Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

ALS Original DS Case

ALS makes cases for most, if not all, game systems. The cases are pretty recognizable by their material and texture, and they all seem to sport a similar style. They are officially licensed products, and tend to be a higher quality than you’ll see from the most common unlicensed ones.

ALS made a case for the first Nintendo DS, sometimes referred to as the DS Phat. While it’s designed for the bulkier DS, the body of the case is thick yet flexible and is a good fit for the DS Lite as well.

The case also has room for six DS cards in snug, clear plastic pockets, as well as a roomy mesh pocket that easily holds several more game cards as well as GBA cartridges and other accessories.

Pelican PSP Travel Case   

Portable gaming cases basically fall into two categories.  Ultra-portable or Ultra-Storage space.  After much searching, the Pelican Travel Case fits my PSP needs perfectly.

Carrying two additional UMD’s and two additional memory sticks, the Pelican Travel Case is an excellent value.  You should be able to find it for under $10 just about anywhere.

A word of warning, however.  The case is designed to carry four additional UMD’s, but it’s way too tight for that.  Keep the extra flap inside empty and if you want, you can then toss a USB charger or earbuds inside.

Earbuds

Earbuds are very bad for your ears for oh so many reasons, but this is a price we pay for their tiny footprint. A balled up pair of earbuds (I use the ones that came with my iPod) easily fits in the mesh pouch of your ALS case and the white color matches the stock white DS Lite as exactly as one could ask.

PSP Headset

While Stephen recommends simple earbuds for his DS, for the PSP I can only recommend the Official PSP Headset.  Paired with the PSP’s wired Remote, the PSP Headset allows for online voice chat in numerous titles.  The audio quality is great for an inexpensive headset, so you can let Lumines romp on your ‘drums without the earbud fears.

Wireless Router WRT54G

Online play with the DS and the right games is an experience you don’t want to miss. You need a wireless solution. Don’t bother with the Nintendo WiFi USB dongle or the Datel WiFi Max.

Buy a real, name-brand wireless router that’s listed on the Nintendo WiFi Connection website with a five-star rating. Buying a (slightly) cheaper, far more limited and possibly less effective solution is just not worth it. Take it from someone who made that mistake.

I went with the Linksys WRT54G, which was on sale at Best Buy.

Wireless Router WRT54G

I absolutely agree with what Stephen has to say about the Datel WiFi Max or any other USB Dongle.  While they can be options in a pinch, they rarely the best solution.

Take $50 and pick up a Linksys WRT54G.  While the PSP will work with most-any wireless router, this is one of the best and most popular routers on the market.  Especially if you can find an original V1 or V3 model.

WiFi with the PSP is a necessity.  The handheld goes beyond gaming, with independent downloading of audio and video RSS feeds as well as web browsing.  You want to take full advantage of everything the system has to offer. 

Eyeglass Cloth

The best tool for cleaning the LCDs on your Nintendo DS is a simple eyeglass cloth. I picked mine up at my optometrist’s office and I use it all the time.

4GB Memory Stick Pro Duo

No PSP is complete without a big fat memory stick slid into it.  As I said earlier, the PSP is beyond a gaming device and to take full advantage of RSS feeds without worrying about all your game saves and downloadable content, you shouldn’t settle for less than 4GB in storage.

If you’re not into RSS feeds at all, a 1GB or 2GB should get the job done at very little cost.

But Sony is constantly feeding downloadable PSP demos to the community, who wants to swap them in and out?

PSP Extended Battery

Don’t leave home without a fully charged extended PSP battery.  This beauty will bring you close to battery levels of the DS Lite.

To give you an idea of it’s benefit, it should turn about 3 1/2 hours of online gaming into about 5 hours.  It also means that you’ll get longer movie playback on the PSP before a charge than an iPod Video.  If you plan on picking up a GPS receiver or PSP Camera peripheral, this is so necessary.

Although, without a 30gig hard drive, the PSP hardly compares.  How about those upcoming 32gb memory sticks Sony, hmmmm?

 
Mario Kart DS (91/100)

MKDS is the definitive racing game, and some would say the definitive game or "Killer App", for the Nintendo DS. It is certainly the definitive episode in the franchise. The only Mario Kart game with online play, it sports a significant critical flaw: lack of a sufficient solution to deter drop-outs in online races. If you’re racing one other player and they drop out, the game ends. They are punished with a loss for each uncompleted track at that time, but you don’t get any wins.

Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror (87/100)

What I consider to be the greatest Syphon Filter of all time, is also one of the best Single Player/Multiplayer combinations on the system.

While the initial controls take a bit getting used to, setting it to advanced is the easiest way to learn.  Soon you’ll be zapping terrorists with your taser in no time.

Alongside the healthy single player campaign, Dark Mirror features a very hardcore multiplayer component with action-packed 8-player gameplay.  Your online identity levels upon your performance so head down to Starbucks,  order a triple-shot espresso and prepare to be there until closing time.

Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (89/100)

If you’re into sidescrolling platformers and the rise of Metroid-style Castlevania games, this is the DS game for you. The music is stunning and the beautifully animated sprite art is some of the best in the industry, perhaps only topped by its successor, Portrait of Ruin.

Be aware that there’s a semi-optional collecting aspect to this game, as you need to collect souls from certain enemies to progress. Also note that this is a direct sequel to Aria of Sorrow, and to get the full experience you may wish to pick up the GBA game

Daxter (86/100)

The best platforming experience on the PSP (until Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters next year) is Ratchet.  This is old school 3D platforming at it’s best.

This is truly one of the most polished titles I’ve played on any system.  Any PSP owner who hasn’t given this game a full 100% playthrough is really doing themselves a disservice.

New Super Mario Bros (89/100)

Mario returns in what is, in my opinion, his best game since Super Mario World, and it’s been far too long a wait. The power-up and moves that have been added really work well with the game, and the overall design of the game is so tight that any Mario fan will find the game hard to put down.

Lots of extra things to do and fun multiplayer minigames (that only need one copy of the game) round out some of the most fun you can have in a handheld game.

Lumines 2 (82/100)

As far as music puzzle games go, the Lumines series is by-far the greatest I’ve every played.  Forget about that joke Lumines Live, this is the best Lumines experience on any system.

Toss this in, kick back with a beverage, a quality set of plugs and there is quite possibly no more entrancing experience.

While the original Lumines received higher scores, we all know that the numbers don’t mean anything.  This is the music-based puzzle game to own on the PSP.
 

Elite Beat Agents (87/100)

If you have even the slightest interest in rhythm games, you need to try Elite Beat Agents. It is an incredibly polished game with some very addictive gameplay that will have you battling through four increasingly hard difficulty levels. Not recommended for those who are prone to throwing things when frustrated, because the difficulty level can feel very discouraging at times.

Metal Gear Solid: Portable OPS (89/100)

I’m about halfway through Portable OPS and it’s an absolutely awesome experience. 

There simply is no substitute for Metal Gear Solid and Portable Ops delivers the classic gameplay alongside a great new portable recruitment mechanic.

The online play leaves a little to be desired for me but the single player campaign alone is worth the price of admission.

Animal Crossing: Wild World (86/100)

Anyone who’s played Animal Crossing is likely to tell you that it’s the ultimate game about nothing. The DS edition lets up to four people live on the one card (only one awake at a time), or you can visit other towns on other game cards via local wireless or online, letting you chat in frustratingly short talk bubbles, trade paintings and pairs of sunglasses, things like that.

It’s a hard game to describe, and it’s even harder to stop playing, but after a couple of months you’ll find yourself wanting to take a break for a bit. Just don’t sell it, because you’ll want it back, despite all the weeds you’ll be pulling, and roaches you’ll be stomping when you fire it back up

Mega Man: Powered Up (82/100)

Can a budget title remake be considered an essential title for a console?  Hell yes it can, especially when it includes a map editor and the ability to share your created content online.

There’s been an excellent collection of new downloads made available from the community but in the end, it’s the redesigned Mega Man levels in Powered UP that make it an instant classic.  You can probably find this for around $10 now, which is borderline criminal.
  

Sonic Rush (82/100)

I’m going to go out on a limb and recommend Sonic Rush, particularly to anyone who’s a fan of what the franchise used to be in its youth. Sonic has never adapted fully to 3D the way Zelda and Metroid did… and Mario thinks he did. Sonic Rush retains the frantic, hard-core pace that the series pioneered on the Sega Genesis and adds the modern flair that 3D character models and lots of great special effects can add.

The game moves so fast at times that you’ll be completely out of control, and anyone who loved the good, old Sonic will love every second.

Oh Tekken DR, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  Is it your Tekken.net ranking mode that lets me share my scores will players in the US and Japan?  Is it your plethora of ghost sharing options or the Tekken Dojo?

Or is it that you’re the best handheld fighting game of all time?  Yeah, that’s probably it.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s gorgeous as well but graphics don’t mean everything.  I’m a hardcore Tekken fan and this is a worthy edition to the franchise and currently my favorite.