I'm one of these people that believe the Dreamcast was one of the greatest consoles of my generation - and I wish Sega could have released a successor, but we all know that'll never happen. [I'm with you there Dex, some of my fondest gaming memories were on my faithful but ill-fated white wonder! Ed]. Okay, so the Dreamcast was a little ahead of it's time, but I believe it was the sole inspiration for the first Xbox - the similarities were uncanny. When I heard that Power Stone Collection was coming to the PSP, I was overcome with excitement - although I would have rather had seen this on a home console with online support.

That's not to say that the PSP is no good at carrying Power Stone Collection - as the game looks and plays fantastically - but there's one fundamental flaw in this game that the Dreamcast didn't have, something that I'll come to later on. Power Stone Collection for the PSP basically houses both Power Stone and Power Stone 2 on one single UMD. It's also home to some collection features, such as the odd mini game and some movies to unlock, like the Power Stone Collection credits. Nothing terribly exciting really, but I suppose they're here as a nice little extra for the avid fan.

For those who missed out on Power Stone, I can sum it up by saying it's like Smash Bros. in a 3D arena. You choose from a wide, varied selection of characters and then jump into one of the many themed arenas and fight it out. All the levels contain things such as environmental objects and weapons for you to pick up and use - and weapons range from devastating guns to not-so-devastating items such as the umbrella! Each fight lasts quite a long time, as you must entirely deplete your opponent's health, and that's not always easy, especially when your opponent keeps on collecting the Power Stones that are hidden in the level. Collecting three Power Stones turns you into a superhero alter-ego version of yourself, so for a brief time you become super-charged and have loads of new powers. For example, the character Gunrock turns into a creature to rival The Thing out of Fantastic Four, becoming all stony and temporarily gaining the power to throw rocks.

When Gunrock isn't in his 'Thing form' though, you can expect the usual array of fighting game moves - one button to punch, one button to kick and then maybe combine those buttons together to punch punch kick - you know, to unleash even more havoc! If you're feeling like a bird (the flying variety!) then why not throw those moves together amongst some jumps; raining down kicks upon your foes is a great way to avoid attacks while dealing a good amount of damage at the same time. Power Stone, like the Super Smash Bros. games, earn their credibility from the items that your characters can pick up and use, however, so expect to use pretty much anything you can see on the level - and then some!

Each time you get hit, you lose a Power Stone - unless you're in the super form - so if you've collected two and your opponent has the other, it's a case of hitting him before he hits you and stealing his Power Stone to complete your collection. Every fight in Power Stone is eventful, a lot of fun and brings back fond memories of the Dreamcast. However, there's something on here that distracts me from playing the first Power Stone - and that's the fact that Power Stone 2 is a massive improvement in every single way! It's not like your Street Fighter series, with minor changes and new characters across the board, so you can enjoy each and every one, no - Power Stone 2 puts the first Power Stone to shame.

The first thing you notice is that Power Stone allows four players on one screen, so that means you against three other people, as opposed to the one vs. one matches of the original. There are a lot more characters in Power Stone 2, which means a lot more variation in gameplay, and the Adventure mode in Power Stone 2 is better than the Single mode in Power Stone. The reason for this is simple - Power Stone 2 actually has a story! Single mode in the first boasts a story, but doesn't deliver. Adventure mode in the second does have a story and each level is extremely interactive; most levels have three parts to them, so you've got an arena part, then you might be thrown into a scene where you have to run from a rolling bolder in a side scrolling part (while still fighting your opponent) and then back to a new arena to finish off your fight.

Every level in Power Stone 2 is like this, so you're getting a lot more when it comes to fighting. Another nifty feature is the item shop, where you can buy and sell items, then mix them up to make a brand new weapon - the machine gun and the magic element I found created a triple barrel shotgun that I later used on one of the boss characters! Whichever game you're playing though, fighting is a blast - jumping and performing attacks, transforming with stones and unleashing devastation, throwing objects at foes that litter the level such as chairs, and even jumping into things such as gun turrets. It's action packed, fun and a flashback tribute those golden days spent around the TV dribbling over the Power Stone games.

However, there is one fundamental flaw, whichever game you're playing. One thing that made the Dreamcast version for me was the multiplayer. Sure, it was nice to play the Adventure mode from time to time, but Power Stone 2 was a new beginning for multiplayer fighting games. Me and three mates with four pads added up to hours of laughter and fun - nothing could top that feeling and no other multiplayer games could touch it. Power Stone 2 was the greatest. But on the PSP, I consider myself somewhat deprived of this feeling. Having no friends with PSPs to hand, I was resigned to playing single player matches. And believe me when I say that the CPU can only be fun for so long. I figure that lots of people will find themselves in my shoes and if they do have a friend with a PSP, that's only one extra player - my fondest memories come from having another two people there to share the experience with, sometimes triple teaming one unlucky friend. Yes, Game Sharing is supported, so that means that if you do happen to have lots of friends with Sony's handheld then you'll be able to access a few fights, but come on, the chances to experience Power Stone Collection to it's full potential are slim to say the least.

This could have been combated to a degree with the inclusion of online play. You wouldn't feel so isolated then and you'd be playing against real people with real skills. Fighting games are a lot more fun with the foe sitting right next to you - they always will be - but an online mode would have really helped people like me play recreate those fond multiplayer memories. It doesn't really matter for Power Stone 1, because that only supports two players anyway, but I'd much rather have had just Power Stone 2 with online play than both games without.

Both titles look as good as they did back on the Dreamcast, with Power Stone 2 looking a little bit better than the first. The visuals are fast paced without the infamous PSP blur and in Power Stone 2 you can expect player close-ups and a lot of detail to the arenas that you fight in. Character design is bang on, and seeing that first boss from Power Stone in all its Egyptian-textured glory was a great feeling. Some people find the audio in the Power Stone games annoying, and I can see why too, as every time you lose a Power Stone the narrator will say "OH-NO!" - but in Power Stone 2, the narrator chimes in with some proper comments like "Don't miss the elevator or you'll be sorry," which adds that little bit more to the fighting package. You'll find yourself selecting certain levels for certain theme songs too, so the package as a whole both looks and sounds great.

What once was my favourite Dreamcast game is now a PSP game that is too much of a tease to love. You get those people who make you think you're going to get some action whereas in actual fact you're barely make it to first base. Power Stone Collection is a tease, because you think you're getting that same feeling you got all those years ago - but really, you're not, you're only getting half of what you should be getting - the single player. Those with three PSP-owning friends living around the corner might be able to get this tease to go the whole way, but your average player without friends that own PSPs to hand will only get the tease version of Power Stone Collection. Don't tease me. I hate to get all excited and have to finish myself off… with such negative comments, that is! Port this onto a home console with full online play and then I really will be going all the way…

Reviewed by Dexter Pearson for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).