Hacking the PSP Blog

CONTEST: Win Football Manager on Xbox 360 or PSP

As SEGA prepares to release more versions of Football Manager, it's perhaps only right that we team up with them again to bring you another competition. This time we have two copies of Football Manager Handheld on the Sony PSP and two copies of Football Manager 2006 on the Xbox 360 to give away.

Well the PSP version of the game was officially released on March 31st and so is already out.  The Xbox 360 version hits the shelves on April 13th.

The Football Manager series has quickly taken over as the leading football management sim on the PC and Mac having spent 13 weeks at the top of the gaming charts back in 2005.  Now, Sports Interactive and SEGA are looking to take that success onto the console platforms, no easy task given the spectacular failures of games released by other companies in the past.

So, before we dive in with the competitions, a little about the two games.

Read the full article here.

Fans will love PSP Neopets adventure

From a simple online virtual pet game to a multi-zillionaire dollar company bought by ViaCom last year, Neopets has come a long, long way.

Like its predecessors Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh, Neopets is a phenomenon. Just ask any kid under 12. Similar to Pokemon, the weird and wonderful world of Neopets is populated by a menagerie of adorable but powerful beasts. Powerful if you happen to piss them off.

In the first Neopets PSP adventure - ‘Petpet Adventures: The Wand of Wishing’ – there’s not a lot of harmless feeding or puzzle solving to do like on the original Internet game site. It makes sense that the producers have kept the ‘Battledome’ aspect of the original game intact though as ‘Wand of Wishing’ is more about clobbering foes and completing missions than Neopet caretaking.

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Justice League Heroes is coming to the PSP

Your handheld experience is about to change in a super kind of way.



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REVIEW: Griffin Technology iTrip PSP

Want to take your PSP and its audio on the road, or pipe your video soundtrack over your car's stereo speakers? Check out Griffin's iTrip, the same popular iPod accessory, but tuned for the PSP!

Sony Doesn’t Make the Real PSP?

Think PSP means PlayStation Portable? No ho ho. PSP means “PermaShield Pipe,” at least according to the March issue of Clean Rooms magazine. A full-page advertisement features a rotund man in a “I *heart* PSP” sweatshirt, standing next to a large PermaShield Pipe. There is even the registered trademark symbol next to the word “PSP.” Of course, Sony has trademarked “PSP,” which leads us to wonder: Did the (R) or the (TM) come first? Can they peacefully coexist?

Read the entire article here.

Carol Vorderman's Sudoku challenge comes to PSP

Self-confessed Sudoku addict fronts second Sudoku game for Sony's handheld

Sudoku is the new Rubik's Cube – an addictive puzzle phenomenon that has taken the world by storm.

Predictably, it's simplicity itself: on a nine-by-nine grid, you must arrange the digits 1-9 to fill in the empty spaces so that no number is repeated in any row, column or three-by-three box.

But if you weren't paying attention in maths and figures send you into phobic convulsions, who better to assist you than the UK's favourite number cruncher, Carol Vorderman? Through some 30 minutes of step-by-step video tutorials, number-loving Carol explains the workings of the brain-draining game and reveals valuable tips to ensure you emerge from the experience a Sudoku champion.

And because tradition states every pupil must challenge their master, the game naturally enables you to take on Ms Vorderman herself.

You may want to practice on some of the game's other modes first though: Beat the clock, Extra time, Perfection, Arcade, and Three strikes and You're Out are some of the PSP-exclusive options, as is the wireless two-player feature.

Of course there are Classic and Career modes too, and should the mental strain get too much you can always come crawling back to Carol like a repentant child and politely ask her to solve the puzzle (the assist function is fully customisable). However the four difficulty levels and the planned one million unique Sudoku grids should at least ensure you'll find something you can finish on your own when the game is released later this spring.

Source: PocketGamer

World Rally Championship makes easy right to PSP

Namco Bandai Games America Inc. on Thursday announced that World Rally Championship for the PSP handheld entertainment system has reached gold production status and will be available on Apr. 18 at retail.

The rally racer by Traveller's Tales features 30 official 2005 WRC, Evolution, and Extreme spec cards and manufacturers like Ford, Subaru and Mitsubishi, in addition to 36 official WRC 2005 drivers and co-drivers.

"Rally cars are engineered to go anywhere under any condition so it is aptly fitting that we bring the only official FIA World Rally video game to the PSP system; a system that was also designed to go anywhere, “said Jeff Lujan, Business Director at Namco Bandai Games America Inc.

"Racing fans and PSP system owners will be able to practically taste the mud with the high-octane thrills provided by WRC."

The final release will include six game modes, head-to-head wireless and turn-based multiplayer, and wireless LAN for up to eight players.

Source: PunchJump

Major League Baseball 2K6 For PSP and XBox 360Have Gone Gold

Major League Baseball 2K6 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PSP (Play Station Portable), the latest in the popular Major League Baseball 2K video game series, have gone gold. Major League Baseball 2K6 showcases groundbreaking new features, outstanding graphics, incomparable gameplay and online play.

Major League Baseball 2K6, the only officially licensed Major League Baseball video game to be available for every major gaming console, brings baseball to life with a variety of original and exciting features for Xbox 360 and PSP. Providing baseball fans with the ultimate MLB video game experience, Major League Baseball 2K6 offers the new, innovative Swing Stick batting mechanic, A.I.-driven Inside Edge technology, World Baseball Classic Mode, and Pure Motion Physics, among other compelling features.

Major League Baseball 2K6 for Xbox 360 demonstrates the game’s exceptional graphics through high-definition details in cloth physics, 3D interactive crowds, and high-resolution textures. Through the power of the Xbox 360, the new Flashback Highlights technology allows players to relive key moments in the game.

In addition to incorporating a suite of superior features included in the console versions, Major League Baseball 2K6 for the PSP features the exclusive Home Run Derby Career Mode, challenging gamers to battle their way through the heavy hitters of Major League Baseball.

Major League Baseball 2K6 with these features and more will be shipping to retailers on April 10 for Xbox 360 and April 14 for PSP.

Source: GameCloud

PSP WRC: FIA 24K to be released soon!

By Tor Thorsen -- GameSpot

Source: MTV

Homebrew: New PSP Homebrew Releases for April 6, 2006

Great stuff today. Enjoy!

Games
Iris Star Wars Mod Add-On - Add a Star Wars theme to your Iris game.
Super Bunny World Mod for Super Mini Mario v3 - Super Mario Bros. clone.

Applications
PiMPStreamer v0.27 - And another version. Daily releases! Streams video to your PSP.
PSPRadio Pre-Release v0.38.09 - PSP Shoutcast client. Two versions: for 1.50 PSPs and for 2.00 PSPs.

Game Cheats & Saves
GTA Cheat Device v1.0b - The popular hack for Grand Theft Auto has been updated again! Make sure you download the version for your version of GTA: U.S./Canadian version or U.K./European version.

Firmware Hacks & Launchers
X-Flash v7 - A firmware modification utility.