Ok let's just get to the good stuff right?  I watched Spiderman 2 on this nifty little device and was blown away by the quality.  I honestly could compare the quality of the PSP to a regular monitor playing an AVI or DVD movie on your computer and the only difference you'll notice is the dimensions of the screen which is an adequate 4.3 inches due to portability.  There were no signs of slowing down once the movie started.  No frame overlapping or quality being dropped, just constant good clean quality throughout the entire movie making it even nicer to use than many portable DVD players.

I got the chance to play two of the few games currently available for the console, FIFA soccer and Need for Speed Underground Rivals.  Let's start with FIFA soccer.  This game is really superb, by far one of the best football games I've ever played on any console.  Gameplay is really fun, and the controls were just perfect.  Want your 'balla' to move left a little, no problem, he'll do just that.  Graphics are unbelievable, when you play a football game in the rain it looks too real and you can notice that the weather actually affects the players ability to perform.

Need for Speed Underground Rivals was just as nice.  Controls felt a little different and took sometime getting use to, but once I got use to it, the game was perfect.  Everything you are accustomed to in the PC version of Underground is all here.  One thing I didn't like was how my engine sounded.  I mean, you put in a 'phat' tailpipe on your ride and you don't even hear some good bass coming out of your car, which was disappointing.  But the game was perfect in every other aspect.  The graphics were good.  Not as good as the FIFA, and definitely looks better than a slow computer that has to turn down the graphics, but you could still notice a few rough edges throughout the game.

With my limited experience with the PSP the only problem that I had an issue with was the audio.  Overall it was good, but of course surround sound and a heavy baseline cannot and shouldn't be expected in any portable device.  It's just that when something blows up, or a ball is kicked, or you crash, hearing the bass line really adds to the gaming experience.

Overall the Playstation Portable is a good video player/gaming console.  It's a little heavy which you'll get over after the first 5 minutes of use.  A good pair of headphones (which comes as standard) are a must for the completion of this little beauty.  Graphics are spectacular and all the controls are well placed which comes as no surprise.  The lack of an infrared connection or Wi-Fi access hindered my tests, but the main features are executed with the utmost precision.

Finally, people looking for a portable device to watch movies and play games should definitely check out what the PSP has to offer and I'm very impressed with Sony's entry into the mobile gaming market.  Personally, I say wait for a few more titles to be released and the price to come down and then go get one for yourself.

Andrew Mais is an avid gamer and IT Technician.