Well, I've finally put my second foot into the next generation. The interestign thing is, I'm in two camps. What do I refer to exactly? I just bought a Playstation 3, and as you know the PS3 is very expensive, only an insane $399.99. Such an insane price tag isn't a very good first impression to make, but the first impression has many parts, so lets break them down.
1.) At Purchase -As predicted, when I asked for a Playstation 3, the clerk was pretty happy. I don't think GameStop employees work on commision, but they are always happy when you spend a large amount of cash. So I bought the 40GB Playstation 3, but whats a console, (especially an expensive one!) without games? Heres a reciept breakdown.Sony Playstation 3 - $399.99Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition (Used) - $54.99Tax (8.100%) - $36.85Total - $491.83
Thats a hefty chunk of change. Especially for just one game with it. Not a very good start...
2.) Open it up and dive right in! -
In the box we have the unit, a controller, the power cable, booklets and...wait a Composite cable? Are you f***ing serious!? The only system that makes a it a main point to tout its High Definition capabilities, comes with a friggin Composite Cable!? Wow...thats extremely lame...for $400 Sony can't even kick me the right cable. Being the resident techie I am...I already had an HDMI cable, so I didn't have to buy one, but if you don't already...the good ones start at $40-$50. That kinda sucks.Hooking it up was simple enough, I didn't need the booklet for that even. Though I had to use my PS2 Component Cable at first, so I could set the console to HDMI. Then I noticed about a billion and a half other settings among the many menus. Lotsa functionality! Only...the booklet only mentions a few. What is an ATRAC? Why do I want to enable it? The booklet doesn't tell you. It only covers the bare minimum, such as hooking up the system. Playing a game, syncing the SIXAXIS controller, etc.
On the plus side, the unit itself while large and quite heavy, (sorry 360, the PS3 is heavier) is pleasing to look at. Like the PSP's older more kickass brother who regularly gives swirlys to the poor PSP. And it looks even better when vertical, and I would reccomend placing it vertical should you get one. It cools much better that way.3.) Complications -
So many settings, and so little explanation. I tooled around for awhile, getting my resolution set to 1080i and figuring out my network settings. After getting my wireless settings together, I figured if its like the PSP, I should update the system firmware, because the moment I put in a game, its gonna make me anyway. I began the update...the first one always takes forever. And forever was about 3 hours.4.) Before the devil could cry...I had to -
After my update period of 3 hours, I went right to the meat of the system and popped in Devil May Cry 4. And to my disdain...it prompted me to install it. The line between console and PC has just blurred. Install a console game? Not only that it took up a rather sizable portion of my Hard Drive. 5GB of my 40GB. It bacame clear that I should replace the Hard Drive sometime soon. The install took maybe 20 minutes. Thats a long time for an install. Most PC games take 10 at the most.5.) Finally, the main event! -
After the install, I finally got to boot the game up. It was definately worth the wait at least. Visually, its really quite stunning. Though only in 720p, everything is crisp, colorful and well animated. And though it feeds you an unfamilliar character in Nero, you quickly get used to him and the usual smooth as butter DMC gameplay experience. After all the trouble setting everything up, Devil May Cry 4 made it worth my time. A few days later, I would by Folklore on sale for only $29.99. Brand new even, not bad at all. I had an eye on this game, but the reviews I read were mixed so I bought DMC4 first as a sure thing. But at $29 whose complaining? After playing it...certainly not me! I would have easily paid full price for this game after playing it. Its a pretty well put together, quite beautiful action/adventure game...with the fantasy atmosphere of a Tim Burton movie. I am enjoying it immensely so far.
6.) The Future is Now? Not quite... -
I would be lying if I said that the PS3's game library isn't incredibly sparse. Its sad at the moment. Aside from the two games I already have, I can only think of one other that is on the shelf that I want. That being Ninja Gaiden: Sigma. I played the demo and almost crapped myself, what a game. Its rare that in only one stage a game can absolutely blow me away like that. I will have it. (Though I am still enraged by the fact that Ryu is not purple...)
But fortunately, the future is bright! Closest to release, is Grand Theft Auto 4, which lands in April. I am always up for more free roaming criminal rampages, especially since for the first time, it will have good graphics. (Lets face it, the GTA games have always been an inconsistant mess visually) I can't wait for my high-res Liberty City antics.At the end of the year, Final Fantasy XIII in its many strange forms hits. And even though all we have seen of it is some pretty vauge teaser trailers, I am giddy with anticipation. The game is beautiful, to say the least but I don't really know much else about it. Sounds like a great Christmas gift for me, for those of you already looking.
But again, I'd be a liar if I said I didn't get my PS3 for this one game. I know its completely insane, but I bought the PS3 for Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots. Plain and simple. The swan song to the Metal Gear Series, became $400 worth of important very quickly. While I'd hate to see the series come to an end, I wanna be there to experience it on day one.7.) Was it worth it? -
Not as of yet no. The $400 price tag itsef is a huge weight to live down. Especially compared to my Wii's paltry by comparison #250. Which I think Mario Galaxy by itself made that purchase worthwhile by itself. Games costing $60 apiece is a huge hit to take, especially when the library is slim pickings right now. But I'm really quite certain that this slight feeling of resentment I have for my PS3 will pass as more games come out. Its not worth it now, but it will be soon.Comments
Though Ninja Gaiden: Sigma has helped ease the pain till MGS4 makes it worth it....
But I still like my Wii better...
SonOfSparda018