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Sony PSP Game of the Year
Sony PSP Game of the Year: Cladun: This is an RPG!
2010 was a fantastic year for RPG’s, specifically on the handheld space, but one game managed to cram more action, humor, emotional weight and just plain silliness in its five to ten minute dungeon excursions than most games had in their entire playing times and that game was Cladun: This is an RPG! With characters that had depth and distinct personalities, despite their brevity, and a whimsical sense of humor that pervaded the entire game, Cladun was a game that you just felt good playing. Until you got to the dungeons, that is, and you realize that you picked the wrong magic circle for the task at hand and end up leaving the dungeon in bitter defeat. Part party leveling system, part mana well, part human shield, the magic circle allows for an incredible amount of control and flexibility for approaching the game’s dungeons. Best of all, most dungeons can be completed in less than ten minutes, allowing more time to tinker with the spoils of victory and the magic circle itself. Cute, endearing and incredibly generous, Cladun excitedly proclaims that it is an RPG, but it can just as easily shout that it is one of the best.
From our review “…by taking everything that you loved about the games of yesterday but adding modern, inventive twists to make them interesting and entertaining. Cladun gives you more for your $20 than many games give you for $60 and does so in such an endearing fashion that you won't want to put it down. It absolutely should not be missed.”
Runner Ups
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
For the second God of War outing on the PSP, Ready At Dawn showed that they not only know how to make awesome action games for the PSP, but that they know how to take established characters and let the player see them in an entirely new light. In their hands, Kratos transforms from unrepentant psychopath to an unrelenting force of nature, hell bent on rescuing his brother and proving to the gods once and for all that he’s no one’s plaything. In doing so, they made not only one of the best games on the PSP but the best God of War game to date.
From our review “Having played all of the games in the series, I can honestly say that this is my favorite entry. It can't compete with God of War III in terms of battles and set pieces but the heavy handed redemption of Kratos at the end of that game didn't sit well with me.”
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
If Peace Walker had stopped with taking a typical, epic Metal Gear story and placed it on a handheld, that would have been enough, but instead, Kojima Productions tied in an engaging base management system that has Snake populating his base with the kidnapped soldiers unfortunate enough to meet the business end of his tranquilizer gun. Going on missions then becomes an exercise in employment as well as a means to an plot thwarting end. Whether you’re going on missions to staff your base, level up your gadgets or fight evildoers, you won’t want your time with Snake to end any time soon.
From our review “As a story and a game, Peace Walker is wonderfully open-ended, encouraging you to replay missions, level up weapons, improve your staff, unlock gadgets, and even go online for head-to-head action or special recruitment missions. It's vast, generous, often unique, and a fantastic reason to own a PSP. Before you write off Sony's much maligned handheld, you've got to answer to Peace Walker.”
Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep
The stellar combination of Square Enix and Disney characters continues to shine in the sixth installment of the popular Kingdom Hearts series. The combat system is new, the leveling system is streamlined, but what hasn’t changed is how quickly the game sucks you in and makes dozens of hours go by faster than a viewing of Fantasia. Best of all, the game has three different stories to play through, making your time in this weirdly wonderful mash-up of worlds even more entertaining.
From our review "Birth by Sleep, especially if you're a Disney fan, will no doubt have you totally hooked. So prepare yourself and set aside a few hours for some Disney-fied fun...about 60 of 'em."
Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 Portable
One of the rare cases where a port ends up being better than the original, Persona 3 Portable takes all of the awesome high school monster fighting of the PS2 version and upgrades it on the PSP making for a better team management experience and the ability to play as a female character. What hasn’t changed is the top notch monster battling and the oddly addictive need to develop strong social ties to your teammates when you’re not battling beasties with them. It’s a faster, more streamlined version of the game, but no less substantial or time consuming.
From our review “Persona 3 is everything you want a PSP port to be: just as good as the original and customized to make PSP owners feel like thy need the new game even if they played the original for weeks on end.”