How can it not be? A new Metal Gear Solid, a new Kingdom Hearts, a new Valkyria Chronicles, maybe even that new Resident Evil with be released, all tailor made for the PlayStation Portable are due next year.
Granted, many of the highlights of 2010 are either remakes, spin-offs or tinier versions of their higher-definition siblings bound for the PlayStation 3, but maybe you'd prefer to play them on the go to begin with. Although 2009 wasn't too shabby—Gran Turismo, LittleBigPlanet, Half-Minute Hero, Resistance: Retribution, etc.—we're going to go out on a limb and say that next year could be much stronger in the games department—but we'll not make any bets until Capcom releases a proper Resident Evil Portable screen shot.
Let's have a look see. And, of course, please suggest your own personal PSP highlights from the coming year
Note: We'll be looking at every platform's currently announced and estimated 2010 slate over the course of the rest of the week-and much much more.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
Hideo Kojima takes us back in time for the next Metal Gear Solid for the PSP, a follow up to the PlayStation 2 classic Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater and previous portable entry Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. Expect lots of Snake on Snake action, with a major emphasis on cooperative gameplay.
Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
The PSP entry in Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts series also takes us back in time, as Birth By Sleep is a prequel to the PS2 original. Expect all-new gameplay for the series, an epically long adventure and multiplayer for up to six Disney-Square Enix fans.
Valkyria Chronicles 2
Sega shifts its focus to the PSP in this sequel to the under-appreciated PlayStation 3 tactical action RPG. Despite the platform change, the younger crowd and a step down from the fantastic visuals of the PS3 original, the rock solid gameplay appears to be intact.
echoshift
The spin-off from the perspective shifting original echochrome keeps the same minimal graphical treatment, but offers all-new time shifting gameplay.
Fat Princess: Fistful of Cake
The PSP port of the PlayStation Network real-time strategy action game looks to offer a portlier set of modes.
Hot Shots Tennis
You know how this works. Clap Hanz puts some big headed jocks into a game and make it good. Hot Shots Tennis offers one more reason to take your PSP to court.
Invizimals
This Pokemon-like monster hunting game uses the PSP's camera to find hidden Invizimals in the real world, similarly trapping them with a real-world tool.
Army of Two: The 40th Day
Total fistbump destruction on the go. The coop shooter is one of a handful of third party PSP games built on the foundation of now-generation console games, giving portable gamers all the Salem and Rios they crave in a smaller package.
Dante's Inferno
Go to Hell with the portable version of Dante's Inferno. Like Army of Two, EA is bringing what appears to be a capable port to the PSP. Perfect for the on-the-go gamer who wants something similar to God of War: Chains of Olympus.
Shadow of Destiny
Konami returns to the PlayStation 2 time-traveling adventure, bringing us a straight up port of the murder mystery in tinier form.
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories
This re-imagining of the original Silent Hill for the PlayStation has already been released on the Wii, but portable gamers with fond wishes of Silent Hill Origins may want to consider this. It's unlike any other Silent Hill, for better or worse.
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3
Third-person shooting action. Ex-KGB agent killing. Lots of guns and an incredibly long title. If the acronym had never been invented, we'd call it Special Operations Command: United States Navy SEa, Air, and Land Forces Fireteam Bravo 3.
Eye of Judgment
Another PlayStation Portable game based on its bigger PS3 brother. This time, the camera gimmick has been done away with, giving card-based fantasy game fans something to do with their PSPs.
Duke Nukem Trilogy: Critical Mass
Not three games, but the start of a trilogy, a third-person shooter set in a world where Duke Nukem must shoot things or terrible things may happen. But there's a very very good chance it will actually come out.
Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! 2: Time To Tighten Up Security!
Protect Badman once again from a flood of hopeful heroes by taking up your pickaxe and sending loads of monsters at them! Looks like this one will ship on UMD and on the PlayStation Store.
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony
Really, you can never have too many versions of Lunar, even if you've played the original Lunar: Silver Star on Saturn or any of the other enhanced remakes. This classic Japanese role-playing game even comes in a new deluxe package!


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