Free Downloads

Diner Dash

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 04:48:01 GMT

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.

Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 03:31:57 GMT

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.

Soul Calibur

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 04:52:00 GMT

The Gauntlet provides an entertaining way to understand the game, its concepts, and its high-level strategies. The mode takes the player through scenarios that address specific combat fundamentals, from weapon ranges, Ukemi (a way to get up off the ground safely), to character match-ups. A player must find a solution in a matter of seconds, sort of like a WarioWare minigame, in which you need to be thinking fast. Gauntlet highlights include Astaroth's scenario, an ingenious mission dealing with his mix-up strategies based on poorly-anticipated Ukemi, as well as Tira's and Ivy's missions, both accessible and fun ways to learn the characters' effectiveness at different ranges.

EA Sports Fight Night 3

Wed, 25 May 2011 13:58:05 GMT

EA Sports' boxing franchise makes its handheld debut with Fight Night Round 3 on the PSP. Rather than attempting to cram a full port of the PlayStation 2 version of the game onto the smaller format, EA Chicago has built an entirely different game, specific to the PSP. The incorporation of some of the better elements of the console versions of Round 2 and Round 3, along with the addition of some all-new features, makes the PSP version a competent boxing game that doesn't make too many sacrifices for the sake of portability. Unfortunately, the sacrifices that are made will be sorely obvious to fans of the series, and the resulting experience is somewhat disappointing.

Shrek The Third

Mon, 23 May 2011 12:03:00 GMT

Released just in time to cash in on the theatrical release of Shrek the Third, Shrek the Third for the PSP is more compelling as a brand marketing bullet point than it is as an actual video game. Unsurprisingly, the PSP version of Shrek the Third is little more than a straight port of the console version, though with fewer multiplayer options and dumbed-down presentation. While there are certainly worse movie-license games out there, Shrek the Third still feels slapdash and thoughtless. Its function to entertain is overwhelmed by its function to make money.

Angry Birds

Thu, 19 May 2011 05:09:53 GMT

Angry Birds is probably the most successful game the mobile market has seen, and it's not hard to understand why. Designed for short bursts of gaming, Angry Birds is simple and fun -- fling a bird with the on-screen slingshot to destroy the structure in front of you and attack the evil pigs living in and around said structure. Get points, destroy stuff, and be entertained.

Pacman World 3

Sun, 15 May 2011 12:51:32 GMT

He's not the darling of the gaming industry that he once was, but there's no denying that Pac-Man is probably one of the most recognizable video game characters around today. Just as long as there are consoles and handhelds out there to make games for, you can be sure that this yellow ball with eyes and a smile will make new appearances every generation. This brings us to Pac-Man World 3 for the PSP, a 3D platformer that takes the console game of the same name, and puts it in the palm of your hands.

Crash of the Titans

Sun, 01 May 2011 08:28:16 GMT

Even though Crash Bandicoot has seen his fair share of portable titles already, Crash of the Titans actually marks his first entry on the PSP. Furthermore, it also makes this his first fully three-dimensional handheld game. Crash Bandicoot has been a long running franchise, originating as an exclusive series for only the PlayStation. Crash briefly became Sony's mascot, up until his retirement after Crash Team Racing - Naughty Dog's final Crash game. After being handed back to Universal, Crash's rightful owner, the series went multiplatform. Crash Bandicoot's first game outside of Sony was done by Traveller's Tales, and the results weren't bad - although the load times were atrocious and nothing new was added. But things got worse, as Crash Twinsanity became the weak spot of the series, and all of the side-scrolling handheld games didn't help, either.

Pac Man World Rally

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 08:39:44 GMT

Turning kid-friendly platformers into kid-friendly kart racing games is hardly anything new, and with Namco Bandai's attempts in the last several years to merge everyone's favorite power-pill junkie into a bona fide platforming franchise with the Pac-Man World games, it's predictable that we now find ourselves with Pac-Man World Rally. This boilerplate kart racer borrows liberally from Nintendo's Mario Kart series, though it does try to toss in a couple of Pac-centric gameplay concepts to give the game its own spin. Unfortunately, these Pac-isms do little to offset the overly familiar feel of the game, or its complete and utter lack of challenge. Of course, this last criticism is most likely because the game seems aimed very squarely at a more youthful audience. But when you consider that Pac-Man is best beloved by the older, more nostalgic gaming audience, you have to wonder why the developer would make the game so dull for anyone out of elementary school.

Megaman Power Up

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:36:34 GMT

Over the course of a single month and two separate remakes on the PlayStation Portable, Mega Man has gone from extreme to extremely adorable. Whereas Maverick Hunter X, released last month, was a remake of the original Mega Man X for the SNES using updated 3D visuals and some revamped cutscenes and character designs, Mega Man Powered Up goes back even further into the Mega Man lore--all the way back to the beginning, in fact. Powered Up is a remake of the very first Mega Man for the NES, using a similar method of upgrading. But where Maverick Hunter X was mostly content to just redo the original game with an additional playable character and some shuffled power-up locations, Powered Up goes the extra mile, making all of its various bosses unlockable, playable characters, revamping many of the core level designs, and adding a whole mess of crazy challenge minigames, as well as a full-fledged level editor. Beneath all the gloss though, this is still the original Mega Man you might have played nearly 20 years ago. But through it all, the gameplay still holds up, even in this day and age.