what? The end isn’t skippable; it’s annoying as hell.

Recommended: Possibly the worst ten minutes in your gaming life.

WipeOut Pulse: Since I mentioned it anyway; this racer will set you in the far off future. It’s much like Pod racing in Star Wars: Episode One, except this doesn’t suck. Ultimate speeds and crazy turns will make your head spin, before an arsenal of weapons blow you off the track.

There’s only 1 track, but you get to choose different speeds. So you can train your butt off to reach the top. You’ll need to practice, because WipeOut is a challenge, even on the lowest speeds.  The race ending will reward you with experience and beating opponents is fulfilling.

The controls are decent for the PSP, but taking fast turns get quite awkward on the higher speeds. But in all, this classic is worth checking out on the handheld. Don’t forget this is also a budget title now, so you can pick it up cheap. The demo alone can prove why this is one of the best race games ever created, since 1995!

Recommended: Take an educated guess...Yes!

Final Fantasy Dissidia: The popular Square franchise takes a second stab at a fighting game, after the abysmal Ehrgeiz on the PSOne.  You’ll get the choice of a few different characters from different franchises, with whom you can play a short tutorial campaign.

The gameplay and controls feel like a button mash, with your fighters flying and flailing around in a very unrealistic fashion. It’s supposed to be superhuman abiities, but it just feels so unnatural to brawl this way. To have your opponents knocked backed for miles also deteriorates from the fast-paced action needed in a fighter.

Although the demo is entertaining, the lasting appeal might fade away quickly. It seems like a lot of flash; perhaps just too much.

Recommended: A screaming "meh".

Rock Band Unplugged: Rhythmic gaming on a PSP; it seems strange at first sight. This iteration is no real difference from any rhythm game you heard the giant hype about. Except here you use your PSP, instead of an embarrassing peripheral you can justify to friends, while it’s still hip to own.

The demo contains a very small selection from the soundtrack, but they cleverly came out with powerhouse hits. A little less clever is to divide the songs in sampler tutorials. This way, you can never get into the groove long enough to learn the mechanics, which is awful.

The control scheme is very illogical and frustrating, but it was clearly manufactured for the handheld. Too bad that control scheme will never work in a million years. This game just wasn’t meant to come out on a PSP, so trying to spread the hype isn’t always advisable. Just stick to listening to “The Middle” from Jimmy Eat World on your PSP music centre. This way, at least you get to hear the full song!

Recommended: Please don't give Harmonix a reason to make another game.

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed.