Bounty Hounds (PSP)

I tend to see a muddy shine on RPGs; their constant grinding, right down to finding the amicable "Sword of Desperation Level 26" after fighting countless inebriated rats from the planet Moonbeams-Out-My-xxxx places a level of depression upon me so low, I could touch my toes.

But then a gem appears, an elusive amethyst that you find after scrubbing around in rather small caves. Bounty Hounds has that refraction to find the next universe...but it's like a universe you won't be leaving for straight away.

You play as a mercenary and tasked with clearing out areas and finding lost medical teams. Playing on some bumpy, yet varied environments, you face countless enemies in various forms that are primarily alien. They look that good that you're thankful the PSP doesn't come with a smell-o-meter, as they probably would've added some brimstone-esque aroma to make the whole experience complete.

The sounds are all fresh and original, taken out of the some primordial ooze that spurned the haunting actions sounds of Predator 2, and get you into the experience far more gradually than you'd like to admit.

The gameplay surprised me, REALLY surprised me. Yes, it is a constant grind of bashing at aliens. I mean, you've seen one, you've seen them all, yeah? But Bounty Hounds gives you a setting, a story, an avatar, and then offers you a vast array of weapons. Dividing into a projectile or melee branch, you find new variations and continuously grab better ones from fallen foes. There are event experience points to spend and upgrades to make, while certain original powers that are utilised using a real-time holographic dome that appears and initiates a "slow-mo" attack.

In effect, it gives you all the options at once, and they're all different.

This game had me hooked, and I'm normally skeptical about RPGs. I've been playing it for 2 weeks and I'm still not finished, so I'd suggest you pick this up to gain that "just one more go" feeling, if you'd like.