While this week's crop of new games doesn't really scream "Triple-A", it is noteworthy for having Patapon 2, the vanguard/forward scout for Sony's foray into digital distribution for the PlayStation Portable. Other picks this week include the release of the Wii version of Namco's PlayStation original, Klonoa. PC gamers also get a one-two-three punch from Crytek and EA with the compilation, CrysisCrysis: Maximum Edition. Read on for the rest of this week's video game releases.

A lot of us had a blast when homebrew coder SeanPaul223 released Mario Kart 64v1- PSP Edition. Now, the second version of the game has come a long and it spells more fun than ever before. See the details in the full article up ahead.

*Update*: File now hosted at DL.QJ.NET.

Download: Mario Kart 64v2- PSP Edition

The homebrew game Funky Kong is Zora_182's own take to the classic arcade game Donkey Kong. But instead of simply porting it to the PlayStation Portable, the coder decided to add several changes and give it a new spin.

To know all about these changes and the latest version of Funky Kong, proceed to the full article via the "read link" below.


Download: Funky Kong v1.00
Visit: QJ PSP Development Forum

PSP Homebrew developer Zora_182 has released his new game (well, a new game based on an old one): Funky Kong! As you might have guessed, it's based on the classic Donkey Kong arcade game. Zora_182 is also the author of the Super Mario Bros. Platformer (SMBPSPlatformer v0.03).

Funky Kong is still in beta form but Zora_182 says that it's playable even if it's still a little buggy.


Download: Funky Kong Beta
Visit: QJ.NET PSP Development Forums

   

If games such as Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Junior, BurgerTime, Frogger, River Raid, and Zaxxon make you want to relive the good old days you spent with the ColecoVision, then you're in luck. Uberjack has just6 released ColEm v2.2.2, a version that fixes the buffer overflow error affecting units without a battery.

For those unfamiliar with this emulator, it is a port of the ColEm emulator for the Sony PlayStation Portable platform. It's written in C and uses GU (Graphical Utility toolkit) for rendering. If you plan on using this, keep in mind that that system ROMs must reside in the same folder as EBOOT.PBP file. However, game ROMs can be placed anywhere like in the previous version.

Now for a load of "ifs". If you decide to change the button configuration, remember that changes are not retained after a mapping is modified. If you want to save the changes be sure to press circle after the controls have been configured. If you're using an older build of this, it may not be necessary to upgrade to this version unless you use your PSP without the battery (i.e. when connected to the AC).

Installation, like its earlier versions, is basic drag and drop. Copy the game folder(s) from the download and paste it in the root of your PSP's memory stick.

Download: ColEm v2.2.2

Homebrew developer Zion dropped by QJ.Net PSP forums and released a very exciting homebrew port of video game title Mario Kart 64. This really is exciting because we all know that a lot of gamers loved this game. As a matter of fact, total sales for Mario Kart 64 reached one million just after one week of being on the market.

Obviously, we here at QJ love that game as well but we should focus on the homebrew game because it is equally as good and as fun. While in 2D, Zion noted that it took him quite a while to perfect this release so give it a try. Some of Super Mario Smash Kart v1.0 features include:

• Three levels
• Scrolling
• Main Menu
• Four computer controlled racers racing against you.
• Character Selection menu that includes : 5 Selectable Characters (Link, Luigi, Kirby, Donkey Kong, and Mario).
• Power-Ups and Missiles - Including Chomp, Shells, Bananas, and Mushrooms.
• Random AI - No race will ever be the same.
• Pause Screen - Ability to pause the game at any time.
• Nice Animation.
• Great soundtrack and sound effects.

Controls and other information can be found in the Readme file. The developer is also responsible for other homebrew projects like DreamChip and canceled venture Wandria: Tears of Fate.

Download: Super Mario Smash Kart v1.0
View: QJ PSP Development Forum

One of QJ.Net Forums' regular devs is back with an updated version of PSPsokoban. For those who may not  be into this kind of homebrew game lately, let us introduce you to shadow77340's creation: PSPsokoban. This homebrew is a port of mariosokoban and is faithful to the rules of traditional Japanese puzzle game Sokoban.

Among the many improvements implemented in PSPsokoban v0.6, we're kind most interested in the new characters that have been added in this version. In the previous release, we believe that there were around 10 popular video game characters included in the homebrew. This time, characters like Shrek, Shadow and Bomberman among others have also been added.

And as for the specific improvements, we posted the complete changelog for PSPsokoban v0.6 below. Meanwhile, just be sure to go over the Readme file first before playing, for controls and other important details.

PSPsokoban v0.6 changelog:

• A new beautiful cursor is displayed in the editor mode
• Oslib has been replaced by the Sdlmixer in the sound handler
• Sounds can now be played in repeat/loop mode
• 8 new characters ( Bomberman, Kon of Bleach, mini-Bowser, Sponge-Bob, a new Pokemon, Picolo of DBZ, Shadow of Sonic and Shrek!)
• 3 new levels
• The joypad is now usable on the map and in the editor window
• A new option "info save" has been added to display informations about saved datas
• New dialog box when returning to the main menu, or while saving during the game.
• New sprite for "teleportation"
• New messages when a level is completed
• Sounds are played during the game.
• Bug fix in PSP CPU clock frequency settings
• Bug fix with the Donkey Kong character (when entering in the statistics panel)
• Home button has been disabled, to quit the game use the SELECT key (or RTrigger to return to the main menu).
• Bug fix when you save while you play with your savedata.
• Pikachu can now transform!

Download: PSPsokoban v0.6
Visit: QJ PSP Development Forum

Homebrew developer shadow77340 (who is just a 14-year old French boy mind you), just updated Pspsokoban to v0.5 over at the QJ.Net Forums. This is a game that is pretty much straightforward - a mariosokoban port that remains faithful to the rules of the traditional Japanese transport puzzle game Sokoban. Having said that, don't get the impression that PSPsokoban won't be able to deliver a few surprises. According to shadow77340, there are 10 popular video game characters that appear in this homebrew including Link, Mario, Sonic, Pac-Man, Goku and others.

The official changelog for PSPsokoban v0.5 is as follows:

• A map edit
• A mode simulation to test your map
• Add 9 more level
• There is Donkey Kong Now
• The best score is now correctly saved ( thx to Zx-81 who help me for the functions atoi ... XD)
• We can displayed the best score in options
• There is more informations in the stats
• Savedata system when you press Start inside the game , and you can continue in the options

Lastly, the coder has a little request for those who are interested to give PSPsokoban a try. According to shadow77340, he accidentally deleted the game's source while in development so there's a possibility that you will encounter some bugs in this version. He would gladly appreciate it if you tell him so whenever you find one.

Download: PSPsokoban v0.5
View: QJ PSP Development Forum

As of  March 17, the UK Charts have seen some slight changes in game sales rankings. The mighty triumvirate of Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Warfighter 2, Final Fantasy XII and Sonic and the Secret Rings remain unshaken in the top three spots. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 surges into the fourth spot as former spot owner The Sims 2: Seasons falls on the eighth spot. Crackdown is still the big enforcer at fifth place as Test Drive Unlimited, FIFA 07, Pro Evolution Soccer 6 and Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of Minus round up the top ten.

1 Tom Clansy's Ghost Recon Warfighter 2 
2 Final Fantasy XII 
3 Sonic and the Secret Rings 
4 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07        
5 Crackdown
6 Test Drive Unlimited 
7 FIFA 07    
8 The Sims 2: Seasons
9 Pro Evolution Soccer 6
10 Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of Minus
11 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS.    
12 Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
13 The Sims 2: Pets
14 Call of Duty 2
15 Need For Speed Carbon
16 The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess
17 Spectrobes
18 Football Manager 2007  
19 WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007   
20 Gears of War   

We'll keep you posted for next week's charts.

The latest version of Exophase's gpSP GBA emulator for the PSP is now out for download.

gpSP v0.6 is still a beta release, so "watch out for new bugs," says Exophase. This new version still manages to fix a couple of bugs from the initial release, and offers a few new features, and adds new games to the game_config.txt file. New to this update are (taken from the Readme file):

Bug fixes

• Fixed a nasty bug that shouldn't have made it into the initial release; a lot of games that TECM.. erm.. crash won't anymore. NOTE: This doesn't mean that no game will ever crash, freeze, otherwise not work.
• Fixed some crashes in the GUI and the ability to "go up" past ms0:/PSP. Made the "go up" button square like it was supposed to be (instead of cross).

Feature additions

• There's now a menu that you can access, by default press right while holding down triangle for the frameskip bar.
• Menu option: resize screen aspect ratio, the default is now "scaled 3:2" which makes it look more like a normal GBA. You can use "fullscreen" (what it was like before) or "unscaled 3:2" (tiny but pixel for pixel like a GBA)
• Menu option: You can now load new games while the current one is running.
• Menu option: You can now restart the currently running game.
• Menu option: Frameskip variation - this defaults to "uniform" whereas it defaulted to "random" last release. Basically, turn it on random if you find that frameskip causes flickering animations to make things disappear. Other than that it will generally look better on uniform.
• GUI and file loading now have "auto repeat" on the buttons so they're not such a pain to navigate.

Download: [gpSP v0.6 GBA emulator for the PSP binary file]
Download: [gpSP v0.6 GBA emulator for the PSP source file]
Discuss: [gpSP v0.6 Forum Release Thread]

Read on for the full changelog.