All PSP gamers have a favorite genre, making it even more difficult to compile a neutral list of PSP games to recommend. So instead of a list of the top homebrew PSP games, the following games are recommended not because of their popularity, but because they either take advantage of the PSP’s functions making the gameplay on the PSP better than on any other gaming console.
Or just because playing at least one of the games on the list will set you up for at least a couple of more years of playing on your PSP.
God of War: Ghost of Sparta
Here are three old games that you loved or will love if you want to appreciate God of War: Ghost of Sparta in all its glory. Try it in this order – Prince of Persia, the first release which you can still play with DOS emulators, Tomb Raider, any version, then Diablo II. Then play the Ghost of Sparta again and appreciate how much the game and the gameplay has changed.
The Final Fantasy, Any of the Releases
Anytime a game reaches more than five releases in the course of its history, you know the game is good. First released in 1987 as conceived by Sakaguchi on Square Enix, the first version of the series was even resurrected in 2007 as a massively multiplayer online game. And that is the 1987 game version, with nowhere near the effects and graphics of the most recent Final Fantasy release.
It is a safe bet to say that any version of Final Fantasy on PSP is going to cost you more than months of playing time, especially when you get to play with other players all over the world. Adding MMO to the 1987 version makes it a completely new game by itself – for those addicted to the first release of Final Fantasy, it is like having the MMO technology way back in the 1980s, and the fun starts all over again.
Grand Theft Auto
For games involving cars, Gran Turismo should be it for the serious race aficionado, to get the thrill of the chase with the technical capabilities of your chosen race car. But for a more rounded gameplay experience, the Grand Theft Auto takes the cake. For the Liberty City Stories, the Vice City Stories and the Chinatown Wars, the addition of comedic violence to the game’s storyline is what made GTA notorious in the first place. The improved graphics on the various cars on the game also helps, especially since you get to trash any of the more modern cars GTA has deigned to add to the list of cars you can steal.
NFL Street 2: Unleashed
American football without the pain, that’s what NFL Street 2: Unleashed is all about. The setup of the game is all about challenging you with tougher and tougher challenges, to Own the City so you can play against NFL stars. After finishing the game, you can transfer your team to other games in the franchise, such as Madden NFL 2006 or the NFL Challenge. On its own, NFL Street 2: Unleashed is already addictive, but wait until you play against another gamer in multiplayer mode – the amount of trash talk alone you throw back at one another is as enjoyable as the game itself.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
No recommended list for homebrew PSP’s will not have a shoot ‘em up game on it – here, it is the Peace Walker. You could say that the genre of the game has changed immensely over the last couple of decades – today, it is teamwork that really makes the game. The technology of MMORPGs makes the game just a platform to play on, instead of being the game itself. So where the shoot ‘em up players are, that is the most recommended shoot ‘em up game for the moment.
Impossible Not to Play
If your PSP never leaves your side, it is virtually impossible not to have played any of the above games and not liked it. These are the games that make gaming consoles worth wasting the time, money and effort you could otherwise have used towards more fruitful enterprises. Play on!
About Aurora Freegard
