Controls:
If there is one other major flaw in B-Boy, it’s the controls. The effort needed to actually breakdance becomes a chore. Part of this is because the control moves you’ll use are a bit tricky to figure out, especially since there isn’t an extensive walkthrough on how to move, right at your fingertips, like you’d expect from a game like this. You have to search around for instructions/tutorials and without any type of guidance, many players are bound to be lost, more than found until you figure out the fundamentals of game play.

If you’ve ever played fighter games, then you know how hard it can be, initially to get down the exact movement sequences on the controller to fight effectively. The same kind of fighter-style system was developed for B-Boy. Without in depth tutorials on how to move, which are easily accessible to you as a player, the ability to learn these moves is hit and miss.

You will have the chance to press one of four buttons for the fours main dance moves you’ll be doing. To move, you press the button associated with the dance move. Then you can do combo moves, where you press the four buttons in a specific sequence that melds with the directional buttons you’ll press. You may also have to use the buttons at the top of the PSP, which basically seems to be used for moves where you’ll need to balance on something. Ultimately, this is all about pressing the right buttons at the right time, in the right order.

To further complicate things, your dance character B-Boy has a beat wheel near his feet. You see the beat of the music in the beat wheel and you can use it to perform your moves for a specific amount of time. Essentially, this helps you to dance on beat and in rhythm. As you might have guessed, the more you dance in rhythm and on beat, the more points you’ll score. You get scored in five areas. You also can get a medal (which can be lost if another B-Boy outdances you) for scoring highly in any specific area.

The main mode for this game is called, “Linvin Da Life”. It’s a suiting name because essentially, your character is living the life of a B-Boy. You start out as a novice dancer and can become the B-Boy champion of the world. The more dancing you do, the more dance moves you can unlock. Then, you pick and choose which dance moves are your core four, as you set them to each of the four core buttons. With so many different moves, you can make hundreds of different dances with many different combinations of moves. Each dance can be unique and up the bar for your next performance.

Ease of Use:

Visual Quality:
You might have guessed where B-Boy succeeds and it is in the graphics. Like it’s big brother, PS3 (best console for graphics), PSP is, by far, the most graphically beautiful handheld. PSP outshines everything from Leapster to Nintendo DS when it comes to graphics. So, the immaculately conceived graphical interfaces make this game hot! This doesn’t look like your typical, handheld game. It is a work of art. With high attention to detail, the stunning quality is hampered the most by the time it takes to load each beautiful screen capture. The motion capture capabilities take ages to load, so while downright gorgeous in appearance, B-Boy runs on turtle speed in order to maintain its beauty.

So, while I can’t technically grade B-Boy down for its graphics, keep in mind, there is a price to pay for such perfection.

Visual:

Audio Quality:
Next to the visuals, the audio is the best thing about this game. Over forty tracks of hip hop and funk are included in this game. Everything sounds good and comes through beautifully. You can also play the soundtrack in the game by visiting the computer located in your main locale. Once there, go to the virtual music player on the computer and jam to any of the following songs:

“I Believe In Miracles” by the Jackson Sisters

“Think (About It)” by Lyn Collins

“Blow Your Head” by Fred Wesley & The JB’s

“Bringing It Back” by Black Eyed Peas

“Life of the Party” by The Jackson Five

“Love To The World” by LTD

“Organ Donor” by DJ Shadow

“Hot pants (I’m Coming I’m Coming)” by Bobby Byrd

“Open Sesame” by Kool & The Gang

“Don’t Sweat The Technique” by Eric B & Rakim

“Brother Green (The Disco King)” by Roy Ayers

“Get On The Good Foot – Brown, James

“Brothers On The Slide” by Cymande

“Holy Ghost” by Bar-Kays

“Mexican Millenium” by Babe Ruth

“Rated X” by Kool & The Gang

“Cold Sweat” by James Brown

“Funkier Than A Mosquito’s Tweeter” by Nina Simone

Audio:

Replayability:
If you can get past the long load times, the wait between rounds as your opponent dances and anything else that might slow you down, you might just be willing to play this game again. Ultimately, this is going to depend on how impatient you are. I’m assuming that if you have the opportunity to master the controls, you will find replaying this worthwhile. If it takes you forever to get it down though and since you already have to wait due to PSP motion capture load times, then you might just be willing to write this game off as a waste of money.

Replayability:

Bottom Line:
As far as favorite video games released this year go, B-Boy wasn’t at the top of my list. That being said, I did enjoy this game for what it was. If you’re a fan of hip hop, breakdancing, or just want to show off your moves, this video game is going to be right up your alley. While it probably won’t be your favorite game, this is a good game to play occasionally, for some lighthearted fun. This video game is really suited for a teen and young adult crowd, as I believe that this is the demographic the game was designed for in the first place. Otherwise, pick this up as a lighthearted title you can enjoy between other, more intense games you play.

Overall Rating:

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