Giant Bomb Video Game News

With today's release of the PSPgo, perhaps you're looking for some new PSP games to anticipate. How about Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars? The acclaimed DS game from earlier this year is on the way to PSPs of all stripes later this month, and, believe it or not, it seems to have smoothly made the transition between these two very different handhelds. 

It wasn't until my PSP-2000 vanished off the face of the Earth that I suddenly started thinking about getting a PSPgo. I mean, the old PSP's screen is bigger. It's got a drive slot, and it can still do all those digital download things that the PSPgo can, provided you're willing to spring for a big enough Memory Stick.

Oh, it's also way cheaper than the $249.99 PSPgo. If you just want a regular, non-bundled PSP-3000, that thing's only $169.99. Of course, to fully match functionality, you'd need to go out and get a 16GB Memory Stick Duo to jam into that 3000. Those seem to be running somewhere in the $50-60 range, provided you don't pay retail prices at a chain store. At least that's what Amazon is charging at the moment. You could probably find them for less if you really started digging.

The weird thing about all this is that the PSP has been coming on sort of strong lately, and it's felt like it's coming out of nowhere. Stuff like Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble, Beaterator (quick look coming soon), Persona, the eventual localization and release of Persona 3 Portable, Gran Turismo, Half-Minute Hero, and the constant threat that the sealed copy of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on my desk has been making for the past few months has resulted in the best stretch for Sony's handheld since the Japanese launch, where we all got enamored with Ridge Racer and Darkstalkers, even though the load times and battery life were insane.

Anyway, the point is that I've got a tough decision to make. While the right move is to go with the more versatile 3000 (especially since I'm only going to be using it as a game machine, not some portable audio/video device), the PSPgo is tempting with its newness and its promise that, even if I wanted to, I'd never have to look at or carry a UMD ever again. It's like I'm voting for an all-digital future or something, even if this shelf full of PSP games I've got at home would become almost instantly useless in the process.

Well, Sony's certainly doing its part to turn up the heat on the PSP this week. The official blog has posted a list of this week's store updates, and it's huge. As you'd imagine, it's crazy thick with PSP releases. There are also some hot price cuts on some weird little PSP-only games, in case you're not the big-budget handheld game type.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords PSP Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
Cube Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
Dead Head Fred Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 Temporary Price Drop (now $7.99)
WTF: Work Time Fun Temporary Sale (now $4.99)
Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? Temporary Sale (now $9.99)
Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman! Temporary Sale (now $9.99)
TV Show King Permanent Price Drop (now $7.99)

For $25 you could get Work Time Fun, Prinny, and Holy Invasion of Privacy, Badman!. You can pretty much forget that other stuff (though Dead Head Fred is not entirely without merit, in case you're wondering). I already have two copies of Work Time Fun on UMD (in case one spontaneously bursts into flames), but those other two are on my short list.

Of course, there's also a huge flood of new and old PSP stuff up today, too. Check it out.

SCEA

Gran Turismo PSP ($39.99)
God of War Chains of Olympus ($15.99)
Secret Agent Clank ($31.99)
LocoRoco 2 ($15.99)
PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe ($19.99)
Daxter ($15.99)
Resistance Retribution ($31.99)
MLB 09 The Show ($31.99)
MotorStorm Arctic Edge ($39.99)

505 Games

IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey ($29.99)

ACTIVISION

Cabela’s African Safari ($14.99)
Rapala Trophies ($14.99)
Gun Showdown ($14.99)
SWAT: Target Liberty ($19.99)
Crash Tag Team Racing ($14.99)
Cabela’s Dangerous Hunts: Ultimate Challenge ($14.99)
Crash: Mind Over Mutant ($29.99)
Crash of the Titans ($19.99)
Activision Hits Remixed ($14.99)

Aksys Games

Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus ($24.99)

Atari

Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai ($14.99)
Dragon Ball Z Shin Budokai Another Road ($14.99)

Atlus

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona ($39.99)

Capcom

Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded ($19.99)
Monster Hunter Freedom Unite ($29.99)

Codemasters

Dirt 2 ($29.99)

Crave Entertainment

Pinball Hall of Fame ($9.99)
Puzzle Challenge: Crosswords and More! ($4.99)
Brunswick Pro Bowling ($9.99)

EA

The Sims 2 ($14.99)
The Sims 2 Castaway ($9.99)
The Sims 2 Pets ($9.99)
Need For Speed Underground Rivals ($14.99)
Need For Speed Most Wanted ($19.99)
Need for Speed SHIFT ($39.99)
Need For Speed ProStreet ($19.99)
Need for Speed Carbon ($19.99)
Medal of Honor Heroes ($19.99)
Fight Night Round 3 ($19.99)
G.I.JOE The Rise of Cobra ($39.99)
Madden NFL 10 ($39.99)
Scrabble ($19.99)
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 ($19.99)
Burnout Legends ($19.99)
Burnout Dominator ($14.99)
Lord of the Rings: Tactics ($9.99)
Def Jam Fight For New York: The Takeover ($9.99)
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 10 ($39.99)
NCAA Football 10 ($39.99)

KOEI

Dynasty Warriors Strikeforce ($29.99)
Warriors Orochi 2 ($29.99)

LucasArts

Indiana Jones and the Staff of Kings ($19.99)
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure ($19.99)
Thrillville: Off the Rails ($19.99)
Star Wars: Battlefront Renegade Squadron ($19.99)
Star Wars: Battlefront II ($19.99)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed ($19.99)

Midway

Mortal Kombat: Unchained ($19.99)
Hot Brain ($14.99)

Namco Bandai

SOULCALIBUR: Broken Destiny ($39.99)

NIS America

Blade Dancer: Lineage of Light ($4.99)
Mana Khemia: Student Alliance ($14.99)
Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness ($14.99)
Disgaea 2: Dark Hero Days ($29.99)
Prinny: Can I Really be the Hero? ($9.99)
Dragoneer’s Aria ($14.99)

Playlogic

Obscure: The Aftermath ($29.99)

Rockstar Games

Beaterator ($39.99)

SEGA

Alien Syndrome ($15.99)
Super Monkey Ball Adventure ($15.99)
Crazy Taxi: Fare Wars ($15.99)
Iron Man ($19.99)
Sonic Rivals ($15.99)
Sonic Rivals 2 ($29.99)
Full Auto 2: Battlelines ($15.99)
Sega Genesis Collection ($15.99)
Crush ($15.99)

SNK PLAYMORE

The King of Fighters Collection ($19.99)
Metal Slug Anthology ($19.99)
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 ($19.99)
Samurai Showdown Anthology ($19.99)

SQUARE ENIX

THEXDER NEO ($9.99)

THQ

Avatar: The Last Airbender ($19.99)
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights ($19.99)
SpongeBob SquarePants: The Yellow Avenger ($19.99)
MX vs ATV Untamed ($19.99)
WWE SmackDown vs RAW 2009 ($19.99)

Ubisoft

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs ($29.99)
Tom Clancy’s EndWar ($29.99)
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas ($19.99)
Prince of Persia Revelations ($9.99)
Prince of Persia Rival Swords ($14.99)

Warner Bros. Interactive

300: March To Glory ($14.99)
Justice League Heroes ($14.99)
Lego Batman The Video Game ($19.99)


PSP minis (also available from PS3 storefront)

Alien Havoc ($4.99)
Tetris ($9.99)
Hero of Sparta ($6.99)
Brainpipe ($4.99)
Fieldrunners ($6.99)
Sudoku ($4.99)
Funky Punch ($4.99)

So yeah, it's a pretty hefty list. Obviously, not all of them are winners, so do your research before you start going crazy. I'll probably grab Thexder Neo, since I vaguely remember enjoying the original Thexder at some point.

...of course, I still need to get a new-and-functioning PSP if I'm going to do that. Grrr. Maybe I'll just confiscate the office PSP-3000 and see how it goes.

I'll tell you straight out that I feel bad for Brad and Ryan, I really do. Between me running around the office screaming "BLACK FROST HO!" and Jeff going insane running his own private Persona 4 investigation, Atlus has penetrated our offices pretty deeply. With our 45-minute Quick Look of the upcoming Persona PSP release behind us, I think the rest of the boys were hoping to get a little Bufu respite, but alas, Atlus has to go and keep fanning those flames with some pretty strong evidence of a Persona 3 PSP release surfacing out of Japan. 
 
This week's Famitsu is reporting that Persona 3 Portable will hit Japanese store shelves and Japan's PSN on November 1st, the same day as Japan's launch of the PSPgo. While I don't see any mention of when this will be available outside of Japan, there's really no reason to think Atlus wouldn't bring this over at some point. Personally, Persona 3 is where I got my first taste of the series, so it holds a special place in my heart and even though Jeff and I have spent over 80 hours during our Persona 4 Endurance Run, I'm still ready to head back and finish what I started in P3.  

It also seems like Atlus is adding some extra content on top of 2008's Persona 3 FES edition. Apparently, you'll be able to choose a lady instead of a male as your main character, which will obviously offer different interactions with the rest of the cast. Some other changes sound like they are being made to make the game mechanics a bit more comparable to Persona 4. There are also reports of visual changes to the Personas no matter what gender your main character is, but if that means I won't be popping myself in the head with an " Evoker" to summon a Jack Frost, then count me out!
 
So, while we wait for the official word from Atlus, and we all hold our breath for Persona 5, are there any old or new fans ready for some evoking on the go?
 
Thanks to user PandaShake and rest of the GB community for sending this in. Also, check out this IGN article for a few more details.

Today is DLC day here in Giantbomblandia, the native lands of Giant Bomb. You may know it as Sausalito, CA, but enough about that! The important thing is that we've expanded our database to allow entries for all sorts of downloadable content, from Rock Band 2 track packs to the nefariously offensive add-on that started me thinking "man, someone should start writing reviews of this stuff," the horse armor for Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

On the database side, you can enter release dates and descriptions for the different downloadable add-ons that are out there. And once something's in the database, you can also write reviews. Yes, now you can tell the world what you think about that Darth Vader download for the Xbox 360 version of Soulcalibur IV, or The Lost & Damned for Grand Theft Auto IV.

We'll also be able to write our own reviews of this stuff in the coming weeks. But for starters, it's all about y'all. So here are a few basic guidelines about how we've set this stuff up.

First, this system is designed to primarily handle piecemeal add-on content for games. This system isn't (yet) intended to handle, for example, retail expansions to PC games. Also, this is only for in-game content, not wallpaper, themes, or any other out-of-game junk.

You can flag DLC entries with one or more types. Here's a list of those types and how they're intended to be used.

• Song (Individual) - one song, usually intended for use with a rhythm game.
• Song (Pack) - a pack of songs, again, usually intended for use with a rhythm game.
• Multiplayer Add-On - this will be primarily used for map packs, but things like the additional ruleset add-on for Halo Wars totally counts here, too.
• Single-Player Add-On - Packs that add new story content or other solo elements--like Fallout 3's Point Lookout, for example--are prime examples of this category.
• Equipment/Clothing - Examples include new costumes for fighting games, new jerseys for sports games, additional skateboards, new guns, all of that stuff.
• Cheat - This category is for the (sort of filthy) type of download that unlocks things in the game without you having to play the game. Things like Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09's fully-powered golfer, or the ability to pay to unlock "Unlimited Ragna" in BlazBlue--even though you can get those things by normally playing the game--apply here.
• Character - Additional full-on characters. In some cases, the line between character and costume may seem a bit blurry, but if they're giving a guy a new name in the process, chances are it's a new character.

So bang around on it, write a few reviews, and let us know what you think. You can find it by clicking on the "DLC Add-ons" tab on the left side of a game page, provided that game exists on a platform that allows for DLC. We're pretty excited to be adding a whole new section to the database, and we hope you're into it.

Atlus has announced plans to release Kenka Bancho 3: Zenkoku Seiha in North America sometime in early 2010. The game is a PSP brawler originally released by Spike in Japan last year.

Here's a trailer for the Japanese release:

OK, so Atlus is bringing it out over here. Great. But there's a catch. It doesn't have a name, so the company's opening it up and letting people like you vote on a new name. Here are the details on the its survey.

Kenka Bancho 3 for PSP system, coming early next year, puts players in the role of a high school student on a class trip to a historic Japanese city, and includes no shortage of fist-to-face and knee-to-gut action... all in the name of pride and bragging rights.

"So what does 'Kenka Bancho' mean?" you suddenly ask.  Good question! "Bancho" is a Japanese term for someone who's in charge because he's the meanest, toughest, strongest dude around. 

"Kenka" means "fighting," making the entire title the equivalent of "Awesome Master of Badass Beating-Up-People Guys."  (You can see why we need your help here.)  So, in short, the game is all about you proving yourself as the baddest hombre in town, accomplished by putting your fist as ungently as possible into the faces and guts of your opponents.

Other features and gameplay aspects of note:

-  Choose your prefecture and take on over 47 bancho rivals on your quest to be Japan's #1 bancho!
-  Find new hand-to-hand fighting techniques by trashing punks all over town! 
-  Earn hidden awards for discovering a variety of playing styles!
-  Discover hidden events and characters!
-  New Game+ your way to the ultimate beatdowns! 
-  Play it your way - participate in the storyline or explore the city while beating up thugs for the limited time you have on vacation. It's up to you!
-  Make your own bancho with hundreds of clothing, hair, and facial combinations!
-  Stock up on a wide variety of weapons and items! 
-  Take a friend along and share the pain with the 2-player cooperative mode!

Do you feel better-versed about Kenka Bancho 3 now?  Good, because next we're going to ask you which title you feel would be the best fit for the game...

The available names include nine total names, like "Kenka Bancho" and "Badass." I think it'd be pretty badass to have a game named Badass, but I don't think that's a great fit. Anyway, if you're passionate about badassness, you may want to visit the survey for yourself.

Atlus, the folks behind the Shin Megami Tensei series, are no strangers when it comes to bundling their games with goodies. As a matter of fact, I can currently spot a Persona 4 artbook and a Devil Summoner 2 doll stashed away in the office. So, though I was thrilled, I wasn't very suprised to read that the PSP version of Shin Megami Tensei: Persona will be shipping as a boxed set that includes the game's 2-disc soundtrack. The press releases also mentions that they will be including the "Snow Queen" quest in this version, and I'm sure that means something very awesome to some folks out there.



While I haven't played through the original, you can bet that I'll be picking up the bundle based on my experiences with Persona 3 and Persona 4. I know a lot of you out there have said the games are very different, but I'm still excited to give this "revisted version" a play. Persona is slated to ship on Septemeber 22, 2009 and I'd love to hear what fans think about the remake. I guess the biggest questions at this point is...will we be done with the Endurance Run by then?!