A Whole New World

Remember back in school when the guy with Tetris on his calculator was cool? Things are different now. The stuff we can do with our phones nowadays would have amazed us just ten years ago. We can unlock our cars, and even turn them on, from hundreds of miles away. And now, thanks to Sony, we can play Crash Bandicoot on them.

Of course, I am talking about the Playstation Phone, aka the Xperia Play, and hopefully Crash isn't the last PS1 classic that will be available for it.

I've been looking to upgrade my phone from my old Palm Pre for a few months now, so when Verizon sent me an email saying I could have the brand new Play for just $150, I jumped on it. For those not in the know, the Play features a slide-out gamepad that makes playing games on your phone easier than ever.

The D-pad and face buttons are tremendous on it. The shoulder buttons seem fine, but I haven't played any games that really use them that much yet. It also has two touch plates that take the place of joysticks. Those..well, let's just say I hope most games completely ignore them.

Playing Crash on it feels like second nature. It controls perfectly, plus there's just something about hitting an app on your phone and seeing the old PS1 booting screen load up. All in all, I'm glad I got the Play. It's just like the 3DS. While there isn't too much on it yet, we know there will be better things on the horizon; the heavily anticipated Minecraft being one of them.

Keep in mind, this is my first Droid phone, so while there are probably phones out there that can do more than the Play, let's face it... The Play was built for someone like me. It probably won't replace the 3DS, and the upcoming NGP from Sony (called the Vita?). That's not the point, though. The point is, there are places you can take your phone that would frown upon you pulling out your 3DS. Would I get fired at work if I got caught playing Zelda on 3DS? No, but if I'm playing through Syphon Filter on my Play, a simple button press and it looks like I'm just reading a text.

Now it's time for Sony to do their part. We need more than just Crash and Syphon (us USA gamers don't even have Syphon...yet). At E3 next week, I expect a huge Play presence. I want to see Resident Evil and Silent Hill and Final Fantasy 7. How about not just old games? How about a brand new Metal Gear Solid spinoff for it? One could only hope. I'd also like to see Sony change their minds about it not being integrated with the Playstation Network, but I may be SOL there.

Well, that's all for now. Keep checking back for more updates. I can't believe we are only a week away from E3. I'll have a post about what I'm looking forward to seeing soon.

Until next time!