When Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories came out on PSP a few months back, it was like getting a small slice of filet mignon at Burger King. Sure, it wasn't a feast, but to receive such a delicacy while on the go was unprecedented and quite the thrill. So now we have the same game on PS2, but on a larger plate, that small slice doesn't look quite as impressive.
That's not to say that Liberty City Stories is without virtue (a word seldom associated with Grand Theft Auto games)—it just feels like GTA Light. Typically, console games get ported to handhelds. This is a rare example of the opposite. And the limitations of the PSP are hard to miss on even the smallest TV screen. The missions are shorter, the soundtrack is limited and Liberty City is downright ugly.
Nevertheless, at its budget price, this opportunity to revisit GTA III's crime-ridden metropolis is still a tempting morsel. It won't satisfy those hungry for next year's Grand Theft Auto IV, but it's a nice appetizer.
ROGUE TROOPER by SCI GAMES/EIDOS (3.5 stars)
Platforms: PlayStation 2, Xbox.
Rated: T.
Rogue Trooper is based on a British comic book about what appears to be a genetically engineered super-Smurf. Your blue-skinned army-of-one will run and gun his way through a series of futuristic battlefields, collecting the consciousnesses of his fallen comrades to govern his supplies. For instance, Gunmar handles weapons, Helm does helmet functions and Bagman oversees backpack inventory. Fortunately, Rogue never finds a dead buddy named Crotchet. Weird but fun.
GRADIUS COLLECTION by KONAMI (3.5 stars)
Platform: PlayStation Portable.
Rated: E.
You think there are some tough games out there now? Back in 1985, you'd have to take out an entire alien armada single-handedly, with a spacecraft called the Vic Viper. The screen would fill with enough enemies to cause you sensory overload, and it took only a single shot to vaporize you. So if you're really looking for a challenge, try out one of these five sidescrolling masterpieces. You can even tweak every aspect of the difficulty if (and when) you feel the urge to cry.
MAGNETICA by NINTENDO (3.5 stars)
Platform: Nintendo DS.
Rated: E.
Magnetica is like Bust-a-Move's revenge. Rather than fighting off a slowly descending wall of multicolored spheres, you're struggling against multiple trails of marbles rapidly approaching from all directions. But if you can master the flick-targeting system (which has all the easy precision the word "flick" suggests), you might find this an addictive little puzzler.
Matthew Scott Hunter has been known to mumble, "Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, start" in his sleep. E-mail him at [email protected].