Grab Bag: A couple good games for the PSP

Ahhh, the PSP. The first time anyone got off their ass and tried to shut down Nintendo in the Handheld market. Kudos, Sony! Although it didn't take down the DS, the PSP rolled out a few truly great games. And now i bring them to you in one piece. It's the Grab Bag: PSP!

First up is an american classic. Grand Theft Auto! All you PS2 and/or XBox owners that can play M games are probably hankerin' for a GTA game on the PSP (especially after the Hot Coffee mod from San Andreas). Rockstar games has answered the call of violence-thirsty gamers everywhere with Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories.
The latest installment (besides the PS2 version of Liberty City Stories) in the series provides classic GTA gameplay: Run, shoot, bash, hi-jack, murder, and blow your way through an intense yet new campaign, or just run, shoot, bash, hi-jack, murder, and blow for the hell of it. Yay! The new campaign features some very familiar faces and places, like Tony Cipriati. You also will play a few eerily familiar missions from previous GTA games. But it's definitely not a remake. The game has the perfect balence of new and old.
As usual, the world of LCS is MASSIVE. Theres a lot of old but fun mini-games like cabbie, ambulance driver, and more. Plus there are new mini-games like selling used cars. "Buy the car, dammit! Buy the car or i'll shoot you!" Oooh, it sounds like so much fun already!
You can't fault Liberty City Stories much, but it does have some old camera and aiming issues. But those don't get in the way much, as the auto-aim feature is upgraded a bit. Besides that, the game is flawless.
The graphics are pretty good for the PSP, and variety of weapons and vehicles is in no shortage. Overall, the game has the best from previous Grand Theft Auto games plus a good amount of new things, making it a great game. 9 stick-ups out of 10.

The next game is another classic: Tony Hawk's Underground 2 REMIX. It's a great game and a textbook example of a port (being a game taken from a console and put on a handheld, or vice versa). The game takes what was right with the console version and improved on it a lot.
The best thing about this game is all it's content. A great story, exciting multiplayer, diverse characters, and pretty easy controls. It also has a perfect balance of challenge and fun, with some good laughs mixed in. You'll spend lots of time with this game, as once you complete the storyline, you can attemp "classic mode", which, as it says, is a mode with classic THPS style. You try to complete goals, some classic (collect c-o-m-b-o and s-k-a-t-e) and some new (hit the five statues with tomatoes). It's a fun way to get back to the classics without hooking up your PS1.
The game also presents itself extroardinarily well. The graphics are stunning, while the free-roam areas are detailed and jam-packed with secret spots and more. Aside from that, you can find neat hidden easter eggs throughout the game (like a little nerd kid who will do the whole Star Wars act). As a plus, the soundtrack is loaded with classic Metallica tracks mixed with modern rock and hip-hop songs.
There are two things wrong with this game. First, the humor and cutscenes are usually dumb and juvenile. THUG 2's Bam Margera is nowhere near as funny as the real Bam. And they over-exagerrate Tony Hawk's sense of humor (no offense to the Birdman, you're just not that funny). The second flaw is the controls. Sometimes simple jumps can be intensely frustrating, and nailing hard tricks and lines is near impossible. It's not too bad, though, as practice makes perfect.
The game is good, one of the best for the PSP. It's great all-around. THUG 2: Remix is one of my personal favorites. I give it a 9 out of 10.

That's all for now, folks, look for more PSP titles to be reviewed.