Taiko Drum Master Portable 2 (Taiko no Tatsujin Portable 2) for PSP

The PSP version of the famous arcade drum game was completely unknown to me since it was intended to be released only in Japan and even up to now, America and other countries still doesn’t have an english version of the game.

The game, of course, came with Japanese language that I still have to search for a Transalation guide. The menu looks like this:

Oops! caught him mad…

…Perfect.

Originally, Taiko no Tatsujin was a drum arcade game. The game cabinet consisted of 2 large drums which can be hit on the center or onto the rim. Also provided are the pre-selected songs and the drumsticks. This time, they have compressed the game into a portable one. The PSP version resembles pretty much of the original game except that it’s really hard to perform high style drumming with your fingers and the buttons.

In-game screenshot

The game is easy at start but as you progress, different difficulty levels unlock as well as new songs.Oh yeah, the distinctive character in the game is the wacky drum. He’s also the one who speaks throughout the game. Back to the difficulty levels, once you’ve completed a song by passing the requirement, you’ll get a silver crown showing that you’ve completed the song with small number of errors. There are 3 initial difficulties, the easiest is the flower level, next is the bamboo and the final is the tree or bonsai level and once you’ve stepped probably after unlocking the 60th song, you’ll be able to unlock the hardest difficulty which is the Oni level.

Bonsai level or tree

Bamboo level

Flower level

Oni Level, the most difficult

Want to see how difficult the Oni level is? It is so difficult together with some non-stop rounds, close rounds, alternating in the middle.

Easy mode…

You have to gain a lot of points to unlock some songs but of you want, you can download the other songs from the internet through Wi-Fi. The website is still in Japanese language and requires you to use the O button. Now that will be fine if you have set your PSP to let O as select button otherwise, you have to practice using the O button for that game.

To make lives quite easy and have fun, the game has 4 mini games.
1. Glider kind of game
2. Eating contest
3. Tower bloxx type of game
4. Balloon making game

1.

2.
3.

You have to play it sideways…

4.

The game is easy for first timers but as you progress, of couse, more and more challenges are coming your way. Overall, 5/5 score.

UPDATE: I’m not holding my PSP right now….

Need for Speed Carbon [PSP]

Nope, I’m not going to talk about the whole game. I just want to show you IGN’s impressions on the game. It was released on February 22, 2008. Here it is:

7.0	Presentation Not much exciting here, but the interface is easy to manipulate.
5.0	Graphics It would otherwise be an average-looking title, but the blur is annoying.
6.0	Sound The engine sounds are bland, and the soundtrack is forgettable.
5.0	Gameplay The controls are alright, but the upgrade system, track design and most everything else is not good.
6.0	Lasting Appeal There’s a decent amount of events and basic online play, but it’s not exciting enough to play for long.
5.0 Meh	OVERALL (out of 10 / not an average)

That scares me a lot. While reading the previews before, I was attracted with the game’s damage modeling plus the addition of the new batch of cars, including the new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X but it seems that IGN’s rating scares me. I hope they review the game again and see other results plus the other gamers’ opinions. I was hoping that this game will be good but it didn’t get a good start.

Anyway, I got an EBOOT of Gran Turismo 2 Simulation disc and I’m enjoying it! Nyahahah!

Feb 14, 2008

February 14, 2008 is of course, Valentine’s day!

I tried thinking of things to do at this day and most of the things to do in the list didn’t work.

1. Date someone, a friend, barkada, blockmate, batchmate

2. Join my barkada at UP Fair

3. Try to be alone with my PSP

4. Try to think things over while doing something that makes me feel free

SO number 4 worked properly and that “something” is riding a mountain bike for 2 hours. It’s been a while since I’ve used such bike and it made me really excited to roam around my campus with the mountain bike. I roamed around the campus for 2 hours straight with a couple of water stops and watching of noise barrage along the way. By the time I ended my run, I got sick just because I slept with a jacket and a bonnet after a big bucket of sweat. The PSP was dead if I play it for 10 minutes (what a big disadvantage for a Slim type PSP).

So what are the things I’ve realized while running around Ateneo with my speed stepping near the limit. (40 kph, I can estimate vehicular speeds.) One thing I’ve realized, together with what my Filipino class blockmate had said, was putting the question of what was the real purpose of Valentine’s day. I can’t think of any firm reason until my blockmate had said that it was useless because if you are obliged to love the person you love at that day, why not love him/her EVERYDAY. He has a point, actually and it made me think about it again while biking. I think what he said was true, that Valentine’s day was pretty much useless. The other things are quite deep that even I cannot put it in words. Those things have something to do with my studies and what the guidance counselor had said about my social life. I love making new friends but sometimes I need a very, very big time to be alone, re-thinking, not just thinking, about the things I’m encountering and have encountered in my life.