Actually, this thread isn't about your favorite PC game at all, I just figured more people would click on it to complain than would look at a regular thread. Anyway, on to the business at hand...
I've been a fan of handheld gaming products since I first popped Tetris into my gray brick of a Gameboy and proceeded to blister my thumbs trying to get the rocket ship screen. The odd thing is even though I always buy a handheld to fill in 15-45 minute gaps in my day I always end up spending crazy amounts of time playing it even when I have a PC or full size console at my fingertips.
For example, my PSP has been used so much that one of the directional buttons sticks, the right bumper is teetering on the edge of being broken, and there are a number of gashes on the screen since the number of times I drop the PSP is directly related to the number of hours I play it. I've spent 35 hours playing FF7, probably a good 25 playing Star Ocean 2, maybe a solid 15 playing Crisis Core, 10-12 on the original Star Ocean, and an admittedly grotesque amount of time playing Patapon 2 (I don't dare try to figure out where it says how many hours I spent playing it). Originally I bought the stupid thing to eat up my 30 minute train ride to class and it ended up giving me carpal tunnel.
So, I started to think about what I want out of my next handheld system and came up with a decent list:
1. Increased comfort. PSP had the right idea by working curves into their handheld but trying to use all of the buttons and keep your fingers on the bumpers causes hand cramps (I believe Yahtzee called it "claw hands"). The DS is a miracle of non-ergonomic design which is ok since I don't see most DS users playing for the lengths of time I use my PSP, however, I don't find it comfortable to use at all (hello, Nintendo built another square handheld, color me surprised).
2. Downloadable content. The PSP's store system is amazing. I love plugging in an SD card with a bunch of games on it and going to town, plus they are far easier to store and transport. Digital distribution can only improve from here and the new PSP should show the extent to which it works on a handheld.
3. TWO joysticks. The one joystick thing annoys me because it makes the shooters on the PSP painful to play. My hands haven't hurt so much playing a game in my life as they did while I was playing Fire Team Bravo. It was fun, don't get me wrong, but the only shooter the PSP is suited for is a Doom like game where you don't have to aim up frequently. The DS's touch screen is ok but it doesn't really suit any of the game types which I enjoy. I hear Metroid was decent overall but I had trouble with it when I tried it out at a game store.
4. A flip screen. The PSP requires far too much protection just to keep it's little screen in working condition. Sure, I like the case I have because it lets me keep some SD cards in it but it negates the "Portable" part of PlayStation Portable. If I didn't carry a backpack the stupid thing would probably never leave my house. The DS, on the other hand, has perfect portability.
5. Durability. I don't expect the thing to survive being stepped on but I rare see DS's without cracks in the case and the PSP seems to have a wonderful tendency to seize up and I don't know if other people are having the same problems as me but various buttons on mine are starting to fail. I've had Playstation controllers which lasted the entire duration of my Playstation without any problems and those things were abused far more than my PSP is. I don't know if they chintzed out on the construction or if they used a different technology but it certainly seems possible to make buttons that don't suck.
I've been a fan of handheld gaming products since I first popped Tetris into my gray brick of a Gameboy and proceeded to blister my thumbs trying to get the rocket ship screen. The odd thing is even though I always buy a handheld to fill in 15-45 minute gaps in my day I always end up spending crazy amounts of time playing it even when I have a PC or full size console at my fingertips.
For example, my PSP has been used so much that one of the directional buttons sticks, the right bumper is teetering on the edge of being broken, and there are a number of gashes on the screen since the number of times I drop the PSP is directly related to the number of hours I play it. I've spent 35 hours playing FF7, probably a good 25 playing Star Ocean 2, maybe a solid 15 playing Crisis Core, 10-12 on the original Star Ocean, and an admittedly grotesque amount of time playing Patapon 2 (I don't dare try to figure out where it says how many hours I spent playing it). Originally I bought the stupid thing to eat up my 30 minute train ride to class and it ended up giving me carpal tunnel.
So, I started to think about what I want out of my next handheld system and came up with a decent list:
1. Increased comfort. PSP had the right idea by working curves into their handheld but trying to use all of the buttons and keep your fingers on the bumpers causes hand cramps (I believe Yahtzee called it "claw hands"). The DS is a miracle of non-ergonomic design which is ok since I don't see most DS users playing for the lengths of time I use my PSP, however, I don't find it comfortable to use at all (hello, Nintendo built another square handheld, color me surprised).
2. Downloadable content. The PSP's store system is amazing. I love plugging in an SD card with a bunch of games on it and going to town, plus they are far easier to store and transport. Digital distribution can only improve from here and the new PSP should show the extent to which it works on a handheld.
3. TWO joysticks. The one joystick thing annoys me because it makes the shooters on the PSP painful to play. My hands haven't hurt so much playing a game in my life as they did while I was playing Fire Team Bravo. It was fun, don't get me wrong, but the only shooter the PSP is suited for is a Doom like game where you don't have to aim up frequently. The DS's touch screen is ok but it doesn't really suit any of the game types which I enjoy. I hear Metroid was decent overall but I had trouble with it when I tried it out at a game store.
4. A flip screen. The PSP requires far too much protection just to keep it's little screen in working condition. Sure, I like the case I have because it lets me keep some SD cards in it but it negates the "Portable" part of PlayStation Portable. If I didn't carry a backpack the stupid thing would probably never leave my house. The DS, on the other hand, has perfect portability.
5. Durability. I don't expect the thing to survive being stepped on but I rare see DS's without cracks in the case and the PSP seems to have a wonderful tendency to seize up and I don't know if other people are having the same problems as me but various buttons on mine are starting to fail. I've had Playstation controllers which lasted the entire duration of my Playstation without any problems and those things were abused far more than my PSP is. I don't know if they chintzed out on the construction or if they used a different technology but it certainly seems possible to make buttons that don't suck.
