sleepyjack's Full Review: Sony Playstation 3 (60 GB) Console
The first time I came across a Playstation 3 that I could get a really good run down of happened a few months before I decided to purchase my own. My friend purchased a PS3 and lent it to me for a short time so I could test out Resistance: Fall of man(a First Person Shooter) and get a good idea of how the system ran and how I liked it. After my evaluation of the system I saved bits of money until I reached the $600 mark and purchased my own and have been
very satisfied with my purchase.
System Pricing and Features:
The PS3 is offered in two different models and has had two models discontinued. The two models offered right now are the 40GB($400) and 80GB($500) models. The two models that were discontinued are the 20GB($500) and the 60GB($600) versions. Out of the four of these models they all had differences in features offered. I purchased the 60GB PS3 and it includes all of the best features the PS3 has ever offered with the exception of the 80GB hard drive.
The 60GB(discontinued) version of the PS3 offered:
-full backward compatibility with PS2 games (hardware support)
-IEEE 802.11 wireless connectivity(right from the box)
-Flash Memory card readers for Compact Flash, SD, Mini SD, and Memory Stick Pro.
-4 USB ports
-Super Audio CD support
-Chrome trim.
-Blu-ray/DVD/CD drive
-HDMI 1.3a
-Bluetooth 2.0
-Gigabit Ethernet
-PSX backward compatibility
-Through software emulation
-a glossy finish
The 20GB(discontinued) version offered:
-full backward compatibility with PS2 games (hardware support)
-4 USB ports
-Super Audio CD support
-Blu-ray/DVD/CD drive
-HDMI 1.3a
-Bluetooth 2.0
-Gigabit Ethernet
-PSX backward compatibility
-Through software emulation
-a glossy finish
The 40GB version offers:
-IEEE 802.11 wireless connectivity(right from the box)
-Flash Memory card readers for Compact Flash, SD, Mini SD, and Memory Stick Pro.
-2 USB ports
-Blu-ray/DVD/CD drive
-HDMI 1.3a
-Bluetooth 2.0
-Gigabit Ethernet
-PSX backward compatibility
-Through software emulation
-a glossy finish
The 80GB version offers:
-full backward compatibility with PS2 games (software support)
-IEEE 802.11 wireless connectivity(right from the box)
-Flash Memory card readers for Compact Flash, SD, Mini SD, and Memory Stick Pro.
-4 USB ports
-Super Audio CD support
-Chrome trim.
-Blu-ray/DVD/CD drive
-HDMI 1.3a
-Bluetooth 2.0
-Gigabit Ethernet
-PSX backward compatibility
-Through software emulation
-a glossy finish
Game, Movie(Blu-Ray), and Accessory Pricing:
PS3 games purchased new from any old retail store will set you back $30-$60 dollars depending on the game, So far the only PS3 game offered online is $40, downloadable content for games is $5 or $10, and the other little arcade type games are around $5. The cost of a Blu-Ray movie is between $25 and $35 dollars. Accessories like controllers will set you back $30 to $50, PS3 cooling systems are around $30 to $35, and the Playstation Eye will set you back $40.
Other Accessories like bluetooth headsets will set you back anywhere between $20-$250 and bluetooth keyboards and mice will set you back anywhere between $80-$180 (including both keyboard and mice in the package).
Graphics:
The PS3 is a gaming system that is built for high-definition goodness. It works best when optimized to a full 1080P and produces mind blowing graphics even on a standard definition TV. The graphics the PS3 can produce are nearly lifelike, in the game Motorstorm your vehicle looks real, sounds real and almost tastes real, as you race across different terrain you
can nearly feel the spray of the water and mud hit you as you drive through puddles of water and taste the dust stirred up from the tires and watch the continuous build up of dirt and mud as you rip through dusty plains and deep rivers. As you rip around the track hitting into other cars and obstacles around cause your vehicles condition to deteriorate and parts to fly off revealing the inner workings of whatever you've chosen to race with. The detail in all of this is absolutely amazing, the way the water splashes and the clouds of dust rise from the back of your vehicle and in all of this you probably couldn't pick out a pixel with a microscope. This is the graphical detail the PS3 is capable of.
Backwards Compatibility:
This feature was a huge selling point on the PS3 for me.
You can tuck a PSX, or PS2 game in there and play away. For those of us who love old final fantasy games like final fantasy 7, 8, 9, or tactics its a big selling point, just as well for PS2 and some of the fantastic games that have been released for it.
Games:
The PS3 has many excellent system specific games that are either out now or are coming out. Some examples of excellent high rated games that are out right now that are only for the PS3 are games like Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction(Platform Adventure), Resistance: Fall of man(First Person Shooter), Heavenly Sword(Third Person Action), Motorstorm (Off Road Racing), and Warhawk(Flight Action). All of which are excellent PS3 games that are out now, all of which are very entertaining and make the PS3 worth buying. The only games that make the PS3 worth buying more than the games that are out now are games that are coming out in the not so distant future. Examples of these games would be games like Metal Gear Solid 4 (Third Person Stealth Action), Gran Turismo 5(Racing Simulation), Killzone 2(First Person Shooter), Motorstorm 2(Off Road Racing), Tekken 6(Fighting), Socom: Confrontation(Third Person Military Shooter), Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier(Action Platform), and Time Crisis 4(Arcade Style Shooter). All of which are popular titles to be excited about and titles I will most likely be investing in.
Use of Blu-ray technology:
The PS3 come built in with a blu-ray drive. Blu-ray technology is the newest technology in data storage with the theoretical limit of holding up to 200 GB on one disk, crushing its nearest competitor HD-DVD that has a theoretical limit of just 60 GB, three and a third times the data capacity. This gives the PS3 more capacity to have higher definition games and movies.
Use of Bluetooth technology:
The PS3 utilizes bluetooth technology in many ways.
One way it utilizes bluetooth technology is in its controllers, I can have my PS3 playing music and I can be anywhere in my house and be able to change the song, my PS3 is in the second story of my house and I can still change songs from my basement(I tried it specifically for this epinion). The PS3 also has the ability to utilize other bluetooth devices like keyboards, mouses, and headsets for use with its online browser, in game chat and operating systems just to name a few.
The Controller and Sixaxis Feature:
The PS3 has an all new controller that shares much of the same design as the dualshock 2 controllers except it now utilizes wireless bluetooth technology, the L2 and R2 buttons are now more like triggers instead of normal buttons, removal of the rumble feature, and the addition of the Sixaxis feature. The controller itself is lightweight and comfortable for you to wrap your hand around, its light weight is attributed to the removal of the rumble feature and the addition of the Sixaxis feature. The controllers Sixaxis feature adds more depth and interactivity in gameplay through movement of the controller itself, for example, if you turn the controller to the left and your character might peek to the left of a corner to make sure its safe to move or you might shake the controller to shake a wild beast from you that is attacking. In the game Blazing Angels (a WW2 war fighter game) you can use the Sixaxis feature for all movement controls of your airplane, making the game exponentially more entertaining, much more difficult, and adds interactivity, making it feel like your in the game.
Multiple Operating System Installation:
One thing that I think is REALLY cool about the PS3 is its ability to support multiple operating systems.
Although from what I've read and heard there are only certain versions of Linux that can be installed on PS3 that work properly, it makes the system much more versatile and gives it the ability to run open source operating systems and programs.
User friendliness:
The PS3 is a fairly user friendly system and if taken the short amount of time to explore the system and its menus almost any fairly computer savvy person can utilize all of the PS3's features. The PS3 is very user friendly because it does pretty much all of the work for you, if you want to set up an internet connect to it, it will do all the work short of plugging itself in, with my connection it auto-detected everything. The PS3 also has a menu that is easy to navigate. It has simple well titled menus help for easy navigation.
The Playstation Store:
The Playstation Store is a place where you can purchase additional game content that is downloadable like vehicles and tracks for Motorstorm. you can also download free demos of games that have already been released or are due to be released in the future, you can download movie trailers, game trailers for upcoming game releases, full PS3 games(Warhawk is the only one available right now), PSX games(although there aren't many PSX games available for download just yet), and also other little arcade type games (none of which I've played) that are inexpensive. Also, thanks to updates to the PS3's firmware you can also download new themes and background pictures for the PS3 making the dashboard more customizable.
Online System:
PS3 has a good online system, its fast to find game rooms (depending on popularity of the game), and it plays smoothly. The online system does need work though, which is partially why I seldom play online. The online friends list has a normal PS3 friends list and different friends lists for different games, which bothered me, why not integrate all of your friends lists into one friends list that would show up on your PS3 dash? It sure would make it better. Another thing about PS3s online system that bothers me is the voice chat or private chat system, you can't have a private chat with your friend while playing any old single player game, you can't listen to music or surf the web and chat with your friend at the same time, that to me is kind of dumb. The voice chat system online is a little clunky to me as well, from playing Resistance: Fall of Man online you have to hold the left thumb stick or some other button if you wanted the people your playing with to hear you, although that may be the best solution I think its a little clunky.
PS3 Media:
The PS3 has a good media setup but it needs some work just like the online system. One thing that I love about the media setup on PS3 is that you can change the format to your liking, if you want a CD ripped as MP3's or whatever other format it will let you. One thing that I really don't like about it is you can't access your music whenever you want, for example, if your roaming around playing Oblivion and you want to listen to some 311 you can't open up a handy dandy little menu, select what you want to listen to and slay some vampires to some 311, you can only listen to music from your PS3 dash or while your surfing the internet through the PS3 web browser.
PS3 download system:
The PS3 has a good download system, you can play PS3 games and downloads will continue to download (unless your playing online). Although the PS3 will not continue to download if your playing PS2 or PSX games, which is no big deal but I think they could make it work with that kind of technology. Another thing that the PS3 could offer is a system similar to X-box 360's system that downloads content while the system is off.
Conclusion:
The PS3 is an excellent video gaming system. This system is cutting edge for gaming technology and is not just limited to gaming alone but also use of multiple operating systems. It also has many fantastic games out now and also due for release, like Gran Turismo 5 and Metal Gear Solid 4, which are two that I am very excited about. It has backwards compatibility which appeals to those of us who love PSX and PS2 games. It features a blu-ray, bluetooth, and sixaxis technology all in the easiest way to utilize them. Although PS3 has a few shortcomings its still a fantastic system that gets a thumbs up from me.
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