The PSP has endured a pretty rocky year since its launch last March. While it started off on solid ground, as time goes by the excitement has diminished some. The system itself is great. It has many useful features and it rivals quite a few other multipurpose handhelds on the market. On the other hand, the games have left much to be desired. Most of the quality titles came out for launch and the rest that had some potential are all marred by some form of technical issue that varies between each game. The Con is an example of a game that seems to be trying too hard to pull off something “different”. It’s basically a fighting game that has you earning money and impressing the crowds that flock to each of the fights. The game tries to introduce some original elements but ends up coming off as a hat full of gimmicks.
Don't look too hard for a deep story because you won't find it here. The Con basically has you betting on the outcome of fights to win money. Things get slightly more complicated as you need to make a fight look convincing for the spectators. This could involve letting your opponent beat the crap out of you only to turn the odds in your favor at the last second. Simply beating down opponents in ten seconds isn't always the best way to finish fights. The goal of the game's "Story" mode is to earn enough money to enter into "The Big Time" a no holds barred tournament that will offer one million dollars as its prize.
The fighting engine is fairly simple with all of the basic punches and kick variations you would generally expect. It’s nothing that you have to struggle to master. It seems that most of the effort went into making the betting and con system as robust as possible. Considering how there is little drive or need to get through it all, it feels fairly hollow. You have the ability to create your own character or to choose between a roster of fairly generic brawlers. There are quite a few options to utilize when making your own character and you can have some fun tinkering with them, but the whole experience still feels fairly lite compared to the more robust fighters found on other platforms.
The Con isn't all that impressive visually. Although the environments are fairly detailed and the game runs at a stable framerate, the art design feels flawed as most of the characters are downright ugly and generic. The biggest problem seems to be the loading, which is shorter than some of the worst perpetrators on the system but its still annoying for a supposedly fast paced fighter. As for the audio side of things, its music, voices and action sound fairly plain, but serviceable.
The game features a wireless multiplayer mode with a few game sharing options. You can fight with a friend and bet on your individual items (items which can be purchased in between matches with the money you earn) which can make for a few enjoyable matches. The Con is a confused game because while its core gameplay is that of a fighter, it seems more focus was placed on its secondary features, which essentially seem to lack a point. If the fairly simple fighting system is to your liking, then some fun can be had with The Con. Otherwise the game just ends up being unfulfilling and fairly forgettable.
