PSP

Assassin's Creed: Bloodlines didn't provide the revelatory backstory I'd hoped for. While it is a solid title and certainly impressive on the PSP, the played-it-safe nature of the plot really devalues it in the series. I should also mention that the sidequests are essentially optional, as you can power-up your character quite effectively along the way by simply completing the main quest and ignoring everything else. This strictly-optional nature of the sidequests may be a response to the negative reaction that they received in the first game, but because they now offer so little added-value to the experience, they become trivial and provide no compelling reason to complete them; especially since the PSP controls aren't nearly as tight as the console games in the series. I wonder if the DS Assassin's Creed titles are any better...

Anyway, I snagged a few more PSP games the other day:

• Age Of Zombies - Amazingly good, almost entirely on account of its hilarious context for otherwise classic gameplay.
• Echoshift - I never did finish Echochrome, but I had a lot of fun with it and this one seems like a nice addition to the series.
• Everyday Shooter - Pretty cool, not as tight as the hype had led me to believe, but definitely worth checking out.
• flOw - Always loved this one, and it's very pretty on the PSP.
• Half-Minute Hero - Great concept, charming presentation, nothing else quite like it... Definitely worth your time.
• Lunar: Silver Star Harmony - Cheesy voice acting, but a real slick update to the classic game... That I've still yet to finish in any incarnation.
• Patapon 2 - I love the Patapon games because they're so engrossing, beautiful, and endearing, but I always feel overwhelmed by the depth they offer and never seem to get very far with them... I'll change that one day.