Lately we have been pretty harsh with Sony, and the fact that they are letting their PSP fall in with the likes of many handheld consoles of the past. We bitch and gripe about them not putting out first-party games, and buying up the people putting the good games out. Well, none of that has changed as of yet, but good games are on their way.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories is one of the best games for this little portable, even people that aren’t fans of the series can’t debate how well it controls, and how much depth it has; especially for a portable game. We have just survived decades of 2D graphics, and wonderful console counterparts, that is all going to change, and already has begun.
The PSP had a pretty lack luster year in 2005, its key big releases being Wipeout Pure, GTA: LS, and Burnout Legends. Mind you there were other good games, but nothing as spectacular as those previously mentioned. In March of 2006 you can add Pursuit Force to the list of must-own games.
Pursuit Force is such an action-packed game, that it will soon become the best PSP game you own on your PlayStation Portable. It’s got some of the elements of racing if any, and a lot more elements of a rail shooter. Pursuit Force will have your adrenaline pumping, waiting to take on the next perp.
The game starts as simple as any other racing game, you are in a police car, and you must track down the targets on your radar. Once you track down your target, you can either lean out the side of your window and shoot at them, or jump into their car and take it over! There are no finish lines, and technically there is no timer, you must stop the criminals before they reach their destination; most of the time it’s a city, or a specific building.
Some of you may have miss-understood my original intentions when I spoke of jumping into their car. I’m not talking about just getting out of your car and hi-jacking another like in a GTA game, I’m talking about jumping from you car and onto their car while shooting out the driver and passengers while going 100+ miles per hour!
The control involved in doing such feats as jumping between cars and attacking the enemy at the same time is quite stunning. Once you get close enough to an enemy vehicle or any vehicle for that matter a icon will pop-up, all you do is press the circle button and your matrix like jump begins. If you don’t kill all the perps while in mid-air, you will still be able to take them out while hanging onto their car for dear life!
Take special consideration, you aren’t the only one with a gun. While driving next to the enemy, or while hanging on their car, you will start to take damage. If you’re taking too much hits, you can always move to other parts of their vehicle, all of which makes for a kick-ass fire fight. This kind of action is what Pursuit Force is all about, and will play a major part into the gameplay.
The preview copy of Pursuit Force only includes three diverse levels, but enough to get a fell of the game. In the first level you must take out some bad guys who have loaded their trucks with toxic gas and are headed towards the city. You have a couple miles to take out all the trucks, all while power sliding and flying through the air over huge jumps. Make it and you will get a snide comment from your commander and a harsh grade.
The second level is a little different; it takes place on a river in a high-speed boat chase. The boats controlled a lot better then I originally gave them credit, taking turns beautifully. The same rules apply here also, you must “capture or destroy” the enemy; not that it ever gives you the option to capture! The third and last level is a boss fight with the crazy Wilde’s boys, this is where the game goes from Sea and Land and straight into Air! You start off chasing and taking out some enemies like usually, and eventually lead up to a roadblock in which you jump out of your crashing vehicle Sin City style and into a helicopter. While in the helicopter, you must use a rail gun to rain bullets upon the convict who all the while is throwing Molotov cocktails at you. This is where the game takes all the wonderful aspects of arcade shooters and puts it into a portable experience. It was a unique change to the rest of the gameplay and the first time something like this has been done.
Most of the levels in the demo involved you solving the case by taking out a certain amount of enemies, but don’t fret, this isn’t the only mission type in Pursuit Force. The video’s that are available at GameSpot.com specifically show different game types, including some that don’t take place in a vehicle at all!! Keep in mind however, this isn’t the first release of this game, it came out in Europe, welcomed to a mixed reaction. The controls and difficulty of the game made this not such a hot title. Big Big Studios obviously didn’t want to drop the ball on this one, so we will be introduced to a completely reworked game with new voice acting and even more upgrades.
If you have a PSP and you don’t get Pursuit Force, then you are wasting technology, this is a very addictive racer/shooter that all must own on the PlayStation Portable. You can expect to see Pursuit Force in stores at the beginning of March 2006. I’ll bring you my final thoughts on the full version of the game at that time.