When Diner Dash was introduced to PC gamers a long while back, it was a game that gave you a peek at the life of a busy restaurant owner/waitress trying to keep her eatery afloat while satisfying all her hungry customers. Its appealing gameplay style had that old school charm and its fast-paced puzzle gaming action made serving food so much fun. Diner Dash: Sizzle & Serve has come to the PSP as well as the Nintendo DS for those who have been waiting for a portable version of this enjoyable game. Still, on Sony’s handheld, the game just isn’t as appetizing as the DS version of the game.

This week brought Virtual Toys Wiiware title Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam to the PSP. So the big question is how a motion controlled game converts to the PSP’s more traditional controls. Obvious care and attention would be needed to make it work. Unfortunately, cooking Jam needed a little more time in the oven.

On first impressions the game idea seems pretty neat, though from there it just goes downhill. Being in charge of different restaurants ranging from a pizza joint to a taco place are all a little too similar. You run through all the same motions in each of the restaurants all the while hoping for something more. The game could have been so much fun if only they changed a few minor things.

The main mode you'll be trucking through when you fire up your PSP is Challenge. This option puts you into a spelling bee that is followed by three games randomly selected from the title's list of ten brainteasers. The spelling bee has the game recite a word, a definition appears onscreen, and you use the d-pad and face buttons to spell via an on-screen keyboard. After ten attempts -- whether they're right or wrong -- your bee is beaten, you're awarded money for your correct answers, your extra time is converted to dollars, and you move on. 

I distinctly remember watching Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal" music video for the first time, back when I was a college sophomore. I kept it on repeat for hours; as was the case with many people before me, watching Michael dance was an incredible experience. It marked a turning point in my life, where my interest in dance began to blossom. 

Originally released as PC shareware last year, Platypus is a side-scrolling shoot-'em-up set in a world made entirely of clay. There's no storyline to speak of, and all you really need to know is that while piloting your titular craft from left to right through six different environments, you need to shoot at everything that moves. The game's biggest selling point, at least as far its packaging is concerned, is its Claymation visuals; but for the most part those are less impressive than and certainly add nothing to the gameplay.