I have been waiting for a good brain training game to come out on the PSP since Brain Age debuted on the Nintendo DS. Little did I realize it would just be a doppelganger with nothing new to add. Don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of worthy things in Brain Age to take note of and use, but some of the exercises just seem like blatant rip-offs such as the math problems of people coming and going from a house (Brain Age) or a boat (Hot Brain). Be that as it may, Brain Age won’t be coming to the PSP so Hot Brain will have to do.
You are invited to the Hot Brain institute to take part in exercises that are designed to raise the temperature of your brain. You see, as Professor Warmer tells you, the more you think about an exercise the more blood flow is created which increases the temperature of your head. And the more the blood flows the smarter you can become. So who wants to become smarter? I know I do, and it has been shown that playing these types of games can boost our cognitive abilities. See Mom, games do make me smarter.
What seem like standard homework questions, based in this timed format test your mental reflexes as you work through the exercises. The more you work, you open up harder levels of difficulty, the more you get right, the hotter your brain becomes. There are several categories of questions ranging from memory of sequences to concentration which are each presented in three types of formats. For example, sequences can either be performed as a progression of shapes or as directions for a cab to take through a city street. Some are more visual while others are more intuitive, it’s interesting just to see where you fall in the spectrum. You can practice all of these individual exercises or you can go straight to the master test; this uses one of each subcategory to score your overall brain temperature, with each exercise progressing from easy to hard.
Overall the graphics and play seem a little dumbed down for the PSP, and the load times seem to take longer than one would suspect for such non-invasive play. Fred Willard voicing the Professor is an excellent addition to this game as his dry wise-cracks goad you along and remind you that this is for fun. The tests are interesting and wide-ranging enough for me to perfect my lacking areas, while having a good time trying to best my own scores. If that isn’t enough for you then you can utilize the PSP’s wireless capability to go brain-to-brain with a friend and really kick some gray-matter.
Despite being a copy of another title, it is a copy of a successful one that serves an important purpose for young and old alike. For me, personally, it really did feel like I was getting my brain working, and I can definitely see the benefit of continually doing these exercises.
It is hard not to judge Final Fantasy II without comparing it to its predecessor, especially considering that the last time this game graced this shore was in a combined FFI/FFII PlayStation release. While the two share a plethora of similarities, their differences are what truly define them and help us understand the arc that Square Enix took to create a memorable gaming franchise.
The story starts with an invasion, as a hostile power occupies your town and destroys everything in its path. You and your friends make a desperate escape to the surrounding woods to avoid detection, but just when you think you are safe you become hopelessly overwhelmed and left for dead. Upon waking up in a rebel camp, you find one of friends missing and you must try to find him.
While far from Grand Illusion, the narrative is a solid step away from the original Final Fantasy which only flirted with the notion of having a A
Having played the original Final Fantasy on the NES, I feel a special nostalgia for this game. So when I had the chance to relive my memories, I jumped at it with a special zeal or fervor. Not many games can boast of launching a highly respected and successful line of games known for their exquisite plots, characters and gameplay. As I plugged my UMD into my PSP, I couldn’t help but wonder: Was it really all that I had remembered?
Four heroes appear out of the mist, each with a crystal and a single destiny to bring the world back to order. Really, the story is barely worth mentioning as there is little character development and even less plot devices to thrust the tale along. What really matters is the constitution of your party and how well you balanced out your powers as a group. And while you could feasibly play as four Warriors for the challenge, it just makes sense to include an adequate amount of healing, magic and brute strength to cull through the enemies the game throws at you.
It is hard not to judge Final Fantasy by today’s standards especially in the gameplay arena. This title is the definition of turn-based combat, with only minor thought-processes needed to calculate out how to best defeat your enemies. The game feels constrained with little room to explore and play. Compound that by the lack of challenge and you have a limited and linear game that doesn’t carry many wow factors. Even the elevation of my thief to a ninja barely registered on the interest scale for me.
Where the game does shine is in its beautifully rendered graphics that rival some current RPG titles on the PSP. Even where the graphics are lacking it has a certain retro feel that suits the material rather than detracts from it. In fact, the newly updated cut-scenes seem more out of place in the content than the almost minimalistic area mapping resident in the game. It holds to the memory of the game without compromising the integrity, and that is enough for me.
Overall time hasn’t been kind to Final Fantasy, especially being held up to contemporary titles. The game works better as a time capsule, a harbinger from a different world that deserves to be studied and remembered, and played by those who want to know where we have come from, to see where we are going. It is worth playing as a time-waster, it is worth playing for the perfectly balanced updating of the past, but those seeking some mystical glimpse of the beginning of things may walk away less than satisfied.
Old pants can be considered a double entrA
Call of Duty: Roads to Victory is the obligatory PSP port of the series, which has hit most consoles at least twice since its debut in 2003. At this point, most people know what to expect: a standard World War II-based military shooter with a dark, dismal look and solid gameplay. This version is no exception.
The game’s three campaigns allow players to fight with the Americans, Canadians and British, though there isn’t really a story. The control scheme on the PSP is adequate considering the lack of an extra analog stick, with the implementation of an auto-aim function. At times this makes the game too easy, while at others it’s extremely buggy – it’s literally hit-or-miss. To compensate for this simpler control scheme, Activision and Amaze Entertainment have dumbed-down the A.I., though they might have taken it too far.
The game’s look is standard for the series: gray and brown. It sets the atmosphere fine, but there are times when higher contrast might help to see enemies and things more clearly. It’s a stylistic decision, but it does trade gameplay for authenticity.
The multiplayer is fun, though there’s no online play. For a game like Call of Duty, this seems like a mistake. Regardless, the ad hoc modes are the standards: Deathmatch, Capture the Flag and King of the Hill are here, and they’re decent. There’s nothing that sets this apart from other games, though.
It seems like Roads to Victory was an afterthought of sorts. The story, voice acting and campaigns just aren’t captivating or exciting. It’s solid, but there’s no real selling point here. Ultimately, the game’s 14-mission main campaign is just too short to pay full price for, but it wouldn’t be a bad pickup when available on the cheap.
