December 28, 2010   2 notes

I Have A New PS3: COMPARISON TIME.

So, recently, I got a PlayStation 3.

I’ve had some mean things to say in the past about the PS3 but I’ve come around recently, mostly because I’ve wanted to play Uncharted 2, and to do that I have to play Uncharted 1, and to do that I have to have a PS3. That’s a lot of numbers.

So, now I have a PS3, which means I can compare it to the Xbox 360 and we’ll all read it and laugh. Specifically, I’m going to mention the things that I think either one does better than the other one. That sentence does not make a lot of sense but I think the rest will.

1. Controllers

In 2006 I wrote the following about the PS3 controllers:

Today, Sony revealed their new design, which looks—surprise—exactly like the old controller. Thanks, Sony, for remaking the second- or third-worst controller I’ve ever used. 

What a JERK AM I RIGHT? The point was, I wasn’t too fond of the PS2 controller. I’m warming up to the PS3 controller, BUT.

Little paddle buttons instead of triggers on L2 and R2? Uh I guess. Games that use the L1 and R1 buttons as triggers where the Xbox 360 would use the actual triggers as triggers? What kind of backwards world is this.

Xbox, you win controllers.

2. Scaling

By now you have probably guessed that I do not know what order these items should go in. Here is a relevant piece of information: I bought an old HDTV when I got my Xbox 360, by which I mean, it was already old five years ago, so the only resolutions it can display are 480i (in AV circles, “poop” res), 480p (“poop-pee” res), and 1080i (“get a real HDTV”).

Most games are made with a 720p native resolution, and the console of choice will happily scale the graphics to the resolution that your TV is set to.

If you have an Xbox 360, that is. The PS3 likes to play things at their native resolution, but if your resolution isn’t supported, hey guess what? You will get the next lowest thing, which, in my case, is 480p. Did I mention that most games are made with a 720p native resolution? I think I did! Yeah I typed it and everything, it’s there.

But OKAY, whatever. Uncharted 1 (and I’m pretty sure Uncharted 2) both run in 1080i, which is good enough for me. And the 480p games? They don’t look that bad. Which brings me to #3,

3. The PS3 is making me realize that maybe everything doesn’t have to be in high-definition and that everything that pushes “HD” just might be a scam to get us to buy new televisions and re-buy all of our old content in new high-definition formats just like all those people who sold their VHS collections to buy DVDs.

Did you know we are all sheep? Ok.

4. Games

Cool games bro! Uncharted 1 is really good so far, and I’m really looking forward to beating it and then playing Uncharted 2, just so that I can beat it and then play Uncharted 3. And then I can watch the Uncharted movie!

LittleBigPlanet is pretty fun. Apparently the second one is out in like two weeks. Shipoopi.

ModNation Racers is like LittleBigPlanet had a baby with Mario Kart, which is a really disturbing mental image now that I think about it. Basically you can design everything about your character and your kart and your track and then race people. I love it. Someone made Two-Face on there. Your life is incomplete without seeing it.

3D Dot Game Heroes is kind of cool. I played it for about a half-hour before getting into Uncharted and I haven’t gone back yet, but I did manage to make that robot from that robot comic.

5. Misc. Other Features of the PS3 that I Like

This article was sounding pretty anti-PS3 until #4, but I really do like the new thingy a lot. It’s shiny (not literally) and it has new buttons and it makes all kinds of sounds and flashy stuff appear on this box in my house. It also does this fancy stuff:

That last one might be the greatest thing I’ve ever said or thought or written.

Tags:
video games xbox 360 playstation 3 sly cooper uncharted modnation racers littlebigplanet 3d dot game heroes

  1. elroyhead posted this