A Gaming Diary
PSP
Space Invaders Extreme (PSP)
Mar 14th
You know what Pac-Man CE did for Pac-Man?
This does the same for Space Invaders.
PSP Adventures (PSP)
Mar 14th
I finally hit my breaking point with The Show. Those load times of over a minute a game got too much. So I got myself a tool battery and followed a guide to putting custom firmware on my PSP. The instructions were nice and clear and after one delay caused by having to check that the EasyInstaller software wasn’t really a virus and another caused by having to wait for my tool battery to charge I was up and running.
I spent a lunchtime ripping UMDs to my PC’s hard drive while reading Edge’s excellent article on Grand Theft Auto, then copying the ISO files from the UMDs back to my PSP. All a bit of an effort, but it’s been worth it. Very, very worth it.
The Show’s game load times have gone down from over a minute to ten seconds. That’s much, much better.
Setting the CPU to run at its maximum speed – rather than at Sony’s battery-saving standard limit – gets rid of all the framerate issues in OutRun 2006. Not so long I said I’d buy the game again if they’d done nothing else but fix the framerate – now I don’t have to.
It’s marvellous. I have six games sitting on my memory stick now. There’s Disgaea, for strategy-based fun. There’s Football Manager Handheld 2008 for when I want to finally get back to my Ebbsfleet game. There’s The Show, for excellent baseball action. And three racing games – OutRun 2006, Sega Rally and Flatout: Head On. Only Flatout was new to me, conveniently being released yesterday. It feels an awful lot like the PSP’s Sega Rally – same dev team, perhaps? – but it’s basically Flatout Ultimate Carnage squeezed into the PSP. Obviously it doesn’t look as nice as the 360 version and on the small screen there’s less of a “whoa!” factor when scenery flies everywhere, but they’ve done a very, very good job with it.
I’d like to have had ripped my discs of Wipeout Pulse, Street Fighter Alpha 3, etc. to save carrying them around and to cut the loading times, but PSP games use up an awful lot of space. The Show is 1.5GB, give or take, and I’ve “only” got a four gigabyte memory stick.
MLB 08: The Show (PSP)
Mar 12th
Just the one game this lunchtime. Got two hits from four at bats and was named player of the game, which was nice.
MLB 08: The Show (PSP)
Mar 9th
Wow, now I’m down in AA things have got a lot easier. I’m batting not far off .400, for starters. Looks like I’m going to fail my advancement goals, though, because I can’t get the number of walks I need.
MLB 08: The Show (PSP)
Mar 7th
Spring training over and a final batting average of .226.
Based on that the Angels offered me a one-year AA contract at $98,750. Yes please!
MLB 08: The Show (PSP)
Mar 7th
I’ve recovered from another slump and am now performing better than expected with a .242 batting average. Still a week or two of spring training for me to completely mess up, though.
Last game was great, in that I was brought in as a pinch hitter and managed to hit a ball down the line past first base, which meant the two runners on the bases could score to tie the game. We eventually lost in extra innings, but that was a great, game-changing moment for me.
MLB 08: The Show (PSP)
Mar 6th
I might be starting to get the hang of this. In the last couple of games I’ve dragged my batting average up to .167 and I’m grounding out more often than I’m striking out. Let’s hope this is a real sign of improvement and not a false dawn.
MLB 08: The Show (PS3)
Mar 6th
Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. Some of the faces are a bit off – Pedroia of the Red Sox looks very scary indeed, like he’s not quite human, possibly some shark DNA in there – but others are just spot on. Sound is perfect, with easily the best commentary I’ve ever heard. Presentation is brilliant, with it highlighting exactly what it should and a superb atmosphere.
I am having trouble hitting the ball, though, as I am in the PSP version. I think I just need practice – and to train my thumb not to slam itself down on the X button as soon as I see the ball leave the pitcher’s hand. I’ve only played four or five innings so far, as the Red Sox against the Astros, so it’s early days. Really wish you could save in the middle of Exhibition games, but the option to do that is only in the season type modes. Not quite sure why, but there you go.
Slight disappointment is that “Allaway” isn’t in the huge list of surnames that the commentators can say, so when I make myself as a player I think I’ll settle on “Wolverine”, which I suppose is pretty cool.
MLB 08: The Show (PSP)
Mar 6th
I started a new Road to the Show game with a roster update and put myself on the Angels, as a second baseman again.
I’m having a really hard hitting the ball on Veteran mode, still, but I’ve not played much yet. If I’m still batting 0.010 in a few days I think I’m either going to have to adjust some sliders or even fall back to Rookie mode.
MLB 08: The Show (PSP)
Mar 5th
First impressions, then.
Argh! The load times are the same as last year! Noooooooo!
Hmm, same commentary and grahics.
Oooh, nice new presentation including much clearer explanations for the training points you’re awarded.
Ah ha, lots of new types of plays to deal with as a second baseman.
Bah, why won’t the game find my music from my memory stick? There are loads of files on there you silly thing!
Basically, based on a few games, it’s the same game, but improved in a lot of ways, just not the most important one.
