"Dissidia: Final Fantasy"
Platform: PSP
Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Square Enix
ESRB Rating: T, for Teen
Grade: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
The handheld PSP and its titles have largely disappointed me. The graphics may be amazing, but the games have rarely had me itching to keep playing.
Times change. If you are a PSP owner, you must try "Dissidia: Final Fantasy."
Not your typical fighting game. "Dissidia" offers quite a 3-D arena battle. Then, taking things up a notch, the game's fighting areas are multilayered, complex spaces with many hallways, deep ditches and walls to bounce off while stringing together powerful combos.
Characters from nearly every "Final Fantasy" game ever released are available to play, along with some hidden gems thrown in for you to discover. Perhaps the best aspect is the game's role-playing add-ons. You are constantly given upgrades and skills, plus new costume features and other unlockables that make it nearly impossible to stop playing.
I may not be the world's biggest PSP fan, but even I know an outstanding game when I play one.
"Guitar Hero 5"
Platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PS2
Genre: Music
Publisher: Activision
ESRB Rating: T, for Teen
Grade: 4 stars
With a wealth of customization and improved gameplay, "Guitar Hero 5" picks up where "World Tour" left off.
From the moment you start up "GH5," you can tell that the essence of this iteration is accessibility. Modes of play are easier to grasp, and the whole package seems to be geared to making it smoother for unskilled shredders to jump in and start jamming.
Better character customization makes the game more inclusive. The classic "GH" artists are still there, but now there are replicas of actual artists, such as Johnny Cash. Or, if you are feeling quite proud of your Wii avatar, he can take the stage as well.
Sadly, importing tracks from "World Tour" to "GH5" is not as easy as it is with "Rock Band." But the rest of the game is brimming with options to entertain you. For instance, the recording studio has been streamlined and is now easier for those who want to record original songs.
From beginning to end you sense that "Guitar Hero" is trying to stake a claim to the casual party player while letting "Rock Band" serve the hard-core jammers. "GH5" shows that this could be a smart move, as long as the product doesn't diminish in quality.
"SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny"
Platform: PSP
Genre: Fighting
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games
ESRB Rating: T, for Teen
Grade: 3.5 stars
The "SoulCalibur" franchise has been humming along steadily, and now fans of the series get their wish -- a PSP game at last.
"Broken Destiny" is a well-crafted game that features all the standard characters you imagine, plus a few new ones just to mix things up. "God of War's" Kratos would be the most familiar to gamers, and he plays just as he did in his own games. Beyond the usual roster is the Create a Fighter area where you can make a custom brawler.
This entry, too, provides 3-D fighting, with level design that will look familiar to series fans. The controls are sticky at times and newbies may have difficulty learning all the ways to attack opponents.
There are numerous ways to play "Broken Destiny." The Gauntlet and Trials areas have depth, with each mode forcing you to set goals. The visuals are not as strong as those of other fighting games, but if you are a "SoulCalibur" fan you will want to own this.
(E-mail Chris Campbell at game_on_games(at)mac.com)
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