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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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UK Developer confident Sony handheld can maintain consumer interest

Speaking to Develop, Climax’s head of development Simon Gardner has explained why he thinks the PSP is still viable as a commercially successful, powerful and popular platform.

“We are having a lot of success working on Wii and PSP,” said Gardner, “and have invested a lot of effort in wringing out the maximum performance from the systems.

“There seems to be reluctance from some developers, especially internal teams, to support these formats. With the experience and tools we’ve now developed, we are finding them very rewarding and the quality of the games we’re making speaks for itself.”

Gardner, who believes the PSP is powerful system, also claimed: “It’s still a capable platform, with the right brand and wide-ranging capabilities.

If Sony continues to support it and invest in applications for it, then it can probably retain the consumers’ interest.”

Climax, which has reorganised internally to focus on quality and critical acclaim, has also expressed a desire to move towards development for PSN and XBLA, while continuing to create games for the major console platforms.

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So, we’re back. You may not have ever realised we ever left thanks to our hard work pre-Christmas, but finally all the bit-tech.net staff are snug in their office chairs after an exhausting Christmas break.

We’re back and ready for more; more games, more tech and more ’splosions than ever.

2008 was a mixed year for gamers and while 2007 was undoubtedly one of the best years in gaming that anyone can remember, 2008 didn’t quite manage to top it. There were some gaming highlights to be sure, but for every Braid or Left 4 Dead there was a disappointment to counter it.

Still, at least there was plenty of cheesecake. It wasn’t all bad.

Our hope remains however that 2009 will prove a better, more exciting year for gaming – one not mired in DRM worries and console exclusives. Who knows, with a host of innovative titles on the horizon and an increasingly popular indie scene 2009 may manage to top even 2008.

That said, we know that bit-tech.net readers are busy people who can’t possibly find the time to play all major releases this year. That’s why we’re here; to help you choose. Over the next few pages we take a look at some of the most promising titles of 2009 (and some of the most unlikely to be released) to give you a headstart in your gaming for this year. If there’s something you think we might have missed or glossed over then be sure to let us know in the forums.

Mafia 2

Platform: PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Publisher:
2K Games
Expected release: Q3 2009

Almost nothing has us more excited this year than the open-world gangster sequel to Illusion Softworks’ classic game The City of Lost Heaven. Well, nothing except for the release of Ron Gilbert’s Deathspank anyway, but that’s mainly because it sounds like a cool secret move in Street Fighter: Gimp Edition.

Mafia 2 starts simply enough, with players controlling a Sicilian immigrant called Vito Scaletta, who returns to the fictional Empire city (an amalgam of San Francisco and New York) after the close of World War II. Vito, who had only joined with the army in an effort avoid prison, is down on his luck and utterly penniless.

Then, as you can probably guess, Vito begins his slow and inevitable struggle from lowly schmuck to widely respected Don of his own mafia outfit. Moving from local menace to made man is no easy transition though and you’ll have to painfully work your way up from petty robberies and the like, right up to elaborate bank heists. You know, like you’ve seen in the movies and stuff.

What really bowls us over about Mafia 2 though is the extremely detailed open world and total freedom which is graciously handed to players right at the very start of things. That’s something a lot of games, most notably the Grand Theft Auto series, can claim to have – but not many of them base it all in a gorgeous realised 1950s setting.

With a multi-faction gang war going in throughout the huge and an arsenal of period weapons and vehicles for that war to be waged with, Mafia 2 is looking to be a game we just can’t refuse.

Click here to download “Mafia 2″ for Free

The third iteration of MLB: The Show is a charm for the PlayStation Portable. Kudos to Sony for not tinkering around with something that already works – there isn’t a whole lot of new in MLB 08 when compared to last year’s game in terms of action based gameplay.

The graphics look the same, the play by play is somewhat better, but there are still a few hiccups. Fielding on the small screen is definitely not as easy as it is on the PlayStation 3: balls that are hit up the middle always go right through the pitcher, for example. The only other disappointment is there’s no ’strength’ meter when throwing the ball to another infielder, so unlike on the PS3 version where you can tell if you’re putting too much behind the ball, you’re basically on your own here. The batting has been enhanced in season mode with what’s called “progressive batting performance,” which allows for streaks and slumps to enhance or detract from a batter at the plate. So if you’re in a 0-for-9 slump, this will affect your next plate appearance.

The batting model hasn’t changed since last year, you use the right bumper to guess pitch (buttons for pitch type, stick for location) and swing away using the x button or square for power swing. The batting zones have changed somewhat – and if you don’t like them you can revert back to the ‘classic’ zone batting. Pitching mechanics are still well done; timing is everything using a pitch meter but it works fine even on a handheld.

Actual gameplay is very good (although not much different than last year), using a set of custom sliders downloaded in-game. The default sliders are very playable, and you can adjust everything to your liking; you can create your own players too. If you’d rather not wait for the next roster update, you can manually move players over to correct teams, which is a very nice feature.

Road to the Show Mode is also included in the hand held version. This RPG-esque mode centers on your personal baseball career. You’ll have to achieve certain goals to earn ability points; the goals can be frustratingly random: after going 3-for-3 in one game, my fourth at bat required me to get a hit because we needed a runner on. Hey, manager, I already got three hits, what’s your problem? While it’s fun to play in the minor leagues in RTTS, it’s a little disconcerting playing as the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in a “home” stadium in a desert. Here’s hoping SCEA can fit in more minor league stadiums next year. If you’re not a fan of playing, you can select the manage-only mode and the computer is a formidable opponent at the default difficulty level.

The best new feature is the ability to have in-game saves while in season mode. There was nothing more frustrating when things were getting good in the game while you’re in the restroom and someone is banging on the door because they have to use it. Before you had to leave on your PSP and hoped the battery didn’t die out; now you can save and shut off your system until a better time arrives to finish your game. This feature should be required on all sports games!

The online features for the PSP version of the Show are similar to the PS3 version, and that’s very impressive. Unfortunately you do have to have a separate login for the PSP version so you can’t combine your PS3 and PSP records but pretty much all the other online features are here – even leagues! The game has already been supported with roster updates and SCEA seems to really stand behind their games, even posting on their community forums (which are also accessible directly through the PSP). Online games do have their share of lag but the games are overall easily playable, much more so than say MLB 2K8 on the consoles. The thought of playing a full online league on a handheld isn’t entirely appealing compared to a console game, but it’s nice to have that feature available.

While the audio is still very good, there is some repetition of the announcers (especially when you swing at a bad pitch) and the same audio gripes that were with the PS3 version apply here: you can import your own music for the menu screens but you cannot select your own songs as player entrance music, which begs the question why bother with custom soundtracks if you can’t use them?

Quibbles aside, MLB 08 The Show packs quite a bit into this smaller platform and it makes a great companion to the console counterpart and is easily the best handheld baseball game on the market.

Download MLB 08 The Show for Free

With nearly a full year of of game releases ahead, Gamasutra is picking out noteworthy titles due in 2009 for each home and handheld platform. Looking at the PlayStation Portable’s slate, we’ve previewed 15 standout titles, from Japanese RPGs like Phantasy Star Portable to quirky releases such as Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero?

With nearly a full year of of game releases ahead, Gamasutra is picking out noteworthy titles due in 2009 for each home and handheld platform, this time for Sony’s PlayStation Portable.

Though most developers seem to have shifted their handheld focus to the Nintendo DS (and the iPhone, to some extent) — with some even abandoning PSP development altogether — several major Eastern studios still plan strong support for the system in 2009, most notably Capcom and Square Enix.

We’ve previewed 15 standout titles coming to the PSP in 2009, from an array of Japanese RPGs to returning first-party favorites.

DJ Max Portable Fever | Download
Release Date: January 27th
Developer: Pentavision
Publisher: PM Studios

After several PSP releases restricted to Asia, this Korean rhythm game series will finally debut in the states with five difficulty levels, goal-based challenges, a Network Battle Mode, and over 100 catchy music tracks collected from DJ Max Portable and DJ Max Portable 2.

In this Bemani-style title, players tap their directional pad and buttons in time with falling bricks, each correctly timed tap playing an instrument along with the song. Each track is accompanied by stylish background animations, usually featuring anime characters.

Final Fantasy Agito XIII | Download
Release Date: No date announced for U.S. (2009 in Japan)
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix

Originally planned as a mobile title and designed as a handheld supplement to the FFXIII and FF Versus XIII games, Final Fantasy Agito XIII shares the same themes and mythos around which the other FFXIII games are centered.

The RPG follows a group of magic academy students as they defend their kingdom Orience, whose military has been obliterated, against an invading army. Combat in the game uses a modified version of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII’s Active Time Battle system, allowing players to control three characters and summon legendary creatures.

Dissidia: Final Fantasy | Download
Release Date: Mid-year
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix

Dissidia collects 22 playable characters from 20 years worth of Final Fantasy games — eleven heroes and just as many villains — and lets them battle it out in the name of either Chaos, the god of discord, or Cosmos, the goddess of harmony.

The 3D fighting game allows popular characters like Cloud Strife and Kefka Palazzo to clash while also gaining XP and Gil, customizing their equipment, summoning over 50 creatures, and advancing Dissidia’s overarching storyline.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep | Download
Release Date: No date announced for U.S. (Summer in Japan)
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix

Birth By Sleep serves as a prequel to the first Kingdom Hearts game, taking place 10 years beforehand and focusing on Terra, Ventus, and Aqua — three characters who briefly appeared in the Japan-only Kingdom Hearts II Final Mix+.

Each character was once a knight that wielded a Keyblade like series hero Sora, and each will receive their own scenario with different gameplay styles in Birth By Sleep. Of course, the action RPG will feature a gang of Disney characters like King Mickey, Donald Duck, and Snow White.

LocoRoco 2 | Download
Release Date: February 10th
Developer: SCEJ
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Already out in Japan and Europe, this colorful sequel brings back the smiling jelly-like creatures and the original game’s “tilt and roll” platforming, featuring 25 new stages and six new minigames.

The LocoRocos have also learned several new abilities and can now swim underwater, sing together and collect music notes, swing on vines, and climb into shells to roll and destroy obstacles.

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite | Download
Release Date: Spring 2009
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

While the Monster Hunter series isn’t that popular in North America yet, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (or Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, as it’s known in the East) was not only the top-selling PSP game in Japan during 2008, it was the top-selling title across all platforms in the region, moving over 2.5 million units and even beating out Pokemon Platinum.

This expansion to Monster Hunter Freedom 2 adds new items, monsters, weapon and item improvements, G-Rank missions, and an area called Ocean of Trees. Players also now have the option of recruiting a Felyne Warrior for missions.

Patapon 2 | Download
Release Date: No date announced for U.S. (Already available in Japan)
Developer: Pyramid/Interlink
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

The stylish 2D rhythm/real-time strategy game returns, but adds several new tribe units for players to control while tapping out drum beat commands, including a flying, spear-throwing bird, and a wizard that can bless your group or cast attack spells on enemies.

This follow-up also features a four-player cooperative mode in which players work together to fight off monsters while transporting a giant egg, eventually completing drumming challenges to crack the egg open and fetch the magical mask hidden inside.

Phantasy Star Portable | Download
Release Date: March
Developer: Sonic Team, Alfa System
Publisher: Sega

Based on Phantasy Star Universe and its Ambition of the Illuminus expansion, this hack-and-slash RPG allows players to form an adventuring party with AI characters — or three other nearby friends — to complete missions and raids.

Phantasy Star Portable also adds a new story mode, new characters, and over 150 weapons and items exclusive to the PSP version.

PixelJunk Monsters (also available for PS3) | Download
Release Date: January 24th
Developer: Q-Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Though PlayStation 3 owners can already play this addictive Tower Defense game on their PSPs via Remote Play, Q-Games recently revealed that lots of requests and fan mail compelled the studio to release PixelJunk Monsters and its unique, hand-drawn 2d visuals as a PSP-native title.

Not much has been disclosed about the handheld version, but the studio says that it won’t be just a direct port, and will include new content.

Prinny: Can I Really Be The Hero? | Download
Release Date: February 17th
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: Nippon Ichi

The Disgaea series’ lovable, exploding penguin mascot gets its own title in the form of a 2.5D-ish sidescroller. Naturally, Can I Really Be The Hero? will feature cameos from various popular Disgaea characters.

This gorgeous looking game has the beaked critter slashing at ninjas and executing mid-air range attacks in which the perspective slightly tilts to better show the mayhem.

Star Ocean: Second Evolution | Download
Release Date: January 20th
Developer: TOSE
Publisher: Square Enix

Essentially a remake of Star Ocean: The Second Story from the PlayStation, Second Evolution includes new playable characters, artwork, animated cutscenes, fully voiced dialogue, and more.

As with the original classic sci-fi RPG, players follow a young Federation officer transported to the world of Expel, where he is championed as the prophesied Hero of Light and is on a quest to find a way back home.

Resistance: Retribution | Download
Release Date: February
Developer: Sony Bend
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Insomniac’s PlayStation 3 series goes portable with his third-person shooter, featuring online multiplayer for up to eight players, with modes like Deathmatch, Containment, Capture The Flag, and Assimilation.

Retribution will also include PSP Plus, a new technology enabling users to play the games on their televisions with a wireless PlayStation 3 controller, so long as they also have a copy of Resistance 2 in their PS3.

mTenchu: Shadow Assassins (also coming to the Wii) | Download
Release Date: No date announced for U.S. (February in Japan)
Developer: Acquire
Publisher: From Software (Ubisoft will publish the Wii version in North America)

Though the PSP version of this stealth action game won’t feature the motion controls of its Wii counterpart, some would count that as a plus!

Players can pick from two different ninjas, Rikimaru and Ayame, to sneak and assassinate their way through more than 10 missions and 50 side quests. Players will have the usual ninja tools like shuriken and caltrops at their disposal, as well as a ninja cat that can be used to distract guards and scout areas.

Undead Knights | Download
Release Date: Late 2009
Developer: Tecmo
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Undead Knights has players leading a horde of zombies, killing then adding their enemies to their armies. Different enemy types will retain their abilities in their undead forms - for example, archers will join you as zombie archers.

Players can also organize their brain-hungry troops to form themselves into ladders to scale walls, or battering rams to break down doors. The game will offer a local ad-hoc multiplayer mode for up to four players, with options for both competitive and cooperative play.

Ushiro | Download
Release Date: No date announced for U.S. (2009 in Japan)
Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Level-5

Translated as “Back,” Ushiro is a horror RPG in which players take the role of a grim reaper-like shinigami from Japanese mythology.

Players prevent different characters from committing crimes or even suicide by listening to their problems, possessing and taking control of them, and fighting “Form” demons with the help of summons and spells.

2008 was the year of the sequel. Games with numerals after them (Roman or otherwise) litter this year’s awards list. Fallout 3, Far Cry 2, Rock Band 2, Saints Row II, Grand Theft Auto IV, and on, and on, and on.

So, is originality dead? Has it been dead for a long time now? Not really. 2008 was a lot like any other year in games - sequels to already established franchises tend to sell well. Deep down, even though they say otherwise, gamers like more of the same - especially if that same stuff is good stuff. The cash register doesn’t lie. Familiarity is not all bad.

So while you could make the case that the DS was the best system of the year when it comes to originality or that it was a year in which the Wii, despite mega sales, refused to grow up, it was basically another year in gaming. That’s it. There was a lot of good, as you’ll see in our choices for each platform, and a lot of bad (which you’ll see in a later feature) but most games tend to fall somewhere in the middle, lost in the sea of online warehouses and shelf space at Gamestop.

But every year there are a handful of games that tend to stand out from the pack - be they original ideas or rehashes of old ones (or in the case of Space Invaders Extreme …really old ones.)

And that’s what awards are all about, right?

So sit back and relax and enjoy the GameShark 2008 Awards as we throw a little extra love at the games that helped make 2008 special…and a lot like any other year inside our wonderful hobby.

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