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 »
WLW: No Payin', No Gain
My weight loss plan – which has become our weight loss plan, since Kelly intends to do just about everything I do – is on hold until I can recover from the move, which took my last penny and then some. On the bright side, I've been eating less since getting together with Kelly, and I burned what felt like a week's worth of calories during that move. We should start walking soon before we settle into a daily routine. Go »Goodbye Dooce
Dooce.com has given me a lot of laughs over the years, and it's one of the few weblogs I have made a point to visit every day. But lately I just can't get past how much Heather bashes her husband, and with increasing viciousness. Go »Year of Disney
Kelly's been suggesting for a long time that we invest in annual passes to Disney World, since we live two hours' drive away. I finally wised up and listened to her, as some number-crunching showed that we would only need to spend three days there for the passes to pay for themselves. We placed the order and called it a Christmas gift to each other. Go »Hello Stupid
I don't know why car companies insist on calling their products "vehicles" now. Apparently "cars" became a dirty word and I missed it. But if you're going to change the term, consider your marketing messages carefully: As a matter of fact, yes, I have heard about radar, sonar, and infared technology in vehicles, such as submarines, aircraft carriers, and helicopters. Go »Moved In
We are moved in and settled, or as settled as we can be with little money and way too much stuff for a two-bedroom apartment. The final move will come in April when we transfer to a house. We have our eye on a house in Ruskin, 30 minutes from here – four bedrooms, two-car garage, cable included, never lived in, all for $50 less a month than I pay now. 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. :)