Game PSP DJ MAX 3 Portable USA HD

It's been nearly two years since I reviewed DJ Max Fever, a PSP game that brought Korean pop in a Rock Band Unplugged-like package to the states. When I picked up DJ Max Portable 3, I was excited and ready to see the series make the few tweaks I thought it needed to really turn some heads. Sadly, this is just more of the same. That's good in some ways as the game is enjoyable, but anyone who picked up the franchise's first outing in the states really doesn't have a pressing reason to pick this sequel up.

Just like last time, notes fall from the top of the screen and you tap the corresponding button to make music in more than 50 songs, which include classics and remixes from other games along with brand new tunes for DJ Max Portable 3. Hit a bunch of notes in a row, and you'll rack up a combo until you screw up. Hit enough white notes, and you can deploy Fever and rake in some major points. If you've played one of the dozens of music games on the market, you should get the picture.

DJ Max Portable 3 adds a wrinkle this time around when it comes to leveling. Do well and you'll gain experience points as you slowly climb the ranks of DJ greatness. Each time you level-up, you'll get to pick a mystery unlockable from one of three slots. This does away with the last title's earning gold and spending it on stuff.

Now, what makes DJ Max Portable different than Rock Band Unplugged -- the most mainstream music game to come to the PSP recently -- is that you have a few different play options. You can make tunes with four buttons like you have in Rock Band, but there's also a six-button mode that has you tapping and hopping around even more frantically. All that was in the last game -- along with this game's effects that slow down and speed up the song -- but DJ Max Portable 3 also tosses in "remix mode." Here, one track is added to each side of the main note highway. When you see buttons over there, you have to push the analog nub in that direction and tap the buttons that are displayed.

There's no doubt that this remix mode is a cool addition. But just like last time, I find the presentation pretty flat here. You're still just staring at a note highway that looks a lot like a cell phone screen that's blocking a cool video in the background (these vids run the gamut from anime segments to sexy ladies posing in high socks). This new need to drop my thumb to the stick and shake-up the experience is welcome, but I definitely could've done for more. This doesn't feel fresh.

DJ Max Portable 3 tosses in a Mission Mode that gives you certain challenges like hitting a specific combo count, but the songs over here are the same as the other modes. The main menu is still just mode titles you click through until you find what you want, and the load times seem a bit too long when I was running it without taking advantage of the install feature.

It's a lady.

If the inability to push the game forward wasn't enough to make you sigh, the game adds Internet rankings that don't allow the PSP to connect to the Internet. Yes, if you want to see how you stack up on a song you've played on your Internet-enabled device, you have to go to a website outside of the game and enter a password from your profile. Theoretically, this uploads it and allows you to see how you stack up against the competition, but in reality, it's just a cumbersome option that only the super-hardcore are likely to try. Making matters worse, the international ranking part of the site that you're directed to via the game's instruction manual isn't even up yet.