Slashdot Mirror
Grand Theft Auto for US PSP Launch
GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that a version of the popular Grand Theft Auto series (as well as a version of the Midnight Club 3 game) will be released around the date of the US/EU PSP launch. From the article: "Sony's extremely impressive technology has allowed Rockstar Leeds to do more on a handheld machine than we could have ever imagined ... We are very excited for gamers to experience these two genre-defining franchises in a fashion that could have never before been possible on a portable system."
I like that quote a lot. People love talking about the innovation of the DS, but in my mind the PSP is just as innovative. The DS is combining PDA gaming with GBA gaming and wireless access. The PSP is shrinking the PS2 into a sleek little handheld. Both of these allow us to do things on that we have never been able to do on handhelds before.
That being said, I own a DS and have not been extremely impressed. I own Mario 64 and Feel the Magic. Mario is fun, but suffers greatly from the lack of an analog stick. I'll always prefer to play the N64 version because of this. Feel the Magic is a fun game, but extremely short and I felt like I was cheated out of a few bucks when I beat it so quickly. Also, the entire time I'm playing Feel the Magic I'm terrified that I'm going to end up with a scratched touch screen.
The touch screen may have some cool applications in gaming, but I think the choice to break up the device into two screens was a poor one. In Mario, the bottom screen is honestly more of a distraction than anything, and I almost with I could just shut it off (maybe I can?). I do realize that these are only the launch titles, and launch titles usually suck, but these are my honest early impressions.
I just sorta picked up the DS because I buy most consoles/handhelds, whatever. After seeing screenshots and videos of the PSP in action, I don't see any way I can possibly NOT own one.
This honestly did not start out as a DS/PSP thing, I swear!