Back again for my regular Sunday roundup of quick-fire reviews and impressions of everything under the spotlight at Retro Arcadia this week, old and new and a bit of both. I’ve still been on holiday this week, moving west from Seattle, where I left you last time, and along the Pacific coast to the Olympic National Park, which is proper Bigfoot territory and the only reason I so readily agreed to go there! Then we had a trip across the sea (and the Canadian border) to Victoria, returned to see our son’s college football (soccer) team play another home game, then headed back to Canada on a very picturesque boat trip for a few days visiting family in Vancouver, followed by an equally picturesque train journey back into Seattle for a couple of days, where I am right now until we come home tomorrow. And having bought a couple of PlayStation Portable games just before we left, I thought they could come with us too…

I really didn’t need a copy of 2006’s NFL Street 3 on PSP, having only picked up its predecessor on there a short while back (more here), which I’ve played loads, I think is great, and I’m still nowhere near done with. But it was cheap and I thought I’d have got to it eventually anyway… I don’t think I like it though! For starters, most of the pitches are so dark to my colourblind eyes, which is why you’ve got an emulated screenshot here rather than the photo of it running on my PSP I usually try to get. Not that the visuals are all that regardless, but my second disappointment with the game is either the controls are less responsive or the opposition is way more aggressive. Or both! Otherwise it’s more of the same – fully-licensed but hugely exaggerated arcade American football on urban pitches spread all across the USA, although in reality they could be anywhere. When you can see them! It’s still fun when it all comes together though, with new aerial moves and modifiers, and enhanced high-impact Gamebreakers, all adding a new level of flair and drama, if not a lot more strategy. There are still loads of game modes and match types too, including a cool new Playbook Elimination game where you gradually lose plays to choose from. A new Respect the Street career mode also wraps them all together, offering tons of variety and longevity, as I expect all the multiplayer stuff does as well, if you can still get it to work and then find someone to play with. Some great industrial, hardcore and nu-metal on the soundtrack too, which I wish I could transport back to NFL Street 2 because that’s realistically where I’ll be transporting myself back to as well before long because however many other positives I give you, I still can’t see the thing properly!

Just like NFL Street, I could not get a decent photo of NBA Live 10 in action on my actual PSP, so I’m afraid it’s another emulated screenshot, although I’m not sure why it always bothers me on PSP – where it’s never easy at the best of times – when it doesn’t seem to matter elsewhere! Whatever, I’ve been playing this for ages on emulation anyway, but thought it time I did the right thing and picked up a proper copy, albeit if for nothing else than to experience it as it should be, in your hands on a small screen with that lovely analog nub! It really feels built for the platform too, rather than cut down from the PS3 version, with so much attention to detail squeezed in, right down to the fully-licensed player’s tattoos, and you’ve got all the teams and courts, which have aged far better than some of-their-time player likenesses – all vibrant and shiny and filled with what seem like genuinely engaged crowds. Everything moves great too, which also goes for the realistic back and forth of the games you’re involved in, and that’s as much down to such fluid passing, shooting and blocking controls that offer accessibility but also all the complexity you could want to grow into. And there’s tons of modes, with a full-on Dynasty Mode where you’re in control of everything on and off the court forever, plus my preferred season mode, which runs up to eighty-two games, then there’s a Be a Pro career mode, various tournaments, mini-games and multiplayer too, once again for when such things were practical on a PSP, as well as a ton of stuff to unlock. I’m not massively into the hip-hop-heavy soundtrack but it’s right for the game and all adds to a very atmospheric overall sound design, and a very atmospheric, authentic and fun game of basketball that I think will keep me going on here for years to come!

I think I’ve saved what I spent the most time with this week until last, and it’s a 2007 title I actually bought a few months back known as both Sega Rally and Sega Rally Revo… Got a semi-decent photo of this one too! It was officially the fourth in the series, but is based on the Sega Rally 3 arcade game, which it was developed alongside by BugBear for this version, rather than Sega Racing Studio themselves. It’s the classic fast and loose Sega Rally arcade formula all the same, with you racing through fifteen different tracks set in jungles, snowy mountains, frozen tundras, rocky canyons and tropical beaches. Like everything we’ve seen today, there are a bunch of modes too, with quick races, time attacks and various multiplayer events, although once again, good luck with those! The headline Championship Mode is going to keep you busy for ages though, where you start out in the Premier Championship, but achieving certain criteria will unlock Modified and Masters classes, and they all consist of Amateur, Professional and Expert leagues to progress through, which will then unlock all sorts of other goodies as you go. These include loads of cars, with 2WD, 4WD and some Sega classics, and they’ve all got various customisations to apply if you want, but it’s no Colin McRae in any respect, so just jumping into the action is fine, and there’s plenty of that on offer too! Races are against five other cars, and occasionally questionable AI aside, are a proper high-speed thrill ride once you’ve got a feel for driving with the lovely analog nub, with really nice “rally” handling across the different terrains, which deform as you go around and take lumps out of them, although it’s more gimmick than game-changer. There’s tons of mud and dust and snow and debris flying about too, and things to break, and lovely little touches like occasional camera flashes as you pass groups of spectators, or public transport passing by, and everything generally looks absolutely gorgeous and full of colour and life, as your easy-going co-driver provides directions, the engine roars, and some fine but generic music plays along in the background. I’m not sure anything will ever come close to the original Sega Rally for me but this is as good as you could ever have hoped for on the go on a PSP!

I have been dabbling with some old Capcom collections on there too but I think that will do us for now, which I know was a bit sports-heavy but wasn’t a bad bunch considering I wasn’t sure I’d have anything at all for you this week, and they were pretty apt considering where I’ve been too! And in case you missed it last Wednesday, there was also my regular Halloween special, when this year we had a deep-dive into Sorcery on the Amstrad CPC, which might just be the best thing to ever appear on there, spooky or not! Well, apart from the definitive version of Chuckie Egg, of course! There’s more to come next Wednesday too, because it’s the start of yet another month, meaning it’s time to head back exactly 40 years for the very latest in video gaming in Retro Rewind: November 1985 in Computer & Video Games, straight from pages of the original magazine! Hopefully see you then!

As always, I’ll never expect anything for what I do here but if you’d like to buy me a Ko-fi and help towards increasingly expensive hosting and storage costs then it will always be really appreciated! And be sure to follow me on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) or Threads for my latest retro-gaming nonsense, and also on Bluesky, which is under my real name but most it ends up there too if you prefer!