Sean Looi Says

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.

LOOKS:
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 The L2 and R2 buttons have been replaced by triggers, similar to the Xbox 360 controller.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.

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.