Patapon demo is up

[Blotus]

http://store.playstation.com/store/prod ... NPSNDEMO08

Pretty fun so far. Caution: infectious rhythm.

[Zeus]

http://store.playstation.com/store/prod ... NPSNDEMO08

Pretty fun so far. Caution: infectious rhythm.

The game's comin' out at $20 too.

[Flip]

I picked up a copy, gonna crush it tomorrow. Wille reporte more latere!

[Flip]

Oh, and i found out that the basic PSP is trading in for $70 if you have all the accessories, which i do, $60 if you dont. The non-bundle new slim PSP retails for $170... i'm thinking im going to pull the trigger on it and get the better PSP, considering it is my main gaming system since i havent bought a next gen yet. Lighter, slightly smaller, loads faster, less things on it to break (the spring game hatch is supposed to be not well made), and raised D pad for $100... i think it could be worth it. More toe come tomorrowe!

[Blotus]

That old model you have may be worth more than they'll give you once you factor in how easy it is to pirate on that motherfucker.

[SineSwiper]

Is the music any good? It's probably no Rez, but hopefully this genre starts to pick up more.

[Zeus]

Oh, and i found out that the basic PSP is trading in for $70 if you have all the accessories, which i do, $60 if you dont. The non-bundle new slim PSP retails for $170... i'm thinking im going to pull the trigger on it and get the better PSP, considering it is my main gaming system since i havent bought a next gen yet. Lighter, slightly smaller, loads faster, less things on it to break (the spring game hatch is supposed to be not well made), and raised D pad for $100... i think it could be worth it. More toe come tomorrowe!

You already have the better PSP, why trade it in for an inferior model for $110?

[SineSwiper]

You already have the better PSP, why trade it in for an inferior model for $110?

This.

[Flip]

You already have the better PSP, why trade it in for an inferior model for $110?

This.

I dont use my PSP for the wacked out illegal things it can do anyways, considering all the cool legal goodness it gives me, its a moot point.

[Zeus]

You already have the better PSP, why trade it in for an inferior model for $110?

This.

I dont use my PSP for the wacked out illegal things it can do anyways, considering all the cool legal goodness it gives me, its a moot point.

Neither do I, I just like the feel of the old vs new

Sine, just 'cause Square's programmers are lazy don't mean I should get a new PSP

[SineSwiper]

Uhhh...that had nothing to do with laziness. It's the exact same game, and one loads better than the other.

You're not a programmer, so you don't understand how hard it is to shuffle information back and forth in-game. Every game has some amount of load time, especially with spinning media.

[Kupek]

It's probably a better/faster hardware design.

[Zeus]

Uhhh...that had nothing to do with laziness. It's the exact same game, and one loads better than the other.

You're not a programmer, so you don't understand how hard it is to shuffle information back and forth in-game. Every game has some amount of load time, especially with spinning media.

It could also be that they designed the game around the faster hardware. Considering that the PSP slim was released with the game in Japan, I say that's a pretty damned good possibility.

If that's the case, I'm willing to bet they didn't exactly optimize the load times for the older hardware. Hence the "lazy" comment. Basically, they only cared about getting it optimized for the newer hardware and not the older, ignoring the millions of us who have the older system.

You're right, I'm no programmer, never pretended to be. But I do have a very decent, layman's terms understanding of it, particularly from my programmer partner who's working on the XBLA game with me. He's explained to me some of the basic issues he's having and we do discuss some technical stuff on occasion although he has to keep it relatively simple for me to understand it.

I ain't a pro or anything but it's not like I'm a soccer mom trying to figure out computer logic here.

[Flip]

Patapon is a cool game. Def a must have for PSP owners, along with Lumines (1 or 2) and Loco Roco. These original games with great music, simplistic play, yet amazing graphics is really showing what the PSP is made of. Since you can customize your army's units, find and equip new weapons, and get the army to perform different moves based on what beat you enter, Patapon is much more involved that Loco Roco, but the graphics and menu design remind me a lot of LR. I'm only 10 missions in, so i'm sure it has a lot more to show me, i look forward to it!

I also decided to lay out the $100 and get the PSP slim. While the dimensions arent that much different, i like the feel of the new one much better. The slim is lighter (which is a good thing!), but to me, it feels more solid, too. My launch PSP had the 'wiggly button' problem right out of the package. Even if they went with lighter parts and more plastic for the new PSP, everything is put together correctly so things are crisper. Things like the hold and wi-fi switches snap better, the D pad is easier to use since its raised higher, and the regular gameplay buttons click cleaner... And, while the size isnt much slimmer, its enough to make it that little extra cooler looking. I dont know why reviewers complained about the UMD door, i like that better, too. It seems solid enough to me and lets you not worry about the spring loaded door on the old one breaking. Also, my old PSP battery was getting worse and worse, so its nice to have a fresh one that is supposed to get more life to boot.

$120 bucks on gaming crap this weekend, more than i've spent in a while, but much less than a 360 or PS3, and i'll get even more use out of the PSP than i used to. My one complaint is that they dont have a lot of slim form cases yet. In fact, i couldnt find one at Gamestop that was supposed to be for the slim. Since i dont want it rattling around in my Playgear Pocket case, i traded that in and will just have to look online for one i like. For now, i just bought a screen protector film and am sliding it in the PSP sock that came with the original, and its working out fine since i dont dump the thing in a backpack and walk around all day with it.

[Zeus]

It's amazing they're selling that "sock" that came with the original PSP for $20 now.

Yeah, the batteries on the originals are bad. I'm thinking about getting the $35 longer-lasting one but don't really need it yet. I still get 7 hours of music and over 3 hours of gaming, which for my purposes is more than enough between charging options.

Along with the games you mentioned, I'd throw in the Mega Man remakes and Dracula X Chronicles as must-haves for old-school gamers. Those games rule

[Flip]

A sock purchase would be insane... $20!? You got to be kidding me.

I bought this for $15 and its great for the new PSP. In fact, people have complained that it doesnt fit the original one well at all.

http://www.amazon.com/A-L-S-PSP-Carryin ... 811&sr=8-4

I was concerned it would be too big or dumb looking, but the carabiner thing comes off and i dont even see a nylon loop... maybe i got screwed, but i dont even want the loop. Now that it is here, i see it is a quite small case. the slim PSP fits snugly, and there is room for a few games (but probably not for all the things they advertise it can fit). Since i never even played my PSP in the hard Logitech case, this one works even better for me. I did use to toss it in a bag for a coffee shop trip or two and i can see this case working better for those occasions than the Logitech Playgear.

It is also a Sony licensed case, so thats a plus, and probably the best one for the slim PSP you can find at the moment.

[Zeus]

I know, man, it shocked the shit out of me when I saw it for sale for that much. No one ever said Sony wasn't out to fleece its customers.....

That case does look neat, it'll definitely be an option if/when I get a Slim. I actually prefer licenced cases for the most part although I've only really had experience with the Nintendo ones. Generally speaking, Nintendo makes the best ones IMO and they're usually not too expensive, rarely going over $25 up here and that's for the huge one with everything where the system takes up 1/5 the room. The DS (original) one I bought for $13 is the best case I've ever had, it's incredible. I can fit the original DS, charger, headphones, 6 GBA games, and 9 DS games in there. With the DS Lite and the extra room, I can fit a car charger as well. Completely filled up it's about the size of an original PSP but about 2 1/2 times the thickness. Amazing.

Although I love my Logitech PSP case, the one that hugs the superior (original) PSP. I took my PSP out of the box and put it in that case and never took it out. That screen is so gorgeous but damned sensitive.