Gitaroo Man Lives! - PlayStation Portable

The lowdown:
Since it doesn't come with a miniature guitar, the game has you angling a pointer in the centre of the screen to follow a meandering guide line. The line is interspersed with circular icons, at which point you must press and hold the circle button for the specified length of time. As you take on everything from Jazz playing bumblebee men to Europop performing UFOs, a bonkers crazy animation plays out in the background. Originally on the PS2, the PSP version includes two new songs in the multiplayer mode and an easy difficulty level, but since the PS2 version is so rare it's just a relief it's gotten another outing.

Most exciting moment:
Although none of the songs are licensed, they're still a varied and catchy bunch. The best tune by far though is the appropriately named The Legendary Theme, a remix of which is the highlight of the whole game when it appears on a later level.

Since you ask:
Gitaroo Man was the first game from developer iNis, who then went on to make the cult Japanese only game Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan on the DS. A reworked version of the game is being released in the West as Elite Beat Agents.

The bottom line:
The Legendary Theme makes a welcome portable debut. - HARRISON DENT