Ape Academy fits into the ‘party game’ category – namely, it offers tons of short, easy-to-learn and addictive games that are designed to be played by a group of people. Or in this case, cute little primates.

The 50+ button-bashing interludes range from mini game staples such as bowling, air hockey and follow-my-lead rhythm games to more curious pursuits, like the matador simulator(!), or the ultra short (the game last an average 0.3 seconds) one-yard dash.

While the single player modes are loads of fun, it’s the multiplayer options that maked with the monkey magic. Head-to-head chimp challenges are available, with up to four players using a share PSP, as you share the controls. Going ‘ape’ with your ‘pri-mates’ has never been such a tempting prospect.

To be honest, this game is bizzare with surreal mini games. Similar in concept to Nintendo’s Wario Ware series (short and frantic mini games). There’s an amazing amount of stuff to do, and it’s fantastic. When was the last time you guarded a giant banana against an onslaught of ravenous zombie-apes? Exactly… Monkey Magic at it’s best on the PSP!

As a fan of Nintendo’s Wario Ware on the Game Boy, I always enjoy the bizarre and amusing mini games offered by Wario. The cute graphics and simple gameplay kept me addicted.

This also applies to the wonderful Super Monkey Ball on the GameCube. Those mini party games (once you have unlocked them by collecting a number of points) are the stars. Monkey Target, Monkey Grand Prix and Monkey Fight are fantastic in multiplayer mode.

To see these two games combined into one, is great for those seeking mad monkey action!

Final Verdict
Fantastic monkey action. Love Super Monkey Ball and Wario Ware? Put them together and you have Ape Academy. Crazy and addictive party games for evertyone! 8/10

Arcade thrills are what the PSP has been made for, and if it’s fast and furious gameplay you are looking for, then it doesn’t come much faster (and it’s hard to imagine anything more furious) than WipEout Pure.

From the off, this WipEout offeres ultra-fast racing action, combined with bonus weapons and the sort of track designs that usually reserved for the fairgrounds (corkscrews and banked turns).

Massive tracks undulate widely, with swooping downhill chjcanes mixing it up with visually stunning environments and strategically placed power-ups and bonus features.

Frankly, it’s hard to believe that a better hi-octane racing game will appear on the PSPfor some time.

Having seen the Pure in action, we’re convinced that it’s sure to do for the PSP what the original did for the PSone when that was released way back in 1995. One of the original PSone games, the first WipEout impressed not only potential PSone buyers, but also those wavering betweenthe PSone and Sega’s very decent but underpowered Saturn console.

Flash forward ten years and we come bang up to date with WipEout Pure. There are a total of 16 tracks (12 original ones, plus four more from the four previous WipEout games), a Wi-Fi mode that lets up to eight players go head-to-head and even downloadable content to expanded the game further (including new tracks, skins and possibly music mixer).

But why the name Pure? That’s easy to answer. Sony has simplified the gameplay, cut out a lot of the guff that hampered the previous sequels and returned to a free-flowing and action-packed control system that feels and plays much more like the original WipEout game – and we certainly applaud Sony for making that decision.

As launch games go, it’s practically impossible to fault WipEout Pure. When (or indeed, if) you eventually tire of the main game, the fact that you can then challenge your mates to a race and download a whole raft of new content means it’s got to be high on everyone list.

Final Verdict
Gaming genius on a tiny, shiny disc. An amazing racing experience you can take with you wherever you can.Downloadable content will increase the time-scale spent in this fab game. 9/10

From the creator of Space Channel 5 and Rez comes this musical puzzle title. It is a cross of Tetris with flexible blocks which can detach from their original falling shape, overlapping one another. The aim is to create squares or rectangles from identical coloured blocks to make them disappear.

When you play the game, you notice there is a timeline that goes from left to right in time with the music. This timeline also acts as the combo initiator so if a square is created in the middle of the screen, it gets counted as a score when the line passes through it. The trick here is to create large squares and rectangles before the line passes through, enabling large combinations.

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The TOCA series lands on the PSP with quite a statement against their rivals by being a realistic racer. Your role as a rookie driver is to climb the ranks amongst the world’s best by winning races, sponsorship and respect.

In all there are 15 different types of racing varying from formula ford, rallying to truck racing all on genuine circuits throughout the world. The feeling of weight distribution, traction and physics are rendered fairly well to the PSP and ensures a realistic representation of the sport thus far on the hand-held.

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Nans beware; This is definitely not bridge

A lone figure gently creeps through a darkened warehouse, nothing more than a shadow to the nearby soldiers, who pay little to no attention to him. One by one, he discretely picks them off, silently assassinating them with his bare hands. The figure, the one and only Solid Snake, suddenly stops while approaching his next victim. He stands still, and waits for his opponent to make his move, whilst browsing through his hand of cards and planning his next turn.

When the latest instalment in the Metal Gear legacy was confirmed to be a tactical, turn-based card game, there were approximately 3 gamers in the entire world who didn’t immediately curse Konami and refuse to buy any of their products in the future. The gaming world at large couldn’t adjust to the fact that Solid Snake, who is known worldwide for kicking ass and taking names, had to draw a hand of cards from a deck before, well, kicking ass and taking names. However, now that it’s been released across the globe, has Metal Gear: Ac!d defied it’s doubters, like ‘Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker’, or ‘Celda’, before it, or is it so naff that fans will spit on Hideo Kojima as he walks down the street until Metal Gear Solid 4 comes out? Fortunately for Mr. Kojima’s hygienic well-being, we can confirm that Metal Gear:Ac!d, while being radically different from it’s predeccesors, is a pretty solid addition to the Metal Gear series (No pun intended, by the way).

I’ll admit it, even me, e-Magi’s resident Metal Gear fanboy, was a tad sceptical about ‘Ac!d’ at first. However, after a few gameplay videos and screenshots I began to take interest, noting that MG:A was not a strict card game after all, but more of a Final Fantasy: Tactics style affair, which just happened to use cards instead of a multitude of menus. Eventually I was sold, and went to pick up ‘Ac!d’ as soon as possible. And I was not disappointed.

Ac!d doesn’t follow the actual Metal Gear story, instead taking place in the same alternate timeline that Gameboy Colour title “Metal Gear: Ghost Babel” did. This first becomes evident when two toy dolls hijack an aeroplane. Yup, you heard right. Solid Snake can tackle a giant bi-pedal mech with ease, but when faced with two chucky-esque dolls, cacks himself. We don’t blame him though; the dolls are seriously creepy, and we won’t judge you if you do the same. Don’t let the bizarre and trippy plot put you off though; Ac!d features a twisting, slightly strange story that will compel and intrigue. You play as Solid Snake as he attempts to infiltrate the Lobito Island in an effort to satisfy the hijackers’ needs. Whilst this might seem like your average Metal Gear plot, it frequently strays from the norm, and while intriguing and bizarre, it doesn’t really compare with the epic plotlines of previous titles. This isn’t helped by the fact that there’s no voice acting to move the cut scenes along, forcing the player to either read through paragraphs of text, or to completely skip some scenes altogether.

The game itself flows quite smoothly for a card game; You’re given 6 cards from your customised deck at the start of the mission, each one originating from a previous game. There are countless varieties of cards; Item, weapon and action cards to name a few. Special character cards also make an appearance, treating you to a nostalgic cutscene when used. The game is much more tactical than the action-based titles in the series, regularly placing you in situations where you have to sacrifice a good card and adapt your game plan . However, the flow of the game can be slowed down to a snails pace sometimes, as you wait for your opponent to make their move. While this is a very handy feature, allowing you to see where your opponents are moving, sometimes watching someone who is across the other side of the stage can just get in the way of gameplay. While the rules can take a few stages to fully understand, once you get to grips with it you should find the gameplay extremely satisfying.

Unlike the other Metal Gear games, ‘Ac!d’ is split up into different stages which you can revisit in order to obtain higher scores. This adds to the longevity of the game, as fans of the series will want to unlock every card just to see a finished gallery of pieces from Metal Gear history, either for nostalgia or for pure perfectionism.

The game also makes good use of the PSP’s graphical capabilities, producing a new style totally different from the ‘Solid’ series. The more animé-esque style takes us even further away from ‘Solid’, reminding us that Ac!d is a brand new series all on it’s own, and is here to stay. Although the graphics are clean, the animations can get repetitive, and Snake can sometimes be shot at and not react at all. Overall though the game is extremely nice to look at. Each card is decorated with a different picture, be it art, a render, a sprite or a diagram of Snake doing his thing, which adds a certain something. However, we did find that the camera could have used some work; On levels with many obstacles, such as the Lower Ruins stage, the objects can obscure your view, and make it much harder to plan out your assault.

Even though the game lacks voice-acting for the dialogue, sound bites are regularly uttered by the enemy soldiers, such as the famous “Huh?” when you’re spotted. Sound effects are generally spot-on, and the music is reminiscent of the orginal Metal Gear Solid, and suits the game well. The tunes are also very atmospheric, a good example being the extremely creepy toy dolls’ theme.

Fans looking for a challenge will be pleased to know that Ac!d is a huge game, featuring a multitude of levels and bosses. Enemy A.I also matches the action-based games well, and all of Snake’s moves from previous games are here in some shape or form. The game isn’t easy either, the casual gamer can expect to clock 13+ hours just to complete the game once, never mind going back to unlock all the cards.

There’s also connectivity between Ac!d and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater included in the Japanese and European version, as well as an unlockable Ad-Hoc Wi-Fi multiplayer. Although multiplayer is a nice feature, It doesn’t really match up to the depth of the single player

Pros:

- Tactical Espionage at it’s best; A real thinking man’s game
- Bizarre and compelling plot; It’s the Metal Gear series on acid!
- 200+ cards to collect, each one a piece of Metal Gear history
- Crisp graphics and an amazing art style
- Very atmospheric music
- Tons of depth; Will keep you gaming for ages

Cons:
- Perhaps a little too tactical and slow for some expecting a shrunk down MGS.
- Somewhat repetive animations and static characters
- It’s David Hayter’s day off; Complete lack of voice-overs.

Final Word:
Don’t bother even looking at this if you’re looking for an action-packed Metal Gear game to play on the train. However, if you’re a fan of the series who enjoys tactical strategy games, look no further. 7.5/10

Okay I admit, this title seems very negative but it is justified, I promise! The fact is I love this game… When it’s not being inconsistent. For a start Rockstar Leeds did an amazing job on the PSP port. Essentially, it’s like looking at a slightly lower resolution version of the original and on a screen this small and sharp, often there seems to be no difference at all.

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