Austin360 blogs > Digital Savant > Archives > 2006 > November > 17 > Entry
Further PS3 impressions
Hmmm… I see there’s some interest in this thing.
Question I’m being asked today: “Is it worth it?”
By which I’m guessing people mean the waiting in line, the camping out, the $600 (plus TAX!) + money for memory card adapters + money for at least one extra controller ($50!) + of course, money for games ($60 each!)…
No. No, it isn’t. I’m sorry, but not even a decent gaming PC is worth much more than that. The PS3 seems to be a quite capable piece of hardware, but based on my two days with it, it feel like a rushed, unfinished system, one that will no doubt grow and mature through downloadable software updates. But its small library of games, reliance on unproven Blu-ray disc technology and the big question mark of its online service — these are all red flags for me. I know people love to stand in line and say, “Me first!” but I’m telling you that your time would have been better spent waiting in line for a delicious Freebirds burrito.
Unless you’re selling it on eBay. In which case, well-done.
More thoughts on the PS3:
Tried the Blu-ray movie “Black Hawk Down.” The grainy nature of the movie makes it tough to judge, but close-ups on faces look mighty fine, and firefights are convincingly dynamic in HD. I didn’t get to dig into the extras, but the film looks great. But along with “Talladega Nights,” which uses a lot of bright and overexposed stock, it’s hard to get a sense of the quality of the video output. Something like a Pixar movie might be a better gauge. Still not blowing me away, though.
Tried “NBA 2K7,” a very good basketball game that looks and plays well. Player models are pretty great (albeit all very sweaty-looking). Annoying quirk: The game installs data to the hard drive to (presumably) decrease load times later. I’m not sure if I did something wrong, but I had to stare at the screen for several minutes waiting for this data to copy over when all I wanted to do was jump in and shoot some hoops. I’m told other games will ask you to install data to the hard drive before playing, too.
It’s still having weird resolution issues. The PS3 asks you what your HDTV’s highest resolution is — 720p or 1080i. Do you know the answer off the top of your head? I always assumed it was personal preference. (I like 1080i better.) 1080 is a higher resolution, but 720p is progressive. According to the PS3, 720p is preferable, and many of the games require you to either use that or dump to the undesirable and dreaded 480p. Yucko.
Next up, I’ll be checking out “Gengi” and “Need for Speed Carbon” along with more of “Resistance.” I’ll also be checking out the online network and seeing how nicely the PS3 plays with an iPod, a PSP and a thumb drive.
Permalink | | Categories: Movies & DVDs, Shopping, Videogames
