SPORTS

FIFA Soccer 08
This years FIFA game was a hit on the mainstream consoles, luckily EA gave as much care to the portable version producing a great looking game with a large variety of play modes. This version features manager mode, challenges for specific teams, interactive online leagues, as well as the ability to create your own tournament plus the new soccer IQ mode and a dribbling mini-game. The dribbling game allows you to turn your PSP vertically and play a DDR style game that has you keeping the ball in the air by pushing in the proper direction as cued by onscreen prompts. The Soccer IQ challenge is a fun way to test your knowledge of the sport and the FIFA league in general, the screen has the question and four answers and a diagram of a soccer pitch, every right question advances the ball towards the oppositions net, wrong answers push it towards yours. Both are fun distractions and add some nice variety from the standard game. This version also introduces an online mode that allows you to take an actual FIFA team and play against online opponents following their normal schedule for the year. The online isn't perfect but it is playable and a lot of fun, FIFA Soccer 08 is available right now.

Why Buy it? A great amount of care was given to the PSP version of the game, the controls were adjusted to compensate to the single analog stick in a natural way and tricks, shots and dekes are intuitive and well executed. The graphics are very comparable to the PS2 version (a very good thing) and the developer was able to put all the squads, all the players, all the modes and all the fields that are featured in the console versions. All together the game is very solid and a must have for any soccer fan who wants play on the go.

NBA 08
This follow-up to the amazing NBA 07 takes the successes from that version and builds upon it to make one of the best NBA experiences on a handheld (and some consoles). Featuring a number of modes for regular play such as Season, Exhibition, All Star Game, Pickup, Free Throw and Playoffs. The big draw though for the PSP version is the incredibly fun mini games and the Conquest mode. The mini games are spread out in an individual section where you can play different forms of basketball in Fastbreak, Own the Court, Elimination, Horse and Dodgeball, there are also basketball themed mini games in the Carnival mode such as Hot Shot!, Pinball, and Big Shooter, playing these games awards tickets that can be used to unlock extras. The basketball in this game is a solid play, with great graphics that make players recognizable, definitely one of the best sports games on the PSP and it is available right now.