I'll do the PS3 review:
Pros:
+ PlayStation 3 is not an incremental upgrade for previous platforms, but it's truly designed to advance our vision for computer entertainment.
+ They're not interested in gimmicks
+ Giant enemy crabs
+ Riiiiiiiiidge Raceeeeeer!
+ Real-time weapon change
+ The ability for consumers to make micro-transactions
+ Inside the Dual Shock's body, they have added powerful and eregant system. A fantastic innovation.
Cons:
- Five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars
- Five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars
- Five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars
- Five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars
- Five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars
Conclusion so far:
PlayStation 3 truly inspires and entertains fans around the world. The essence of the PlayStation DNA is real change, and the consumers are ready.
Video footage here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=IH2w2l1JTs4
(Shorter version here: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pJElsNaC6yQ )
?????
I own a PSP as well (IC-6OO3, orig fw 2.50, current 3.O2OE), so here's my mini-review for it:
Pros:
+ Many cRPGs available.
+ Good technical department.
+ Can play movies, music, and view images (which includes manga if you do it right, for which I wrote an image rotating and optimizing script).
+ Wi-fi, Internet browser, and multiplayer games.
+ PlayStation emulator, potentially giving you access to a 1000+ game catalogue.
+ If you get the right console (*cough*look at some letter*cough*) and you're lucky (*cough*avoid TA-O82 PCB*cough*), you can have access to a massive homebrew community which have created all sorts of amazing stuff. To name a few: nearly-perfect and getting better MegaDrive emulators, SNES emulators, SMS, GG, CPS1, CPS2, NES, and more, trying Nintendo 64; file managers, text readers and editors, calendars and other PDA functionality, Shoutcast radio client, media center functionality, alternative Internet browsers, and a whole SDK to play around with free and open source libraries common to the Linux world already ported, and Lua available for an advanced, high-level language for rapid development. You can also run the PSX games you legally own without paying twice for them.
+ No regional protection.
Cons:
- Scratches like hell; Sony couldn't have used a less suited plastic. Damn, this screen demanded glass.
- Outside RPGs, mediocre game catalogue, and most games are PSX conversions.
- Uncomfortable controls and a crappy quality analog nub.
Conclusion so far:
If you are lucky and know what you're doing, you can do so much with this machine (be careful though because if you do it wrong you can kill or "brick" it). For me, classic console emulation in a handheld weights as much as new games. Luckily, a good part of the firmware exploiting scene is Spanish, so I always had access to the freshest information in some underground forums. For those interested, elotrolado dot net has all you need to know to do all I mentioned here, though you require a high level of Spanish because some people writes like shit and some digging through the PSP forums. I can help you if you're interested, but use Email. I can publish my manga to PSP scripts if you're interested too, use the board. (Hint: they are great for hentai doujins.)
?????
BTW, Phaq, that Knuckles in Sonic 1 is absolutely awesome. Stealth wins an Internet, and also, the Sonic Team has been owned.
<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ January 04, 2007 10:57 AM: Message edited by: -Wiseman- ]</font>
Yeah, but he makes the game insanely easy. The Marble zone, 2nd stage, can be flown over and beaten in under a minute or two. BTW:
<font size="2" face="Verdana,sans-serif">I'm thankfull as hell for that, but never bitch that you guys in Europe don't get any good games. I gotta import Tales of Eternia from your section of the world.+ No regional protection.
That's because Namco is piss retarded. It suffers from what a majority of software companies suffer: managers in charge of global strategy and commercialization decisions have their head stuffed too far up their asses, where no periscope will allow them to see the world. They don't know what they sell, they don't know their customers (let alone understand them), they fail to properly commercialize any product (the ones that sell do out of pure luck and thanks to the product information offered for free by third parties in the Internet). They also seem to have a vested interest on making Japan-exclusive games on purpose, which may be derived from some kind of penis size complex as I pointed out in an earlier post, snubbing two markets which are both larger than Japan's, full of enthusiasts imploring for Japanese games. When you browse Western gaming forums at random, you'll stumble across threads listing Japanese games, especially RPGs, full of gamers praying to Santa to get awesome games which they are highly unlikely to get, and thanking the heavens for the few ones they actually get. Customers doing the marketing themselves, praying to buy their products! Any Western company would kill to have that kind of expectation and interest.
Terrible direction and poor commercialization will eventually lead most Japanese software companies to failure, just like Sega and many others. Dozens of Japanese companies regularly fold for this reason. Take a look at the "happy happy Nippon onry" games of 10-15 years ago. A good number of the companies who developed them went out of business, were bought out by a large developer for a fraction of what they had been worth, or are a fraction of what they used to be. Sega, SNK, Compile, Toaplan, and more (we haven't even heard of most).
I can only hope that Namco will eventually Sega/sage itself and fold. This would set free its developers and there's a chance that they would end up working for a better company which understands globalization and the impact of Japanese pop culture in the world.
<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ January 07, 2007 10:43 AM: Message edited by: -Wiseman- ]</font>
I'm starting to grow fond of Kaz Hirai. Can't get enough of him: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CDc0OmiDaR0
My Wii... occasionally.
World of Warcraft
Another Century's Episode 2 (PS2)
Super Robot Wars Original Generation 2 (GBA)
Super Robot Wars Impact (PS2)
Super Robot Wars Alpha 2nd (PS2)
Valkyrie Profile 2 (PS2)
God Hand (PS2)
Was playing FFXII, got sorta bored and switched to VP2.
Camped out for a Wii release night, the thing is great for multiplayer, but the only title I was playing in single player was Zelda. However, I have been using and abusing Virtual Console (Gunstar Heroes=instant win.) Launch was sort of dissapointing, but the wii-mote is definitely not going to be a gimmick (Even though TP makes it out to be one, stupid GC-port rushjob.) The controller has done what it was meant to do as well; draw in a lot of new gamers. My girlfriend, and all my family, including grandparents, enjoy playing it. The girlfriend, who never enjoyed games outside of screwing around in a few fighting games, even got one for herself.
Oh, and Sega needs to die soon. Or at least Sonic Team. Phantasy Star Universe was a dissapointment almost everywhere.
<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ January 07, 2007 09:59 PM: Message edited by: Xellos ]</font>
Not only Phantasy Star Universe, but the new Sonic game is terrible. So terrible even large mainstream sites weren't afraid to saying so, despite the risk of having DBZ-esque Sonic fanboys out to kill them. They failed it in every possible way: sucky and buggy gameplay, botched, rushed visuals, stupid characters, terrible adventure areas, lame loading times, and mediocre sound. And I don't like the look of the Puyo Pop Fever characters. They are failing everything that can be failed.
IRT Wiseman - Hilarious video - even if it is biased and heavily edited. I agree with the motive behind it though; why buy a PS3 now when you could pick up a Wii and 360 with cash to spare? By comparison, Microsoft and Nintendo seem far more down-to-earth and focused on what the consumers of 2006/7 want.
IRT Xellos - Same with me, its the first time ive ever camped out for a console. Ive been spending quite a bit on the Virtual Console as well; so far ive bought Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong Country and Mario 64, all of which are classics i missed out on as a kid (having taken the Sega/Sony routes through the console generations). Other than that, and despite owning Twilight princess, ive mostly been drawn to the multiplayer charms of Wii Sports, with a calculated total of 52 hours clocked alone for it so far. ^_^
Damn, and I remember when that new Sonic was announced... supposedly a return to the old Sonic style.
I'll probably get a 360 sometime, but for now, VC, PS2 import titles and DS titles are more than enough for me.
Lol, yeah, I remember that. Back to the origins my ass. It combines the worst rails and falling shit from Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes, the bugs of the worst parts of the Japanese Sonic Adventure 1, and the character stupidity of all the 3D Sonic games combined. Plus loading times are OVER NINE THOUSAND!!!
Kaz Hirai is hilarious. Yesterday I was unconsciously repeating "five hundred and ninety-nine US dollars" out loud while randomly browsing message boards and my father asked WTF was wrong with me. I watch his vids every day on my laughs and shits routine (4chan, Kaz Hirai, memes, trolling 4chan text boards, etc).
<font color="#345E81" size="1">[ January 08, 2007 08:05 PM: Message edited by: -Wiseman- ]</font>
With any luck, enough 360 owners downloaded the Sonic the Hedgehog demo before buying it.
Nevertheless, im getting a 360 sometime this year, but im holding out for the following:
1. Releases of Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon.
2. Rumours of an improved, HDMI compatible version of the console are either quashed or confirmed.
3. Just a diddy price-drop, expected when the PS3 hits our shelves in March.
In the meantime, ive got Okami and FFXII to look forward to. Anyone got a review to spare for either of these?
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