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Wednesday, December 28, 2005

GTA: Liberty City Stories - destination, 5 stars

This is a really good game. If you have a PSP you MUST GET THIS GAME. It's pretty much the same thing as GTA: 3 but a different story from what I understand. Also, you can fly helicopters and ride crotch rockets. I was really surprised with the graphics of this game after a let down from Star Wars Battlefront 2 where EVERYTHING was texture smoothed so much it was just kind of a blur to play the game. GTA also supports a multiplayer mode, though I haven't tested it yet, seems very promising. Though, like every GTA, there are tons of glitches like walking through walls and falling for no reason. But other than that, this game is a MUST BUY.

Comparison of PSP and DS - destination, 5 stars

PSP Specifications:

PSP CPU CORE
MIPS R4000 32bit Core
128bit Bus
1 - 333MHz @ 1.2V
Main Memory :8MB(eDRAM) (**Changed to 32MB, 4MB embedded in May 2004)
Bus Bandwidth :2.6GB/sec
I-Cache, D-Cache
FPU, VFPU (Vector Unit) @ 2.6GFlops
3D-CG Extended Instructions

PSP Media Engine
MIPS R4000 32bit Core
128bit Bus
1 - 333MHz @ 1.2V
Sub Memory:2MB(eDRAM) @ 2.6GB/sec
I-Cache, D-Cache
90nm CMOS

PSP Graphics Core 1
3D Curved Surface + 3D Polygon
Compressed Texture
Hardware Clipping, Morphing, Bone(8)
Hardware Tessellator
Bezier, B-Spline(NURBS)
ex 4x4, 16x16, 64x64 sub-division

PSP Graphics Core 2
'Rendering Engine' + 'Surface Engine'
256bit Bus, 1-166 MHz @ 1.2V (**Changed to 512bit Bus in final version)
VRAM :2MB(eDRAM)
Bus Bandwidth :5.3GB/sec
Pixel Fill Rate :664 M pixels/sec
max 33 M polygon /sec(T&L)
24bit Full Color:RGBA

PSP Sound Core: VME
Reconfigurable DSPs
128bit Bus
166MHz @1.2V
5 Giga Operations /sec
CODEC
3D Sound, Multi-Channel
Synthesizer, Effecter, etc

UMD(Universal Media Disc)
60mm
Laser Diode:660nm
Dual Layer :1.8GB
Transfer Rate:11Mbps
Shock Proof
Secure ROM by AES
Unique Disc ID

AVC Decoder
AVC(H.264) Decoder
Main Profile
Baseline Profile
@Level1,Level2,Level3
2Hours(High Quality) - DVD movie
4Hours(Standard Quality) - CS Digital

I/O
USB 2.0
Memory Stick
Extension Port(reserved)
Stereo Head phone Out

Communication
Wireless LAN (i802.11)
IrDA
USB 2.0

For those not able to understand the techno mumbo-jumbo spelled out in the PSP specs, what it all boils down to is that the PSP has a whole lot of power, portable system or otherwise. At GDC 2004 in April of 2004, Christ Charla (of the development outfits Digital Eclipse and now Backbone Entertainment) said at the handheld's tech demonstration unveiling conference: "Polygon for polygon, PSP has more power than PS2 ... A huge number of effects that are given to you in software on PS2 are available in hardware on PSP." And all indications at the E3 unveiling were that the system would indeed meet those lofty heights -- the preliminary box for Gran Turismo 4 Mobile stats that the game quality, "...is not at all inferior to its PS2 counterpart."





Nintendo DS Specifications:
Size / Weight (when folded)
Height: 84.7mm
Width: 148.7mm
Thickness: 28.9mm
Weight: 275g (including battery & stylus)

Display
Top Screen:
3 inch color TFT with backlight
256x192 pixel resolution, .24mm dot pitch
260,000 color display

Bottom Screen:
3 inch color TFT with backlight
256x192 pixel resolution, .24mm dot pitch
260,000 color display
Transparent analog resistive touch panel

Main controls
Directional pad, A/B/X/Y buttons, L/R buttons, Start/Select buttons
Touch panel
Internal microphone (voice recognition possible with software)

Input/Output
DS cartridge slot
GBA cartridge slot
Stereo headphone jack
Microphone jack

Wireless capabilities
IEEE802.11 and Nintendo propriety protocol 2 format
Radiowave distance: 10 - 30 meters depending on environment
Multiplayer game possible with one cartridge
Voice chatting with the internal microphone while playing over Internet is possible

CPU ARM9 and ARM7 (With new graphic engine)

Sound Internal stereo speaker (virtual surround sound possible with software)

Other features
Internal Clock w/alarm
Touch-panel calibration
PictoChat preinstalled (Text and graphic drawing application that can be used to communicate with up to 16 users via wireless capability)

Configurable settings
Startup mode switching
Language: Japanese, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
Screen selectable when playing GBA games (top or bottom screen)
User Information display

Power and Battery
Internal Lithium battery (Runs approximately 6-10 hours on full recharge, depending on application)
Full recharge time: 4 hours
Power management systems, such as sleep mode, included
Comes with AC adapter

Image from DS:


Image from PSP:


Same games, but the PSP has a much better display of graphics. Though this doesn't mean the Nintendo DS is bad. There are plenty of great games that are Nintendo-only. (Mario cart DS for example, which still has bad graphics, but better game play than any racing game on the PSP).

Thursday, June 02, 2005

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - movie, 5 stars

This was probably the best movie I have seen all summer. It is easily the best of Episodes I, II and III. It also gives Episodes 4, 5 and 6 good competition.

Phantom of the Opera - movie, 3 stars

This is a wonderful movie, which if it wasn't ruined for me, I would have rated it higher, but after my girlfriend became obsessed with it and pointed out every 'goof' in the movie, I would happily say this movie kinda sucks. I would have originally given it a 4.5 if it wasn't for all the noticable mistakes.