Monday, January 29, 2007
A friend of mine, Aswad, got a PS3 for his 11th birthday, that lucky arse... or is he?For the first time I got to see the PS3 up close in person. Too bad the only games available at that moment were Ridge Racer 7 and Genji. Ridge Racer 7 was a natural choice.
It looks sleek and elegant. I'm surprised as it actually looks smaller than the pictures that I've seen on the internet. It's pretty heavy too, but almost similar in weight to the Xbox 360 (of which I am a proud owner).
This PS3 was the 60GB so it came with the usual memory card readers. The slot in drive is really cool. It complements the PS3 look very well. I don't think it would have looked good on the Xbox 360, honestly.
POWERING UP:
It's simple, no adapters at all. Just a cable from the wall sock to the PS3 was all it took. It's the exact same cable that is used for computers, so if you misplaced it, you can just buy one from the PC shop.
FUNCTIONS:
The menu system is quite elaborate. Since I only had a brief moment with the PS3, I wasn't able to explore every aspect of it. I was able to help Aswad set the PS3 to receive Wi-Fi signals from his modem though.
The PS3's built in wireless adapter makes it really convenient. There is no need to buy a separate adapter (i.e. Xbox 360 Wireless Adapter) and this saves $$ (As if the PS3 isn't priced a little too high already).
It has an internet browser too, so you can surf the web right at the sofa. All I did was start it up and it directed me to the PS3 home page. I never went further than that.
CONTROLLER:
It's so light, it feels cheap. The weight is a put off, it seems so fragile. The L2 and R2 buttons have been replaced by triggers, similar to the Xbox 360 controller.
I tested out the motion sensors on Ridge Racer 7 and the results were pretty undesirable. I found them terribly sensitive. I really don't think a light controller and motion sensors go well together.
One thing I sorely missed is the rumble. I never did find motion sensor something as great as to sacrifice rumble. No more feeling your car vibrate as you drive off the road, say goodbye to feeling your hands tremble as you fire away with the machine gun.
RIDGE RACER 7:
The graphics were better than the PS2, but it was still average. I am puzzled as to what the developers crammed into the 50GB bluray disc. With so much space, the game could have looked better.
Extreme drifting is Ridge Racer's trademark
Frame rate was smooth when playing a single player game; however, when we started a two player game, the frame rate dropped to 30 or below (based on my experience). This drop is quite noticeable as the action isn’t very smooth.
With all the power in the PS3, it wasn’t utilized for this game. In fact I’ve read in a few places that game developers find it challenging to make games for the PS3 because of its technology. So hopefully developers will work out the kinks on this one.
GAMES:
The launch games were a joke. But the future of PS3 is quite bright because there are some spectacular titles coming. Some that I wish I could get my hands on include FINAL FANTASY XIII and HEAVENLY SWORD.
However, a few PS3 exclusive titles have made its way to the Xbox 360 i.e. Assassin’s Creed, Tekken and Virtua Fighter 5. I hope FFXIII and Heavenly Sword will make it too.
Awesome fighting, beautiful graphics, hot woman, etc.
If you would like to know what PS3 games are available, here’s a LIST FROM GAMESPOT’S WEBSITE.
CONCLUSION:
It is a nice console, but overall I’m not blown away. I find the motion sensors a gimmick and there’s nothing like the good old rumble to immerse you in the game. Function wise, PS3 is pretty good. With lots of memory card formats being supported and so on.
I’d say the reason to get a PS3 would be the games, and what awesome games are coming out. Oh well, I’m waiting for some great titles for the Xbox 360 i.e. MASS EFFECT and ASSASSIN’S CREED. So we both have great games coming our way.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
If you're like me, then you're having trouble finding all the cog tags in the game. Or you are just too lazy to do it. Here's a video guide showing each and every location of the hidden cog tags. 60 achievement points will be yours very soon...
Just look at this guy!
I've got an Xbox 360 so I don't really care. Great vid though...
Saturday, January 27, 2007
I was just surfing around and look what I found - a modified Xbox 360 crammed into a form of a LAPTOP computer! Ben Heckendorn is the genius behind this awesome mod and I am so blown away by his work.
- Uses a 17" wide (diagonal) 1280×720 progressive-scan LCD VGA monitor (for HD-level resolutions) Thus you can actually read the text in Dead Rising.
- Water-cooled with custom-built radiator. Allows for a slimmer main body versus the mammoth heat sinks in a stock 360.
- Built-in keyboard and Wi-Fi.
- USB hub allows original number of 3 USB ports for user
- All-aluminum case, except for plastic keyboard / ring of light / screen control area.
- Uses single customized "expanded" power supply brick for both screen and Xbox 360.
- Breakout ports on back allow hookup to component TV, VGA monitor, sound system (analog or TOSlink) and even crummy composite video.
- Size: 16.75" x 10.75" x 2.8" Weight: 14 pounds (with water loaded)
And if you are interested in making your own, or finding out how Ben worked on this project, he has taken the trouble to detail each step from the start to finish. Here's a step by step tutorial he has put together.
Here'a vid showing that it works:
If you have both Ethernet and wireless adapters (and you must in order for this to work), then both of them will be listed in the Network Connections panel. Using the ctrl-click selection method or the drag-area method, select both adapters.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
This is from Ign.com's game of the year 2006 awards video. They created a rap from the name of each nominee game title.
What I did was compile everything together into one video. Enjoy!