Racketboy

The Capcom action classic, Ghouls N Ghosts is on its way to the Sony PSP and even though this “Extreme” installment isn’t sprite-based, it still looks slick and plays well.

The game has maintained its fierce difficulty but there are a few differences, such as Arthur’s ability to shoot down while jumping in the air, haul himself up on to ledges and collect different projectile weapons. It’s still basically a 2D game but some 3D effects have been used to add a sense of depth to the levels.

Capcom has included more extra lives to pick up, so you won’t have to try to get through the game with just a suit of armour and a pair of pants. Also, the route through the game will be far from linear thanks to branch and warp points that allow you to decide your route and even retrace your steps.

Preview Tidbits:
“It should still offer the same challenge that the old games did, but Arthur (the knight in shining armor) will have a few ways of dealing with it all a little better. First and foremost, he can take more than one hit while wearing his armor. In previous games, one hit would strip Arthur down to his briefs, leaving him completely vulnerable to a one-hit kill–that’s no longer the case. Also, when you die, you’ll reappear where you were instead of starting off from a checkpoint.
But it’s worth noting that this is the first Ghouls & Ghosts installment where you can perform both the double jump and throw weapons vertically, making it the best controlling installment yet. Another element worth noting was the ability to transform into various other creatures in strategic locations by jumping into a pot of witches brew. For example, one could transform into a frog to make the giant leap over a lava pit.”
1UP.com

“The PSP game retains the classic design of the series, complete with side-scrolling action on a 2D plane. The visuals are made entirely out of polygons, however, and the game is better for it. Animation tends to be smoother, and the backgrounds are more active.
There were some aspects kept to make the game feel right for longtime fans — Arthur is given more detail, but still strides in lurching 2-frame animation steps rather than smooth polygonal motion, and he’ll fall apart into a pile of bones when he dies… The framerate is perfectly smooth (even the 2D games struggled at times), and there seems to be no shortage of enemies and effects on-screen despite the upgrade to more complicated polygonal graphics.
Bosses are breathtaking in their enormity and motion, and in one sequence shown of the game, there’s a giant spider boss that is basically just a bunch of fierce-looking legs on the screen. Keeping the game to a flat plane has allowed the developers to do some incredible effects in the game, and seeing the eye bleed from the eyeball-ghost-launching obelisk (we hope fans of the series know what we’re talking about) is unsettling in so many ways.”
IGN

Screenshots at The Magic Box

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PSP, Portable Gaming, Arcade