The PlayStation 3 is Sony's third generation of home consoles. After the outstanding performance of the PlayStation 2 and the start of the two rivals the Wii and Xbox 360 the PS3 has a hard act to follow. Sony is not unique to their marketing the PS3 as a "supercomputer" and is capable of "4D" graphics, such bold claims I had to pick one for me and see if it was true, worry!

Unboxing

The first thing about the PlayStation 3-point indication is thatit's huge! The Xbox 360 had a fairly large field, but this is unbelievable that about 1.5 x as large. Design of the packaging itself is worth a mention, as it is fairly clean and the front has a picture of the console with the SIXAXIS wireless controller floating on a black and red background. On the lower left side you can see, your model number, either 40 GB or 60 GB (if you purchased an older console) the bottom right advertises the built-in Blu-ray Disc will be seeing player. To help youthey wear at home, it has a practical carrying handle, which is not very comfortable, it's not that the box weighs 6.5 kilograms and once I had the thing brought home my hands hurt!

When you open the box, the two carboard tabs instructed how reserved your system out. There are two segments, one smaller segment contains the SIXAXIS wireless controller, AV cable, USB cable and scart adapter. The second much larger segment contains the PS3 console itself,This is quit carefully wrapped in polythene to protect the console. There is also a (substantial) instruction manual at the bottom of the box buried, but I was too excited to not interfere with the reading!

Design

Wow! That was my reaction was when I first unpacked my PS3, it's almost a work of art! The console is the old model PS2 model but is much more curvy and made with the shiny black plastic of the PSP. PlayStation 3 font is written on the front of the machine in spiderman(I have no idea why they are working for them, but it seems). What is striking is an elegant silver band that runs down the disk tray and the console. Like the PS2, the console can be vertically and horizontally and the Playstation badge on the disk tray adjustable matching depending on what position are you positioned. I chose horizontal, as I did not want to risk falling. View of the Sixaxis does not seem much of the PlayStation 2 Dual Shock 2 controller, but have changed oncefurther inspection you will receive a Playstation button in the center of the controller notice and there are some triggers replacing the L2 and R2 buttons.

Features

I wanted to have a section set up, but honestly, if you have something connected to your TV set will have no difficulty. The first thing you'll notice when you turn on your PS3, the new interface the XMB or cross media bar, this will be familiar to those of you who have a PSP or Sony's high-end Bravia TVs used. It isvery simple and easy to scroll from left to right until you click the tab, then up and down, to have found select the function you want to access, too. The tabs on the XMB include, users, settings, photo, music, video, game, network, playstation network and friends.

The user tab is self explanatory, here you can create new user accounts for your PlayStation 3 on. Your user account stores all your personal settings and saved game data so multiple users can enjoy PS3 games at their own pace. If You are, you can easily switch users from accesing the user, and then select your logged on user.

The Settings tab is created where all your settings, for example if you use an HDMI cable for the PS3, you can here and say you bought the PS3 with HDMI and then you can, what you will choose up to 1080p resolution. Sound can be set here as well as configuring access to a wireless network and many other things like the language of the Blu Ray movies and controlling the> Upscaling of DVDs and original PlayStation games.

The Photo, Music and Video tabs all feature some of the same things. In the photo tab however there is a unique thing that the slide show. The PS3 will make your images in 3D and they are reflected in an elegant way to show your photos is perfect. If you burn an audio CD or Blu Ray movie they show themselves under the appropriate tabs. If you have a Media Center PC and configured it there is an option for searchingfor media servers where your PS3 displays all compatible media. The last function is a handy playlist, you can save a list of all your favorite music and photos for easy access to.

The Game tab is where you go to your games too (Access duh!) And you manage your game data. Blu Ray will be downloaded games and demos here with a handy preview often with music and images from the game, you have chosen (this is similar to the PSP). Additionally, the content is downloaded from removable mediaThis tab is no longer, if you want it and need space on your hard drive. An option to create a virtual memory card is on your hard drive for PS1 and PS2 games currently developing thoug the PS2 option is redundant on the 40 GB PlayStation 3 because it is not compatible with PS2 software.
The Network tab features an Internet browser, much like on a PSP although the PS3 is a USB keyboard and mouse so browsing on the PS3 compatibility is very easy to do but if you do not have a keyboard and mouse that you can doUse of the SIXAXIS controller, you use this Web site can be found by entering the name be a nuisance. The browser's bookmark feature so you can easily set up links to your favorite sites. There is an information panel, you can activate, this shows a news bar on the upper right corner of the screen when something in the eye you can go to the tab "Network" and you will see the story in a fullscreen window catches. Next you have the Remote Play function where you can configure access to your on PS3PSP, the only thing that is not accessible through remote play the PSP games do not have enough buttons, which is very neat as it can be configured to work via the Internet, so you may have access to all your media from any Internet connection. The last feature, folding at home, this project set up by Stanford University with the goal of curing cancer by folding proteins, this is optional and is not preinstalled on the PS3. If you want to use folding at home, it is a fast 50 MBdownload.

The PlayStation Network tab is where you, if you want to go beyond your PS3 for online gaming. After a short registration, where you choose your online name, avatar and insert the necessary information, you are ready to go. After you have done so in the situation, an account management function, where you can use to access your data if you no wrong question, and you change your avatar. The Playstation Store is here, and where you download demos, trailers, themes, andeven full games for PS3. Whatever you want to buy more games, you must enter your credit card details.

The last tab is the Friends tab, here you can manage your friends list. You can add friends, set up a block list to get players that you have met online, start an online chat with friends, you will see your message and of course your friends to see online status. They have a variety of ways of communication, the voice chat feature is great, and you can multi-user chats, which also havehave an option for sharing photos, there is also a crazy pitch changer built in and you can your voice sound very deep or very high. If the text you can send SMS messages, such as a mobile phone prefer PS3, the layout will be built with an automatic, where practical, quickly writing messages.

Other things worth mentioning are the Sixaxis controller is now wireless, is very light and has a built-in motion sensor. This is in most PS3 games used with varying success. It isrechargeable with the included USB cable. As an Xbox 360 owner I'm used to the sound of a small power plant in my room when I was using it, I am very pleased to say that the PS3 practically silent, even during games, which is very nice. The Blu Ray drive is also a great thing to have, as now I can watch HD movies and will not go to and a separate Blu-Ray player to buy, covered the costs up to £ 500. What does Blu Ray for games is that they can be packed with moreContent, as it is much more space on a Blu Ray disc, compared to a standard DVD.

Games

Games are what fail for a games console so even with all these features without great games console. The PlayStation 3 is slowly building a library of quality games in every genre. PS3 now has a pretty solid line-up of titles including Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction, which is a great explosive new game in the series with some of the most fun platforming yet,Heavenly Sword a solid action title with incredibly detailed characters and animation, Warhawk 32 players a battlefield style online shooter, Motorstorm a dirty racing game, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, a Tomb Raider-style adventure with some Gears of War-style shootout, Resistance Fall of Man , a great FPS with a great single-player campaign and a robust online mode. These are exclusive titles and the PS3 has many other great multiplatform games. PSN DownloadGames are also good with easy to learn and play songs like "Calling all Cars and Super Stardust HD. With the promise of more great exclusive titles such as the likes of Star Ocean 4, Killzone 2, Playstation Home, Little Big Planet, Gran Turismo 5 , Final Fantasy XIII and Metal Gear Solid 4 coming soon the PS3s future is looking bright!

Cons

The PS3 is far from perfect and has a few annoying issues. When you download a game demo or full game from the memory or evenplay a full game, you have to wait another 10 minutes or so constructed as to become, I will take this burden of certain data on the drive to improve load times and such, but it is annoying nonetheless. For those of you with 1080i HDTVs the PS3 can not use the correct scalar and downgrade the picture quality up to standard definition, this is a real disappointment, and requires the purchase of a new TV. Another irritation is the lack of any kind of representation of the PS3 in HDBox by Sony as the only "true" HD console is really disappointing and requires you to go and spend an extra £ 20 for a HDMI or component cable traded. In addition, the SIXAXIS wireless controller has no rumble, which you really miss, especially in racing games and shooters, with Sony's legal battle with Immersion, thankfully this has been resolved and we have promised, a DualShock 3 but that still means more money but if you but had no second controller may be wise to keepout. The last thing is the lack of backward compatibility was originally in the lower 60 GB model, but costs, (for them) they took it out of the 40 GB model. For newcomers to Playstation this is not a problem, but for people like me who have bought over 50 PS2 games, this is extremely irritating, as they say, I need to keep to my old PS2.

Price

The 40GB Playstation 3 costs £ 300 solo but there are many packages offer you games and extra controllers for just a little more. Ibought a PS3 with Ratchet & Clank and Warhawk for £ 330 from Game. If you get an HDTV to recall the necessary cables, so you can see PS3 at its best. There are a wide range of accessories from BluRay remotes PS2 controller adapter from € 10-30. Compared to its main competitor, the Xbox 360, the PS3 is slightly (£ 50 more than the Xbox premium package) more expensive, but it has much more functionality than standard, so I think it's worth the extra cost.
Some goodHowever, deals are available on computer-pc.com.

Conclusion

If you opt for an elegant and modern games console and enjoy the odd film now and then adapt the PS3 will suit your needs perfectly. If you only have one player who is already an Xbox 360 can consider it prudent to be a little longer until some of the great songs made up of a controller with rumble! 4 / 5

[http://www.computing-pc.com]

Related Reviews

• PS3 SLIM REVIEW (0)
• PS3 Review (0)
• PS3 Review (0)
• PS3 Review (0)
• PS3 Review (0)

Tags: Review