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Ziggy587
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by Ziggy587 Sun May 21, 2023 1:59 pm

(I don't have a diminishing interest in TR, I've just been busy with life).

Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of love for the PS3 here. It's not in my top 3 favorite consoles, and probably not even my top 5, but I do remember it fondly and would consider it a favorite console of mine. Maybe it wasn't the console itself, or the games, but 7th gen is one of my favorite generations of consoles for sure.

I had a friend that got a 60GB model at launch. At the time he had only a CRT, so he brought it over to me because I had an HDTV. I was the first person I knew (of my friends and family) to get an HDTV. He had a few games, but I mainly remember playing Ridge Racer 7. I love arcade style racers.

The first 7th gen console that I got was actually the Wii. I was having a blast with the Wii, and it was sort of a Nintendo renaissance for me. But while I love Nintendo games, I was missing out on the bro/hardcore games. At the time, I had a lot of friends with a 360, and just a few with a PS3, and I was trying to make up my mind which to get (because I couldn't afford both). By the time I decided to get a non-Nintendo 7th gen console the PS3 had already lost its PS2 compatibility, so that was no longer a factor. I was kind of edging toward getting the 360, but the massive failure rate at the time pushed me over the edge to get a PS3. The only problem was the ridiculous price tag that it had!

I first got a PS3 when it had a price drop for the 40GB model. LOL, 40 GB? Whatever. IIRC it was $400 and came with the Sixaxis controller (no rumble). I purchased it along with a DualShock3 (which had just come out) and GTAIV. When I first got a PS2, GTA3 was one of two PS2 games that I owned for a long while, and I sunk countless hours in GTA3. So it seemed fitting to make GTAIV my first PS3 game. But by this time, GTA was just sort of "meh" for me. It's not that I didn't have fun playing IV, it's just that it was more of the same. I played through the story and that was about it. A far cry from the many hours I spent with GTA3.

I sort of remember the "PS3 has no games" memes, but to me it was just the internet making a mountain out of a mole hill like it does for most things. I kind of remember a drought-ish period for new PS3 games, but there were already so many games out that I haven't had a chance to play. When people complain about game droughts, I always wonder if they do nothing but sit and play games.

One of the first games that I sunk a lot of time into on the PS3 was Mortal Kombat II. This was before the Mortal Kombat Arcade Kollection came out. PSN had a near perfect arcade port of MKII with local and online multiplayer. MKII is one of my all-time favorite games, and this was the first time I could play a near perfect port on a console (not counting MAME). Xbox Live had Ultimate MK3 as an exclusive, and I remember being happy that I choose the PS3 over the 360 LOL.

Star Wars The Force Unleashed was one of the early PS3 games I had. I remember enjoying this one a lot. I've been meaning to give it another play, and I have yet to play the sequel.

I can remember downloading the demo for Bioshock and being blown away by how awesome it was. I promptly purchased a copy, and I had a shit ton of fun playing through it. The sequel was also a lot of fun, but at the time I remember thinking it just felt like more of the same after playing the first one through a few times. However, I just recently replayed the first two Bioshocks for the first time in a long while, and they definitely hold up. In fact, I think I like the second one better now. I have yet to play Infinite, despite owning a copy for the PS3 as well as Steam for a while now. I'm sure it's fun, it's just that the drastic change in atmosphere didn't do anything for me. Rapture was a dark and scary place, a perfect horror setting. The city in the sky looks like Disney. Not that there's anything wrong with that, per se. I love Nintendo games, which are usually very bright and colorful. It's just that the chemistry that made up the first two games was drastically changed.

Another game I spent a lot of time with was the first LittleBigPlanet. I played this game co-op with my brother a lot, and we were trying to 100% the game and "ace" (no damage) every level, which is much harder to do with two people. We were very close to the end of the game when we had a set back due to lost progress. More on this in a bit. I got LBP2, but have yet to play it. Anyone remember LBP Karting? I liked this one, and had a lot of fun building a couple of tracks.

I always tend to forget about digital-only games that I have purchased, but I do have quite a few of them on the PS3. Scot Pilgrim I had a lot of fun with. I got Turtles Reshelled too, before it was delisted. Street Fight II HD Remix was definitely awesome. And I was glad to see the HD remaster of Medal of Honor Frontline (it was previously included with another MOH game, then released alone on PSN). I probably have a few more digital PSN games that I'm forgetting about.

After having the PS3 for a while, the 40GB HDD was becoming an issue. Upgrading to a larger drive wasn't a hard thing to do. But at the time, I wen with another option. First, I remember reading that the thermal paste in the PS3 phats dries up and should be replaced. And then GameStop had a really good deal. They had a promo that was offering X % more for console trades, and simultaneously had a PS3 Slim deal that would get you a free game. IIRC, there were three games to choose from, with Mortal Kombat (9) being one of them. Since I was planning on getting MK9 anyway, and factoring the cost of a new HDD, it actually worked out better to just trade my 40 GB phat and get a slim. So that's what I ended up doing. I think it's the 120 GB model. Or was it 160 GB? I don't remember, but it's more than I'll ever need in it. Oh, and I traded that Sixaxis controller with the phat, naturally, and the Slim game with DS3. So that was another perk of the deal.

South Park Stick of Truth was another game I spent some time with. I thought it was a lot of fun. I hadn't watched South Park in many years, not since around the time the movie came out. But this came was really well done, and it made me want to watch the show again. I still have to play The Fractured But Whole.

There were many more games that I picked up for the PS3, just not very many that I got around to playing. This started a long period of me collecting a lot of games but playing very little of them. So I have a pretty decent PS3 collection, for one day when I feel like playing it again.
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RobertAugustdeMeijer
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by RobertAugustdeMeijer Sun May 21, 2023 5:07 pm

"Street Fight II HD Remix was definitely awesome."

Indeed it is! But a shame the PS3 version has twice the input lag as the X360 version. And I really like the PS3 pad for fighting games :S
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by Limewater Tue May 23, 2023 11:21 am

I've never gotten into Playstation 3. I am concerned that this is the era when publishers started shipping unfinished games and relying on downloaded updates.
Is this concern unfounded?
If I bought a PS3 and a bunch of games today, would I be able to play them without issue without ever hooking it up to a network?
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Ack
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by Ack Tue May 23, 2023 11:33 am

The PlayStation 3 is also the era where I got out of modern console games (not including the Switch, though I use mine much more as a handheld). My focus was turning increasingly towards older games as well as PC games.

That said, I do still own one with a handful of titles:

Alpha Protocol
The Darkness
The Darkness II
Dead Island
Dead Space
Mortal Kombat
Red Dead Redemption
Red Faction: Guerrilla
Shadows of the Damned
Sniper Elite V2
Splatterhouse
Uncharted
Way of the Samurai 3

This is an interesting list for me, because it's a lot more third person action games than I feel I tend to go for comparative to the size of the collection. Yes, there is the usual mix of horror titles like Dead Space and Shadows of the Damned, and a fighting game in Mortal Kombat, but I was entering a time where I was moving away from modern fighting games and JRPGs.

This was also the era where consoles suddenly felt like they needed to be connected online, and that wasn't what I wanted. Perhaps that's why my PS3 library is only slightly over 1/10 of my PS2 library.
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Rydon
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by Rydon Thu May 25, 2023 10:41 am

Ack wrote:The PlayStation 3 is also the era where I got out of modern console games (not including the Switch, though I use mine much more as a handheld). My focus was turning increasingly towards older games as well as PC games.
...
This was also the era where consoles suddenly felt like they needed to be connected online, and that wasn't what I wanted. Perhaps that's why my PS3 library is only slightly over 1/10 of my PS2 library.


I have a pretty big collection of PS3 games, but whenever I go back to the console, it is a pain and I feel like it is because of the above. A constant online console (not mandatory, but if you DID have it connected to the internet, you dealt with a lot of updates, etc.) Installs for games were also a big pain. I have tried to diminish the impact now, with putting a large HDD in my console, and installing all my game library ahead of time, but even still, the console has a large amount of time from starting it up, to playing a game (if you compare it to older consoles). I can quickly hop into a NES game and play for 10 min. no problem, but PS3, I have to prep.

Having said that, there are still some good console exclusives on the system:

3d dot game hero
Puppeteer
Alone in the dark Inferno (updated version of the 360 one, and this game is IMHO the greatest Bad game of all time)
Folklore (could possibly be ported in the future, but not likely)
Heavenly Sword (GOW clone, but still solid)
White Knight Chronicles I and II (I dont think these are on any other console)

And another game that I can't believe hasn't gotten ported yet
Metal Gear Solid 4
Say what you will, this game was HUGE when it released. Kinda hard to go back to now, with cutscenes lasting so long that your controller turns off to save battery power, but I remember playing this when it launched and had that good ole, blown away with the latest and greatest vidya game feeling, that I havent gotten in quite some time since. I blame old age.
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by opa Fri May 26, 2023 11:41 am

I still use the PS3 as a media center for my tv. Still streams fine, plays dvd's/blu-ray, and good for occasional gaming. I have the original slim model (they seem a bit more robust than the super slim). I had to finally upgrade to a hdtv when I got it which was pretty good timing as my old tube tv was about shot.

Some games I liked: Souls series, Siren Blood Curse, Hotline Miami 1/2, From Dust, Metal Gear series, Call of Duty games (back when online play was free on consoles).

And even though it is universally derided, Final Fantasy XIII is still one of the best looking games I've seen (and I like the battle music).
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by ZRofel Fri May 26, 2023 3:44 pm

The PS3 is one of the systems that I don't have much of an attachment to. I loved the PS2 and was really excited to purchase a PS3 until the original price was revealed. Then when they dropped the price but also backwards compatibility, I essentially swore off getting one. I had really been looking forward to using it to play my massive PS2 library, as I had used my PS2 to play lots of PSone games, so I remember being really miffed that they dropped backwards compatibility. I did end up eventually getting one a few years later, from a furniture store of all places (I had a gift card), and I did enjoy my time with it. As a big Vanillaware fan, I knew I had to get one when Dragon's Crown was announced. It was absolutely fantastic, and probably stands as my favorite of all of their games. I also really loved the God of War series and the Yakuza games, so God of War III, God of War Ascension, and Yakuza 3 and 4 were immediate purchases for me. Really, what I used the PS3 for the most was probably playing Dark Souls and Demon's Souls with a friend, since the PSN was free at the time. I spent a lot of time collectively with those three titles, and the Souls games have definitely become a beloved franchise for me. I don't necessarily equate them with the PS3, though.

These days the PS3 is definitely among my smaller collections, although I have been scooping up games periodically now that most of them are relatively inexpensive. Definitely kicking myself that I didn't grab Folklore and Yakuza: Dead Souls when they were each around $5, though... The PS3 doesn't seem to have a ton of exclusives, but what it does have are at least interesting. Puppeteer was a blast and had some really cool mechanics for a platformer. I kind of hate the Uncharted games, but that's more about my distaste for Nathan Drake. As games, they were at least doing something somewhat unique for the time. NIS carved out a decent little niche for quirky RPGS on the PS3. And the PS Move controllers make pretty solid light guns, so it was a great console for Time Crisis and House of the Dead. I think the PSN version of House of the Dead 4 is still the only home console version of that game. I had a good time playing through that with a friend one day. It was also nice that the PS3 made importing a little easier than other systems at the time and potentially paved the way for the largely region-free world we live in now. E.X. Troopers and the physical version of Mystara Chronicles are games I'm glad I scooped up when I had the chance.

I think the PS3/XBox 360 era is when I really started to feel like consoles (outside of Nintendo's weirdo machines) were losing their individual personalities. Not that we necessarily should be ascribing personality and value to consumer electronic devices, but I think you all know what I mean. Before then, every system seemed to have a "tone" to its library, where PS3 and Xbox 360 games, for the most part, just felt like "games". Like, they could easily be at home on a PlayStation, an Xbox, or a PC. That's not a dig at their quality (like I said, I love Dragons Crown, God of War, Yakuza, House of the Dead, etc.), it's more just that I don't have any particular emotional connection to the PS3. It's just another console that I own.

That got kind of gray at the end, there :P
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by o.pwuaioc Fri May 26, 2023 8:06 pm

ZRofel wrote:I think the PS3/XBox 360 era is when I really started to feel like consoles (outside of Nintendo's weirdo machines) were losing their individual personalities. Not that we necessarily should be ascribing personality and value to consumer electronic devices, but I think you all know what I mean. Before then, every system seemed to have a "tone" to its library, where PS3 and Xbox 360 games, for the most part, just felt like "games". Like, they could easily be at home on a PlayStation, an Xbox, or a PC.

Not coincidentally, this is also when I lost interest in gaming. That gen was the first to go when I started the great collection sell-off.
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Re: Console of the Month (May 2023) - Playstation 3

by Ziggy587 Sat May 27, 2023 9:19 am

RobertAugustdeMeijer wrote:"Street Fight II HD Remix was definitely awesome."

Indeed it is! But a shame the PS3 version has twice the input lag as the X360 version. And I really like the PS3 pad for fighting games :S


Huh, I never knew this. To be honest, my Street Fighter playing has really only been casual.

I'm struggling to remember, but IIRC I have a Sega Saturn USB adapter that works on the PS3, and I have used that to play Street Fighter with. When SFII HD Remix and SFIV were hot, there were those Saturn-esque USB controllers that were really popular. I never got around to picking one up, though.

Limewater wrote:I've never gotten into Playstation 3. I am concerned that this is the era when publishers started shipping unfinished games and relying on downloaded updates.
Is this concern unfounded?
If I bought a PS3 and a bunch of games today, would I be able to play them without issue without ever hooking it up to a network?


Yes and no. I think for a great many game, if you never connect to PSN and download updates, they should play fine. But you might want to research on a game-by-game basis. For example, I can recall that Fallout 3 had big problems with bugs, but the Game of the Year edition had updates applied.

This is something I've thought about myself, being a current PS3 owner. I have games that are still sealed, or possibly games that I haven't purchased yet. What if, years from now when PSN is down for PS3, I need to get an update? I've been meaning to look into the possibility of getting updates from backup sources and installing them manually.

o.pwuaioc wrote:
ZRofel wrote:I think the PS3/XBox 360 era is when I really started to feel like consoles (outside of Nintendo's weirdo machines) were losing their individual personalities. Not that we necessarily should be ascribing personality and value to consumer electronic devices, but I think you all know what I mean. Before then, every system seemed to have a "tone" to its library, where PS3 and Xbox 360 games, for the most part, just felt like "games". Like, they could easily be at home on a PlayStation, an Xbox, or a PC.

Not coincidentally, this is also when I lost interest in gaming. That gen was the first to go when I started the great collection sell-off.


Definitely. I use to joke that you picked between Playstation or Xbox based on which controller you preferred. Or if you're younger, which one your parents bought for you.
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