Jim S Squires, esq here. Myself and Ted Ryan Newsome Hewson had a most excellent adventure yesterday. No, we didn’t get to travel back in time and help stop Hitler. Even better — we went to the future (which was conveniently located in downtown Toronto). What did we see? What did we play? Put on your safety helmets and shin guards, kids. You’re in for some lengthy exposition on this biggest PlayStation games to come out during the upcoming holiday season!

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Good video game duos are hard to find (Cookies and Cream notwithstanding). And these days keeping them together seems even harder. Even in the virtual world eventually the little guy is going to want their time in the sun. The PSP is quickly becoming a haven for quirky sidekicks to get their chance to star in their own title. First we had the excellent Daxter (of Jak and Daxter fame) and now we’re seeing the release of Secret Agent Clank, who for the past four titles has been Ratchet’s helper-bot in the very successful Ratchet and Clank series.

Is Clank able to hold a game together like Daxter did? Or does he need his Lombax partner? Continue Reading »

This oddly familiar looking contraption made for your PSP is called a “Flexible Hand Grip Pad Advance” and it pretty much turns your handheld console into a PlayStation controller. Available for only $9.20, this particular version is compatible with the Slim and Lite versions (although apparently there is a separate product for the big clunky ones as well). I would actually consider purchasing this add-on if the design helps with the thumb cramps I get when playing games that utilize the analog sticks. After decent length sessions with my PSP, my left thumb just aches from the awkward position. If it solves that problem, it’s all good in my book.

[Kotaku]

If you asked me about “The Society Against Playstation” I honestly wouldn’t have had any idea what you were talking about, but as soon as I started watching this commercial it all came back. Wasn’t that long ago that Playstation was the underdog and they’re commercials were not only funny but risk-taking (in a good way, not the risk taking they take nowadays).

It’s all a bit ironic now since a lot of the things they joke about in the spot are the same things crazy lawyers and idiot pundits spew on 24-hour news networks these days…

More than a rumor, less than confirmation. Argh.

A few of the guys from 1up did a phone interview with Masaya Matsuura (Parappa, Vib Ribbon, Musika) and gently brought up the topic of a new Parappa game. It would seem from this casual conversaion that not only is Matsuura-san interested in making the game, Sony would love to see it happen as well (no surprise there).

It doesn’t hurt that rhythm games are finally making some headway in the states, and the PSP port of the first game. Hopefully we’ll get some sort of confirmation one day. Until then I “just gotta believe!”

Putting Castlevania in your pocket isn’t a new concept. Heck - there’s a game store I visit pretty regularly that has still has a Tiger “Simon’s Quest” kicking around for seven bucks. But since Simon’s quest came out in 1988, that made sense — after all, that was when these things were at the height of their popularity. But 1998? Who knew they were even making them then?

I’m sure this piece must be a pretty rare bird. If anybody knows of any other cool handhelds that popped up long after we all thought they were dead, let us know.

For those of you looking forward to Symphony of the Night on coming to Xbox Live Arcade (I’ll assume that’s everybody) we’ve got some great news — it’s only a month away! According to Kotaku SOTN should be hitting the Live Marketplace on February 10th. I think it’s a clever attempt on Microsoft’s part to distract us over Valentine’s Day so that they can steal our women and eat our children.