Loyal robo-pets, soccer-playing androids and so many Baby Alive dolls have not come so far that an ancient advanced civilization in a game world can’t do better. In the world of Tokobot, archeologists have dug up the ancient advanced technology of magnetized, Bomberman-as-LEGO robots that take the player as leader of their a communal hive-mind. While I can’t elaborate much more on a story I don’t remember, we can view it as ancillary to the main action-attractions of this game. The versatile (and cute) AI’s follow you around and take the formations you choose to form bridges over gaps, ladders to unreachable heights, or spokes for your character to wield in whirling enemy death.

It’s an artistically-simple, but pretty enough game on PSP–meaning it’s a little weak for PS2 in Tokobot+ Plus, but graphics are graphics. The high point comes in the polygon deformation and transformation that ensues whenever you bonk your enemies, and the fluidity of animation in general. Cartoony and fun, the visuals indicate nonetheless accurately which objects you can interact with, how far to jump, and facilitate all the other requisite elements of a good platformer. Tecmo has never had a problem making a technically-competent game. Solve button-puzzles by assigning individual tasks to your wee charges, find and upgrade the Tokobots towards the ultimate goal, and um… enjoy.

RPGs, which spin the threads of magic lands, mighty mortals, and omnipotent gods, and Norse mythology, also spinning threads of magic lands, mighty mortals, and omnipotent gods, were a no-brainer to wed in digital matrimony. This is what tri-Ace thought when making Valkyrie Profile for PSX in 2000–that, and that they’d like to make a chef d’oeuvre that was not only a particularly beautiful game–its bright, glossy, hand-drawn visuals the envy of many a storybook, and its music a veritable symphony from the warbling winds section of Motoi Sakuraba–but one that would work the 32-bitter so hard as to blow the lid off the CD tray. It had an active combat system you simply could not mash-advance; nor would you want to, as it featured dynamic scaling and screen-razing spell effects, and deeply-involving mechanics. Seriously ambitious, the 2-disc’er was the grandiose production that sowed the seeds of Odin Sphere and other small miracles of Japanese, but not-quite-animé 2-D.

Nowadays you would have to eBay the original for over $100. Nowadays you should have a PSP and be able to get Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth here for less than half that price. With added cutscenes and a heightened probability that it won’t kill the console running it. What will you do?

I think we need a motto for this blog. How about, “ButtonSmasher: Where we cover puzzle games in overabundance–and still barely keep up with their rate of production”? Or, “ButtonSmasher: Seemingly obsessed with puzzle games, but such is the industry”?

There really are a lot of plotless, casual-seeming puzzlers out there–so many that you might be avoiding them. Well, stop cheating yourself. The always-affordable, habit-forming yet short-term commitment material of puzzle game is easy pickin’s on a slim wallet and slimmer free time. And if you find the right ones, you’ll be endlessly entertained.

As for the objects for your fickle flights of fancy, Lumines is a pretty clean prospect–its presentation and gameplay pulsate with elegant and stylish rhythm and geometry. Then there’s the more child- and forever-young- friendly Bust-A-Move, a colourful, yet tough bubble-stacking game and test of precision aiming that may threaten to tell a story.

Exit, Taito’s non-dinosaurian attempt at boggling your mind, delivers a little more sophistication–placing you squarely in the middle of escape after great fire escape, you rescue those less fortunate than the aptly-monikered Mr. Esc.

Puzzle game coverage on ButtonSmasher. Proud product of one student’s emaciated wallet and small circle of moochable friends.

Ergonomic design considerations for the larger hand have been severely lacking since times forgotten. Where mobile electronics are concerned, the case of the incredible shrinking hard drive and microprocessor–spurred on by a cultural fascination with losing one’s phone among toothpicks–doesn’t negate the need for a functional number of keys, and teensier and weensier devices must somehow accomodate the size of the standard human digit. But what about not-quite-standard?

The average-ish set does appreciate this heavy-handed neglect. You may not think so, but we do. Take the PSP–I know it’s hard to hold, even for me; in fact, I think the smaller-limbed lot could use a boost, too. Kind of like a booster seat for your hands, or something. Something like the NYKO PSP Charger Grip, which claims to extend battery life with its own internal power supply, and gives you a comfortable, round surface to grip instead of clutching an expensive plastic slab with your fingertips all day.

Don’t let PSP’s formless physique hold back your hands–let it be the Charger Grip. As in, let it return your hug with carpal tunnel-thwarting muscle relaxation and warm, fuzzy feelings of nerve-ending regeneration.

My soccer expertise may extend only as far as putting the spotted sphere into the netted receptacle, but I do know a fun game–better, apparently, than TopTenREVIEWS.com, and whatever reviews they pulled to get the mediocre average score seen here. The beauty of FIFA Street 2 is, someone like me can get out of it the same value as someone who posesses vast knowledge of line-side violations and player formations, or of the 320 professional ballers who make up the roster. (I don’t even know whether I’ve embarrassed myself in writing that sentence… )

This is not authentic football (yes! I know one F), and with no aspirations to that end, I have no problem understanding the self-evident truth of FIFA Street 2. EA BIG! has made it easy-to-play, pared it of anything but the primordial rules of competition, and given you the stats you need not to choose a crappy team (or purposely do so to equalize an uneven multiplayer playing field). Video tutorials and training modes ensure that you get a handle of Passing, Shooting, Tricking, and the rest, which mostly comprise single button presses and only ask that you do more complicated maneuvers for your own enjoyment. The graphics give national flavour to the venues, and as always, the players look and move pretty good. Character Creation and court customization can go a long way to making the Street games more fun–but like choosing a blue ball on the Amsterdam court, you’ll lose sight of the real fun if you tamper too much.

Just be sure to enjoy the beautiful game in 2, because apparently the recently-released third FIFA Street sucks.

1. We love the levels that take you through the xylem and phloem of a tree and a whale’s GI tract and make it look adorable.

2. We love the endearingly Prozac-coated soundtrack and gibberish-singing heroes.

3. On the topic of the heroes, we love all six colors of the beany-bodied, divisible little defenders of Earth, and the gelatinous physics of their every pixel.

4. We love how, for no apparent reason, the hero is gobbled up by an owl and spat out in the shape of a french fry, which allows us to pogo-stick over big cliffs or press buttons in clever puzzles.

5. We love slipping down the icy slopes, or being sucked into a powerful draft, or bouncing off gooey slings in a bid to gain the momentum to hurl earth’s defenders over very cute-looking danger.

6. We also love hurling into the evil Mojas who try to eat you.

7. We love the trick walls, breakable environments, and creepy-but-helpful folk that reward the intrepid spirit.

Aaand finally….

8. We love seeing footage of a sequel to a portable game, which almost never ever happens anymore outside of really special titles like this.

Eight “AAaaiiyy”s for Loco Roco!

Racing games are a hot commodity this season, with Mario Kart Wii set to launch Sunday, and… oh, I suppose that’s the only one. There was WipeOut Pulse, but as a PSP release for the harder-core set who’ve stayed the course since the PS1 days, it didn’t cause any mile-long line-ups, or a step-over-living-relations-to-get-it style stir. But upon spying it from its premature resting place in the deals bin, I was reminded how I so enjoyed WipeOut Pure in earlier days on Sony’s portable.

WipeOut Pure has all the mien of the quality, high-octane flying machines that you race in the game. It’s got a techno-infused, well-designed aesthetic that offers something a little more serious than F-Zero’s comic bookishness. Serious, like vehicle-mounted weaponry and deeply-biographied fictional companies, but all that is still offset by a speedy, surreal dash through impossible locales where you can even do a barrel roll, and Nintendo can’t sue. Like F-Zero, Pure doesn’t skimp on the difficulty, It all leads to a big splash on a small screen, and a game that will well initiate new fans into a cult series.

Have you ever taken an IQ test and wondered: how does this pertain to ANYthing? And how can the questions, and hence your IQ, change the next go round? The grade is always insulting too, I don’t care who you are. Two questions in one area of cognitive function seem to be all it takes for those particular testers to decree their verdict on you, and you don’t get another chance with them, but some other measuring stick.

Well, if you’re interested in a challenge with results you can actually track and see (and call it a game at the same time), try Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 for PSP. For someone so keen on the idea, it’s admittedly odd that I haven’t played the first, but as far as I know it’s the same deal, just with a camera angle fixed behind your avatar. In PQ2, each stage plays out in a slide-block puzzle on a 3-D grid, and it’s your duty to guide a non-descript avatar through to the goal. Some interactions with the environment are afforded your digital self, such as climbing, pushing, lifting, and pressing switches on the blocks, but it’s always your brain commanding your hands to victory. All manner of modes, including a puzzle editor, whose products you can share via the PSP’s internet, give this game nearly endless replay value. And man.. it’s HARD.

Take the last ‘Initial-plus-Q’ test you’ll ever need: PQ2.

Even though the video games industry has become more profitable than ever before, developers these days must have it kind of rough. For example, during the “First Great Console War” between the Genesis and the SNES, a license to publish was usually granted to the tune of making 3 exclusive triple-A games in one year. The “Big Three” console manufacturers of today can drive a much harder bargain, demanding exclusivity and having developers eating out of the palm of their hands:

“If you want to release that on OUR system (we’ll call it System B), you need to have EXCLUSIVE CONTENT that System A version doesn’t. Also, you have to fix this bug, make this look better, change this character, blablablah…”

But then again, there are more places for shunted developers to turn to. You know where the games end up when a small, budding talent, who can’t promise anything big, has nowhere else to turn? Portables. Just check out how many games are being ported from small-to-big screen today, and you’ll realize a world of games that you might not have noticed before.

I have the feeling that Patapon is a game that could never make it if it weren’t for portables. One look at the art style, and you know a game is destined to be judged only by one curious player at a time. Add in the fact it experiments with mixing the RHYTHM and RPG GENRES… and marginalized is the middle name of Patapon. It sounds like great fun, and it’s cheap, and somehow, it has no reviews here. I feel that it will ‘fail’ if that keeps up.

I have a good feeling about this one. Don’t pass it up.

Radio in my area is not what I typically call “good”. The “music” of today is mostly responsible. Even amid the value of free sports games and news broadcasts, you have apoplepsy-inducing commercials and banal banter. However, over short periods and on suitable stations, listening to the radio can sustain the idle mind without bringing on the psychic break caused by “no-repeat workdays”.

Aside from the uncontrollable suckage of the medium, this is just nifty to have: the little iFM PSP Tuner, with a LCD and controls styled to compete in the business card-thickness category of today’s featherweight electronics. Now PSP owners don’t have to reveal that they don’t own an iPod underneath that Roxy coat or inside that Lululemon bag - these controls are good enough to handle all the PSP’s music player functions. I have to admit, I would probably use my own PSP more to aural ends were I able to conceal the apparent shame of being a college student who owns one… not to mention, were the battery life longer, and the controls at all intuitive, the storage cheaper….

It’s still a better value than a cell phone.