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THE CON (PSP)
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Publisher: Sony
Developer: Think & Feel. Released: March 2007 (Europe). Genre: 3D Fighter. Posted 26th April 2025. By Shane Battams © 2025 |
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Gambling and combat sports often go hand-in-hand, as those looking to make some cash can try their luck. Surprisingly, few video games based on these sports utilise this side of the sports, perhaps due to strict age rating bodies often gifting a higher rating if it’s included. The Con is rather unique, then, as it combined a fighting game with a gambling side hustle. It’s a novel mechanic, but developer Think & Feel perhaps overestimated its staying power: a fighting game is still only as good as its brawling. Sadly, this is where the gig gets busted.
On the surface, The Con delivers a standard PSP fighting game, comprising a fair number of modes and fighters. Each comes with a unique fighting style, ranging from wrestling to Taekwondo, though they don’t leave much of an impression in terms of looks or personality. An arcade mode lets you battle a series of opponents, though it lacks anything like a story for ending scenes is disappointing. Still, certain difficulties do at least reward extra fighters. There’s also survival, time attack and competitive modes. Handily, you can partake either with two copies or by game sharing, and though the latter limits your choice of fighter, it’s nice to be able to brawl with a friend.
The Con's fighting is fairly unremarkable, though the hustle aspect adds an element of tactics
The main meat of The Con lies in its Story mode, where using either one of those aforementioned fighters or your own creation, you begin a journey into the underground world of fighting and gambling. There’s a fair number of story scenes, some of which involve your protagonist, but due to being able to choose from so many customisation options, they opt to show their close-ups of their shades, or shots of their back, which can be a touch confusing. It’s mostly fluff, anyway, replete with uninteresting characters and mid-2000s “cool” dialogue that proves cringeworthy. Aside from this, you and a team of two other fighters must climb the ranks by defeating foes and making cash, with several tiers to work through.
The major problem with The Con is the fighting itself: it’s just too basic to stave off repetition. Despite the myriad of styles you can select, each feels relatively similar to use aside from surface-level tweaks, such as wrestling’s proficiency in grabs. Four strikes are present, which can be chained to combos which you can customise in the menu. You also have a block which can parry moves with fast timing, grabs and special moves. It’s very simplistic, and the AI is often easy to overcome once you figure out their pattern of attacks and blocks. Fights have a bit of physical presence, with potent sound effects adding crunch to each strike, but it’s not quite enough to avoid stagnation, especially with Story lacking anything outside of fighting.
The major problem with The Con is the fighting itself: it’s just too basic to stave off repetition. Despite the myriad of styles you can select, each feels relatively similar to use aside from surface-level tweaks, such as wrestling’s proficiency in grabs. Four strikes are present, which can be chained to combos which you can customise in the menu. You also have a block which can parry moves with fast timing, grabs and special moves. It’s very simplistic, and the AI is often easy to overcome once you figure out their pattern of attacks and blocks. Fights have a bit of physical presence, with potent sound effects adding crunch to each strike, but it’s not quite enough to avoid stagnation, especially with Story lacking anything outside of fighting.
FOCAL POINT: THE GAMBLER
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The Con’s unique selling point is its gambling system, which is quite interesting. Each match-up sees you fighting in a series of three battles, where two victories ensure a winner. Every match offers betting odds, and the longer they are, the better the payout. You can bet on yourself or your opponent, which adds an interesting wrinkle to the mix. However, conning folks isn’t as simple as winning or losing, as you can set the duration before bets are locked in, gifting a window to alter the odds further. So, if you are betting on yourself, you can hit one of the triggers to take a fake hit, which reduces damage but looks good. A meter governs whether the crowd are buying it, and finishing a fight with it facing Thumbs Down can result in a beating, injuries to your fighter and your money taken away. The risk-and-reward factor of maintaining the con helps create tension, whilst increasing stakes through higher bets adds a genuinely strategic element, and it’s fun to experiment.
It doesn’t help that The Con looks pretty bland. Character models are certainly adorned with flashy clothes, but bare basic details, facials and animations. Environments are completely bare, with dreary settings such as back alleys and factories making up the zones. It makes sense for an illegal sport but doesn’t make for much eye candy. Performance is sturdy at least, and seeing some bloodied faces or cuts as you progress is a cool touch, but it’s not quite enough. The sound isn’t much better outside of hard-hitting strikes. The music feels out of place, with jazzy accompaniments not quite meshing with the seedy settings. Voicework is somehow exaggerated yet bland, not helped by the aforementioned cringey dialogue.
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The Create-a-Fighter adds a bit of personality to an otherwise run-of-the-mill default roster
The Con proved a mediocre fighter with a unique gimmick, and while there were certainly worse examples of the genre on the system, there were also significantly better ones. While there’s something of a novelty to setting up elaborate betting scams and hoping they work out, the core combat simply isn’t deep enough to prevent the experience from growing repetitive, especially as there’s nothing outside of the basic fights to partake in. It doesn’t help that it also suffers drab presentation, forgettable characters and lacklustre dialogue. If you’re starved for PSP fighters and have a genuine interest in the side hustle between fights, it might be worth a punt, but otherwise, there are plenty of better choices out there.
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VERDICT"While there’s something of a novelty to setting up elaborate betting scams, The Con’s core combat simply isn’t deep enough to prevent the experience from growing repetitive." OVERALL: 5/10 |
OTHER GAMES WITH GAMBLING SIDE VENTURES REVIEWED
Dead Man's Hand (2004, Xbox)
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Grand Theft Auto V (2013, PlayStation 3)
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