The Videogames Tab

Yeah, I mean XBL is $49.99 for a year. That's equivalent to one game. Any serious gamer who complains about that price is just reaching, especially considering how most MMO games cost a third of that per month to play. And yet, I hear Sony people all the time trying to boast that PSN is free.

Pssh.

Speaking of LBP, I just got back into the game after having it sit on my shelf for a month or so, it's still one of the best party games I've played.

Wolverine, that game is bloody violent, I was impressed.

As for the X-BOX, I agree that the on-line feature is leaps and bounds over the PS3's, but again, one is free the other is not. So that's like saying living in a house that you pay for with running water and heat is better then a house with none of that that you live in for free.

I do hope they buff up their on-line (ps3), although I've had no complaints with it so far.

But the X-BOX was a horrible console, the 360 is leaps and bounds over the first one. I'm glad they fixed the dreaded red ring of death because that was a pain in my ass.

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Suspect's Reviews

Hmm. I think you're unfairly understating XBL. Running water and heat, in my view, are necessities you should expect to find/have in any house. That's more akin to solid connectivity and a basic user interface. XBL has that, and a whole lot more. Global party system, Netflix streaming, XBL Arcade... I mean, there really is a lot to write home about.

I'd like to see Sony beef up PSN also, and I'm sure they will. But as far as price, fifty bucks for a year might as well be pennies. I'll gladly pay it for a cleaner online experience, and a 360 is still considerably cheaper than a PS3 anyway. (I mean, if you're buying a PS3, you're essentially paying more for the Blu-Ray compatibility, so to take advantage, you have to buy Blu-Ray DVDs, which is just more money out of your pocket. So methinks the costs even out a little bit.)

Whoa, buddy. I disagree. The first XBOX had a huge internal hard drive (the PS2 used memory cards), a slick controller design (granted, the Mark I brick was trash, but the S-controller smacked up the lame PS2 Dual Shock), and better graphics capability on the whole. The only complaints I ever heard was that it was clunky, loud, and had no DVD playback without the remote kit ($30). Personally, I think those are marginal issues, compared to the purported difficulty of developing games for the PS2, according to most companies. I think that's largely why both Microsoft systems have landed such high-profile titles, and why once Sony-specific properties are now cross-console.

And Sony still hasn't updated its controller.

EDIT: I haven't had to deal with the red ring of death yet, and mine is an early console. I'm dreading it. That is definitely a programming error, and negliglible that they possibly released it with knowledge of the problem. But at least they corrected it, and issued free repair vouchers for afflicted systems.

Why try to change something that doesn't need fixing? I have no complaints about the Sony controllers. The one drawback I will say is the poorly tacked on Sixaxis.

Microsoft HAD to change their controllers because they found out pretty fast that gamers weren't giants.

I will agree that X-Box had better graphics and an internal drive (which isn't always the best), but the amount of games for it were weak. The system was gigantic and was louder then my lawnmower.

A buddy of mine grabbed a 360 when it first game out, it melted 3 of his discs. I had a good laugh. You keep saying that blu-ray seems to be a "disadvantage", when the format could very well be the norm in the next few years. For those who are already converted to blu-ray (which is indeed beautiful) they don't have to go through the hassle of ridiculously over-priced add ons. Backing HD was a problem for Microsoft.

I've heard dozens upon dozens of RROD stories. I've only hearda few problems with the PS3, mainly hard drive problems. I've yet to encounter this. My old PS2 finally died out and couldn't read discs properly, I bought a slim PS2. Other then that Sony has been fine to me.

But hey, I still got my PC and I love that for games.

Back to the PSN, I've been checking out Playstation Home, while it is interesting to meet and greet some people, I just don't really see the point in it.

The XBox was a great console (I've got 2 1.6 Crystals sitting in a cupboard) which suffered from very few quality exclusive titles. It's still probably a better media centre than the PS3 but it's not wireless and I can't be bothered cluttering up my room further.

This year looks promising for the PS3 but I'm not using it for much more than Blu Ray and haven't done since I got the 360 last year.

There are a lot of things wrong with the 360 but you can't argue with its library and the fact that you can buy a new one for the price of 3 full price games. Rumours persist of a $100 PS3 price drop but I just think they entered this gen's market too late with a machine that was too complex for the devs to economically get the best out of.

My schoolteachers always said I had great potential but look at me now.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

From what I've read, Sony was really gambling by dropping the PS3 down to its current price, considering it costs more to produce them then they are selling them for.

Yes, in a few years, Blu-Ray will probably be the norm, but until they drop the price of the discs down to DVD prices, I'll stick with the DVDs. My 50" HDTV doesn't notice a difference between the two.

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"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg

I love my X-Box 360. No complaints at all, so far...

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If you can run a DVD and Blu Ray/HDDVD version of the same movie side by side, you'll notice the difference immediately. The one that really struck me was the recent Godfather Coppola restoration - when you paused the Blu Ray editions it looked like a photograph, even up close.

But yeah, a decent upscaling player brings out the best in DVDs if you've got a HD TV.

I bought the PS2 I was banging on about a few posts back, should be here in a few days. Looking forward to getting HD Loader running again.

The setup I had with my PS3 was, 50" Plasma, HDMI cable. The only Blu-Ray movie that blu (pun intended) me away was Speed Racer, simply because it was nothing but shiny plastic.

I'll go back and fourth with my wife on the difference between regular and HD tv, but when it comes to DVDs vs. Blu-Ray, I don't notice much of a difference. However, that's a different thread altogether.

As far as the PS3 goes as a gaming console, it lacks a lot, simply making it a more expensive PS2. Had they really expanded and tried to tackle the 360 market, Sony wouldn't have had to worry about not making any money on them.

I would guess that the PS2 was too successful and long-lived for Sony's good. Microsoft failed to break barriers with the original XBox so they started development earlier than planned and stole a march on Sony. I was reading somewhere that the PS2 outsold the PS3 in the last quarter - even with a PS2 price drop that's shocking.

Of course, they can bang on about the PS3's market being more mature and diverse til the cows come home. The serious (and by 'serious' I mean people with more money than me) movie watchers are gonna go for a standalone BD player (which are now £100 less than the PS3 here) and have something which looks a little less like a George Foreman grill under their TV.

That said, I think the PS3 is a heck of a good bit of kit. I just wish it'd give me more reasons to switch it on.

Have you checked THIS out Tac?
Seems a bit like Assasin's Creed (the fact that you can crawl-jump on everything, that the mob will turn on you if you're a bad guy) but it's with a super-hero who uses electricity. Some of the video is just these guys praising the PS3 but they also talk about the development of the game and its options. Seems pretty cool to me.

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The Freedom Roads

The controller thing is an argument of preference, but if you remember, Sony was developing the new Sidewinder controller for the PS3, and it got axed because it was too close to Wii Mote technology. So despite the fact that Sony intended to change their own controller, they had to revert back to the Dual Shock at the last minute.

Personally, I can't understand why Sony hasn't updated their thumbsticks. They're uncomfortable and outdated. I've never played a game on a Sony machine where my thumbs didn't hurt like hell afterward.

That's true, but the "sled" (as my friends and I affectionately call it) was only the standard for the first six months or so. After that, S-controller was the norm for the next three years. So it wasn't a big deal, really. I remember only having to deal with briefly when I first bought my XBOX and Morrowind, and shortly after that, the S-controller was released.

This is the token argument I've heard from Sony acolytes ever since the XBOX was released. "The PS2 has more games." Yeah, but I followed console gaming closely during that time, and it wasn't often that the PS2 actually had a new game with a notable rating. The console was flooded with forgettable RPGS, fighters, strategy games, and platformers, most of Japanese origin. There was also an unfathomable amount of rushed releases based on popular children's properties like Spongebob and Barbie, none of which were high profile games, and all of which were terrible.

So the volume of games on the PS2 really never equaled "better games," in my opinion... but that's how Sony wanted to spin it. Sure, the XBOX had some stinkers too, but it was my experience that the system produced just as many renowned titles (and a lot of sleeper hits, too) as the PS2, despite being released a full year or more later.

It sounds like he had a bad unit. I bought one of the early models, and I haven't had a problem with that, nor have I heard common reports of that happening. I have heard of people nearly setting their systems on fire because they ran it nonstop for 12 hours or more, but who in their right mind would do that?

Spud said it all. Blu-Ray will likely become the standard, but right now they're designed to make consumers buy the most expensive version of a given DVD without any options. I like being able to decide whether I want additional features on a case by case basis. Most often, I only want the film. And I'm not alone. But no, Sony doesn't want to do that, because since Blu-Ray discs are so expense to manufacture, it's cheaper for them to produce a catch-all version than give consumers options.

Blu-Ray is only as good as your television and sound system, which are both significant investments that a lot of people just aren't interested in making. I mean, even today, standard DVDs still look great. High-definition certainly looks phenomenal, but for the value, it hasn't yet hit an acceptable mark for those who can't afford it. (And yet, the Sony marketing machine is still convincing people who can't afford it to do everything short of having a home theater installed.)

Yep, inFamous is shaping up to be very interesting but the one I'm really looking forward to is Heavy Rain by the guys who did Fahrenheit. That one really looks like it'll extend the PS3 - Link

Gran Turismo 5 should be out by year's end too with the Final Fantasy XIII (the standard title isn't exclusive but lord knows when the 360 port will be out - FFXIII Vs is PS3 exclusive, I believe) games next year so things should be looking up for the lean, mean gaming machine.

To come back on one of Sleezy's points - Yeah, there was an awful lot of JRPG crud on the PS2 but the better titles stood out (the Suikodens, Final Fantasys, Xenosagas etc) as proper exclusives and a reason to buy the console above an XBox. Then you've got stuff like Okami and Shadow of the Colossus that only a Japanese software house could have made.

It's individual stuff like that, or the lack of, that is really letting the PS3 down. But yeah, inFamous and Heavy Rain should go some way to righting that wrong.

In other news, last night I played Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2009 All-Play (Wii), which was a birthday present for my father. And it's quite good. It seems EA has pretty much perfected the balance between casual play and serious micro-management in all of its various sports franchises, and this one is no different. The controls are very responsive and fun to experiment with, and the mechanics of the game make sure that even someone with little or no golfing experience (like me) can - via a surprisingly forgiving learning curve - become a great virtual golfer.

I haven't delved too deeply into the game's modes yet. The multiplayer party game stuff looks intriguing, and I can't wait to get started in Career Mode. The visuals could certainly be better, but the gameplay is fluid enough that it really doesn't matter. I just can't figure out why only moustaches are allowed in the create-a-player facial hair option. Are beards outlawed on the PGA Tour? What the hell?

I love Shadow of the Colossus, such a great game.

And Gran Turismo 5 is looking to be pretty sweet, another title I can't wait for.

And Sleezy, what the hell kind of games are you playing where your thumbs hurt so much?

Just whatever. On the PS2, I've played through GTA III, Shadow of the Colossus (yep, awesome game), Ico, Metal Gear Solid 2, The Getaway, SOCOM, etc.

I don't really know what to say about the thumbsticks; they've just always felt fat and awkward to me. Since the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast, I've always been used to long, thin analog sticks that I seem to feel I have a better handle on. Microsoft adopted similar analog sticks, and I haven't had trouble. But every time I use a Dual Shock, I always feel like my thumbs are working harder. I don't know why.

One thing I'm a sucker for is driving games, and GT is my favourite. The Prologue is great for a glorified demo and again, a pointer to what the PS3 can do when stuff is coded specifically for it. The Forza games are great (as is rFactor for the PC, something I've been getting into recently - as a pure sim, it's fantastic and the basic game is a free download) but GT has an epic quality.

I must admit to preferring the 360 controller to the Sixaxis - the left analogue stick is just more naturally placed and the triggers aren't bloody convex!

That Sony are still using a variation on the PS1 controller is surely to do with branding but that none of the 3rd party manufacturers make a Sony pad shaped like that raises my suspicions that there might be a copyright involved.

That said, I've never had sore thumbs from it (ya big wuss! ) and the the built-in battery means it doesn't weigh as much as a baby.

So how about E3 this year? Some exciting games coming up! A LOT in fact!

My Top 3:

God of War III



Project Trico



Red Dead Redemption


Plus: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, The Sims 3, Diablo III, Starcraft II, The New Metal Gear, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Bioshock II, Assassin's Creed II, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dragon Age: Origins, Final Fantasy XIII, Heavy Rain, Mass Effect II, MAG, Alan Wake. Probably more than I'm forgetting/don't know about.

Awesome!

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"Travis Bickle: Loneliness has followed me my whole life, everywhere. In bars, in cars, sidewalks, stores, everywhere. There's no escape. I'm God's lonely man."

Sorry to quote you twice on this, TUS, but if you've not seen this already you'll be a happy Paul O'Connell lookalike!



Team ICO's next game - And it looks like it ticks all the boxes, even from this early FMV.

What's the game about? You take care of your giant flying bird-cat?