Why Every Gamer should own a handheld
Matthew Cash
Note: This is the second part of an article for when I worked for DTG. It has been slightly edited, too.
As the first part would be considered "The Sales Pitch", this would be considered "The Definitive Reason for a Handheld" (Yeah, that's a long name, isn't it?). what's the definitive reason? The games, of course! What with the impressive technology for these tiny bastards, there's got to be GOOD game that utilize that technology and there's a lot of them. The AppStore, apart from having everything else, can stuff out something for casual gamers like Doodle Jump, Oh! My Gun, and Strike Knight to more hardcore games like Splinter Cell Conviction, Modern Combat: Sandstorm, Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles, and many more! DS has wonderful games that utilize the touch screen capability like The World Ends With You, Sonic Chronicles (Bioware, anyone?), and even a few Sims games. PSP's can hold the side-story to Kratos' adventures in God of War: Chains of Olympus and the upcoming God of War: Ghost of Sparta as well as the full GTA experience in Liberty City Stories or Vice City Stories. While Apple's contraption is easily the best platform for a casual gamer, it begs for more hardcore games and that's where the others come in.
Now, you have the NGP (Sony PSP2) that's been revealed, which promises almost PS3 levels of power. It already has a solid line-up of well known PS3 exclusives spin-offs (Killzone and Uncharted) with some other new IPs to boot. And it utilizes a touch screen. The 3DS is also set to come out soon, with this technology capable of obvious 3D graphics and bringing back old franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Metal Gear Solid.
I guess that's actually why every games really SHOULD have a handheld: it offers something to everyone's tastes. If you have a family of the occasional gamer or your brother who won't shut the hell up about it, handhelds deliver. While we all know they don't pack the graphical punch of their bigger cousins, these nifty things aspire to everyone and can ultimately please anyone.
Or, perhaps, it is because they're so cheap. Why, the AppStore has games that range from nothing to $10 while its bigger handheld gaming brethren take up to around $40. in fact, you can pick up several cheap games and a newer one for as much as you would spend one one game for your 360 or PS3. If you're on a tight budget and need your gaming fix, all the games listed above can satisfy your dirty little need. Yeah, I want a open-world sandbox game on my iPod, so I can grab the new Gangstar: Miami Vindication on the cheap for $7 and be satisfied for many hours. On the DS, I can easily grab Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light at GameStop for $35 and, yet once again, be immensely satisfied for hours upon hours to come. Hell, if I'm in the mood, I could grab Resistance Retribution on PSP as a companion piece to Resistance 2 for a measly $20 and be proud of it sitting next to the older cousins.
No matter what way you go, the definitive reason for a handheld can be many different things. Trust me, a handheld will provide countless hours of entertainment for years to come. As said in Borderlands, "Get'choo one"!
Note: This is the second part of an article for when I worked for DTG. It has been slightly edited, too.
As the first part would be considered "The Sales Pitch", this would be considered "The Definitive Reason for a Handheld" (Yeah, that's a long name, isn't it?). what's the definitive reason? The games, of course! What with the impressive technology for these tiny bastards, there's got to be GOOD game that utilize that technology and there's a lot of them. The AppStore, apart from having everything else, can stuff out something for casual gamers like Doodle Jump, Oh! My Gun, and Strike Knight to more hardcore games like Splinter Cell Conviction, Modern Combat: Sandstorm, Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles, and many more! DS has wonderful games that utilize the touch screen capability like The World Ends With You, Sonic Chronicles (Bioware, anyone?), and even a few Sims games. PSP's can hold the side-story to Kratos' adventures in God of War: Chains of Olympus and the upcoming God of War: Ghost of Sparta as well as the full GTA experience in Liberty City Stories or Vice City Stories. While Apple's contraption is easily the best platform for a casual gamer, it begs for more hardcore games and that's where the others come in.
Now, you have the NGP (Sony PSP2) that's been revealed, which promises almost PS3 levels of power. It already has a solid line-up of well known PS3 exclusives spin-offs (Killzone and Uncharted) with some other new IPs to boot. And it utilizes a touch screen. The 3DS is also set to come out soon, with this technology capable of obvious 3D graphics and bringing back old franchises like The Legend of Zelda and Metal Gear Solid.
I guess that's actually why every games really SHOULD have a handheld: it offers something to everyone's tastes. If you have a family of the occasional gamer or your brother who won't shut the hell up about it, handhelds deliver. While we all know they don't pack the graphical punch of their bigger cousins, these nifty things aspire to everyone and can ultimately please anyone.
Or, perhaps, it is because they're so cheap. Why, the AppStore has games that range from nothing to $10 while its bigger handheld gaming brethren take up to around $40. in fact, you can pick up several cheap games and a newer one for as much as you would spend one one game for your 360 or PS3. If you're on a tight budget and need your gaming fix, all the games listed above can satisfy your dirty little need. Yeah, I want a open-world sandbox game on my iPod, so I can grab the new Gangstar: Miami Vindication on the cheap for $7 and be satisfied for many hours. On the DS, I can easily grab Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light at GameStop for $35 and, yet once again, be immensely satisfied for hours upon hours to come. Hell, if I'm in the mood, I could grab Resistance Retribution on PSP as a companion piece to Resistance 2 for a measly $20 and be proud of it sitting next to the older cousins.
No matter what way you go, the definitive reason for a handheld can be many different things. Trust me, a handheld will provide countless hours of entertainment for years to come. As said in Borderlands, "Get'choo one"!