(Activision for PSP)
By Mike Delano
The overwhelming popularity of the first-person shooter has muscled out all but the strongest of rival genres from the marketplace, a trend that has rendered many gamers overly effusive when something else comes along (Super Mario Galaxy is great, but it also seems like one of only a handful of marquee titles from 2007 that didn’t feature anyone being shot or killed). So supreme does the FPS reign that companies even feel the need to shoehorn them onto a system that is ill-equipped to handle their gameplay, as is the case with the PSP. Call of Duty is such a popular series that it’s no surprise when titles pop up on every system imaginable, but imagination could’ve played a bigger role in the development of Roads to Victory. While Sony received some jeers for making Killzone: Liberation a top-down shooter for the PSP, it works better than the FPS-lite on display here. There’s the clunky use of the four face buttons to aim and the necessary evil of a generous auto-aim feature, but despite these obstacles, nothing in Roads to Victory is broken. It’s all very playable and, unfortunately, very boring and predictable, with uninspired level designs and routine action sequences. If you must have a FPS on the go, this will do, but anyone less desperate should hold out for something better.
(www.activision.com)