Orbid v2 Review

Orbid is yet another entry into the NeoFlash Competition. Orbid, developed by Slasher, is similar to flOw. Fly your orb around eating orange orbs and avoid being eaten by other types of orbs/enemies. There are 5 game modes to choose from: normal, survival, time, mine, and dodge. There is a multiplayer option but it requires you to set up a server.

Orbid has a very pixelated look to it. It doesn't look bad just different. The controls are hard to get used to. Your orb maneuvers like a 18 wheeler: starts slow and turns slow. Turning sharp cuts your speed considerably. The A.I. for the orange orbs is o.k. but they are easily caught. The A.I. for some of the enemies is better and they can be somewhat difficult to avoid. I enjoyed the game for little while. It becomes monotonous after extended periods of time. The speed of your orb is the biggest problem. You are always wanting to go faster and turn sharper.

I think that Orbid is a game that everyone should try but expect a slow, laid-back, leisurely type of game play.

PSP Maps v0.6 Review

Here is another entry into the NeoFlash Competition: PSP Maps v0.6 by royale. Think of PSP Maps as a hybrid of Yahoo maps and Google maps that you can use on your PSP. You will start off by connecting to your preferred wireless access point. Then enter an address and PSP Maps will find it and zoom in or just use the analog or directional pad to move around and shoulder buttons to zoom in and out. The complete list of controls are:

• Digital pad: move the map.
• Analog pad: move the map smoothly.
• R button: zoom in.
• L button: zoom out.
• X button: next view type.
• [] button: previous view type.
• /\ button: enter an address.
• O button: show/hide crosshairs.
• Start: menu.

PSP Maps allows you to adjust the size of your cache so that you can store a large area of maps. This allows you to use it when you are away from your wifi. It also allows you to save your favorite location so that you don't have to enter the address every time.

There are 8 "view types" available that I have found. They are:

• Google Maps/Maps
• Google Maps/Satellite
• Google Maps/Terrain
• Virtual Earth/Road
• Virtual Earth/Aerial
• Virtual Earth/Hybrid
• Yahoo Maps/Map
• Yahoo Maps/Satellite

(Version 0.7, just released, adds Hybrid view to Google and Yahoo, and Hill view to Virtual Earth; also added is a Window's version)

PSP Maps has the "Wow" factor. When you start using this app it will blow you away. The map images are stunning and navigation is easy and intuitive. With almost every new move you make to the map the app has to load new images. This is only a slight annoyance because the load times are very short. I was able to move from Columbus, Ohio to Antarctica to Hawaii in a very short amount of time. A nice feature is the adjustable cache, allowing for offline use. I tried it out and found that it works surprisingly well. The size of the maps saved would be a very useful alternative to having a GPS unit in your car, assuming you aren't planning any cross-country road trips. If I were judging the NeoFlash contest (which I'm not), this would be my hands down favorite app. PSP Maps should be on your memory stick. I am adding this to my Best Homebrew list. Amazing work, royale.

Bumper Harvest v1.1 Review

Bumper Harvest is Kagato's entry into the NeoFlash Spring Coding Competition. Think of Bumper Harvest as a game of bumper pool but your "cue ball" is always shot from the same starting point. The primary object of the game is to bounce the ball off of the red bumpers to remove them from the playing field and advance to the next level. Bounce the ball off of the blue bumpers to increase your score; green bumpers to gain targeting guides; and yellow bumpers to gain extra balls (with enough points). There are also larger "red star" active bumpers and grey fixed bumpers which can help or hinder your progress. After you have gained the targeting guides, pressing the right shoulder button will give you a line along which the ball will travel. The ball will bounce its way to the bottom. If you are good (or just lucky) the ball will be caught by a moving grey object and saved, otherwise it will explode into flames and you have one less ball.

Over the past several days I have played this game more than any other. Controls are simple and intuitive. The ball bounces and moves the way you would expect. Game play is addictive and fun. Trying to get extra balls and targeting guides is a challenge but entertaining. The graphics are clean and nice. Sound effects go along with the game well and don't seem to get annoying. I do have a couple of problems with Bumper Harvest. The ball moves way too slow. After you shoot the ball, it seems to take a long time for the session to complete. I really hope that Kagato speeds things up in the next version. A second issue I have with the game is the graphic for the targeting guide. The green line which shows your trajectory isn't as clean as the rest of the visuals. It seems out of place since everything else looks polished.

Definitely give this game a try. It may be a little slow but it is fun. Well done, Kagato.

Nikwi Deluxe Review

Nikwi Deluxe is a platformer game in which you are a boy collecting candy. You jump around grabbing candy avoiding the enemies. The enemies vary but for the most part don't let the birds poop on you.

This may be the first game that Deniska has ported that I don't like. Deniska entered this port into the NeoFlash Competition. The controls aren't very good. I would press the directional pad left or right and often the boy wouldn't move. This is a problem in later levels when there are numerous birds dropping poop on your head (what is that about?). The audio and graphics aren't bad but nothing special.

Basically the game isn't that much fun. I wish Deniska had found a solution to the memory problem in Metal Blob Solid. That game would have easily won the contest, imho.

Bugz Review

Bugz is a homebrew game, developed by InsertWittyName (IWN) and entered into the NeoFlash Spring Competition. The object of the game is to "pop" bugs. Move your cursor to a point on the screen and press X. This will create a circle which will pop the bugs which come into contact with it. Those bugs pop creating more circles and popping more bugs. Create chain reactions of popping bugs until you reach the necessary number of dead bugs so you can move to the next level.

IWN has come up with a very professional looking game with Bugz. It is addictive and includes some nice features like game share, online highscore board, play your own MP3s while playing, autosave, and it uses the official load and save features of the PSP. Here is a video of the game in action:



I have two small issues with Bugz. First, you must disable all plugins before playing. The game locked-up on me several times while I was trying to get screen captures for this post. This isn't a major issue, just a minor annoyance which IWN informs you of in the readme file. Second, the game automatically plays MP3s from your MUSIC folder. I would rather have an option. Let me choose to play my music or in game music. I really like the banjo music IWN has created for the game. Give me the option to listen to it.

Definitely give Bugz a try. It is very high quality homebrew.

DOW! 0.2 Develop on the go Review

Dow! 0.2 is a PSP app that allows you to write Lua scripts on your PSP. This entry in the NeoFlash Competition includes a text editor with on-screen keyboard (OSK) and lua code snippets. There are extra menu keys which can be assigned to your own presets or functions. Dow! allows you to save and load files for future use.

This app works quite well. There are obvious limitations to developing homebrew on the PSP; the lack of keyboard is the foremost. I and many others have requested that Bumuckl (developer) add IR keyboard support and he said he would look into it. The OSK works well within its limits. The code snippets and extra menu keys are a nice addition. Another suggestion I have (if it is even possible) is to include/embed the Lua player so that you aren't forced to exit Dow! each time you want to run your newly written scripts.

If you are looking for a way to develop homebrew in Lua while out and about then Dow! 0.2 is a fine solution.

Metal Blob Solid v1.04 Review (Port by Deniska)

Metal Blob Solid (Blob Wars: Episode 1) is a new port from Deniska. This game puts you in charge of Bob. Think of Bob as the Rambo of smilies. Metal blob is a platformer where you kill a lot, and I mean A LOT of other blobs. These enemy blobs are aliens out for world domination. Will you help save blob-kind?

MBS has many types of weapons to choose from: grenades, laser cannons, machine guns, etc. These weapons are dropped by the enemies you kill, along with cherries (health power-ups) and small red and yellow orbs which give you points. There are many kinds of terrains as well: land, water,ice, lava, green toxic waste, etc. which you will have to navigate to save the MIAs and collect keys and cards which unlock different areas. Be careful while around lava and the green toxic waste because one slip and it is instant death. The water is also dangerous because you have a limited supply of air which is displayed at the top of the screen between your health and current weapon.

MBS is an excellent and very deep game. There are over 25 missions. The levels are quite large and have many areas and objectives. The high number of MIAs and optional objectives means that you may want to replay each level to save/achieve each and every one. The graphics are quite good, as is the music, and sound effects. The particle effects for blood splatter and explosions are excellent. This game may look cute until you see the first spray of blood. The controls work well and the physics feel right. The only time the physics defy belief is when you are crawling across the ceiling or climbing walls; yes, Bob can do these things.

As always Deniska has done an expert job of porting this game over to the PSP. There is one problem that must be mentioned though: Deniska warns of an "Out of Memory" error in his release post. He tells me that this flaw is due to a memory leak in the PSP-SDL implementation and will take some time to sort out. I have gotten the OoM error many times. I had to replay the third level four times to get past it due to this error. Deniska is a pro and I have faith that he will resolve this issue. I have found no other problems with this port and continue to play it. I only play one level at a time and then let it auto-save and exit the game. I then restart the game to clear the memory for the next level.

If you enjoy platformers then this is the game for you. Just be aware that it is not completely bug free and you may have to play a level more than once due to errors. Can't wait for the next version.

Here is an online manual for the game and here is the wiki.

Here are a bunch of screen shots:

World Map:


Level Map:


Mission Cleared:


Blood and guts:


MIAs:


MIA escape:


More blood and guts:


Under water:


Lava and explosions:


Green toxic waste:

Tetriabetes v1.43 Review

Tetriabetes is a Tetris clone. If you don't know what Tetris is then I'll explain what it is but you also need to crawl out from under that rock you've been under for the past 10 years. Tetris is a puzzle game in which you try to position differently shaped blocks, which fall from the top of the screen, to create rows. These rows then disappear and you continue to place the blocks until your stack reaches the top and you lose.

Tetriabetes v1.43 is far and beyond the best Tetris clone I have played on the PSP. Dragula96 has done a fine job of recreating the Tetris experience with accurate controls and block movements. An added feature is a "ghost" block which shows you where you are going to place the real block. Dragula96 had some help from littlevish in creating very nice graphics. The game music is a little hardcore but I like metal and it seems to go along with the game quite well. The only suggestion I have would be to make the "ghost" block more transparent because when things get frantic sometimes I get focused on the "ghost" and don't realize that it isn't the real block and misplace the real block. Maybe that's just my own problem, but it would be easier to distinguish between the two if the "ghost" looked less like the real block. If you enjoy Tetris then you'll be very happy with Tetriabetes. Well done Dragula96.

Puzzle Challenge v2.0 Review

Puzzle Challenge v2.0 is a puzzle game similar to Tetris Attack. The object of the game is to move the blocks into columns or rows of 3 or more (let's call these "bars"). When you create a "bar", by interchanging the blocks inside the brackets, those blocks are removed from the screen. Creating multiple "bars" at the same time will place additional blocks on your opponents screen. If a "bar" of 4 or more blocks is created this will also add additional blocks to your opponents screen. The blocks that are added to your opponents screen can be seen in the screen shots below as chains and ice(?). These blocks will transform into the smaller colored blocks when a "bar" is created which is touching the chains/ice. The Pixelated Poo (developer) has included two opponent modes: play against the PSP or play against another human via adhoc. I didn't test the adhoc mode but the PSP mode seems solid.

Puzzle Challenge is quite addictive. The game play is fun and seems bug free. The graphics are o.k. but the music is not. The music is the only major flaw I could find with the game. I wonder if The Pixelated Poo wanted the music to make you feel anxious. This is the only reason I can find to include background music that is this annoying. With that said, I have played this game more than any other homebrew game for the past several weeks. This is such a good puzzle game it more than makes up for the bad music. You should definitely give this one a try. I was addicted after only a few plays.

I would consider putting this on my "Best Homebrew" list if there were better graphics and much better music.

Squarez 0.8.1 Retro Review

For some of you this game will be old news. Squarez has been out for a few years but I suspect that the many of us have heard about it but never played it. This is due to the fact that it was last updated in 2005 and required a "fix" to work on later custom firmwares. Well, I found a fixed version for 3.10 oe-a (I think) and KXploited it to work on the 1.5 kernel. Globware is the original developer of Squarez. I take no credit in its development. I will provide these downloads [FileAvenue <<(right click and "Save as ...") or BigUpload Mirror] of the game files as long as Globware has no objection. The readme files included with the download are the unaltered originals so be aware that they are not up to date. Leave comments if you have any problems with the download or files. On with the review...

Squarez 0.8.1 is an action game where you play as a blue square trying to avoid and at times kill the red squares while collecting the green squares. There are many power-ups which allow you smash the red squares, drop grenades, add grenades, slow down the red squares, etc. Most of these power-ups have a time limit so you have to be quick on your feet. There are several different game modes which you can try: classic, arcade, survival, bomber, custom, and timed. You can customize the look of the game by adding themes found at Globware's website. Here is what Squarez looks like:









This game is addictive and frustrating. There are games which are hard and make you want to throw your PSP across the room. Squarez isn't one of those, it frustrates in a way which makes you want to play again and again. The graphics are clean and simple and pleasing to the eye. The controls work the way you would expect and respond the way to you want them to. With that said there will be many times where you think you are going to miss that red square and don't, this means instant death and start over. This is going to be your fault not the game's. That is what makes you want to play over and over.

If there is one flaw with this game it has to be the music. It gets a little annoying and repetitive after you spend so much time playing. And believe me you will spend a lot of time playing this game, it is that good. I will definitely be adding this to my Best Homebrew list.

PSP-HUD version 1.31 Review

PSP-HUD v1.31 was created by Darko for 3.80 M33-4 and is a "Heads-Up Display" plugin showing cpu speed, battery life percentage remaining, and the current time. You install it in the "seplugins" folder and enable in the recovery menu like all other plugins. Here is the readme file which has all the details:

=====================================
PSP-HUD v1.31 - January, 18th 2008.
=====================================

This is a plugin for PSP CWF 3.80M33-4 (update 4 is required) that displays some basic info on screen:
- CPU speed and CPU usage
- BUS speed
- battery status (percent and time left)
- local time

Installation:
-------------
Put hud.prx and hud.lang in seplugins directory on your PSP memory stick
and append ms0:/seplugins/hud.prx to vsh.txt and game.txt files.

Usage:
------
Default configuration is to show CPU speed, battery percent left and local time in bottom right corner.
Default button setup is:
- NOTE+LTRIG to access configuration menu.
- NOTE+RTRIG to turn HUD completely ON/OFF.
When you exit menu configuration will be automatically saved in ms0:/seplugins/hud.cfg
If button configuration is changed and you can't enter menu anymore (or can't rembember) delete hud.cfg and restart PSP.

Known problems:
---------------
Display is not perfect and is usualy best shown in bottom left or right corners but it really depends on program or game running.


Version History:
----------------

January, 18th 2008. v1.31
-------------------------
- updated for 3.80M33-4 (actually droped previously used NIDs for 3.71 and now using NIDs from pspsdk)
- new translations: german (two translations), dutch, italian, spanish, polish and turkish

I won't be accepting any more translations and I'm planing to drop translations for future versions (it's easier for me).

January, 10th 2008. v1.3
------------------------
- added language menu option
- added serbian and french language (thanks to Mizou93 for french translation)

January, 7th 2008. v1.22
------------------------
- fixed cpu usage display

January, 6th 2008. v1.21
------------------------
- slightly improved display

January, 5th 2008. v1.2
-----------------------
- buttons for menu and HUD are configurable within configuration menu
- add custom alignment (adjust with analog)

January, 4th 2008. v1.1
-----------------------
- added cpu usage and bus speed
- menu is now accessed with NOTE+LTRIG
- toggle HUD with NOTE+RTRIG
- redesigned menu selection (looks nice now)

January, 4th 2008. v1.0
-----------------------
- initial version

You can see the HUD in the lower right corner of this screen shot. I play games for review in short spurts because I have limited time. I often wonder what time it is but while in game you can't see the time or battery life left so this plugin comes in very handy.



I haven't had any comflicts with games, apps, or other plugins so I feel confident recommending PSP-HUD. It works well, does what is supposed to do, and takes up very little screen space. Well done Darko.

RS-GUI PopstationMD Version 3.0 Review

As you may have read in my previous post I thought that Red Squirrel's RS-GUI was o.k. but had some problems. Well, Red Squirrel has made a major update/improvement with the release of RS-GUI PopstationMD v3.0. Wow, this gui is your one stop shop for single and multiple disk PSX game conversion to PSP eboot. Here is the long list of features (the most important items are in green):

-Added Turkish, Norwegian, Dutch, Polish and Greek translations!
-Added popstation.exe support, now 1CD PSX games can be converted too! Only one program to convert ALL PSX Games!
-Thanks to Brisma, no BASE.PBP or KEYS.BIN is required by popstation.exe
-Added the zero compression level for 1CD PSX games
-Added a Splash Screen with a security check for the presence of program's necessary files
-Possibility to disable and re-enable aforesaid Splash Screen
-Added support for NRG and MDF CD images. Now program read these following formats: ISO, NRG, IMG, BIN and MDF!
-Now popstation.exe and popstation_md.exe will ask user to press any key before closing them, so users can understand what is the error which does not allow the eboot creation (if it exists!).
-Added a list of games titles-codes
-Possibility to search for a game title quickly from the listbox
-Auto-recognition of Game-ID from its title
-Added a security check for Game-ID correctness
-Added a "real time" preview of eboot personalization
-Possibility to enable/disable aforesaid real time preview
-Added the possibility to insert any image as PIC0, PIC1 and ICON0! All formats and sizes are accepted! Program will resize and covert images automatically
-Added the possibility to choose the output folder name (Noone, Game Title and Game Code)
-Added a check for the true existence of selected image
-Added the docmaker!
-Possibility to create a DOCUMENT.DAT standard alone or with the eboot itself
-Possibility to insert any image to DOCUMENT.DAT, program will resize and convert images automatically (so all formats and sizes are accepted!)
-Possibility to add, remove or clean the images list added to docmaker
-If DOCUMENT.DAT will be created together the eboot, it will created in the same folder of the eboot
-Many v2.0b bugs fixed
-Something other that I don't remember at the moment
(This was taken from Red Squirrel's release post)

I have used v3.0 to convert several multi-disk PSX games and they all play as expected. I would like to see the dev make the gui look a little more professional but that is personal preference and has nothing to do with how well the gui works. Here are some screenshots:







RS-GUI 3.0 definitely makes it easier to use DAX's popstations (single and multi-disk) and customize your eboots. I included images which were the wrong size for icon0 and pic1 and, as claimed, it resized them to the correct size. In my opinion, including the game title/code list was essential. The one major drawback for many people will be the installation of the .NET frameworks. I already had them installed but I know many people consider them bloat.

I recommend using RS-GUI 3.0 above other gui's that have come out recently because of it's feature set and ease of use. Well done Red Squirrel.

OpenTyrian: The Review (UPDATE #4)

If you are looking for some background/history/info on Tyrian here are some links:
Tyrian Wiki, Tyrian Fansite, Tyrian Repository.

I played Tyrian a couple of times many years ago. OpenTyrian brings back memories of fast game play, beautiful graphics, and a never ending onslaught of enemies. This review is about the porting of the game not the game itself so I won't be reviewing the game play but the adaptation of the game to play on the PSP. I will say that the game play is addictive and fun. A great game.

OpenTyrian was ported to the PSP by Deniska, best known for Mapthis! GPS app for PSP. I never have high hopes when someone takes a program, app, game, etc. and adapts it to work on hardware it wasn't originally developed for. The outcome is usually disappointing because it was never meant to be used that way. When I think of PSP homebrew ports that work well, Cave Story is the only one that comes to mind. The Cave Story port is perfect, at no time do you realize that this wasn't originally made to work on the PSP.

OpenTyrian isn't there yet, but it's close. I am pleasantly surprised by how well the game plays on the PSP. While in the middle of destroying hundreds of enemies there are very few hints that this wasn't originally meant to play on the PSP. OpenTyrian has two game modes: Arcade and Full versions.

During the arcade campaign the PSP seems to slow down a little when the action gets hot and heavy. This slow down is very slight and does not hinder the game play but it is noticeable.

Now let's get to where I think the OpenTyrian port has a major flaw. While playing the full version you will notice that there are no power-ups like in the arcade version. Upgrades to you ship are made be purchasing better guns and shields with money/points. So if there are no power-ups what do you collect as you play the game? Data. This data is basically how the story of Tyrian is told through the game. The arcade version has cut-scenes between missions to fill you in on what is happening but the full version's story is found in the menu. The full version's data problem is that you can't get the whole story. The text runs off the page and there seems to be no assigned button to scroll the text. This makes it very difficult to follow the story when you only get half the information.

Another flaw, which is more of an annoyance, is that navigating through the menus is quite difficult. Moving through the menu is done with the directional pad (up and down). The problem is that you will constantly go past the item you want. The pad should be pressed each individual time you want to move to a new choice. Currently pressing the pad will highlight the next item, then the next, and so on, with a constant scroll. Believe me, you will go past the item you want several times before landing on the correct one.

If you are only into the game play, and not interested in the story at all, then OpenTyrian is an excellent port for the PSP. The controls respond as you would expect and the only in game problem I found was the slight slow down when there is a ton of enemies and bullets on the screen. Well done Deniska, thanks for all the hard work. I hope that since this is version 0.5 we can expect a solution to these couple of problems I mentioned.

(My first impressions post on this game has download links and some other useful information.)

UPDATE (12/07/07):
Deniska has put out a new version. OpenTyrian v0.6 is a bug fix. All of the bugs I have mentioned have been addressed. Whether they have been fixed is another story. I'll let you know.

UPDATE2 (12/09/07):
Well as far as I can see Deniska has addressed and fixed all the issues I mentioned above. Here is a link to the full KXploited eboot for Deniska's OpenTyrian v06 port. I have nothing but praise for Deniska and the port of Tyrian to the PSP. This is a memory stick "must have". One thing I forgot to mention above and is an issue/problem for me is that currently OpenTyrian isn't able to save games. Since you have to start at the beginning everytime, it can get a little mundane. Since Deniska fixed the bugs listed above in such a timely manner I expect that the "save game" issue will be cured soon too. I will be adding this to my Best Homebrew list soon.

UPDATE3 (2/01/08):
As you will see from the comments, Deniska has released version 1.0 with improvements/fixes. I will find time to play it soon and edit this update with what's new.

UPDATE4 (2/10/08):
I found the time. Deniska has definitely did OpenTyrian right with the latest versions. Version 1.0 has none of the flaws I listed above and I can say it is very close to perfect.







The last major issue I had with OpenTyrian was the fact that you could not save your progress in the "full game". Deniska has granted my wish, back in version 0.7, and now I will be able to slowly but surely reach the end of the game. As you can see from the screen shots above game saves are possible. Unless you read the readme file included with the download you may miss the reference to the OSK (on screen keyboard). I would like to thank Deniska for this addition. I will admit that the OSK is a little buggy. I'll save all of you the trouble of figuring it out:

• In the menu, go to Options.
• Select Save.
• Select an "Empty Slot" and a pop-up screen appears.
• Press the right trigger/shoulder button and there is the OSK.
• Press up and down to select a letter. The readme file says to press the right shoulder button again, this is supposed to transfer your letter back to the pop-up screen. Sometimes it will transfer the letter, I have gone back and forth several times without the transfer taking place. I found that if you select your letter, then press square, then press the right shoulder button, the transfer rarely fails. I'm sure this isn't supposed to work but it does. Deniska will probably fix this soon, not many bugs last long around him.
• Continue to select letters with the OSK and eventually you'll have the name for your game save. See screenshot above. Mine is jackal, go figure.
• To load a game, select Options in the menu, hit Load and choose which game save you want to play.
  

The only thing left for Deniska to do is provide all of us with the holy grail of homebrew: Infrastructure play via the network option. I won't hold my breath expecting Deniska to provide us with servers to play on but it would be nice.

Deniska, thanks for all the hard work.