PSP: IT'S OUT, BUT IS IT WORTH BUYING?

VERDICT? Not Yet

As a reader and writer of reviews and previews for the latest games and gadgets, it startles me how utterly lazy and stupid some journalists are. Reading The N**s of W*rld this weekend, I was shocked at the blatant lack of research in the piece reviewing a PSP credited to Mark Gilbert and Trevor Davies.

For starters, they claimed that it plays DVDs. Firstly, the thing is smaller than a DVD so that would be impossible, worse, these clearly shoody journalists are endorsing a product they obviously haven't taken the time to personally understand, which could cost you £200 odd quid if you choose to believe the web of hype they spin.

So with that intro I give you a truthful, well-researched and brutally honest breakdown of the gadget Sony wants you to talk about -The PlayStation Portable, aka PSP.

1. IT PLAYS DVDs.
Total and utter Bollocks

It plays crisp quality films off a new disk format, the UMD. The UMD is similar in size and design to a Mini-Disc, except it doesn't have a protective door to keep dust from getting in.

If you want to take your Kill Bill DVD on the move, you can't. You have to buy it again. For more money than the original costs too, despite it being half the size and only playable on PSP.

Thankfully, this is the worst feature of the PSP.

2. IT HAS FIVE HOURS BATTERY LIFE
Not the whole truth

In our experiences, the battery averages at five hours only when playing films off a UMD. Two and a half hours are its average life when playing multiplayer games across Wi-Fi. In single player games, the battery dies around three and a half hours typically; a bit shit we reckon.

When GTA: Liberty City Stories comes out, you can probably expect battery life to drain faster, thanks to more data being streamed off the disc in real time. Sony has promised an improved battery later down the line, with faster recharge times and greater energy capacity, though they haven't announced a specific date. Personally, I'd wait out till they do.

3. IT HAS AN ANALOGUE STICK, Y'KNOW, JUST LIKE THE ONE ON YOUR PS2 PADS
Not the whole truth

Sony claims what they've provided under the D-pad is an analogue stick, but all I could find was this black thing that felt like a smarty suspended on a piece of string. It is a joke of a control stick and I found playing Ridge Racer with it a struggle and a chore - it's *nothing* like the PS2 control stick. Let's hope they don't make games that make the use of the control stick/smarty on a string mandatory.

4. IT PLAYS MOVIES OFF A MEMORY STICK
Not bullshit, but not the whole story either

Memory Sticks have dropped dramatically in price and are continuing to do so. A 1GB memory stick, which can retail from anything to £40 to £100 for Sony's model, will only store a maximum of two full-length films formatted for PSP - typically between 400-600 Megabytes.

As for playing films off them, you can only play movies encoded into the PSP format, using Sony's encoder software. A hassle, which is made worse by the crapness of the software you have to use to do it. Still, the quality of the format is good and hopefully in a later firmware update, the film format options will improve to include Quicktime and the like.

5. IT PLAYS MP3S AND HAS GREAT SOUND
Finally. Some clear cut truth!

The PSP has great sound. Emulated 7.1 to be precise - basically like having surround sound, but only in your headphones. Otherwise it's the speakers on the machine which still give off lovely sexy sound.

You get a 32MB memory stick with the machine - about 12 two/three minute songs tops - which would be enough for a morning run. Thing is though, would you go for a morning run with a PSP in your back pocket?

6. WIFI MULIPLAYER
True! Just make sure you only want to play for two and a half hours

Works fine from what we'e seen, but you'll only be good for two and a half hours of gameplay before the thing dies on you. Ah well. When Pro Evolution Soccer comes out next Spring, this will become a bigger problem. With WipeOut Pure it's a crying shame.

7. THE SCREEN IS AWESOME
Absolutely true

This is the best thing about PSP. Its widescreen is bigger than a cigarette packet and brighter than an angel's halo. Make sure you have a cleaning cloth with you though, as much like the I-Pod's glossy finish, it attracts thumbprints and smudges easily.

8. IT HAS GREAT GAMES!

It has great old games you probably have already owned, just re-released so the machine would look like it had a lot of games on it on launch.

Lumines - a basic and very enjoyable puzzle game - is one of the only original games on the machine. The other one is Metal Gear Acid, which is a strategy card game side-dish of the Metal Gear action game franchise. Both are very good, but hardly the stuff that sells consoles.

The machine launches with 21 titles on its first day - not bad at all. And they're all top notch titles, including the excellent Wipeout Pure, Darkstalkers Chronicle and Virtua Tennis: World Tour. Problem is, if you're a long time game fan, you've played all these games before, or at least their prequels. Bar perhaps Lumines and Metal Gear Acid. Would you buy these games again at £30? I know what my answer would be (hint: sounds like No).

A recent report on Japanese gamers was very enlightening, stating that most PSP owners hadn't played their machine since launch last year - a figure indicative on where your PSP end up when all you've got to play are rehashed old games, though Lumines is an addictive game, if an acquired taste. Personally, I love it, but my FIFA-loving mates couldn't give a arse hair.
Meanwhile, Nintendo's DS machine, despite being technically inferior, is still booming with a library pumping rife with fresh, original new games and far fewer conversions and rehashes. The fact it uses the stylus pen control imaginatively definitely helps. Guess where my money's going at present. Hint: Not PSP.



CONCLUSION

The PSP is a sexy looking machine that tricks you into think it's awesome with nice sounding though impractical extras that will likely only be worthwhile in a few years time - when a better machine will be out.

Take it as a games machine - what it's best at - and it would be best to wait until some genuinely new games come out, along with a better battery pack.

So we'd recommend you wait for the better battery or Pro Evo soccer, which is currently planned for November this year and right now the only essential game we can see on the PSP horizon. Hopefully, Sony will do the smart thing and bundle the improved battery pack with it.

If you can't wait and want portable games badly, get a Nintendo DS and peruse the back catalogue of classic GBA titles (hundreds right there), or the instant DS classics like Advance Wars: Dual Strike, Kirby's Canvas Curse or Meteos.