A quick story resulting in a quick hack job… LordLeXaT’s PSP
battery broke, and with no money to buy a new one, he turned to his MacGyver box set to determine the best possible route… And the result:

What you see above is a standard Nokia battery (BL-5C) pack used with the original PSP battery control board. So now that all is said and done, LordLeXaT has a longer lasting battery than most of you, or so he says…

“The battery is lighter and has nearly 150% lifetime of the original 1800mAh PSP battery, and by the way, the text of the Nokia battery reads 1020mAh.”

We don’t have a tutorial for you, but for the most part, it seems straightforward. And please, exercise caution should you attempt this battery mod yourself.

Click here to download PSP Games for Free

As Level-5’s PS3 exclusive White Knight Chronicles makes a sturdy, if inconsequential effect on the Japanese software charts, I started wondering about what happened to Level-5’s PSP tactical RPG, Jeanne D’Arc, in the UK. I picked it up at an import shop but didn’t realise, at  the time, that it never found its way to these shores.

This is rather unfortunate. The game generated a positive reception from critics and is visually among the best on the console, but Sony Europe opted out of releasing it in the UK. In all fairness, it would’ve made little to no difference on the UK charts, but still, on a console that is genuinely starved for decent software, even having on the shelves would do something to boost its reputation.

Still, Movietyme is stocking it for £15.99, so it’s not like it’s impossible to get hold of. I hope that Level-5’s next PSP title, the beautiful Ushiro, receives better treatment from Sony.

By the way, Diner Dash, Ape Escape P and Marvel Trading Card Game are available in the UK. Only one of these is from Sony, but still, when this trio of atrocities are available in Game and Jeanne D’Arc is not, the decisions made behind the scenes deserve some level of scrutiny.

Click here to download PSP Games for Free

This Super Mario play was shown in some Japanese show. Those show with those black people carrying those things behind. Continue reading for the video.

Download new Super Mario Game here

It’s fun playing guitar Rock Band or Guitar Hero, even more fun with this WarBeast Wireless PS3 Guitar.

The B.C. Rich custom designed guitar features 2.4Ghz latency free wireless game play, glowing strumbar, custom neck with detailed inlays, detachable faceplates and neck and custom skull fret inlays.

It is going to cost you $90 to get one.

• Compatible with Playstation 2 and Playstation 3
• 2.4GHz wireless technology
• Responsive whammy bar
• Extended strum bar for enhanced comfort
• Removable neck and headstock for portability

Coming up this week in new videogames is EA’s follow up to its well received Skate game. Skate 2 will be available for both the PS3 and Xbox 360. Nintendo gamers on the Wii and DS have SimAnimals to play with, as well as some fireworks with Big Bang Mini (see a trailer on that here). The Sony PSP gets a good RPG release this week with Star Ocean: Second Evolution, which has been getting decent reviews. Check out the game releases below for the week of January 19 to January 23, 2009.

This week’s new videogame releases (1/19/09-1/23/09):
(subject to change)

Xbox 360:
Skate 2

PLAYSTATION 3:
Skate 2

Wii:
SimAnimals
Ultimate Shooting Collection

Nintendo DS:
Big Bang Mini
Inkheart SimAnimals
WonderWorld Amusement Park

Sony PSP:
Star Ocean: Second Evolution

Publisher Square Enix has confirmed that PSP exclusive RPG Star Ocean: Second Evolution will be released in Europe and PAL territories on February 13th.

The Star Ocean series debuted in 1996 on the SNES, with this new PSP version being a remake of PlayStation sequel, Star Ocean: The Second Story. A PSP remake of the SNES original was also released last year.

The game boasts a completely revised game engine, and improved battle system and fully voiced, newly animated scenes in full 16:9 widescreen.

“2009 is set to be a landmark year for the Star Ocean series,” Square Enix president and chief executive officer John Yamamoto stated. “I’m delighted that new fans can continue to experience this classic series with the release of Star Ocean: Second Evolution for PSP.”

There have to date been two other Star Ocean outings – 2001’s Game Boy Colour title Star Ocean: Blue Sphere and PS2 hit Star Ocean: Till the End of Time. A brand new outing for the series, Xbox 360 exclusive Star Ocean: The Last Hope, is due out this year.

Click here to download PSP Games for Free

Mytran Wars is a round-based strategy game where the player researches new technologies and continues to rearm his mecha, thereby fighting battles in wonderful 3D landscapes – against the AI or other human opponents in various multiplayer modes.

It’s the 23rd century: The earth’s natural resources are virtually exhausted and the ruling multinational conglomerates are searching for new raw material deposits in space in order to avert the impending catastrophe. One planet turns out to be a real El Dorado, full of natural resources. But as the human conquerors in their armed mecha encounter the extraterrestrial inhabitants a dreadful war breaks out.

The player researches into new technologies and continues to rearm his mecha in Mytran Wars. Battles are thereby fought in wonderful 3D landscapes – against the merciless AI or other human opponents in various multiplayer modes.

Developed by Stormregion, known for its strategy games such as Rush for Berlin, S.W.I.N.E. and the Codename: Panzers series.

Click here to download PSP Games for Free

Sony are to launch a new range of colors for their PSP-3005, these new carnival colors include “Radiant Red” and “Vibrant Blue.” The new PlayStation Portable colors will only be available in Korea at first, and will cost 228,000, that’s about $173 USD.

The release date for these new colors will be on January 15, 2009, that is next Thursday. Sony hopes that these new colors of “Radiant Red” and “Vibrant Blue will be enough to tempt consumers in to parting with some money.

It is not known if the rest of the world will see these new colors, not sure if they will want them either. PSP fans are not interested in new colors. What they are hoping for is a totally new PSP, so Sony had better think again, gamers will not be fooled into a few color changes.

Click here to download PSP Games for Free

It used to be that schoolyard rivalry between the two handhelds meant that PSP owners were obligated to look down their noses at games developed exclusively for the Nintendo DS. But with a massive software drought currently affecting our (arguably superior) handheld, we’re not afraid to admit it anymore: the DS has some great games. Here are five titles that we secretly play at night under the covers with a flashlight. Please don’t tell the headmaster.

1. The World Ends With You
The runaway success of Castle Crashers on XBLA in 2008 showed that the beat-em-up genre is due for a revival. Square Enix took a cue from the brawler genre and mixed it up with some RPG elements in this creative DS exclusive. The World Ends With You takes players on a gothic tour de force of the Shibuya district in Japan, as players must balance their taste for fashion with the need to unleash whoopass on mythical creatures from the netherworld.

2. Dragon Quest Series
The Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior) games are some of the most beloved RPGs in Japan. The series is not officially tied to Nintendo, but their handheld seems to have locked down the series lately with its retro ports and the upcoming Dragon Quest IX. The PSP already has a load of great JRPGs to choose from, notably the first Final Fantasy remakes, but another massive series would be more than welcome on the Sony handheld. The thought of an action-oriented Dragon Quest remake in the same vein as Crisis Core has us practically fainting from loss of blood to the head.

3. GTA: Chinatown Wars
Before GTA III put the violent crime simulator on the map with its open-world gameplay, the series existed in a more humble but no less amazing form. The old 2D Grand Theft Auto games were great in their arcade simplicity and colorful, arcade sensibilities. Rockstar appears to have gone back to its roots with the upcoming Chinatown Wars on the DS. This game uses a cell-shaded top-down perspective to handle action on the top screen, while touch controls are used to manage inventory and map the surroundings. With the recent story-driven direction that the franchise has taken, it is nice to see Rockstar try something different. If everything goes well we would definitely like to see this game come to the PSP, and we remind Rockstar that so far its GTA ports have been the biggest-selling titles ever released on the system.

4. Guitar Hero World Tour
Like an enthusiastic groupie, there doesn’t seem to be any system on the tour bus that Guitar Hero
hasn’t hooked up with: we can rock out with our plastic peripherals on the PS2, PS3, Xbox 360 and even the DS, thanks to a very well-conceived accessory that plugs into the GBA slot and emulates the colored buttons on a regular guitar. For a handheld port, the DS game is pretty amazing – it even comes with a special stylus pick to take full advantage of the touch screen. There is no reason why something this cool doesn’t exist yet for the PSP, and we want it. In fact, we are willing to stake our reputations on the fact that the companies involved already have an early prototype in their possession, but have decided not to release the title on the PSP for their own nefarious reasons.


5. Professor Layton
This game is like crack. Seriously. One part point-and-click adventure game, one part anime, and all puzzle game, Professor Layton is another quirky hybrid that has met with incredible success on the DS. In fact it is so awesome that it even picked up a coveted Spike TV award for best handheld game of 2008. There is little reason why the series couldn’t easily be ported to the PSP. Sure, some puzzles make good use of the touch screen, but in many cases this could be replaced with analog stick controls. What’s even more annoying is that the developer, Level 5, has already created some of the best titles currently available on the PSP.

Sure, it seems unlikely that any of these great Nintendo DS games will ever make it over to our handheld. But we guarantee that in an alternate universe, where the PSP enjoys a slightly stronger following outside of Japan, some or all of these games would be headed to the device.

Click here to download PSP Games for Free

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has come and gone, and hardware manufacturers from around the world have shown us some amazing new technology. Video games featured heavily at this year’s show, and Sony made some very interesting announcements at the event. Here is a run down of all of the Sony-related news that came out of the convention.

3D TV
“What is the Matrix?” you ask. Well the answer is out there, and Sony’s bringing it to you. Virtual reality has been a mainstay of sci-fi movies for decades and now with the announcement of Sony’s 3D technology, expect the virtual to become reality sooner than you think. Last week at the 2009 CES, Sony unveiled its new line of 4K projectors and HD cameras and invited attendees to a broadcast of 3D video of the FedEx Orange Bowl and BCS National Championship Game. Sony trumped up 3D as a revolutionary cinematic event alongside the advent of sound and color. What all this innovation translates to is Sony’s vision of bringing 3D television to households in the near future — a business plan that might culminate in 3D gaming.

CES attendees glimpsed a bit of what the future holds when they were treated to video of a three-dimensional Gran Turismo tech demo, rendered in stereoscopic RealD 3D graphics. Users wearing a pair of 3D glasses could see cars visually popping out of the screen. But Sony’s show floor representatives were quick to point out that this is not an actual game. There’s no denying, though, that Sony is hard at work trying to bring this technology to our televisions and consoles, especially when you consider their recent patent of a 3D controller that responds to hand motion and pressure. Right now, 3D TV technology only exists as a proof of concept, but nonetheless has gamers everywhere getting their Keanu on and gasping, “Whoa!”

PSN
During their CES keynote, Sony boasted 17 million registered users on PSN, 2 million users on Life with Playstation, and 330 million pieces of content downloaded through PSN.

Psst… don’t tell Microsoft but I saw Sony and MTV making out on The Hills. And you can see it too when MTV uploads its 2000 hours of hot and heavy programming on the PSN.

HOME
Don’t look now but EA wants in on the action too. EA wants you to bring it back Home — EA Sports Home, that is. The games company giant is reserving a Home space for all users to visit. Come Spring, their sports arena complex will allow you to race go-karts to your heart’s content, with up to four players head-to-head. But wait! There’s more — Golfing, anyone? And how’s your poker face? Add in clothing prizes and stuff for your Home apartment, and we got a winner. Hallelujah! Finally, a reason to login to Home!

Here’s your front row tickets to the EA Sports Arena Complex

Click here to download PSP Games for Free