Portable PlayStation : The Perfect One For Me

While my gaming buddies (and most of the world) are going gaga over the recently released Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii or the Xbox 360 – I am quite content with my light-weight gaming console, the Portable PlayStation.

Sony Portable PlayStation Pack

I received it as a birthday gift in 2005 and since then I have never looked back at my ever-so-faithful PS 2 (or Atari or Nintendo Samurai or Game Boy Advance). Now I will be frank here, I am a complete Sony fan when it comes to electronic gadgets. It’s a very conscious decision from my end to purchase a “It’s a Sony” tagged items unless an until they fall way outside my allocated budget.

My dearest mum believes that I am totally messed up in the head whenever she sees me beating-up my sister’s 13 year old over PSP related quarrels. But hey, can’t help it if ones as obsessive and possessive like me over my metal toys.

From experience, I would rate PSP much higher in comparison to other portable gaming consoles present in the market. It is a slick with awesome black finish console, come with an impressive wide-screen 4.3-inch TFT LCD with a 480×272-pixel resolution and PS2-like graphics. It also has a built-in Wi-Fi (useful for PSP downloads and updates) and a Web browser. The Sony Media Manager software lets you transfer photos, music, and videos from a PC to your PSP without any hassles and it also lets you back up your saved games and manipulate podcast feeds. But what I like the most is its peer-to-peer (PSP-to-PSP) wireless mode feature which supports multiplayer gaming activity without any breakups.

PSP comes with tons of Accessories

PSP runs on a proprietary 333MHz processor and comes with (small but enough) 32MB of built-in memory, with reserved space for it’s operating system and applications, and 4MB of embedded DRAM. Agreed the UMD loading time sucks but I guess that can be forgiven considering the added features it brings along. Also the memory stick duo cards used for storage purpose lands up being a bit heavy on the pocket but for those using Sony laptops, cameras, etc it’s not a big deal cause the sticks could be shared with other compatible devices.

The audio quality and output is decent when on speakers but goes a notch higher when using headphones. Battery life isn’t that fancy, will last for maximum 6 hours on full brightness but from experience medium-brightness works well enough. As a side note – an extra battery comes very handy and ends up as a good investment.

In India PSP games costs anywhere from Rs. 2000 to Rs. 3500 but if you have close contacts in US then buying on eBay could mean saving up nearly 50% on the MRP. And the same goes for purchasing accessories. On the other hand, with the number of hacks and third-party softwares popping up every now and then, the future only looks better.

Screenshot of Lumines

From the list of nine UMD games I proudly own, here are my top three favourites.

- Lumines : If you loved good old Tetris then Lumines is for you but its nothing like its predecessor. Packed with skillful puzzle play and amazing music you could add it in your list of addictions.

- Wipeout Pure : Now this is one heck of a futuristic racing game. Select from couple of stylish hovercrafts and race on the narrowest racetracks ever seen. The music selection is totally up-beat and gets your enthusiasm pumping all the time.

- Twisted Metal Head On :Though based on classic car combat games, Twisted Metal is a much more energized version. You’ve got more than 10 different vehicles to choose from and each comes with its unique special attack and distinct characteristics for handling, top speed, armor, and unique driver. The goal is simple; demolish everything that comes in your way.

Over all I would PSP is by far the best birthday (second only to my doggie, Spike) I have received till date and I am sure I will be hanging on to it for a pretty long time.

* If you have bought a PSP, then you should get yourself registered here. Good site to get all the latest releases, updates, free downloads, etc.