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Xperia Play classic PlayStation games round-up

Party like it’s 1995-2006

Xperia Play classic PlayStation games round-up
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When Sony Ericsson first announced the Xperia Play, it wasn't the idea of playing mobile games adapted to physical controllers that appealed to me most.

It was the mouth-watering prospect of playing a bevy of classic PlayStation original games for the first time (legally) on a dedicated gaming phone.

Sure, you could run an emulator and enter the murky world of emulation (we will have a guide for how to do this soon, don't worry), but all the games that make their way onto the PlayStation Pocket portion of the Xperia Play are fully optimised and complete with additional options like saving anywhere off the bat.

But the big issue is how well do they stack up against the best mobile games of 2011?

As I haven’t personally played almost all the games on the list before (I had an Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast for that generation of consoles), you can be sure there’s no rose-tinted spectacles featured here - just cold, hard opinion.

So join us as we put on a shell suit, listen to Faithless, and journey back to the heady days of the 1990s.

Crash Bandicoot (1996) - Free

Crash Bandicoot from Naughty Dog (Uncharted) is bundled with the phone, so that’s as good a place as any to start our round-up.

The graphics are naturally ugly as sin given the relative lack of power of the PlayStation, but the 2.5D platforming gameplay is still oddly compelling.

Some of the trickier platforming sections are rendered more difficult then they really should be thanks to the lack of analogue support.

Despite this, the level design does slowly blossom into something that, while never challenging Mario, is certainly a test for any modern mobile game.

The PlayStation Pocket’s ability to save at any point during the game is a godsend, however, as while the levels are relatively short the game’s default save system (collect three bonus tags to save) is completely baffling to modern eyes.

7/10 Cool Boarders 2 (1998) - £3.99

xperia-play-playstation-cool-boardersWhereas Crash Bandicoot just looks a bit old, Cool Boarders 2 has a ton of graphical glitches on top of the retro graphics.

They’re never game-breakingly bad - bits of scenery disappearing being the prime culprit and gaps flickering across the surface of the snow textures - but they do feel a bit sloppy.

It’s also fairly uninviting to newcomers, thanks to not having any easy way to see the move list. There is a game manual provided in the PlayStation Pocket menu, but this is merely a button list and event guide.

So unless you already have a deep love for Cool Boarders, or the patience to spend a good few hours trying to work out how you’re supposed to do well in the all-important Trick sections, it’s not worth your money.

5/10 Jumping Flash (1995) - £3.99

xperia-play-playstation-jumping-flashThe original PlayStation was a haven for experimental games, as Jumping Flash aptly demonstrates.

Sort of like a '90s version of Mirror’s Edge meet Spectrum classic JetPack, each of the 3D levels tasks you with collecting some rocket pods left strewn around platforms high in the sky and then racing to the exit before the time runs out.

Sounds good on paper, but the combination of the grimy first-person graphics, needlessly frustrating layouts that force you to backtrack endlessly should you miss a platform (which is easily done thanks to the viewpoint), and absolutely horrible audio means that it’s once again a game that only those with rose-tinted specs will enjoy.

3/10 Destruction Derby (1995) - £3.99

xperia-play-playstation-desctruction-derbyI confess, I have played Destruction Derby before, so my feelings on this particular game may be a little clouded by nostalgia.

Still, in an age where most driving games appear to be reluctant to show even the most minor of damage (and it’s even rarer for said damage to affect the handling), Derby’s focus on smashing everything up is still a refreshing change of pace.

The handling is slow and awkward, though, which may make the destruction events amusing, but does put the brakes on the racing section of the game.

It also possess little structure, so anyone hoping for incentives to keep playing will have to look elsewhere.

6/10 Syphon Filter (1999) - £3.99

xperia-play-playstation-syphon-filterSyphon Filter is a game I always wanted to play back in the day, thanks to its ultra-cool (at the time) graphics and exciting-looking action.

Naturally the ravages of time haven’t been completely easy on the game. The level design strongly reminds me of a poor-man’s Goldeneye - tons of pointless dead-ends and extremely well-hidden objectives - and your character, Gabriel Logan, turns corners like a large tugboat chopping through stormy waters.

Yet despite all this it still has a strangely engrossing quality about it - the silly plot, hammy voice acting, and fun - if a bit simple - gunplay harking back to a more innocent time: a time before Kill/Switch’s cover-system became a de facto requirement in third-person games.

It’s not going to be challenging any modern peers on mobile in both the graphics and control stakes, but it still manages to provide a simple and enjoyable slice of mobile action.

7/10 MediEvil (1998) - £3.99

xperia-play-playstation-medievilAs 3D action adventures go, MediEvil is a pretty good early stab (ho ho) at the genre.

Playing as a re-animated ‘hero’ (who wasn’t really), your task is to cut through swathes of enemies, leaping around small yet still confusingly laid-out levels in a bid to kill off an evil warlock.

The camera is absolutely shocking, seemingly fighting against giving you a good view of the action at every stage, and the combat is hardly Devil May Cry in its button-mashing execution.

But as a trip down memory lane to one of the key games of the genre, MediEvil still has enough action and humour to press the right buttons.

Even if most of the time playing the game will be spent furiously thinking of ways to kill the cameraman.

6/10
Will Wilson
Will Wilson
Will's obsession with gaming started off with sketching Laser Squad levels on pads of paper, but recently grew into violently shouting "Tango Down!" at random strangers on the street. He now directs that positive energy into his writing (due in no small part to a binding court order).