blurredvision
Lifer
I know, I know, all we need is another PS3 impressions thread, but I wanted to put all my thoughts in one place. I finally made the decision to sell my Wii and pick up a PS3. For my gaming style, a PS3 will be used much more than the Wii ever would be, and considering the fact that my Wii wasn't even plugged in for the past month (and not even turned on for a month before that), it only made sense for me to "invest" into a console that will be used consistently.
So, after finding out about an unadvertised Gamestop deal that netted you a free game with the purchase of a 60GB PS3, I decided to go with that model. I was more interested in Heavenly Sword as a game to own that Motorstorm. The difference between hardware and software backwards compatibility was a non-issue for me, so I didn't care which system I ended up with. So I purchased my 60GB unit with Heavenly Sword, and I also picked up God of War (one of my 5 or so PS2 games I wanted to play).
Upon opening the box, it's amazing how few items are in there. I'm still miffed that Sony hyped the HD capabilities of this machine, basically making you think that it's worthless to own without an HDTV, and then they do not include an HDMI or component cables. And what's with the short-as-hell, 6' USB cable? Due to my living room config, I had to sit on the far end of the couch on the very edge of it in order to use the controller. Luckily this shouldn't be an issue in the future as long as I keep it charged up (being able to charge from a regular computer is a huge plus). That's just a very minor gripe, though....I can deal with a short USB cable.
As far as the system itself, it's a nice looking piece of electronic. Maybe a bit too shiny for my tastes, but who really cares, right? The touch buttons are a nice addition, adds a bit of "high-end" feeling to it. The unit is a bit bulkier than I had imagined (I've handled a couple when I worked at Gamestop, but it's hard to realize size until you get it in your home). Regardless of that, I have plenty of room on my entertainment rack, so I could care less about total size. It just looks "stocky".
So I got the system all hooked up. It's currently running via HDMI and optical out, displaying at 1080p with no problems. The XMB interface is a nice contrast to the 360 interface that I've been used to for the past year and a half. I've used the XMB on a PSP before, so I was familiar with how it works. The 360 interface is a bit slow for me now that I run it in 1080p (it's noticably slower than when I ran in 1080i previously before I got my new TV), but the XMB is always fast. I think everything is laid out in a no-nonsense fashion....you really don't have to go through too many steps to get to where you're going, and even if you do, the interface is fast, so it's no problem. I'm glad that queued downloading was added via firmware a few months ago, but I already miss being able to turn off the console and have it continue to download like the 360 does. I would've left it on overnight, but it had already been on for 6 hours straight. The R&C demo only got to 55% downloaded in 3 hours time.....definitely slow like everyone says. I still have the GT-HD demo to download, which will likely take the rest of the weekend 😛.
Everything is ultra crisp and clear in 1080p, and this is where the Playstation Store shines. So far, I think the PStore is a MUCH better solution to what Microsoft has with their Marketplace blade. I don't know how it looks in lower resolutions, but in 1080p, there is all kinds of info to peruse. I LOVE the recent additions list and the top downloads list on the right. That's awesome, and really help you see at a glance what's new. On the 360, you'd have to go in and out of several screens to look at all the new arrivals.....something that has made me just wait for Queasy posts to see what's been added 🙂. The rest of the screen real estate is large and easy to navigate/read. It's very well done compared to the competition IMO.
I haven't added any friends or anything like that, so I can't comment on the online system, (but I will at a later date). However, it's looks like it will be easy to use, and it looks like it will be simpler to initiate chats and the like. Once again, this is just going back to the PS3 interface being soooo much faster than the 360 interface.
The web browser is a nice touch, although I won't use it that much. The first page I went to was, obviously, the forums here 🙂. When I set the browser to display full screen, pixel for pixel, the text was so small, it was hard to read from 8' away (although it was still very legible if you have good eyes...I could barely make it out). I tried adjusting the font size in the menu, but that didn't change anything, so I'll mess with that later. I like that popular plug-ins are available, and that they didn't seem to dummy down the browser. Oddly enough, bungie.net wouldn't load for me, as it said that it ran out of memory 🙂.
The only game I currently have is Heavenly Sword. Since this is more of a hardware impression, I'll just say that HS has absolutely THE best facial models and lip-sync/modeling I've ever seen in a video game, bar none.
Overall, I like it so far. Regardless of what some of you think, I'm not a 360 or Microsoft fanboy, I just really enjoy their products. Vista, the 360, the Zune....I love all those products and how they are tied in together. My main beef with Sony over the past year has been their PR, and how they acted like they could put out whatever they wanted and people will pay. I still a bit guilty paying $500 for a console, but I did get a free game out of the deal, and it is a blu-ray player also. That and I had sold my Wii, so it wasn't all $500 straight out of the checking account at one time.
I think the PS3 will suit me fine going into the future, and hopefully Sony will eat a little humble pie and be more up front with their consumers. Microsoft has been, with the warranty extension, the Major Nelson website, and everything else they do to get involved in the community. However, I've not been involved too much in the Playstation community, so I could not know what I'm talking about. I'm pleased with the PS3 hardware, I know there will be more games on the horizon to play.
Maybe I'll comment later on the DVD playback, blu-ray playback, and PS2 game upscaling. But as of right now, I'm happy with my purchase!
So, after finding out about an unadvertised Gamestop deal that netted you a free game with the purchase of a 60GB PS3, I decided to go with that model. I was more interested in Heavenly Sword as a game to own that Motorstorm. The difference between hardware and software backwards compatibility was a non-issue for me, so I didn't care which system I ended up with. So I purchased my 60GB unit with Heavenly Sword, and I also picked up God of War (one of my 5 or so PS2 games I wanted to play).
Upon opening the box, it's amazing how few items are in there. I'm still miffed that Sony hyped the HD capabilities of this machine, basically making you think that it's worthless to own without an HDTV, and then they do not include an HDMI or component cables. And what's with the short-as-hell, 6' USB cable? Due to my living room config, I had to sit on the far end of the couch on the very edge of it in order to use the controller. Luckily this shouldn't be an issue in the future as long as I keep it charged up (being able to charge from a regular computer is a huge plus). That's just a very minor gripe, though....I can deal with a short USB cable.
As far as the system itself, it's a nice looking piece of electronic. Maybe a bit too shiny for my tastes, but who really cares, right? The touch buttons are a nice addition, adds a bit of "high-end" feeling to it. The unit is a bit bulkier than I had imagined (I've handled a couple when I worked at Gamestop, but it's hard to realize size until you get it in your home). Regardless of that, I have plenty of room on my entertainment rack, so I could care less about total size. It just looks "stocky".
So I got the system all hooked up. It's currently running via HDMI and optical out, displaying at 1080p with no problems. The XMB interface is a nice contrast to the 360 interface that I've been used to for the past year and a half. I've used the XMB on a PSP before, so I was familiar with how it works. The 360 interface is a bit slow for me now that I run it in 1080p (it's noticably slower than when I ran in 1080i previously before I got my new TV), but the XMB is always fast. I think everything is laid out in a no-nonsense fashion....you really don't have to go through too many steps to get to where you're going, and even if you do, the interface is fast, so it's no problem. I'm glad that queued downloading was added via firmware a few months ago, but I already miss being able to turn off the console and have it continue to download like the 360 does. I would've left it on overnight, but it had already been on for 6 hours straight. The R&C demo only got to 55% downloaded in 3 hours time.....definitely slow like everyone says. I still have the GT-HD demo to download, which will likely take the rest of the weekend 😛.
Everything is ultra crisp and clear in 1080p, and this is where the Playstation Store shines. So far, I think the PStore is a MUCH better solution to what Microsoft has with their Marketplace blade. I don't know how it looks in lower resolutions, but in 1080p, there is all kinds of info to peruse. I LOVE the recent additions list and the top downloads list on the right. That's awesome, and really help you see at a glance what's new. On the 360, you'd have to go in and out of several screens to look at all the new arrivals.....something that has made me just wait for Queasy posts to see what's been added 🙂. The rest of the screen real estate is large and easy to navigate/read. It's very well done compared to the competition IMO.
I haven't added any friends or anything like that, so I can't comment on the online system, (but I will at a later date). However, it's looks like it will be easy to use, and it looks like it will be simpler to initiate chats and the like. Once again, this is just going back to the PS3 interface being soooo much faster than the 360 interface.
The web browser is a nice touch, although I won't use it that much. The first page I went to was, obviously, the forums here 🙂. When I set the browser to display full screen, pixel for pixel, the text was so small, it was hard to read from 8' away (although it was still very legible if you have good eyes...I could barely make it out). I tried adjusting the font size in the menu, but that didn't change anything, so I'll mess with that later. I like that popular plug-ins are available, and that they didn't seem to dummy down the browser. Oddly enough, bungie.net wouldn't load for me, as it said that it ran out of memory 🙂.
The only game I currently have is Heavenly Sword. Since this is more of a hardware impression, I'll just say that HS has absolutely THE best facial models and lip-sync/modeling I've ever seen in a video game, bar none.
Overall, I like it so far. Regardless of what some of you think, I'm not a 360 or Microsoft fanboy, I just really enjoy their products. Vista, the 360, the Zune....I love all those products and how they are tied in together. My main beef with Sony over the past year has been their PR, and how they acted like they could put out whatever they wanted and people will pay. I still a bit guilty paying $500 for a console, but I did get a free game out of the deal, and it is a blu-ray player also. That and I had sold my Wii, so it wasn't all $500 straight out of the checking account at one time.
I think the PS3 will suit me fine going into the future, and hopefully Sony will eat a little humble pie and be more up front with their consumers. Microsoft has been, with the warranty extension, the Major Nelson website, and everything else they do to get involved in the community. However, I've not been involved too much in the Playstation community, so I could not know what I'm talking about. I'm pleased with the PS3 hardware, I know there will be more games on the horizon to play.
Maybe I'll comment later on the DVD playback, blu-ray playback, and PS2 game upscaling. But as of right now, I'm happy with my purchase!
