Well, I've gotta say. The luster of the Wii has worn off on me and I'm left feeling a little empty. I loved the new Zelda and Metroid Prime 3, but Mario Galaxy (braces for vicious attacks), really didn't impress me. I liked it but didn't love it. I played it, but it was forcefully. I played Smash Bros Brawl at a local Best Buy, and it was less than impressive to me. I picked up No More Heroes and thoroughly enjoy it but don't seem to pick it up. So what's the problem? The Wii doesn't feel next-gen enough to me. I like the motion controls and I still love the Nintedo exclusives but there really isn't much else out for it.

Well, it was good while it lasted. Hopefully it's just a funk and I snap out of it. Prolly not though

Got my dual shock 3 yesterday. Got it from a Circuit City but what was cool is that it rang up $49.99 (not $54.99 MSRP), and I had a 10% off gamer's savings card so I actually got it for $44.99. Not a bad deal.

A note: I do wish Sony was honest from the beginning about why they didn't include rumble, but it's good to have it back. Controller feels a lot sturdier and it just feels right now. The Sixaxis controller was just too light for my tastes. Good to have you back rumble.

Well, I've had the PS3 for about 8 months now. I've had some ups & downs with it but many more ups than downs. Below are some points I love about the system and some things that could use some changing.

1) The System Itself

I own the 60GB model which features backwards compatibility which I still have yet to use. Overall, the system has given me very few problems. The one nagging issue I DO have though is that periodically (once every couple months), I'll turn the PS3 on and it will lose it's video/audio settings. It doesn't take long to set it back up but it's a nuisance.

I haven't really had the system lock up on me. It locked up one time during Resistance but never again except for Assassin's Creed which was a known software issue with the game. The system runs quiet and plays movies without any problems (something I had lots of trouble with with the 360).

2) The Controller

I would personally like to see an updated controller. I'm glad the rumble controller is coming out but I'd like to see a controller that is more like a mix between the PS3 & 360 controller. The PS3 controller feels just a bit too small. Also, the trigger buttons could stand to feel a bit better. The Sixaxis works fairly well but seems to be very touchy when used for control. I like it's use in Warhawk as it frees up my fingers for other functions, but I feel I lose precision but do gain some reaction time.

3) The Online Store

The format for the store is just OK. It does what it needs to do and not much else. It needs an overhaul and it sounds like Sony will be doing this just in time for GT Prologue.

4) In-Game XMB (or lack thereof)

I won't dwell on this point too much as Sony has stated we will see in-game XMB this year, but it's annoying to receive a message and have to exit a game to check it. Creating parties in multi-player games can also be a challenge b/c of this.

5) Home

I'll admit, I wasn't thrilled about Home when I heard about it. But then I read the latest update. THIS WILL BE AWESOME! You will be able to meet your friends in a "game room", Warhawk for example, then launch everyone in the room into the game automatically. This is EXACTLY what I want for multiplayer. This will make things so much easier and am really glad to see this as a feature. I'm curious how the "accomplishment" system will work and would like to see more support for it.

6) The Games

2007 some great exclusive titles such as Uncharted (one of the best games this year) and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (another solid title), but that was about it. 2008 however is a whole other story. We get Gran Turismo Prologue in April, Haze in May (could be hit or miss), MGS4 in June, LittleBigPlanet in September, Killzone 2 sometime in the summer, and the 60-player online, 8 player online co-op, 2 campaign game that will be Resistance 2. Talk about a killer lineup of titles! 2008 will be a great year for all PS3 owners.

-The Final Verdict

Well, most of the negatives I pointed out are things that Sony have stepped up to the plate on and have addressed. The controllers are getting rumble, the online store is getting an overhaul, Home will be making online life easier, and there's a HUGE lineup of AAA titles coming out in the coming months. Overall, I'm thrilled with the purchase of my PS3 and have much more to look forward to this year. It's going to be a great year for the PS3 and if you're on the fence about buying one, I can tell you I'm glad I bought mine.

Well, it's been about 2 weeks since I've had my PS3 and there's a lot to like about it. There's also plenty of room for improvement so here's a list detailing my thoughts on it.

1) The Controller

Well, the controller is relatively unchanged from the PS2 controller except for the addition of the PS button which takes you to the home screen, turns off the controller/system, etc, and the changing of the L2 & R2 buttons. These two buttons are now a little longer and have a springy feel to them. I honestly have to say that I prefer the 360 controller to this one. The 360 controller just fits nicely in your hands. My biggest gripe with the controller is that during extended gaming sessions, the L2/R2 buttons feel a tad awkward and actually cramp my fingers.

2) The System itself

The graphics look great and it has every video/audio output you could ask for. One thing that really stood out to me was that the system is extremely quiet when running, unlike the 360 which sounds like a jet engine. The system looks very sleek but shows up dust within a day. I haven't had the system freeze up or show any glitches yet which is a great thing. They system automatically adjusts picture resolution very accurately. Power supply is built into the case so there's no giant brick sitting outside of your entertainment center. The system seems to run a little hot but apparently is designed that way so I'm not too worried about it.

3) Online Mode

The online mode for the PS3 is free which is great, especially for the gamer that only occasionally likes to hop online. The Home feature is not implemented yet so there isn't a great interactive network yet. There's no way to display your "skill points" to anyone such as the 360 has right now, but Sony plans to have this up by October. I've only played Resistance online, but the online seems to be flawless with respect to gameplay. I have not experienced one bit of lag, there's always plenty of people online, and I've been in 32 player matches so far. I like the voice chat in that you can use any bluetooth headset to communicate which eliminates a wired headset.

4) Game Selection

At the moment there's really not much out for the PS3. That all changes next month (August). Lair starts the month off and the year doesn't really let up for the PS3. Definitely looking forward to it.

5) Blu-Ray

I have a 720p tv and my ps3 is connected via HDMI. I have watched a standard DVD on it and a Blu-Ray disc so far. I don't notice a huge difference in picture clarity but I DO noticed a pretty big difference in color. When watching a Blu-Ray movie, I notice many colors I didn't see before and I notice different details such as lighting and reflections. I'm not overly impressed at the moment but it's nice to have the option for blu-ray for the price.

6) The Online Store

I like that you can download game demos, game trailers, and movie trailers at the Playstation Store. My one big gripe with it though is the lack of game demos that they have up and how long it takes to post them. the blacksite area 51 trailer has been on the 360 download service for over a week now and still no news of it for the PS store. Hopefully this gets better with the launch of home.

And that's about it for now. Overall I am very satisfied with my PS3 but there's still room for improvement. If anyone would like arecommendation I would say as an overall experience I like my PS3 more than the 360 at this point.

A few people have been asking me why I sold my 360 and now have a PS3 so I figured I'd explain it here. Let's start from the beginning shall we?

I first purchased my 360 in March of 2006. Although there werent' a ton of great titles out at the moment there were some good ones to come. I was impressed with the graphics of the system and the features of it. The wireless controller was a great add, and it just felt right in my hands. I really enjoyed the achievement system and Xbox Live is just a solid setup. Now on to the problems...

It was the beginning of the fall and I had owned my 360 for months now and with no problems and nothing but praise for it. Then one day in the middle of playing Oblivion I believe, the system just shut off. Upon closer inspection I saw 3 flashing red rings on the front of the system. Unaware of what the rings meant at the time, I just shrugged, unplugged the power cord, plugged it back in and everything worked again. Great right? NO!

I also used my 360 as a DVD player. I noticed that all of a sudden it had a lot of trouble playing DVD's. I had a few DVD's that the 360 didn't even recognize as DVD's which was odd, but the more annoying problem was that 1 out of ever 3 movies I would watch, in the middle of the movie it would just freeze. It acted as if there were a deep scratch on the disc and it was trying to get past that part (although there were no scratches at all). This became an insanely big nuisance as it made watching a movie a chore. Now, on to more problems...

I encountered the 3 flashing red light issue again and this time I looked into it. Come to find out it's the "red ring of death" issue. Great. I'm thinking my system is going to fail me. Unplugged power, plugged it back in, it worked again. Strange. This happened about two other times, all of which at points where my warranty had conveniently expired. Microsoft had not announced any reimbursements, or free fixes at this point. Fed up with constant problems, I decided to sell my 360. I already had a Wii at this point and had not even picked up my 360 to play games since anyway. It was basically a glorified DVD player now.

This was May 2007 that I sold the system. I honestly didn't miss it as no majorly great titles had come out recently, and the Wii was still coming out with titles I wanted to play. Now June, I was missing a high-def, primary game console. I wanted a PS3 but with the high-price tag I wanted to wait. Well July rolled around the corner and so did a $100 price drop. I jumped at the chance and picked up a PS3. So far so good. And to the contrary, I did NOT sell my 360 to get a PS3. I sold it b/c I hadn't played it since I got my Wii, and because of the numerous issues it had.

I am now very bitter towards Microsoft. Well actually, I already was but I still had some faith in their game consoles. I absolutely am tired of Windows as it has so many flaws and truly is an inferior product. Much like the 360. There are a few key things that really bug me about the whole 360 issues right now..

1) Red rings of death - It's one thing to have a problem happen, but it's how you deal with that problem that makes you a winner/loser in my book. Microsoft acknowledged long ago that they had this problem. They have been looking at how to fix it and have narrowed it down. You know what they're doing in the meantime? Still making "broken" units and shipping them to consumers. I don't know about the rest of you but if I spend $400 on a game console, I want to know it's going to work. I don't want a 1/3 chance of it breaking on me. This really irks me and it should irk the hell out of all of you too. It's nice that they have a 3-year warranty on it now, but again, it's an inconvenience to have to ship your system out and be without it for weeks if it breaks on you. Microsoft should have stopped production, fixed the issue, THEN start shipping again. This is just poor quality, poor planning, and lack of foresight on their part.

2) Their business plan, or lack thereof - You look at Nintendo. They launch an innovative system and it really takes off. They are continually innovating and coming out with new things for the Wii (Zapper, Balance Board, etc). They are making a profit on each system. Sony, while sales may be slow, they are sticking to their price points, going for the market that they want, incorporating blu ray to get it into everyone's home, and selling a premium product for a premium price. While I'll admit it's not the best business plan, they ARE sticking to it. Then you have Microsoft. The Xbox division has NEVER, NOT ONCE, EVER, turned a profit in the Xbox division. This amazes me. If this were any other business without Microsoft's fortune, they would have went under LOOOOOONG ago. They have no business plan b/c they try to mimic everyone else's. PS3 talks price cut, MS talks price cut. They seem to exist solely to try to run other companies out of business so they have no competition. Too bad for MS that they didn't anticipate the Wii being such a hit.

Well, all of this sums up why I sold my 360. I'm not denying that the graphics are great and it has great games because it truly does. If not for the freezing up or the red rings of death, I would probably still own my 360 today. Unfortunately that is not the case, and seeing what MS has been doing since the problems is just more reassurance that I made a good decision dumping my system when I did.

Well, after seeing rumors of certain Target stores selling the PS3 for $499 today, I decided to call around. Sure enough I found 1 out of 5 Target stores in my area selling it for $499. Needless to say, since I was waiting for a price drop to get one, I headed out and picked one up along with Resistance Fall of Man. So far I'm loving it. System is much quieter than the 360 I had, and graphics are beautiful. Now I just need some Blu-Ray DVD's so I can see how they look...Back to Resistance now.