Review - Nom Nation (PSP Minis / PS Vita)

Playing with your food

The word 'Edutainment' is usually enough to send gamers running for the nearest exit. Whether it's the unnecessary addion of arithmatic or spelling in games such as Donkey Kong Math or Word Rescue, tedious historical searchings in Carmen Sandiego, or the downright laughable (for all the wrong reasons), diabetes related shenanigans in the appalling Captain Novalin, throwing learning into the mix is usually a recipe for boredom. Even Nintendo superstar Mario isn't infalable, with his shoddy educational exploits, Mario Is Missing and Mario's Time Machine proving that the classroom has no place in gaming.

Videogame Soundtrack Special - WipEout Series (PlayStation)

The music of WipEout

The impact the original Sony PlayStation had back in 1995 is simply astounding. Not only were the 3D visuals absolutely mind blowing, but the games had a darker, grittier edge that separated them from their 16-bit forbears. These were games aimed at adults (well, twenty-somethings and up anyway). Gone were the charming and twee chiptune tracks from previous console generations, replaced with CD quality audio featuring well known rave and dance acts. Suddenly, games were extremely cool, even making appearances in nightclubs at the time. I remember seeing WipEout being demonstrated on a large screen in a GAME store back in the day. There were large crowds standing around gazing up in awe at the visual spectacle on-screen. It was like nothing we had seen before and the air was electric with excitement. For me, it was love at first sight, and I knew then and there that I simply had to own a PlayStation as soon a humanly possible. Since that fateful day, I have had a long term relationship with the WipEout games. To me, they are the PlayStation brand and, along with Ridge Racer and Tekken, are the games that keep the spirit of the original 32-bit machine alive and kicking with each new machine released.

THE RETRO GAMER'S HANDHELD OF CHOICE - DSi vs PSP

 THE RETRO GAMER'S HANDHELD OF CHOICE      

                               

Both the Nintendo DSi and the Sony PSP are getting on in years now, so what better time to pick up a cheap one and get yourself some homebrew and emulation in portable form.

In this feature I aim to compare the two to see how they stack up for the retro gamer who wants to play SNES or Arcade games on the train, or play some of the retail games that offer a retro experience.

Sure, there are great handhelds like the Dingoo, Caanoo, and the GP2X Wiz (and even the elusive Pandora). But for now I want to take a look at two consoles that are cheap, easily available, and have a great selection of exclusive games you won't find on the open source handhelds.

I was a bit of a late arriver with these handhelds. To be honest my preconceptions were that the PSP was home to mostly new games like Metal Gear Solid and such, games that didn't really interest me. The DSi, on the other hand, appeared too childish for my tastes and consisted mostly of pet sims and the like.