Read reviews & Check out new games
|
READ
|
DISCUSS
 Joytron PSP Sli...
 Pelican for Son...
 PSP IVO Sound M...
 DiGi iNVaDeRS
| Go on! You know you want it
| Summary: The most impressive handheld console you will see within 5 years.
90
From the moment that I played my PSP in a Roppongi cafe I knew that it was special. The controls, the comfortable hand position and the *AMAZING* screen definition made me realise that there is only one portable entertainment winner. Sounding biased? Here's why...
I got to Akihabara at 6.45am. I thought I'd be early. Being a 'Gaijin' I thought I'd outfox the locals. Boy, was I wrong. As the morning lightened, I took my place amongst 900 people that had spent the night there. Whoops. First bad decision.
So I stood there. Then the line moved, making sure that we didn't cross the path of any moving traffic. Some guy dressed in a Santa outfit handed out tickets that made sure we only bought one each, just to make sure the 200,000 units went around. The line moved quickly for the next 1.45hrs. Then it stopped. Why was this? The nearest information point to me is a guy chatting on his N.DS (via pictochat) to other people in the queue, asking why we weren't moving. Thankfully, I can understand Hiragana enough to pick out phrases that explain the stand-still. LAOX have run out of stock, pure and simple. Meanwhile, people are smiliing as they leave the shop with cute little bags. I wonder what's inside? Hmmm.
I contemplate the coldness of my my feet and the gnawing in my stomach compared to the warmth of my my bed (that also contains my fiancee) and the alluring look of the McDonalds in the distance, and decide on staying in line. Second bad decision.
Then it rains. It's cold. We're all wet. Then, some cute asian girl dressed up as the cat from Dokodemo Issho turns up and hands out plastic rain sheets to protect us from the rain. How sweet. Akihabara seems better.
Then the line moves. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Then it stops! WTF? Soon, a store employee rushes past with factory sealed boxes of PSP's on a sack truck and the line chatters LOUDLY.
Then, we're all moving, out of the rain and into LAOX, Astobitcity1.
The guy at the bottom of the escalator checks my ticket and motions me up the escalator. I ascend and see the queue. It isn't that bad, after all, we are guaranteed a unit so the shop is calm - yet frenzied.
I pick up a box for a PSP, Ridge Racer, PSP Screen Protector, NDS, Screen Protector, SM64DS & Wario DS. Only 5 more minutes until I obtain my quarry.
Time slows.
Suddenly I'm a tourist in a foreign land, witnessing the things I've only dreamed of and read about in magazines. Is it really happening to me? Did I just wait in line for 5 hours?
I hit the checkout. The store clerk mutters something that my poor grasp of Japanese finds elusive. I think he said 'No boxes. That's what the tickets are for'. He grunts, tells me the total Yen and ushers me out the back door.
I have a PSP VP, RRacer, NDS & Games.
Now I'm the gloating individual that struts his stuff past the line of people waiting, hoping to purchase a unit. Oh, how I smile. It's almost as if 'Stayin' Alive' was playing from some imaginary 80ft speakers as I walk away from the line of people, bag in hand, knowing that some of the poor people behind me might not get a unit.
And next thing you know (read: home, charged both, back out), I'm sat in the Roppongi cafe playing my NDS. It seems like a toy. I try Wario DS. It's fun, but not that similar to the GBA version - just with a stlyus. I try SM64DS. It seems like the N64 version, but with touchscreen bolted on (and some cute mini-games).
Then I pull out my PSP. I'm blown away by the unit. Ridge Racer looks amazing, even the menus look incredible. Then I realize I'm back at the start of this review...
Note: This is all IMHO. I was there on launch day. I bought both handhelds side by side. I don't prefer one unit to the other - but, I know which machine will be lusted after by gadget fans. I do, however, have this advice :
Own both handhelds (reommended) and you'll have twice the fun, and won't miss out. Own only one, and you'll have your weapon of choice. Which weapon will you choose?
REVIEW IT
PRODUCT INFO
|
1