GameLuv on PlayStation 3 – Part 1.5
I wrote the first PlayStation 3 post in just a few hours and promised to touch on the games we’ve played next, but there are a few things I forgot to mention before. Let me get these out of the way and I promise, maybe by mid-next week I’ll have the games post written up.
Internet Browser
As cool as it is to just plug in a mouse and keyboard and have them work as expected, that browser is a waste. I finally found a downside to HD visuals. No matter how you much adjust it it still takes a mighty zoom-in to make the text readable. Opening multiple windows is a rare console browser trick but things are constantly being auto scaled to fit the screen which requires lots of finagling with the mouse, keyboard, and the controller just to get it back to a scale you like. The ability to save files is awesome (so far used to find user icons and mp3s), but what really hurts are the times when seemingly simple tasks freeze up the entire system. Apparently that Cell chip is only for gaming as using the browser feels like you’re on a PC your parents may have owned about eight years ago.
Youtube works and so does Flickr (both surprised me) but Netvibes and Google Reader are out of the question. When it comes to console browsing in those moments when I’m either a) already on the couch or b) too impatient to wait for my PC to boot up I choose the Wii. That’s good because that little white box hasn’t gotten any play since Super Paper Mario.
The one thing I really like about the PS3’s browser is that it streamlines the process of looking up cheat codes on gameFAQs. I was pissed at Motorstorm so I quit out of the game, loaded up the browser, found a code, went back to the game, and voila, instant gratification.
Back to the PlayStation Store for a Minute
As part of their E3 coverage Sony stashed several secret videos all around the PlayStation Store. The HD trailers are where you’d expect but these videos (of slightly lesser quality) featured a little more insight into high profile titles like Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, and others. So, for example, to find the Uncharted video you have to navigate to All Videos > M-Q > Nancy Drew and there next to the trailer for the movie is an E3 icon. It’s no ilovebees but it’s kinda cool that they’d even hide stuff in the first place. It reminds me of the old PS1 demo discs where you’d have to punch in button combinations to find stuff. It’s nice to see that old spirit still simmering deep down inside the beast.
The Visualizations
I’m a sucker for visualizations but for years the pinnacle has always been Milkdrop, available for Winamp. I was thrilled to hear that Jeff Minter was designing the visualizers for the 360 but they left me severely underwhelmed and I’m happy to say that the PS3 doesn’t even come close to dethroning my reigning favorite. It’s not bad stuff; each of the dozen or so visualizers is soft, colorful, and has a perspective blur effect that makes them all mesmerizing in a uniquely different way than the 360 or even Milkdrop. But they all look and act about the same and don’t change much as the songs play. I can’t quite describe it but it just feels like it belongs on the PlayStation 3; flashy but without much substance.
Multitasking
That Cell processor may have the Genie’s infinite cosmic power but the dashboard it has to push around constitutes the itty-bitty living space.
Unlike the 360’s dashboard the XMB is incapable of doing much more than one thing at a time. After a few updates it’s finally able to play music while you peruse your images or browse the internet, but as soon as you go to the PlayStation Store it’s nothin’ but silence. Messaging is relocated to the distant Friends tab and video/voice chats require the system’s full attention; no music, no photos, no browsing. All in all it seems startlingly limited in functionality after the claims that this system could kill a baby with Wi-Fi psychic powers and cause Massive Damage to the competition. Thankfully we live in an age where my words may be made moot by a simple update release. Here’s hopin’ the next one is a doozy.
Ok, I think everything else pertains to games. I’ll be back soon with an official Part 2.
