It's getting dangerously interesting the PSP.

I'm waiting for the PSPlite though.

Where can you get ver. 2.70 downloaded from? can't find it using Google. Can you send me the file, Ollie?

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Chavbury: "You can brand me as 'middlecore', 'casual', 'fucktard' or whatever you like."

Nevermind, it's available from the official site - just a bit hard to locate.

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Chavbury: "You can brand me as 'middlecore', 'casual', 'fucktard' or whatever you like."

You not got wireless? You could just drive around until you find an unsecured network. Shouldn't be that difficult.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

that's naughty...

http://dj01.psp.update.playstation.org/update/jp/20060425_aea0541d63cb1d5112284efb1fb833a0/EBOOT.PBP

Create a folder called UPDATE and place it in the GAME directory.

This game is a little marvel! The way you manipulate the physics is simply brilliant. Like the greatest, most simple designs it's the purity of the concept that makes it so lovely to play: you can bounce as a larger ball or wibble around as a group of teeny tiny balls. Both have easy-to-grasp mechanisms of play, and the whole package is great. Unless they somehow bugger up the level designs, this'll be one of the best, most delectable PSP titles to be released, I'm telling you. It's already looking essential - preorder get! (I've had it on pre for about 6 months, anyway )

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Chavbury: "You can brand me as 'middlecore', 'casual', 'fucktard' or whatever you like."

It's not cool though is it?

I don't see any cocaine references or soft porn in there at all?

I'm confused!

Wow. Wizball for a new generation. Absolutely brilliant.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

I never played Whizzball, but will have a go on my Amiga when it's finally sorted (not long now, I hope).

I hope you weren't being sarky - even if it was a carbon copy, that's a GOOD thing. Not enough games like this around.

I love the way the little blobs sing along to the tunes!!!!

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Chavbury: "You can brand me as 'middlecore', 'casual', 'fucktard' or whatever you like."

C64 version of Wizball is the one to play...

The wife will start to weep uncontrollably if I buy another retro console. And then leave me. So I'll stick the Amiga version, I think.

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Chavbury: "You can brand me as 'middlecore', 'casual', 'fucktard' or whatever you like."

Didn't know you were married

I was being flippant. It's not really like Wizball. (Which is a brilliant little game btw).

No LocoRoco is a little marvel. Most original thing I've played on PSP. That damned music though is so annoyingly cute (on my 3rd play through).

Current best is 15/20 and 1/3 can't remember what my pink blob score was.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

It just feels like I'm married.
Actually, it really doesn't: I'm still getting laid

Wizball is on the list, no worries.

I didn't know you even owned a PSP, Madders. Thought you were dead against them? or is that Jib-'uncool'-berX?

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Chavbury: "You can brand me as 'middlecore', 'casual', 'fucktard' or whatever you like."

That's me and my corduroy bow tie sonny.

You kids and yer happenings and things.

And I'm not "dead against them" more, stand offish and reasoned.

Like I say PSPlite a price cut and some decent games, and I'll consider it.

The Loco Roco demo has made me giggle like a child - it's utterly wonderful & makes me want to count the days until I achieve the full game.

I appreciate the comparisons that various people around the net are making with Katamari, but I haven't been as genuinely enamoured with a cute outing since Pikmin way back when. It makes you fall in love very quickly.

Lovely stuff

I can't get enough of this. It's truly sublime. I couldn't stop watching the videos before it came out, and now I can't stop playing the demo! I've managed to get 19/20 fruit, all 3 MiuMiu's (Mulmul's in English? :S ) and 500/541 small fruit.

It's just so goddamn HAPPY! All the time I'm playing it I'm just smiling, it's like when I watch the Lion King This should be huge, but I imagine English teenagers looking at it and going "hehe, that's gay" , and instead picking up "50 Cent, I've been shot so try to be like me or die trying 57".

At first the controls bothered me. From the videos I didn't know that you don't directly control the little Roco, but I settled in soon enough. I've also noticed that you need to split into smaller parts in some places where you don't think you do...since you can jump higher

Ooh, also just realised you've been going for over a year now as well. Congrats

Sumo Digital - Teaboy

Cheers and ditto the boys over at GHZ . Oh milk and no sugar ta

Can't get enough of LocoRoco. My friends will explode when I show them this over the weekend.

That's "Programmer" to you, but teaboy to them

I can't stop playing either, although it's had a mixed reaction from friends. Some of them are just in awe at this game, others just looked and said it was a bit childish. I don't care, it's the most fun I've had in...forever

I can perfect the level in 12 minutes...can't get any quicker than that though

Where's the love for this game?!?! No-one seems to be playing it, and there's no notice of it over at NTSC-uk either, last time I looked! Spread the loco roco love!

Sumo Digital - Teaboy

This isn't really a game is it?

It's a singing blob, and an annoying song...

I found it tedious as hell.

You know something, I knew you would.

Song is indeed tres annoying. I like it though, it's a pretty basic platform game with unusual control. If they don't balls up the level design this could be mint.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

Played Papers' found the tilting the level a bit slower than I expected, and ever so slightly frustrating because of that. So unless there is some funky level design rhythm thing happening...?

Sony aren't Satan, let it go man. Let it go.

A shit game is a shit game.

The song is actually pretty good, I'd be interested in hearing more. Not repeated infinitely within the game though.

The game is great though, the physics is subtle but potent in it's implementation and the simple controls allow for a great deal of movement. The level design in the demo alone is lovely and varied too. just because it's on Sony hardware doesn't automatically make it rubbish

The level design is dull and simplistic, the controls are basic and uninteresting.

The game may be worthwhile depending on level design, but the demo doesn't promise a lot.

[sigh]

Just because it isn't on the Nintendo DS doesn't make it bad. How is the level design dull and simplistic? How can inclusive controls be basic and uninteresting?

Great, I'm being patronised.

The level design is dull, there isn't anything to do apart from 'go right'. Sonic style hidden areas, and simple see-saw platforms don't add a lot.

The gravity mechanism is completely rigid, and doesn't allow for a lot of experimentation.

'inclusive' controls? Tilt and jump? The tilt speed is fixed and tedious to use, the jump method of holding both tilts doesn't make sense, and neither does the peculiar timing/jump height setup.

The strength of the game is in the character design, visual style, and music. Its a puff piece.

Before we get all "rllmuk" please note that the game is merely a demo, after all they haven't finalised the gun, cars and cleavage yet....

Personally I was hoping for something more dynamic, but instead I got a Kirby game....

Could do with being 10x faster too. And in HD. Obviously? Is it online?

Well, you do have a track record of slating most PSP/PS2 stuff just for the sake of it.

The level design has several elements where you also have to disassemble/reassemble the little blob as well as use trampolines. Not to mention avoiding/killing enemies and using moving parts of the ground. It's a lot more varied than you make out.

Gravity is fixed but that's for ease of play, after all it is an introduction to the full game. The controls are very simple and comprehensive within the context of the demo.

Visually, I don't follow you at all here; it's incredibly stylised and vibrant. The aesthetics alone make the game fun, it's a happy singing yellow blob surrounded by a happy environment filled with trampolines and fruit. Did you get out of bed like this in the morning...

???

I had some real issues with the control on my first couple of play throughs it isn't quite as simple as A B C. There's a whole momentum and mid air tilting dynamic going on here. I'd argue the tilt has been made deliberately slow, without that you wouldn't have a game!

It's little things like the stick man and the sucking bird that make me think this could be pretty neat. Those two bits are great. Trying to bounce on the stickmans head to germinate a new fruit can be quite trixy and the sucking bird is just plain fun. If they can keep the levels fresh and not fall into the trap of reusing the same set peices over and over then it'll be grand.

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"Anyone who's played Namco's Cyber Sled and wished, however remotely, for a home version will be the first to figure it out:... - Tim Rogers

The full game is out today (in the UK).

Have you got a copy? I'm not buying anything at the moment (other than Sonic Riders when I find a cheap copy) as I'm overloaded on new games to play.

Be interested to know whether the level design is in there to turn this neato little blob of fun into something essential

Finished the game and overall it's pretty gentle. The level design is pretty varied though, different levels have different properties like ice and "squishy", and there is a fair bit of cunning exploration involved. I'd say it's worth getting.

Also nabbed Tokobot and enjoying that quite a bit.

Most of the reviews of Tokobot have slated it for being too simple and rather ham-fisted in its execution (e.g. certain formations are only used to get past one specific point). Sure is cute though

I've been playing trauma center a lot on the DS recently and whilst the game is pretty basic and doesn't really go anywhere interesting with the premis, it's held my interest enough to see me through to the last chapter.

Shame Loco is lite. I was hoping they would build in plenty of trickyness to the level design (hinted at by the stick-man in the demo).

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I've played through world one, and it doesn't really seem to develop much. Its mainly about collecting, which wasn't as obvious in the demo, and some of the exploring is ok. Well, as ok as completely hidden secret areas will ever be.

I think LocoRoco is very light weight, its only the music and visual design that are appealling, and the rest is mediocre. The LocoRoco are charming little gets, and that seems to be enough for most people.

My input:

I've seen alot of adverts on buses in London for it.

Sony are pushing it, like.

Also, almost every single non-'gaming-press' review I've seen reckons that this is the first truly portable, truly original PSP game, with everything else being port-tastic.

That must have come from a press release, what with it being mentioned all over the place, and not being true and all that, but you have to wonder how Sony are pushing this... rubbishing their previous games in order to win over PSP doubters? Very strange.

Quite a few of those reviews mention it being up there with the best Nintendo games too, which is pretty fucking disgraceful.

I'm not going to venture an opinion until I've played the full game. Did the reviews actually mention which Nintendo games?

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No, the phrase was something like 'the best game Nintendo never made'. That might have been BBC online, with similar sentiments in the Guardian maybe? Can't quite remember.

Yeah, that sounds like clever Sony PR guff to me. Even after the demo, it's clear Nintendo come up with ideas like this 3-4 times a year. Sony have done it 3 or 4 times in about 10 years

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The DS denial brigade rise again...

[sigh]

Played a lot of Tokobot now and it's actually quite varied, in terms of how and when you use the little blighters. The level design isn't too bad either. The main fault, unsurprisingly, is that the camera can be a little odd at times but it's nothing too overt.

I wouldn't call Loco "lite" there's a fair amount of tricky navigation later on (in terms of exploration, critical path is fairly easy). Overall though, anyone can play it really but you are rewarded for putting in some effort (such as unlocking a level design app).

Yeah I've been reading up on the unlockables over at ntsc. It does sound rather good. I'm trying to imagine Loco with a Nintendo logo and it doesn't quite fit.

Frankly I've come to the conclusion that comparisons between DS and PSP, Nintendo and Sony are pretty pointless. They're headed in different directions.

My take on Loco (based on the demo level) is that it's the handheld equivalent of the Spice Girls. Targeted with laser precision to surgically strike at the vacuum in the PSP library. Back in the day I was a big Spice Girls fan, not due to the music (although some of it's quite enjoyable) or Victoria Adams' pout, but through admiration at the genius behind the creation and promotion of the Spice Girls as a whole.

Sony with Loco are delivering the same kind of genius and for that I applaud them.

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http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3331&Itemid=2

reading too much into things, or casual Japanese racism?

Reading too much into it imo.

Although the commentator is trying to draw parallels with racist forms of entertainment in the early to mid twentieth century, I can't see it myself.

At the end of the day we all know that evil is popularly portrayed as being black and I mean that in an artistic sense not a racist one. People who go on and on about Darth Vader and the like as demonising black people have totally missed the point (see Chasing Amy). People are scared of the unknown = scared of the dark = absence of light = black. It's pretty obvious that colours such as black and to a lesser extent red (colour of blood) should tap deep into our fears. There's nothing racist about it at all.

Agree with the second comment on that page taht people should devote their time and energy into tackling real racism and stop getting their knickers in a bunch over insignificant crap like this.

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BBC news
Nintendo has snubbed the loyal band first to take the DS home by releasing a new, improved model,...N64 was the only console in the Japanese giant's history to escape the makeover.

I agree with this -

"Quan-Madrid is making himself out to be one of those knee-jerk reactionaries who measures his own importance by his ability to be self-righteously offended. Not only is his argument silly and worthy of derision, but it demeans the struggle against actual racism."

People that go on about stuff like this really should have a go at getting a life. It's like that religious figure dickhead/head of racial equality whatever in this country going on about how people should stop using "black" to describe things (eg: it's been a black week for...) -

Complete nutcases these people, who havent got a a clue about real life - being of mixed race I've been hated on by white people for being black, hated on by black people for not being black and then hated on even more by religiosly obsessed Asian/Arabs for being mixed! but I couldnt give a fuck, cos I'm really, really, really, really, ridiculousy Goodlooking, Intelligent and a fucking monster on Soul Calibur! XD

And that's all that counts.... (and Psyvariar).....(and VJ).....(and Devil May Cry 3).
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You're also blessed with the second best name ever. (Second to Trevor naturally)

Oh HELL NO!

THE best name in the universe is -

[angelic choir]Vin Diesel[/angelic choir]

Did you know - not only can Vin Diesel comprehend the concept of infinity, he can write it as a multiple of pi.

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My name is intrinsically racist.

Being half english/scottish I can also get down with the hiphop...

you know it.

sister.