The PlayStation Portable’s launch lineup assaults the senses with tons of gameplay options, but what will you do when you’ve solved all of those first-day titles? Hopefully, publishers will be able to fill the next few months with enough quality games to keep us busy. Too many hardware launches start strong only to succumb to a bleak dearth of staggered releases for six months (cough...Nintendo DS). Here’s what’s currently on the PSP radar.

Coded Arms

Konami • Summer 2005 — This futuristic shooter hails from an unlikely place—Japan. How does this hyperdetailed game spawn in a society that infamously gets motion sickness from first-person shooters? “A lot of Japanese players are still afraid of FPS games,” explains Coded Arms Producer Yasuo Daikai. “But the guys on our team all love classics like Doom, Quake, and Unreal, along with recent games like Halo and Half-Life—it’s our ultimate dream for our game to compete with the shooters on home consoles.” With its stunning visuals, massive single-player game (expect around 30 hours of nonstop action), and towering bosses, it might actually nudge up pretty close to current-gen FPS territory.

Arms’ trapped-inside-a-virtual-world-run-amok plot allows for lots of bizarre enemies, absurdly big weapons, and complex levels (including a few never-ending, randomly generated ones). Plus, you’ll be able to hook up with three other players for some wireless deathmatch violence.

Pursuit Force

Sony CEA • Fall 2005 — Rockstar’s upcoming Grand Theft Auto for PSP will have some competition from the other side of the law: Sony’s Pursuit Force casts you as a rookie cop tasked with bringing down five major gangs in Capital City, a sin-soaked metropolis in a fictionalized version of Nevada.

Walking the thin blue line means you won’t be staging break-ins or getting action from hookers, but you’ll still be able to steal cars...even while they’re moving. Leaping from car to car during 150 mph chases, engaging in deadly gunfights on freeways, and exploring oodles of dusty back roads should inject some much-needed excitement into your commute.

ADVENT SHADOW

Majesco • June 2005 — This action-adventure works as a side story to the upcoming Xbox title Advent Rising, but you won’t have to tackle that epic to appreciate Shadow’s blend of acrobatic gunplay and vehicular combat. Gamers who play both games, however, will come away with a deeper understanding of the complex story line penned by well-known sci-fi author Orson Scott Card.

BUST A MOVE

Majesco • Summer 2005 — This seminal puzzler invades PSP in predictable form (we seriously dare you to name a console in the past 10 years that hasn’t had a version of Bust-A-Move). But hey, even if it’s not revolutionary, this dependable mix of cuddly characters, high-pressure versus combat, and totally radical geometry still keeps us comin’ back to same old puzzle game again and again.

INFECTED

Majesco • Fall 2005 — Prepare to bloody the city streets as you splatter legions of undead in this gory Dawn of the Dead–inspired shooter. Perforating shambling zombies solo should provide some thrills, but fighting infection in wireless deathmatch games might be the real draw: Defeated foes will contract your specific “virus,” thereby passing it on to other players they come in contact with.

MIDNIGHT CLUB 3: DUB

Rockstar • April 2005 — The era of dumbed-down portable ports might be ending. All the sexy rides, over-the-top shortcuts, and breakneck street racing of Club’s console cousin survive in this PSP version. You’ll still be able to race your decked-out cars, trucks, and bikes through three huge, traffic-filled cities—Atlanta, Detroit, and San Diego—in either single-player races or wireless multiplayer contests.

GT4 MOBILE

Sony CEA • Summer 2005 — Sony has remained mysteriously tight-lipped regarding this PSP version of Gran Turismo 4. While it won’t be able to deliver the same absurd level of visual polish seen in the PS2 game, it should be capable of offering the one thing its console brother couldn’t—online play. Eight-player races over the PSP’s Internet matching service would simply rule....

DEATH JR.

Konami • May 2005 — The grim reaper’s rowdy son might have slipped from his original position as a PSP launch superstar, but don’t count him out just yet. As one of the only original PSP games in a sea of ports, this creative platformer (think: Mario with guns) can get away with being a tad tardy. Soon, you’ll be swingin’ a scythe and dealing lead at otherworldly demons.

SMART BOMB

Eidos • April 2005 — Who knew that combating the threat of international terrorism looked...so much like a pile of Tinker Toys. In this puzzle game, you try your darndest to imagine that you’re defusing deadly bombs under the expert tutelage of gruff Colonel Cage and his lovely protégée Michelle Grace. In reality, you’re spinning doohickeys to correctly turn gears and reflect lasers.

HOT SHOTS GOLF

Sony CEA • May 2005 — We’re not really sure why Sony chose to delay the release of this pick-up-and-play golf romp (it was a launch title back in December for Japan...maybe they’re adding true online play), but at least it’ll be a good reason to power up the ole’ PSP come summertime. Dependable gameplay, fully customizable golfing avatars, and nice-looking greens are par for the course.

Copyright © 2005 Ziff Davis Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Originally appearing in Electronic Gaming Monthly.