The Portable Five is a monthly column designed to help you pick through the glut of games out there -- especially on iPhone -- and purchase only the highest quality portable time-killers. If you do a lot of gaming on the go, you'll want to keep an eye out here the 15th of every month.
Life is busy nowadays. We don't have time to sit in front of a TV for hours, playing a game. All we have time for is to pull that portable gaming device out of our pocket and play for a bit while we are on the bus, waiting in a line, or while our wives watch HGTV.
To assist you in finding the best portable games, I present to you the best Beat 'em up games available for portable systems.
The Ninja Gaiden franchise is known for its precise controls and insane difficulty. To try and cram this game into a DS seems both pointless and impossible, but somehow Team Ninja did just that.
You control Ryu completely with the stylus. This may sound counter-intuitive, considering how precise you need to be to succeed in a game like Ninja Gaiden, but it works. Touching any part of the screen will send Ryu running there, a diagonal swipe on a enemy will have Ryu slashing away at him, and a few quick up and down strokes on an enemy can even unleash the awesome Izuna Drop.
There are a few flaws in the game; at times it is hard to move around when there are too many enemies on-screen. Yet, what Team Ninja did should be commended as much as GTA: Chinatown Wars. They took a console franchise and ported it to the DS, and used the unique controls of the DS to make a game that is both a worthy addition to the canon and a great action game on Nintendo's handheld.
Developer: Team Ninja
Available on: Nintendo DS
WORTH CHECKING OUT
God of War clones are all the rage right now and developer Gameloft, has crafted its own version in Hero of Sparta. This game is essentially "God of War-lite." There are orbs to collect that replenish your health and magic, there is a ancient Greek setting, and there are a number of moves you can acquire by powering up your character.
Hero of Sparta adds nothing new to the God of War formula, but what it does offer is a very competent God of War clone for DS, PSP, and iPhone. The PSP version is pointless, for if you spend a few more dollars you can buy God of War, but the iPhone version is the best beat 'em up available on the system.
Developer: Gameloft
Available on: DS, PSP, iPhone
TRY IT ON THE iPHONE
In 2003, Clover Studios created Viewtiful Joe. It was a beat 'em up with time-manipulation and some great core mechanics. You played the titular character, and were tasked with saving your girlfriend from the evil clutches of comic book villains brought to life. The game was so popular that it was ported over to PS2.
In 2005, a version of the game for DS was released subtitled Double Trouble. The developers did a great job of putting the franchise on a handheld system. A lot of the goodness of Viewtiful Joe is here, but there are a few problems too. One of the special powers called "scratch" has you literally scratching your DS screen. This is okay, unless you have dirty fingers, but it makes it clear that the DS does not have the horsepower to handle this game, for slowdown is a very big problem.
I would recommend this game to any fans of the series, but other than that I wouldn't suggest buying it unless it is cheap.
Developer: Clover Studio
Available on: DS
BUY IT IF YOU LIKE THE SERIES
Ninja Gaiden's traditional controls had to be changed significantly in order to fit into a portable system, yet, God of War: Chains of Olympus is the same game as its console counterpart. And this is a good thing.
This is one of the highest rated games on the PSP platform and if you play it for thirty seconds you will see why. Ready at Dawn studios has crafted a PS2 game on the PSP. It looks, plays, feels, and sounds like God of War. The only real difference between it and it's console counterparts is the lack of a second analog stick. This means that dodging is done by holding down a shoulder button and using the lone analog stick. But I actually liked this better than using the second analog stick, so it's not a complaint, merely a difference.
If you are looking for a beat 'em up game and have all three portable systems, then God of War should be your first choice. There is a second God of War game coming out soon as well. Also developed in part by Ready at Dawn.
Developer: Ready at Dawn
Available on: PSP
BUY IT!!!
No, this is not a beat 'em up game. It really should not be included in this fine list of games, but I was afraid that people may still be buying it - for Mega Man 2 is a good game - but this is not Mega Man 2. This is a game where you watch Mega Man die over and over again because the controls are so bad that no self-respecting individual should ever play this game.
I'm not even going to tell you who made it or what platform it is on - just stay away.
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1 comments:
Lawl at the Mega Man 2 review. I'm so intrigued by the idea of such a great game on my iPhone, but I know I'll be disappointed immediately after purchasing it, so I'm staying away.
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