Technology, Books and Other Neat Stuff

I'm not particularly a game player. Sure, I have a couple of game machines around the house, but you'll probably find me playing any solitaire version or Nethack before I fire up the PSP or the PlayStation...

When I first saw the name I thought "Oooh. Trains". But, then I saw its technicolour blobs and filed it under "cute, but." Especially with the cost of PSP games...

Sony made a sensible decision, and produced a demo that could be downloaded straight onto a PSP (after yet another ROM upgrade), and play from a memory stick. It's a marketing move that's got me hooked. LocoRoco's controls are simple (just three buttons, and you can get away with using two most of the time), as are the graphics. However, what really sold me was that it's a trip back to the old 8-bit days of decent level design with clever puzzles and enough random factors to keep you trying to get to the end.

I suppose I really should get the rest of the game, but that first level is calling...

Flash needed for the LocoRoco site.

Nullriver's PSPWare turns a Sony PSP into an effective portable media player (as long as you have a decent sized memory stick).

It's a simple enough little piece of software, with tools for synchronising content with your desktop PC and down converting video files to display on the PSP's screen (yes, it even does wide-screen). It'll even sync iTunes and browser favourites (it still doesn't take OPML and fill out the PSP's RSS reader, but that's still new enough that they haven't had time to write the code...)

Well worth registering at only $15. It's given me a whole new place to watch my fansubs!

Mac and Windows versions available.

Thanks to codepope for the recommendation