SNK has been the home of many great franchises over the years. Any list of those would have to include Metal Slug, the hit 2D platforming/side-scrolling shoot'em up. Metal Slug has been on a variety of platforms in the last twelve-plus years, most recently making its return to the PSP with Metal Slug XX. Featuring an all new campaign, six playable characters, wireless two player co-op, and dozens of challenges, Metal Slug XX is fun, although very familiar entry to the series.

Back in 1992, I was introduced to Mechwarrior running on an IBM 286 (it didn't have a hard drive connected to it, it ran off of 3 1/2 disks (with a 'k')). I was enchanted and absorbed into mech gaming forever after that experience. Since then, there have been several variations of mech titles, including an Xbox title that cost $299. On top of this, I've also been to the Battletech simulators in Chicago and at your local Dave & Busters, more than once. Fast-forward into the 2000's and a series called Armored Core raises its head and the bar when it comes to mech gaming. I always thought that Mechwarrior was detailed, but MW has nothing on AC. More recently in February of 2010, FromSoftware releases Armored Core: Silent Line (SL) for the PlayStation Portable. Could the PSP version maintain and retain the amount of detail that the Playstation 3 (and previous versions) toted? Only a review will tell.

SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 is arriving on the PSP and PSPgo on February 16th and SOCOM fans have a reason to be happy. Armed with a short, but sweet, single-player mode and some nice co-op and online modes, there's enough here to keep a gamer entertained. Is it well armed, though? It is, but there are some jams here and there in the weaponry.

In November, Sony released Buzz! Quiz World for the PS3, the newest entry into their popular trivia game series. Now, Buzz is back -- this time on the PSP. We reviewed and are still enjoying the PS3 version, but how does the PSP version stack up? Quite well, in fact. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Namco's popular Tekken series returned to the PSP late last month with Tekken 6. A couple of weeks earlier, Tekken 6 was released on the Xbox 360 and the PS3, and our resident Tek-head Eric Layman was impressed. Normally when you think of console to handheld ports, you expect a lot of missing content and other short cuts, but I'm pleased to say Tekken 6 on the PSP is a full featured fighter that is well worth your consideration.

Stormregion (Codename: Panzers series) is back with a new turn based strategy title exclusively for the PSP. Set in the late 23rd century, humans have all but exhausted their resources. The multinational corporation Kondor steps in to help by scouring space for raw materials. The planet Pythar looks to be the key to humanities desperate needs, but the Mytrans have already staked their claim. It's up to you to lead Loki, Eli, and Rachel against the Mytrans in order to save humanity, but you'll also get a chance to control the Mytrans and their heroes in this nicely done turn based title.

Shonen Jump's "Naruto" is a very popular and on going series of Japanese Manga that has been made into film, books, trading card games, and yes, video games -- lots of video games. The newest Naruto game is developed and published by Namco Bandai, and is called NARUTO Shippuden: Legends: Akatsuki Rising. I don't know the first thing about the Naruto universe but I'm having a good time with Akatusuki Rising, which I will refer to as simply AR for the rest of this review. Let's take a closer look.

As a gamer and a sports fan, I love this time of year. The holiday gaming season is in full swing, football is everywhere, the NHL is back, and the NBA is nearly underway. In fact, I just watch some preseason NBA earlier tonight. As a fan of NBA hoops and games, each year at this time I'm taking in the newest versions of the three annual NBA titles that include NBA 2K from 2K Sports, NBA Live from EA Sports, and NBA from the San Diego Studios of SCEA. Up first this year for me is NBA 10: The Inside from Sony. Unlike recent years, NBA 10 is only available on the PSP this year as opposed to also including the PS2 and PS3. However like previous years, NBA 10 is much more than just an NBA sim. It's chock full of great alternate modes that are very likely to capture more of your time than the actual NBA sim itself.