PSP Round Up: Free Game Demos in Content Pack, Ghost Rider Sucks, and the Latest From the PlayStation Store

Sony has released their February Content Pack for the PSP where they give you all sorts of goodies formatted for your PSP. This month's content pack is extra nice with two game demos included (in case you've missed them) - Killzone and Syphon Filter Dark Mirror. Round this out with some new wallpapers, screenshots, and trailers and it's a pretty decent download.

Gamespot has a review up of Ghost Rider, the new hero action game based upon the recent movie starring Nicholas Cage (based upon the Marvel comic book) :

Though it's hard to be shocked these days when a movie-licensed game isn't quite up to snuff, Ghost Rider is legitimately surprising in just how poor a game it is. That it goes so far out of its way to usurp qualities from multiple major action adventure franchises, then proceeds to trot out the dullest, blandest beat-'em-up possible with those lifted mechanics is mind-boggling. Fans of the comic will be depressed with how poorly their favorite hero is utilized here, and fans of action adventure games won't be able to shake the feeling that they're playing a bad bootleg of games they've already played before. Indeed, Ghost Rider is ultimately just another flaming corpse to toss on the pile of failed licensed action games.

IGN has a review up of the PS1 classic Destruction Derby that is now available for the PSP but only through the PlayStation Store:

Destruction Derby is a pretty fun racer, focusing on chaos rather than racing refinement. There's a good deal of enjoyment to be had in the madhouse racing, though the lack of track options and even decent track design does hurt its overall appeal.

After Burner:Black Falcon for PSP Could Be Best Jock Fighter Yet

Sega is continuing the jock fighter After Burner series with a new PSP game called After Burner: Black Falcon. I remember playing the classic After Burner arcade game and it was an intense tough-as-hell jet fighter game but was a blast to play. Black Falcon looks like it has plenty of missions (both land and air) and multiple planes to choose from for some good ole Top Gun action.

Check out the trailer below - the graphics don't look too bad either. For some behind the scenes good stuff on the game, check out 1up's developer blog where one of the actual game developers is blogging about the release of Black Falcon in March.

Cult Classic 'Warriors' on PSP - Can You Dig It?

The 1979 cult classic 'The Warriors' is coming out this month on the PSP thanks to our good friends at Rockstar Games. Now they already did this game for the Xbox and PS2 but are porting it over for the PSP for the rest of us to enjoy. I haven't played the Xbox version so I'm looking forward to it coming out.

I remember when I first saw this movie years ago and thought to myself "these guys are bad ass." The basic plot is that a gang leader in New York City is trying to unite 100,000 gang members to take on the city police but he is shot at a big meeting. The poor Warriors from Cony Island get blamed for it and have to fight their way through the city to make it back home. This movie is full of action and one liners - hence the cult classic. They don't make them like this anymore.

Check out the trailer for the gameplay action. And if you want some nice one liners, then go to Rockstar's Soundboard where you can hear the best ones. So like the movie says, "Can You Dig It?"

PSP Homebrew and Hacking for All

If you are into the homebrew scene for your PSP or have just been living under a rock, a firware downgrader is now available for firmware version 3.03 - so this means that anyone with a PSP can now use this downgrader to downgrade to an older firmware and then install some custom firmware to do all sorts of cool things - like play old Playstation games. Check out this guide for all the details.

I've been living with firmware 2.81 so I have to upgrade to 3.03 and try this out.

Rocky Balboa for PSP - It's Not Over Until It's Over

Not sure how I missed this but Rocky Balboa is coming out Feb 13th for the PSP and it looks really good. IGN has a pre-game release review up and they like what they see. This boxing game is based upon the latest Rocky movie and includes licensed video footage and soundtracks that adds a nice touch.


The background story is that Rocky has retired but is going to try get back into the ring with the new younger and faster champion. But to get there you have to relive all of Rocky's classic fights with Apollo, Ivan Drago, and yes, Mr. T as Clubber Lang. I mean, how can you go wrong with having Mr. T in a video game? Plus you can fight as any other figther aka Mr. T - how cool is that?

The overall gameplay sounds promising as well with lots of advanced combo moves as well as some interesting 'mood' power-ups. While Fight Night is a great boxing game, I think the idea of being able to play the Italian Stallion will be too much to pass up.

I'm looking forward to getting my hands on this game - and remember, it's not over until its over!