Thoughts on Super Stardust Portable

I don’t really know what I was expecting from the PSP version of this great game, but I fancied killing a few birds with one stone: using the PlayStation Store naitively on the PSP, then buying and running a downloadable game.

Before I get ahead of myself, I’ll just give you the lowdown.  Super Stardust HD was the blockbuster PlayStation Network title of 2007 which attracted plenty of attention in 2008 by being the first game ever on the PS3 to support Trophies by means of a patch.

Super Stardust Portable aims to capture the essence of its bigger brother, and share the magic on the small screen with PSP gamers.  I have to admit that I don’t really see much of what captured my attention with the first game, in this portable version.  Read on, and I’ll tell you why…

Continue reading Thoughts on Super Stardust Portable

Getting toasted in Warhawk

I suppose after my previous aside, this particular post shouldn’t be surprising to you.  I.e. I’m currently spending most of my time on Warhawk as a rocket-riddled corpse rather than a living, breathing soldier.  In case you’re wondering, yes- it’s soul-destroying.

Reverse gear
Let’s recap shall we?  I now possess Warhawk because I did indeed go down the download route and snagged the game off the PlayStation Store for £19.99.  Bargain or what?  There’s a couple of drawbacks: first, the game can only be played from your PSN account that you bought it with, and secondly, you must be signed into the PlayStation Network to play the game.  Seen as this game is online-only, I didn’t think this was a major problem.

I also bought all three expansion packs, which probably brings my total spend to nearer £30, but that’s still not too bad.  Headset?  I’ll probably acquire the official PS3 headset when it comes out.  Before I continue, It is worth noting that the install size is under 800MB.  Seriously.  That’s some really impressive compression

The friendly skies?
The friendly skies?

Earning my wings
Before I was going to take to the skies online, I thought I’d go through the new training scenarios that have been added in the new v1.5 patch (which included trophies).  I progressed well through ground combat and vehicles, but when it came to piloting the Warhawk I found evading constant missile attacks to be a bit tricky. Sure, everything’s simple when you have chaff, but that’s not always to hand so evasive manoeuvres are required.  I half considered that this may be a problem if I were to venture online.  Hey, I got about 4 trophies for completing the training anyway.  Yea!

Crash and burn
On the ground, I’m not too bad; I shoot people, I man the turrets and have managed to take a few planes out of the sky, and I’ve dealt serious damage in a tank.  As soon as I step foot inside a Warhawk though, I’m toast.  Within a few seconds several missiles have locked onto me and before I can think of what to do my burning corpse is flying through the sky- sans aircraft.  A few times though, I have managed to shake off quite a few missiles, but they come so thick and fast that eventually I get hit in the end anyway.

Lessons?  Well, I’m pretty sure that I’m not quite ready for the online world and so I’m going to hopefully play a few local games to get my flying skills up to scratch and then I shall take my place amongst the hardened warriors and do battle, rather than take my place amongst the fallen.  I’ll post more updates on my Warhawk experiences as and when.

Does anyone have any similar experiences of joining a hardcore group of players online?  If so, I’d like to hear from you!

Burnout Paradise becomes a PSN download this Fall

Burnout Paradise becomes a PSN download this Fall– Cool, the PlayStation Store could do with more full PS3 games (that go to retail stores as boxed versions) as digital distribution is the way forward.  Seriously, what’s the harm in doing both?  Warhawk and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue are great examples.

Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty clocks in at 2.3GB

Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty clocks in at 2.3GB– With a 40GB hard drive in my PS3, I’m thinking I need to upgrade to a more spacious size!  That reminds me, I must get round to buying Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction.  Found out from testfreaks.co.uk that I can get it for as little as £12 on EBay, or £35 on Amazon.  Decisions!

Valve reiterates Portal: Still Alive not coming to PSN

Valve reiterates Portal: Still Alive not coming to PSN– This is a real shame, as it would have been a great addition to the range of games available on the PlayStation Network.  Can anyone tell me though, why does Valve hate the PlayStation 3 so much?  Seriously?