PSP News and Mod-Blog Review

The PSP has arrived in the USA and it got a warm reception from gaming magazines, gaming enthusiasts, and several Mod-bloggers. But it does not appear to have been as much appreciated by USA consumers. This jives closely with what I am seeing. When the Nintendo DS came out around Christmas and until about mid-February, it was just about impossible to find a unit. Yesterday, there were still about 10 units at our local Wal-Mart (which is still sold out of the DS) and about 25 at a local Target.

However, my own review for the PSP so far is great. This is an amazing machine. I have only played two of the 4 games that I bought with it - SPIDER-MAN 2 and TWISTED METAL. - but they are both GREAT games. SPIDER-MAN 2 is more like SPIDER-MAN 1 on the PS2 - no ability to control your web swinging and fly around NYC - but it is still amazing. TWISTED METAL is a great game for 2 player (and more, up to 8) play. CRChair and I have been enjoying GREATLY the ability to blow each other apart in the game. I am looking forward to when the next friend gets one, so we can have 3-way or 4-way battles. Still have not tried the Metal Gear or RPG game, but they also look great. And its ability to play movies off of a UMD disk or a Memory Stick is great.

There are a few tips I can offer to anyone considering buying a PSP:

• CRChair recommends Mobile Media Maker for transferring pics and movies from a PC. With a Mac, it gets even easier and fully integrates with the iApps if you buy the cheap and effective PSPWare program. It also cleanly and automatically will load movies to the memory stick - including converting from just about any format.
• Much ado has been made about the PSP using the proprietary memory stick duo format. PSP Vault has found a way to use regular memory sticks with the PSP, too!
• Other sites have found a way to put TIVO programs onto the PSP.

UPDATE: Almost forgot! A dedicated hacker has also found a Web Browser built into the PSP. With the built-in 802.11b/Airport connection, it does seem like a no-brainer.