Become a Legend mode is what this should be all about, what I have been dreaming since I was a small kid and playing soccer games on Commodore 64. My dream was to start a career being a 16-17 year old kid on a small team and climb your way up to be “the” player on world’s top clubs.

This is what Konami build with PES 2009, and it is available on PSP -our favorite console-. I have been doing my best on my mid-level English club to make assists, score goals and help my defense. The game is more than I have ever asked for with transfer offers, watching the game from the bench after you had bad performance or your teammates seeming to build confidence in you so they pass the ball to you more often.

On the EA side, FIFA 2009’s Be a Pro mode seems to be more shallow, where you pick up a real player (Steven Gerrard anyone?) and you play to achieve some goals. Well this is OK in some aspects, but giving the ball to your keeper and receivng it back 20 times does not make you a better player. Also, football is not always about statistics. PES 2009 only gives you a ranking at the end. Well, this is what we need.

Overall, I really liked the way PES 2009 Become a Legend mode turned out to be, and I believe I will be playing season over season until I am bored or get all the awards there are. Though I have to say that this mode is really hard even in a “regular” setting where you really depend on your teammates. A final tip, try to choose a team with a strong defense as all your efforts can go down the drain with a trivial error on your defence lineup.

For a change, I laid my hands on the recently released Rockstar arcade racing titles “Midnight Club LA Remix”. Today I will share my first impressions which are not bad honestly but I can say that my expectations were much higher.

One can say that this game is a polished NFS iteration in terms of visuals, because it seems to be using the GTA engine (if this is how it is called). The game looks brilliant. You can play during the day and the night and the views of the sunset is absolutely gorgeous. Cars look fine, the city looks fine.

But a racing game is not just looks. It is also the atmosphere, the races, the cars, the feeling of speed. These are well done in this game, but there is a sense of arcadeness. The cars feel like the made-up cars of the GTA series. They bounce a lot but the handling is too good. This game is not a simulation like the TOCA series and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The time I have spent was fun and the difficulty level can rise quite sharply opposed to the NFS series on the handheld.

Briefly the game seems to be much better than any NFS I have tried on PSP. It is an arcade racing game so a direct comparison with the TOCA is not suitable. I believe it will probably prove to be fun the more time I spend. If I can spend any with contenders like the Force Unleashed, PES 2009 and Killzone.

See you next time…

PSN provides downloadable content like wallpapers, themes and videos besides demos of recently released titles on the PSP. PSN will definitely prove to be a new and wildly advanced distribution medium for the PSP.

I was busy advancing in Killzone Liberation, an old PSP game that needs some attention from all serious players. Then came the Force Unleashed craze. The game is great for the PSP though I have read mixed feelings for other consoles. About those, we do not care.

And PES 2009/FIFA 2009 will be out soon. I hope I can bring some interesting news on those.

Hope to see you soon…

The problem stems from the fact that there is an inherent design problem in mobile gaming consoles. When you compare a PS3 with a PSP you can notice that PSP has both the screen and controls at the same physical space. When playing a PSP you should look where your hands are; all the time.

Human body is not designed to stay in that posture for long periods of time. Either your neck is bent too much, or your arms get tired. This is why you can’t play with your PSP long enough when you are sitting or lying back.

Uncomfortable positions are acceptable for mobile gaming since you use the console on the bus, train, in a car etc, but when you are at home there should be a solution for the problem.

The only position we could come up with is actually how you use a laptop, on a table with your arms stretched in front of you so that your neck is not bent down too much to hurt.

Please fire your thoughts into your comments to help us come up with a nice PSP playing posture. We could even come up with an idea to develop a PSP playing stand.

PES (Pro Evolution Soccer) is released by Konami and was known with two different names around the world, Winning Eleven and PES. UEFA Euro 2008 is actually very similar to FIFA 2008, the final iteration of FIFA series, released by EA Sports. These two games represent two different approaches two the same genre. In this comparison we will discuss the differences between the two games and who their respective audiences are.

UEFA Euro 2008 is all about multimedia and information. It is almost complete in terms of teams, rosters, player information. Almost every player in every team in every major league in the world is there. Commentary during the game is exciting and complete with player’s names for even some not well-known teams. It is as though you are watching or playing a real game. Well… Almost…

PES 2008 on the other hand is quite the opposite. Even well known teams’ names are changed (due to some license issues we suppose), though the original players are there, their names are deliberately made-up. There is no commentary during the game, only some dull statements after a goal is scored.

No points to PES up to now, and full points to FIFA/UEFA Euro 2008. It seems that nobody with their right minds will go out and buy PES over FIFA. This my friends, however is not the case. I can say that PES is a strong competitor to FIFA, and even some more. Why is that?

First of all, PES is much more realistic. Player animations are smooth even in a limited environment like the PSP. It seems much more real to those who are playing and those who are watching. It is more fun (non-objectivity warning!) to play even with made-up player names and non-existant commentary. There are no fixed scoring tactics in PES, every game is completely different from the other. Also, both the opponents and your players behave much more intelligently. They run to free spaces to receive passes, intercept opponents’ passes and behave like real players, not like aging trees standing in a corn field.

Although FIFA provides real and complete information with both visual and aural supplements, it loses in the gameplay and fun side of things. Actually what I believe is, EA Sports tries to cover the shortcomings of the game engine with perfect visuals and sound. This however keeps hardcore football gamers trying the game for a while and running back to the PES series. I am one example, and not the only one. Nothing matches the amount of fun I get from playing PES, even by myself. Not FIFA’s wonderful commentary, nor its complete roster.

Currently I am exploring the “Master League” feature of PES where you manage a made up team with negotiations, transfers and skill changes. I am planning to write some tips and tricks for that soon. “Master League” defines another dimension in the re-playability to my choice of football game on PSP: Pro-Evolution Soccer.

Finally, we are planning to get your feedback and incorporate it into our content so that there will be a fluid community around The PSP Port of vibrant gamers all around the world.