Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

Tis the season for best-of lists, and the PSP has a new Top 10 Games of 2006 as seen from the UK up at Pocketgamer.co.uk. Keep in mind that some of these games were out in the North American market in 2005, and some titles in North America now haven’t yet appeared in the EU market. They mention Every Extend Extra and Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops as two examples they couldn’t include because they hadn’t yet gotten official UK releases.

I agree with their selections, and I have to admit there are some I haven’t played yet. Of all of these games, here are the ones I’ve played:

• Daxter
  I got a few minutes to play with this game and found it to be very, very impressive in terms of graphics and gameplay. The platforming is definitely of an older school than some games coming out these days, and the style and sense of humor is excellent. While I haven’t yet rented it to fully play through it, it’s on my list.

• Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories
  I just want to put in my 2 cents that while I absolutely loved the GTA games on the PS2 and played them to death, I think having them on the PSP really highlights the control problems endemic to the one-analog-stick platform. I bought Liberty City Stories and got so frustrated with it that I out-and-out sold the game. I really have very little desire to play VCS, except perhaps to fly a helicopter. Hands-down, helicopters are my favorite vehicle in the GTA series.

• Lego Star Wars II
  This game is well-written, funny, and has oodles of unlockables and nice touches. Unfortunately the drop-in-drop-out multiplayer didn’t make it to the PSP — you need to start up the multiplayer game from the main menu — but the game is really great fun otherwise. You liked the original trilogy, so go get this game right now.

• LocoRoco
  The demo alone is enough to make you smile, and with special Halloween and Christmas versions out you get an extra dash of holiday cheer. I haven’t played the full game, but I plan to.

• Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
  A definite triple-A title on the PSP, Dark Mirror gives you a strong single player game and really unmatched, hardcore online gameplay. While it’s frustrating to have your opponent consistently blast you to hamburger with weapons you can’t start with until you rank up, it’s also a motivator to bring your A-game … if only to really annoy the heavily armed guys when you get the rare treat of taking them out with weaker weaponry or, better yet, your bare hands.

• Tekken: Dark Resurrection
  James is our resident Tekken-head, and he joins the army of critics with high praise for TDR. While I’m not a fighting game player, I rented it and was shocked at how great the game looked, sounded, and — even as the AI and human opponents consistently tenderized my fighter — played.

So check out PocketGamer’s Top 10 List of PSP Games for yourself and let us know what games you think should and shouldn’t have made the list in the UK.