Nyko’s PSP Theater Experience :

I stood in a packed line at a GameStop when they released the Evil Dead UMD for PSP. Now, nobody was standing in line to get it, but I saw one copy left and I had to make it mine. I’m a huge movie fan and so this was like some little gem, glittering within the dusty decay of some abandoned mine. My hands were nearly trembling when I got up to the counter, put down my money and pointed at the UMD with much fervor.

When I got home, I ripped off the plastic and jammed it into my PSP as quickly as I could only to find I could.. barely hear the damn thing. I gasped, restarted the PSP — even consulted the website’s tech support that Sony laid out for us. Did everything I could to try and enhance the sound coming from my speakers, because let’s just face it — Deadites are really non-threatening when they just sound like shuffled footsteps on someone’s hardwood flooring.

Despite all this, I couldn’t work it out. I gave up on it and I stowed my copy of Evil Dead up on the shelf and walked away. Months later, however, I was given this deliciously heavy piece of machinery to try out from Nyko. After screaming through the NASA-type plastic that they encased it in, I stared at the black brushed aluminum casing. Wow. They meant it, didn’t they? When you open it up, you almost expect it to hiss like some uncovered tomb. Maybe I’m dramatic, but it totally should have — because what was inside was nothing short of amazing.

I snatched up my PSP, fully loaded with the Sega Genesis Collection that is the staple game in my PSP at the moment; then I quickly pushed the PSP into the hinge loaded slot. When you open the case at first, you pull up the black slot and this is where you press your PSP into. Trying to get it to fit in there perfectly was a bit of a sticky-wicket as I had to take off my white strap and constantly make sure the connector’s lined up correctly. However, in the end - I got it in there. Plugged everything in and turned on the PSP.

Once I turned it on, the sound quality was almost four times what I thought it would be! They weren’t kidding about the change in the sound quality either, I felt like I was sitting in-front of an actual television, playing my PSP. It was clear, crisp and had a good sound that didn’t sound tinny or masked whatsoever. I appreciated it.

Now, another interesting thing is that I could play it despite it being within a case. The way the PSP is held within it, still lends to wrapping your hands around it and doesn’t hide any of the buttons you’d need to mash through another level in Golden Axe III. When you’re done playing, you can just push the PSP down within the case, shut it up and it will recharge if the plug is still inside. When you open it, you can take out the cords and the embedded battery in the case will keep you playing longer than even just your PSP would allow. It’s an awesome idea for those people who want to game on the go, but don’t wan to be tied down by battery times and awful sound quality.

I admit, I sit in-front of a laptop that has amazing gaming capabilities and I have a good handful of consoles in my living room and I would rather sit here and tinker with the PSP Theater Experience. Why? Because when you find something that actually makes your gaming time worthwhile, you want to extend it’s use as far as you can take it, showing it off to your friends and enjoying the fact a company actually bettered the time you were spending.

Thanks, Nyko. Altered Beast never sounded so good.