I never really liked the Playstation 3. I loved the original Playstation, but I was a latecomer to the Playstation 2, having backed the Dreamcast early on. The Playstation 3 always seemed like an expensive second stringer to the Xbox 360 and I only bought it for the exclusives, specifically for Heavy Rain. There were a few exceptional exclusives, but honestly, there was so much wrong with Playstation 3.
Where to start? Well, first off (and most pettily) I hate that it uses the Spider-Man font on case, which was a massive slab of grease and dust grabbing shininess. The XMB menu system was uninspired and annoying, both in the sense that it felt like it was actively hiding things from you (and was eventually filled by Sony with shit you didn’t need), but also that it stood for Cross Media Bar. Fuck off, mate.
The mid-level annoyances were that the console felt a bit disconnected when compared to the 360. No private chat, no party chat and no simple way to track what your friends were up to. Playing together didn’t feel as intuitive. It felt strangely detached. I tended to find that any multi-platform games didn’t work particularly well on the (theoretically) technically superior PS3, especially Bethesda’s open world games.
The worst elements were physical, however. Turning the system on was like starting up a Boeing 747. The fan was unbelievably loud. If you had the audacity to look as something even remotely graphically taxing in-game and it would crescendo to a 747 actually taking off. It was ridiculous. If you ever want to appreciate silence, have a 3 hour gaming session on the old phat PS3, it will leave your ears ringing.
Lastly, the Dual Shock 3 controller is absolute shit show. I hate it more than any other controller in history, even more than the gimmicky Alien 3 shaped joystick for the Commodore 64. It feels cheap, plasticky and altogether too light. I honestly twisted one in two in a fit of rage, but that isn’t the worst thing about it. The analogue sticks feel far too loose and unresponsive. There is a promise of third party controllers, but they all lack the horrifically tacked on “Sixaxis” functions. Even using the infinitely superior DS4 on the PS3 is bizarrely lacking. The Home button, vibration and motion controls all don’t work.
There were positives to the system. The superb backwards compatibilty on the first edition of the console was a major selling point. Sadly, the aforementioned obnoxiously loud fan puts paid to the usefulness of that particular feature. Another nice feature (and one that I actually took advantage of) was the ability to install Linux and use your PS3 as a PC. That little bonus was removed abruptly at one point and there was one less reason to turn on my PS3.
For me, the only positives for the PS3 initially were the games exclusive to the console. In fact my list of essential games for the console is made up purely of exclusives. However, with my purchase of the Playstation 4, my PS3 found itself used a lot more. Why? Well, simply put – Trophies. Yes, I am a complete sucker for the little plinks and dings you get for mundane actions, and the fact that the Playstation Account syncs across both systems and the PS Vita, adds a level of motivation for me. Pathetic, I know…
Ooh! Another positive is that with Playstation Plus, which is all but compulsory on the PS4, you get “free” games every month for all three systems. “Free” in that you pay an annual fee for them, and “free” in that you lose access to the games if you ever cancel your PS Plus. Luckily, Sony weren’t involved in the Free Nelson Mandela movement…
The top ten essential games for the system are:
- The Last of Us
- Tokyo Jungle
- Demons Souls
- Ridge Racer 7
- Dragon’s Crown
- Little Big Planet
- Killzone 2
- Infamous
- Heavy Rain
- Metal Gear Solid 4 (I suppose…)
Wull Scott 