An important part of your arsenal is the “movebook” where your various moves are stored for use in competition. You can only take a few moves with you into battle, which I find to be very liberating since it forces you to make the best of a limited move set. This sure beats having to memorize a plethora of button commands and combos. Some may argue that it limits the depth of the gameplay, but there's more than enough to keep you challenged without having thousands of combos to keep track of. There is no way to customize moves, but there are many ways to link them together during a 45-minute routine to keep things fresh.

With another cartridge, you can challenge another gamer to a showdown. The multiplayer mode will only accommodate one other player. You would think that, being turn-based, you could just pass-and-play, but keep in mind that you and your challengers will have various moves stored in the movebook, in addition to other customizable options.

Motion-captured moves are fluid and well-rendered. There is a certain “street” style to the game that is sure to give it “cred” with homies and breaker enthusiasts. Character models are cliché in both looks and attitude. The backgrounds are decent but not overly ambitious. It's actually more impressive than the PS2 graphics, but that's largely due to lowered expectations. The soundtrack is varied and has a lot of great tunes that transcend the uninspired pap that passes for hip hop these days. How can you go wrong when James Brown and Kool and the Gang are in the house? If you want to capture all the nuances of the tunes, it's advisable to use headphones, but even with the PSP's speakers, you can still hear the beat and vocals clearly.

B-Boy has a lot going for it, but it's not for everyone. The gameplay is limited and there are some technical flaws here and there, including the control system, which is more awkward to use than the PS2 version, since there's a tendency to move the screen around too much. If you're thinking of renting this, you're not going to master it in an afternoon, so be patient. Now get out there and break a virtual leg.

By Cole Smith
CCC Senior Writer