PSP: The Definitive Verdict (Page 3)

After two weeks of intensive handheld gaming, we offer a comprehensive and detailed review of PSP, along with an extensive photo shoot, all-new high quality videos, and market analysis.

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Sharp by Name, Nature

Despite SCEI boss Ken Kutraragi's explanation of a cheaper-than-expected Japanese RRP being down to streamlining of in-house components and manufacturing, in actual fact the screen is manufactured by Sharp, as a photos of a PSP undressing on online importer Lik-Sang's website proves. Well, if Sony actually chose this bespoke screenage based solely on its resoundingly impressive quality, it comes as little surprise. The PSP's glorious 16:9 widescreen is without question the finest handheld LCD screen we have ever seen, on any device. It makes a mockery of any other gaming handheld screen and dumps from great heights on any portable DVD player, PDA or cell-style gadget we've witnessed.

The classic PlayStation action buttons on PSP

Two weeks on, and every time we play Ridge Racers on this screen, it still seems quite unbelievable how much clarity, detail and brightness is thrown out of the display's 480x272 pixels, and thanks to the undeniable artistic beauty of the Namco title, how lusciously the 16.77 million colours complement the detail. Spanning 4.3 inches in total, the screen has four brightness settings, although you can only utilise the first three of these when in battery mode. But on any brightness level, it is an unquestionable guarantee that every single gamer (and any non-gamer for that matter) will be stunned when the first lay eyes on this screen in action, and if they are anything like us, will remain infatuated for some time afterwards.

No medium of video delivery can do justice to how good games look on this screen, because the end effect is essentially a combination of high resolution in a modestly sized space, plus incredible brightness, and sixty frames per second - not something your average PC monitor can mimic easily. But, if we say so ourselves, our own spanking new videos of Ridge Racers come as close reflection of the real deal as you'll find on the Intraweb... see them included below.

Ergonomics

The unit is comfortable to hold; the back of the unit features mildly contoured casing with a sufficient level of grip, not to mention a matt finish as opposed to the front unit's lickable black gloss. The D-pad and action buttons are positioned in just about the right place, although something tells us the D-pad would have been better just a tad higher, since we have often had to readjust the holding position to endure long gameplay sessions with the D-pad in comfortable reach. But that would probably mess up the appearance of the machine - so forget about it.

The unit has a matt finish on the back

The analogue slider, positioned just underneath the D-pad, requires a definite change of holding position, however. And to be honest we're still undecided on the effectiveness of this part of the machine; although it feels comfortable to operate, it doesn't seem to be particularly useful in Ridge Racers, in which we'd rather use the D-pad any day, but we can't yet determine whether this is a coding issue (it's well known that Japanese developers including Namco had precious little in the way of final PSP units while developing their launch games, more than likely making development of any analogue control a slight nightmare) or whether the slider is just plain rubbish.

The shape the D-pad itself is identical to that of a regular DualShock controller, and handles near-identically in terms of pressure and spring feedback. Although the surface finish of the D-pad is identical to that of the front unit - i.e. highly glossed, it has never resulted in any slippages or gameplay intrusions, and basically offers the same level of control as the timeless PS2 controller (which offers a sort of shiny matt finish on its D-pad, and is widely agreed to be superb).

The D-pad is faultless but the jury's out on the analogue

The same is true of the action buttons, boasting Sony's classic Square, Triangle, Circle and Cross formation. The buttons are positioned slightly closer together than you'd find on the PS2 controller, sitting around a stylish circle indent that looks a lot more modern than DualShock's indented cross style. We'd go as far as to say that PSP's action buttons outperform PS2's for regular gameplay, since there is less push involved and quicker spring back which is nice, although on the downside, the reason for this is that there is no pressure sensitivity whatsoever. Having said that, many gamers would argue that pressure sensitive action buttons are overrated, with only a small portion of racing game players, for example, actually utilising the gas pedal in a sophisticated analogue manner. Put it this way - it's not something we've felt like we're missing when using PSP.

Trigger Happy

The trigger buttons on the top of the unit, meanwhile, are fine - but nothing more. They're perhaps one of the cheaper feeling parts of the design; they rarely sit flush with the top of the unit and can be pushed down in a slightly wonky fashion, sometimes even becoming a little stuck, though we have had no major problems pulling off Ridge Racers' nitrous boost with the R trigger.

From top: triggers, USB, IR receiver, UMD ejecter

The trigger buttons get the job done, but we're feeling a little anxious about playing titles that involve heavy use of them. Admittedly, we've heard no complaints from those who've put serious hours into Capcom's 2D fighting launch title, Vampire Chronicle, which would naturally be trigger heavy, so we're pretty cosy about this aspect of the machine.

Continue Through Feature:

• Page 1: The Hardware Buzz, Hot Property
• Page 2: Two Weeks, Inside the Box, Build Quality
• Page 3: Secret Screen, Ergonomics, Triggers
• Page 4: Sleeping, Useful Buttons, Faulty Units
• Page 5: More on UMD, Make Some Noise
• Page 6: Thanks for the Memory, Battery Power
• Page 7: Full Whack Value Pack, Just Browsing
• Page 8: Movies and Music, Will You be My WiFi
• Page 9: It Plays Games Too - Performance
• Page 10: PSP vs DS, Final Thoughts

See also: Full Launch Report from Tokyo
               PSP Set for Launch in Japan
               PSP Launch Could be a Disaster