Tony bails as Snake sneaks into town ahead of PSP price drop

You know, we often moan about release dates for handheld games being more slippery than an eel covered in polytetrafluoroethene (or Teflon, as it's known to its chums), but the application of even the smallest grain of perspective soon has us realising that there are more important things in life.

Besides, things could be far worse; it's not as if we've just been attacked by a South African gang of thieves and superglued to our exercise bike. Naked. (Google it – it's worth it.)

Anyway, as luck would have it, we weren't even going to complain this week. Sure, Tony Hawk's Project 8 on PSP seems to have got sidetracked while rolling towards shops tomorrow but then it'd be a bit silly to turn up the same day Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops is due, wouldn't it? Again, it's a question of perspective. The Hawkster has a strong brand, true, but one that would arguably find it tough going hand-to-hand against Solid Snake.

The DS couldn't care less, of course. After all, it has Final Fantasy III and Diner Dash on which to focus its attention, and DS owners no doubt appreciate the fact releases have been pretty reliable recently.

What's more, you get a feeling Nintendo's handheld is keeping an eye on the bigger picture. Why else does it remain seemingly unperturbed with regards to tomorrow's PSP price drop? Nintendo probably feels its lead is unassailable or knows the two machines perform very different functions. Either way, that's the benefit of keeping things in perspective.

Out May 4th
Diner Dash (DS)
Diner Dash (PSP)
Final Fantasy III (DS) (Or read our review.)
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops (PSP) (Or read our review.)
Spider-Man 3 (DS)

Out May 11th
Driver 76 (PSP)
Harvest Moon: Innocent Life (PSP)
Lost In Blue 2 (DS) (Or read our review.)
Picross (DS)
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PSP) (Or read our review.)
World Championship Poker Deluxe Series (DS)
Xiaolin Showdown (PSP)