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 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 07:19:34 +0000 |
| Sony PSP = nostalgia trip.. |
| It's not the sort of headline you'd normally associate with the Sony PSP but since my rediscovery of the little device and the subsequent purchase of the Taito Legends Power-Up game I've been on a real nostalgia trip. I never really got into arcade games in the UK, but when I worked in NYC for a year back in the '80s I spent a *lot* of time pumping quarters into a variety of machines and thoroughly enjoying myself. The arcade was just off Times Square and the noise of the machines was countered by the latest from the likes of Pat Benetar, Joan Jett and Lynyrd Skynyrd.. I recall that Phoenix was a real favourite but I always found Space Invaders too slow but on the PSP, "Return of the Invaders" more than satisfies. This game brings it all back, but also serves to remind me that even though I'm no longer pumping quarters my technique is a still, er, a bit poor :-) The games are: Space Invaders, Space Invaders Part 2, New Zealand Story, Phoenix, Alpine Ski, Elevator Action, Crazy Balloon, Chack n' Pop, Lunar Rescue, Balloon Bomber, Legend of Kage, The Fairyland Story, Rastan Saga, Raimais, Cameltry, Qix, Kiki Kaikai, Kuri Kinton, Return of the Invaders, Space Dungeon, Space Chaser, Balloon Bomber Enhanced - exclusive to PSP, Cameltry Enhanced - exclusive to PSP, Crazy Balloon Enhanced - exclusive to PSP, Legend of Kage Enhanced - exclusive to PSP. Phew! Anyway, I spent most of yesterday evening blasting aliens into anti-matter and thoroughly enjoying it: the rendition of the games is very accurate and the small screen of the PSP has been allowed by most games having the ability to rotate to let the game fill the screen. In some cases this makes for a bit of an odd button positioning but overall its a good experience. Bearing in mind the length of time I played its just as well that I've ordered an extended-life Li-ion battery which should hopefully arrive next week, especially as I'm still listening to the Internet radio a lot too. Actually, when you see the game play on the PSP it's amazing when you think back to the original devices in their huge, garish wooden cabinets: there wasn't a great deal of computer power (now) needed, and indeed, the Phoenix game boasted an 8085A CPU running at 2.75 MHz. Yes, Mhz, and it also boasted the ability to "..directly address up to 64K bytes of memory". And that is typical of the architecture of the gaming industry at the time! Anyway, its time to get back to game-play, but if your imagination's fired up, please visit the "Killer List of Video Games" site and remind yourself of what you've missed! You can also buy the game from Amazon (and lots of other places too). Now where did I put that Joan Jett album... |
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