Got a PS3...finally

I treated myself to an end-of-the-semester...treat. It was a PS3 and so far it HAS been a treat indeed. I haven't tried the Blu-Ray player yet, but that is really the second least interesting feature on the PS3. I usually like to talk about the good first, then poke holes in it, but I'm gonna complain first and then say what I like to see if makes it seem more up-beat.

So the least interesting feature of the PS3 is "PlayStation Home". This thing is a mess and I'm not sure how to really even describe it. I guess it's a lot like Second Life. I could do a whole post about how little I like Second Life, but I don't want to alienate any potential readers out there. PlayStation Home is a large 3D environment that you can walk around in using a personalized avatar. And if you've got a personalized avatar, you've gotta have somewhere there you can buy "cool" or "silly" clothes and costume pieces. So there is a virtual mall you can go shop in. Since I couldn't be bothered to even set foot in a virtual 3D mall I have no idea what sort of currency you use to buy whatever it is they sell there. However, I can imagine it uses whatever sort of "PlayStation Bucks" or points the PlayStation Store uses to sell DLC and downloadable games. Home also has an interesting little area that serves as a chat room of sorts. You just go to a big fenced in area with a bunch of weirdos in strange costumes and start chatting with the most sophomoric people you can find gracing the internet. There are also some free games you can play with some of the charming specimens you were just chatting with. I don't know if they always have the same games available or if there is a rotating catalog, but I got the sense they were all equally ill-conceived and under developed. I do know, however, that they've all got some purchasable little trinkets and doo-dads if you can cough up more of the all powerful Playstation Bucks. To be honest, that is as far as I explored before losing all interest entirely.

My only other real complaint is the sad sad representation PS2 has in the Playstation Store. PSOne has a respectable amount of old titles available, but there could always be more. But the PS2 has maybe 20 games. There are SO many good PS2 games I could hope for. Clearly there must be a problem with the PS2 emulation, but whatever it is I hope they fix it, because PS2 has a HUGE library of really awesome games. Or at least games that seemed awesome at the time and are hopefully still awesome.

Its nice to use the dual shock controller again. I've been almost exclusively playing XBox 360 and PC games for in excess of 5 years. Wireless controllers and Wi-Fi enabled are nice. I didn't have to lift a finger to network to my PC so I can stream from the computer. I like the Amazon Prime tie in because we dropped netflix and are using Amazon Prime now. I don't care for the interface. I find it un-intuitive, but I guess that's just personal preference.

I see now that I say the positive first because I revel in talking about what's wrong with things in great detail.

So, despite the fact that I have a half page dossier on whats wrong with it and 5 lines mostly about what I like about it, I'm enjoying my PS3 very much.

The games I got to start with are Little Big Planet, ICO/Shadow of the Colossus HD collection, and Metal Gear Solid 4. I won't go into more detail now, I'll try to post about them later.