 OK so after I had wrote my last entry on this game, a couple more hours of playing and I had beaten it. Apparently the 3rd chapter is a lot shorter than the previous two. That's fine because it wrapped up the story and allowed me to begin a new game for better grinding and yoinkage. So here's my review of it:
I've enjoyed this game enough now that I have beaten it, that immediately following the ending and credits, I began a new game using the same character under the "Elite" mode which makes all the enemies of the game 50 levels higher than they were previously. So I haven't stopped playing it yet and that doesn't happen often after I beat a game.
The fact that you can grind and that enemies respawn gives this game a deeper depth and more play value. I suppose on one hand it makes the game easy if you level up well past that of the enemies as you progress through the story. Or you can think of it as a bonus for all the time you spent grinding for new items and EXP points.
Compared to the PC versions of Dungeon Siege, this one has a more Dark Alliance/Champions of Norrath feel about it. A bit glitchy at times and not overly complicated, the game has a laid back quality that makes it an easy game to just pick up for a few minutes and do some yoinking. Just be patient with the load times, even the 2nd model PSP has a bit of a wait while loading levels.
Graphics and sound are surprisingly good. Even the voice acting is well done and the character animations are fluid. The levels themselves are a bit generic but they are varied and there is a keen level of attention to detail to them.
Leveling up is fun because not only is there level specific loot, but there are many choices for attributes and abilities to put your earned points into. That gives you some flexibility in customizing your character and later on you can augment that with subclasses.
There are also crossover codes used between this game and Dungeon Siege II: Broken World for the PC. These codes unlock bonus items such and armour and weapons.
If I had to wrap up an impression of this game in one sentence, itd be: Level grinding & looting without the burden of long story dialogs.
Tan's score - 9.0/10 or an A-
Ive been playing the hell out of this game lately. If I had to guess Id say Ive put in well over 15 hours by now, maybe more than 20. This is actually my wifes game as she bought it new when it came out intending to dive into the PSP head first. I suppose in a way Ive been using this game to ease my disappointment that the Two Worlds sequel wasnt released in September and maybe not even in 2008 at all.
The fact that you can grind and that enemies respawn gives this game a deeper depth and more play value. I suppose on one hand it makes the game easy if you level up well past that of the enemies as you progress through the story. Or you can think of it as a bonus for all the time you spent grinding for new items and EXP points.
Compared to the PC versions of Dungeon Siege, this one has a more Dark Alliance/Champions of Norrath feel about it. A bit glitchy at times and not overly complicated, the game has a laid back quality that makes it an easy game to just pick up for a few minutes and do some yoinking. Just be patient with the load times, even the 2nd model PSP has a bit of a wait while loading levels.
I think Im 2/3 of the way through at this point. Right now Im messing around with the crossover codes used between this game and Dungeon Siege II: Broken World for the PC. These codes unlock bonus items such and armour and weapons. If I had to wrap up an impression of this game in one sentence, itd be: Level grinding & looting without the burden of long story dialogs. Great game so far. As far as money value per PSP title, Id say this one will more than justify the high price of the title ($49.99 when it was new).
 It's kind of ironic that a little over a year since my first blog post here at RF Generation, that I'd be blogging about another Space Invaders game. As you may or may not know, 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the release of the original Space Invaders in the arcades back in 1978.
To commemorate this milestone, Taito, now owned by Square-Enix, released Space Invaders Extreme for both the Nintendo DS and the Sony PSP roughly 3 weeks ago. A re-imagined game in the same sense as Pac-Man CE, that has a mixture of the old gameplay and new modes and elements common by today's standards.
Now et me get the bad stuff out of the way first. There aren't any sound options for turning down the music or sound effects (which are both good mind you). The Ad Hoc multiplayer mode is really simple and not all that feature rich. That's it, that's all the bad I have to say about this game!
The first thing I'll mention I like about this game is it's price. $19.99 is a great value for any game new and this one is no exception. Since the DS has such tiny controls for my hands, I decided to opt for the PSP version instead. It's also my preferred choice because of the bigger screen.
One of the best features of this game are the changes made to the gameplay. Now I like Space Invaders in all it's revisions and spinoffs, but that's not to say that it can't change while maintaining it's identity and heritage. Taito did a great job of keeping the core game intact while adding such things as powerups, boss battles, bonus stages and colour coded enemies and UFOs. In some ways, this game reminds me of a Galaga/Xevious/Space Invaders mashup with all it's parts and pieces of added gameplay elements. The boss battles are cool because they showcase the pixelated form of the aliens on a larger scale as well as adding a bit of strategy as to how each one needs to be beaten.
Control is simple and you won't get cramped thumbs trying to be everywhere at once on the screen. Graphics are crisp and colourful and there is an option to turn the background effects on or off if you find them too distracting. If you do those effects are replaced by a colourful background that doesn't move.
Difficulty is on a more steady curve and those who may not be pros at shooters or twitch/reflex types of games will still be able to enjoy it and survive for 10-15 minutes at a time. In other words it's equally suited both as a short diversion as well as a marathon high score challenge. Also as you play you'll unlock Stages which you can always go back to later on and rack up more high scores.
I think Taito did an amazing job in re-invigorating an old game for it's third decade of play. This has to be among the most addictive, simple and enjoyable games on the PSP system and one of my favorite games of the year so far. As far as this wave of retro remakes is concerned, Space Invaders Extreme sits very high on the quality list and sticks to it's roots while adding something new at the same time. A feat not easy to accomplish when you have 3 generations of gamers to try to appeal to!
9.0/10
Shortly after Nintendo's conference is Sony's at around 2:00pm - 2:30pm EST. Check out the same sources used to view the Nintendo conference to watch the Sony one as well. Impressions for both Nintendo and Sony will be posted later. 
http://e3.gamespot.com/live.html
http://www.g4tv.com/e32007/spotlight.html
www.kotaku.com
www.joystiq.com
www.1up.com
UPDATE: The conference will take place in aprox. 20 minutes from now (2:30pm EST.) The G4 link seems to work the best for live video stream, I've watched the first 2 on it with good results.
 San Francisco Calfornia, June 26th 2007 is the time and place Square Enix chooses to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Final Fantasy series. A series which made it's debut in Japan in 1987 and is still going strong today. So how does one pay proper homage to one of the longest running, most influential video game series of all time? How many people can honestly say they've played them all? Dozens upon dozens of titles soon to be spread across it's 16th game system with dozens of spin offs, web comics, movies and anime not to mention the various forms of merchandise over the years. A mighty empire and fan-base that could very well rival Star Wars, Star Trek or even the rabid fan-base of ââ"¬Å"The Price is Rightââ"¬Â.
Estimates of between 60 and 75 million copies sold around the world making it 4th on the all-time list behind Nintendo's Mario franchise, their Pokemon one and EA's Sims series. With each new iteration being both highly anticipated and criticized mercilessly like few others series are due to their importance both to the games industry and culturally as well. To put it bluntly the Final Fantasy series is of such importance it can help steer the course of a game system's success or failure. It's name alone has even been used to boost sales for games not related to the FF universe.
Continue reading Twenty years of Cids, Moogles and Magic
 Recently www.kotaku.com unveiled what according to their sources is, the redesign of the PSP. I post this with a degree of optimism because if these changes turn out to be true then it will make the PSP much more of a competitive product than it is now. Having said that take the following details with a grain of salt as Sony hasn't verified these details yet:
According to their sources among the major changes that the revision will have are a slimmer design, 8 gig of onboard memory, better d-pad, revamped buttons and an LED screen that will extend battery life up to 4 times as much as the current model.
Continue reading Possible PSP Redesign Details
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