View Full Version : Early impressions of the PS3
Thanks to the impending doom feeling at the realisation that I'm mostly immobile for the next 6-8 weeks (broken foot for those who didn't know), finding a good deal and the fact I worked bloody hard for the last few weeks and also ebayed quite a few games, I bought myself a PS3 to keep me sane for a while.
So I thought in my typical, 'I can't stop writing about something' nature, I'd list up some early impressions of it. Do bear in mind this is coming from someone used to a 360 so I'm looking at it from a slightly different perspective than people who have it as their first console of this generation.
As soon as I opened it, I have to admit to being most impressed by the PS3 in terms of looks. I know it's a very personal thing, but it looked like I'd spent money on it. I love my 360, but the off white plastic style just looks cheap imo. Perhaps hypocritically I liked the Wii's looks upon opening the box but I think a lot of that was down to its size. The PS3 is huge! Which is not good for me at the moment as I was having to rely on my Mum with her bad back and permanent neck injury to lift it for me, in the end the box got dragged into the living room and dumped by the TV. It's now residing on the floor at least until I can switch casts and be able to move it.
I did have to laugh that as soon as I opened it, I thought 'ooh shiny' and within a nanosecond a fingerprint and a bit of dust landed on it, ruining it forever :p Reminded me of first getting my iPhone :D I love the buttons though, I've not had a proper look (as it's now near impossible for me to get to!) but I like touch sensitive buttons. My TV has the same so I guess I'm biased. Slot loading disc drive is nice too, purely a looks thing again but I like it.
Having wireless built in is brilliant at the moment. No ethernet cables go to that room so I wouldn't have been able to go online on it until I got it upstairs in weeks to come, so it was very handy.
I'm still a little unsure about the controller. It is the perfect size for me and I like the weight of it and not needing a play n charge kit because it comes with its own way of doing it, but I'm mostly unsure about the L2 and R2 buttons. The triggers feel wrong and a little flimsy, after 2 days use I seem to have adjusted though. I was worried the controller was a bit flimsy overall, but after resting it on the armrest then accidentally elbowing it halfway across the room (meaning I had to go call my Mum from upstairs to retrieve it for me, oops :o), I'll forgive its flimsiness as it can't be that bad ;)
Installing games and updates is a bit irritating. The first game I installed was Ghostbusters and it took forever! System updates take a while too and I know it has the iTunes way of 'patching' things so it'll just get bigger.
I've only watched one blu-ray yet (X-Men: The Last Stand) but the picture seemed very crisp, even my Mum noticed it. Really quite impressed with the picture, even the menus on the PS3 look crisper than I expected! It's not even on the better TV as my TV is better than the living room one, so be interesting to see what it looks like on there.
I've only played two games so far. I have the lovely problem of not being able to get down to the PS3 to switch discs, so once one disc goes in, I commit to it :p I got Ghostbusters with the console so that went first. Really enjoyed it, it is flawed in places, but it kept me hooked to the end (it is a bit short, only took 6-7hrs if that), and has a great charm to it. Ghostbusters fans will love it.
Just started Uncharted and it's fun so far. Not quite what I expected, I expected it to be more like Tomb Raider, which it is in places; but there is also a lot more combat than I anticipated. Still good though, and the graphics are sublime.
So overall, I'm very impressed so far. Be interesting to see what happens when the 360 and PS3 are side by side but that's going to be a fair while yet till it happens, and admittedly once I can walk again, I think I might not go near a game for a while :p
Oh and huge thanks to Nokkon for lending me loads of his blu-rays and games, really great of you :D
Any suggestions for PS3 exclusives that I should check out, please let me know people. I currently only have Uncharted and Killzone 2, although borrowed Nokkon's Ratchet and Clank, Heavenly Sword and Little Big Planet.
I really want Valkyrie Chronicles but I'm restricted to my local Blockbuster (both financially and physically, got credit there and I can't hop far!) and they don't have it. Bah!
And finally, sorry for the length. You can tell I have nothing better to do ;)
Good write up. As an xbox gamer I would be curious on how you get on with it. I saw a vid of Resistance a while back and that looked quite good. Bar stuff like Tekken is there that many PS3 exclusives that aren't on the xbox? Maybe Metal gear solid?
Del Lardo
27-07-2009, 12:10
What do you think about the PS3 on-line stuff compared to 360? After selling my 360 last November to stick with PS3 I'm thinking of switching back again for 2 reasons, on-line is ****e compared to 360 and GT5 is delayed again and I'm fed up waiting.
btw can lend you COD4 if you want?
I like touch sensitive buttons.
Surely a button wouldn't be a button if it wasn't touch sensitive? ;D
/pedant.
Streeteh
27-07-2009, 12:11
Drop me your address and you can borrow my copy of Valkyria, email is my username @ blueyonder.co.uk :)
NokkonWud
27-07-2009, 12:18
Good write up. As an xbox gamer I would be curious on how you get on with it. I saw a vid of Resistance a while back and that looked quite good. Bar stuff like Tekken is there that many PS3 exclusives that aren't on the xbox? Maybe Metal gear solid?
Tekken IS coming to Xbox360. There is a new Metal Gear game coming to Xbox360 too, but it's based around Raiden.
Good write up. As an xbox gamer I would be curious on how you get on with it. I saw a vid of Resistance a while back and that looked quite good. Bar stuff like Tekken is there that many PS3 exclusives that aren't on the xbox? Maybe Metal gear solid?
Seems to be mostly stuff like Killzone 2, MGS4, Gran Turismo, Uncharted and Resistance 2 are the big ones. Few others too of course :D
What do you think about the PS3 on-line stuff compared to 360? After selling my 360 last November to stick with PS3 I'm thinking of switching back again for 2 reasons, on-line is ****e compared to 360 and GT5 is delayed again and I'm fed up waiting.
btw can lend you COD4 if you want?
I haven't used the online stuff much yet, not played a multiplayer game yet or anything. I will do soon though. Not sure about the actual navigation to have a look around for demos etc, doesn't seem as well arranged as the XBox Marketplace but I've not really had a proper look to say.
Thanks for the offer re CoD4, but I've got it and completed it on the 360 :D The 360 being my nighttime console as it's in my bedroom ;D
Surely a button wouldn't be a button if it wasn't touch sensitive? ;D
/pedant.
What would you call them then? ;) Afaik it's even what Samsung call them! Wouldn't the regular sort of buttons be called pressure sensitive buttons anyhow? :p
Drop me your address and you can borrow my copy of Valkyria, email is my username @ blueyonder.co.uk :)
That would be absolutely brilliant Streeteh! :D Thank you :D
Streeteh
27-07-2009, 12:24
They are indeed touch sensitive as opposed to pressure sensitive like a normal button. They seem great at first but you'll get annoyed eventually, my PS3 gets hit by the sun at midday and when i press the button sometimes i'm assuming due to the heat it thinks i've held the power button and thus resets all of the video settings. :angry:
To be fair, it did say in massive text at the front of the manual to not leave it in direct sunlight so i've only got myself to blame, also it's only happened two or three times in two years :E
;D No direct sunlight where it is now, nor where it'll go when it goes to my room eventually :D
I'm used to them on my TV so I like them.
Going to have to check out the PSN store shortly I think. Once I do the 20 minute excursion to get to that room!
Streeteh
27-07-2009, 12:30
The EU PStore is incredibly poorly laid out tbh, but there are some really fantastic titles hidden away. Wipeout HD with the new expansion, Super Stardust HD, PixelJunk Monsters and Flower are all must have imo.
Fortunately Sony have said several times on their blog that they are 'working on' sorting out the EU store. The US and Jap stores are far more logically laid out, i really can't figure out why the EU one is so poor.
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 12:34
Yes the touch sensitive buttons irk me somewhat too :(
Mine doesn't get much use as I have invested rather heavily into DLC for a certain game I have on the 360....
Nice little write up though :)
Just having a browse around the PSN store, so many PS1 games! I was a huge PS1 fan so this store essentially has my youth in one handy place.
Edit: OMG Future Cop LAPD, I loved that game soooooooooo much!
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 13:57
Don't remind me :(
Credit card at the ready! :D
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 13:58
ooo I nearly forgot - enjoy the colour changing menu (default theme) based on time of day :D
Very cool feature I thought :)
Having seen the prices, I can see how Microsoft have done a great trick. I look at something on XBLM priced at 1200 points, and I don't think £10, I think 1200 points. With PSN pricing things with 'real' money, some things seem a bit expensive when they probably aren't anymore pricey than XBLM stuff.
I am sorely tempted by either Crash Bandicoot 3 or Future Cop LAPD but I'm resisting for now as I'm really trying not to spend more money!
Streeteh
27-07-2009, 14:08
Aye, prices are pretty identical for multiplatform stuff but the market place always seems less... intimidating. PS3 exclusive stuff is a bargain though tbh, iirc you can get SSHD with all expansions for less than a fiver, flower is also less than a tenner.
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 14:19
The way I see it with a bit of craft bargain hunting I can get 2100MSP for 12 quid which makes the Marketplace stuff very variable in price :)
Having said which real money is nice too....
Jen if you want to borrow any of my stuff just give me a shout!
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 16:27
And strike 1 for the PS3!
Just tried to purchase the Wipeout Fury add-on pack for WipeoutHD and I can't add funds to my wallet.
Why I hear you ask? Simply put it has my old card details which have since been cancelled after some kind person carried out some fraudulent activity using my details :(
However there is no option to delete details or to add any new ones :/
A touch annoyed I thinks :(
Streeteh
27-07-2009, 17:25
There is an option mate, it's just not in the PSStore. Go back to the XMB and there's an option like 'account management' or something along those lines, all card details are stored in there.
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 17:36
Yep found it after consulting the PS Forums.
Not a fan of that organisation of cards. Really used to the way the 360 marketplace says 'insufficient funds' then gives you options to add more :)
I do you like how you can remove card details though :)
NokkonWud
27-07-2009, 18:23
Aye, prices are pretty identical for multiplatform stuff but the market place always seems less... intimidating. PS3 exclusive stuff is a bargain though tbh, iirc you can get SSHD with all expansions for less than a fiver, flower is also less than a tenner.
But, let us not forget, there is also a minimum pay in limit, so whilst SuperStardust is £5 and change, you actually need to put £10 in.
Ooh you have to put £10 in rather than just pay per item? :/
I'll wait a bit then, don't really want to do that right now.
NokkonWud
27-07-2009, 18:28
I can't remember if it's in £5 or £10 iterations, but it caught me out when I got one.
I had the exact same opinions when I first got my PS3 (and xbox was still functional) and pretty soon I much preferred the games on PS3 and wasn't that bothered about the death of the xbox.
As far as games go, I'd give inFAMOUS a blast. I'm playing it a second time through and it's good fun :)
btw, wots your PSN?
I had the exact same opinions when I first got my PS3 (and xbox was still functional) and pretty soon I much preferred the games on PS3 and wasn't that bothered about the death of the xbox.
As far as games go, I'd give inFAMOUS a blast. I'm playing it a second time through and it's good fun :)
btw, wots your PSN?
Same here for me really. My Xbox died on Saturday and Im in two minds as to whether I can be arsed replacing it. I spend most of my console time on PS3.
£5.00 is the minimum transaction spend but you don't have to do it in multiples of £5.00 or £10.00 iirc. I know I bought a few songs for SingStar over Xmas and they came to about £7.00 and it just did the card transaction without adding extra funds to the wallet.
Other games to have Little Big Planet and Wipeout HD
As for InFamous, it's a good game but can get a bit repetitive.
Ahh £5 isn't too bad :)
I'll probably rent inFamous sometime, looks more of a rental game for me. I've got LBP from Nokkon so I'll give that a shot at some point soon :D
Oh and tag is halycopter :)
Ahh £5 isn't too bad :)
I'll probably rent inFamous sometime, looks more of a rental game for me. I've got LBP from Nokkon so I'll give that a shot at some point soon :D
Oh and tag is halycopter :)
I will add you later Haly :)
Another good thing as well about the PS3 is that the Hard Driver is extremely easy to upgrade. On Sat, I backed up the save game files to Flash Drive, installed new 320gb HDD and restored the save file within 45 mins.
What I would like is for Sony to do something with the system menu so you can easily see what files you have where and see how much free space you have. A bit like 'My Computer' on a PC
I'll probably rent inFamous sometime, looks more of a rental game for me.
Aye, if you're going to be playing it pretty full on it'll be a rental option. I just fire it up like once a week so it plays well.
I struggle to tare myself away from CoD much more than that!
Oh and tag is halycopter :)
ta. Shall add you later :)
Cho Zan Wan
27-07-2009, 21:41
For the PSN Store try this - add just the items you want to your basket, then go to the checkout. It should (has for me) shown the exact amount you need to add to the wallet to complete your purchase.
Ooh I'll try that, thanks :)
Streeteh
27-07-2009, 22:42
But, let us not forget, there is also a minimum pay in limit, so whilst SuperStardust is £5 and change, you actually need to put £10 in.
It's a fiver minimum actually, but it warns you about this twice before you withdraw the money from your account and it remains in there indefinitely much like MS points so tbh it's not an issue for me.
Basically as long as the value is over a fiver it'll withdraw the exact amount from your account, if it's less you'll withdraw a fiver but the change will remain attached to your account and will be deducted from the cost of your next purchase.
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 22:50
Aye, if you're going to be playing it pretty full on it'll be a rental option. I just fire it up like once a week so it plays well.
I struggle to tare myself away from CoD much more than that!
:shocked:
I played it solidly for 2 weeks and still didn't get it finished to my satisfaction :p
Streeteh
27-07-2009, 22:51
Infamous platinum is one of the most satisfying ones there is, the final boss is a solid git D:
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 22:59
I know. On hard that mofo took me nearly an hour as inFamous. Then no trophy's :(
Streeteh
27-07-2009, 23:00
I know. On hard that mofo took me nearly an hour as inFamous. Then no trophy's :(
Aye i remember that, don't know wtf went wrong there, i even googled it as i was curious. You're literally the only human being on the planet who's had trophies not work :/
Psymonkee
27-07-2009, 23:06
:(
I wasn't signed in to the PSN - wonder if that's the problem?
Infamous platinum is one of the most satisfying ones there is, the final boss is a solid git D:
yeah, not looking forward to killing him on hard :(
took a while on normal!
Davey_Pitch
27-08-2009, 09:17
After getting and setting up my PS3 yesterday thought I'd bump this with some of my own impressions as well.
Like Jen I was very impressed with how it looks. The first thing Lynnie said when she saw it was "ohh that's pretty", and she's right, it is. I quite like the design of it, from the slot loading drive to the lack of a power brick, it looks lovely. Really impressed there. Also like the fact the DS3 gets its charge from a standard USB cable, that's handy and means you don't have to buy anything else. Having wireless built in is also incredibly handy, as my router is also full of wired devices and I doubt I could be bothered swapping leads all the time. From a design point of view, I think it rates very highly.
After having a PSP in the past the menu system was pretty familiar to me. I think it falls miles behind the 360's dashboard to be honest, but this is coming from someone who's had a 360 since release day so my opinion could easily be swayed merely by familiarity. The PSN Store has lots of good PS1 games on it (Populous and Theme Park/Hospital were almost instantly bought when I saw them) but again I think it falls behind the Marketplace on the 360 in terms of layout and design. I doubt I'll ever buy too much from it though, so it's not really a huge issue for me.
From a gaming side of things, I've only played two games so far - Singstar with Lynnie, and Uncharted. Singstar is as I expected, pretty much identical to the PS2 version. I've only put about an hour into Uncharted so far and I like what I've played, seems very Tomb Raider like so far which is fine with me. I'll put more time into it when I get home as the storyline so far is interesting and I fancy seeing where it's going.
All in all, not bad so far. It'll only ever be my 2nd console as I've invested too much time and effort into my 360 (and gamerscore) to relegate it to 2nd place, but there are enough exclusives on the PS3 to make it worthwhile to own. Still got £101 credit with Computer Exchange as well so will pick up another 3-5 games soon, as soon as I've decided which ones I want!
What's your tag on there?
Mine's halycopter :D
Davey_Pitch
27-08-2009, 12:13
DaveyPitch, same as XBL. Will add you later :)
NokkonWud
27-08-2009, 12:27
DaveyPitch, same as XBL. Will add you later :)
And me, and me.
Did you get it from CEX?
Davey_Pitch
27-08-2009, 12:27
Nope, came free with Lynnie's new phone :)
So I gots me a PS3 too. 360 has been broken for 3 months and MS said it'd cost £100 to fix. So instead of buying a new 360 I decided to take advantage of the PS3 offers. For £299 I got 80gb PS3, inFamous, Batman, Ghostbusters, MGS4, Terminator and T3 bluray. That ain't bad imho. I looked on Eurogamer and saw that theres a truck load of 10/10 and 9/10 games for the 360 over PS3 but enough to keep me happy.
Really quite impressed with it. Dualshock 3 is better than I thought. Very light and the triggers are a godsend. GT5, which I didn't plan on buying, will probably get bought just to give the triggers a good run. Its been years since I played on my PS2. It got dumped when I got the Xbox so its really quite nice to be back with a Playstation. I like that my avatar is a lemming! Thats just cool. The UI is very nice. iPlayer is brilliant. Its like an Apple thing. It just works.
Need to setup some media server thing if its possible with OSX. PSN Store isn't bad but doesn't seem as good as the 360 one. Hard to find demos. Seems to just list content by category so I dunno if theres a demo or addon or if its an arcade game.
Overall I'm impressed. Theres not a lot of games out I want as they're usually multiformat and I can't even think of anything coming up, but for now I'm happy with it.
PSN name: thecyk
Oh one thing I've noticed. inFamous doesn't appear to be AA?
NokkonWud
03-09-2009, 17:51
Need to setup some media server thing if its possible with OSX. PSN Store isn't bad but doesn't seem as good as the 360 one. Hard to find demos. Seems to just list content by category so I dunno if theres a demo or addon or if its an arcade game.
I agree, the PSN store is a real PITA to find stuff on. They've changed all this in Asia and possibly in the US too, but for some reason they've not updated the European store. It's one of my biggest peeves about the PSN service.
Glad you're enjoying it though, you got a whole lot of good games too.
I appear to have set off a trend with PS3 purchases by the looks of things :D
Glad you're enjoying it Pete :)
NokkonWud
03-09-2009, 18:12
Skinny Jeans on guys became a trend, doesn't make it a good thing ;).
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