I’ll be honest; I’d largely gone off the PSP and it’s been a while since I even turned mine on, but this weeks announcements have plucked up my interest in Sony’s handheld again. A number of announcements for new PSP games have come out of this year’s Destination Playstation meeting; including PSP versions of Assassin’s Creed, LittleBigPlanet and Rock Band. The best announcement? A Hannah Montana PSP entertainment pack including a Lilac PSP (I’m totally not kidding!).

Also announced were Motorstorm: Arctic Edge, versions of Madden and Tiger Woods and, um, new Petz games. I bet you can’t guess which one of those I’m least excited about.

Here’s a rundown of the games announced:

• The Hannah Montana PSP Entertainment Pack is “part of a new focus on expanding the PSP market to female gamers” and includes a new Disney Interactive Hannah Montana game, a UMD containing a selection of Hannah Montana episodes, a 2GB Memory Stick Pro Duo, and - the icing on the cake - stickers! Hopefully this pack will not the light of day outside North America
• The Assassin’s Creed PSP Entertainment Pack will include a completely new original game set in the Assassin’s Creed universe, a black PSP and more goodies to be announced at a later date.
• Ubisoft are bringing a new line of Petz games to the PSP, and that’s about as much as I can stomach writing about it.
• A PSP version of LittleBigPlanet will be made in conjunction with the PS3’s versions developer MediaMolecule. The game offers new Sackboy adventures and environments, but with the same creating and sharing experience that made the first game so popular. As I don’t own a PS3 I’m fairly excited about this.
• Motorstorm: Arctic Edge, which is also in development for the PS2, will bring the racing action of the PS3 versions to snowy Alaska. Players will have to avoid collapsing ice bridges and avalanches in three different altitudes. You will also be able to customise your vehicles with different parts, pimping your ride out while you take it online to face others. Check out the trailer here.
• Rock Band Unplugged will use the PSP’s directional pad and buttons to play along, along with wi-fi support (but sadly no online multiplayer) and a “fully featured” online store.
• Madden NFL 10 will give allow you to build your own formations and plays, and that’s about as much as I know about American Football. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 will be pretty much the same as always, and have both on and offline play.

So there’s plenty for the PSP owner to get excited about this year, and that’s just the games that have been announced. I wouldn’t get too excited about Petz though, unless you’re about eight. If so then stick with it my friends, the good games will come when you grow older. It’s not all shovelware crap, I promise!

Destination PlayStation News: LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm, Assassin’s Creed, more coming to PSP - Playstation Blog