NOTE: This review has changed in the last 24 hrs. Please read to posts below for the updates.
Before I begin this review, I would like to make known that this console WILL be worth the $600 in its due time, but it is not as of this moment.
The PS3 is a very quiet machine. The design is sleek, but pretty big, and looks beautiful in my home theatre setup. This behemoth attracts dust like no other. I looked behind it Saturday morning before I went to the Wake/VT game and it had accumulated more dust than I would have expected overnight. However, if you take a little microfiber cloth to the surface, it cleans up very quickly.
The Controller
The SIX-AXIS is a good controller. It is not as conforming as the 360 controller; however I have a preference toward it because I like it better for FPS. It is the lightest controller that I have held. Imagine holding a DVD case, and that is basically the weight. It may not weigh very much, but that plastic is tough. Unless you are world’s strongest man material, I don’t expect you will break it without a sledgehammer or an overly violent throw to a hard surface. Trust me that you will not break this thing.
The lack of rumble does not bother me at all. I do not even think about it when I’m playing the games, so it has no effect on my game play experience. I had a few friends over playing last night, and only one of them missed the rumble feature. He said he noticed it and likes it, but it would not be a factor in a buying decision.
I have yet to use the motion sensing extensively, but I have experienced it. In RFoM, there is a weapon which spits a chemical substance on a person and consequently you catch fire. In order to “stop, drop and roll,” if you will, you shake the controller and you cease to be on fire. I really like doing that in game play, and can’t wait until it is used more extensively in future games.
There were reports that when you turn the console off directly from the back you must reconnect the controller thru the USB port for it to be recognized wirelessly. This is not true. I tried it earlier with no problems. The only time that I had to reconnect over USB was when I restored factory defaults because I couldn’t figure out which audio option I took away the previous night because my AV receiver would not decode DTS for some reason. I had messed with some audio properties the night before and I remember changing a few settings, so there is no problem with the PS3 decoding the audio.
The Console
The PS3 has its normal semi-dramatic opening. It looks nice. There is little going on in the background, and it is not very colorful. I like the XMB better than the dashboard from a purely aesthetic standpoint, not because of features. This is where my review gets its name: PlaySingular. For some reason, this console can literally do one thing at once. You can watch a slideshow, play music, download games/demos, browse the web, browse a plethora of settings and such on the XMB, but NO MORE THAN ONE AT A TIME. If you are downloading a game demo, don’t expect to do anything else. If you are listening to music, don’t expect to view a slideshow of your pictures or browse the web. Don’t expect for any port to be hot except the ONE that you choose. For example, you can’t have audio coming thru your TV speakers via HDMI and thru your Home Theatre Speakers via optical at the same time. For me this not such a big deal, but I would like to have the functionality especially at night time.
The singular usage is something that I am sure will be fixed in a future update, but it can’t be fixed too soon. I get pissed constantly because all I can do is view a lame visualization while listening to music. I also do not like the way that music is organized. On the 360, you can browse by artist or album and maybe a few more options, but on the PS3 it is by album only. I have not been able to find any other option to allow me to change this. The ripper is fast as it should be and the sound quality is superb over my home theater speakers even more so than from the 360 or a DVD player.
The slideshow feature called “Photo Album” is the best representation of a slideshow that I have ever used. It displays a printed out type portrait of your photo along with negatives and does so by date and time. The photos are constantly flipped out onto the screen. You would have to see it to understand, but it is a really nifty feature.
I have yet to test the video playback with anything but an AVI, which it will not play, but I imagine it can only do so much.
I am not a big fan of not being able to stream audio, video, and pictures over the network to the PS3. This is an excellent feature on the 360 and I hope Sony will add this in a future update.
Blu-ray Playback
FAST FAST FAST.
It reads the drive extremely fast. It is right on par with an ordinary DVD player. I do not know if load times have been a problem on stand alone units, but it is definitely not a problem on the PS3.
The PQ on XMEN is like nothing that I have ever seen. Sound is great in Dolby Discrete 6.1. I can literally sit 1 foot from the 51” TV and watch this movie without thinking that it’s washed out or over compressed. Underworld evolution is beautiful as well. I also have sleepy hollow, but I have not watched it yet, gone in 60 seconds, and Talladega Nights, which looks as good as it possibly could. Remember garbage in, garbage out. It’s not bad in anyway and is 5X better than a DVD, but it’s not a movie that you would show off to someone trying to get them to leap over to that format.
So far, the BD PQ is better than most HDDVDs that I have seen. These are only my eyes, however, and you all know which I prefer, so take that comment with a grain of salt. But I do truly believe the BD looks and sounds better then the HDDVD.
PlayStation Network
I love it. RFoM is not the best looking game ever (take into mind my friends said that it looked great, I just have high standards after GoW) but online multiplayer is the best ever. IMO it is 10X better than Halo 2 online, and that I know is a bold bold statement. But I believe it is true. I have never had so much fun playing online in my life. Not even beating West VA against an ass hole of a man on XBL on NCAA 06. Also note that I own and play Halo 2 online all the time. COD3 is fun as well, but I prefer the COD 2 multiplayer style so far, yet I believe once I get used to this style, I will start to like it more.
There is NO lag on any game that I have played. I have played multiple 40 player games with no problems. I also like the use of my Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset for my cell phone. I never use it for my cell, and bought it as a niche item, but I am now so happy that I bought it. The SQ is so clear thru PS Network. Its like a 64kbps track vs a 320kbps track (360 vs. PS3). And the fact that I can choose my headset and use it for my cell phone makes a Bluetooth headset a much better purchase than the bulky and proprietary 360 wireless headset. Bluetooth is a great feature for this system.
Misc Facts
The wireless feature works great and constantly keeps a 100% streght. BD play backs info screens shows what the video was encoded in and how many mbps it’s dishing out at any given second. I liked that feature. The heat sensitive button work like a charm and slot loading is of course GREAT. Controller charges seem to last a long time and a full charge took me about 3 hours (estimate). Obviously, there is no music playback when playing games. You cannot change the color of the XMB background. I wish I could tell the system to stop loading games when the system is turned on.
Also, I miss the achievements feature and I like the feeling that I am laying for a reason. This takes away from that feeling that I like so much. I can’t think of anything else as of now, so I will complete this review here. If you all have any questions please post away.
Before I begin this review, I would like to make known that this console WILL be worth the $600 in its due time, but it is not as of this moment.
The PS3 is a very quiet machine. The design is sleek, but pretty big, and looks beautiful in my home theatre setup. This behemoth attracts dust like no other. I looked behind it Saturday morning before I went to the Wake/VT game and it had accumulated more dust than I would have expected overnight. However, if you take a little microfiber cloth to the surface, it cleans up very quickly.
The Controller
The SIX-AXIS is a good controller. It is not as conforming as the 360 controller; however I have a preference toward it because I like it better for FPS. It is the lightest controller that I have held. Imagine holding a DVD case, and that is basically the weight. It may not weigh very much, but that plastic is tough. Unless you are world’s strongest man material, I don’t expect you will break it without a sledgehammer or an overly violent throw to a hard surface. Trust me that you will not break this thing.
The lack of rumble does not bother me at all. I do not even think about it when I’m playing the games, so it has no effect on my game play experience. I had a few friends over playing last night, and only one of them missed the rumble feature. He said he noticed it and likes it, but it would not be a factor in a buying decision.
I have yet to use the motion sensing extensively, but I have experienced it. In RFoM, there is a weapon which spits a chemical substance on a person and consequently you catch fire. In order to “stop, drop and roll,” if you will, you shake the controller and you cease to be on fire. I really like doing that in game play, and can’t wait until it is used more extensively in future games.
There were reports that when you turn the console off directly from the back you must reconnect the controller thru the USB port for it to be recognized wirelessly. This is not true. I tried it earlier with no problems. The only time that I had to reconnect over USB was when I restored factory defaults because I couldn’t figure out which audio option I took away the previous night because my AV receiver would not decode DTS for some reason. I had messed with some audio properties the night before and I remember changing a few settings, so there is no problem with the PS3 decoding the audio.
The Console
The PS3 has its normal semi-dramatic opening. It looks nice. There is little going on in the background, and it is not very colorful. I like the XMB better than the dashboard from a purely aesthetic standpoint, not because of features. This is where my review gets its name: PlaySingular. For some reason, this console can literally do one thing at once. You can watch a slideshow, play music, download games/demos, browse the web, browse a plethora of settings and such on the XMB, but NO MORE THAN ONE AT A TIME. If you are downloading a game demo, don’t expect to do anything else. If you are listening to music, don’t expect to view a slideshow of your pictures or browse the web. Don’t expect for any port to be hot except the ONE that you choose. For example, you can’t have audio coming thru your TV speakers via HDMI and thru your Home Theatre Speakers via optical at the same time. For me this not such a big deal, but I would like to have the functionality especially at night time.
The singular usage is something that I am sure will be fixed in a future update, but it can’t be fixed too soon. I get pissed constantly because all I can do is view a lame visualization while listening to music. I also do not like the way that music is organized. On the 360, you can browse by artist or album and maybe a few more options, but on the PS3 it is by album only. I have not been able to find any other option to allow me to change this. The ripper is fast as it should be and the sound quality is superb over my home theater speakers even more so than from the 360 or a DVD player.
The slideshow feature called “Photo Album” is the best representation of a slideshow that I have ever used. It displays a printed out type portrait of your photo along with negatives and does so by date and time. The photos are constantly flipped out onto the screen. You would have to see it to understand, but it is a really nifty feature.
I have yet to test the video playback with anything but an AVI, which it will not play, but I imagine it can only do so much.
I am not a big fan of not being able to stream audio, video, and pictures over the network to the PS3. This is an excellent feature on the 360 and I hope Sony will add this in a future update.
Blu-ray Playback
FAST FAST FAST.
It reads the drive extremely fast. It is right on par with an ordinary DVD player. I do not know if load times have been a problem on stand alone units, but it is definitely not a problem on the PS3.
The PQ on XMEN is like nothing that I have ever seen. Sound is great in Dolby Discrete 6.1. I can literally sit 1 foot from the 51” TV and watch this movie without thinking that it’s washed out or over compressed. Underworld evolution is beautiful as well. I also have sleepy hollow, but I have not watched it yet, gone in 60 seconds, and Talladega Nights, which looks as good as it possibly could. Remember garbage in, garbage out. It’s not bad in anyway and is 5X better than a DVD, but it’s not a movie that you would show off to someone trying to get them to leap over to that format.
So far, the BD PQ is better than most HDDVDs that I have seen. These are only my eyes, however, and you all know which I prefer, so take that comment with a grain of salt. But I do truly believe the BD looks and sounds better then the HDDVD.
PlayStation Network
I love it. RFoM is not the best looking game ever (take into mind my friends said that it looked great, I just have high standards after GoW) but online multiplayer is the best ever. IMO it is 10X better than Halo 2 online, and that I know is a bold bold statement. But I believe it is true. I have never had so much fun playing online in my life. Not even beating West VA against an ass hole of a man on XBL on NCAA 06. Also note that I own and play Halo 2 online all the time. COD3 is fun as well, but I prefer the COD 2 multiplayer style so far, yet I believe once I get used to this style, I will start to like it more.
There is NO lag on any game that I have played. I have played multiple 40 player games with no problems. I also like the use of my Motorola H500 Bluetooth headset for my cell phone. I never use it for my cell, and bought it as a niche item, but I am now so happy that I bought it. The SQ is so clear thru PS Network. Its like a 64kbps track vs a 320kbps track (360 vs. PS3). And the fact that I can choose my headset and use it for my cell phone makes a Bluetooth headset a much better purchase than the bulky and proprietary 360 wireless headset. Bluetooth is a great feature for this system.
Misc Facts
The wireless feature works great and constantly keeps a 100% streght. BD play backs info screens shows what the video was encoded in and how many mbps it’s dishing out at any given second. I liked that feature. The heat sensitive button work like a charm and slot loading is of course GREAT. Controller charges seem to last a long time and a full charge took me about 3 hours (estimate). Obviously, there is no music playback when playing games. You cannot change the color of the XMB background. I wish I could tell the system to stop loading games when the system is turned on.
Also, I miss the achievements feature and I like the feeling that I am laying for a reason. This takes away from that feeling that I like so much. I can’t think of anything else as of now, so I will complete this review here. If you all have any questions please post away.
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