Hacking the PSP Blog

300: March To Glory Coming To PSP

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment will unleash 300: MARCH TO GLORY, based on Warner Bros. Pictures' film 300 and developed by Collision Studios, for PSP (PlayStation Portable) system simultaneously with the film in 2007.

The style and feel of the videogame was influenced by the 300 film, which is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel and directed by Zack Snyder. The film's highly stylized production design, including live-action photography integrated with virtual environments, and unique color treatments create a surreal and amazing world in this retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army.

"The 300 film based on Frank Miller's graphic novel offers continual action and an intense storyline that lends itself to be a striking videogame," said Jason Hall, Senior Vice President of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. "With 300: MARCH TO GLORY we are bringing the battles and story to life in an interactive way, which will challenge and satisfy players so they won't be able to put their PSP system down."

Read the entire article here.

REVIEW: iFM for PSP (FM Audio Transmitter)

Besides being a radio, the iFM doubles as a remote and is a worthwhile accessory that works well.

Overall Rating: 89%

Video may not have killed the radio star after all. At least as far as iFM is concerned. This awesome accessory for the PSP gives your handheld system a lot more bang for the buck by letting you listen to your favorite FM radio stations wherever you are.

The iFM is gonna be your new best friend if you love music, but don't have a mega huge memory card with lots of MBs for storing your MP3 and Sony Connect downloads. iFM plugs directly into the PSPs headset connector and is powered by the system itself. A clip let's you clip the iFM to your clothes for easy access. A small digital display and simple buttons allows you to cycle through stations fairly easily. The button layout is similar to that of a remote which, the iFM also double as for you PSP.

In radio mode, the fast forward and rewind buttons step through the FM tuning bands while holding down the buttons scans through the stations. It doesn't get much more simple than that. Holding down the center play/pause button on the iFM switches between the tuning ranges for U.S., European and Japanese radio stations. But don't think that this thing is some sort of short wave world band radio. You can only hear stations that are local to you and you can only hear them through headphones (not included), but you will hear them pretty well. The iFM goes into sleep mode when the PSP does and your station will be locked in until the PSP returns to it's normal state.

Read the entire review here.

World Poker Tour Ships For PSP

2K Sports, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., announced today that World Poker Tour for PSP (PlayStation Portable) system, is now available in stores across North America. World Poker Tour for the PSP system, based on the highly popular World Poker Tour television poker series, delivers a bevy of new, entertaining features, allowing gamers to experience the exciting world of poker wherever they go.

"World Poker Tour pioneered televised poker, creating unprecedented interest in the card game and a true cultural phenomenon," stated Greg Thomas, president of Visual Concepts, a 2K Sports studio. "Now available on the PSP system, World Poker Tour delivers a wealth of awesome features, including prominent poker venues, comprehensive player customization, unparalleled A.I. logic, as well as unique online play. It is by far the most complete poker game for the PSP system."

Poker buffs test their luck and skills in World Poker Tour for PSP system, as they can create and customize their own characters to play against the virtual equivalents of real World Poker Tour pros such as Antonio "the Magician" Esfandiari, Erick Lindgren, Evelyn Ng, Lyle Berman, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and Phil "Unabomber" Laak.

Read the entire article here.

Online video store for the PSP debuts in Japan

Ever since the PSP's 2.0 firmware update with H.264 support, there have been rumors of an online video store in the works. Yesterday, the service went live in Japan, and reviews of the store have already hit the web. While it seems like a great idea to offer PSP users downloadable video content, the service, entitled Portable TV, suffers from several crippling flaws.

The first major limitation, of course, is that the service is available only in Japan. While the Internet has brought appreciation of Japanese culture and media to the whole world, you'll need a valid Japanese mailing address and credit card in order to sign up for the service. However, assume that Sony intends to offer Portable TV to the rest of the world at some future date. Could it stand up to competitors such as the iTunes Video Store?

Read the entire article here.

Painkiller coming to the PSP! w00t!

I love Painkiller... (note I used the singular, game name ;)) and to hear it's coming to the PSP holds a special place in my heart, and wallet...

From eToyChest:

People Can Fly and DreamCatcher have announced that Painkiller, initially released on the PC some 2 years ago, is coming soon to the PSP and PlayStation 2.

The storyline of Painkiller is that you play as an unfortunate soul who has been killed in a car accident and then (for whatever reason) asked to repel an invasion of the forces of Hell. Painkiller was originally born out of the PAIN engine (a kind of Quake-mod-type engine), and basically let you run around at about a hundred miles an hour and reduce everything in your path in blobs. It was a first-person shooter, and came with the standard equipment, namely a shotgun, rocket launcher etc. but every weapon also had an alternative fire mode, so for instance, the rocket launcher doubles as a chain gun.

I personally think Painkiller has had its day, and the tired old Quake-mod-type engine isn't nearly up to spec for what first-person shooters are these days (mind you the bosses in the original sure were huge!). Nonetheless it might be a bit of fun (or at least a time waster).

No release date has been set as yet.

Homebrew: New PSP Homebrew Releases for April 19, 2006

Wow. Pretty much anything you want to try is available today - check these cool apps out!

Games
DDS:AP Isometric Map System Beta 1 - Work-In-Progress RPG
Lua 6/49 - Play the 6/49 on your PSP (but you probably won't win any money).
Lua Sudoku v0.9b - Play Sudoku on your PSP!
2D Paintball - Pretty self explanatory :)

Applications
AT3 Player - Homebrew ATRAC3 media file player.
GeMP Version 3.3 - Media player and text viewer.
PSP eBook Creator - Convert text and other documents into eBooks you can view on your PSP.
PSPBMC v1.23 - Web Bookmark Transfer Utility

Firmware Hacks & Launchers
eMenu v0.1 Beta 4 - Alternate menu for eLoader "Bock" (requires eLoader, of course)
UMDTool v0.1 - Enables you to launch UMDs requiring different firmware versions with a 1.50 PSP so you don't have to upgrade.

PSP Software Development
FLIB Truetype Font Library - Use TrueType fonts in your programs!

Shells and Operating Systems
Ys-Os v1.8