PS3: First Impressions
by Scott Hardie on December 9, 2006
On Tuesday, which happened to be Denise's birthday (we celebrated the night before), an acquaintance sold me a brand new Playstation 3 and I hit Best Buy to choose carefully from among the whopping half-dozen titles available. When I unpacked the system with a friend, I found it to be much bigger and heavier than I expected, but it's sleek and doesn't have any buttons; you just wave your finger over it to turn it on. The far left edge of the screen is cut off on my TV set, since the system doesn't include any display-centering option, but I hope to figure out a solution. Wireless controllers are a godsend, even if I'm disappointed to continue playing on the same lousy controller design from twelve years ago. Our first game was Tony Hawk's Project 8, which is more or less the same as any other game in the series, although I had a lot more trouble than usual getting and keeping my skater up to full speed. Eventually we got bored and switched to Call of Duty 3, my first time playing that series, and holy cow what a game. If you like action, it throws you into an immersive experience not unlike the opening of Saving Private Ryan, with violence all around you. I also picked up Marvel Ultimate Alliance to play later but I don't have high hopes for it, not liking the X-Men Legends series much.
While I'm eagerly looking forward to more games to come out, I don't really mind the lack of games available now. I didn't buy this system within weeks of launch because I just couldn't wait, I bought it because I knew this was the only opportunity I was going to get until sometime in 2008. I'm still slowly working my way through Elder Scrolls on Xbox 360 and Guitar Hero II on PS2. My overall impression of the PS3 so far is exactly what I expected: It's a powerful and expensive system that plays exactly like the PS2, and does not deserve the preeminent status that it enjoys over its much more innovative competitors from Microsoft and Nintendo.
As for the Blu-Ray player, I have yet to try it, but I'll rent some Blu-Ray discs from Netflix sooner or later. The system came with Talladega Nights but even as slim as my 2006 movie viewing has been, I'm not sure I can bring myself to watch it; the previews look so bad. I only have a regular TV anyway – HD can come later, after I track down a Wii.
St Pete gaming group: Want to come down on a Saturday night? I didn't buy all this to play it alone.
One Reply to PS3: First Impressions
Logical Operator
The creator of Funeratic, Scott Hardie, blogs about running this site, losing weight, and other passions including his wife Kelly, his friends, movies, gaming, and Florida. Read more »
Thoughts from Barnes & Noble
- Aren't all of these books in the clearance aisles the same ones I saw while Christmas shopping? - Sarasota must be really obsessed with astrology, Barack Obama, pet psychology, and Eastern cooking. Or the whole country is. Go »Breaking Monopoly
My latest pastime has been seeing if I can rig a video game of Monopoly to give me infinite money. It turns out that I can, but it's incredibly tedious, far more so than I thought. I like to play with the NES version, because it's just colorful and fun enough without being too sophisticated in its AI. Go »Summer of Suck II
Science says that complaining is bad for you, but sometimes it helps me feel better, so I'm going to do it anyway. It's my blog and I can cry if I want to. Summer has arrived and I'm miserable. Go »No R'lyeh, I'm Not a Fan
I never thought of myself as a fan of H.P. Lovecraft. I don't think I've read more than a couple of his short stories. Go »Real Predictions, from a Guy Who Takes This Too Seriously
Some of my Oscar contest predictions are solely based on my odds of "winning" the contest. I'm curious to find out if what film I really think will win in certain categories comes out on top. Best Picture: Babel Best Original Screenplay: Babel Best Original Score: Babel Best Film Editing: Blood Diamond Best Costume Design: Marie Antoinette Here's looking forward to a good show tonight. Go »
Aaron Shurtleff | December 11, 2006
As the gaming group representative for Sony, I say, "Hell, yeah!!!"
And, while I could comment on the PS3 issues, I will not do so for now. But it would be nice of you to give the PS3 some time. :)