Sony announced
original PlayStation emulation for the PSP handheld in early 2006, and
launched the service together with the PlayStation 3, via the PlayStation
Network digital store. In the early days of the service, Sony required the
use of a PlayStation 3 to access the service, and downloaded PSone games
could only be played back on the PSP. In late April, Sony updated the
firmware of the PSP and PS3 systems to improve the functionality of PSN
download titles; they can now run on both the PSP and PS3, and can use save
files from the original PSone disc versions transferred from a memory card.
Previous owners could download the new updates at no extra cost. The
original cost was roughly $6 to begin with.
Being an emulated version, Biohazard Director's Cut runs exactly the same on
the PSP and PS3 as it did on the PSone. No new game modes were added, but
the game does feature variety; players can assume the roles of Chris
Redfield or Jill Valentine, in either their original modes (lifted from the
original Biohazard 1), a mode with easier difficulty, or a mode with harder
difficulty, altered camera angles and rearranged item placement. An
individual runthrough with Chris and Jill isn't a terribly long adventure,
especially for one who played through the game on the PSone. Still, this
does somewhat compliment the portable nature of the PSP, allowing for large
parts of the game to be enjoyed in a short amount of time. Expect around 2-3
hours per adventure.
Biohazard brought survival horror-like gameplay into the mainstream. Aimed
at scaring gamers, the game succeeded back in 1996, although today, on
either the PSP or PS3, being scared simply isn't going to happen given the
game's archaic visuals and the evolution of videogame scare tactics over the
last decade. Gamers assume the role of Chris and Jill, and wander through a
big mansion populated with zombies and others creatures, with locked doors
they must find the keys for, and odd puzzles they must solve in order to get
those keys. Creatures must be dispatched using a variety of weapons with
limited amount of ammo; some weapons do more damage than others, for example
comparing the Handgun to the Magnum. The aiming system allows for the
characters to automatically aim at enemies, which isn't a perfect dynamic,
because it has a difficult time tracking fast moving enemies. The controls,
also unchanged from the PSone, translate to the Sixaxis and PSP buttons
perfectly. As usual, some may have trouble with the movement of characters
being tied to pressing up on the D-Pad, but gamers who become accustomed to
the controls shouldn't have any problems after that.
There is a reasonable amount of path deviation, especially for Jill, so on
subsequent replays, players can take different actions than they did the
first time. For Jill, in one runthrough she may ignore a trap related to the
acquisition of the Shotgun; on another, she may decide to circumvent the
trap. Each character can go through four possible outcomes thanks to the
presence of two allies, so it might be worth trying all of the combinations;
both allies survive, only one survives (the first or the second ally), and
no one survives. Saving the game requires ink ribbons used at typewriters;
there's a limited amount of these, although the PSP's sleep mode or the
PS3's PS button make this limitation somewhat insignificant unless the
player wants to try another game.
One cool feature about PSP-PS3 connectivity is the managing of save files;
connecting the PSP and PS3 via USB, gamers can transfer their
work-in-progress save files from the PS3 to the PSP and continue the
adventure on the portable. Even save files from the PSone version, when
created on the PS3 or somehow transfered over from a PSone memory card, will
function with the PS3 and PSP versions of the game, providing extra
incentive for original owners who downloaded the game to enjoy on the
portable, or with the added convenience of no longer needing the game disc
on their new PS3.
Naturally, the visuals weren't changed at all, except for a small
improvement in color. Gamers expecting use of the PSP's hardware to improve
the game will be disappointed at seeing the same compressed pre-rendered
backdrops and low-resolution character models; being based on a 1996 game,
the graphics were amazing for its time but are now outdated. The game is
ugly by today's standards, so playing the game on the PS3 will surely be an
eyesore relative to that system's capabilities. Director's Cut translates
well onto the PSP screen; full screen mode at maximum brightness is
recommended for the best possible look.
Biohazard Director's Cut was one of the first games available for download,
and it's an interesting choice. Undoubtedly, gamers looking for a portable
version of the original Biohazard will want to know the better choice
between the DS's Biohazard Deadly Silence and the PSP's emulation of
Biohazard Director's Cut. The truth is, there really isn't a clear cut
winner and which version is superior is down to personal preference.
Deadly Silence and Director's Cut are both variations of the original
Biohazard, but have many differences. Director's Cut aims for a complete
emulation of the PSone game, regardless of the PS3 and PSP's capabilities,
while Deadly Silence uses the DS's unique features to improve the Biohazard
experience. While Deadly Silence cannot compete with Director's Cut's price
and console-portable connectivity, it is the more appropriate of the two for
portable games. The Director's Cut fails to allow for cut-scenes and
door-opening sequences to be skipped, providing a waste of precious PSP
battery life, and more importantly, a waste of time, if the player wants to
get as much done as possible in a short time period. Deadly Silence allows
for cutscenes and door scenes to be skipped, which makes the portable
adventure that much smoother. Deadly Silence also brings the gameplay
standard of the original up a few notches, matching Biohazard 3, thanks to
the addition of the 180 turn and L-button knife wielding. Meanwhile, the PSP
version is still stuck without the improved gameplay. Deadly Silence
contains the interesting rebirth mode, but Director's Cut contains arrange
mode. Graphically, Deadly Silence contains better character models than any
version besides the GameCube remake, but the compressed backgrounds look
quite a bit worse than the faithful backgrounds on the PSP.
Yet, for a hardcore Biohazard fan, the differences between the two versions
make it so that they compliment each other. Gamers who just want the
challenge or THE original version should go for the PSP version, while
gamers looking for a version better suited for handhelds in general, or are
looking for the most advanced version, ought to give the DS version a try.
But as far as the PSP-PS3 product is concerned, at a low price of $6 or so,
you cannot go wrong with one of the best games from the PSone era.
Director's Cut suits the handheld PSP well enough to be enjoyable, and while
the save system and constant loading times may be a turn off for on-the-go
gaming, Director's Cut is still a nice classic addition for anyone's PSP-PS3
library.
Note: The game is only available on the Japanese and Hong Kong PSN stores.
Written by: cvxfreak |
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