Christmas Console Choices: PlayStation 3
We’re concluding our Christmas console choices series with the PlayStation 3, the last console that was released out of the three current gen systems.
Sony PlayStation 3
The Sony PlayStation 3 is the most powerful of the three major consoles on the current market and admittedly had a slow start but, instead of focusing on the core gaming aspect, Sony are investing in the all round media centre aspect. Released back in 2006 Sony shifted the system with a built in Blu-Ray player as well as free online for it’s users (unlike Microsoft) as well as Bluetooth connectivity for all it’s rechargeable peripherals.
The console was re-released in 2009 as a slimmed down version which is infinitely more quieter than the older model and uses significantly less power and measures 88 mm x 18 mm x 260 mm. Like the 360 comes with various Hard disk capacities installed, but unlike the 360 you can easily swap the internal with another standard 2.5″ laptop hard disk.
Features
As mentioned earlier all the peripherals have built in batteries which can be recharged via a standard Camera USB cable, so instantly you know you won’t have to play around swapping batteries out. Like the 360 and Wii the PS3 comes with Parental Controls so you can restrict the typical films, Games, how much is spent on the PlayStation Network but most notably it can limit access to the built in Web Browser.
The PS3′s Web browser is basic to say the least, it does work but the time it takes to render some pages can be quite slow and sometimes the pages don’t display properly. This is mainly due to the fact that Sony use their own engine to power the browser and only certain web technologies are supported like: CSS2 and XHTML; but Jquery isn’t so this does hamper the effectiveness and gives the impression that the browser is in the middle ground between mobile device browser and desktop. However, it does support Flash so most sites like YouTube and the BBC iPlayer are supported (some even officially support it by redirecting you to a dedicated site for the PS3).
If you want to read more in depth details of the browser you can do so here.
Sticking with streaming it has just been confirmed that as of today you can now access the BBC iPlayer as well as ITV’s Player and 4OD from the PS3, so whether you’re a Doctor Who, an Inbetweeners or Midsummer Murders fan you can now stream them all.
If you’re interested you can look at the PS3 version of 4OD from your desktop browser here, for a in depth review of these services you can read more information on this website.
The PlayStation is very much like Xbox Live’s Marketplace in which you can download demo’s of games as well as content like Wallpapers, themes (both static and dynamic moving ones), MUBI and even access Sony’s own SD/HD Film on Demand service. However unlike XBL it is all free to access and some content is indeed uploaded for free so you have a wide choice of content for your selection.
Unfortunately Sony decided shortly after the release of the console to remove the backwards compatibility that was promised with the PS3 which means that you cannot play PlayStation 2 games on it but only PlayStation 1 software, however Sony are re-releasing classic PS2 games on PS3 such as the Prince of Persia, Sly Collection, God of War and soon to be SSX all remastered in HD on Blu-Ray.
What is Blu-Ray I hear you cry? Blu-Ray is a type of storage for discs which has 10 times the capacity has ordinary DVD’s so you can get much more on the disc which means more features or better graphics not only for Games but for Films. Couple with this the recently added support for 3D Blu-Ray films and games the PS3 is now ready to play any 3D media on a 3D TV (if you can afford one).
Games
When the PS3 was launched it had a poor line up of titles, the actual games themselves were solid enough to keep you interested but they lacked variety. That has now been changed with the system finally becoming established as an all round package. Some of Sony’s biggest titles include: the Uncharted series which is comparable to the likes of Tomb Raider but sees you with a male lead and far superior storyline to boot; Killzone 2 and (soon to be) 3, the gritty FPS set in on alien world battling other humans in an intergalactic war and God of War 3, the barbaric hack ‘n’ slash franchise which helped raise the profile of the PS2.
If you aren’t into shooters or other violent games you may very well be interested in LittleBigPlanet, a game which can only be described as a Social Network of gaming. You are given a character called “Sackboy” or “Sackgirl” and you can stylise them however you want, you then explore their world collecting stuff and solving puzzles as you go without any gratuitous violence. However the games main premise is “Play, Create, Share”, you can build you own levels you a very simple (or in depth depending on how much you want to do) and puzzles and publish them for free on the LBP network for others to download, play, rate and comment. This simple idea was so successful that Sony adopted the “Sackboy” character as there official PS3 Mascot.
However if the idea of LBP is about as appealing as watching continual re-runs of Loose Women then you can get your teeth into the gritty world of Heavy Rain; an adult narrative in which you have to search for your lost child by solving clues and carrying out various tasks set by the kidnapper who asks “How far would you go to save the person you loved?”. The story of HR plays out between four characters who’s story is inter-mingled with each others and your actions ultimately affecting the outcome, for instance if a character dies then the game continues but takes a different path. There are actually 18 different endings for the game.
Finally you have the PlayStation Move, I’m not going to go into details about this as you can read our earlier post here.
Summary
I will admit that my personal favourite console is the PlayStation 3, it does what I want it to do but when you consider the cost it requires to pay for a Blu-Ray player (£80 for a Toshiba) you are getting a games console with media-centre capabilities and a film player as well for £200. Yes it is the most expensive of all the current generation consoles but you don’t have to pay for the online features and get much more for your money.
Add to this LoveFilm which can now stream movies from their online catalogue (if you have the appropriate LoveFilm account) you can get a lot of use from it without even touching the games and best of all, free online.
You can purchase the PS3 from any good electrical retailer or online shop from £230.
Recent Comments