Random musings (and talking bollocks).
"**** me, this is a heavy bastard!". The first thing that sprang to mind, lugging the PS3 up the stairs. And it is too, all the weight in the box is the machine itself; substantially heavier than the 360 I would say.
Unpacking it I expected an avalanche of paper to befall on me. Nope, not the case. Three or four small guides packed into a small bag and not much else bar the cables (packed down the sides), quite ironic considering Nintendo's stance on keeping things simple and the amount of paper that attacked me when unpacking a US Wii.
Anyways, after removing the obligatory Sony foam-wrap, suddenly the bedroom light glimmering off it's shiny, shiny surface. It immediately struck me, it doesn't look that bad at all. In fact, it looks kinda like Keeley Hazell; curvy in all the right places. In other words, sexy.
Photos do not do it justice, IMO.
Into position it went next to my other, other bundle of joy, the 360. They sat there co-habitating and playing nicely, which is always nice to see. Hooked it all up, switched it on, and it sprang into life prompting me to connect the SIXAXIS controller via the supplied USB cable to charge it. I duly obliged. One thing that sprang to mind at this point - the noise - or lack thereof. Comparing the noise of both machines, is like comparing the quiet odd couple living next-door to the resident chav family.
Anyway, onto the next screen, and the machine detects I'm connected via HDMI and allows me to confirm as much. It then defaults to 720p (which I later change to 1080p). It has to be said, the initial process of configuring isn't as convenient as the 360 one, IMO. Where the 360 kinda led you by the hand through A-F, the PS3 doesn't. Basically, it's down to you to go through the System and Profile Settings yourself and set each of the properties; Language, Profile, PlayStation Store, Sound Settings etc. If your familar with the PSP's interface, then the PS3 one won't feel alien to you too much, since it's essentially the same interface albeit with more ground to cover. This can (and will) be a pain especially for the non-gamer who isn't savvy enough to go through each individual option.
One minor annoyance I came across, using HDMI I could either select sound through HDMI or using the Optical output, I can't use both. Thus, I have to chop and change when I want to watch a film.
I'd say it probably took me around 20 minutes to get everything setup correctly - and that was without any real problems and taking into consideration, the amount spent on downloading the latest firmware update.
For something that's free, the PlayStation Store actually utilises a very workable and sleek interface. It's a bit easier on the eyes than 360 Marketplace, IMO. The downloads available are quite impressive too! PSP PSOne downloads are available (for a cost!), as are demos of MotorStorm, F1, Genji etc. And of course, not forgetting a 14Gb 1080p Lair video, clocking in at 2 minutes!
After much faffing about, I decided to pop Ridge Racer 7 in and see what the fuss is about...
"**** me, this is a heavy bastard!". The first thing that sprang to mind, lugging the PS3 up the stairs. And it is too, all the weight in the box is the machine itself; substantially heavier than the 360 I would say.
Unpacking it I expected an avalanche of paper to befall on me. Nope, not the case. Three or four small guides packed into a small bag and not much else bar the cables (packed down the sides), quite ironic considering Nintendo's stance on keeping things simple and the amount of paper that attacked me when unpacking a US Wii.
Anyways, after removing the obligatory Sony foam-wrap, suddenly the bedroom light glimmering off it's shiny, shiny surface. It immediately struck me, it doesn't look that bad at all. In fact, it looks kinda like Keeley Hazell; curvy in all the right places. In other words, sexy.
Photos do not do it justice, IMO.Into position it went next to my other, other bundle of joy, the 360. They sat there co-habitating and playing nicely, which is always nice to see. Hooked it all up, switched it on, and it sprang into life prompting me to connect the SIXAXIS controller via the supplied USB cable to charge it. I duly obliged. One thing that sprang to mind at this point - the noise - or lack thereof. Comparing the noise of both machines, is like comparing the quiet odd couple living next-door to the resident chav family.
Anyway, onto the next screen, and the machine detects I'm connected via HDMI and allows me to confirm as much. It then defaults to 720p (which I later change to 1080p). It has to be said, the initial process of configuring isn't as convenient as the 360 one, IMO. Where the 360 kinda led you by the hand through A-F, the PS3 doesn't. Basically, it's down to you to go through the System and Profile Settings yourself and set each of the properties; Language, Profile, PlayStation Store, Sound Settings etc. If your familar with the PSP's interface, then the PS3 one won't feel alien to you too much, since it's essentially the same interface albeit with more ground to cover. This can (and will) be a pain especially for the non-gamer who isn't savvy enough to go through each individual option.
One minor annoyance I came across, using HDMI I could either select sound through HDMI or using the Optical output, I can't use both. Thus, I have to chop and change when I want to watch a film.
I'd say it probably took me around 20 minutes to get everything setup correctly - and that was without any real problems and taking into consideration, the amount spent on downloading the latest firmware update.
For something that's free, the PlayStation Store actually utilises a very workable and sleek interface. It's a bit easier on the eyes than 360 Marketplace, IMO. The downloads available are quite impressive too! PSP PSOne downloads are available (for a cost!), as are demos of MotorStorm, F1, Genji etc. And of course, not forgetting a 14Gb 1080p Lair video, clocking in at 2 minutes!
After much faffing about, I decided to pop Ridge Racer 7 in and see what the fuss is about...
Comment