First 48hrs with the Playstation 3 GJ Sony

Ok so up front I have to let you know I owned an original Xbox and have had an Xbox 360 for the past year and a half. Being an original PC gamer I've never much liked the idea of paying a monthly charge to play a video game. It just kind of blows my mind. I suppose the advent of DLC might have made it worth while but then why am I paying a third party plus paying the developer for that DLC. Regardless I've done it and it was good. Definitely a solid experience from Microsoft. But...with the exception of the money from my wallet I really didn't know what I was missing.

First what you need to know is that we're about half way through this generations life cycle. Both Microsoft and Sony have stated they plan to keep this generation of consoles for 10 years plus. That means 5 more years of the 360 at $50 a year. That's $250, give or take 5 games worth of cash. May be some of you make enough money that it is inconsequential but I think for most of us thats a tidy bit of money. An while we're on the subject of money Microsoft points are designed to generate that non-round amount that leaves you just short of the amount you need to buy that next game or avatar item. The PlayStation charges real money at set amounts. No need to worry about left over cash on your account that you can't use. Score 1 for the PlayStation. The other effect this has is the ability for any one who uses the system to create a free login/profile on playstation.com and log in to the system to maintain their own Trophy record, use their own financial information to buy games and avatar items and to maintain their own friend list. The girl friend is much happier getting in to the online action and I can barely tear her away from Fat Princess.

Second is in the social aspect. While PlayStation Home is definitely a unique and fun way to interact with people and view certain types of content its just worth mentioning as a unique point of interest. My actual point is that I had the Xbox 360 for a year and a half and I've met precisely zero people online that I play games with. Every one I play 360 with were either met online but not on the Microsoft service or were people I know in real life. Day two with the system and I've all ready added one friend, who is some one I've never met in real life, just from sharing a squad in a game of Battlefield Bad Company 2. It's not clear yet if that says something about the nature of gamers who choose a PlayStation 3 or if it says something about the folks on the Xbox 360 or may be its just happy coincidence. No matter how you look at it I'm up one friend and team mate over a year and a half with the Xbox. We'll see what the future holds.

The system uses Bluetooth. If you've used a cell phone then you probably know what that is. It's a standard wireless technology for connecting things in close proximity. Controllers, keyboards, and headsets are the most common things connected to a console via this technology. I saw bluetooth headsets at Walmart for $13. How much is a 360 wireless headset now? The PS3 also supports other standards and functionality like USB ports front and back with the ability to plug in standard FAT formatted hard drives for things like video content, music and even full system backups. While the Xbox 360 can do the first two it doesn't do the last one. Throw in user replaceable internal hard drives for easy upgrades in the future using standard cheap SATA based hard drives. I can drop $100 for 1TB for my PS3 or I can drop...oh wait the only option is a 250GB for the same price for the Xbox 360.

Many of the games on the PlayStation 3 are more unique and more fun than those on the Xbox 360(I do realize thats subjective) and the majority of big title games are cross platform and thus available on the PlayStation 3. The Blueray player is great when the compressed HD from netflix just won't do it justice or if you have to have a physical medium in your possession(*cough*avatar*cough*). It's far more quite than the Xbox 360 and consumes less space. I could go on but alas a geeks gotta sleep. I look forward to more posts about the awesomeness of the PlayStationo 3 and all the new possibilities it provides over the Xbox 360.

P.S. While I was shopping around for my Playstation 3 I found a few places selling the 250GB for only $50 more than the 120GB version. Hard to beat a deal like that.

Spank It! Deathspank still on the way!

Just wanted to write a short post and remind every one that Deathspank still looks amazing and still has me very excited. I might even be able to pull my self away from Battlefield Bad Company 2 long enough to give it a good play through. Some interesting developments is that Gamespot is listing it as canceled for the PC and only for Xbox 360 and PS3. Diablo meets Monkey Island can't possibly go wrong. No word yet on multiplayer, co-op or any sort of online elements. Do you really need all that fluff when it sports a huge number of customizable equipment...yes. Regardless the game looks beautiful and buttery smooth. Excited!

Modern Warfare 2 FAIL...I Told You So!

I'm not so delighted to admit that my original post from my old blog where I detail how Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 was going to fail in lord only knows how many ways is at the moment lost. My contract with my service provider was up and while I did make a backup the hard drive that backup was on was lost or stolen some where in my move to my new job. I will post my original article when I manage to recover it.

To my delight and surprise however Game Informer this month has an article about how Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 is a buggy problem ridden game. Despite the fact that Infinity Ward and Activision tried to convince every one that a beta won't be necessary and neither will independently run servers. That everything was under control. We all know what happens when the ship is deemed unsinkable. Thats right a bunch of crazies who would have otherwise spent their time making mods and admining their servers now spend their time poking holes in your(Activision and Infinity Wards) unsinkable ships digital hull. The funny part is that the article in Game Informer closes down its exposition with the statement "If Infinity Ward could deliver glitch-free action, balanced game play, a steady flow of new content, I for one would be more than willing to shell out a few dollars a month for an evolving standalone multiplayer experience." Hmmm the description sounds a lot like a description of Battlefield Bad Company 2 and it's long term content release plans.

Now the uber game is keeping some "Bad Company 2", yeah thats right I went there, and things aren't quite so rosy. It'll be fun to see how the Battlefield franchise fairs over all at the end of the year. For all those MW2 players jilted by Activision and Infinity Ward's inability to fix the problem I truly am sorry. I wish this was one I could blame on EA.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 Day + 2

I'm finding my self having trouble quantifying the intense experience that is Battlefield Bad Company 2. The destructibility is far from a gimmick in this game. While other games before it have attempted to provide this level of destruction they've done it in a very over the top blatant way as to bring the destruction in to the fore ground. Battlefield Bad Company 2 makes it epic, no doubt, but does it in such a believable way so as to make it fade in to the background, as a set piece to the frantic, adrenaline inducing experience that is a Battlefield game. I've died a million times over in video games but nothing compares to seeing the shrapnel from the wall fly across the screen as it knocks your character sideways in a manner straight out of a war movie.

I could probably go on for pages about the physics and how it helps the experience but there are a few other points of note regarding the difference in PC and Xbox versions. The PC version despite having a release on Xbox 360 is not a "Games for Windows Live" game. While this is initially a good thing, in my opinion, it is also an EA game. Some how DICE has managed to get EA to keep its fingers mostly out of its business. This keeps your interface good and clean with no overlays and only a brief login to the EA system. On the one hand EA and the PC version of the game provide a medals system and the Xbox 360 version provides the requisite achievements and what appears to be a 'coming' slew of awards. The Xbox system also seems to have a 'store' function where it'll cost you Microsoft Points to hook up the maps, awards and new achievements along with new uniforms and possibly new gear. It appears there is no real clear winner in which version is more enticing. The Xbox 360 version definitely has that capitalistic Xbox sort of bent to it and the list of achievements recognizable by people beyond the game is kind of nice but the PC version looks better as gives the real pure experience.

If you're on an Xbox 360 you absolutely have to give the squad rush demo a go. I'm not sure the state of a demo for the PC but if you can get some time on a friends PC most certainly take the opportunity and savor it. It's a superb experience that can't be beat.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 Quick Look

I hope in the next day or two prior to release to post a full blown pre-view article about Battlefield Bad Company 2 but for now I only have time for a short run down/preview. We'll call it a "quick look" since I won't be going in to any kind of real detail. First a disclaimer that I am in fact a Battlefield fan boy. I spent the two years prior to my deployment playing primarily Battlefield 2142. That aside I've played way more than my fair share of the Call of Duty series and the R.I.P. Medal of Honor series as well. You might call me a military FPS buff of sorts. So lets get down to buisness.

Graphically this game holds its own with the latest and best which is to be expected from a title from such a huge juggernaut of gaming as DICE backed by EA. I don't think I need to say much there. You can find video and screen shots on plenty of other sites. But akin to that is the graphical effect that the deformable terrain and destructible environments have on the game. There is nothing more spine tingling than when you make your way through a portion of the map that has all ready seen action. A space that went from pristine village to smoldering pile of rubble. This certainly isn't the first game to do that but it is the first to involve as many particle effects, real time destruction and in such a believable way.

The level design also seems to be pretty amazing as long as it holds up. Right now the only playable map in the beta/demo is a squad rush map that appears to be part of what is no double a larger map that you play through in either the campaign or in one of the other game modes. If DICE manages to maintain the level of polish and superb map design this game will stand up to the best in over all balance and playability.

Please please please grab the demo on your Xbox 360 or find your way in to the beta on your PC. This game HAS to be played!