easyplaystation3.com

Review by Lisa Shea:

We got our hands on an XBox 360, a PS3, and a Wii on launch day. Each is good at specific tasks. Here is a fully unbiased review of how the PS3 performs as a next generation console unit.

To start with, the PS3, like the XBox 360, supports full high definition. The Wii only supports a lower resolution. Since the Wii has a much lower price tag, that is a fair trade-off for people with a tighter budget. Gamers for whom a very high level of graphic detail is important will have to pony up for that ability.

Along the same lines, the XBox 360 supports the HD format of high definition DVDs for movies, while the PS3 supports the Blu-ray format. If you haven’t been following the whole format war for high definition DVDs, I have several articles on the topic on my gaming site. In short it’s like the VHS/Beta wars when the VCR first came out. Is one better than the other? Will one format win out as the sole survivor? There’s no way to tell. People will argue vehemently that one is better than the other. From a gaming point of view, the PS3 has the Blu-ray BUILT IN meaning every game can have 50 GIGS worth of game information. Think MASSIVELY huge maps, types of characters, etc. The XBox 360 only uses “regular” DVDs as its base game holder, which is about 7 GIG. That is much smaller. You can buy an add-on HD DVD unit for about 0 (shop around – they’re there at that price) but the storage is still smaller than Blu-ray – about 30 gig.

People will argue about graphics until they’re blue A lot of this comes down to how a specific game company *uses* the ability of the system. Looking at graphics on a tetris-like game will be much different than viewing the graphics of Oblivion or Gears of War. I found 360 graphics amazing on Oblivion. I equally found the PS3 graphics quite impressive on Genji’s cut scenes (no enemy crabs in sight). Since both are high definition, I think that both have the same potential in real life terms. Both really shine in terms of fluid motion, precise detail and realism. I’ve seen it on both systems, on certain games. I’ve also seen junky graphics on both systems. Both are much better than the Wii.

How about sound? All of these can plug into your stereo system. My boyfriend and I are both musicians. We have decibel meters and other sound-sensing tools. All three systems can create amazingly complex sounds, music, and in general a “gaming environment”. Again I think it comes down to specific game makers, how they choose to use or not use that ability. It also comes down to how much you the gamer spent on your stereo system

Speaking of sound, I do have to comment that our 360 is quite loud when it runs, despite our many attempts to help it be quieter. The PS3 right out of the box is MUCH quieter. Score 1 point for the PS3.

On the general operating system for the units, all three consoles are going for more of a “general use entertainment system” presentation. The XBox has customizeable tabs that let you download new games, manage your environment and so on. The Wii also has channels that let you organize your gaming world. The PS3 has an interface almost exactly like that of the PSP, complete with cool drifting smoke waves in the background. You choose which area you want to work on – game, music, internet connection etc., and drop down to alter whatever feature you’re interested in.

So on to the on-line aspect, which most gamers are now fully interested in. Where the XBox 360 makes you buy an external connector for wireless, the PS3 has that built-in on the 60 gig model. The 20 gig model still requires an external connector (these run about 0). All will let you plug in a cable if you’re still running a wired household.

[UPDATED JUNE 2007] Back during launch, people thought 20 gig was great and that 60 gig was overkill for a gaming system. After all, the XBox 360 had 20 gig as their top end. Now, only a few months later, Sony has discontinued their 20 gig as “too small”. XBox has the Elite model with 120 gig. The difference is as that gamers are converting their focus from audio storage to video storage, and high def video at that. People are downloading and enjoying movies and TV shows on their consoles. It’s something to consider, if you will be doing that with your console.

How does the online world work on the PS3? The XBox definitely has the advantage here. Until this generation, *only* the XBox had a thriving community in their live world. The XBox 360 connected right into that XBox Live world, and they boast a *huge* community of gamers who actively gain points, play online and form virtual worlds. The PS3 and Wii both have to play catch-up at this point. Even if they have better interfaces, it’s a matter of converting over all those players who have clans, familiarity and high point collections on the XBox world. Imagine if a new MMORPG came out right now that had fantastic graphics. Sure it might be wonderful – but will you really get all 800 trillion WOW players to drop their world and characters and friends to convert, especially if it costs more? It’ll be a hard, slow sell.

My summary? I definitely think all three have great games and that all three are worth owning. Of course I’m in a position that I *can* afford all three, which many people are not in. For example, I *love* the Zelda series, and I *love* the Final Fantasy series. I would be hard put to tell a person “you need to get Zelda instead of Final Fantasy”. I would want the person to have both, because both are great for different reasons. If you really truly can only save up for one of the three consoles, it isn’t going to come down to which console is “best” for all players in some sort of a global way. It is going to come down to which console is best for YOU based on your specific gaming style.

If you’re on a really tight budget and just want something better than the previous generation, go for a Wii. It’s cheap, the graphics are better, and the remotes are great fun. It has Zelda If you have a larger budget and really want the high definition, you’re now choosing between the 360 and the PS3. You really do have to look at the specifics of each, and think seriously about your gaming style, to see which matches you best. If I were to make a flip summarization, if you really love online gameplay, I’d go with the XBox 360. Its years of head-start really give it a robust environment here. If you are looking for more of a home-based one-machine media center for your MPs3, photos and huge world gameplay, I’d go with the PS3. It definitely has the advantage on large scale games.

Feel free to email me if you have more specific questions, or for screenshots, graphic descriptions, or interface information on any of the three systems.

Review by Porfie Medina:

I have to say I have never been a Sony Playstation fan. I just grew up with Nintendo and loved their games Like Super Mario Bros and The Zelda franchise. When I heard what the SONY playstation 3 was about and how it supported blu-ray and high definition games I only hoped that the system would live up to the hype. After finally getting my hands on one a little bit before Christmas I have to say the SONY Playstation 3 is one amazing system and was worth the wait. As for the games there are not many that show the true potential of this amazing system just yet though many are still a blast to play. I do have to say the Motor Storm Demo in (720p) and Gran Turismo HD demo (1080p) show an amazing amount of detail and some parts look like reality especially on a True HD TV capable of 1080p. I have this connected to my SONY KDL-46XBR3 46 inch Bravia 1080p HDTV LCD TV and the playstation 3 allows me to see what a HD tv is capable of when given great content. Most of the Blu-ray movies look amazing (Crank, Invincible, The Devil Wears Prada, Black Hawk Down) but some movies on blu-ray look just above DVD quality like The Covenant and Silent Hill. I guess that depends on the quality of the transfer of the film. The motion sensor bluetooth controls are great. I am really glad Sony released their new Bluetooth Play station 3 Blue-Ray DVD Remote (item #B000M17AVO here on Amazon) because it makes navigating the blue-ray movies so much easier than the regular controls. I like the fact that the system has online connectivity and that it also has a built in browser should you just want to surf the internet. Most of all I like the fact that the 60 gig model gives a built in Wi-fi connection so if you all ready have internet access you just have to buy a wi-fi router (I use the Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router item #WRT54GS here on Amazon) and pop in the CD that comes with the router. Follow the simple instructions and bam you have your ps3 on line wi-fi and free from all those extra wires. You can even download your favorite music/videos to the ps3 hard drive and if available online it will display the artist names and songs. You can even connect a USB keyboard (along with almost any type of USB device) to make surfing the internet faster and more enjoyable. I have to say I am very happy with giving the Playstation 3 a chance and I highly recommend it for anyone who appreciates a great game system with some awesome entertainment features.

Review by Bradford Schmidt:

A lot of people have written about the pros and cons of the PS3 vs. XBOX 360 vs. Wii. I’m not bothering with that, and assume you can find that information at elsewhere. I’m also assuming you can read all about why the PS3 would or would not fit your needs.

Instead, I’d like this review to explain what exactly this configuration is (there’s a lot of confusion about that,) and why I think it hits the sweet spot. Basically, there are currently 2 versions of the PS3 on the market now. Ignoring the size of the drive for a second (because you can always swap the drive anyway, and it has no real bearing on the rest of the specs) think of them as Version A (currently available – or not as the case may be – in the PlayStation 3 80 GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Pack) and Version B (this one.)

The first thing that you need to understand is that there are three relevant differences between these two versions besides the included bundle and the price (the MGS one is 9 from amazon, more from third parties.)

Difference #1: Version A (MGS pack) is backward compatible with PS2 games while this one is NOT (they are both backward compatible with PS1 games however.)

Difference #2: Version A has 4 USB ports as well as memory card slots, while this version has only 2 USB ports and NO memory card slots.

Difference #3: AND THIS FOR ME IS BIG: Version A has the older and larger 90nm Cell processor, while this one has the smaller (and some say more reliable) 65nm Cell processor. Power consumption on this unit is lower as well, dropping from 200 Watts to 135 watts. The end result is a machine that runs cooler and, according to all reports as well as my personal experience, much quieter. An extremely relevant factor if you watch movies with it.

For those that have been looking for a while, this is basically the 40GB machine that was offered recently, with a larger hard drive and an upgraded controller – they replaced the basic sixaxis controller with the Dualshock 3 controller (which means it has rumble.)

Now Version A is packaged with Metal Gear Solid. It has an 80GB drive like this one, and the same controller. The big differences are listed above. Until this configuration was released, the larger hard drive and Dualshock controller were 2 of the 4 reasons many people felt the MGS pack was worth the additional 0. Those two factors are now eliminated. The remaining differences are the backward compatibility with PS2 games and the MGS game itself, which can of course be bought separately.

So to sum it up, if you NEED PS2 compatibility, you might want to grab the MGS pack if you can get one – that or keep your old PS2. For new buyers though, and for all of the people that are going to just play PS3 games, as well as avid movie watchers, this particular configuration is fantastic. You get the big drive, the good controller, PLUS the cooler running chip, a quieter machine and a system that uses about 33% less power.

And ok – just to satisfy the basic requirements of a review, I’ll list some other nice stuff: It includes a Blu-ray DVD player (one of those runs almost as much as, or more than, this entire box), the online play is FREE, wireless connectivity is built in (you don’t have to buy an additional piece as with some others), reliability has been quite good (much better than some others), there are some great PS3-only titles, and you can stream media to it from your PC. There’s more, but there are plenty of people outlining it.

As always, do your research and see what’s best for you. Maybe the 360-only titles are must haves for you, or maybe your family fits a Wii. We have a Wii and I love it. But I also love my PS3, and in my opinion this configuration is the one to get (this month anyway.)

Review by John Schinter:

The Playstation 3 is an incredible Blue Ray Player, that has features NOT available in any other Blue Ray Player. I am not a game player – and simply bought this unit as a Blue Ray and DVD player. However – on comparison, there are so many benefits compared to other Blue Ray players.

Here are the surprise benefits you get from this INCREDIBLE technology vs. a regular Blue Ray Player:

1. Picture Quality – SUPERB (Easily compares to most expensive Blue Ray Players)

2. REGULAR DVD’s PLAY IN A HIGHER RESOLUTION – Incredible difference to a regular DVD player.

3. Wireless INTERNET Connection – Surf web on your TV. (NO WIRES REQUIRED)

4. Automatic BLUE RAY format Updates (FREE and AUTOMATIC) – Upgrades as technology changes.

5. HARD Drive (80 GB) – Store movies, music, etc.

6. Beautiful Black Console – Doesn’t look like a game player on shelf.

7. EASY to set-up (Ready in a few minutes)

8. LOWER PRICED – All these unique features, at a lower price than the other Blue Ray players

I have no idea why anyone would ever consider a standard BLUE RAY or DVD player once you have had a chance to try out the features of the PS3. Having the internet on our TV allows us full access to news, weather, radio, music video’s, etc.

I was told that low price BLUE RAY players cannot play many movies and DVD’s because the BLUE RAY format is constantly changing – and the Playstation 3 is the ONLY BLUE RAY unit to have automatic updates that will correct for new Blue Ray formats in the future.

NO COMPARISON – Hands down BEST BLUE RAY Player with the most features on the market!

HIGEST POSSIBLE RATING………

Review by iluspook:

i love this game but, with that said, i want to get the bad stuff out of the way… LESS CARS-many less…a lot of my favorites have gone the way of the dodo. 126 cars to start with, with a few more added later, is a lot, but when compared to four to five times that in gt2, it pales in comparison… DUMB A.I.-sure the computer cars are a little more “intelligent” than before, but when a random car that had never been touched slams its brakes, effectively taking it out of the race, just to stop the player, then their is work to be done… besides this, all cars still follow a racing line, albeit not as religiously as before. a.i. could be better… NO DAMAGE-understandably, the manufacturers will not allow the gt producers to portray their perfect cars as anything less than that(i.e. no scratches or dents in these work machines), but slamming a wall at 200km/h plus,(i have japanese version) will have repurcussions. i will gripe and gripe until this is corrected! NO WORKING HEADLIGHTS-i will give my right eye for a left one that can see the road! why turn on the headlights at all? the street lights obviously do an adequate job! the headlights look pretty, but do nothing! yes this is a minor gripe, but simple physics is not too much to ask for! argh…ok…with that out of the way, time for the good… GRAPHICS-obviously being the first thing one will notice, the graphics are phenomonal! sure, the audience remains a cardboard cut-out and the rear- view mirror does not present all the fixins(very generic), but with these being the only flaws, this game is truly a sight to behold. the lighting is extremely impressive(i was actually blinded by the sun) and the textures are right on. i have read of texture lighting problems, but have yet to experience any. all the touches are in the right places. and the replays…beautiful! MUSIC-again, sony got different bands for the soundtrack…like lenny kravitz, feeder, grand theft audio, overseer…it really keeps you motivated. although i do like the music in gt2 a bit better(one of the best video game soundtracks ever), this music was still right on! MORE RACES-even more races including the gt2 rally races and some f-1 racing this time, the race options are amazing! IMPROVED PHYSICS-not a very noticeable change, as gt2 had great physics, but a significant one at that. rear and mid engine cars do not flair as wildly out of control as in the past, and the new wet ground physics are great. the pinball action off the side rails remains, however…running out of space, i realize there is a lot to say about this game, and it is an extremely enjoyable experience. granted, the time to make each car model limited the selection this time around, but there are still more cars than any other ps2 racer. try it out and see…especially if you have never played a gran turismo game…you are sure to enjoy!

Review by Michael Spina:

I literally have not bought another PS2 game since I’ve had GT3 for over 4 months. I’ve taken it out of the player maybe once or twice. It is the most realistic driving simulator I’ve ever tried.Good points:
* Good selection of cars (and colors). Everything from econoboxes to muscle cars to sports cars to F1 and prototypes.
* Good selection of tracks, including city, race track and rally. Plus several real-world (the challenging Laguna Seca and Monaco tracks)
* Cars are customizable: add parts, fine-tune settings.
* Good custom wheel selection
* Realistic driving physics. Oversteer/understeer, wheelspin, weight shift, suspension mods, etc. behave as you’d expect.
* Great graphics
* Challenging
* 2-player battle and iLink (you can hook up several PS2’s and compete)Not-as-good points:
* AI cars hit you, each other and the walls, and can be annoying.
* Car selection emphasizes Japanese cars (not that they’re bad, but I’d like to see more European)
* No damage model or rollover, so bouncing off walls has no effect
* Rally races aren’t set up like real rallies (they’re all head to head as opposed to beating a time)
* Only appearance change is wheel. I’d like to see custom graphics, paintjobs, bodywork, etc.If you’re looking for an arcade action game, this is not it. You’ll likely be frustrated by the license tests which need lots of practice to get through. And most of the races require some level of license. But if you’re looking for a challenge and to improve, the license tests will make you work for your skills, and enable you to beat some tough AI competition.But even with a few problems, I give it 5 stars. I could probably get by without buying another game until GT4 comes out. Seriously, it’s cheap. Buy it.

Review by Julio Melchor:

I bought this product to use with Dance Dance Revolution mat. It works great. Would probably buy another to use with a second mat.

Review by Daniel B. Whitaker:

I bought this product to play DDR on my PS3. I found some reviews saying it worked fine for DDR. Clearly these people never played it on anything but beginner difficulty. This product does not register more than 1 button being pressed at a time. So any games you play where button combos need to be pressed (such as playing DDR when two arrows come at once) you will be unable to do so. This product is NOT a useful adapter, as I know of very FEW games where you never need to press more than 1 button at a time…

Review by Nite:

Devil May Cry 3 was one of the best games of 2005. The only thing that kept some people away was the extreme difficulty of the game. Still, if you didn’t wimp out, the game was fantastic. Now there’s a special edition out, and it’s one of the greatest gifts CAPCOM has ever given the Devil May Cry fans.

Since this review assumes you’re all familiar with the universe of Devil May Cry 3, I suppose the only thing I really want to do here is tell you about what’s new. Why should you buy this versin of Devil May Cry 3 over the original?

First things first, this game is easier than the original Devil May Cry 3. This is obvious by the new continue system that’s been introduced. Before you had to get yellow orbs that were particularly expensive, and so they came on a limited basis. And then you’d run out of yellow orbs and have to play through a brutal level all over again. The new continue system pretty much ignores the yellow orbs and lets you continue from check points regardless of how many yellow orbs you have. If you have a gold orb, though, you can start right from where you died. If you did like the original yellow orb system you can still do that, but the average gamer will find the unlimited continues welcome.

The difficulty of the game, as noted above, is easier. If you didn’t know, the original Devil May Cry 3 given to American gamers was much harder on the “normal” difficulty setting than in Japan. This is because “Normal” mode for America was actually the japanese “Hard” mode. It’s fixed here, and it’s fairly noticeable. There’s also an easy mode to unlock (if you die a few times) and a “Very Hard” mode. Don’t be fooled by “Very Hard” mode, though. It’s virtually playing the original Devil May Cry 3. With those unlimited continues, however, I’m sure you’ll note the game is still easier on these harder difficulty levels.

The best new feature is the ability to play as Vergil, Dante’s evil brother. In the original Devil May Cry 3 you’ll note he was lightning fast, and had a few devastating attacks. They’re now all at your disposal!

You have to unlock Vergil, however. Either by completing the game as Dante once, or having a save file from the original Devil May Cry 3 on your memory card.

Playing through the story as Vergil is fun, but not nearly as exciting as Dante’s. For one, all the cutscenes aren’t included. Vergil gets his own introduction which makes you think he’ll actually have a story. He doesn’t. He just plays through Dante’s levels (which was to be expected) but with no real purpose for doing it. At times it feels like it was a thrown in extra (a throwback to the unlockable character Sparda in the first Devil May Cry). So there’s no continuity to his story. And it’s really strange to be fighting Vergil while playing as Vergil. Why not fight Dante? It’s fun to play as Vergil, but it would’ve been really cool if they’d given him his own story. We know CAPCOM can give each character their own scenarios (seen in Mega Man X4 and done especially well in Resident Evil 2).

There’s a hidden boss… a jester, who is, compared to the other bosses, way too easy. Dante or Vergil can fight him, but you’ll scratch your head wondering where the difficulty went against this thing.

The combat system of Devil May Cry 3 was gold. The fans knew it, and obviously CAPCOM knows it too, because there’s a “Bloody Palace” unlockable which is just a fancy way of saying “Survival Mode.” It’s you pitted up against various foes. There are 9999 levels in this place, and you can choose to advance by either ten floors or one-hundred floors. It’s time consuming and fun, although only hardcore fans will make it through the whole thing. You might run into one of the challenging bosses as well. As with Vergil Mode, you have to either complete the game first, or have save data from the original version.

There are some more extras. A turbo mode which allows you to speed up the gameplay (imagine juggling now?), a theater mode which allows you to view all the cutscenes in the game, there’s an art gallery and there are costumes you can unlock for both characters.

Really, this is worth while. Some extras feel a little tacked on at times, but for the most part this isn’t like getting some crappy “director’s cut”. It’s like getting your favorite movie in a special edition DVD. It’s packed full of extras!

The Good

+The graphics are still good

+The music is also still good

+The difficulty level has been fixed

+You can play as Vergil

+Survival Mode for those who love the combat system

+The combat system is just fantastic

+Art galleries, theater modes and other extras

+Turbo Mode is just fun to watch!

+New Boss

The Bad

-New Boss isn’t all that exciting

-For hardcore Devil May Cry 3 gamers, the difficulty may feel like it’s reduced too much

-It would’ve been really cool if Vergil had his own scenario

Review by Carmilla:

The first DMC was a solid game. The second one took a slight step back. This latest installment takes a giant leap forward.

DMC3 takes the best aspects of the previous two games and molds them all together in an awesome package.

The graphics and movies are beyond stunning, the gameplay is as fast and difficult as ever, the weapons have that cool feel to them, and the music rocks.

The thing i love about about this Special Edition is that it caters to every gamer out there. Theres easy modes, hard modes, cheats, new costumes, new characters, and gameplay ’styles’ that would satisfy anyone. There is a ton of variety to this game and everything is balanced and solid.

Though the one thing that disappointed me was Vergils story… or lack there of.

Vergils game is basically a carbon copy of Dantes. No new levels or anything. Playing Vergils game is like playing Joachims game in Castlevania Lament of Innoncence. You will know what i mean if youve played that game…

Still, DMC3 is the greatest action/adventure title out there for the PS2. Even God of War cant touch the variety, challenge, and gameplay of this. If you want a thoroughly satisfying action rampage with a ton of replay value and unlockables than look no further.