Powered Up

I'm a little bit hesitant about going from one sandbox to the next, having finished Just Cause 2 and Red Dead Redemption coming out next week (yes!), so having a weekend away from the PS3 and 360 should do me some good. I'm in Lennox Head this weekend which means I won't even be able to play my PC games as there is no internet connection in the house and Steam is subjecting me to digital rights molestation (DRM is the fashionable acronym) which is also preventing access to single-player content. I have but one option, the humble PSP. PSPgo to be precise.  

I hate the PSPgo. Not only because Sony have been unable to offer a diverse range of new digital content to justify the purchase. Moreso because Sony (and the third party publishers that they blame) have refused to make available the PSP's bitching back-catalogue. Not to say that there are a lot of great games on the PSP, but there are plenty of good ones. I miss Megaman: Powered Up dearly and not just for it's charming, cutesy sprites, but also for its level editor. The levels created by the skillful dev team are brilliant yes, but sometimes I got sick of dying and resolved to create some simple stages, which weren't packed to the rafters with various enemies and killer gaps. Sometimes I would find myself clearing levels with ease and then wanted to make impossible challenges, only to laugh boisterously when the Blue Bomber cleared the killer gap, or navigated an unbelievably long pit of spikes.


Let's not forget that the PSP can also play PSone games. Why can't Activision release Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 on the PSN Store? I don't care if they edit out the punk/rap soundtrack (of surprisingly high quality). You wouldn't even need the L2 and R2 buttons because the revert was yet to be invented. There are plenty of other classics that could do with a re-release like: Trap Runner, Marvel Super Heroes, Street Fighter EX plus Alpha, Rival Schools: United by Fate, Alundra, Bust a Groove (the dance game, not the PAL title for Puzzle Bobble), Dead or Alive, Tobal, Tobal No. 2, Star Wars: Dark Forces, Resident Evil 2 & 3, Dino Crisis, Tekken 3, Mortal Kombat 3, Wip3out. There is endless potential that Sony has so far been inept in its efforts to exploit.


It's not all bad. I plan to re-acquaint myself with Monster Hunter Freedom Unite and log a few hours on Final Fantasy VIII. The interface on the PSPgo is quite a bit more hand-friendly than the older models, but when it is all said and done, I would rather have a righteous hand cramp than go another day without Megaman: Powered Up. Have a good weekend all. Is anyone else getting some gaming in this weekend?