Echochrome

Joystiq ran a story today regarding a demo for Echochrome. I read it, shrugged, decided to dust off my old PSP...and wow, am I glad I did. It was not a simple task, getting the old machine ready for a new demo... it needed firmware updates (from 2.50 to 3.90) and network authentication. Sadly, the integrated web browser can't handle SSL encryption, which made it unable to authenticate itself via Oberlin's log in.

Anyway. Echochrome. Simply fantastic, despite the demo being completely in Japanese. Addictive as all get out, too. Maybe it's just 'cause I started playing it at a quarter to one, or maybe it's because I had a lot of fun, but I want to replay it again already.

The concept of the game is simple enough. Take a given scenario that is maddeningly similar to an M.C. Escher painting, and guide your little dude to each checkpoint, using the terrain to your advantage. It's so....easy, yet elegant. Plus, the music was pretty fantastic. For the first time in a long while, I enjoyed holding my PSP.

Now that I've gone ahead and updated it, I might as well get ready for using it. That's gonna require a couple of upgrades...namely a bigger memory card (32MB simply does not cut the mustard) and God of War: Chains of Olympus (because I need Kratos). Given enough time (and money...I'm short on money), I'll hopefully begin to use it again and justify the multiple hundred dollars I spent on it on its launch day.