Echochrome - PSP Review

Echochrome is a release on the PSP which I totally missed. It was only after being told about its existence by a friend that I found out about it. If I had missed out on this game I would never know about one of the most challenging and unique games out there.

Echochrome is a puzzle game. It does not rely on graphics, music, special effects, or even a plot or storyline. There are no real characters to speak of (only a few tiny stick men type people with no faces) and there is no end goal. So why then, is this game so amazing? Read on.

Echochrome’s brilliance is in it’s simplicity. The puzzles involve manipulating the perspective that you see. You move the camera around the paths in order to create new paths for you character to walk across to reach their goal. This starts very simple, and gradually becomes harder and harder. If you’re looking for seriously tricky logic puzzles or spatial awareness puzzles then this game is 100% for you. Imagine you are standing very high or very low near a skyscraper, then being able to walk to the adjacent building because the sides are touching in one line. Here is a gameplay video to help.

It’s not only about creating new paths however. There are floor pads which shoot your little man into the air to reach a new path, and likewise, there are holes in the floor to fall to other paths. Combine all these elements and you have a complicated way of thinking the puzzle through already. Sometimes it’s trial and error but you quickly become accustomed to the game’s unique style.

One of the reasons the game works so well on the PSP is that its great to have a few minutes spare and do one or two puzzles. You don’t get bogged down in storyline or cut-scenes, and above all, it’s fantastic to have an original and innovative game in the current era of next-gen super HD graphics and SFX.

The game isn’t perfect though, and there are flaws in the actual concept - brilliant as it is. The most evident is that there is not much in terms of longevity. Once I’ve done a puzzle I have little to no desire to do it again. The level and map won’t change if I do it again. It’s unlike say, Burnout, GRID or FIFA, where the game is different each time you play it. Another thing is the music while relaxing is jading to me and I always have it off. After a while the maps do seem repetitive and it is incredibly frustrating at times.

I think you would have to WANT this game to buy it, I mean, a lot of people will find it boring and pointless. On the other hand, I find it intriguing and genuinely a fun experience, and however frustrating at times it is, this challenging and frustrating mix actually makes it somewhat addictive.

Overall - 8/10

Final Fantasy VII - Crisis Core - PSP Review

For me, the Final Fantasy series dating back from the original Playstation era (VII and VIII), were absolutely pivotal in terms of influence to this day on all other RPG’s. Everything about these two games was years ahead of all its closest rivals, and the RPG scene was utterly dominated by Square and Final Fantasy. Two films have since been made, as well as an online game (XI) and the latest release is FFVII: Crisis Core on the PSP.

The plot is set (ironically) 7 years before the events from the original FF7, following Zack, a 2nd Class SOLDIER who is training to become a First Class, originally under the guidance of Sephiroth, Genesis and Angeal, the story develops at a rapid pace and there are plenty of plot twists quite early on. Almost too early, because you just get your head around something and then BANG; it’s all the opposite way around again.

Gameplay in battles is different to any other Final Fantasy game and does take some getting used too. Once you become accustomed to it however it works pretty fine. The reason it is tricky at first is that it is partly like FF12 in that the action is real-time and not the traditional turn-based action of old, but also, there is a random slot machine type generator, officially called the DMW, which grants you temporary abilities and upgrades and it also levels up Zack and his materia. This can be annoying at first because it is activated at random (only when numbers match up on the spinning dials). After a while though you do get used to it. However, I think it would have been better to have something more interactive rather than a random spinning dial determining when you level up. You cannot control where the dials stop, so it can be frustrating when you are one number away from a power up, especially in boss battles. The power ups (such as null magic/physical damage, no MP/AP cost etc) are extremely useful but it is still annoying not being fuly in control of them. Then again, this does make it more tense and exciting so it balances out. It does develop the story as well, because images from past cut scenes and encounters are used to activate the ‘power surge’. Whether this is to heighten Zack’s emotions in order to use the power surges I’m not sure, but it generally works quite well.

Controls are also different to past Final Fantasy outings. After a battle sequence is initiated, a bar of options appears in the bottom corner, and you press ‘X’ to select an option (such as attack, fire, thunder, spinning attack). One massive upside to this is that you can choose whether to have physical, or magic (or materia) attacks, as well as healing magic and potions etc. This makes Zack’s attacking style hugely customisable and you can pick and choose your favourite set up combinations. While you can do this to a degree in all Final Fantasy games, it has always been limited in some way, but now, you can have whatever options in whatever order you want. For example, you can have nothing but offensive magic to use in a battle, or any combination of physical and/or magical attacks. Armour can be equipped to give you a boost in HP, MP, AP etc, again, this gives you the option to play to your strengths and attack however you want too.

As I mentioned before, Graphics have always been something of a gaming benchmark with the Final Fantasy series, and the PSP version is no exception. In-game graphics are very good, with no lag whatsoever. It’s worth nothing that loading times are excellent considering the high detail that is being generated. While roaming, there are slightly jagged edges on the surroundings but this is being picky. Cut scenes look amazing, as do all the menu’s, characters, enemies, snapshot photo’s, animations and the pre-rendered cut-scenes are just sublime. At times, it’s easy to forget that all of this is on the PSP, on a 4.3inch screen. Colours are bright and distinctive, and everything just looks amazing. The only other game that has impressed me on PSP this much is Tekken: DR, which was seriously good. The opening video to Crisis Core is here, although I don’t think it does the actual game justice. Seeing it in for yourself in the full quality is preferable, but you can get a glimpse of the action and animation that I’m in love with. Sound effects and music are made to match the action perfectly. Voices on games can be very hit-and-miss, but they’ve been done well on Crisis Core.

Some niggling points remain but they are not so bad really. The game can be quite overwhelming at the start and there is a lot to take in. If you have completed or played the original FF7, things will fall into place quickly, but otherwise, you may need to read the supplied tutorials and info a few times before you become fully familiarised with what is going on. Similarly, about an hour into the game when you think you’ve got to grips with things you’re thrown out onto the street and told to do a few training exercises. Not a problem at first, but I got lost very quickly on the streets and it took quite a while to get back to where I was supposed to go. This happens in a few missions as well, and getting lost in an RPG is one of the most frustrating things that can happen to you. Most missions are relatively straight forward however, and unless you swing the camera around too much you won’t get too disorientated.

I’ve tried to be as fair, balanced and objective as possible (as always) so I don’t think i can give FF7:CC any less than 9/10. The life span of the game is vast considering replay value as well; I am coming up to 20% through the game and this is after several weeks of playing. Proving that the PSP can handle the big titles well is a big selling point. Now all I want is the original FF7 and FF8 to be made for PSP.

Overall: 9/10

WipEout: Pulse - PSP Review

Following on from 2005’s WipEout: Pure, the series continues on PSP with WipEout: Pulse, but before the full review, a little background info. The WipEout series first appeared on the original Playstation way back in 1995, and quickly established itself as a fast and furious style racer/shoot ‘em up, where players piloted futuristic craft around various tracks, using power up’s such as shields, and firing missiles and other weapons at each other, all while trying to finish first. This unique blend of racing, shooting and flying remained fresh for many years, and the jump onto PSP was both inevitable and welcome. In fact, a WipEout for PS3 is in the works as well. So then, onto the review.

There are some games on PSP that feel like they belong there. One is the WipEout series. This is because everything just feels right, and it feels as polished as any game. The controls are kept simple, which is fortunate as your travelling so damn fast that you don’t have much time to look behind you. One key difference between other race games is that because you are flying you can’t just turn left or right unless it’s a very slight turn. For tight corners and U-bends you need to use the airbrakes (L1 and R1), which does take some getting used too, but once learned, they actually make it much easier than braking totally, and then accelerating away again. It keeps the cornering smooth and means you don’t lose much (if any) speed, gaining vital seconds in the Time Trial races.

Graphics look slick, smooth and really make the game come to life. Actually, the improvement from Pure is marginal, because the effects were so good to begin with. The key changes to the game will come a little later on in the review. The colours in game are bright and the best effect is the engine jets spewing out plasma, or whatever it is, which is proportional to your acceleration and speed. Another thing I’ve noticed is that the game has never lagged, even with 8 different ships on screen, the action remains as high tempo as ever.

Sound is the only area of the game that could still be improved, as while the music in game is great (it’s a mix of techno and futuristic drums, which actually sounds far better than how I just described it), the voice over which announces your upgrades or when a rival is about to fire is too quiet and blurry, so you rarely hear about the imminent rocket which is about to blow you out of the sky. Thankfully, in addition to the audio warning, there is a visual one as well. A tiny icon of the weapon being fired at you appears above your ship so you know what’s coming.

As with most racing games, there are multiple teams (twelve, although you can download additional teams if you want) with respective strengths and weaknesses. For example, some ships will have good acceleration but a low top speed, or an average balance of both. This keeps the game fair and it also makes it more enjoyable if you prefer one type over another. I have always gone for a nippy car/or in this case ship, with good handling/turning and acceleration, but that’s just me. Think of it this way, in real life terms; would you rather have a Lotus Elise (agile, but not as fast) a Ford GT (powerful, but less nimble round corners) or a Porsche 911 (a balance of both). You also receive loyalty points for racing with a team, although I’m not too sure of the reason for this.

The game modes are vastly improved over Pure, and it shows when you start playing. Some changes are subtle and some are completely new modes. In Pure, it was more of a direct port from Playstation with few new elements, still a good game, but it was designed to be very safe and felt more like a testing ground on the new hardware. Pulse however is very much a new game. There are 12 new tracks, which can be played forwards or in reverse, and most tracks now have a magnetic strip on the track which keeps your ship glued to the track, enabling loop-the-loops in the tracks, as well as 90 degree vertical and horizontal sections which is just amazing to play, although it might make you dizzy if you don’t concentrate, or if you concentrate too much. This alone makes the tracks much more varied than before, and add to this 2 new weapons, 3 new game modes (Speed Lap, Head-to-Head, Eliminator) and you have a sequel well worth purchasing even if you already own Pure. There is also online play available if you have Wi-Fi access, custom music in the background if you have music stored on your memory card, in-game screenshots, Pulse really has got so much content and features crammed into it, it’s amazing that the game doesn’t suffer in other areas as you might expect. In some games, you might lose a feature which has been replaced by another, but that’s not the case here.

So, overall, Pulse is an excellent game and surpasses Pure. It doesn’t do anything drastic in terms of actual game play and it doesn’t change any of the key elements; they have kept it straightforward yet challenging, fast but manageable, and the numerous and more importantly, substantial, tweaks and additions in Pulse make the game even better than ever before. WipEout: Pulse comes highly recommended to everyone, and if you’re already a keen WipEout fan, you’ll love it.

Rating: 9/10