"A Gamer's Manifesto":

We get so overjoyed every time an enemy actually shoots from cover in a game that we forgive the fact that real, advanced A.I. is as much an unfulfilled promise as the flying car. Where are the FPS bad guys who can adapt their strategy on the fly? Enemies who themselves have six different guns and switch up according to what the situation calls for? Bad guys who work in teams, who strategize, who create diversions to distract you? Where's the enemy Solid Snake who sneaks up on you with the silence of a ninja's church fart?

...

Why isn't a there a spy game where we actually get to be a real spy rather than a hallway-roving kill machine? You know, where we actually have to talk to contacts and extract information and tap phones and piece together clues, a game full of exotic locales and deception and backstabbing and subplots? A game where a gun is used as often as a real spy would use it (that is, almost never)?

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed a video game this much. Dragon Warrior, yeah, Dragon Warrior I for the original Nintendo, was one of my favorite games. In Dragon Quest VIII I've found what I thought had been lost -- a game with all the charm of that classic RPG rendered in a modern interface. GameSpy says it best:

"Dragon Quest VIII may not be a perfect game, but it's one of the most polished and playable ones the PS2 has seen. It's also a testament to the fact that complexity is not always the answer. This game stays truer to its roots than any other currently surviving hit game series from the 80s, and it's all the better for it; it shows us that radical rethinking isn't always the key -- that developers can preserve the look, feel, and soul of a series across decades. It's a true achievement and a huge step beyond the last game in the series. It's a must-buy for any longtime RPG fan, and a recommended purchase for gamers looking for a break from the grit and confusion of modern-day gaming."

It's an absolutely beautiful game and a real treat. I'm only a couple of hours in (I really don't have time for these sorts of games like I used to) but I strongly recommend it.

On plenty of gaming and tech sites I've seen many comments about Sony's new UMD format for games and movies on the PSP. Not many people are interested in getting movies in yet-another-format. I understand completely.

Sometimes though, you'll hear people clamor for a UMD-RW (Read/Write) disc and a way to burn their own UMDs. That, my friends, is missing the point. No one really wants UMD-RW and it's not going to happen. I'll tell you why.

First off, UMD is designed for the content provider, not the consumer. It's all about putting movie and game studios at ease in terms of releasing content for this new platform. There's currently no way to pirate the content of these disks and that's the whole idea. If a UMD burner came out, that sense of security would vanish and with it a lot of content for the PSP.

So forget about a UMD burner. I don't see it happening. Instead, it's all about memory sticks.

Once you get a PSP you'll realize that the Memory Stick is just as accessible as the UMD. It's not just for storing your saved games. It's for your music and photos and, yes, movies. If Sony is smart, they'll work to provide high capacity, low cost Memory Sticks (there's already been some Sony execs voicing the need for this) and they'll expand Sony Connect to include movie downloads. Sony will also need to work on better desktop software for managing your photos and music and movie and synching them with the PSP, but its very possible.

So IMHO the future of movies on the PSP is the memory stick, not the UMD. Games will remain on the UMD and there will still be a collection of movies for UMD, but the real potential is a Sony Connect service that provides music and movies for download.

Besides, a UMD is only 1.8 GB. That's probably going to stay pretty static while Memory Stick capacity will increase. As soon as an affordable 2 GB memory stick is on the market, there would be absolutely no reason for a UMD burner.

Maybe I was in denial the whole time, but for the last month or two I've been telling everyone that I wasn't going to get a PSP right away. The $250.00 price tag was just too steep to warrant yet another gadget toy purchase. My resolution lasted all of one day and Friday night I ended up getting a PSP.

I had planned on writing a longer review, but it's only half finished and will probably remain as a draft. So here are the bullet points on my first thoughts on the PSP. More will follow:

• The first thing everyone notices is the screen. It's gorgeous.


• Non-gamers were always very impressed by the media features (photos, movies, music), particularly the movies. Also, those that seemed to consider it more of a media device than a gaming device didn't balk at all or as much at the price tag.


• It's gorgeous.


• There are no must have games yet. I've got Ridge Racers and Untold Legends. Ridge Racers is more polished.


• The music player aspect is kinda weak compared to an iPod. No playlist support or way to browse music other than via the "Groups" which are really just the sub-directories you created on the Memory Stick


• Forget burning your own UMD. It's all about the Memory Stick (more on that later).


• The PSP will be a definite win for Sony as a gaming platform (assuming the library continues to grow). As a media device, success is still iffy. And it's as a media device that Sony needs the PSP to succeed.


• Comparing this to a GameBoy is a joke. They're not in the same class. That said, I think there's room for both. I still have my GBA.


• IMHO the PSP is not ready for the average consumer yet as a media device. Sony needs to come out with some uber simple desktop media manager software.


• Where's the integrated web browser? I'm hoping for a firmware update soon.


• I'm glad it doesn't have a camera or phone or anything else silly attached. Though getting Skype to run on this would be a great hack.

If I had to summarize my initial impressions I would say that I'm very impressed with my PSP though don't think it's full potential is realized yet with the current crop of games, movies and accessories. That potential, however, is definitely there.

Oh, I should mention that I happen to work for Sony Electronics. I don't work with the PSP or the games at all (that's Sony Computer Entertainment) and I most definitely do not speak on behalf of Sony in any capacity. The opinions expressed here are definitely my own any not my employer's.

Neuros has just announced a product, the Neuros MPEG Recorder 2 that allows easy transfer of your digital media (like DVDs) to your PSP or your other portable media devices (like the video iPod). Better yet, Neuros takes a strong stand for fair use rights for digital media (great article!).

In case you were hoping for a Sony PSP price drop for the holidays, guess what? The price is going up! Well, not really. The price of the "value pack" will remain $249. Additionally Sony will offer a "Giga Pack" for $299 that will include a 1 GB memory stick. Actually, that's not a bad idea. But a really good idea would be to make a PSP with a couple GB flash hard drive. That and come out with some new games. Lumines rocks the world, but I'm rather disappointed with the current (lack of) offerings.

Looks like Sony's UMD is now an ECMA standard. However, for those that had their hopes up for a burner, note that the standard is for a read-only disc.

I've been itch'n for a good first person shooter for my PS2 lately, something with a good multiplayer mode. I like to pretend I still have time for such things. A couple of years ago I played a lot of Quake III and found a short deathmatch or capture the flag game to be a great stress reliever. Since then I've moved from PC to console for what little gaming I still do and I haven't picked up a good mutliperson FPS game.

So last night I rented Killzone and Project Snowblind to try out before dropping any more cash. These two seem to be the top contenders on my shrinking list. Killzone suffered from high expectations that resulted in less than stellar reviews on most gaming sites. Nevertheless, it won the battle of first impressions by offering impressive graphics, a polished interface, and an unintrusive tutorial that quickly gets you into the action. After playing through Killzone's first mission, I popped in Project Snowblind and tried out its first couple of missions. Don't get me wrong, it had excellent gameplay and seemed to have a better physics engine, but it just didn't leave me with the same impression. Killzone just felt a bit more immersive, more like I was actually in that trench looking through the haze.

In any case, I haven't had a chance to try out the online modes of either game which will be the real test. If neither truly captures what I'm looking for, I suppose I could go back to the PC and pick up a copy of Unreal 2004 or Half Life 2 or whatever, but I'm tired of chasing hardware specs. That and I'm trying to eliminate reasons for keeping a Windows box up and running at home and investing in another generation of PC games won't help. But, hey, who am I kidding? It's not like I actually have time for all these toys and games. :-)