Review by Lee Dicey:

This BluRay version is INCREDIBLE. I have read some of the reviews that people have posted so far, but I find they are quite innacurate.

First of all, it LOOKS amazing. It is crystal clear, and in widescreen format. I don’t have a surround sound set up, but it sounds great through stereo. It DOES have the little BEEP and BOOP sounds to let you know if you did the right action, just like the arcade.

Secondly, the concerns of the first reviewers are pretty inaccurate, because their complaints can be fixed by adjusting the 6 or 7 settings that can completely change the gameplay experience. I haven’t gone through all of them, but here is what I have found so far:

HOME vs ARCADE: I haven’t gone in depth yet, but when I had it on Arcade mode, it didn’t start at the moat/drawbridge scene. On Home mode it DOES start there, which is how I’m used to it, so that is how I have it set. I assume that there are other differences in scene order, although aside from the beginning scene, the scenes are random.

EASY vs HARD I starded the game on easy, and it seems like you don’t really have to bother that much with timing, and it is more forgiving with mistakes. Hard is VERY time specific, and you can’t really make many mistakes before hitting the right button, just like the original. Fantastic. I’m getting my butt kicked.

SIGNALS You have an option to turn on visual clues. Haven’t bothered with this yet.

There are some other settings like unlimited lives verses 5 lives, and other stuff I don’t remember at the moment, but basically they drastically change the playing experience. You can tweak it to be exactly like the Arcade, or maybe taylor it more to the version you like best.

Somebody claimed that the game was not true to the arcade version because if you failed a level, it just skipped it and you never would get to try it again. Well that reviewer jumped the gun because although it skips it right after you die, you eventually must come back to all the levels you died on, and it will NOT let you pass the second time until you finally get them right. This is true when it is on HOME mode at least, but I haven’t played it on ARCADE mode enough to know how it handles failed levels.

The timing between clips is great on my PS3. About 95% of the time there is no pauses or anything, but usually, on the scenes where you make a mistake, there is a slight, split second pause before the death scene.

This is the best version of the game available. It made my whole week better just being able to play it in all of it’s glory.

Review by Jon Folkers:

Would you like to see a cartoon character die in dozens of comically gruesome ways, again and again? Then this is for you!

Are you a fan of former Disney animator Don Bluth (“The Secret of NIMH,” and “Pete’s Dragon” are most illustrative of his style)? Then this is a must-have!

Are you looking for a cutting-edge game with retro roots to play on your Playstation 3 console? OK, give this a try — but be careful. If you’re under the age of 30 or so, you’re unlikely to put up with this old style of game.

This game was a revolution back in 1983 when it launched in arcades. It was simply stunning to see branching digital video in this pseudo-interactive form back then. The novelty wore off quickly when the game’s high price and limited replay value came through, though. At fifty cents a play, it was a better deal to watch someone else suffer through the trial-and-error gameplay while you watched the beautiful video.

The game has never looked better. This edition is leaps and bounds over any other edition yet released, and there have been dozens, including platforms you’d never think would work, such as the black-and-white Macintosh on multiple floppy diskettes, the GameBoy Color, and the low-color, screen-door graphics of the Sega CD. Even the original LaserDisc and deluxe DVD editions are trumped here.

Controls are fast and responsive, and the gameplay is true to the original The original scene selection order has been preserved and the controller timing feels accurate to me. You can play with your Blu-Ray remote or a Playstation 3 controller if you’re on that system.

Sadly, while it’s beautiful and is the best version of the game yet, it’s not perfect. The menu items don’t work properly on the Playstation 3, which is the most popular BD player at this writing. When you select the “5 lives” option, the machine conveniently forgets this and you have 1 life forever, as if your arcade machine were set on FREE PLAY. That’s not a bad thing from my perspective, but it would be interesting for people to simulate just how annoying a quarter-snatcher the arcade version was. The disc seems to request access to the internet, so there’s a possibility this could be patched, but I have a feeling this disc will remain as-is unless they do another publication run.

There are ARCADE and HOME options so you can choose to see the shorter clips as originally presented, or as seen in home versions (like the playable drawbridge scene at the beginning). Since there is no effective limit on your lives, you just play until you finish or can no longer take any more. Each scene is presented at least once (sometimes flipped left-to-right) and you can’t get to the ending unless you have beaten them all. Pauses to access the disc are imperceptible, much faster than any prior home version running off an optical disc.

The extras are nicely done. There’s a “watch” mode in which you can see the solution for each of the screens, as well as the MANY different ways your hero can die. From what I can tell, it’s the only way to see the animation where Dirk crumbles to bones, because of the “5 lives” bug above.

There are some interviews and a commentary track with 3 of the game’s creators looking bored. I only glanced at the opening, but turned it off when I felt that I could read Don Bluth’s mind. He seemed to be thinking “I’m tired of this 25-year-old ****, give me my check so I can go home.” Good for the sake of completeness, but I doubt you’d watch it again and again.

There’s a lovely clip showing the endgame with graphics from the rasterized Amiga version, the early PC version, the deluxe PC version, the original LaserDisc version, the DVD version, and this new HD version. Each one is added as a stripe on the screen until you see them all side-by-side. The comparison is stunning. When you looked at the fisheyed monitor in the 1983 arcade, you had no idea the game could ever look this good.

Finally, there are some previews of similar games that are coming soon, namely Space Ace and Dragon’s Lair II: Time Warp. In my opinion, they’re completely non-essential because they’re so much more annoying. They’re so much more annoying because there’s a lot more speech in them, which means you get to hear the same silly dialogue again and again and AGAIN! Perhaps they’ll be bundled into a value package with a fixed version of this disc in a few years. Given the publisher’s penchant for reissuing this content, I think that’s a pretty sure bet.

Review by Elle-Lis:

If you’re a fan of KH1 who enjoyed the KH strategy guide by Dan Birlew, then, like me, you may find yourself frustrated with this Kingdom Hearts 2 strategy guide. The first game’s guide provided information as a glossary and as a walk-thru. If you had a question about something in KH1, you could easily find and turn to the corresponding section of its guide for answers. Why didn’t the writers of the sequel’s guide stick with what worked? I can only guess that they were more interested in style than substance. This book is fat because it is inefficient, full of fluff and fanciful designs that make finding information cumbersome and frustrating. Using Deats’ guide, unfortunately, is a distraction from the game rather than a quick reference. I love the Kingdom Hearts series, but I didn’t buy this guide for fanfare and souvenir. It will probably be best to go to a gamer’s website and download a copy of someone else’s guide and/or walk-through as this guide is sorely lacking utility.

Review by Amie Scoles:

While trying to figure out what game guide I should buy I read reviews on here for both and was left confused as ever. Just in case you don’t know I’m talking about this copy and the regular cheaper copy of the Kingdom Hearts II guide books. So I bought both and did a side by side comparison.

Plain and simple here’s the bottom line. Both books are the same. Page for page, made by the same company, say the same thing. Only difference in the book is the cover. The cheap one has just one cover with a picture of all of the characters. The limited edition has 4 different covers that have Sora being one of 4 of his different colors.

The bonus to the limited edition in the inclusion of Jiminy’s Journal. In this book it gives a little more info on each of the characters you will encounter. Now when I say a little more info I mean two or three sentence giving a general history. It does go over the Heartless a bit and how to defeat them a little more then the guide.

Like the first book where you collected the 101 dalmation puppies and put a sticker on a poster for everyone you found. This has a sticker for every character you meet, for things you pick up along the way, and for every world you make it too.

So what one is right for you? If you want just the basic no frills stick with the lower cost one. It does have all the info you need and if you need a little more help there is plenty of sites that can help you through a difficult spot. If you wanna have a little more fun with keeping track of who you have encountered and what you have collected as well as being able to write your top scores to mini games you play along the way go for the limited, it’s a bit funner.

As for me I went with the Limited Edition verision just for the extra fun with the stickers and because I’m a huge Disney and Kingdom Heart fan. If you have questions feel free to contact me through here if that is possible. And remember this review contains my thoughts, ideas, and opinions on both of the books meant to help you decide which one is best for you. Hope it helped!

Review by Brian:

Since the Olympics are over, I got a great deal on this game and decided to give it a try. I was hoping the gameplay would be more modern than the button mashing games but it actually is worse.

There are 38 games total, most are either fusturating, tiring or both.

All games that involve running such as all track events and many field events require you to either button mash the X and Circle buttons or move the right and left analog sticks back an forth. Cycling requires you to rotate either the left or analog stick for around 4 minutes. After 2 days and maybe 90 minutes total of playing this game, I noticed the analog sticks on my controller were a lot more loose compared the way they were before I opened the game. I am sure if I keep playing these events, the controller will be worn down very quickly.

All events that require a starting timer like running and swimming have a meter. This meter either almost always gives you a false start or you end up starting the race too late and can’t catch up.

Other events such as Floor Exercises use the timing of the buttons but don’t give you enough notice of what button needs to be pressed.

Some events like Archery are fun except that you need an almost perfect score just to advance past the first round.

Overall, the game can be fun at times but most of the time you are going to be fusturated and in the process ruining your controller or controllers if you play multiplayer mode.

Review by gllcanon:

If you like repetitive key punching, then have a couple pina coladas and you might find this entertaining. Maybe I’m too hard on it, this is best suited for a family get-together, with young kids, for setting the Olympic mood. But it really amounts little more than repetitive key punching, to the extent you wonder if you’re going to brake your gamepads. Its not all that different from the Apple IIe’s key-banging equivolent circa 1983, but the graphics have thankfully improved somewhat in the last 25 yrs — too bad gameplay hasn’t. I guess it’s just difficult to make a good Olympics game, b/c no one ever pulls it off.

Review by Bearcat:

Infamous is a great game. Just how great it is depends on your taste in games. This is not a run and gun shooter like Killzone 2 or Resistance. This game is more a mix of a shooter with platform game elements. You play Cole who through some mysterious manner (explosion) has developed electrical “super powers”. You are basically locked on an island ala “Escape from New York” style. You can scale buildings, poles, train tracks, almost any structure you can get your hands on. Scaling up the side of a building or up the beams supporting the train tracks is a lot more fun than I thought it would be. The best part of your super powers are your electrical abilities. You can zap enemies with lighting similar to Star Wars Jedi, you can throw “energy grenades” which are lethal and you can develop other powers. The powers you develop depend on whether you choose to be “good” or “evil”. You get certain special powers down each path you take. If you help civilians and do other good deeds/missions you are basically taking the “good” path. If you decide to crisp the good old civilians like bacon and do “evil” missions then you go down the “evil” path.

This “good vs. evil” choice is actually implemented very well, much better than I thought it would be. I will be playing this game through a second time in order to see how the other path develops and ends. Overall the graphics are very good and the controls are pretty much spot on. I never had problems with targeting, etc. This is a great exclusive for the PS3. I waffled between giving this game 4 stars or 5 stars and ultimately decided on giving it 5 stars. I gave the game 5 stars because I felt the originality, story and gameplay were some of the best for a PS3 game. That’s ultimately how I judged this, compared to other PS3 games since this is a PS3 exclusive. This is definitely one of the top titles on the PS3 and for me personally is one of my top 5 PS3 games. If you are unsure about this game I recommend downloading the demo from the Playstation Store as it is a good representation of the game’s feel.

Review by D. C. Blanton:

inFAMOUS is a superhero game about a guy named Cole who wakes up in the rubble of a large blast that killed thousands. When he awakes, he realizes he now has incredible powers, allowing him to absorb and control electricity. Shortly after the blast, the government has quarantined the city, Empire City. Empire City is made up of 3 islands, and each one has now been taken over by a different gang. The Neon is controlled by the druggies the Reapears, the Warrens has been taken over by the homeless now calling themselves The Dust Men, and the Historic District has been taken over by a secret organization called The First Sons.

Early in the game Cole gets in contact with an FBI agent named Moya who gives him information and missions, and tells him that if he can find her husband John, who disappeared after the blast, and bring her the Ray Sphere, the bomb that caused Cole to get his powers, she can get him out of Empire City.

The game is an open world sandbox type game, allowing you take on missions as you see fit. Early in the game Cole doesn’t have very many powers, but as you progress, you earn new powers by restoring power to the blacked out portions of the city.

Your basic attack, which also doesn’t spend any of your energy, is a lightning shot or bolt that Cole fires from his hand as quickly as you can press the R1 button (also while holding L1 to aim). You’ll also earn such powers as throwing electrical grenades, fire a rocket of elecrticity, summon a lightning storm, perform a sniper like precision shot, fire off a shock wave, and some others.

As you complete story missions and side missions, you earn XP. You also earn XP for killing bad guys, healing people, capturing bad guys, or draining enemies of their life. You spend this XP on upgrading your powers. The upgrades will be different depending on whether you want to be good or evil. Certain upgrades won’t even become available until you’ve reached a certain level on your Karma, Cole’s good and evil meter.

Early on in the game you need to decide whether you want to be good or bad. The game doesn’t really allow you to be somewhere in between. Although you could, it wouldn’t really benifit you much because you would never unlock the more powerful versions of your superpowers.

Throughout the game you’ll be given the choice to do something good or bad. Early in the game the government has dropped some food crates into the city. You’re given the choice to let the people in the city take the food, or you can be selfish and scare the people away and take the food for yourself and your girlfriend, Trish, and your best friend, Zeke. There are many more choices throughout the game similar to this.

One of the best things about this game is Cole’s ability to scale buildings. Almost anything you see is climbable, allowing Cole to make his way up buildings and light poles and whatever else very easily and quickly. If you’ve played Assassins Creed, then you pretty much get the idea. I’ve had more fun scaling buildings in this game than I ever have in any of the Spiderman games.

Cole will also unlock the ability to slide along power lines and train tracks, and use static thrusters to glide, which adds even more fun and depth to traveling around the city.

The graphics in this game are good, but not great, but defiantly not terrible either. Unfortunetly the game suffers from some pop in, but this is easily forgiven due to the fact that the only load screen you’ll ever see is when you first boot the game up. You’ll also notice some jagged edges here and there. But the characters look great, especially Cole. Even more so when Cole becomes really evil, as his clothes become really dirty and grimy, and his skin turns pale.

The sound in this game is good, with all the proper special effects you’d expect to hear from someone who can shoot lightning from their hands. And the voice acting is really top notch too.

The cutscenes are a joy to watch as their told in comic book style, with added elements of 3D and movement.

As far as negatives, the game is a tad bit glitchy. Sometimes when Cole goes to restrain a villian or leech the life out of someone, he kinda gets stuck on something and jerks around for a moment before finally unfreezing from the spot. Also, in my time with the game, at one point an enemy threw a grenade at me and I somehow fell through the floor and to my death.

The other big annoyance is that Cole has very sticky fingers. While this often makes some of the platforming easier than in most games, it can also become very annoying when all you want to do is drop to the ground but Cole keeps grabing every little thing between where you were standing and where you want to land.

If you get bored in the game, there are blast shards to collect, and for every so many, you’ll add another power node (your energy bar basically). You can also collect Dead Drops, which is audio recordings that help fill in the background of the main story.

There are 15 good guy missions and 15 bad guy missions, but every time you complete one, you lock out one of the others. So like I said, it’s good to decide early on whether you want to be good or bad. There are 40 story missions and I don’t know how many side missions, but there are quite a few. To get through the game probably takes a good 15 hours if you take the time to do every side mission and take the time to do some serious blast shard collecting.

I’ve beaten the game both as good and evil, and I must say that I enjoyed being evil a lot more. You can be a lot more destructive, plus Cole just looks really cool when he’s evil. There are three difficulties, and playing on Easy is in fact easy. Plus, on a positive note, the game uses a very good checkpoint system, so if you die during a mission you never have to backtrack that far or replay the same mission over and over. If you die while not in a mission, just in free roam, then you just respawn at a med clinic at no cost to you.

I very much love this game. It’s one of the best super hero games that I’ve ever played. I certaintly recommend it to anyone who loves a good action/platformer or anyone whose ever wanted to know just what it would feel like to have super powers.

Review by Sky:

Just like its most recent predecessors, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War, the campaign portion of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a really fun game with extremely intense battle sequences. The downfall is that it’s very very short. So let me start by saying that if you’re not set up to, or you just don’t intend to, play the online co-op or multiplayer modes, you really want to think twice before paying full price for this game. Single players either need to rent this or wait for an inexpensive used copy to go on sale.

So you get three game options: Special Ops (online isn’t necessary, but at least two players are required for some of the missions), Multiplayer (designed to be played online; this is no fun split-screen with a max of 4 players), and the single player Campaign that took me less than 6 hours to finish.

In single player Campaign mode, you’re a first person shooter (soldier) on the frontlines, and this time the frontlines aren’t limited to overseas territories. Primarily you’re playing separate, interlacing missions all over the world as two different characters. The story takes place several years after CoD 4 ended. And just as in CoD 4 you’re with a team of characters that are truly your band of Artificial Intelligence brothers. On easier settings the AI soldiers can do practically all of the work for you on some missions; the help you might get from your team is based on the difficulty setting you’ve chosen. So unless you want to just glide through the game, definitely don’t pick the Recruit difficulty (the other difficulty options are Regular, Hardened and Vet).

I could take away a star from the overall score of this game for how short the single player mode is, but I won’t….All of a sudden it’s not so short when you go back and try to play on the Vet setting and spend the time looking for all of the Intel items.

You arrive in single player boot camp just like in all of the previous CoDs, and you get a brief tutorial on how to maneuver around, shoot your weapons & throw grenades. After boot camp you get to choose the difficulty setting, then you’re immediately strewn into various battles. (Once you’ve completed the game on any setting you can go back to various chapters to clean up any items or trophies missed, and at the start of each chapter you can choose to attempt on the higher difficulties.)

You fight your way through some intense chapters….really intense. In fact, when you first start off, there’s even a warning that you’ll be in for some VERY disturbing sequences, and you have the option to tell the game to skip “offensive material”. Ummm…no thanks. I think that this is the first game that I’ve played that offers the option to censor itself if you choose the option. The story is a bit choppy at times, but the battles are wild. The graphics are out of this world, and some of the “familiar territory” scenes will just blow you away with how much it really looks like your own back yard.

The weapons are plentiful and sophisticated. You’re shooting whichever modern-day weapon you happen to have picked up along your objective route. Objectives that guide you along are updated regularly as you complete each task throughout each chapter. And some of those tasks are brutal. There are frequent checkpoints (I think I remember even reaching new checkpoints without firing a single shot) in the campaign, so no need to worry about respawning back before what seemed to take an eternity to complete. On the other hand….

….There is the Special Ops portion of the game. I think that there are 23 different missions for you here, and you can play each one by trying to earn 1, 2 or 3 stars in each mission. Some of these are darn hard, especially the final 3-star unlocks. You will be frustrated by playing some of these a few times before you beat the levels to earn your stars. And there are no checkpoints in these missions, so if you fail in the final moments of a mission, you start over from the beginning of that mission.

Special Ops is most fun with a partner. It’s best online so that you get to play full screen, but if you have a guest over you can play split screen offline. For all you World at War players looking for Zombies, you’re out of luck here. You get Special Ops instead. There was a silly rumor that MW2 would have an “Alien Invaders” mode that would rival the Zombie mode of WaW, but that indeed was just a silly rumor.

Online Multiplayer is where you’ll get addicted. No AI brothers here…just your fellow gamers. You’d better have your FPS skills honed if you think that you’ll score better than some of the MW2 online players. A very high percentage of the online players have been honing their skills online for years now with CoD4 and World at War.

The concept with Multiplayer is certainly not new. The more you play, the higher you rank allowing you to unlock more (fine tuned) weapons. The game sets you up in matches with people at your level and rank, but that ain’t gonna help you if you’re new (you will be fondly referred to as a noob by your swell fellow online players) and you’re up against the CoD4 or WaW vets.

What makes MW2 Multiplayer more than just a new map pack for CoD4 is that the Multiplayer weapons and perk system are vastly improved. And so is connectivity (so it seems in the initial week of play after a few day one and two glitches). You get 10 times the amount of points for the kills and captures that you’re used to getting only 5 or 10 points for in CoD4 and WaW. You also now get points for not just killing and capturing, but for taking out enemy air support, coming back from deathstreaks, killing your nemesis, breaking an enemy’s streak and other stuff. Yeah, Multiplayer is good fun, habitual and bad for a marriage.

So all in all Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is major fun. The only drawbacks to this awesome game are that the campaign is really short and the multiplayer action is a bit familiar. But the MW2 Multiplayer improvements over its predecessors far out weigh the familiarity.

Modern Warfare 2 is a must for FPS fans. Add it to your cart, soldier!

Review by J. J. Marino:

My Experience:

Being I am an OG, from the 70′s my reaction times are slowing down and I know it. I actually enjoy the campaign modes in these games. Which is why I am giving it a 2 star. I am sure people will blast me because the MULTIPLAYER IS WHERE ITS AT MAN!!! OMGWTROXXORZ.!11. I agree that the multiplayer can be fun, but this is a review of the game as it stands.

Campaign Mode: ***** 5 star

First off the campaign mode. The graphics and scenes are so absolutely beautiful I would give this a 5 star hands down, it is what brought this title up from a 1 star. From the basic places like the airport in the mountains. The snow, the weather, it all seems to be so very real and inviting. When you have to take back the White House it is breathtaking from the color of the sky to the helicopters crashing all around you. Wonderful, epic and left me wanting more. Which, leads us to the reason I want to give this a 1 star.

Campaign Story: 0000* 1 star

The campaign mode is ridiculously short. I wanted to take my time taking it all in and several missions push you the whole time to GO GO GO!!! which is expected due to the insane pace of the enemies. It really sucks you in and makes you feel part of it, however, it falls horribly short due to the anemic plot and, well…shortness… The major issue with the campaign is the incredibly weak story. They never explain why anything has happened, the dialogue between the characters is full of hyperbole and patriotic fluff. I realize the world thinks Americans are a bunch of yahoo cowboys, but come on with the brainless pointless dialogue.

Sub campaign:

The Spec Ops are so-so fun, but its just a rehash of the campaign you just finished.

Now lets discuss the 10,000 pound gorilla in the room.

Multiplayer 0000* 1 star

I understand its my lack of skillzorz that makes the multiplayer frustrating. That does not mean that I have to give a game I do not enjoy anything more than I have. The new titles and other 1337 embellishments they have thrown into the multiplayer has done nothing but polish what I perceive as a pile of excrement. Playing with a friend can make multiplayer a bit more fun. Going into a game where only 2 out of 18 have a mic, where most are young kids, and some have voice modifiers so we dont know they are kids,(yea right Darth), is nothing short of pure hell. Its not fun, nor is it the reason I got this game.

After playing such epics as Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune & Uncharted 2: Among Thieves this game pales in comparison for the depth of characters, re-playability, and overall scope. I am not a glutton for punishment so games like Demon’s Souls have little appeal to me. I have a family, job and other things taking up my time, (like Amazon reviews), so a 2-3 hour frag fest where I am repeatedly killed over and over holds no appeal to me either.

For the -Not Helpful- voters:

I am sure this review will garner a fair share of negative votes. Just remember you too are entitled to your opinion and you too can write a review on any product and YOUR experience with that product. My experience with this product, while amazing, was brief and ultimately very frustrating. If this was a review of a new electric toothbrush and that toothbrush shocked you every time you used it, you too could come here and write about it was a pain to use. Reviews are not meant as an -I am a fan or I hate it-, instead it is meant as a way to let customers hear a varied and alternative view of a product. I think overall Activision did a pretty good job with this game. The soundtrack was spot on and sounded great. But making the game as a single player and a multiplayer means its not excellent at either one. Sure your Honda Civic can go off-road but eh, do you think it will hold up well?

Pros:

>> Beautiful animations

>> Epic scenes

>> Motion capture is fantastic

>> Fantastic soundtrack

Cons:

Review by M. D. sadek:

Fans of the previous game will be very impressed with Assassin’s Creed II. I must say that the previous game was quite disappointing. I felt it had a lot of potential as a game but the repetitive gameplay and frame-rate issues made it a big let down. This time though things have changed drastically for the good. I have yet to complete the game but have played enough to formulate a review.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the game has a very cinematic feel. The cutscenes are a bit lengthy and drive the story very well. The voice acting is pretty good and the lip syncing is almost spot on. Graphically the game is stunnning. The first Assassians creed looked very pretty but this one seems a notch above it. There is no denying the beauty of it all.

The gameplay has a very GTA style feel to it. You go from place to place to do a variety of different things. Unlike the last game where the gameplay was very reptitive where each section of the game required you to gather information in order to assassinate your victim (which only consisted of 3 or 4 different ways). Ubisoft have completely revamped that flawed style into a more enjoyable experience. Basically, think GTA but in the 15th century.

The freestyle movement is well done and easy to use. Although sometimes I had difficulty jumping up walls, Pressing the X button sometimes makes Ezio jump outwards rather than up. Having said that, its still an enjoyable experience, very much like the last game. Its also quite easy to navigate around your map.

The combat system hasn’t changed that much. There are a few minor modifications. Ezio can do a few different things this time round like snatch enemy weopons while fighting and thrusting them down there body. The combat is a lot of fun and quite easy to learn. Also Ubisoft have added a currency system in the game. You can steal money from passing citizens or search enemies for money or earn money by doing errands and missions. The money can be spent on buying weopons and armor or upgrading current items. It makes the game much more enjoyable and interactive.

One thing of note is that this game is not for kids. There is a lot of sexuality in this game. Ezio can hire whores to distract gaurds and there is a bit of dirty talk. Its fun but some might feel it to be offensive. The ESRB does rate it at 17+, young children should stay away from this game.

There are a few minor glitches in the game but nothing major. I had a problem picking up boxes in the beginning of the game but nothing major so far. Hopefully these issues will be fixed with a patch.

Overall this game is a lot of fun. Its way better than the previous game. Anyone who enjoyed Assassins Creed should pick this one up. They will not be disappointed.

Review by Michael J. Marziale:

I have been looking forward to this release for a long time. While I was a fan of the first Assassin’s Creed, the original game felt sort of unfinished. The concept was there, but the game felt like it hadn’t been fully fleshed out. The game was beautiful but repetitive, fun overall, but you can only pickpocket or eavesdrop on someone so many times before it gets boring.

This game fixes many of those issues. While I am still playing through the game, obviously, I can already see huge improvements. Water doesn’t instantly kill you. I have yet to run into a lunatic or beggar, for which I am extremely grateful. You have many more choices for weapons. These are just for starters. The game just has a better feel to it, the storyline and the characters have more depth. You will evolve into the role of an assassin with Ezzio, instead of “re-earning” the title with Altair. They have also added a monetary system to the game, and things like blacksmiths, tailors, and doctors to go along with it, which the first game could have used.

As for what they kept, the beautiful graphics and sweeping vistas are still there, you will still find yourself climbing to dizzying heights to peer out over cities from a new viewpoint. You still have your hidden dagger, in fact they’ve given you a second one to play with. The graphics have, of course, been improved, and look even better than the first one. The world is still a very open, free roaming environment, your standard sandbox game, and you still get to climb and vault all over everything, which is immense fun. The quintessential core of the original game is still there in all its glory, they have just filled in the details and improved the game play for you.

That being said, there are still one or two things in the sequel that annoy me. Most importantly, running still get everyone’s attention. I would understand that if I was talking about barreling through streets and knocking people over left and right. I’m not. Just running will draw the guards’ attention, which gets old quick. Apparently no one was ever in a hurry in the Renaissance. This has been slightly improved by giving the player a fast walk mode, but it can still take forever to get from point A to point B at that speed. This part of the AI could use some tweaking, since there is a difference between challenging and annoying.

In my opinion, the coolest feature they have added is the database function, which gives you all sorts of interesting and amusing facts about the regions, cities, buildings and people that you will be interacting with. This does a great job of drawing you further into the period and culture that you are exploring, and really helps you relate to the story. This feature adds a lot of detail to the game that most developers would have simply left out.

Bottom line, I am thrilled with the game. It is exactly what I was anticipating, and if you enjoyed the first game, you will love the sequel.

Review by A. C. Ege/Acedoh:

Nathan Drake is not typical of characters you see in videogames much lately. Nate doesn’t look like he pumps iron, he won’t win any sexiest man alive awards, and his unassuming ways make him enjoyable. Of course you may recognize the name Drake for the famous explorer Sir Francis Drake. Yes Nate is related to the famous explorer and now he is off to find the mysterious El Dorado(City of Gold). To say the least the journey will be unforgettable to most.

The story starts off more like a movie. On this quest you are accompanied by an attractive documentarian Elena and of course your comrade Sullie. What sets Uncharted apart from some many games is the cinematic approach is so seemless it makes it hard to seperate gameplay from movie watching. As your journey progresses you begin to realize you have many enemies. It seems Sullie doesn’t live the cleanest life and borrowing money from a bad guy doesn’t help. So now the bad guys are out to collect the debt by finding El Dorado. Although it becomes apparent that El Dorado is not a city of gold but a man of gold.

Without getting too much into the story it will definately leave you filling your aderaline need. The gameplay is incredible in this game. The enemy A.I. starts off slow and quickly progresses as you get further into this game. Enemies will actually out manuever you. If you don’t plan out your attacks well you will find yourself dead. Although the battles are not the only thing you face in this game there are a number of puzzles that are not overlly difficult. What I do enjoy about this game is that it has a hint option. You can use it to help you in confusing spots. Although if you are more hardcore you will probably leave this option off. There are four difficulty levels and the toughest option is locked until you beat the game on hard. What is a first for a PS3 game is the reward system that is being used. There are 60 treasures that can be found througout your journey. On top of that there are objectives that you can try to complete. Some are simple like killing a certain amount of enemies with one of your weapons and others are more complex like getting a certain amount of stealth kills.

The visuals in this game are stunning and some of the best I have ever seen. What is good to watch is the incredible amount of detail put into everything. The jungle environments are lush and beautiful and the water effects are some of the best ever. Sometimes it is enjoyable just to stand and enjoy the beauty of the environment. Tree branches sway, clouds move, and leaves fly all over the place. This is as close to reality as I have seen.

If you own a PS3 this game is a must buy. To say the least it is one of the best games available on any console. The storyline is enjoyable and reminiscent of many great adventure movies. Uncharted sets a new bar on next gen games and hopefully others will follow with this excellent quality. If you like action and adventure and don’t mind being the star of a playable movie then Uncharted should be on your list.

Review by Mark Twain:

Uncharted is the most fun I’ve had with a game in a long time. The game-play is flawlessly implemented. There is an excellent balance between fun platforming and third person shooting with the best cover system I’ve seen in a game. In my opinion the cover system in Uncharted works better than Gears of War.

Visually this is the best looking console game ever made. Hands down, no question. As someone who enjoys immersion in games, I’ve never had a better experience with a video game.

Have you ever wanted to play a GOOD Indiana Jones game? Well, this is that game. The world, style, and humor is straight out of Indiana Jones. So you have a game set in a world that is much like Indiana Jones, and it just happens to have some of the best game play I’ve experienced in any game on any console. If you own a PS3, you simply must buy this game. If you don’t, I feel sorry for you. If you don’t own a PS3, you should buy one to play this game, and pick up Ratchet and Clank while you’re at it. You will not be disappointed.

Review by A. Dent:

RATING

I will begin with the rating part so that those who are already familiar with the PS3 line may save a little time.

On balance, I found the PS3 Slim or the ‘PS3 120GB’ to be a worthy addition to the current PS3 line. It comes with several major improvements over its predecessors and the ‘trade offs’ are few and, to most us, insignificant.

This how the new model compares to its predecessors:

PS3 SLIM vs. PS3 80/160GB

+ 0/200 less

+ Smaller

+ More energy efficient

+ More quiet operation

+ Cooler

+ Smaller Cell processor manufactured using a 45-nanometer manufacturing process

+ New, more advanced HDMI 1.3 chipset

+ Easier HDD upgrade

- No Linux support

- No on-off switch in the back

- Push rather than touch ‘On’ and ‘Eject’ buttons

- Not as pretty

= Unchanged game-playing experience

= Same great Blu-ray player

= Same PSP integration

= Same WiFi, Bluetooth built-in

= Same Dualshock 3 rumble, motion sensitive controller

= Same I/O options

The PS3 Slim is a superior product when compared with the PS3 80/160GB models. This relatively inexpensive, feature packed, versatile gaming machine, multimedia hub and outstanding Blu-ray player, earns back the 5th star that I granted the Classic models and I didn’t feel that the PS3 80/160GB models deserved.

Granted, when compared to the PS3 Classic, the PS3 Slim lacks PS2 compatibility, has 2 fewer USB ports and and it lacks media card slots but these shortcomings are offset by the significantly lower price, energy efficiency, larger storage and an updated CPU and HDMI. And, keeping hope alive by feeding it rumors, who knows? Sony just might add PS2 software emulation once it stops manufacturing the PS2 sometime, next year.

MY TEST DRIVE IMPRESSIONS

The good news is that you can do just about everything you did with the PS3 80/160GB models and in the exact same way. During my test ride, I was able to play all the games I brought with me without a problem, the Bluetooth remote controller was recognized immediately and so was the Playstation Eye. Both a USB-dongle full-size wireless keyboard, a USB-connected wired keyboard and Sony’s own Bluetooth mini-keyboard worked as expected. I was able to upload pictures, videos and music from a USB thumb drive and a USB-connected SATA 2.5″ hard disk and play them in the same way I do it on my own PS3. The person who allowed me the test drive suggested that I do not sign into the PSN but I have no doubt that the Slim behaves exactly like its predecessors on the PSN, running HOME or while browsing the Net.

The Slim has the exact same ports in the back, the same buttons in front – albeit ‘push’ buttons instead of the ‘touch’ buttons, the same 2 USB ports, comes with the same Dualshock 3 controller, USB cable and Composite AV cable accessories.

The older PS3s weren’t particularly noisy but the Slim seems to be more quiet and, after several hours of play, it didn’t get as warm as my Classic. The ONLY 2 USB ports bother me a little because I brought along the Eye, a USB-wired HDD, a USB keyboard and a dongle-based wireless keyboard. That meant that I had to do a lot of plugging and unplugging when testing. In real life, it’s not so convenient to charge a controller and access more than one USB-connected peripheral. There are third party generic USB hubs (ugly) or PS3-specific port extenders and media hubs that could be used to increase the number of USB ports and bring back the media card slots.

My overall impression of the Slim is “nothing new” at least on surface. The “cooler, quieter, smaller, more energy efficient” you don’t notice while playing a game or watching a movie. The really great news about the Slim is that so many more will be able to afford it and, with a larger user base, more developers will feel more strongly motivated to publish more, better games that all of us will enjoy.

THE SLIM (PS3) vs. THE ‘XBOX 360 ELITE FALL 2009′

This is not meant to be a ‘fan’ statement. I don’t own a Wii but I do own an Xbox 360 so I will be able to discuss PS3 Slim vs. Xbox 360 Elite and, hopefully, it may help a little those undecided between the two or those thinking about getting a PS3 as a second gaming console. Please be aware that, even though I own both consoles and I try to be as objective as possible, I do tend to favor the PS3.

Parity

——

- Storage: 120 GB on both systems

- CD, DVD playback: both

- Bluetooth/IR: Bluetooth included with PS3, Infrared remote for Xbox

- Community: PSN/Home memberships are free, Xbox Live includes free Silver membership and one-month Gold subscription, paid thereafter

Advantage PS3 Slim

——————

- Blu-ray: PS3 only. Blu-ray disks aren’t used for HD movie playback but to deliver games as well. Since they store several times more data than a DVD disk, PS3 games can be ‘bigger’ and be still delivered on one disk, eliminating the need for swapping during gameplay.

- WiFi: included with PS3, available as an add-on for Xbox.

- HDMI 1.3a on PS3 (more vivid colors, better sound) vs. HDMI 1.2 on Xbox

- Controller: wireless on both systems, rumble on both, PS3′s only is motion sensitive, rechargeable batteries built into PS3′s, Xbox rechargeable battery packs available for purchase.

- Integration with a handheld device: PS3 integrates with the PSP, the Xbox offers Zune integration. I would call it ‘advantage PS3′ because the Zune integration is limited to file transfers.

- Internal power supply: yes for the Slim, a large external ‘brick’ for the Xbox.

- Ability to upgrade the Hard Disk: the PS3 could use any cheap 2.5″ SATA on the market (a 500GB can be had for at the time of this writing and the existing PS3 disk can be recycled to upgrade a laptop or as external storage) without voiding the warranty. I am not aware Xbox HDD upgrades beyond 120GB but, judging by the 120GB upgrade HDD for the smaller models, they are likely to be proprietary, more expensive solutions.

- Slim comes with USB, Ethernet and Composite cables, Xbox has only Composite in the box.

Advantage Xbox 360 Elite Fall 2009

———————————-

- Headset: not included with PS3 but any Bluetooth device will work, wired headset included with Xbox Elite.

- Ethernet: PS3 supports Gigabit Ethernet, Xbox is limited to 100BASET-T.

- USB ports: Xbox comes with 3, Slim has only 2.

It seems that a PS3 Slim can be brought to parity with the Xbox 360 Elite by purchasing a Bluetooth headset (possibly for less than and that would make the PS3 a superior choice since the Xbox headset is wired to the controller. For the amount, the PS3 will match and surpass Xbox feature for feature if we don’t factor in exclusive Xbox games or unique Xbox Live features.

To bring the Xbox 360 Elite to parity with the PS3 one would need: a WiFi adapter () and rechargeable batteries (). I will not add the various cables to the list because, depending on setup, they may or may not be needed and PS3′s Gigabit Ethernet is not likely to make a difference in anyone’s gaming or movie streaming at this time. would bring the Xbox closer to the PS3 but the Xbox won’t support Blu-ray, does not have a motion sensitive controller, can’t function without an external power supply and, Zune withstanding, it does not integrate with a hand-held gaming device. In addition, continuing the Xbox Live Gold beyond the initial month would be another -50 per year for the life of the Elite.

I chose not to factor in the quality of available software because it’s impossible to be even remotely objective when it comes to judge Sony’s exclusives vs. Xbox exclusives. My guess is that, in the end, those who must have Halo will buy a Microsoft Xbox regardless of cost or other features and those who fall in love with Little Big Planet or Uncharted have no choice but a Sony PS3. The general consensus is that, at this time, the PS3 has the superior hardware (see above) while the Xbox has an advantage in exclusive titles and some exclusive content. In addition, many multiplatform games are developed on the Xbox first and then ported to the PS3. That can make the Xbox versions appear to be superior and, more importantly, the PS3 versions do not always take full advantage of PS3s superior hardware. This seems to be less the case as developers are becoming more familiar with the PS3 platform – the software gap, if there is one at this time, it is closing fast.

ESSENTIAL ADD-ONS AND ACCESSORIES

For those who decided that the PS3 Slim is what they wanted, the list below may help them budget for the extra purchases they may want to consider. There are surprisingly few extra a PS3 REALLY needs and I listed them in order from what I view as the more to the less important or needed. Those at the top are, in my view, more ‘essential’ than the ones at the bottom, but with the exception of the HDMI cable which is a must have for an HD TV set, you could easily do without the rest or get them later if you really feel that you want them.

- HDMI CABLE – It’s a must for anyone who already has an HD TV. It’s not included in the box and I am not going to provide a link because there are dozens of vendors at Amazon, competing and that’s a good thing because one can be had for only a few dollars. Just make sure it’s HDMI 1.3. A ‘High-Speed’ rating is not necessarily a plus if the cable you need is only 3 ft. or 6 ft. long. All HDMI 1.3 cables should be High-Speed rated and only High-Speed cables support 1080p resolutions. At these lengths, paying a premium for ‘quality’ can’t be justified because the odds for the digital signal to be misinterpreted are close to non-existent.

- REMOTE CONTROL – Unless your HD TV supports CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) which allows for the user to command and control multiple CEC-enabled boxes with one remote control and for CEC capable devices to command and control each other, Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote could make the operation of the PS3 a lot easier when you are not playing a game. It’s optimized for movie viewing but XMB navigation, running slide shows and shopping at the PSN store are easier with the remote control because it does not need two hands to be operated. In fact, it can be operated with one thumb.

- WIRELESS HEADSET – This is the one important component that the Elite bundle includes (theirs is wired) and the PS3 does not. Any Bluetooth headset would do which is why I am not going to insert a link to Sony’s product or to anyone else’s.

- SECOND DUALSHOCK 3 CONTROLLER – Even if you play solo only, a second controller may be charging while the other is in use.

- USB PORT EXTENDER – Again, there are many competing offers. I would prefer one where the ports are powered. Some singing games may come with their own extenders.

- PS3 EYE CAMERA – This is not exactly a ‘must have’ but it’s definitely a ‘very nice to have’ as the Eye is not only a camera but also a stereo microphone – depending on your needs, it may eliminate the need for a headset. I obtained mine cheaply, with a used copy of Eye of Judgment. If you decide to go that route, be VERY careful and ensure that the camera is indeed included before your order.

- MEDIA CARD READERS – They would plug into a USB port and will allow your PS3 to read/write to Media/Multimedia/Secure Digital, Memory Stick (PRO), Compact Flash, or XD Picture cards. They can be had for anything from to .

________________________________________________

Note 1: MY OWN BIAS

We own a ‘Classic’ 60GB PS3, currently upgraded to 320GB, DualShock 3 and complemented with various peripherals: PS3 Eye, Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel, Bluetooth keyboard attachment, headset… etc. We also own an Xbox 360 Elite, 3 PSP 3000′s (got 3 kids) and a second-hand DS. We used to have a PS2 but we sold it shortly after purchasing the PS3. I’ve helped several of my neighbors purchase, install and upgrade their own PS3′s. I am posting this review because I had the opportunity to test drive a PS3 Slim for several hours a couple of nights before the official launch – someone I know works at a store that sells gaming consoles.

Speaking for myself only, I tend to favor the PS3 for several reasons and here they are:

- WiFi – This is a major convenience for me. I hate ‘wires’ and the PS3 has the WiFi built in and it’s VERY easy to set up.

- Blu-ray – I was an early adopter and I haven’t bought ‘new’ DVDs in more than a year. Having the PS3 doubling up as a Blu-ray player is another major convenience for me.

- HDD Storage upgrade – I don’t believe that 120GB is sufficient these days and our console has exceeded the 120GB threshold already after lots of downloaded games and movies and transferring thousands of photos and songs to it. A PS3 can be easily and inexpensively upgraded to 500GB today and this is a big plus.

- Little Big Planet – It’s a Sony exclusive and my kids just love this game. They would probably run away and resettle with a family that has LBP if I got rid of the PS3.

________________________________________________

Note 2: THE SLIM’S SPECS AND FEATURES

- 45nm, 7-core Cell processor CPU

- RSX – Based on NV47 Chip (Nvidia GeForce 7800 Architecture) for graphics

- Updated HDMI chipset (bitstreams hi-res DTS-HD, TrueHD)

- 256MB XDR Main RAM and 256MB GDDR3 VRAM memory

- 120GB Hard disk – 2.5″ SATA – can be replaced with any 2.5″ SATA and a compatible 500GB HDD can be had for about at the time I write this review

- Blu-ray 2.0 player (possibly still the best) that also plays DVDs and CDs

- Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T wired networking

- WiFi 802.11 b/g (from 10 Mbps up to 54 Mbps) – wireless networking I couldn’t live without

- Bluetooth 2.0 for game controller, headsets, keyboards and so on

- Video resolution up to 1080p

- Audio supported: LPCM 7.1, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC

- Other outputs: HDMI, Optical, Composite AV

- Other I/O: 2 High-speed USB 2.0 ports

- Power: dual 120/240V

- Power consumption: 250W

- Weight: about 7 lbs.

- Dimensions: about 12″ x 2.5″ x 12″ (my measurements)

- Included controller: DUALSHOCK 3

- Included cables: USB and Composite AV, power chord

Additional features:

- Displays JPEG stills.

- Multi-featured, surprisingly good slide show functionality.

- Plays MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4/h.264 videos.

- Bitstreams DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD to receiver

- Upconverts DVDs to 1080p over HDMI

- XMB in-game access.

- In-game and off-game text and voice chat (headset, keyboard or Eye are needed).

- Video chat with up to six people (PlayStation Eye is required)

- Can discover media servers on the home network and stream content from any DLNA-compliant device.

- Web browser (still has some usability and compatibility issues) but plays YouTube well.

- Google Web search.

- Remote play on a PSP connected to any wireless access point – play music, videos, show pics, turn on the PS3 remotely if on stand-by

- Upload PSP games purchased from the PSN Store to the PSP.

- Online software updates improve PS3 functionality and keep the Blu-ray player features current.

- Online third party updates.

- Online gameplay.

- Download and play PS3 games and demos from the PSN store.

- Download and play PSOne games.

- Download and play movies and shows from the PSN store.

- Supports HDMI Consumer Electronic Control (HDMI-CEC) – control the Slim through the remote of any CEC-enabled TV such as a Bravia.

________________________________________________

Note 3: HDD UPGRADE

If you are on the upgrade path, less than would buy you a 500GB drive. The one that I tested would be the 500GB Scorpio Blue Mobile Sata 5400RPM 8MB 2.5IN which replaced my laptop’s 60GB drive and a friend’s 80GB PS3 HDD. The nice thing about upgrading your disk is that you are also going to be left with a perfectly good 80GB or 0GB or 120GB drive which you can place into a cheap enclosure, and the StarTech AT2510U2 InfoSafe 2.5-Inch USB/SATA Hard Drive Enclosure worked for me. After I upgraded my own console to 320Gb, I used the free leftover drive as a backup device for family photos.

Review by Alric Knebel:

Let me start out by saying that I’m currently 56 years old and everything I know about video game consoles can fit on a fingernail clipping. A couple of years ago, my companion bought me a PS2, because she had recalled my mentioning in passing (after seeing advertisements for some pretty interesting sci-fi-themed games) that I was curious about what’s going on in that medium. The game technology seemed to have progressed light years since I last paid attention, sometime in the late 80s, early 90s, which went something like this: you start out with some objective, and then the game play steadily quickens until you eventually lose against the computer. It was very dull. After she bought me the PS2, the only game I bought was Grand Tourismo 4 (she had given me with the console itself Superman Returns, but I didn’t like it), with which I relaxed by racing the realistically rendered cars around some impressively detailed tracks, but never getting into the more sophisticated levels of the game. Then about four months ago, my son lent me Resident Evil 4. Of course, you gamers know this was a benchmark in game development, and can understand why I became completely immersed in it. It was truly a creepy experience. You weren’t just WATCHING a horror movie; you were IN it. Here I was, at my age, suddenly finding myself lost for literally hours a day — one weekend, twenty hours straight; my body ached — then thinking about the game when I wasn’t playing it, looking forward to the moment I could resume the story. After I beat it, I went through it three more times. Then I bought God of War II, quite by accident (I selected it for the price, a mere ), unaware that this, too, was a hit game, and another benchmark. The graphics were so good, so stunning, so grand and sweeping, I played it six times. Again, hours seemed like minutes; I’d simply lose time. I was now addicted, and taking into account how good a PS2 was, I figured that the PS3 — with its Blu-ray technology — had to be out-of-this-world incredible. Four weeks ago, I bought this PS3 slim, and it has given me enjoyment that made it worth every penny, and then some.

I can’t speak to the technical specifications of the PS3, or how it compares to other consoles. I’m writing instead to other middle-aged customers who might have stumbled on this page, perhaps shopping for some young relative — son or daughter; niece or nephew; or grandchild — to suggest that you should consider buying one of these babies for yourself. This is one powerful piece of entertainment technology. Not only does it exceed my expectations as a game console, it’s also a BD player, and using the WiFi connection, it permits access to the PlayStation Store, for free demos and exclusive content; plus BD live material, and downloading movies and TV episodes; and you can import your CDs to the PS3′s hard drive, to create playlists or just randomize the tracks for playback. It’s become a virtual media center for me.

And the game play? Oh, man. The PS3 advances even further the features that make gaming so addictive. To those of you who snuff that it’s a juvenile waste of time, I suggest you ask yourself, is it any different from watching sitcoms or reality TV? A video game requires you to REACT, to THINK, to ANALYZE. That is NOT overstating the stimulative benefits. While they are in fact merely games, game-play itself is a complete immersion in an experience, while requiring good hand-eye coordination and some mental agility. All the games I’ve played so far included puzzles as part of the story, and it’s a very satisfying feeling when you finally solve a particularly challenging one.

If the middle-aged shopper I’m imagining I’m writing to is inclined to wonder if all that tapping on those buttons in specific patterns is difficult to learn, this is my honest answer: At first, yes, it is. But eventually your fingers learn what button is where, and it becomes second nature, like typing. To those even older, it’s recommended by doctors that as you age, you need new stimuli to keep your acuity. You won’t find a more fun way to do so than this. Ignore your previous misconception that video games are for teenagers. An article in USA TODAY from 2004 stated that “. . . the average age of game players was 29 and the average age of buyers was 36, with men making up 59% of the playing audience.” So you can add about five years to those figures, making the average age of video game BUYERS about 40. I have spent untold hours on my PS3, and connected to my 47″ HDTV, it’s the ultimate entertainment. The graphics are sharp and clear, movement of characters is realistic, making it even easier to get totally engaged in the environments. I just finished Batman: Arkham Asylum, a great game with easily mastered moves, some tough puzzles, and a very dark, decayed ambiance.

True gamers who are reading this are probably chuckling right now, because this is all pretty much a no-duh to them. Well, let me offer a hardy THANK YOU for supporting the industry with enough of your dollars to permit it to advance as an entertainment medium in such awesome bounds. This is the next step toward the future of the ultimate video game experience. Oh, what will the technology deliver? A virtual reality, perhaps?

_________________________________________

Review by A. Dent:

< BEGIN REVIEW >

Briefly, the PS3-250 is the exact original PS3 ‘Slim’ with a twice as large hard disk.

I had the opportunity to actually see and use a PS3-250 on the Sunday prior to its launch. As I expected, the only difference between the ps3-250 and the PS3-120 is the larger disk with everything else the same. Many reviews of the PS3-120 are HERE.

< END OF REVIEW >

Once the decision was made to get a PS3, 2 important questions might be:

- Which model to buy? PS3-120 or PS3-250?

- To upgrade or not to upgrade to a 500/640GB PS3?

Based on personal experience and the experience of other PS3 owners that I know, the options are the following – remember, these are my views:

PS3-120, no upgrade

———————

Buy a PS3-120 and do not upgrade if you use it mainly to play movies and you rarely download games from the PSN store. It will take you very far and it should have sufficient room for storing thousands of pictures and a lot of music besides it playing Blu-ray content and CDs.

I found that 120GB would not be enough for me. After a couple of years of use, with a few downloaded games, many more demos, lots of pictures and songs and some videos the kids made with the PS3 Eye we’ve breached the 120GB threshold. I would not worry about that if all I wanted was one of the better Blu-ray players. In addition, anybody comfortable with backing up/restoring the PS3 and upgrading the disk can postpone the upgrade step for later.

PS3-250, no upgrade

———————

Buy a PS3-250 and do not upgrade if you do plan to download a few movies and games but not a lot of them AND/or you don’t feel comfortable with upgrading your PS3 yourself.

Anyone who is not an almost-exclusive movie viewer and doesn’t want to mess with screws and OEM disks should buy the PS3-250. It should have enough capacity to last for quite a few years with good disk space management (delete the demos and downloads you no longer need).

PS3-120 upgrade to 500/640GB

——————————

Buy a PS3-120 and upgrade it to 500/640GB IF you don’t mind swapping the PS3′s disk. You get to upgrade your PS3-120 to quadruple capacity for very little expense and probably for less than a PS3-250 would cost you (see next paragraph). This should buy you peace of mind for the rest of your PS3′s lifespan.

Keep in mind that a 500GB HDD such as the 500GB Scorpio Blue Mobile Sata 5400RPM 8MB 2.5IN or the Western Digital 640 GB SATA OEM Notebook Hard Drive WD6400BEVT (Scorpio Blue) if you don’t mind the extra expense can be had for about 90 dollars at the time I am writing this. That would make a 500GB upgraded PS3-120 appear a little more expensive than the PS3-250 BUT you are left with a brand-new 120GB HDD (the drive originally in the PS3) when you are done and you can either sell it or use it as an external USB-powered backup drive or maybe to upgrade your laptop’s drive. This would effectively set the price of the 500GB upgraded console to match that of the PS3-250.

There are many online guides that detail the process. I will post a couple URL’s in a comment to this review.

PS3-250 upgrade to 500/640GB (not recommended)

————————————————

Do NOT buy a PS3-250 if you are planning to upgrade it to 500/640GB unless you really need a spare 250GB external HDD instead of a spare 120GB HDD and think that the price difference is worth the larger spare drive.

EVALUATION

The PS3-250 while not for everyone, deserves its 5 stars. In my view, there is enough value added by doubling the storage capacity to justify the price difference over the PS3-120.

______________________________________

NOTE: If you want to upgrade you are better off if you upgrade immediately.

This way you avoid the backup/restore hassles and therefore greatly simplify the process. I would include the upgrade HDD on the same order with the new PS3 and maybe add a HDD enclosure if planning to use the drive I removed from the PS3 as an external drive.

Review by J. Gary:

I had no idea which unit to buy, the 120 or the 250 GB Playstation 3. I ended up with the 250 out of fear that the 120 would leave me desiring more space later. If you don’t know anything, here is what I see so far. On the Playstation network, you can download game demos and marketing videos for games free. I haven’t found myself doing this a lot yet. Of course, you can also delete them easily after you watch them.

Most playable games even old ones cost to download so I have decided to just buy a couple of the popular ones and am hooked on those and the stunning DVD and Blu Ray movie quality for now. You are not going to be able to download games like Modern Warefare 2 to your hard drive from the PS network that I can see. WHen you buy a game at the store or here on amazon in disc format, you have to install it first. This may take some hard drive space. So far, one game I have takes nearly 3 GB and another takes up less than 1 GB but the games also called for an update download which I don’t know how much space that took. At this rate, you could install maybe 100 store bought disc format games.

Playing movies on disc doesn’t seem to take hard drive space. You can download movies from the Playstation network. If you do much of this, I image you’ll need more space but the movies I was interested in cost the same amount to buy from amazon or wal-mart as to download so if you can wait to go to the store or recieve a package, you don’t need to download it. You can rent movies also. I imagine this is a download that is disabled after a time period or after it is viewed or something. You can also download TV shows like “The Office” for an eposode. If you want to do a lot of that, maybe the bigger HD is a good idea.

I am thinking you would do well with just the 120GB unless you know you are going to make a collection of movies and TV shows and low priced downloadable games on your Playstation.

You can also save photos on the Playstation as well as video. If this is part of your plan, well again more space may help. The PS3 has USB ports where I believe you could load photos and home movies from to view on your TV.

You can also access your applications on the www like facebook.

Bare in mind that there are a lot of folkes out there with older PS3′s that have only 40 and 80 GB drives who love their playstation and don’t feel the need for the 250 GB drive.

I don’t feel upset that I spent the extra to get the larger drive because it might be useful later, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have been comfortable buying the 120 for my purposes which is playing a small number of games (not a small amount of time, just a small number of games because they cost a lot) and watching some Blu Ray movies.

If you still find it hard to make a decision, ask yourself if you want to spend more money because both models are the same except the HD size which you can upgrade later. By the time you buy the unit, HD cable, a game, maybe another controller and remote control for Blu Ray, you’ll be in deep on the expense and maybe another isn’t acceptable.

It is a very good and fun product. After I spent all the money on what I needed, I debated on hooking it up or sending it back because it was a lot of money; I’m very glad I hooked it up and delt with the expense. It is everything I hoped.

Review by A. Dent:

I did not think I needed yet another remote control because I thought the six-axis had everything it needed for movie playing on the PS3 and, yet, I bought one. There were 2 initial reasons:

- my wife was missing a ‘magic wand’ shaped remote for playing movies

- Amazon had it at a great price in one of them lightning deals

I ended up using it myself and, in fact, using it for more than just movie playing – see below.

But, let’s do a quick inventory of features:

= It’s blue-tooth enabled and, therefore, it’s not taking any ports on your PS3. This is probably important for anyone who has a “2-USB ports console”.

= It’s wand-shaped, allowing the non-gamers to control their movie-watching activities while holding a familiar-shaped device in their hand.

= It maps ALL the six-axis buttons and performs everything a six-axis would do, except for the joystick features of R3 and L3 (but you do have the push-down or ‘click’ abilities for them).

= 2 AA battery powered (still with the original Sony batteries after 4 months of use)

= Includes additional buttons that the movie-only users would expect on a remote such as:

+ a number pad

+ eject

+ red, green, blue, yellow buttons

+ play, stop, pause

+ slow(step), scan(left/right), prev/next

+ display, top menu, pop up menu, return

+ subtitles, angle, audio

What is interesting about this remote is that you can use it for much more than movie-playing. Given that it has all the six-axis buttons, guess what? You can use it, and I do use it to:

- surf the web

- play music

- shop at the PSN store

- play certain games such as Sudoku

- turn the PS3 on/off when your six-axis controllers are in the charger and I am playing GT5 that is using a racing wheel

And, yes, you CAN turn the PS3 on and off with this remote. Turning it on is easy – you simply press the PlayStation button and the PS3 turns itself on. To turn it off, you either go as far to the left on the X-bar and all the way up and press Enter (the turn-off PlayStation icon will be highlighted) or you simply hold the PlayStation button pressed for a few seconds and then select ‘yes’ and press the X button a couple of times.

Overall: I am happy with this peripheral. Yes, it’s one more remote control but it’s a pretty good one, for the reasons I stated above.

_______________________________

Notes – Aug 29, 2009, after 16 months of use

I find that I’m using the remote more and more, not only for playing movies but for navigating the XMB and at the PSN Store, also when playing music or slideshows. Due to its very convenient arrows wheel with an ‘enter’ button in the middle, navigating the PS3 and doing just about anything other than playing games is a lot easier than using the PS3 game controller. Unlike the controller which normally requires two hands to hold, this is basically a one-hand operation where you hold the remote in one hand and operate the wheel with your thumb. And because it’s Bluetooth, not IR (Infrared), you don’t even need to point it at the PS3.

And, one word on battery life. After about 15-16 months of operation, this is probably the third set of batteries so I’d estimate battery life to be about 4-6 months. Not too bad.

Review by Lisa Shea:

Most PS3 owners enjoy not only the gaming abilities of their system, but also the built in Blu-Ray DVD player. The Sony remote control accessory lets you play those movies with great ease.

The remote combines the regular buttons of our other DVD players with the funky look of the PS3. You have a red, green, blue and yellow button – labelled with their color names! You also get a circle, X, square and triangle to do a few things like brinigng up the options and back choices.

The main buttons – play, stop, forward, back – are laid out reasonably nicely at the bottom of the remote with large buttons. There are small buttons up on top for the number keys, and a very tiny eject button.

Missing completely is a power button!! You have to hit the PS button in the center and go through the regular PS3 menus to get the power to turn off. In fact, while I was writing this review, I accidentally hit a button on the remote and the PS3 turned on. We were watching regular TV, so now I have to wait until our show is over, switch over to the PS3 and use the buttons to turn the system back off again. That doesn’t make much sense at all to me.

Also, on our Oppo DVD remote, the buttons glow which makes it REALLY nice to use in the dark or dim light that most people watch movies in. This unit is completely black with black buttons. This makes it pretty much useless in low light conditions until you memorize all of the button locations. You would think by now that remote control makers would have their buttons backlit or at least glow-in-the-dark to handle this.

The unit takes two AA batteries which makes it a bit heavy, but certainly within the normal range of remotes.

It’s easy enough to sync up the remote with the PS3. It’s bluetooth powered, so you go into the PS3 menu and use the options there to indicate you have a new remote. Note that the base level PS3 will not handle this – you have to have a connection to the internet from your PS3 and run an update routine. If you don’t have an internet connection for your PS3, you have to create an update CD on your PC to do this update.

Well recommended – but it really could be much better to be great.

Review by Bradford Schmidt:

A lot of people have written about the pros and cons of the PS3 vs. XBOX 360 vs. Wii. I’m not bothering with that, and assume you can find that information at elsewhere. I’m also assuming you can read all about why the PS3 would or would not fit your needs.

Instead, I’d like this review to explain what exactly this configuration is (there’s a lot of confusion about that,) and why I think it hits the sweet spot. Basically, there are currently 2 versions of the PS3 on the market now. Ignoring the size of the drive for a second (because you can always swap the drive anyway, and it has no real bearing on the rest of the specs) think of them as Version A (currently available – or not as the case may be – in the PlayStation 3 80 GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Pack) and Version B (this one.)

The first thing that you need to understand is that there are three relevant differences between these two versions besides the included bundle and the price (the MGS one is 9 from amazon, more from third parties.)

Difference #1: Version A (MGS pack) is backward compatible with PS2 games while this one is NOT (they are both backward compatible with PS1 games however.)

Difference #2: Version A has 4 USB ports as well as memory card slots, while this version has only 2 USB ports and NO memory card slots.

Difference #3: AND THIS FOR ME IS BIG: Version A has the older and larger 90nm Cell processor, while this one has the smaller (and some say more reliable) 65nm Cell processor. Power consumption on this unit is lower as well, dropping from 200 Watts to 135 watts. The end result is a machine that runs cooler and, according to all reports as well as my personal experience, much quieter. An extremely relevant factor if you watch movies with it.

For those that have been looking for a while, this is basically the 40GB machine that was offered recently, with a larger hard drive and an upgraded controller – they replaced the basic sixaxis controller with the Dualshock 3 controller (which means it has rumble.)

Now Version A is packaged with Metal Gear Solid. It has an 80GB drive like this one, and the same controller. The big differences are listed above. Until this configuration was released, the larger hard drive and Dualshock controller were 2 of the 4 reasons many people felt the MGS pack was worth the additional 0. Those two factors are now eliminated. The remaining differences are the backward compatibility with PS2 games and the MGS game itself, which can of course be bought separately.

So to sum it up, if you NEED PS2 compatibility, you might want to grab the MGS pack if you can get one – that or keep your old PS2. For new buyers though, and for all of the people that are going to just play PS3 games, as well as avid movie watchers, this particular configuration is fantastic. You get the big drive, the good controller, PLUS the cooler running chip, a quieter machine and a system that uses about 33% less power.

And ok – just to satisfy the basic requirements of a review, I’ll list some other nice stuff: It includes a Blu-ray DVD player (one of those runs almost as much as, or more than, this entire box), the online play is FREE, wireless connectivity is built in (you don’t have to buy an additional piece as with some others), reliability has been quite good (much better than some others), there are some great PS3-only titles, and you can stream media to it from your PC. There’s more, but there are plenty of people outlining it.

As always, do your research and see what’s best for you. Maybe the 360-only titles are must haves for you, or maybe your family fits a Wii. We have a Wii and I love it. But I also love my PS3, and in my opinion this configuration is the one to get (this month anyway.)

Review by John Schinter:

The Playstation 3 is an incredible Blue Ray Player, that has features NOT available in any other Blue Ray Player. I am not a game player – and simply bought this unit as a Blue Ray and DVD player. However – on comparison, there are so many benefits compared to other Blue Ray players.

Here are the surprise benefits you get from this INCREDIBLE technology vs. a regular Blue Ray Player:

1. Picture Quality – SUPERB (Easily compares to most expensive Blue Ray Players)

2. REGULAR DVD’s PLAY IN A HIGHER RESOLUTION – Incredible difference to a regular DVD player.

3. Wireless INTERNET Connection – Surf web on your TV. (NO WIRES REQUIRED)

4. Automatic BLUE RAY format Updates (FREE and AUTOMATIC) – Upgrades as technology changes.

5. HARD Drive (80 GB) – Store movies, music, etc.

6. Beautiful Black Console – Doesn’t look like a game player on shelf.

7. EASY to set-up (Ready in a few minutes)

8. LOWER PRICED – All these unique features, at a lower price than the other Blue Ray players

I have no idea why anyone would ever consider a standard BLUE RAY or DVD player once you have had a chance to try out the features of the PS3. Having the internet on our TV allows us full access to news, weather, radio, music video’s, etc.

I was told that low price BLUE RAY players cannot play many movies and DVD’s because the BLUE RAY format is constantly changing – and the Playstation 3 is the ONLY BLUE RAY unit to have automatic updates that will correct for new Blue Ray formats in the future.

NO COMPARISON – Hands down BEST BLUE RAY Player with the most features on the market!

HIGEST POSSIBLE RATING………

Review by The Matrix Fan:

Well folks, now that the dust has settled from the Sony vs. Immersion lawsuit, Playstation 3 owners are finally able to feel the vibe again!

I purchased this controller today and I knew the only way to properly road-test it was on the game that made the Dualshock famous, Metal Gear Solid. After booting up the game, I walked down the hallway and got spotted by a guard. As he shouted, “WHO’S THAT?” the controller jumped in my hand – and I knew this was a smart purchase. As the guards shot at me, I felt the feedback of the bullets, just as I had 10 years ago on my Sony Playstation.

I picked out another old school Playstation game, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. From Ayame’s blades to Rikimaru’s sword, each sword swipe and jump had excellent feedback.

Okay, so my Playstation games worked out. But what about my Playstation 2 library?

I popped in God of War, knowing I had to feel the swing of the Blades of Chaos. The controller vibrations felt a little lighter here, but the vibrations still occurred at the appropriate times.

Then I chose Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction. Who better to test a vibration controller than the Sultan of Smash? All the power jumps and smashes had the vibrations intact, but they still felt a little on the light side.

All right, so far I was two for two with my Playstation and Playstation 2 test subjects. But what about my Playstation 3 games? Could I possibly hit a trifecta?

I put in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and I decided to jump right into a heated firefight. The controller gave me feedback while shooting weapons and getting hit by enemy fire, but I knew my purchase was justified when Drake was near death: I FELT THE DUALSHOCK 3 PULSING IN SYNCH WITH DRAKE’S HEARTBEAT. It’s one thing to hear that noise and know he’s near death, it’s quite another to feel the pulse in my own hands.

Okay, so the feedback on the older games was there, but a little lighter than I remember. The reason? Well, when I decided to go wireless on my Playstation 2 system, I bought a Logitec Dualshock controller. It turns out, that controller takes two “AA” batteries, and the vibration motors inside the controller handles are slightly larger than the ones in the Dualshock 3. That’s where I felt the difference.

The Dualshock 3 vibrations may be slightly less than the Logitec controller, but it doesn’t require the purchase of batteries.

The Dualshock 3 may be slightly heavier than the SixAxis, but it doesn’t take up any extra space at all.

Sure, the price is about more than the SixAxis, but it’s a worthy upgrade for the Playstation 3 gamer who kicks it old school as well as new school. The only other drawback is the lack of an additional USB cable – but we can use the one that came with the system itself.

So what’s the final verdict?

Order it, plug it in, charge it up, and get ready for the inevitable downloads from the Playstation Store to make the older PS3 games Dualshock 3 compatible.

I wouldn’t recommend a feedback peripheral without providing my own feedback…

Enjoy!

Review by Sebastian Fernandez:

I was already extremely happy with the Sixaxis controller, but I could not resist getting the DualShock 3. Not only do you get the rumble, but also, it feels much better in your hands, even for those games that do not use this feature. The rumble function is fun, but on top of that, it helps with gameplay, because “feeling” what is happening provides a lot more feedback than just watching how your character or car reacts to the environment.

The biggest surprise of all was that the rumble works with PS 2 games in the PS 3 system. I am currently playing through “God of War”, a game which had the rumble capability in PS 2. I thought that it was unlikely that I was going to get this feature with this new controller in the PS 3, but it worked perfectly.

I know that having to buy a new controller and basically discard the one that came with the system is not the ideal situation, but I have to say this product is really worth shedding the extra bucks.

Review by Lisa Shea:

We got our hands on an XBox 360, a PS3, and a Wii on launch day. Each is good at specific tasks. Here is a fully unbiased review of how the PS3 performs as a next generation console unit.

To start with, the PS3, like the XBox 360, supports full high definition. The Wii only supports a lower resolution. Since the Wii has a much lower price tag, that is a fair trade-off for people with a tighter budget. Gamers for whom a very high level of graphic detail is important will have to pony up for that ability.

Along the same lines, the XBox 360 supports the HD format of high definition DVDs for movies, while the PS3 supports the Blu-ray format. If you haven’t been following the whole format war for high definition DVDs, I have several articles on the topic on my gaming site. In short it’s like the VHS/Beta wars when the VCR first came out. Is one better than the other? Will one format win out as the sole survivor? There’s no way to tell. People will argue vehemently that one is better than the other. From a gaming point of view, the PS3 has the Blu-ray BUILT IN meaning every game can have 50 GIGS worth of game information. Think MASSIVELY huge maps, types of characters, etc. The XBox 360 only uses “regular” DVDs as its base game holder, which is about 7 GIG. That is much smaller. You can buy an add-on HD DVD unit for about 0 (shop around – they’re there at that price) but the storage is still smaller than Blu-ray – about 30 gig.

People will argue about graphics until they’re blue A lot of this comes down to how a specific game company *uses* the ability of the system. Looking at graphics on a tetris-like game will be much different than viewing the graphics of Oblivion or Gears of War. I found 360 graphics amazing on Oblivion. I equally found the PS3 graphics quite impressive on Genji’s cut scenes (no enemy crabs in sight). Since both are high definition, I think that both have the same potential in real life terms. Both really shine in terms of fluid motion, precise detail and realism. I’ve seen it on both systems, on certain games. I’ve also seen junky graphics on both systems. Both are much better than the Wii.

How about sound? All of these can plug into your stereo system. My boyfriend and I are both musicians. We have decibel meters and other sound-sensing tools. All three systems can create amazingly complex sounds, music, and in general a “gaming environment”. Again I think it comes down to specific game makers, how they choose to use or not use that ability. It also comes down to how much you the gamer spent on your stereo system

Speaking of sound, I do have to comment that our 360 is quite loud when it runs, despite our many attempts to help it be quieter. The PS3 right out of the box is MUCH quieter. Score 1 point for the PS3.

On the general operating system for the units, all three consoles are going for more of a “general use entertainment system” presentation. The XBox has customizeable tabs that let you download new games, manage your environment and so on. The Wii also has channels that let you organize your gaming world. The PS3 has an interface almost exactly like that of the PSP, complete with cool drifting smoke waves in the background. You choose which area you want to work on – game, music, internet connection etc., and drop down to alter whatever feature you’re interested in.

So on to the on-line aspect, which most gamers are now fully interested in. Where the XBox 360 makes you buy an external connector for wireless, the PS3 has that built-in on the 60 gig model. The 20 gig model still requires an external connector (these run about 0). All will let you plug in a cable if you’re still running a wired household.

[UPDATED JUNE 2007] Back during launch, people thought 20 gig was great and that 60 gig was overkill for a gaming system. After all, the XBox 360 had 20 gig as their top end. Now, only a few months later, Sony has discontinued their 20 gig as “too small”. XBox has the Elite model with 120 gig. The difference is as that gamers are converting their focus from audio storage to video storage, and high def video at that. People are downloading and enjoying movies and TV shows on their consoles. It’s something to consider, if you will be doing that with your console.

How does the online world work on the PS3? The XBox definitely has the advantage here. Until this generation, *only* the XBox had a thriving community in their live world. The XBox 360 connected right into that XBox Live world, and they boast a *huge* community of gamers who actively gain points, play online and form virtual worlds. The PS3 and Wii both have to play catch-up at this point. Even if they have better interfaces, it’s a matter of converting over all those players who have clans, familiarity and high point collections on the XBox world. Imagine if a new MMORPG came out right now that had fantastic graphics. Sure it might be wonderful – but will you really get all 800 trillion WOW players to drop their world and characters and friends to convert, especially if it costs more? It’ll be a hard, slow sell.

My summary? I definitely think all three have great games and that all three are worth owning. Of course I’m in a position that I *can* afford all three, which many people are not in. For example, I *love* the Zelda series, and I *love* the Final Fantasy series. I would be hard put to tell a person “you need to get Zelda instead of Final Fantasy”. I would want the person to have both, because both are great for different reasons. If you really truly can only save up for one of the three consoles, it isn’t going to come down to which console is “best” for all players in some sort of a global way. It is going to come down to which console is best for YOU based on your specific gaming style.

If you’re on a really tight budget and just want something better than the previous generation, go for a Wii. It’s cheap, the graphics are better, and the remotes are great fun. It has Zelda If you have a larger budget and really want the high definition, you’re now choosing between the 360 and the PS3. You really do have to look at the specifics of each, and think seriously about your gaming style, to see which matches you best. If I were to make a flip summarization, if you really love online gameplay, I’d go with the XBox 360. Its years of head-start really give it a robust environment here. If you are looking for more of a home-based one-machine media center for your MPs3, photos and huge world gameplay, I’d go with the PS3. It definitely has the advantage on large scale games.

Feel free to email me if you have more specific questions, or for screenshots, graphic descriptions, or interface information on any of the three systems.

Review by Porfie Medina:

I have to say I have never been a Sony Playstation fan. I just grew up with Nintendo and loved their games Like Super Mario Bros and The Zelda franchise. When I heard what the SONY playstation 3 was about and how it supported blu-ray and high definition games I only hoped that the system would live up to the hype. After finally getting my hands on one a little bit before Christmas I have to say the SONY Playstation 3 is one amazing system and was worth the wait. As for the games there are not many that show the true potential of this amazing system just yet though many are still a blast to play. I do have to say the Motor Storm Demo in (720p) and Gran Turismo HD demo (1080p) show an amazing amount of detail and some parts look like reality especially on a True HD TV capable of 1080p. I have this connected to my SONY KDL-46XBR3 46 inch Bravia 1080p HDTV LCD TV and the playstation 3 allows me to see what a HD tv is capable of when given great content. Most of the Blu-ray movies look amazing (Crank, Invincible, The Devil Wears Prada, Black Hawk Down) but some movies on blu-ray look just above DVD quality like The Covenant and Silent Hill. I guess that depends on the quality of the transfer of the film. The motion sensor bluetooth controls are great. I am really glad Sony released their new Bluetooth Play station 3 Blue-Ray DVD Remote (item #B000M17AVO here on Amazon) because it makes navigating the blue-ray movies so much easier than the regular controls. I like the fact that the system has online connectivity and that it also has a built in browser should you just want to surf the internet. Most of all I like the fact that the 60 gig model gives a built in Wi-fi connection so if you all ready have internet access you just have to buy a wi-fi router (I use the Linksys WRT54GS Wireless-G Broadband Router item #WRT54GS here on Amazon) and pop in the CD that comes with the router. Follow the simple instructions and bam you have your ps3 on line wi-fi and free from all those extra wires. You can even download your favorite music/videos to the ps3 hard drive and if available online it will display the artist names and songs. You can even connect a USB keyboard (along with almost any type of USB device) to make surfing the internet faster and more enjoyable. I have to say I am very happy with giving the Playstation 3 a chance and I highly recommend it for anyone who appreciates a great game system with some awesome entertainment features.

Review by A. Dent:
RATING

I will begin with the rating part so that those who are already familiar with the PS3 line may save a little time.

On balance, I found the PS3 Slim or the ‘PS3 120GB’ to be a worthy addition to the current PS3 line. It comes with several major improvements over its predecessors and the ‘trade offs’ are few and, to most us, insignificant.

This how the new model compares to its predecessors:

PS3 SLIM vs. PS3 80/160GB

+ 0/200 less

+ Smaller

+ More energy efficient

+ More quiet operation

+ Cooler

+ Smaller Cell processor manufactured using a 45-nanometer manufacturing process

+ New, more advanced HDMI 1.3 chipset

+ Easier HDD upgrade

- No Linux support

- No on-off switch in the back

- Push rather than touch ‘On’ and ‘Eject’ buttons

- Not as pretty

= Unchanged game-playing experience

= Same great Blu-ray player

= Same PSP integration

= Same WiFi, Bluetooth built-in

= Same Dualshock 3 rumble, motion sensitive controller

= Same I/O options

The PS3 Slim is a superior product when compared with the PS3 80/160GB models. This relatively inexpensive, feature packed, versatile gaming machine, multimedia hub and outstanding Blu-ray player, earns back the 5th star that I granted the Classic models and I didn’t feel that the PS3 80/160GB models deserved.

Granted, when compared to the PS3 Classic, the PS3 Slim lacks PS2 compatibility, has 2 fewer USB ports and and it lacks media card slots but these shortcomings are offset by the significantly lower price, energy efficiency, larger storage and an updated CPU and HDMI. And, keeping hope alive by feeding it rumors, who knows? Sony just might add PS2 software emulation once it stops manufacturing the PS2 sometime, next year.

MY TEST DRIVE IMPRESSIONS

The good news is that you can do just about everything you did with the PS3 80/160GB models and in the exact same way. During my test ride, I was able to play all the games I brought with me without a problem, the Bluetooth remote controller was recognized immediately and so was the Playstation Eye. Both a USB-dongle full-size wireless keyboard, a USB-connected wired keyboard and Sony’s own Bluetooth mini-keyboard worked as expected. I was able to upload pictures, videos and music from a USB thumb drive and a USB-connected SATA 2.5″ hard disk and play them in the same way I do it on my own PS3. The person who allowed me the test drive suggested that I do not sign into the PSN but I have no doubt that the Slim behaves exactly like its predecessors on the PSN, running HOME or while browsing the Net.

The Slim has the exact same ports in the back, the same buttons in front – albeit ‘push’ buttons instead of the ‘touch’ buttons, the same 2 USB ports, comes with the same Dualshock 3 controller, USB cable and Composite AV cable accessories.

The older PS3s weren’t particularly noisy but the Slim seems to be more quiet and, after several hours of play, it didn’t get as warm as my Classic. The ONLY 2 USB ports bother me a little because I brought along the Eye, a USB-wired HDD, a USB keyboard and a dongle-based wireless keyboard. That meant that I had to do a lot of plugging and unplugging when testing. In real life, it’s not so convenient to charge a controller and access more than one USB-connected peripheral. There are third party generic USB hubs (ugly) or PS3-specific port extenders and media hubs that could be used to increase the number of USB ports and bring back the media card slots.

My overall impression of the Slim is “nothing new” at least on surface. The “cooler, quieter, smaller, more energy efficient” you don’t notice while playing a game or watching a movie. The really great news about the Slim is that so many more will be able to afford it and, with a larger user base, more developers will feel more strongly motivated to publish more, better games that all of us will enjoy.

THE SLIM (PS3) vs. THE ‘XBOX 360 ELITE FALL 2009′

This is not meant to be a ‘fan’ statement. I don’t own a Wii but I do own an Xbox 360 so I will be able to discuss PS3 Slim vs. Xbox 360 Elite and, hopefully, it may help a little those undecided between the two or those thinking about getting a PS3 as a second gaming console. Please be aware that, even though I own both consoles and I try to be as objective as possible, I do tend to favor the PS3.

Parity

——

- Storage: 120 GB on both systems

- CD, DVD playback: both

- Bluetooth/IR: Bluetooth included with PS3, Infrared remote for Xbox

- Community: PSN/Home memberships are free, Xbox Live includes free Silver membership and one-month Gold subscription, paid thereafter

Advantage PS3 Slim

——————

- Blu-ray: PS3 only. Blu-ray disks aren’t used for HD movie playback but to deliver games as well. Since they store several times more data than a DVD disk, PS3 games can be ‘bigger’ and be still delivered on one disk, eliminating the need for swapping during gameplay.

- WiFi: included with PS3, available as an add-on for Xbox.

- HDMI 1.3a on PS3 (more vivid colors, better sound) vs. HDMI 1.2 on Xbox

- Controller: wireless on both systems, rumble on both, PS3′s only is motion sensitive, rechargeable batteries built into PS3′s, Xbox rechargeable battery packs available for purchase.

- Integration with a handheld device: PS3 integrates with the PSP, the Xbox offers Zune integration. I would call it ‘advantage PS3′ because the Zune integration is limited to file transfers.

- Internal power supply: yes for the Slim, a large external ‘brick’ for the Xbox.

- Ability to upgrade the Hard Disk: the PS3 could use any cheap 2.5″ SATA on the market (a 500GB can be had for at the time of this writing and the existing PS3 disk can be recycled to upgrade a laptop or as external storage) without voiding the warranty. I am not aware Xbox HDD upgrades beyond 120GB but, judging by the 120GB upgrade HDD for the smaller models, they are likely to be proprietary, more expensive solutions.

- Slim comes with USB, Ethernet and Composite cables, Xbox has only Composite in the box.

Advantage Xbox 360 Elite Fall 2009

———————————-

- Headset: not included with PS3 but any Bluetooth device will work, wired headset included with Xbox Elite.

- Ethernet: PS3 supports Gigabit Ethernet, Xbox is limited to 100BASET-T.

- USB ports: Xbox comes with 3, Slim has only 2.

It seems that a PS3 Slim can be brought to parity with the Xbox 360 Elite by purchasing a Bluetooth headset (possibly for less than and that would make the PS3 a superior choice since the Xbox headset is wired to the controller. For the amount, the PS3 will match and surpass Xbox feature for feature if we don’t factor in exclusive Xbox games or unique Xbox Live features.

To bring the Xbox 360 Elite to parity with the PS3 one would need: a WiFi adapter () and rechargeable batteries (). I will not add the various cables to the list because, depending on setup, they may or may not be needed and PS3′s Gigabit Ethernet is not likely to make a difference in anyone’s gaming or movie streaming at this time. would bring the Xbox closer to the PS3 but the Xbox won’t support Blu-ray, does not have a motion sensitive controller, can’t function without an external power supply and, Zune withstanding, it does not integrate with a hand-held gaming device. In addition, continuing the Xbox Live Gold beyond the initial month would be another -50 per year for the life of the Elite.

I chose not to factor in the quality of available software because it’s impossible to be even remotely objective when it comes to judge Sony’s exclusives vs. Xbox exclusives. My guess is that, in the end, those who must have Halo will buy a Microsoft Xbox regardless of cost or other features and those who fall in love with Little Big Planet or Uncharted have no choice but a Sony PS3. The general consensus is that, at this time, the PS3 has the superior hardware (see above) while the Xbox has an advantage in exclusive titles and some exclusive content. In addition, many multiplatform games are developed on the Xbox first and then ported to the PS3. That can make the Xbox versions appear to be superior and, more importantly, the PS3 versions do not always take full advantage of PS3s superior hardware. This seems to be less the case as developers are becoming more familiar with the PS3 platform – the software gap, if there is one at this time, it is closing fast.

ESSENTIAL ADD-ONS AND ACCESSORIES

For those who decided that the PS3 Slim is what they wanted, the list below may help them budget for the extra purchases they may want to consider. There are surprisingly few extra a PS3 REALLY needs and I listed them in order from what I view as the more to the less important or needed. Those at the top are, in my view, more ‘essential’ than the ones at the bottom, but with the exception of the HDMI cable which is a must have for an HD TV set, you could easily do without the rest or get them later if you really feel that you want them.

- HDMI CABLE – It’s a must for anyone who already has an HD TV. It’s not included in the box and I am not going to provide a link because there are dozens of vendors at Amazon, competing and that’s a good thing because one can be had for only a few dollars. Just make sure it’s HDMI 1.3. A ‘High-Speed’ rating is not necessarily a plus if the cable you need is only 3 ft. or 6 ft. long. All HDMI 1.3 cables should be High-Speed rated and only High-Speed cables support 1080p resolutions. At these lengths, paying a premium for ‘quality’ can’t be justified because the odds for the digital signal to be misinterpreted are close to non-existent.

- REMOTE CONTROL – Unless your HD TV supports CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) which allows for the user to command and control multiple CEC-enabled boxes with one remote control and for CEC capable devices to command and control each other, Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote could make the operation of the PS3 a lot easier when you are not playing a game. It’s optimized for movie viewing but XMB navigation, running slide shows and shopping at the PSN store are easier with the remote control because it does not need two hands to be operated. In fact, it can be operated with one thumb.

- WIRELESS HEADSET – This is the one important component that the Elite bundle includes (theirs is wired) and the PS3 does not. Any Bluetooth headset would do which is why I am not going to insert a link to Sony’s product or to anyone else’s.

- SECOND DUALSHOCK 3 CONTROLLER – Even if you play solo only, a second controller may be charging while the other is in use.

- USB PORT EXTENDER – Again, there are many competing offers. I would prefer one where the ports are powered. Some singing games may come with their own extenders.

- PS3 EYE CAMERA – This is not exactly a ‘must have’ but it’s definitely a ‘very nice to have’ as the Eye is not only a camera but also a stereo microphone – depending on your needs, it may eliminate the need for a headset. I obtained mine cheaply, with a used copy of Eye of Judgment. If you decide to go that route, be VERY careful and ensure that the camera is indeed included before your order.

- MEDIA CARD READERS – They would plug into a USB port and will allow your PS3 to read/write to Media/Multimedia/Secure Digital, Memory Stick (PRO), Compact Flash, or XD Picture cards. They can be had for anything from to .

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Note 1: MY OWN BIAS

We own a ‘Classic’ 60GB PS3, currently upgraded to 320GB, DualShock 3 and complemented with various peripherals: PS3 Eye, Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel, Bluetooth keyboard attachment, headset… etc. We also own an Xbox 360 Elite, 3 PSP 3000′s (got 3 kids) and a second-hand DS. We used to have a PS2 but we sold it shortly after purchasing the PS3. I’ve helped several of my neighbors purchase, install and upgrade their own PS3′s. I am posting this review because I had the opportunity to test drive a PS3 Slim for several hours a couple of nights before the official launch – someone I know works at a store that sells gaming consoles.

Speaking for myself only, I tend to favor the PS3 for several reasons and here they are:

- WiFi – This is a major convenience for me. I hate ‘wires’ and the PS3 has the WiFi built in and it’s VERY easy to set up.

- Blu-ray – I was an early adopter and I haven’t bought ‘new’ DVDs in more than a year. Having the PS3 doubling up as a Blu-ray player is another major convenience for me.

- HDD Storage upgrade – I don’t believe that 120GB is sufficient these days and our console has exceeded the 120GB threshold already after lots of downloaded games and movies and transferring thousands of photos and songs to it. A PS3 can be easily and inexpensively upgraded to 500GB today and this is a big plus.

- Little Big Planet – It’s a Sony exclusive and my kids just love this game. They would probably run away and resettle with a family that has LBP if I got rid of the PS3.

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Note 2: THE SLIM’S SPECS AND FEATURES

- 45nm, 7-core Cell processor CPU

- RSX – Based on NV47 Chip (Nvidia GeForce 7800 Architecture) for graphics

- Updated HDMI chipset (bitstreams hi-res DTS-HD, TrueHD)

- 256MB XDR Main RAM and 256MB GDDR3 VRAM memory

- 120GB Hard disk – 2.5″ SATA – can be replaced with any 2.5″ SATA and a compatible 500GB HDD can be had for about at the time I write this review

- Blu-ray 2.0 player (possibly still the best) that also plays DVDs and CDs

- Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T wired networking

- WiFi 802.11 b/g (from 10 Mbps up to 54 Mbps) – wireless networking I couldn’t live without

- Bluetooth 2.0 for game controller, headsets, keyboards and so on

- Video resolution up to 1080p

- Audio supported: LPCM 7.1, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC

- Other outputs: HDMI, Optical, Composite AV

- Other I/O: 2 High-speed USB 2.0 ports

- Power: dual 120/240V

- Power consumption: 250W

- Weight: about 7 lbs.

- Dimensions: about 12″ x 2.5″ x 12″ (my measurements)

- Included controller: DUALSHOCK 3

- Included cables: USB and Composite AV, power chord

Additional features:

- Displays JPEG stills.

- Multi-featured, surprisingly good slide show functionality.

- Plays MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4/h.264 videos.

- Bitstreams DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD to receiver

- Upconverts DVDs to 1080p over HDMI

- XMB in-game access.

- In-game and off-game text and voice chat (headset, keyboard or Eye are needed).

- Video chat with up to six people (PlayStation Eye is required)

- Can discover media servers on the home network and stream content from any DLNA-compliant device.

- Web browser (still has some usability and compatibility issues) but plays YouTube well.

- Google Web search.

- Remote play on a PSP connected to any wireless access point – play music, videos, show pics, turn on the PS3 remotely if on stand-by

- Upload PSP games purchased from the PSN Store to the PSP.

- Online software updates improve PS3 functionality and keep the Blu-ray player features current.

- Online third party updates.

- Online gameplay.

- Download and play PS3 games and demos from the PSN store.

- Download and play PSOne games.

- Download and play movies and shows from the PSN store.

- Supports HDMI Consumer Electronic Control (HDMI-CEC) – control the Slim through the remote of any CEC-enabled TV such as a Bravia.

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Note 3: HDD UPGRADE

If you are on the upgrade path, less than would buy you a 500GB drive. The one that I tested would be the 500GB Scorpio Blue Mobile Sata 5400RPM 8MB 2.5IN which replaced my laptop’s 60GB drive and a friend’s 80GB PS3 HDD. The nice thing about upgrading your disk is that you are also going to be left with a perfectly good 80GB or 0GB or 120GB drive which you can place into a cheap enclosure, and the StarTech AT2510U2 InfoSafe 2.5-Inch USB/SATA Hard Drive Enclosure worked for me. After I upgraded my own console to 320Gb, I used the free leftover drive as a backup device for family photos.

Review by Alric Knebel:
Let me start out by saying that I’m currently 56 years old and everything I know about video game consoles can fit on a fingernail clipping. A couple of years ago, my companion bought me a PS2, because she had recalled my mentioning in passing (after seeing advertisements for some pretty interesting sci-fi-themed games) that I was curious about what’s going on in that medium. The game technology seemed to have progressed light years since I last paid attention, sometime in the late 80s, early 90s, which went something like this: you start out with some objective, and then the game play steadily quickens until you eventually lose against the computer. It was very dull. After she bought me the PS2, the only game I bought was Grand Tourismo 4 (she had given me with the console itself Superman Returns, but I didn’t like it), with which I relaxed by racing the realistically rendered cars around some impressively detailed tracks, but never getting into the more sophisticated levels of the game. Then about four months ago, my son lent me Resident Evil 4. Of course, you gamers know this was a benchmark in game development, and can understand why I became completely immersed in it. It was truly a creepy experience. You weren’t just WATCHING a horror movie; you were IN it. Here I was, at my age, suddenly finding myself lost for literally hours a day — one weekend, twenty hours straight; my body ached — then thinking about the game when I wasn’t playing it, looking forward to the moment I could resume the story. After I beat it, I went through it three more times. Then I bought God of War II, quite by accident (I selected it for the price, a mere ), unaware that this, too, was a hit game, and another benchmark. The graphics were so good, so stunning, so grand and sweeping, I played it six times. Again, hours seemed like minutes; I’d simply lose time. I was now addicted, and taking into account how good a PS2 was, I figured that the PS3 — with its Blu-ray technology — had to be out-of-this-world incredible. Four weeks ago, I bought this PS3 slim, and it has given me enjoyment that made it worth every penny, and then some.

I can’t speak to the technical specifications of the PS3, or how it compares to other consoles. I’m writing instead to other middle-aged customers who might have stumbled on this page, perhaps shopping for some young relative — son or daughter; niece or nephew; or grandchild — to suggest that you should consider buying one of these babies for yourself. This is one powerful piece of entertainment technology. Not only does it exceed my expectations as a game console, it’s also a BD player, and using the WiFi connection, it permits access to the PlayStation Store, for free demos and exclusive content; plus BD live material, and downloading movies and TV episodes; and you can import your CDs to the PS3′s hard drive, to create playlists or just randomize the tracks for playback. It’s become a virtual media center for me.

And the game play? Oh, man. The PS3 advances even further the features that make gaming so addictive. To those of you who snuff that it’s a juvenile waste of time, I suggest you ask yourself, is it any different from watching sitcoms or reality TV? A video game requires you to REACT, to THINK, to ANALYZE. That is NOT overstating the stimulative benefits. While they are in fact merely games, game-play itself is a complete immersion in an experience, while requiring good hand-eye coordination and some mental agility. All the games I’ve played so far included puzzles as part of the story, and it’s a very satisfying feeling when you finally solve a particularly challenging one.

If the middle-aged shopper I’m imagining I’m writing to is inclined to wonder if all that tapping on those buttons in specific patterns is difficult to learn, this is my honest answer: At first, yes, it is. But eventually your fingers learn what button is where, and it becomes second nature, like typing. To those even older, it’s recommended by doctors that as you age, you need new stimuli to keep your acuity. You won’t find a more fun way to do so than this. Ignore your previous misconception that video games are for teenagers. An article in USA TODAY from 2004 stated that “. . . the average age of game players was 29 and the average age of buyers was 36, with men making up 59% of the playing audience.” So you can add about five years to those figures, making the average age of video game BUYERS about 40. I have spent untold hours on my PS3, and connected to my 47″ HDTV, it’s the ultimate entertainment. The graphics are sharp and clear, movement of characters is realistic, making it even easier to get totally engaged in the environments. I just finished Batman: Arkham Asylum, a great game with easily mastered moves, some tough puzzles, and a very dark, decayed ambiance.

True gamers who are reading this are probably chuckling right now, because this is all pretty much a no-duh to them. Well, let me offer a hardy THANK YOU for supporting the industry with enough of your dollars to permit it to advance as an entertainment medium in such awesome bounds. This is the next step toward the future of the ultimate video game experience. Oh, what will the technology deliver? A virtual reality, perhaps?

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Review by A. Dent:
< BEGIN REVIEW >

Briefly, the PS3-250 is the exact original PS3 ‘Slim’ with a twice as large hard disk.

I had the opportunity to actually see and use a PS3-250 on the Sunday prior to its launch. As I expected, the only difference between the ps3-250 and the PS3-120 is the larger disk with everything else the same. Many reviews of the PS3-120 are HERE.

< END OF REVIEW >

Once the decision was made to get a PS3, 2 important questions might be:

- Which model to buy? PS3-120 or PS3-250?

- To upgrade or not to upgrade to a 500/640GB PS3?

Based on personal experience and the experience of other PS3 owners that I know, the options are the following – remember, these are my views:

PS3-120, no upgrade

———————

Buy a PS3-120 and do not upgrade if you use it mainly to play movies and you rarely download games from the PSN store. It will take you very far and it should have sufficient room for storing thousands of pictures and a lot of music besides it playing Blu-ray content and CDs.

I found that 120GB would not be enough for me. After a couple of years of use, with a few downloaded games, many more demos, lots of pictures and songs and some videos the kids made with the PS3 Eye we’ve breached the 120GB threshold. I would not worry about that if all I wanted was one of the better Blu-ray players. In addition, anybody comfortable with backing up/restoring the PS3 and upgrading the disk can postpone the upgrade step for later.

PS3-250, no upgrade

———————

Buy a PS3-250 and do not upgrade if you do plan to download a few movies and games but not a lot of them AND/or you don’t feel comfortable with upgrading your PS3 yourself.

Anyone who is not an almost-exclusive movie viewer and doesn’t want to mess with screws and OEM disks should buy the PS3-250. It should have enough capacity to last for quite a few years with good disk space management (delete the demos and downloads you no longer need).

PS3-120 upgrade to 500/640GB

——————————

Buy a PS3-120 and upgrade it to 500/640GB IF you don’t mind swapping the PS3′s disk. You get to upgrade your PS3-120 to quadruple capacity for very little expense and probably for less than a PS3-250 would cost you (see next paragraph). This should buy you peace of mind for the rest of your PS3′s lifespan.

Keep in mind that a 500GB HDD such as the 500GB Scorpio Blue Mobile Sata 5400RPM 8MB 2.5IN or the Western Digital 640 GB SATA OEM Notebook Hard Drive WD6400BEVT (Scorpio Blue) if you don’t mind the extra expense can be had for about 90 dollars at the time I am writing this. That would make a 500GB upgraded PS3-120 appear a little more expensive than the PS3-250 BUT you are left with a brand-new 120GB HDD (the drive originally in the PS3) when you are done and you can either sell it or use it as an external USB-powered backup drive or maybe to upgrade your laptop’s drive. This would effectively set the price of the 500GB upgraded console to match that of the PS3-250.

There are many online guides that detail the process. I will post a couple URL’s in a comment to this review.

PS3-250 upgrade to 500/640GB (not recommended)

————————————————

Do NOT buy a PS3-250 if you are planning to upgrade it to 500/640GB unless you really need a spare 250GB external HDD instead of a spare 120GB HDD and think that the price difference is worth the larger spare drive.

EVALUATION

The PS3-250 while not for everyone, deserves its 5 stars. In my view, there is enough value added by doubling the storage capacity to justify the price difference over the PS3-120.

______________________________________

NOTE: If you want to upgrade you are better off if you upgrade immediately.

This way you avoid the backup/restore hassles and therefore greatly simplify the process. I would include the upgrade HDD on the same order with the new PS3 and maybe add a HDD enclosure if planning to use the drive I removed from the PS3 as an external drive.

Review by J. Gary:
I had no idea which unit to buy, the 120 or the 250 GB Playstation 3. I ended up with the 250 out of fear that the 120 would leave me desiring more space later. If you don’t know anything, here is what I see so far. On the Playstation network, you can download game demos and marketing videos for games free. I haven’t found myself doing this a lot yet. Of course, you can also delete them easily after you watch them.

Most playable games even old ones cost to download so I have decided to just buy a couple of the popular ones and am hooked on those and the stunning DVD and Blu Ray movie quality for now. You are not going to be able to download games like Modern Warefare 2 to your hard drive from the PS network that I can see. WHen you buy a game at the store or here on amazon in disc format, you have to install it first. This may take some hard drive space. So far, one game I have takes nearly 3 GB and another takes up less than 1 GB but the games also called for an update download which I don’t know how much space that took. At this rate, you could install maybe 100 store bought disc format games.

Playing movies on disc doesn’t seem to take hard drive space. You can download movies from the Playstation network. If you do much of this, I image you’ll need more space but the movies I was interested in cost the same amount to buy from amazon or wal-mart as to download so if you can wait to go to the store or recieve a package, you don’t need to download it. You can rent movies also. I imagine this is a download that is disabled after a time period or after it is viewed or something. You can also download TV shows like “The Office” for an eposode. If you want to do a lot of that, maybe the bigger HD is a good idea.

I am thinking you would do well with just the 120GB unless you know you are going to make a collection of movies and TV shows and low priced downloadable games on your Playstation.

You can also save photos on the Playstation as well as video. If this is part of your plan, well again more space may help. The PS3 has USB ports where I believe you could load photos and home movies from to view on your TV.

You can also access your applications on the www like facebook.

Bare in mind that there are a lot of folkes out there with older PS3′s that have only 40 and 80 GB drives who love their playstation and don’t feel the need for the 250 GB drive.

I don’t feel upset that I spent the extra to get the larger drive because it might be useful later, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have been comfortable buying the 120 for my purposes which is playing a small number of games (not a small amount of time, just a small number of games because they cost a lot) and watching some Blu Ray movies.

If you still find it hard to make a decision, ask yourself if you want to spend more money because both models are the same except the HD size which you can upgrade later. By the time you buy the unit, HD cable, a game, maybe another controller and remote control for Blu Ray, you’ll be in deep on the expense and maybe another isn’t acceptable.

It is a very good and fun product. After I spent all the money on what I needed, I debated on hooking it up or sending it back because it was a lot of money; I’m very glad I hooked it up and delt with the expense. It is everything I hoped.

Review by A. Dent:
I did not think I needed yet another remote control because I thought the six-axis had everything it needed for movie playing on the PS3 and, yet, I bought one. There were 2 initial reasons:

- my wife was missing a ‘magic wand’ shaped remote for playing movies

- Amazon had it at a great price in one of them lightning deals

I ended up using it myself and, in fact, using it for more than just movie playing – see below.

But, let’s do a quick inventory of features:

= It’s blue-tooth enabled and, therefore, it’s not taking any ports on your PS3. This is probably important for anyone who has a “2-USB ports console”.

= It’s wand-shaped, allowing the non-gamers to control their movie-watching activities while holding a familiar-shaped device in their hand.

= It maps ALL the six-axis buttons and performs everything a six-axis would do, except for the joystick features of R3 and L3 (but you do have the push-down or ‘click’ abilities for them).

= 2 AA battery powered (still with the original Sony batteries after 4 months of use)

= Includes additional buttons that the movie-only users would expect on a remote such as:

+ a number pad

+ eject

+ red, green, blue, yellow buttons

+ play, stop, pause

+ slow(step), scan(left/right), prev/next

+ display, top menu, pop up menu, return

+ subtitles, angle, audio

What is interesting about this remote is that you can use it for much more than movie-playing. Given that it has all the six-axis buttons, guess what? You can use it, and I do use it to:

- surf the web

- play music

- shop at the PSN store

- play certain games such as Sudoku

- turn the PS3 on/off when your six-axis controllers are in the charger and I am playing GT5 that is using a racing wheel

And, yes, you CAN turn the PS3 on and off with this remote. Turning it on is easy – you simply press the PlayStation button and the PS3 turns itself on. To turn it off, you either go as far to the left on the X-bar and all the way up and press Enter (the turn-off PlayStation icon will be highlighted) or you simply hold the PlayStation button pressed for a few seconds and then select ‘yes’ and press the X button a couple of times.

Overall: I am happy with this peripheral. Yes, it’s one more remote control but it’s a pretty good one, for the reasons I stated above.

_______________________________

Notes – Aug 29, 2009, after 16 months of use

I find that I’m using the remote more and more, not only for playing movies but for navigating the XMB and at the PSN Store, also when playing music or slideshows. Due to its very convenient arrows wheel with an ‘enter’ button in the middle, navigating the PS3 and doing just about anything other than playing games is a lot easier than using the PS3 game controller. Unlike the controller which normally requires two hands to hold, this is basically a one-hand operation where you hold the remote in one hand and operate the wheel with your thumb. And because it’s Bluetooth, not IR (Infrared), you don’t even need to point it at the PS3.

And, one word on battery life. After about 15-16 months of operation, this is probably the third set of batteries so I’d estimate battery life to be about 4-6 months. Not too bad.

Review by Lisa Shea:
Most PS3 owners enjoy not only the gaming abilities of their system, but also the built in Blu-Ray DVD player. The Sony remote control accessory lets you play those movies with great ease.

The remote combines the regular buttons of our other DVD players with the funky look of the PS3. You have a red, green, blue and yellow button – labelled with their color names! You also get a circle, X, square and triangle to do a few things like brinigng up the options and back choices.

The main buttons – play, stop, forward, back – are laid out reasonably nicely at the bottom of the remote with large buttons. There are small buttons up on top for the number keys, and a very tiny eject button.

Missing completely is a power button!! You have to hit the PS button in the center and go through the regular PS3 menus to get the power to turn off. In fact, while I was writing this review, I accidentally hit a button on the remote and the PS3 turned on. We were watching regular TV, so now I have to wait until our show is over, switch over to the PS3 and use the buttons to turn the system back off again. That doesn’t make much sense at all to me.

Also, on our Oppo DVD remote, the buttons glow which makes it REALLY nice to use in the dark or dim light that most people watch movies in. This unit is completely black with black buttons. This makes it pretty much useless in low light conditions until you memorize all of the button locations. You would think by now that remote control makers would have their buttons backlit or at least glow-in-the-dark to handle this.

The unit takes two AA batteries which makes it a bit heavy, but certainly within the normal range of remotes.

It’s easy enough to sync up the remote with the PS3. It’s bluetooth powered, so you go into the PS3 menu and use the options there to indicate you have a new remote. Note that the base level PS3 will not handle this – you have to have a connection to the internet from your PS3 and run an update routine. If you don’t have an internet connection for your PS3, you have to create an update CD on your PC to do this update.

Well recommended – but it really could be much better to be great.

Review by Bradford Schmidt:
A lot of people have written about the pros and cons of the PS3 vs. XBOX 360 vs. Wii. I’m not bothering with that, and assume you can find that information at elsewhere. I’m also assuming you can read all about why the PS3 would or would not fit your needs.

Instead, I’d like this review to explain what exactly this configuration is (there’s a lot of confusion about that,) and why I think it hits the sweet spot. Basically, there are currently 2 versions of the PS3 on the market now. Ignoring the size of the drive for a second (because you can always swap the drive anyway, and it has no real bearing on the rest of the specs) think of them as Version A (currently available – or not as the case may be – in the PlayStation 3 80 GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Pack) and Version B (this one.)

The first thing that you need to understand is that there are three relevant differences between these two versions besides the included bundle and the price (the MGS one is 9 from amazon, more from third parties.)

Difference #1: Version A (MGS pack) is backward compatible with PS2 games while this one is NOT (they are both backward compatible with PS1 games however.)

Difference #2: Version A has 4 USB ports as well as memory card slots, while this version has only 2 USB ports and NO memory card slots.

Difference #3: AND THIS FOR ME IS BIG: Version A has the older and larger 90nm Cell processor, while this one has the smaller (and some say more reliable) 65nm Cell processor. Power consumption on this unit is lower as well, dropping from 200 Watts to 135 watts. The end result is a machine that runs cooler and, according to all reports as well as my personal experience, much quieter. An extremely relevant factor if you watch movies with it.

For those that have been looking for a while, this is basically the 40GB machine that was offered recently, with a larger hard drive and an upgraded controller – they replaced the basic sixaxis controller with the Dualshock 3 controller (which means it has rumble.)

Now Version A is packaged with Metal Gear Solid. It has an 80GB drive like this one, and the same controller. The big differences are listed above. Until this configuration was released, the larger hard drive and Dualshock controller were 2 of the 4 reasons many people felt the MGS pack was worth the additional 0. Those two factors are now eliminated. The remaining differences are the backward compatibility with PS2 games and the MGS game itself, which can of course be bought separately.

So to sum it up, if you NEED PS2 compatibility, you might want to grab the MGS pack if you can get one – that or keep your old PS2. For new buyers though, and for all of the people that are going to just play PS3 games, as well as avid movie watchers, this particular configuration is fantastic. You get the big drive, the good controller, PLUS the cooler running chip, a quieter machine and a system that uses about 33% less power.

And ok – just to satisfy the basic requirements of a review, I’ll list some other nice stuff: It includes a Blu-ray DVD player (one of those runs almost as much as, or more than, this entire box), the online play is FREE, wireless connectivity is built in (you don’t have to buy an additional piece as with some others), reliability has been quite good (much better than some others), there are some great PS3-only titles, and you can stream media to it from your PC. There’s more, but there are plenty of people outlining it.

As always, do your research and see what’s best for you. Maybe the 360-only titles are must haves for you, or maybe your family fits a Wii. We have a Wii and I love it. But I also love my PS3, and in my opinion this configuration is the one to get (this month anyway.)

Review by John Schinter:
The Playstation 3 is an incredible Blue Ray Player, that has features NOT available in any other Blue Ray Player. I am not a game player – and simply bought this unit as a Blue Ray and DVD player. However – on comparison, there are so many benefits compared to other Blue Ray players.

Here are the surprise benefits you get from this INCREDIBLE technology vs. a regular Blue Ray Player:

1. Picture Quality – SUPERB (Easily compares to most expensive Blue Ray Players)

2. REGULAR DVD’s PLAY IN A HIGHER RESOLUTION – Incredible difference to a regular DVD player.

3. Wireless INTERNET Connection – Surf web on your TV. (NO WIRES REQUIRED)

4. Automatic BLUE RAY format Updates (FREE and AUTOMATIC) – Upgrades as technology changes.

5. HARD Drive (80 GB) – Store movies, music, etc.

6. Beautiful Black Console – Doesn’t look like a game player on shelf.

7. EASY to set-up (Ready in a few minutes)

8. LOWER PRICED – All these unique features, at a lower price than the other Blue Ray players

I have no idea why anyone would ever consider a standard BLUE RAY or DVD player once you have had a chance to try out the features of the PS3. Having the internet on our TV allows us full access to news, weather, radio, music video’s, etc.

I was told that low price BLUE RAY players cannot play many movies and DVD’s because the BLUE RAY format is constantly changing – and the Playstation 3 is the ONLY BLUE RAY unit to have automatic updates that will correct for new Blue Ray formats in the future.

NO COMPARISON – Hands down BEST BLUE RAY Player with the most features on the market!

HIGEST POSSIBLE RATING………

Review by The Matrix Fan:
Well folks, now that the dust has settled from the Sony vs. Immersion lawsuit, Playstation 3 owners are finally able to feel the vibe again!

I purchased this controller today and I knew the only way to properly road-test it was on the game that made the Dualshock famous, Metal Gear Solid. After booting up the game, I walked down the hallway and got spotted by a guard. As he shouted, “WHO’S THAT?” the controller jumped in my hand – and I knew this was a smart purchase. As the guards shot at me, I felt the feedback of the bullets, just as I had 10 years ago on my Sony Playstation.

I picked out another old school Playstation game, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. From Ayame’s blades to Rikimaru’s sword, each sword swipe and jump had excellent feedback.

Okay, so my Playstation games worked out. But what about my Playstation 2 library?

I popped in God of War, knowing I had to feel the swing of the Blades of Chaos. The controller vibrations felt a little lighter here, but the vibrations still occurred at the appropriate times.

Then I chose Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction. Who better to test a vibration controller than the Sultan of Smash? All the power jumps and smashes had the vibrations intact, but they still felt a little on the light side.

All right, so far I was two for two with my Playstation and Playstation 2 test subjects. But what about my Playstation 3 games? Could I possibly hit a trifecta?

I put in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and I decided to jump right into a heated firefight. The controller gave me feedback while shooting weapons and getting hit by enemy fire, but I knew my purchase was justified when Drake was near death: I FELT THE DUALSHOCK 3 PULSING IN SYNCH WITH DRAKE’S HEARTBEAT. It’s one thing to hear that noise and know he’s near death, it’s quite another to feel the pulse in my own hands.

Okay, so the feedback on the older games was there, but a little lighter than I remember. The reason? Well, when I decided to go wireless on my Playstation 2 system, I bought a Logitec Dualshock controller. It turns out, that controller takes two “AA” batteries, and the vibration motors inside the controller handles are slightly larger than the ones in the Dualshock 3. That’s where I felt the difference.

The Dualshock 3 vibrations may be slightly less than the Logitec controller, but it doesn’t require the purchase of batteries.

The Dualshock 3 may be slightly heavier than the SixAxis, but it doesn’t take up any extra space at all.

Sure, the price is about more than the SixAxis, but it’s a worthy upgrade for the Playstation 3 gamer who kicks it old school as well as new school. The only other drawback is the lack of an additional USB cable – but we can use the one that came with the system itself.

So what’s the final verdict?

Order it, plug it in, charge it up, and get ready for the inevitable downloads from the Playstation Store to make the older PS3 games Dualshock 3 compatible.

I wouldn’t recommend a feedback peripheral without providing my own feedback…

Enjoy!

Review by Sebastian Fernandez:
I was already extremely happy with the Sixaxis controller, but I could not resist getting the DualShock 3. Not only do you get the rumble, but also, it feels much better in your hands, even for those games that do not use this feature. The rumble function is fun, but on top of that, it helps with gameplay, because “feeling” what is happening provides a lot more feedback than just watching how your character or car reacts to the environment.

The biggest surprise of all was that the rumble works with PS 2 games in the PS 3 system. I am currently playing through “God of War”, a game which had the rumble capability in PS 2. I thought that it was unlikely that I was going to get this feature with this new controller in the PS 3, but it worked perfectly.

I know that having to buy a new controller and basically discard the one that came with the system is not the ideal situation, but I have to say this product is really worth shedding the extra bucks.

Review by Joseph Roberts:
These cables are an excellent deal and meet all of the relevant specifications that will allow you to get maximum throughput from 1080p equipment.

Don’t believe those that claim all HDMI cables are the same. They are not all the same and those that claim they are have unfortunately been misled. While I am the last person to suggest going out and overpaying for an expensive retail brand, I would definitely recommend being a little careful not to use a cable that has the potential to degrade the picture on your new HD equipment. It is even more critical for PS3 gamers because of the deep color capabilities of PS3.

Fortunately for us, HDMI.org has made separating the good cables from the best cables very simple.

According to the HDMI website, Category 2 cables are required not only to guarantee 1080P FullHD but also for high refresh rates and deep color.

The following was cut and pasted from the HDMI.org website:

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Q. What is the difference between a “Standard” HDMI cable and a “High-Speed” HDMI cable?

Recently, HDMI Licensing, LLC announced that cables would be tested as Standard or High-Speed cables.

Standard (or “category 1″) cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 75Mhz, which is the equivalent of a 1080i signal.

High Speed (or “category 2″) cables have been tested to perform at speeds of 340Mhz, which is the highest bandwidth currently available over an HDMI cable and can successfully handle 1080p signals including those at increased color depths and/or increased refresh rates. High-Speed cables are also able to accommodate higher resolution displays, such as WQXGA cinema monitors (resolution of 2560 x 1600).

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Q. Will my Standard cable work in High Speed applications?

Although a Standard HDMI cable may not have been tested to support the higher bandwidth requirements of cables rated to support high speeds, existing cables, especially ones of shorter lengths (i.e., less than 2 meters), will generally perform adequately in higher speed situations. The quality of the HDMI receiver chip (in the TV, for example) has a large effect on the ability to cleanly recover and display the HDMI signal. A significant majority, perhaps all, of the HDMI TVs and projectors that support 1080p on the HDMI inputs are designed with quality receiver chips that may cleanly recover the 1080p HDMI signal using a Standard-rated HDMI cable. These receiver chips use technology called “cable equalization” in order to counter the signal reduction (attenuation) caused by a cable. We have seen successful demonstrations of 1080p signal runs on a >50 ft. cable, and a 720p signal run on a >75 ft. cable. However, the only way to guarantee that your cable will perform at higher speeds is to purchase a cable that has been tested at the higher speeds and labeled as “High-Speed.”

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Q. What are the technical and branding requirements for cables?

As part of the new Trademark and Logo Usage Guidelines, cables will be labeled as either Standard or High Speed.

1.Standard cables (referred to as Category 1 cables in the HDMI specification) are those tested to perform at speeds of 75Mhz, which is the equivalent of an uncompressed 1080i signal.

2.High Speed cables (referred to as Category 2 cables in the HDMI specification), are those tested to perform at speeds of 340Mhz, which is the highest bandwidth currently available over an HDMI cable and can successfully handle 1080p signals including those at increased color depths (e.g. greater than eight bits per color) and/or increased refresh rates (e.g. 120Hz). High Speed cables are also able to accommodate higher resolution displays, such as those at the latest 1440p and WQXGA resolutions (e.g. cinema monitors with a resolution of 2560 x 1600).

While many cables that are branded as Standard cables will work at higher speeds (especially at cable lengths of less than five meters), to guarantee performance, consumers should purchase a cable that is tested and rated for the specific speed required by their system.

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There you have it. Word for word from the official HDMI website.

In summary, any certified HDMI cable will “generally” work fine, but use Category 2 rated cables if you want guaranteed 1080p throughput.

Mediabridge is a quality cable that meets the higher standards of Category 2. And this pricing is exceptionally good for this quality cable. There are certainly other cables around that meet this standard as well. But basically, Mediabridge is offering a high quality cable at a great price here.

Review by Tony:
These cables worked great for me…I’m getting 1080p@24hz no problem. My setup is a Samsung 52″ LCD TV (LN52A650) and a Playstation 3. Save yourself a whole lot of money and don’t get ripped off buying “Monster” or any other overpriced HDMI cable. Order processing, USPS shipping, and receipt in Texas was lightling fast(7 days). Order 2 while you’re at it…someday you’ll need another one!

Review by A. Dent:

RATING

I will begin with the rating part so that those who are already familiar with the PS3 line may save a little time.

On balance, I found the PS3 Slim or the ‘PS3 120GB’ to be a worthy addition to the current PS3 line. It comes with several major improvements over its predecessors and the ‘trade offs’ are few and, to most us, insignificant.

This how the new model compares to its predecessors:

PS3 SLIM vs. PS3 80/160GB

+ 0/200 less

+ Smaller

+ More energy efficient

+ More quiet operation

+ Cooler

+ Smaller Cell processor manufactured using a 45-nanometer manufacturing process

+ New, more advanced HDMI 1.3 chipset

+ Easier HDD upgrade

- No Linux support

- No on-off switch in the back

- Push rather than touch ‘On’ and ‘Eject’ buttons

- Not as pretty

= Unchanged game-playing experience

= Same great Blu-ray player

= Same PSP integration

= Same WiFi, Bluetooth built-in

= Same Dualshock 3 rumble, motion sensitive controller

= Same I/O options

The PS3 Slim is a superior product when compared with the PS3 80/160GB models. This relatively inexpensive, feature packed, versatile gaming machine, multimedia hub and outstanding Blu-ray player, earns back the 5th star that I granted the Classic models and I didn’t feel that the PS3 80/160GB models deserved.

Granted, when compared to the PS3 Classic, the PS3 Slim lacks PS2 compatibility, has 2 fewer USB ports and and it lacks media card slots but these shortcomings are offset by the significantly lower price, energy efficiency, larger storage and an updated CPU and HDMI. And, keeping hope alive by feeding it rumors, who knows? Sony just might add PS2 software emulation once it stops manufacturing the PS2 sometime, next year.

MY TEST DRIVE IMPRESSIONS

The good news is that you can do just about everything you did with the PS3 80/160GB models and in the exact same way. During my test ride, I was able to play all the games I brought with me without a problem, the Bluetooth remote controller was recognized immediately and so was the Playstation Eye. Both a USB-dongle full-size wireless keyboard, a USB-connected wired keyboard and Sony’s own Bluetooth mini-keyboard worked as expected. I was able to upload pictures, videos and music from a USB thumb drive and a USB-connected SATA 2.5″ hard disk and play them in the same way I do it on my own PS3. The person who allowed me the test drive suggested that I do not sign into the PSN but I have no doubt that the Slim behaves exactly like its predecessors on the PSN, running HOME or while browsing the Net.

The Slim has the exact same ports in the back, the same buttons in front – albeit ‘push’ buttons instead of the ‘touch’ buttons, the same 2 USB ports, comes with the same Dualshock 3 controller, USB cable and Composite AV cable accessories.

The older PS3s weren’t particularly noisy but the Slim seems to be more quiet and, after several hours of play, it didn’t get as warm as my Classic. The ONLY 2 USB ports bother me a little because I brought along the Eye, a USB-wired HDD, a USB keyboard and a dongle-based wireless keyboard. That meant that I had to do a lot of plugging and unplugging when testing. In real life, it’s not so convenient to charge a controller and access more than one USB-connected peripheral. There are third party generic USB hubs (ugly) or PS3-specific port extenders and media hubs that could be used to increase the number of USB ports and bring back the media card slots.

My overall impression of the Slim is “nothing new” at least on surface. The “cooler, quieter, smaller, more energy efficient” you don’t notice while playing a game or watching a movie. The really great news about the Slim is that so many more will be able to afford it and, with a larger user base, more developers will feel more strongly motivated to publish more, better games that all of us will enjoy.

THE SLIM (PS3) vs. THE ‘XBOX 360 ELITE FALL 2009′

This is not meant to be a ‘fan’ statement. I don’t own a Wii but I do own an Xbox 360 so I will be able to discuss PS3 Slim vs. Xbox 360 Elite and, hopefully, it may help a little those undecided between the two or those thinking about getting a PS3 as a second gaming console. Please be aware that, even though I own both consoles and I try to be as objective as possible, I do tend to favor the PS3.

Parity

——

- Storage: 120 GB on both systems

- CD, DVD playback: both

- Bluetooth/IR: Bluetooth included with PS3, Infrared remote for Xbox

- Community: PSN/Home memberships are free, Xbox Live includes free Silver membership and one-month Gold subscription, paid thereafter

Advantage PS3 Slim

——————

- Blu-ray: PS3 only. Blu-ray disks aren’t used for HD movie playback but to deliver games as well. Since they store several times more data than a DVD disk, PS3 games can be ‘bigger’ and be still delivered on one disk, eliminating the need for swapping during gameplay.

- WiFi: included with PS3, available as an add-on for Xbox.

- HDMI 1.3a on PS3 (more vivid colors, better sound) vs. HDMI 1.2 on Xbox

- Controller: wireless on both systems, rumble on both, PS3′s only is motion sensitive, rechargeable batteries built into PS3′s, Xbox rechargeable battery packs available for purchase.

- Integration with a handheld device: PS3 integrates with the PSP, the Xbox offers Zune integration. I would call it ‘advantage PS3′ because the Zune integration is limited to file transfers.

- Internal power supply: yes for the Slim, a large external ‘brick’ for the Xbox.

- Ability to upgrade the Hard Disk: the PS3 could use any cheap 2.5″ SATA on the market (a 500GB can be had for at the time of this writing and the existing PS3 disk can be recycled to upgrade a laptop or as external storage) without voiding the warranty. I am not aware Xbox HDD upgrades beyond 120GB but, judging by the 120GB upgrade HDD for the smaller models, they are likely to be proprietary, more expensive solutions.

- Slim comes with USB, Ethernet and Composite cables, Xbox has only Composite in the box.

Advantage Xbox 360 Elite Fall 2009

———————————-

- Headset: not included with PS3 but any Bluetooth device will work, wired headset included with Xbox Elite.

- Ethernet: PS3 supports Gigabit Ethernet, Xbox is limited to 100BASET-T.

- USB ports: Xbox comes with 3, Slim has only 2.

It seems that a PS3 Slim can be brought to parity with the Xbox 360 Elite by purchasing a Bluetooth headset (possibly for less than and that would make the PS3 a superior choice since the Xbox headset is wired to the controller. For the amount, the PS3 will match and surpass Xbox feature for feature if we don’t factor in exclusive Xbox games or unique Xbox Live features.

To bring the Xbox 360 Elite to parity with the PS3 one would need: a WiFi adapter () and rechargeable batteries (). I will not add the various cables to the list because, depending on setup, they may or may not be needed and PS3′s Gigabit Ethernet is not likely to make a difference in anyone’s gaming or movie streaming at this time. would bring the Xbox closer to the PS3 but the Xbox won’t support Blu-ray, does not have a motion sensitive controller, can’t function without an external power supply and, Zune withstanding, it does not integrate with a hand-held gaming device. In addition, continuing the Xbox Live Gold beyond the initial month would be another -50 per year for the life of the Elite.

I chose not to factor in the quality of available software because it’s impossible to be even remotely objective when it comes to judge Sony’s exclusives vs. Xbox exclusives. My guess is that, in the end, those who must have Halo will buy a Microsoft Xbox regardless of cost or other features and those who fall in love with Little Big Planet or Uncharted have no choice but a Sony PS3. The general consensus is that, at this time, the PS3 has the superior hardware (see above) while the Xbox has an advantage in exclusive titles and some exclusive content. In addition, many multiplatform games are developed on the Xbox first and then ported to the PS3. That can make the Xbox versions appear to be superior and, more importantly, the PS3 versions do not always take full advantage of PS3s superior hardware. This seems to be less the case as developers are becoming more familiar with the PS3 platform – the software gap, if there is one at this time, it is closing fast.

ESSENTIAL ADD-ONS AND ACCESSORIES

For those who decided that the PS3 Slim is what they wanted, the list below may help them budget for the extra purchases they may want to consider. There are surprisingly few extra a PS3 REALLY needs and I listed them in order from what I view as the more to the less important or needed. Those at the top are, in my view, more ‘essential’ than the ones at the bottom, but with the exception of the HDMI cable which is a must have for an HD TV set, you could easily do without the rest or get them later if you really feel that you want them.

- HDMI CABLE – It’s a must for anyone who already has an HD TV. It’s not included in the box and I am not going to provide a link because there are dozens of vendors at Amazon, competing and that’s a good thing because one can be had for only a few dollars. Just make sure it’s HDMI 1.3. A ‘High-Speed’ rating is not necessarily a plus if the cable you need is only 3 ft. or 6 ft. long. All HDMI 1.3 cables should be High-Speed rated and only High-Speed cables support 1080p resolutions. At these lengths, paying a premium for ‘quality’ can’t be justified because the odds for the digital signal to be misinterpreted are close to non-existent.

- REMOTE CONTROL – Unless your HD TV supports CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) which allows for the user to command and control multiple CEC-enabled boxes with one remote control and for CEC capable devices to command and control each other, Sony PlayStation 3 Blu-ray Disc Remote could make the operation of the PS3 a lot easier when you are not playing a game. It’s optimized for movie viewing but XMB navigation, running slide shows and shopping at the PSN store are easier with the remote control because it does not need two hands to be operated. In fact, it can be operated with one thumb.

- WIRELESS HEADSET – This is the one important component that the Elite bundle includes (theirs is wired) and the PS3 does not. Any Bluetooth headset would do which is why I am not going to insert a link to Sony’s product or to anyone else’s.

- SECOND DUALSHOCK 3 CONTROLLER – Even if you play solo only, a second controller may be charging while the other is in use.

- USB PORT EXTENDER – Again, there are many competing offers. I would prefer one where the ports are powered. Some singing games may come with their own extenders.

- PS3 EYE CAMERA – This is not exactly a ‘must have’ but it’s definitely a ‘very nice to have’ as the Eye is not only a camera but also a stereo microphone – depending on your needs, it may eliminate the need for a headset. I obtained mine cheaply, with a used copy of Eye of Judgment. If you decide to go that route, be VERY careful and ensure that the camera is indeed included before your order.

- MEDIA CARD READERS – They would plug into a USB port and will allow your PS3 to read/write to Media/Multimedia/Secure Digital, Memory Stick (PRO), Compact Flash, or XD Picture cards. They can be had for anything from to .

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Note 1: MY OWN BIAS

We own a ‘Classic’ 60GB PS3, currently upgraded to 320GB, DualShock 3 and complemented with various peripherals: PS3 Eye, Logitech Driving Force GT Racing Wheel, Bluetooth keyboard attachment, headset… etc. We also own an Xbox 360 Elite, 3 PSP 3000′s (got 3 kids) and a second-hand DS. We used to have a PS2 but we sold it shortly after purchasing the PS3. I’ve helped several of my neighbors purchase, install and upgrade their own PS3′s. I am posting this review because I had the opportunity to test drive a PS3 Slim for several hours a couple of nights before the official launch – someone I know works at a store that sells gaming consoles.

Speaking for myself only, I tend to favor the PS3 for several reasons and here they are:

- WiFi – This is a major convenience for me. I hate ‘wires’ and the PS3 has the WiFi built in and it’s VERY easy to set up.

- Blu-ray – I was an early adopter and I haven’t bought ‘new’ DVDs in more than a year. Having the PS3 doubling up as a Blu-ray player is another major convenience for me.

- HDD Storage upgrade – I don’t believe that 120GB is sufficient these days and our console has exceeded the 120GB threshold already after lots of downloaded games and movies and transferring thousands of photos and songs to it. A PS3 can be easily and inexpensively upgraded to 500GB today and this is a big plus.

- Little Big Planet – It’s a Sony exclusive and my kids just love this game. They would probably run away and resettle with a family that has LBP if I got rid of the PS3.

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Note 2: THE SLIM’S SPECS AND FEATURES

- 45nm, 7-core Cell processor CPU

- RSX – Based on NV47 Chip (Nvidia GeForce 7800 Architecture) for graphics

- Updated HDMI chipset (bitstreams hi-res DTS-HD, TrueHD)

- 256MB XDR Main RAM and 256MB GDDR3 VRAM memory

- 120GB Hard disk – 2.5″ SATA – can be replaced with any 2.5″ SATA and a compatible 500GB HDD can be had for about at the time I write this review

- Blu-ray 2.0 player (possibly still the best) that also plays DVDs and CDs

- Ethernet 10/100/1000Base-T wired networking

- WiFi 802.11 b/g (from 10 Mbps up to 54 Mbps) – wireless networking I couldn’t live without

- Bluetooth 2.0 for game controller, headsets, keyboards and so on

- Video resolution up to 1080p

- Audio supported: LPCM 7.1, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC

- Other outputs: HDMI, Optical, Composite AV

- Other I/O: 2 High-speed USB 2.0 ports

- Power: dual 120/240V

- Power consumption: 250W

- Weight: about 7 lbs.

- Dimensions: about 12″ x 2.5″ x 12″ (my measurements)

- Included controller: DUALSHOCK 3

- Included cables: USB and Composite AV, power chord

Additional features:

- Displays JPEG stills.

- Multi-featured, surprisingly good slide show functionality.

- Plays MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and MPEG-4/h.264 videos.

- Bitstreams DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHD to receiver

- Upconverts DVDs to 1080p over HDMI

- XMB in-game access.

- In-game and off-game text and voice chat (headset, keyboard or Eye are needed).

- Video chat with up to six people (PlayStation Eye is required)

- Can discover media servers on the home network and stream content from any DLNA-compliant device.

- Web browser (still has some usability and compatibility issues) but plays YouTube well.

- Google Web search.

- Remote play on a PSP connected to any wireless access point – play music, videos, show pics, turn on the PS3 remotely if on stand-by

- Upload PSP games purchased from the PSN Store to the PSP.

- Online software updates improve PS3 functionality and keep the Blu-ray player features current.

- Online third party updates.

- Online gameplay.

- Download and play PS3 games and demos from the PSN store.

- Download and play PSOne games.

- Download and play movies and shows from the PSN store.

- Supports HDMI Consumer Electronic Control (HDMI-CEC) – control the Slim through the remote of any CEC-enabled TV such as a Bravia.

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Note 3: HDD UPGRADE

If you are on the upgrade path, less than would buy you a 500GB drive. The one that I tested would be the 500GB Scorpio Blue Mobile Sata 5400RPM 8MB 2.5IN which replaced my laptop’s 60GB drive and a friend’s 80GB PS3 HDD. The nice thing about upgrading your disk is that you are also going to be left with a perfectly good 80GB or 0GB or 120GB drive which you can place into a cheap enclosure, and the StarTech AT2510U2 InfoSafe 2.5-Inch USB/SATA Hard Drive Enclosure worked for me. After I upgraded my own console to 320Gb, I used the free leftover drive as a backup device for family photos.

Review by Alric Knebel:

Let me start out by saying that I’m currently 56 years old and everything I know about video game consoles can fit on a fingernail clipping. A couple of years ago, my companion bought me a PS2, because she had recalled my mentioning in passing (after seeing advertisements for some pretty interesting sci-fi-themed games) that I was curious about what’s going on in that medium. The game technology seemed to have progressed light years since I last paid attention, sometime in the late 80s, early 90s, which went something like this: you start out with some objective, and then the game play steadily quickens until you eventually lose against the computer. It was very dull. After she bought me the PS2, the only game I bought was Grand Tourismo 4 (she had given me with the console itself Superman Returns, but I didn’t like it), with which I relaxed by racing the realistically rendered cars around some impressively detailed tracks, but never getting into the more sophisticated levels of the game. Then about four months ago, my son lent me Resident Evil 4. Of course, you gamers know this was a benchmark in game development, and can understand why I became completely immersed in it. It was truly a creepy experience. You weren’t just WATCHING a horror movie; you were IN it. Here I was, at my age, suddenly finding myself lost for literally hours a day — one weekend, twenty hours straight; my body ached — then thinking about the game when I wasn’t playing it, looking forward to the moment I could resume the story. After I beat it, I went through it three more times. Then I bought God of War II, quite by accident (I selected it for the price, a mere ), unaware that this, too, was a hit game, and another benchmark. The graphics were so good, so stunning, so grand and sweeping, I played it six times. Again, hours seemed like minutes; I’d simply lose time. I was now addicted, and taking into account how good a PS2 was, I figured that the PS3 — with its Blu-ray technology — had to be out-of-this-world incredible. Four weeks ago, I bought this PS3 slim, and it has given me enjoyment that made it worth every penny, and then some.

I can’t speak to the technical specifications of the PS3, or how it compares to other consoles. I’m writing instead to other middle-aged customers who might have stumbled on this page, perhaps shopping for some young relative — son or daughter; niece or nephew; or grandchild — to suggest that you should consider buying one of these babies for yourself. This is one powerful piece of entertainment technology. Not only does it exceed my expectations as a game console, it’s also a BD player, and using the WiFi connection, it permits access to the PlayStation Store, for free demos and exclusive content; plus BD live material, and downloading movies and TV episodes; and you can import your CDs to the PS3′s hard drive, to create playlists or just randomize the tracks for playback. It’s become a virtual media center for me.

And the game play? Oh, man. The PS3 advances even further the features that make gaming so addictive. To those of you who snuff that it’s a juvenile waste of time, I suggest you ask yourself, is it any different from watching sitcoms or reality TV? A video game requires you to REACT, to THINK, to ANALYZE. That is NOT overstating the stimulative benefits. While they are in fact merely games, game-play itself is a complete immersion in an experience, while requiring good hand-eye coordination and some mental agility. All the games I’ve played so far included puzzles as part of the story, and it’s a very satisfying feeling when you finally solve a particularly challenging one.

If the middle-aged shopper I’m imagining I’m writing to is inclined to wonder if all that tapping on those buttons in specific patterns is difficult to learn, this is my honest answer: At first, yes, it is. But eventually your fingers learn what button is where, and it becomes second nature, like typing. To those even older, it’s recommended by doctors that as you age, you need new stimuli to keep your acuity. You won’t find a more fun way to do so than this. Ignore your previous misconception that video games are for teenagers. An article in USA TODAY from 2004 stated that “. . . the average age of game players was 29 and the average age of buyers was 36, with men making up 59% of the playing audience.” So you can add about five years to those figures, making the average age of video game BUYERS about 40. I have spent untold hours on my PS3, and connected to my 47″ HDTV, it’s the ultimate entertainment. The graphics are sharp and clear, movement of characters is realistic, making it even easier to get totally engaged in the environments. I just finished Batman: Arkham Asylum, a great game with easily mastered moves, some tough puzzles, and a very dark, decayed ambiance.

True gamers who are reading this are probably chuckling right now, because this is all pretty much a no-duh to them. Well, let me offer a hardy THANK YOU for supporting the industry with enough of your dollars to permit it to advance as an entertainment medium in such awesome bounds. This is the next step toward the future of the ultimate video game experience. Oh, what will the technology deliver? A virtual reality, perhaps?

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Review by A. Dent:

< BEGIN REVIEW >

Briefly, the PS3-250 is the exact original PS3 ‘Slim’ with a twice as large hard disk.

I had the opportunity to actually see and use a PS3-250 on the Sunday prior to its launch. As I expected, the only difference between the ps3-250 and the PS3-120 is the larger disk with everything else the same. Many reviews of the PS3-120 are HERE.

< END OF REVIEW >

Once the decision was made to get a PS3, 2 important questions might be:

- Which model to buy? PS3-120 or PS3-250?

- To upgrade or not to upgrade to a 500/640GB PS3?

Based on personal experience and the experience of other PS3 owners that I know, the options are the following – remember, these are my views:

PS3-120, no upgrade

———————

Buy a PS3-120 and do not upgrade if you use it mainly to play movies and you rarely download games from the PSN store. It will take you very far and it should have sufficient room for storing thousands of pictures and a lot of music besides it playing Blu-ray content and CDs.

I found that 120GB would not be enough for me. After a couple of years of use, with a few downloaded games, many more demos, lots of pictures and songs and some videos the kids made with the PS3 Eye we’ve breached the 120GB threshold. I would not worry about that if all I wanted was one of the better Blu-ray players. In addition, anybody comfortable with backing up/restoring the PS3 and upgrading the disk can postpone the upgrade step for later.

PS3-250, no upgrade

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Buy a PS3-250 and do not upgrade if you do plan to download a few movies and games but not a lot of them AND/or you don’t feel comfortable with upgrading your PS3 yourself.

Anyone who is not an almost-exclusive movie viewer and doesn’t want to mess with screws and OEM disks should buy the PS3-250. It should have enough capacity to last for quite a few years with good disk space management (delete the demos and downloads you no longer need).

PS3-120 upgrade to 500/640GB

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Buy a PS3-120 and upgrade it to 500/640GB IF you don’t mind swapping the PS3′s disk. You get to upgrade your PS3-120 to quadruple capacity for very little expense and probably for less than a PS3-250 would cost you (see next paragraph). This should buy you peace of mind for the rest of your PS3′s lifespan.

Keep in mind that a 500GB HDD such as the 500GB Scorpio Blue Mobile Sata 5400RPM 8MB 2.5IN or the Western Digital 640 GB SATA OEM Notebook Hard Drive WD6400BEVT (Scorpio Blue) if you don’t mind the extra expense can be had for about 90 dollars at the time I am writing this. That would make a 500GB upgraded PS3-120 appear a little more expensive than the PS3-250 BUT you are left with a brand-new 120GB HDD (the drive originally in the PS3) when you are done and you can either sell it or use it as an external USB-powered backup drive or maybe to upgrade your laptop’s drive. This would effectively set the price of the 500GB upgraded console to match that of the PS3-250.

There are many online guides that detail the process. I will post a couple URL’s in a comment to this review.

PS3-250 upgrade to 500/640GB (not recommended)

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Do NOT buy a PS3-250 if you are planning to upgrade it to 500/640GB unless you really need a spare 250GB external HDD instead of a spare 120GB HDD and think that the price difference is worth the larger spare drive.

EVALUATION

The PS3-250 while not for everyone, deserves its 5 stars. In my view, there is enough value added by doubling the storage capacity to justify the price difference over the PS3-120.

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NOTE: If you want to upgrade you are better off if you upgrade immediately.

This way you avoid the backup/restore hassles and therefore greatly simplify the process. I would include the upgrade HDD on the same order with the new PS3 and maybe add a HDD enclosure if planning to use the drive I removed from the PS3 as an external drive.

Review by J. Gary:

I had no idea which unit to buy, the 120 or the 250 GB Playstation 3. I ended up with the 250 out of fear that the 120 would leave me desiring more space later. If you don’t know anything, here is what I see so far. On the Playstation network, you can download game demos and marketing videos for games free. I haven’t found myself doing this a lot yet. Of course, you can also delete them easily after you watch them.

Most playable games even old ones cost to download so I have decided to just buy a couple of the popular ones and am hooked on those and the stunning DVD and Blu Ray movie quality for now. You are not going to be able to download games like Modern Warefare 2 to your hard drive from the PS network that I can see. WHen you buy a game at the store or here on amazon in disc format, you have to install it first. This may take some hard drive space. So far, one game I have takes nearly 3 GB and another takes up less than 1 GB but the games also called for an update download which I don’t know how much space that took. At this rate, you could install maybe 100 store bought disc format games.

Playing movies on disc doesn’t seem to take hard drive space. You can download movies from the Playstation network. If you do much of this, I image you’ll need more space but the movies I was interested in cost the same amount to buy from amazon or wal-mart as to download so if you can wait to go to the store or recieve a package, you don’t need to download it. You can rent movies also. I imagine this is a download that is disabled after a time period or after it is viewed or something. You can also download TV shows like “The Office” for an eposode. If you want to do a lot of that, maybe the bigger HD is a good idea.

I am thinking you would do well with just the 120GB unless you know you are going to make a collection of movies and TV shows and low priced downloadable games on your Playstation.

You can also save photos on the Playstation as well as video. If this is part of your plan, well again more space may help. The PS3 has USB ports where I believe you could load photos and home movies from to view on your TV.

You can also access your applications on the www like facebook.

Bare in mind that there are a lot of folkes out there with older PS3′s that have only 40 and 80 GB drives who love their playstation and don’t feel the need for the 250 GB drive.

I don’t feel upset that I spent the extra to get the larger drive because it might be useful later, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have been comfortable buying the 120 for my purposes which is playing a small number of games (not a small amount of time, just a small number of games because they cost a lot) and watching some Blu Ray movies.

If you still find it hard to make a decision, ask yourself if you want to spend more money because both models are the same except the HD size which you can upgrade later. By the time you buy the unit, HD cable, a game, maybe another controller and remote control for Blu Ray, you’ll be in deep on the expense and maybe another isn’t acceptable.

It is a very good and fun product. After I spent all the money on what I needed, I debated on hooking it up or sending it back because it was a lot of money; I’m very glad I hooked it up and delt with the expense. It is everything I hoped.

Review by A. Dent:

I did not think I needed yet another remote control because I thought the six-axis had everything it needed for movie playing on the PS3 and, yet, I bought one. There were 2 initial reasons:

- my wife was missing a ‘magic wand’ shaped remote for playing movies

- Amazon had it at a great price in one of them lightning deals

I ended up using it myself and, in fact, using it for more than just movie playing – see below.

But, let’s do a quick inventory of features:

= It’s blue-tooth enabled and, therefore, it’s not taking any ports on your PS3. This is probably important for anyone who has a “2-USB ports console”.

= It’s wand-shaped, allowing the non-gamers to control their movie-watching activities while holding a familiar-shaped device in their hand.

= It maps ALL the six-axis buttons and performs everything a six-axis would do, except for the joystick features of R3 and L3 (but you do have the push-down or ‘click’ abilities for them).

= 2 AA battery powered (still with the original Sony batteries after 4 months of use)

= Includes additional buttons that the movie-only users would expect on a remote such as:

+ a number pad

+ eject

+ red, green, blue, yellow buttons

+ play, stop, pause

+ slow(step), scan(left/right), prev/next

+ display, top menu, pop up menu, return

+ subtitles, angle, audio

What is interesting about this remote is that you can use it for much more than movie-playing. Given that it has all the six-axis buttons, guess what? You can use it, and I do use it to:

- surf the web

- play music

- shop at the PSN store

- play certain games such as Sudoku

- turn the PS3 on/off when your six-axis controllers are in the charger and I am playing GT5 that is using a racing wheel

And, yes, you CAN turn the PS3 on and off with this remote. Turning it on is easy – you simply press the PlayStation button and the PS3 turns itself on. To turn it off, you either go as far to the left on the X-bar and all the way up and press Enter (the turn-off PlayStation icon will be highlighted) or you simply hold the PlayStation button pressed for a few seconds and then select ‘yes’ and press the X button a couple of times.

Overall: I am happy with this peripheral. Yes, it’s one more remote control but it’s a pretty good one, for the reasons I stated above.

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Notes – Aug 29, 2009, after 16 months of use

I find that I’m using the remote more and more, not only for playing movies but for navigating the XMB and at the PSN Store, also when playing music or slideshows. Due to its very convenient arrows wheel with an ‘enter’ button in the middle, navigating the PS3 and doing just about anything other than playing games is a lot easier than using the PS3 game controller. Unlike the controller which normally requires two hands to hold, this is basically a one-hand operation where you hold the remote in one hand and operate the wheel with your thumb. And because it’s Bluetooth, not IR (Infrared), you don’t even need to point it at the PS3.

And, one word on battery life. After about 15-16 months of operation, this is probably the third set of batteries so I’d estimate battery life to be about 4-6 months. Not too bad.

Review by Lisa Shea:

Most PS3 owners enjoy not only the gaming abilities of their system, but also the built in Blu-Ray DVD player. The Sony remote control accessory lets you play those movies with great ease.

The remote combines the regular buttons of our other DVD players with the funky look of the PS3. You have a red, green, blue and yellow button – labelled with their color names! You also get a circle, X, square and triangle to do a few things like brinigng up the options and back choices.

The main buttons – play, stop, forward, back – are laid out reasonably nicely at the bottom of the remote with large buttons. There are small buttons up on top for the number keys, and a very tiny eject button.

Missing completely is a power button!! You have to hit the PS button in the center and go through the regular PS3 menus to get the power to turn off. In fact, while I was writing this review, I accidentally hit a button on the remote and the PS3 turned on. We were watching regular TV, so now I have to wait until our show is over, switch over to the PS3 and use the buttons to turn the system back off again. That doesn’t make much sense at all to me.

Also, on our Oppo DVD remote, the buttons glow which makes it REALLY nice to use in the dark or dim light that most people watch movies in. This unit is completely black with black buttons. This makes it pretty much useless in low light conditions until you memorize all of the button locations. You would think by now that remote control makers would have their buttons backlit or at least glow-in-the-dark to handle this.

The unit takes two AA batteries which makes it a bit heavy, but certainly within the normal range of remotes.

It’s easy enough to sync up the remote with the PS3. It’s bluetooth powered, so you go into the PS3 menu and use the options there to indicate you have a new remote. Note that the base level PS3 will not handle this – you have to have a connection to the internet from your PS3 and run an update routine. If you don’t have an internet connection for your PS3, you have to create an update CD on your PC to do this update.

Well recommended – but it really could be much better to be great.

Review by The Matrix Fan:

Well folks, now that the dust has settled from the Sony vs. Immersion lawsuit, Playstation 3 owners are finally able to feel the vibe again!

I purchased this controller today and I knew the only way to properly road-test it was on the game that made the Dualshock famous, Metal Gear Solid. After booting up the game, I walked down the hallway and got spotted by a guard. As he shouted, “WHO’S THAT?” the controller jumped in my hand – and I knew this was a smart purchase. As the guards shot at me, I felt the feedback of the bullets, just as I had 10 years ago on my Sony Playstation.

I picked out another old school Playstation game, Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. From Ayame’s blades to Rikimaru’s sword, each sword swipe and jump had excellent feedback.

Okay, so my Playstation games worked out. But what about my Playstation 2 library?

I popped in God of War, knowing I had to feel the swing of the Blades of Chaos. The controller vibrations felt a little lighter here, but the vibrations still occurred at the appropriate times.

Then I chose Incredible Hulk Ultimate Destruction. Who better to test a vibration controller than the Sultan of Smash? All the power jumps and smashes had the vibrations intact, but they still felt a little on the light side.

All right, so far I was two for two with my Playstation and Playstation 2 test subjects. But what about my Playstation 3 games? Could I possibly hit a trifecta?

I put in Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune and I decided to jump right into a heated firefight. The controller gave me feedback while shooting weapons and getting hit by enemy fire, but I knew my purchase was justified when Drake was near death: I FELT THE DUALSHOCK 3 PULSING IN SYNCH WITH DRAKE’S HEARTBEAT. It’s one thing to hear that noise and know he’s near death, it’s quite another to feel the pulse in my own hands.

Okay, so the feedback on the older games was there, but a little lighter than I remember. The reason? Well, when I decided to go wireless on my Playstation 2 system, I bought a Logitec Dualshock controller. It turns out, that controller takes two “AA” batteries, and the vibration motors inside the controller handles are slightly larger than the ones in the Dualshock 3. That’s where I felt the difference.

The Dualshock 3 vibrations may be slightly less than the Logitec controller, but it doesn’t require the purchase of batteries.

The Dualshock 3 may be slightly heavier than the SixAxis, but it doesn’t take up any extra space at all.

Sure, the price is about more than the SixAxis, but it’s a worthy upgrade for the Playstation 3 gamer who kicks it old school as well as new school. The only other drawback is the lack of an additional USB cable – but we can use the one that came with the system itself.

So what’s the final verdict?

Order it, plug it in, charge it up, and get ready for the inevitable downloads from the Playstation Store to make the older PS3 games Dualshock 3 compatible.

I wouldn’t recommend a feedback peripheral without providing my own feedback…

Enjoy!

Review by Sebastian Fernandez:

I was already extremely happy with the Sixaxis controller, but I could not resist getting the DualShock 3. Not only do you get the rumble, but also, it feels much better in your hands, even for those games that do not use this feature. The rumble function is fun, but on top of that, it helps with gameplay, because “feeling” what is happening provides a lot more feedback than just watching how your character or car reacts to the environment.

The biggest surprise of all was that the rumble works with PS 2 games in the PS 3 system. I am currently playing through “God of War”, a game which had the rumble capability in PS 2. I thought that it was unlikely that I was going to get this feature with this new controller in the PS 3, but it worked perfectly.

I know that having to buy a new controller and basically discard the one that came with the system is not the ideal situation, but I have to say this product is really worth shedding the extra bucks.

Review by Bradford Schmidt:

A lot of people have written about the pros and cons of the PS3 vs. XBOX 360 vs. Wii. I’m not bothering with that, and assume you can find that information at elsewhere. I’m also assuming you can read all about why the PS3 would or would not fit your needs.

Instead, I’d like this review to explain what exactly this configuration is (there’s a lot of confusion about that,) and why I think it hits the sweet spot. Basically, there are currently 2 versions of the PS3 on the market now. Ignoring the size of the drive for a second (because you can always swap the drive anyway, and it has no real bearing on the rest of the specs) think of them as Version A (currently available – or not as the case may be – in the PlayStation 3 80 GB Metal Gear Solid 4 Pack) and Version B (this one.)

The first thing that you need to understand is that there are three relevant differences between these two versions besides the included bundle and the price (the MGS one is 9 from amazon, more from third parties.)

Difference #1: Version A (MGS pack) is backward compatible with PS2 games while this one is NOT (they are both backward compatible with PS1 games however.)

Difference #2: Version A has 4 USB ports as well as memory card slots, while this version has only 2 USB ports and NO memory card slots.

Difference #3: AND THIS FOR ME IS BIG: Version A has the older and larger 90nm Cell processor, while this one has the smaller (and some say more reliable) 65nm Cell processor. Power consumption on this unit is lower as well, dropping from 200 Watts to 135 watts. The end result is a machine that runs cooler and, according to all reports as well as my personal experience, much quieter. An extremely relevant factor if you watch movies with it.

For those that have been looking for a while, this is basically the 40GB machine that was offered recently, with a larger hard drive and an upgraded controller – they replaced the basic sixaxis controller with the Dualshock 3 controller (which means it has rumble.)

Now Version A is packaged with Metal Gear Solid. It has an 80GB drive like this one, and the same controller. The big differences are listed above. Until this configuration was released, the larger hard drive and Dualshock controller were 2 of the 4 reasons many people felt the MGS pack was worth the additional 0. Those two factors are now eliminated. The remaining differences are the backward compatibility with PS2 games and the MGS game itself, which can of course be bought separately.

So to sum it up, if you NEED PS2 compatibility, you might want to grab the MGS pack if you can get one – that or keep your old PS2. For new buyers though, and for all of the people that are going to just play PS3 games, as well as avid movie watchers, this particular configuration is fantastic. You get the big drive, the good controller, PLUS the cooler running chip, a quieter machine and a system that uses about 33% less power.

And ok – just to satisfy the basic requirements of a review, I’ll list some other nice stuff: It includes a Blu-ray DVD player (one of those runs almost as much as, or more than, this entire box), the online play is FREE, wireless connectivity is built in (you don’t have to buy an additional piece as with some others), reliability has been quite good (much better than some others), there are some great PS3-only titles, and you can stream media to it from your PC. There’s more, but there are plenty of people outlining it.

As always, do your research and see what’s best for you. Maybe the 360-only titles are must haves for you, or maybe your family fits a Wii. We have a Wii and I love it. But I also love my PS3, and in my opinion this configuration is the one to get (this month anyway.)

Review by John Schinter:

The Playstation 3 is an incredible Blue Ray Player, that has features NOT available in any other Blue Ray Player. I am not a game player – and simply bought this unit as a Blue Ray and DVD player. However – on comparison, there are so many benefits compared to other Blue Ray players.

Here are the surprise benefits you get from this INCREDIBLE technology vs. a regular Blue Ray Player:

1. Picture Quality – SUPERB (Easily compares to most expensive Blue Ray Players)

2. REGULAR DVD’s PLAY IN A HIGHER RESOLUTION – Incredible difference to a regular DVD player.

3. Wireless INTERNET Connection – Surf web on your TV. (NO WIRES REQUIRED)

4. Automatic BLUE RAY format Updates (FREE and AUTOMATIC) – Upgrades as technology changes.

5. HARD Drive (80 GB) – Store movies, music, etc.

6. Beautiful Black Console – Doesn’t look like a game player on shelf.

7. EASY to set-up (Ready in a few minutes)

8. LOWER PRICED – All these unique features, at a lower price than the other Blue Ray players

I have no idea why anyone would ever consider a standard BLUE RAY or DVD player once you have had a chance to try out the features of the PS3. Having the internet on our TV allows us full access to news, weather, radio, music video’s, etc.

I was told that low price BLUE RAY players cannot play many movies and DVD’s because the BLUE RAY format is constantly changing – and the Playstation 3 is the ONLY BLUE RAY unit to have automatic updates that will correct for new Blue Ray formats in the future.

NO COMPARISON – Hands down BEST BLUE RAY Player with the most features on the market!

HIGEST POSSIBLE RATING………

Review by Sky:

Just like its most recent predecessors, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War, the campaign portion of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is a really fun game with extremely intense battle sequences. The downfall is that it’s very very short. So let me start by saying that if you’re not set up to, or you just don’t intend to, play the online co-op or multiplayer modes, you really want to think twice before paying full price for this game. Single players either need to rent this or wait for an inexpensive used copy to go on sale.

So you get three game options: Special Ops (online isn’t necessary, but at least two players are required for some of the missions), Multiplayer (designed to be played online; this is no fun split-screen with a max of 4 players), and the single player Campaign that took me less than 6 hours to finish.

In single player Campaign mode, you’re a first person shooter (soldier) on the frontlines, and this time the frontlines aren’t limited to overseas territories. Primarily you’re playing separate, interlacing missions all over the world as two different characters. The story takes place several years after CoD 4 ended. And just as in CoD 4 you’re with a team of characters that are truly your band of Artificial Intelligence brothers. On easier settings the AI soldiers can do practically all of the work for you on some missions; the help you might get from your team is based on the difficulty setting you’ve chosen. So unless you want to just glide through the game, definitely don’t pick the Recruit difficulty (the other difficulty options are Regular, Hardened and Vet).

I could take away a star from the overall score of this game for how short the single player mode is, but I won’t….All of a sudden it’s not so short when you go back and try to play on the Vet setting and spend the time looking for all of the Intel items.

You arrive in single player boot camp just like in all of the previous CoDs, and you get a brief tutorial on how to maneuver around, shoot your weapons & throw grenades. After boot camp you get to choose the difficulty setting, then you’re immediately strewn into various battles. (Once you’ve completed the game on any setting you can go back to various chapters to clean up any items or trophies missed, and at the start of each chapter you can choose to attempt on the higher difficulties.)

You fight your way through some intense chapters….really intense. In fact, when you first start off, there’s even a warning that you’ll be in for some VERY disturbing sequences, and you have the option to tell the game to skip “offensive material”. Ummm…no thanks. I think that this is the first game that I’ve played that offers the option to censor itself if you choose the option. The story is a bit choppy at times, but the battles are wild. The graphics are out of this world, and some of the “familiar territory” scenes will just blow you away with how much it really looks like your own back yard.

The weapons are plentiful and sophisticated. You’re shooting whichever modern-day weapon you happen to have picked up along your objective route. Objectives that guide you along are updated regularly as you complete each task throughout each chapter. And some of those tasks are brutal. There are frequent checkpoints (I think I remember even reaching new checkpoints without firing a single shot) in the campaign, so no need to worry about respawning back before what seemed to take an eternity to complete. On the other hand….

….There is the Special Ops portion of the game. I think that there are 23 different missions for you here, and you can play each one by trying to earn 1, 2 or 3 stars in each mission. Some of these are darn hard, especially the final 3-star unlocks. You will be frustrated by playing some of these a few times before you beat the levels to earn your stars. And there are no checkpoints in these missions, so if you fail in the final moments of a mission, you start over from the beginning of that mission.

Special Ops is most fun with a partner. It’s best online so that you get to play full screen, but if you have a guest over you can play split screen offline. For all you World at War players looking for Zombies, you’re out of luck here. You get Special Ops instead. There was a silly rumor that MW2 would have an “Alien Invaders” mode that would rival the Zombie mode of WaW, but that indeed was just a silly rumor.

Online Multiplayer is where you’ll get addicted. No AI brothers here…just your fellow gamers. You’d better have your FPS skills honed if you think that you’ll score better than some of the MW2 online players. A very high percentage of the online players have been honing their skills online for years now with CoD4 and World at War.

The concept with Multiplayer is certainly not new. The more you play, the higher you rank allowing you to unlock more (fine tuned) weapons. The game sets you up in matches with people at your level and rank, but that ain’t gonna help you if you’re new (you will be fondly referred to as a noob by your swell fellow online players) and you’re up against the CoD4 or WaW vets.

What makes MW2 Multiplayer more than just a new map pack for CoD4 is that the Multiplayer weapons and perk system are vastly improved. And so is connectivity (so it seems in the initial week of play after a few day one and two glitches). You get 10 times the amount of points for the kills and captures that you’re used to getting only 5 or 10 points for in CoD4 and WaW. You also now get points for not just killing and capturing, but for taking out enemy air support, coming back from deathstreaks, killing your nemesis, breaking an enemy’s streak and other stuff. Yeah, Multiplayer is good fun, habitual and bad for a marriage.

So all in all Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is major fun. The only drawbacks to this awesome game are that the campaign is really short and the multiplayer action is a bit familiar. But the MW2 Multiplayer improvements over its predecessors far out weigh the familiarity.

Modern Warfare 2 is a must for FPS fans. Add it to your cart, soldier!

Review by J. J. Marino:

My Experience:

Being I am an OG, from the 70′s my reaction times are slowing down and I know it. I actually enjoy the campaign modes in these games. Which is why I am giving it a 2 star. I am sure people will blast me because the MULTIPLAYER IS WHERE ITS AT MAN!!! OMGWTROXXORZ.!11. I agree that the multiplayer can be fun, but this is a review of the game as it stands.

Campaign Mode: ***** 5 star

First off the campaign mode. The graphics and scenes are so absolutely beautiful I would give this a 5 star hands down, it is what brought this title up from a 1 star. From the basic places like the airport in the mountains. The snow, the weather, it all seems to be so very real and inviting. When you have to take back the White House it is breathtaking from the color of the sky to the helicopters crashing all around you. Wonderful, epic and left me wanting more. Which, leads us to the reason I want to give this a 1 star.

Campaign Story: 0000* 1 star

The campaign mode is ridiculously short. I wanted to take my time taking it all in and several missions push you the whole time to GO GO GO!!! which is expected due to the insane pace of the enemies. It really sucks you in and makes you feel part of it, however, it falls horribly short due to the anemic plot and, well…shortness… The major issue with the campaign is the incredibly weak story. They never explain why anything has happened, the dialogue between the characters is full of hyperbole and patriotic fluff. I realize the world thinks Americans are a bunch of yahoo cowboys, but come on with the brainless pointless dialogue.

Sub campaign:

The Spec Ops are so-so fun, but its just a rehash of the campaign you just finished.

Now lets discuss the 10,000 pound gorilla in the room.

Multiplayer 0000* 1 star

I understand its my lack of skillzorz that makes the multiplayer frustrating. That does not mean that I have to give a game I do not enjoy anything more than I have. The new titles and other 1337 embellishments they have thrown into the multiplayer has done nothing but polish what I perceive as a pile of excrement. Playing with a friend can make multiplayer a bit more fun. Going into a game where only 2 out of 18 have a mic, where most are young kids, and some have voice modifiers so we dont know they are kids,(yea right Darth), is nothing short of pure hell. Its not fun, nor is it the reason I got this game.

After playing such epics as Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune & Uncharted 2: Among Thieves this game pales in comparison for the depth of characters, re-playability, and overall scope. I am not a glutton for punishment so games like Demon’s Souls have little appeal to me. I have a family, job and other things taking up my time, (like Amazon reviews), so a 2-3 hour frag fest where I am repeatedly killed over and over holds no appeal to me either.

For the -Not Helpful- voters:

I am sure this review will garner a fair share of negative votes. Just remember you too are entitled to your opinion and you too can write a review on any product and YOUR experience with that product. My experience with this product, while amazing, was brief and ultimately very frustrating. If this was a review of a new electric toothbrush and that toothbrush shocked you every time you used it, you too could come here and write about it was a pain to use. Reviews are not meant as an -I am a fan or I hate it-, instead it is meant as a way to let customers hear a varied and alternative view of a product. I think overall Activision did a pretty good job with this game. The soundtrack was spot on and sounded great. But making the game as a single player and a multiplayer means its not excellent at either one. Sure your Honda Civic can go off-road but eh, do you think it will hold up well?

Pros:

>> Beautiful animations

>> Epic scenes

>> Motion capture is fantastic

>> Fantastic soundtrack

Cons: