Various members of the IGN Boards have spotted Logan's Shadow demo UMDs at GameStop/EB Games. The demo will allow you to get a taste of what the media got to play at Sony's Gamer's Day. Lucian04 from the forums noted that "they just gave me the demo when I asked for it. No pre-order involved." You may want to do the same.

The incredible graphics, sweet new control options, and fantastic presentation all have us thinking Logan's Shadow can become PSP Game of the Year. Rush to your nearest GameStop, hassle an employee, and tell us what you think of the demo.

[Update: You can get a free UMD from Sony at the official website.]

After months-long delay, Europe is finally getting a chance to download and play PS1 classics on their PSP and PS3 systems. Although there's no way to directly download games to the PSP yet, those fortunate enough to have both Sony machines will be able to access the following content next week, according to Three Speech:

• Crash Bandicoot
• Wipeout
• Medievil
• Jumping Flash
• Syphon Filter

Of these titles, we recommend Crash Bandicoot and Jumping Flash the most. These games will be available in the European PS Store on 6/22.

Sony's starting to send out preview demos of the upcoming Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow and IGN has captured video of the game in action. We've seen the impressive graphics of the game at Sony Gamers Day, and the latest build continues to impress. Check out this intro video, setting up the Greg Rucka-penned story. For more gameplay footage, check out IGN.

For anyone browsing the coming soon listings for PS2, you may notice a familiar title. The excellent Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror is being ported to Sony's last gen powerhouse. Previously, we've seen Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto titles and Tokobot make their way from PSP to PS2, but Syphon Filter may be the first Sony developed title to make the journey. Losing a PSP exclusive like this is usually somewhat maddening. In the case of Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror though, it so easily eclipses its precursors, that we can't help but want others to experience the series reboot. Besides, the PSP sequel Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow comes out on the same day, so PSP gamers should be too busy playing that to care.

Great graphics? Check.
Great music? Check.
Ambitious gameplay? Check.

From the looks of this new video, Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow could have it all. As previously mentioned, Logan's Shadow is adding tons of depth to the franchise with a Gears of War-styled cover system and a God of War-styled button-pressing system. The ability to use hostages as human shields is more than impressive -- it's awe-inspiring. Brilliant graphical touches, such as atmospheric fog and stellar lighting, make us continuously question the true potential of the hardware. Oh, and great music and story are nice bonuses too. Don't doubt it: Logan's Shadow might become the best PSP game of all time.

PSP Fanboy offers the latest and greatest movie and game trailers, formatted for the PSP in this new weekly feature. Check it out every Saturday. PSP owners can download files wirelessly via m.pspfanboy.com.

Instructions: Save all movie and thumbnail files to the VIDEO folder. These high resolution 480x272 videos require firmware 3.30 or above. (Note: OE custom firmware will also play these videos.)

Looks like that accidental GameStop leak was correct -- there is a new Syphon Filter, and as you can see in these new screens, they look incredible. Logan's Shadow, which is currently planned for a fall release, has players returning to their role as Gabe Logan. In an all new story written by Greg Rucka (author of the Queen and Country series of novels and graphic novels), players must stop a criminal extremist group from using a dangerous new technology. The story will take players from the depths of the Indian Ocean to the deserts of the Middle East. In a surprising twist to fans of the franchise, Gabe must face the possibility that his long time partner, Lian Xing, is a double agent.

New gameplay mechanics include a Gears of War-esque "blind-fire", an advanced melee system that allows Gabe to use enemies as human shields, and 360 degree underwater combat. "Interactive moments" akin to those of God of War and Resident Evil 4 will also add a dash of cinematic thrill.

Logan's Shadow has a lot of impressive technology behind it. Aside from the visuals, it's also one of the few PSP titles (if not the first) to utilize the Havok physics engine made famous by games such as Half-Life 2. With such impressive production design, it may be Syphon Filter that becomes PSP's big "killer app," not God of War. Check out the images below, and then a video after the cut.

Is Syphon Filter returning to PSP? According to an updated GameStop release list, the answer is yes. Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow joins the newly revealed SOCOM: Tactical Strike and a US-release for Pursuit Force 2 in the retailer's latest update to their database. If Gamespot's investigating is to be believed, Logan's Shadow should hit PSP systems first -- September 4th. Afterwards, Pursuit Force 2 and Tactical Strike should release on September 25th and October 2nd, respectively.

Retailers are notorious for revealing unannounced titles accidentally, giving this report a great deal of weight. With Syphon Filter joining the PSP lineup again later this year, it's clear that PSP owners are going to have a lot of games to play this fall.

The $30 price drop isn't exclusive to GameStop/EB Games--it's universal. But, that's not where the savings end. Sony has also added two more games to PSP's Greatest Hits lineup: Daxter and Syphon Filter.

According to the press release, "We have always been passionate about making great entertainment accessible to everyone, and the new price for PSP, as well as the continued growth of the 'Greatest Hits' library, reflect our ongoing commitment to supporting and expanding the PSP community," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America. "We are pleased that we are able to engineer savings for the consumer at this stage of PSP's lifecycle, allowing more individuals to experience PSP for the first time. In particular, we have recently seen a steady rise in the number of teens adopting PSP as their primary handheld entertainment system, and we expect the new price will accelerate that trend."

Sony also reminds players that the future of PSP is quite bright, especially with the upcoming God of War: "Ready At Dawn couldn't be more pleased with our success bringing Daxter to the PSP platform last year, and now we have another opportunity to blow away expectations of what a developer can accomplish on a portable when Kratos hits the 'small screen' in God of War," said Didier Malenfant, co-founder and president, Ready At Dawn Studios. "PSP is an ideal platform for us to work on because we have a high level of freedom to be creative, and we can deliver gameplay experiences that rival ones you'd get from a computer entertainment system."

[Update: According to Engadget, the PSP Entertainment Pack will also receive a $30 cut, from $250 to $220.]

PSP sales have been quite good the last few months and I figured there's probably a lot of new PSP owners that may not be up to speed on what great games the system has to offer. With that in mind, every day this week we'll feature a new genre and list the top 5 games (according to metareviews), so no matter what you're into, you'll have some idea of what games you should own. We start off the week with one of the most popular genres around: Action.

Top 5 Action games on PSP

1. (tie) Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories/Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
2. Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror
3. Daxter
4. Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
5. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories

I'm lucky enough to own and have played all of the games in this particular list and trust me, they are all incredible gaming experiences and it's all the more impressive that they're on a portable. I do have to say that I think Ratchet & Clank is better than Daxter and GTA: VCS is better than GTA:LCS, but you really can't go wrong with any of these games. What did you think about these 5 games? What action games aren't on this list that you think every PSP owner should have?

[Data Via Metacritic]

They said it would happen. And it has, stealthily. Like the game. Get it? Good.

1. Download the demo ZIP file.
2. Extract the contents of the ZIP file.
3. Connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable.
4. Go to the PSP/GAME folder.
5. Copy UCUS98641 folder into the GAME directory.

Check out our new demos site:
demos.pspfanboy.com

You've begged for them, and Sony's finally listened. Sony shot us an e-mail just now stating that "first and third party demos will be offered on an ongoing basis" through their official website. As we reported weeks ago, Killzone is now available for download, but Syphon Filter and SOCOM should be available in the coming weeks.

While these games certainly aren't the newest releases for the system, this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully, it won't be long until we see downloadable demos of Ratchet & Clank and third party games.

See also:
Demos at PSP Fanboy

You've seen the top ten girls of Hooters. You've perused the top ten women of tennis. You may even have seen the top ten girls of gaming, but you haven't yet seen the top ten girls of PSP. Until now that is! The requirements are simple, to qualify she has to be a girl and has to be in a PSP game. But enough with the procrastinating, on with the ceremony!

Top ten after the jump ...

Sony requires any game ported to the PSP to have extra content not found in other versions of that same title, but that's not what this post is about. A strange thing has happened to game franchises on the PSP, sometimes their best showing is on the portable. Can a franchise that you loathe be loved on the PSP? Well it has happened to me ...twice already.

Syphon Filter is a gaming series that I just couldn't stand on the Playstation or Playstation 2. I disliked the graphics, animation and gameplay of every version I tried. Even fams of Syphon Filter seemed to hate the last one that came out on PS2. So when a Syphon Filter game was announced on PSP, I was as interested in it as I was about castration. When reviews started to pour out that stating the game was incredible I lost respect for every reviewer that enjoyed it. Then one day while adding games to my Gamefly Q I decided to put Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror on the list. I didn't do it because I expected to enjoy the game, but rather so I could validate my hatred for the franchise.

Continued after the jump...