Super Stardust Portable
by Dadd_E_O Feb 16, 2009, 4:05 PM PST
Coming off of an addiction to Super Stardust HD, I looked at other reviews of this game before I plunked down the cash to bring it to my PSP. After playing this game to completion, I can come away and say that this game is a watered down version of HD.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. The game is the same, mostly; I recognized many enemy and asteroid formations from the PS3 game. The planets are the same, play the same. The music is orchestral by default, but the Solo expansion (thankfully) makes this a smaller-scale Super Stardust HD that fits in your pocket.
Like it's bigger brother on PS3, this game proved to be rather enjoyable. While I have seen reviewers cite the awkwardness of the control scheme, I only have minor gripes with it. I can't think of a time in the game where a death could be blamed on the controls. Still, getting blasted to bits simply because of having to stop for a nanosecond to change weapons is a likely possibility. I blazed through HD... err, Portable well until the final boss, which happens to be quite different from the PS3's game. I will agree with other reviewers that this sucker is HARD, also noting how much resemblence it bears to the original Stardust's finale. While Super Stardust HD had big globes to roam over, playing Stardust Portable is like flying in a box. After enough movement in one direction, you'll find yourself back at what you were flying away from, and it doesn't take much. It's unfortunate, but probably works to the visual benefit of the player in the long run.
As long as I'm on things that are different, Impact mode is a nice little touch. I have a thing for speed so this long-lasting boost mode has seen quite a few plays. I only wish that it could have made or will make the cut for HD in time. That or HD getting its own, exclusive mode.
Bottom-line, Portable is better than others would have had me believe, though that could just be my bias for this revitalized series. I do lament that this game lacks multiplayer and trophy support, and both versions will hook me with online multiplayer. The decreased real estate per planet is a bit of a downer, too. Still, from the look of the high scores of my fellow gamers, Super Stardust Portable gets enough right to be a solid on-the-go version of a killer PS3 game.
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