Bwana.org » PS3

Red Dead Redemption: First Impressions

Bwana — Tue, 18 May 2010 18:00:18 +0000

This game is ESRB Rated M for Mature. Parental discretion is advised.

If you love westerns like I do, then you probably couldn’t help but be interested in Rockstar’s new project, Red Dead Redemption. I stated in the past that I wouldn’t get the game simply because of it’s Grand Theft Auto ties, but after a bit more research, I felt I could give it a try. I’ll share with you some of my first impressions. I’ll try to keep it spoiler free. If you don’t mind spoilers, check out the first two hours of the game that I streamed live:

I put in about 2.5 hours in single player and an hour in multiplayer.

Single Player & Gameplay

The voice acting was up and down. There was some genius moments and there were some really dry moments. As you ride your horse with certain people, you have conversations about things ranging from general small talk to background story. Overall, I was satisfied, and judging by the genius moments I encountered, I believe the voice acting will get better.

Controls are average to decent. Horseback riding takes practice and shooting while on horseback takes even more practice. That didn’t surprise me. What DID surprise me was the awkward controls on the Playstation 3. I’m not sure if previous GTA games did this, but Rockstar decided to put aim and fire on the L2 and R2 buttons. Why!??! This was so frustrating and caused me to die or make mistakes many times. I didn’t investigate whether you could change these controls yet, but you bet I’m going to look very hard. (If you know how to do this, PLEASE let me know in the comments)

Graphics are typical for a next gen system. I wasn’t blown away like I was with Heavy Rain, but the subtle effects impressed me more than the obvious ones. The lighting to me was very well done. As you enter buildings at night, the ambience can be very convincing. I was riding to a mission and noticed a slow, subtle sunrise in the background. Very impressive.

The story line so far seemed very typical of a Western one. Good. That’s exactly why I bought it and was glad they didn’t do anything weird or stupid. I haven’t done many of the “side” missions, but I imagine they will not disappoint.

Multiplayer

My first impression of multiplayer was terrible. I don’t blame Rockstar, but as with many multiplayer games, the people you play with determine your fun factor. The first game I joined consisted of individuals with TERRIBLE microphones. Not only did they have bad mics, but they were constantly talking about nothing. I could not find the mute function in multiplayer and I hope I just overlooked it. It is absolutely essential to be able to mute the microphones of annoying individuals.

After I got past the bad mic posse, I got into some decent matches. The awkward control scheme really stood out here as I had to react quickly. Instead of aiming, I would bring up the weapon selection screen with L1, and would quickly die. Latency wise, it was an enjoyable experience and I actually had a lot of fun once I got the hang of the game modes and controls. Since I never played GTA4, I was at a disadvantage, but I heard many times on the mic that it was pretty much just like GTA multiplayer.

Conclusion

I’m glad I bought it. There’s a lot to this game that I didn’t get a chance to explore, but based on what I’ve seen so far, I think it’s a good buy. Some may want to dismiss it as “GTA in the Wild West” and I say to that: So what? I actually think their formula works better in the Wild West than it does in modern times. RDR is worth a rental if you’re in the fence. I think you’ll be impressed.

PS3 Slim Jolts The Sony Camp

Bwana — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 23:44:23 +0000

Who would have thought we’d ever be uttering the words “Sony is making a comeback”? 5 years ago, we would have been laughed at.

Hard.

But this is our current reality: Nintendo is still winning in overall sales, Microsoft is second, and Sony is in third. Sony’s position is actually better than most perceive, but the competitive nature in human beings tend to ignore some of the supporting facts. I digress.

Recently Sony pleased the gaming community by announcing a much anticipated $100 price drop and a brand new, “PS3 Slim” model. Some analysts believed this wouldn’t change a thing in their warped scope of the console race, but like always, I took a “let’s wait and see” approach.

It’s been a few days and some of the sales estimates have been released:

999% sales increase (Week over Week) in the UK
150,000 units sold in Japan (1500% increase week over week) – Launch number was 90,000

Judging by the large percentage increases, it’s easy to assume that sales were pitiful to begin with, or lots of people were waiting for a price drop on the PS3. Either way, Sony is in a better position than before.

It’s not just sales, but Sony has launched a very successful new marketing campaign. The slogan of “It Only Does Everything” is sticking with gamers whether they like it or not. The witty advertisements are not only making the Sony faithful sigh with relief, but they’re also attracting the “curious” gamer crowd. These guys are thinking, “I wonder how those PS3 exclusives are”, “I wonder if I’ll like Blu-ray”, “Will my friends get one if I get one?” (Yes, there are kids who ask that last question, believe it or not)

It’s amazing what proper marketing and successful sales figures does to the public perception: Yesterday, I streamed gameplay of a popular PS3 exclusive game called Killzone 2. As users came and watched, I saw a lot of statements like:

“Wow, I’d get a PS3 for this”
“How much does it cost?”
“What does that/this/that do?”
“This is better than CoD4 ever was” [Yes, that's an actual quote]

Before the price drop/new SKU, I would see this:

“PS3 Sucks”
“No one plays online on KZ2″
“It’s a dead game”
“PS3 Sucks, I feel sorry for you guys”

I could go on and on. I still get these kinds of negative comments, but much less than before.

Public perception definitely influences opinions of the PS3. People who bashed the Playstation 3 before, are now looking closer at upcoming exclusives like “Uncharted 2: Among Thieves” (My Game of the Year prediction), “MAG“, “Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time“, and “Heavy Rain“. Playstation Network exclusives like “Fat Princess” are also drawing a lot of attention (See my review here)

What does all this mean in the end? No one really knows. The fact is this: The PS3 is gaining incredible momentum and is shaping up to be the big shake-up story in the console war. I only wish my friends list weren’t full so I could play with all the new PS3 owners out there.

Killzone 2 Pwnz My Weekend

Bwana — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 03:02:29 +0000

This weekend, I put in a good amount of hours playing Killzone 2 on PS3. This was mostly due to the new DLC (which I don’t have yet) and Guerilla Game’s (GG) double experience points announcement. I’ve been having blast, but there is a glaring bug with their double xp weekend: it only works if you win the match. Killzone elitists are quick to respond “well, just win”, but I hope GG lets us know about their little snafu. As for Killzone 2 itself, I’ve unlocked all classes up to Saboteur and have pretty much gotten used to the unique controls (yes they are unique and don’t “stink” as a lot of haters claim) There’s a great deal more to the game than meets the eye, and if you’re on the fence about purchasing it, the multiplayer component alone is worth the purchase.

Before I went on this gaming tyrade, I asked my Twitter friends what they were playing, here are their responses:

Bwana: What video game are you currently playing? Me? I'm playing Killzone 2 for PS3.

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:00:27 +0000 2009

Bowlerguy92: MLB 09 The Show on the PS3 obviously, after another game or so I will be moving to NCAA Football 10 also on the #ps3

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:01:16 +0000 2009

wanyal: Red Faction: Guerilla on 360

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:01:27 +0000 2009

jcm28x: gears of war 2 on the xbox 360.

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:02:06 +0000 2009

FoamyFalcon: L4D on pc

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:02:30 +0000 2009

krisguy: Call of Duty: World at War for 360

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:02:41 +0000 2009

zackw29379: Battlefield: Bad Company for xbox 360

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:02:56 +0000 2009

Darkness383: street fighter 4

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:02:59 +0000 2009

_funkyboy: paper toss on the iPhone.

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:04:04 +0000 2009

danohart: I stick with Call Of Duty 4 until Modern Warfare 2 comes out. On the PC of course

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:05:37 +0000 2009

aaronmcdonald: im currently on Ghostbusters & now gone back to Uncharted too! Loving hanging out with pete,ray, winston & egon tho!

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:06:35 +0000 2009

petern: Killzone 2 and Super Stardust HD. PSN: kermit_swe

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:11:19 +0000 2009

premonition: fight night round 4 for me

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:18:34 +0000 2009

M4rck: Fight Night Round

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:18:38 +0000 2009

kev151: littlebigplanet

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:27:18 +0000 2009

RadioMacGuru: I decided to go for an oldie but a goodie: MGS3. I got frustrated with the series on 1st go round, I figure I'd give it another try

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:27:26 +0000 2009

Chillash: Fifa 09; ps3

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:33:23 +0000 2009

Jason_Diaz: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:37:15 +0000 2009

markkemp: Am playing Resistance: Fall of Man (in preparation to play Resistance 2). Hanging out for CoD: Modern Warfare 2 though

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:39:33 +0000 2009

TekJunkie09: battlefield1943 thanx to you

about 5 days ago

Tue Jul 21 23:52:28 +0000 2009

Bxdaddy93: IM PLAYING BATTLEFIELD 1943 FOR XBOX 360 AT THE MOMENT. IM WAITING FOR THE LAUNCH OF NFL MADDEN 2010 NEXT MONTH.

about 5 days ago

Wed Jul 22 00:17:33 +0000 2009

dphyfer: I'm still on Gears of War for xbox 360. I hear Fight Night is sick!

about 5 days ago

Wed Jul 22 00:22:55 +0000 2009

lopez79: Call of duty W@W for ps3 & UFC

about 5 days ago

Wed Jul 22 00:55:31 +0000 2009

ChrisCAL96: GTA IV for PS3.

about 5 days ago

Wed Jul 22 02:16:06 +0000 2009

CoGMysterio: Gears of War 1 on the Xbox 360

about 4 days ago

Wed Jul 22 03:08:41 +0000 2009

Gregz0r: It's all about PS3 Fight Night Round 4 at the moment.

about 4 days ago

Wed Jul 22 05:58:25 +0000 2009

AppleIphoneMan: I'm currently playing UFC Undisputed 2009, Killzone, Call Of Duty 4 and 5. Waiting For Call Of Duty 6!! Add my PSN KylerRodgers

about 4 days ago

Wed Jul 22 17:04:18 +0000 2009

Taurus_500: i loooooooove killzone 2! i got the platinum trophy! :p right now im playin fight night round 4.

about 4 days ago

Wed Jul 22 19:43:42 +0000 2009

What about you? What are you currently playing and why? Have fun whatever it is!

Are You Selfish With Your Console Recommendations?

Bwana — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:36:02 +0000

Often, I get asked by my readers/listeners/viewers which is the “best” console: Sony Playstation 3, Nintendo Wii, or Microsoft’s Xbox 360. I wrote my thoughts about deciding which console is best for you back in December, and I think some people benefited from it. When it comes to gaming, I’ve noticed that it’s extremely difficult to give a non-biased recommendation to someone else. It seems to be proportional to the passion gamers have for their platforms and titles. Take a look at this little tidbit: I made a 17 second video which asks the question, “Which is better, Xbox 360 or PS3?”. I didn’t give an answer, but I gave this:

The result is over 200 comments and 1000 views in less than 24 hours. What does that say? Gamers are passionate about what they love. I find that this passion is driven by their wants and preferences, which I call selfishness. I know some of you are already offended, but I’m sorry to say, everyone is selfish at some point. It’s the truth.

So are gamers selfish when they are quick to say which console is the “best”? Note they don’t usually say is “best for me”, but the “best” period. Here are the classic lines:

Console X has the best games
Console Y has the best online game play
Console Z has the best multimedia experience
Console A gives you more bang for the buck

People will look you straight in the eye, and tell you that these are facts. Yes, they call them facts. Note that if you look at those reasons carefully, they are highly based on opinions and personal preferences. They are hardly factual. How can someone claim they are factual when it’s obviously opinionated? Selfishness. Wow, I can see the steam rising from your heads from here. Watch how Kyle from South Park breaks down how selfishness can warp your reality (Warning: adult language and typical South Park):

Sometimes, I think it can get this extreme for some gamers when it comes to consoles. Their opinions are so valuable that they become factual in their mind and it becomes a passionate, pointless argument. Hear me gamers: Everyone doesn’t think like you. Step outside of your selfish world of perfectness and realize that you are not the center of the universe. It’s OK for someone to love their Xbox 360. It’s OK for someone to love their PS3. It’s OK for someone to love their (Nintendo) Wii.

What Will The Playstation 3 Need To Survive?

Bwana — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 19:31:46 +0000

I have not made it a secret that I absolutely love my Sony Playstation 3 and that I actually use it more than my Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. This often confuses people why I seem to be “going against the grain” on this topic because it is the popular opinion to love the 360 or Wii over the PS3.

I believe the machine is the best hardware I have in the house easily, not only because of “Blu-Ray” technology but the whole experience in terms of entertainment. I also love the price of online play (being a PC gamer as well). Sony has been consistently falling short of expectations from the gaming community since they were #1 with their insanely successful Playstation 2. I asked Twitter what Sony needs to do to get their dollar:

SkiCat56: @Bwana There lot's of titles that are PS3 exclusive we would to play but we cannot fit another gaming console into our budget PS2,360 owner

about 5 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 13:50:37 +0000 2009

chokewho: @Bwana Cheaper price and probably some more original games.

about 7 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 11:49:18 +0000 2009

fochsenhirt: @Bwana drop the price under $200 for the hardware and $40 for the games. So basically, nothing. I already have a BD player.

about 7 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 11:34:42 +0000 2009

robraider78: @Bwana PS3 only good for blue ray. Not a good selection of games on PS3. No Halo. No Gears.

about 9 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 09:33:26 +0000 2009

TaoGao: @Bwana they are Amazing! Besides blue-ray compatible, it has great graphics

about 12 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 06:31:39 +0000 2009

powerspec: @Bwana I use mine only for Blu-ray, but i would use it more if it had some good games. I own 3 PS3 games and ~30 360 games.

about 12 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 06:15:35 +0000 2009

johnsensfan: @Bwana xbox360 vanishing of the face of the earth

about 12 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 06:06:37 +0000 2009

SWB: @Bwana They would have to make it better than the Nintendo DS, which we all know is impossible!

about 12 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 06:02:54 +0000 2009

murphysblues: @Bwana I don't have a PS3, and it would take a radical improvement of my hand/eye coordination before I would buy a PS3.

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:53:19 +0000 2009

dannyblaine: @Bwana a healthier economy?

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:49:14 +0000 2009

chrispirillo: @Bwana The PS3 is great for one thing: Blu-ray playback. Beyond that, it's not of much use to me. I don't have that many BDs yet, either.

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:48:23 +0000 2009

Leica1956: @Bwana a $150 or less base model would get me in.

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:47:19 +0000 2009

CannonGod: @Bwana Good games, ergonomic controller, the firing of all marketing staff involved with the PS3.

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:45:43 +0000 2009

mattbebich: @Bwana Halo, Left 4 Dead many others

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:40:25 +0000 2009

johnxkills: @Bwana the price alittle lower

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:32:29 +0000 2009

se7enjewels: @Bwana simple.price! price! price! The should have dropped the PS3 last christmas to $299. I would have been all over that.

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:32:01 +0000 2009

jercat: @Bwana… $249.99

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:31:25 +0000 2009

chrispugh: @Bwana lower price

about 13 hours ago

Mon Feb 09 05:31:18 +0000 2009

Without getting into a console war, I believe the price is often misunderstood when compared to the Xbox 360, since Microsoft has a done an excellent job with marketing. I have spent much less on my PS3 than I have on my Xbox 360, but the point is moot. The users want a price drop, but what then? Is price the only factor? Users also want *more* games, but if I’m not mistaken, a majority of new games are now cross platform. The handful of exclusives that are considered “must-haves” are dwindling in my opinion. (Case in point: Capcom just announced 360, PC and PS3 support for Dead Rising 2) I believe the games are there, but the mindset isn’t. The mantra of “PS3 has no games” will completely overwhelm the facts and user perception is all that will matter when it comes to a purchase.

What can Sony do about this? Well, in my opinion, they have to change the way they’re doing things now. What they’re doing right now is not working. In a tight market, where Nintendo is breaking records left and right (which I can’t understand honestly) Sony really is put in a tight situation since their hardware is truly next-gen, and a price-cut is a huge gamble. I have a suspicion that a majority of users who claim the price is the only issue, will back peddle if there is a price cut. I believe Sony realizes this every time they read user feedback regarding the price (Yes, Sony DOES read user feedback) I honestly don’t know what they can do win over the users, but they better come up with something quickly or the whole division will be a distant memory this time next year.

Agree, disagree? Let me know in the comments. You can also find me on the Playstation Network (PSN) under the handle, Nuvalo. Add me!

Which Gaming Console Should You Buy This Holiday?

Bwana — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 04:53:23 +0000

So it’s that time of year again.

What time is that Bwana?

Well, it’s the time where you need to decide on which console to buy for your loved one. You’ve picked a perfect time to buy since all the consoles, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and Playstation 3 are over two years old and have matured as platforms. Each console has a variety of games to choose from as well as social entertainment features that will knock your socks off. If only Pong! were alive to see this. Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony are fighting tooth and nail to get your business, so let’s get right down to it.

The Culprits

There are three main players in this space and I’ll give a brief description of each:

The Xbox 360 (360) – First out of the gate, Microsoft’s follow-up to the Xbox console was released with the promise of a more robust online offering and media center capabilities. This console supports high definition televisions as well as standard definition, has wired or wireless controllers, and can connect to the internet via wired ethernet connection or wireless internet.
The Nintendo Wii (Wii) – Formerly known as the Nintendo Revolution, Nintendo’s follow-up with the Gamecube assured gamers that it would redefine console gaming. The Nintendo Wii is the most unique as it offers motion sensing controls to an already stellar lineup of first-party titles such as Mario, Zelda, and others. It connects to the internet via Wi-Fi and offers a variety of other features that take advantage.
The Playstation 3 (PS3) – The king of consoles returns with a sequel to its record breaking Playstation 2 console and offers a high-end spin on consoles. The PS3 promises the glory of high definition optical support in the form of Blu-Ray, and a rich multimedia experience that Sony has been known for. Sony also promised to concentrate more on the online gaming and made a big deal out of their consoles brute strength and offerings.

The Questions

When considering these fabulous consoles, you should be asking yourself questions. If you haven’t started asking questions, I’ll get you started:

Do I care about online gaming?
Do I care about high definition gaming?
Do I care about high definition movies?
Do I play with friends and family often in person?
Do I want to leverage this console as a music player, video player, and photo viewer?
Do I have wireless internet?
Do I want to buy or rent movies from my game console?
Do I know what bluetooth is and do I own any bluetooth hardware?
What am I willing to spend after I buy the console?
Do I want to play my old Xbox/PS2/Nintendo Gamecube games on this new console?
What types of games do I like the most? Platformers? Role Playing Games? First person Shooters? Real time strategy? Music Rhythm Games?

These are just some of the questions that I have posed to people when asked which console to buy. As an owner of all three consoles, I can never recommend anything without first getting the needs and wants of the purchaser. So, now that you’ve asked yourself these questions, let’s dig a bit further.

The Profiles

When answering questions about which console you’ll buy, there are four main profiles that you’ll likely fit into (and I do stress likely)

The casual gamer
The gadget freak who sometimes plays games
The semi-casual online gamer
The hardcore gamer

The casual gamer tends to play games less than 5 hours a week, and often has to be invited in order to become motivated. These gamers play when friends and family come over, during parties, events, but do not generally play as a pass time. The casual gamer usually finds out about multimedia features of their console by visiting a friend who uses theirs.

The gadget freak who sometimes plays games tends to play games for maybe 10 hours a month depending on the situation. He or she will buy every new game that comes out, but won’t play it for more than 2 hours after buying it. The game collects dust and the gamer will claim to own it, but never play it. The gadget freak will utilize all of the features of the console except the gaming part.

The semi-casual semi-online gamer may average between 10-15 hours week depending on outside circumstances. If a new game comes out, this gamer may buy it to try it out, and play for it many hours, but eventually taper off into semi-casual mode again. This gamer is generally aware of the multimedia features of consoles and most times will take advantage of one or two.

The hardcore gamer can kill 40 hours a week playing 3 to 4 games online and offline. This machine of a man or woman will forego the love of family and friends to reach that new level, climb that impossible mountain, finish that new game on Super-duper-incredibly-impossibly-hard difficulty. The only music they care about is the music they can play while playing their favorite game. Movies, pictures, and the like are generally secondary.

So which are you? Remember, I did say likely. It’s my guess that you’re probably a combination of the profiles, (I know I am) so let’s dig a bit deeper.

The Method

The next step is to combine the needs, wants, the estimated profile of the purchaser to build a priority list. Let’s take an example to help you out.

Johnny Doodad plays games online only on weekends but usually plays 1-2 hours, Monday through Friday. Johnny has homework and his parents are strict on his gaming hours during the week. If Johnny does well, he gets to go all out on the weekend. Johnny loves first person shooters and platformers but never finishes them. Johnny already owns a Gamecube and an Xbox.

Based on my college education, I would rate Johnny a cross between a semi-casual online gamer and hardcore gamer. If given the chance, Johnny could easily rack up hours playing games, but has to adhere to the parental units. Given his lack of time towards the games, Johnny loses interest and shifts focus to another game before finishing the previous. Now, Johnny likes first person shooters and platformers, but he’s not necessarily loyal (an assumption). So let’s analyze:

Gamer Type: Semi-casual online
Genre Preferences: FPS, Platformer
Owned Systems: Nintendo Gamecube, Xbox
Gaming Preference: Plays on weekends, mostly online, but little during the week.

So which does Johnny care about the most? Let’s try to rank them:

Gaming Preference
Genre Preferences
Owned System
Gamer type

These are guesses, but they could provide an accurate view of where to concentrate your focus. Given that Johnny plays online, likes FPS and Platformers, and owns an Xbox, I would recommend an Xbox 360 in this case. It gives him his top 3 priorities right off the bat. Now, even if Gamer type were misplaced, and would be #2 on his priority list, an Xbox 360 would probably fit him best.

See the method? It’s all fuzzy and really depends on a lot of factors. This is the only way I can explain which console to buy this holiday. You have to ask yourself these questions and more to gauge which features are more important to you than others. Here’s a general guideline to go by:

Xbox 360
Pros: Platform has matured, Cheap initial price ($199 base), High definition gaming, High definition movie support (downloadable), Great game library, Online gameplay, Online marketplace, Great online community features, Great multimedia features (movie rentals, tv shows, music, photos, etc)
Cons: Costs $50 a year to play online, Pricey accessories, Prone to break (get a warranty!), No web browser

Nintendo Wii
Pros: Platform has matured, Cheap ($250), Excellent first-party titles (Mario, Zelda, etc), Unique controls, Lots of fun with family and friends, Online marketplace, web browser (costs extra)
Cons: Hard to find (too popular), Lots of accessories (Wheels, Balance board, Controllers, Gun, etc), Game library mediocre (due to poor third-party support) Poor online gaming support, Not so great multimedia support (No DVD Playback)

Playstation 3
Pros: Platform has matured, High definition gaming, High definition optical support (Blu-Ray), Superb multimedia features, Online gameplay is free, Updated often, Online marketplace, Supports existing Bluetooth and USB devices, User upgradeable storage, Built-in web browser, Linux operation system supported (basic features)
Cons: Pricey (starts at $399), Entire game library mediocre, Online community not is vivacious as Xbox Live

Wow!

I just did those off the top of my head. You see why this decision is not straight forward? I didn’t cover everything and it’s already overwhelming the amount of features each offers and also their pros and cons. It’s important to get those questions answered and prioritize them to find out which may be best for you.

The Wildcard

But, what about PC gaming? PC gaming is not dead by any means and offers a wide variety of choices. While price may be a barrier for some people, let me tell you about a deal that Valve has. They are offering their entire gaming library for $99. That’s right, they are offering 22 games for $99. You are not going to find that on a console. Granted, most of these games are first person shooters, it is definitely something to consider. Gaming PCs are coming down in price and if you price one compared to a console with 3 or 4 games, they price difference isn’t all that great. I’m not going to get into a PC gaming vs console gaming war here, but I do want to make you aware of this often overlooked wildcard.

Conclusion

In short, continue to research! I’ve provided a method of soliciting information in various categories and prioritizing them to attempt to find a best fit. There is no one size fits all for this type of decision. So, when asked which gaming console should you buy this holiday, the answer is it all depends on what you want, what you need, and how bad you want and need it.

Happy shopping everyone. It’s hard to go wrong this year.

Sony’s Little Big Goof Affects The Planet

Bwana — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 16:41:29 +0000

The first and most important question that comes to mind is: Why?

No, not why did Sony delay the release of the most anticipated game since Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet. The question is, why in the world would these lyrics be allowed in any video game:

In the 18th second: “كل نفس ذائقة الموت” (“kollo nafsin tha’iqatol mawt”, literally: ‘Every soul shall have the taste of death‘).
Almost immediately after, in the 27th second: “كل من عليها فان” (“kollo man alaiha fan”, literally: ‘All that is on earth will perish‘).

This is an ESRB “Everyone” rated game with these lyrics from the Qur’an. Again, the question that comes to mind is why? The only good thing that came out of all this is that Sony did the right thing by completely recalling the game and delaying it until October 27th. A lot of gamers are upset about the delay (for selfish reasons obviously) and don’t believe they should suffer due to other’s “beliefs”. I’m not surprised, really. This is a much bigger issue than “having fun” or “entertainment” or even what some believe are their “rights”. There isn’t a gray area here. It’s about as black and white as any situation can be.

The lyrics that are included in this game add nothing at all, and I now question the motives of the game writers. This is supposed to be a game about light-hearted fun and creativity, but Media Molecule felt it necessary to include Qu’ran lyrics regarding death and destruction to the entire earth.

Why?!?! Seriously, why in the world was this even considered let alone allowed? I could care less about the delay, in fact, I reiterate, that I encourage it. This game should not be released in its current form. I was part of the beta of LittleBigPlanet for about 4 days, and was very impressed with the gameplay. I’m saddened that this glaring mistake has tarnished the game forever. I don’t think I’ll have the same level of trust for Media Molecule or Sony ever again.

PS3 Home Update Next Week, But No Release?

Bwana — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 20:16:47 +0000

PS3 Home is getting a substantial update next week in the areas of graphics, UI and game interaction, but where’s the release Sony? It’s already late. Was it really that buggy? One has to wonder.

PhyreEngine Shows Sony’s Commitment to Developers

Bwana — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 16:17:00 +0000

Sony has announced PhyreEngine which allows for cross platform (PC and PS3) development of game titles. Given that it supports DirectX as well as OpenGL, Sony is showing their commitment to cross platform development and is not closing doors to technologies that Microsoft leverages. Games such as DiRT, GripShfit and flOw were developed using PhyreEngine and only one of these titles is a PS3 exclusive. The future looks bright.

Oh yeah, it’s absolutely free.