PowerStone Collection Review
PowerStone Collection is a bundling of PowerStone 1 and 2 for the PSP. These games originally came out for SEGA systems, but due to the fact that there is no longer a SEGA system they have found their way to the PSP. Now there's more to the series than just these two games, but these games are what really make up the series. This is a fighting game which will pit you against a single opponent or multiple opponents. This game has a slight feel of Smash Brothers, but at the same time is recognizably different.
Graphically this port really doesn't look like it made a smooth transition. It might be because I've seen this series on the Dreamcast, and liked the look of it, but the PSP just doesn't do this game justice. The arena is a bit cramped, and the characters, with their low poly count just don't look as complete as they have in the past. Don't get me wrong the stages look good, there's a nice variety between the games, but when it comes to nostalgia I think I'd rather just play the original version.
There's no polish or change for the sounds for the games, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. You'd like to see some improvement, even in a port, but these games really just give you what you already had.
The controls are your standard affair when it comes to fighting games on the PSP. When you collect all three power stones and are trying to use your special attacks the controls can be a bit clunky, but not enough for you to throw the game down in frustration.
Basically this "collection" contains 2 games. Tragically the only way to switch between the two is to exit all the way out of the game (go to the PSP Home menu) and then load the game up again and select the other game. You're going to have an assortment of characters, all with different attacks. The object of the game really is to collect the power stones that appear in the level, or can be knocked out of an opponent with a successful hit. When you've collected 3 stones you'll have a short time of a power boost in which you can really deal out the pain. You ultimately want to take down your opponent's life to zero. The reason why I previously mentioned Smash Brothers is that you can pick up objects in the level and toss them at your opponent to deal damage as well as doing direct attacks. There's items that you can use as well to attack, or to heal your character. Some levels have a mini game in them, such as run away from the boulder while still fighting your opponent. In the second game the story mode (or single player mode) is slightly different having you traverse through several levels with boss fights thrown in. Its an interesting change in the game, but the boss fights left me more than frustrated. These are the kind of games that you invite your unsuspecting victims over to play and then beat the crap out of them, but seeing as this is a portable version of the game the multiplayer aspect is almost non-existent, unless you can find someone else who has the game.
I'm not exactly sure why this game was ported over to the PSP, maybe it was an attempt to keep the name in people's heads, but this collection doesn't do the franchise justice. If you want to play PowerStone, the better way, find someone who might still have a DreamCast laying around and a PowerStone game, and challenge them to a fight to the death. This game gets a 5.3 out of 10.
