The tracks of success of Monster Hunter Freedom are still fresh (650,000 sold in Japan, making it the biggest PSP title to date) but here comes Monster Hunter Portable 2 (to be known in the U.S. as Monster Hunter Freedom 2) anyway. According to Famitsu, the sequel begins in Pokke, a village headed by a female chief but the main setting is the snowy mountains around the village. But the gameplay areas extend to a forest, a desert, a volcano and a swamp.

If the snowy mountain area looks familiar it's because they were featured in Monster Hunter 2 (PS2). But unlike the PS2 title, Monster Hunter Portable 2 does not have its the day-night-season time flow system where conditions change as the game is played. The PSP version features quests taking place at set times of the day. Other PS2 elements carried over to the PSP's Monster Hunter Portable 2 includes the samurai blade, the hunting horn, and the long bow. Famitsu also mentioned wireless play and downloadable content but didn't provide the details.

Fast would be an understatement to describe how the guys responsible for developments on the NeoGeo are, at dishing out updates. I was checking out the website one minute and already in the process of writing an article on the Beta 1 when all of a sudden, there it was, Beta 2 updates. Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining (and I am pretty sure, so are you). I am in awe at their dedication to the project. Kudos to the team!

Changelog:

Beta 1

• NeoGeo emulation modified according to the same changes made on ngepsp
• With the change above, the internal structure has been largely modified, thus making the state data unusable (cannot select Load).
• Raster effect supported. I added this to ngepsp just to test it out. If you enable it, the emulation speed will suffer a big drop due to the heavy calculation of this effect.
• Problems introduced from the Windows version have been fixed:

1. ssideki2 - the ground disappears when raster effect is enabled.
2. Karnovr - the background of Jean stage/round 1 is not showing.

• Some games run faster (the opening of Galford in Shin Samurai Spirit and etc.

Beta 2

• Timer processing fixed.
• Watchdog processing fixed.
• State save version update. The compatibility with older versions is now void.

Thanks a bunch to Jeff Chen for the translation.

Download: [NEOGEO CDZ Emulator 0.5 Beta 2 for PSP (English Binary)]
                  [NEOGEO CDZ Emulator 0.5 beta 2 for PSP (Japanese Binary)]

By now, you're either sick of us telling you that the NeoGeo Emulator for PSP has been updated or you're equally fascinated as I am because of how fast and how keen NJ is when it comes to improving his homebrew emulator. Yes folks, mere hours after we posted the NeoGeo Emulator for PSP v0.1.1, the good developer has come up with version 0.1.2. Truly, this guy has outdone himself! I don't really have much to say, I'm still quite awestruck with this development.

Anyway, there were some of you who mentioned that they encountered minor problems while running the emulator, but they were able to remedy those minor glitches and the app is working fine now. In an effort to really bring out the best of this awesome must-have emulator for PSP owners, the good developer has released v0.1.2 which actually fixes a minor but potentially fatal bug. And with all that said, we go over to the changelog translated by, who else, QJ's Jeff Chen.

ver0.1.2 Changelog

- Fixed a problem that a part of the menu may damage the stack. This is a minor but dangerous fix.

Here is a list of games that do run in MAME but yet not supported by NGEPSP.

-svcpcb SvC Chaos - SNK vs Capcom (JAMMA PCB)
-kf2k3pcb The King of Fighters 2003 (Japan / JAMMA PCB)
-mslug3b6 Metal Slug 6 (Metal Slug 3 bootleg)
-cthd2003 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2003 (The King of Fighters 2001 bootleg)
-ct2k3sp Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon 2003 Super Plus (The King of Fighters 2001 bootleg)
-kf2k2pls The King of Fighters 2002 Plus (set 1, bootleg)
-kf2k2pla The King of Fighters 2002 Plus (set 2, bootleg)
-kf2k2mp The King of Fighters 2002 Magic Plus (bootleg)
-kf2k2mp2 The King of Fighters 2002 Magic Plus II (bootleg)
-kof10th The King Of Fighters 10th Anniversary (The King of Fighters 2002 bootleg)
-kf2k5uni The King of Fighters 10th Anniversary 2005 Unique (The King of Fighters 2002 bootleg)
-kf10thep The King of Fighters 10th Anniversary Extra Plus (The King of Fighters 2002 bootleg)
-kof2k4se The King of Fighters Special Edition 2004 (The King of Fighters 2002 bootleg)
-ms5plus Metal Slug 5 Plus (bootleg)
-kf2k3bl The King of Fighters 2003 (bootleg, set 1)
-kf2k3bla The King of Fighters 2003 (bootleg, set 2)
-kf2k3pl The King of Fighters 2004 Plus / Hero (The King of Fighters 2003 bootleg)
-kf2k3upl The King of Fighters 2004 Ultra Plus (The King of Fighters 2003 bootleg)
-svcboot SvC Chaos - SNK vs Capcom (MVS) (bootleg)
-svcplus SvC Chaos - SNK vs Capcom Plus (set 1, bootleg)
-svcplusa SvC Chaos - SNK vs Capcom Plus (set 2, bootleg)
-svcsplus SvC Chaos - SNK vs Capcom Super Plus (bootleg)
-samsho5b Samurai Shodown V / Samurai Spirits Zero (bootleg)
-lans2004 Lansquenet 2004 (Shock Troopers - 2nd Squad bootleg)
-ms4plus Metal Slug 4 Plus (bootleg)

Download: [NEOGEO Emulator for PSP v0.1.2]

If you're a true Metal Gear fan, what should you do to fully realize your admiration to Solid Snake and his crew? Should you wear a headband and an eyepatch too? Wield a samurai and have your body altered to be a cyborg like Raiden? Or maybe you should consider smoking ala Solid? Nope, you just have to download Grunty Thirst's self-designed Metal Gear Theme Pack and install it to your PSPs.

A self-confessed Metal Gear fanatic, Grunty Thirst came up with this theme pack to profess his rabid addiction to the MGS lore. One thing though, he warns interested users that "this download contains the theme pack ONLY. The user must already be accustomed with ThemePSP and where to put the files."

Sodr's ThemePSP 1.1 homebrew is already included in the link below, but if you want more information about it, just click here. Remember, before installing this in your PSP, make sure you know exactly what you're doing. We'll repeat the same warning we provided in the ThemePSP v1.1 release: Please be aware of the fact that misuse of the flash could brick your PSP.

Like what Solid Snake said in the E3 demo of upcoming PS3 title Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, "War has changed...". Maybe it's time we polish our PSPs to match those changes, or maybe you should try it just for the "cool" factor of having Raiden, Otacon, Meryl Silverburgh, Liquid Ocelot, and of course Solid Snake flashing in your PSPs.

Download: [Metal Gear Theme Pack]