Announced at SONY’s Pre-E3 Press Conference (although having already been unveiled by Electronic Theatre days before), Patapon 2 is the sequel to this Easter’s similarly named Patapon.

When it comes to family based entertainment few games can rival the success of the BUZZ! quiz series on PlayStation2. With no less than seven previous releases under its belt, BUZZ! caters expertly for all ages; even the younger members of the family can get involved with the specially developed BUZZ! Junior range. So how will a game so revered for its ability to pull families together fare on PlayStation Portable. With its imminent release this Friday, July 25^th, 2008, it remains to be seen whether the introduction of such a popular social game on said console will be to the detriment of its pulling power.

Capcom, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of videogames, today announced Monster Hunter Freedom 2 for the PSP (PlayStation Portable). Monster Hunter has quickly become one of the most remarkable and successful series for Capcom, with sales in excess of 2.4 million units worldwide.  Capcom’s  previously released Monster Hunter Portable (Known as Monster Hunter Freedom in Europe) was a runaway hit, becoming Japan’s top selling title for the PSP system, with an attach rate of about one game sold for every five systems in the country.  Monster Hunter Portable 2nd has just released in Japan and is already well on its way to surpassing the previous title with remarkable initial shipment numbers.  Capcom plans to release this game as Monster Hunter Freedom 2 across PAL territories in September 2007.

           While most people were content to play FPSs on the Nintendo64 with only one analogue stick, it has become evident since that the freedom of movement allowed through two sticks is clearly superior. Therefore it does seem a little strange that the PSP was designed with a single analogue nub. Despite this glaring omission, developers are still keen to make numerous FPSs for the console, perhaps the most prominent of these being Coded Arms, Konami’s hacker themed sci-fi shooter. Although hardly anything special, Coded Arms was a decent enough game and, as such, we’re hoping that it’s sequel Coded Arms: Contagion will build on the strong parts of the original.