System: PSP (+GBA 2005)
Dev: Sting
Pub: Atlus
Release: July 11, 2007
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: Teen
Review by Cole Smith

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

The most trigger points will be awarded for your performance in combat. Each fight can be a fight to the finish. At any given time, your foe may be able to wipe the floor with you. With this in mind, it's not wise to attempt to conserve your powers to execute a powerful finishing move, or save your points for a boss battle. You will constantly be switching weapons and second-guessing yourself on the best tactics. In one way this makes battles more intense and therefore more exciting. But at the same time you can have your points depleted instantly which will require you to go back and scrounging for more points, weapons, items, and upgrades. This repetition will eventually take its toll on you unless you're so enamored by the characters that you just want to hang with them. Personally, I would just like to hang them.

Employing the hand-drawn style of the original, the PSP version appears sharper but not necessarily better. The art style is perfectly at home on the GBA although the cutscenes display better overall production values including voiceovers for some of the playable characters. You even have your choice of two languages. I can't comment on the Japanese, but the English version is badly acted. There is plenty of text to sift through. Fortunately, you can skip some of it. Musically, the game has a fitting soundtrack, though it's somewhat generic. The sound effects are sparse but at least they aren't overplayed.

The Promised Land doesn't live up to its promise. It may be a great GBA game but it should have been completely overhauled for the PSP, to the extent of creating another sequel in the series. What you're getting here is a game where the expiry date was written over with, "Coming Soon to the PSP."

By Cole Smith
CCC Senior Writer