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LTTP:The PS3 Experience

P

PastorOfMuppets

Banned
The last time I played a console game was NHL Powerplay '96 - which was $CDN 94 after taxes in 1996 money, for the Sega Saturn way back in 1997.

Since then, I've been a PC gamer. I managed to go the last 15 years without touching another console, handheld and even resisted any temptation to play games on a cellphone. Over the last 15 years, I would say there's only been a couple of games that made me wish I had a console. The Madden games - actually sports games in general, Red Dead Redemption, Shadows of the Colossus, the Uncharted series and Final Fantasy VII. This honestly is not out of any sense of elitism but just circumstance. In college I had a roommate who still had a tube TV and rocked out our VHS to watch movies (this was in 2006-2010) and I never got around to getting a TV after I graduated and moved out on my own. None of my girlfriends have been into video games either. The way my life turned out, there's was never a point in time where I NEEDED a TV but I've always needed a computer to do stuff on so I always got a powerful gaming rig to explore my gaming habits.

Well I was home for the holidays this year and my brother had recently gotten a PS3 and just bought Red Dead Redemption. This isn't really going to be a review of RDR since I haven't spent that much time playing it this week but it's more of a review of the current generation console experience from the POV of a guy who's been in the dark on console gaming since the 32 bit days. My parents also have a PC - albeit an underpowered one, hooked up to the TV so I was able to compare it to Steam's big picture mode.

Couple of initial observations:

- Holy shit, they install games on consoles now?! I remember when putting in a disc and and turning on the system was one of the advantages that console gaming had over PC gaming.

- Load times were terrible across all the disc based games I played. RDR, Tekken 6, UFC Undisputed 3, Modern Warfare 2 and Resistance 3. Hearing the system chug while loading a menu screen seems ridiculous to me.

- This is probably only because I've been M+KB guy for the last 15 years but a using a controller to play an FPS is so crippling.

- The whole thing about gaming on the couch is great though. However, I was able to get a game running in Steam's big picture mode much easier than on a PS3. Windows 8's metro interface is surprisingly usable for HTPC.

- Even sitting far away, graphics and framerates are noticeably crappier on a console compared to the same game for the PC. I can't see why people double dip when it comes to multiplatform releases if they have a sufficiently powered PC. The experience is so much worse.

So all that said the exclusives I was able to play are games I would probably shell out money on a console just to play. RDR is an amazing game, sitting down to play a fighting game like Tekken while talking mad shit to my brother is an experienced I sorely missed. I had a blast with UFC undisputed being a huge MMA fan. The one thing I was still wondering about console gaming was that were there enough unique experiences to justify owning one. Back in the 32 bit days, there was a huge difference between PC's and consoles and over the years, it has seemed that the PC has become more and more of the HD platform for video games since all the big releases are multiplatform nowadays.
 
C

CosmicGroinPull

Member
- This is probably only because I've been M+KB guy for the last 15 years but a using a controller to play an FPS is so crippling.
Click to expand...

*Points and laughs at OP*


But yeah, definitely consoles are where gaming is at for me. PC gaming just supplements the experience.
 
Pejo

Pejo

Gold Member
idk, sounds more like LTTP: PC Elitism to me

There are still a ton of experiences unique to consoles, plus Big Picture Mode hasn't exactly been around a long time.
 
S

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
CosmicGroinPull said:
*Points and laughs at OP*
Click to expand...

I don't see what's funny about that. He speaks the truth.

But yeah, I'm coming from a reverse of your background (console for most of my life to PC), but I feel the same way when playing most console titles after being spoiled by PC image quality and performance. Still, there's a lot of great games on the PS3 that I'm glad that I didn't miss out on. Be sure to play Wipeout HD + Fury ASAP.
 
S

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
outunderthestars said:
Yea, I hear Red Dead Redemption's load times are much better on PC. Oh Wait.....
Click to expand...

If only. But he said that he thinks RDR is an amazing game regardless, as do I. But when playing it, it's hard not to think of what decent PC hardware could do for it, especially when you've spent time with the inferior PS3 version. Just imagine the screenshots...(drool)...
 
P

Pranay

Member
Pejo said:
idk, sounds more like LTTP: PC Elitism to me

There are still a ton of experiences unique to consoles, plus Big Picture Mode hasn't exactly been around a long time.
Click to expand...

yeah
and tbh for a 7 year old device, it does stuff decently imo.

Install time sucks agreed.

@op
IMO you missed a lot of ps2 games , so get them
 
D

dc89

Member
Seems a bit daft complaining about console games being installed. Because everyone loves the some times huge installs on PC.
 
S

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
dc89 said:
Seems a bit daft complaining about console games being installed. Because everyone loves the some times huge installs on PC.
Click to expand...

Because it is a legitimate drawback of the console (or blu rays, really). One of the strengths of the console experience has always been the whole "put the disc in and play" aspect. You have that on Xbox 360 and Wii U. It's a luxury that still exists on other systems.

JoeTheBlow said:
Today the world found out that consoles with 8 year old tech have worse performance than todays PC's.
More shocking news......after this.
Click to expand...

Shocking news? What are you even talking about? He's just sharing his impressions, it's not meant to be shocking.
 
B

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
dc89 said:
Seems a bit daft complaining about console games being installed. Because everyone loves the some times huge installs on PC.
Click to expand...

It can be seen as taking the worst part of PC gaming (the preparation before jumping into a game) and seeing it on consoles with none of the upsides.

Of course you need to be very selective if you're arguing that point, because I have plenty of issues on every platform when wanting to start a game. Yes, even PC (which for me is mostly Steam.)
 
O

Oni Jazar

Member
You've picked a poor time to jump in if you are looking for improvements to PC. It's the end of the console cycle. Great time to jump in for cheap games though.
 
O

outunderthestars

Banned
JoeTheBlow said:
Today the world found out that consoles with 8 year old tech have worse performance than todays PC's.
More shocking news......after this.
Click to expand...

THIS. It's a $250, seven year old machine at this point. Please point me towards a $250 PC that can play games with image quality of The Last of Us.
 
R

Razorskin

----- ------
Yeah there are some drawbacks compared to a pc but the exclusives are worth it. I recommend Demon's Souls which I'm playing through now.


Try out NHL 13 to see how much hockey games have changed, can't play that on a pc.
 
P

Pranay

Member
Snuggler said:
Because it is a legitimate drawback of the console (or blu rays, really). One of the strengths of the console experience has always been the whole "put the disc in and play" aspect. You have that on Xbox 360 and Wii U. It's a luxury that still exists on other systems.
Click to expand...

Yep your right and this along with updates is the worst thing on ps3

If he has a beefy enough PC, PCSX2 would be the way to go for that.
Click to expand...

If so yes but would rather go for the hd remakes on PS3 apart from silent hill
 
O

Oemenia

Banned
Even after all that, there is a convenience to console gaming which goes a huge way towards immersion. My PC is more than capable of playing multiplats but most of the time IQ isnt good enough to give up all that immersion. Yes you can plug in controllers on the PC and get achievements but these still arent enough to give you the full console experience.

Even Witcher 2, which looks about Med-High on 360, looks incredible to the extent that by playing the console version you arent missing out. On the other hand, Far Cry 3 and BF3 which still look amazing on consoles, are much better played on the PC.
 
G

Grim1ock

Banned
To the OP

perhaps it would be helpful to play the gazillion exclusives on the ps3 and on PSN before you give us a verdict. Ever tried wipeout HD/fury?
 
S

Snuggles

erotic butter maelstrom
Oemenia said:
Even after all that, there is a convenience to console gaming which goes a huge way towards immersion. My PC is more than capable of playing multiplats but most of the time IQ isnt good enough to give up all that immersion. Yes you can plug in controllers on the PC and get achievements but these still arent enough to give you the full console experience.
Click to expand...

Just curious, how would you define "the full console experience"?

CosmicGroinPull said:
ACCURACY AND RESPONSE TIME be damned, gaming feels best with a controller.
Click to expand...

Some games feel better with a controller, some games don't. Either way I think we can all agree that having the choice to pick whichever works best for you is the most ideal situation.
 
P

PastorOfMuppets

Banned
Guys, this was my conclusion:

So all that said the exclusives I was able to play are games I would probably shell out money on a console just to play

Ultimately, I think that there are enough unique experiences on a console for me to buy one even with all the weaknesses.
 
E

Eideka

Banned
PastorOfMuppets said:
it has seemed that the PC has become more and more of the HD platform for video games since all the big releases are multiplatform nowadays.
Click to expand...

Yep, I agree with that. I still keep my consoles just in case....But apart from RDR there is not a single game that made me say "thank God I have a console".

This generation my consoles have been gathering dust, the PC has been my HD platform by a landslide. All my favorite games of the generation are multiplats and Sony's output has not managed to impress me (TLOU could change that); the same can be said for MS.
 
P

Pranay

Member
PastorOfMuppets said:
Guys, this was my conclusion:

So all that said the exclusives I was able to play are games I would probably shell out money on a console just to play

Ultimately, I think that there are enough unique experiences on a console for me to buy one even with all the weaknesses.
Click to expand...

That's reasonable.

Getting a console at the beginning and towards the end have both advantages and disadvantages.

For you a huge library and cheap games will be a plus.

Just curious, how would you define "the full console experience"?
Click to expand...

What PC users are currently having via steam !
 
B

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
PastorOfMuppets said:
Guys, this was my conclusion:

So all that said the exclusives I was able to play are games I would probably shell out money on a console just to play

Ultimately, I think that there are enough unique experiences on a console for me to buy one even with all the weaknesses.
Click to expand...
Consider this perspective: For the price of what I paid for my PC, I could have purchased a 360, PS3, WiiU, Vita and Nintendo 3DS.

That's a whole lotta platforms with a whole lotta exclusives that are unavailable to me on PC for the same price.
 
P

Phoenician_Viking

Banned
OP i´m looking forward to your impression about graphics on the PS3 OP.

JoeTheBlow said:
Today the world found out that consoles with 8 year old tech have worse performance than todays PC's.
More shocking news......after this.
Click to expand...

outunderthestars said:
THIS. It's a $250, seven year old machine at this point. Please point me towards a $250 PC that can play games with image quality of The Last of Us.
Click to expand...

What´s with the aggressiveness?
 
1

1st Course

Member
PastorOfMuppets said:
Back in the 32 bit days, there was a huge difference between PC's and consoles and over the years, it has seemed that the PC has become more and more of the HD platform for video games since all the big releases are multiplatform nowadays.
Click to expand...

This is defiantly true. it seems that the days of big 3rd party exclusive are long gone, even non PC centric genres like sport games, 3rd person shooters, and some Japanese efforts (Capcom , Sega, Dark Souls etc..) seem to find their way on the PC platform these days, certainly not like the PS1/N64 era where %99 of the games didn't have have a PC version.

As long as you own one of the two HD twins or a Gaming PC you're really not missing on that much aside of a couple of exclusives and first party efforts.
 
G

Gravijah

Member
you've seen the light. playing on only one platform as a gamer is just wrong.

now go out and buy yourself a PC Engine and a nice CRT.
 
M

Manmademan

Member
PastorOfMuppets said:
Guys, this was my conclusion:

So all that said the exclusives I was able to play are games I would probably shell out money on a console just to play

Ultimately, I think that there are enough unique experiences on a console for me to buy one even with all the weaknesses.
Click to expand...

Keep in mind the PS3 is 7 years old now. It's not really expected to keep up with the load times/framerates etc of a modern PC. The fact that certain games (Uncharted 2/3, GOW3, Killzone 3, Wipeout) still look as good as they do is actually pretty impressive.

Installs to the hard drive exist because of the limitations of Blu-Ray and DVD drives 7 years ago. Faster drives exist now, and you'll likely see them in the PS4 and Xbox 3.

Yes, controllers are (usually) horrible compared to a mouse and keyboard for FPS- but FPS and RTS games were designed to be played on a mouse and keyboard in the first place. Controllers are better for just about everything else. Fighters in particular are completely unplayable without a controller or a dedicated stick.

edit: 15 years without a tv is insane though- especially given how cheap they are these days. you can get a decent 60 inch 1080p TV for less than a grand, and a decent 50 inch for around $500.
 
E

Erdem

Banned
As a PC gamer and PS3 owner which is used maybe 1-2 hours a month, a console atm is only worth it if you REALLY have to get the exclusives. Killzone, Gran Turismo, Uncharted are all great experiences but remember exclusives are mostly singleplayers and you get bored of them pretty quick.
 
The Spoony Hou

The Spoony Hou

Member
I'll just say forced installs are the worst shit ever.

Ok, ok, there's worst shit but forced installs are up there. I really like how the 360 handles it.
 
P

PastorOfMuppets

Banned
benny_a said:
Consider this perspective: For the price of what I paid for my PC, I could have purchased a 360, PS3, WiiU, Vita and Nintendo 3DS.

That's a whole lotta platforms with a whole lotta exclusives that are unavailable to me on PC for the same price.
Click to expand...

That's a fair argument but you have to keep this in mind. I don't own a TV at home. For the price of a TV+PS360, I could get a beast machine PC. Also the exclusive thing goes both ways. There are a lot more PC exclusive games than there are console ones. Console gamers probably aren't interested in games like Sins of a Solar Empire though so I understand the ambivalence.
 
G

Gravijah

Member
The Spoony Hou said:
I'll just say forced installs are the worst shit ever.

Ok, ok, there's worst shit but forced installs are up there. I really like how the 360 handles it.
Click to expand...

forced installs are forced for a reason. the alternative would be horrible. installed 360 games are generally much faster than PS3 games, too.
PastorOfMuppets said:
That's a fair argument but you have to keep this in mind. I don't own a TV at home. For the price of a TV+PS360, I could get a beast machine PC.
Click to expand...

monitor with HDMI solves urrthing.
 
E

Eideka

Banned
Erdem said:
As a PC gamer and PS3 owner which is used maybe 1-2 hours a month, a console atm is only worth it if you REALLY have to get the exclusives. Killzone, Gran Turismo, Uncharted are all great experiences but remember exclusives are mostly singleplayers and you get bored of them pretty quick.
Click to expand...

Not to mention that not all exclusives are actually good. I've played them all and honestly I could have discarded them very easily. I felt like I wasted my time playing Killzone 3/Uncharted 3 for instance.

My point is (and I'm not alone in this) that I could have done all my gaming on PC and not missed anything (aside from the aforementionned RDR).
 
B

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
PastorOfMuppets said:
That's a fair argument but you have to keep this in mind. I don't own a TV at home. For the price of a TV+PS360, I could get a beast machine PC.
Click to expand...
Yeah. It all depends about the starting point.

In my above calculation (I used the enthusiast gaming PC gaming build here on GAF) I didn't include a monitor. It was just the hardware to put it below the desk and the necessary periphery to operate it.

Addind that monitor on top and throwing out the handhelds in my above calculation would mean you would get the latest console by the big 3 plus the Ouya and a HDTV in Germany. :p

Gravijah said:
monitor with HDMI solves urrthing.
Click to expand...
For the PS3 the monitor would have to support HDCP which is not something every monitor supports.

Eideka said:
My point is (and I'm not alone in this) that I could have done all my gaming on PC and not missed anything (aside from the aforementionned RDR).
Click to expand...
Sure you personally might not have liked the games the console had to offer. But it's undeniable that quite often the games that swept the GOTY's in the last few years were exclusives in one form or another.

GTA4 (Timed), MGS4, Uncharted 2, RDR, Journey & others.
 
G

Gravijah

Member
Eideka said:
My point is (and I'm not alone in this) that I could have done all my gaming on PC and not missed anything (aside from the aforementionned RDR).
Click to expand...

you could probably buy any one platform and not need to buy another. even something like a crappy atari 5200 would keep someone occupied for quite a while.
 
E

Eideka

Banned
Gravijah said:
you could probably buy any one platform and not need to buy another. even something like a crappy atari 5200 would keep someone occupied for quite a while.
Click to expand...

Someone perhaps, but not me. If there are true gems on other platforms then I feel compelled to purchase them, and that has not been the case save for RDR.

When I think that the reason I bought a PS3 back in 2007 was to play The Last Guardian....Wow. I should have known.
 
P

Pranay

Member
Erdem said:
As a PC gamer and PS3 owner which is used maybe 1-2 hours a month, a console atm is only worth it if you REALLY have to get the exclusives. Killzone, Gran Turismo, Uncharted are all great experiences but remember exclusives are mostly singleplayers and you get bored of them pretty quick.
Click to expand...


This is the worst thing i have read :\

PastorOfMuppets said:
That's a fair argument but you have to keep this in mind. I don't own a TV at home. For the price of a TV+PS360, I could get a beast machine PC. Also the exclusive thing goes both ways. There are a lot more PC exclusive games than there are console ones. Console gamers probably aren't interested in games like Sins of a Solar Empire though so I understand the ambivalence.
Click to expand...

Fair Enough

Not to mention that no all exclusives are actually good. I've played them all and honestly I could have discarded them very easily. I felt like I wasted my time playing Killzone 3/Uncharted 3 for instance.

My point is (and I'm not alone in this) that I could have done all my gaming on PC and not missed anything (aside from the aforementionned RDR).
Click to expand...

Point stands that their are enough games on all the consoles where a person can choose a lot of games from whether they are good or bad , its subjective.
 
M

Manmademan

Member
PastorOfMuppets said:
That's a fair argument but you have to keep this in mind. I don't own a TV at home. For the price of a TV+PS360, I could get a beast machine PC. Also the exclusive thing goes both ways. There are a lot more PC exclusive games than there are console ones. Console gamers probably aren't interested in games like Sins of a Solar Empire though so I understand the ambivalence.
Click to expand...

This isn't true anymore with PSN and XBLA. There are a TON of games on both that don't get a lot of press and will never appear on PC.

PSN+ in particular is incredible, since for $50 a year you get somewhere around 50 free games.
 
P

PastorOfMuppets

Banned
Manmademan said:
.

edit: 15 years without a tv is insane though- especially given how cheap they are these days. you can get a decent 60 inch 1080p TV for less than a grand, and a decent 50 inch for around $500.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's something I've always been meaning to get but never got around to doing. In college I just rock out with my roommates' tube TV and we'd watch classic 90's movies on VHS while smoking lots and lots and lots of weed.

After college, I got a job and a girlfriend but by then I was much interested in books and developed quite a large book collection. Now my apartment is mainly books and adding a TV would require some major re-arranging to my living room and I'll say this about books - women are more impressed by my books than my large Steam backlog so I'm keeping the books.
 
H

hardcastlemccormick

Banned
My impressions mirror the OP's. My limited experience on the PS3 has been a lot of fun with the exclusives (finally getting to play Metal Gear Solid 4) but after the simplicity of the PS2 and PS1, it's baffling to see just how much arbitrary complexity drags the machine down. It requires so much baby sitting and I don't even use it that much! The 360 was the same way when I owned it, and it frustrated me. The WiiU might also have this problem, it seems.

The appeal of consoles has always been that they lack the maintenance of the PC, but it seems like consoles need more attention than PCs these days.
 
The Spoony Hou

The Spoony Hou

Member
Gravijah said:
forced installs are forced for a reason. the alternative would be horrible. installed 360 games are generally much faster than PS3 games, too.
Click to expand...

I do understand why they are there. But they shouldn't. I know Sony can't sunddently make more RAM or speed up the disc drive (things they should've taken care of when developing the console), but then developers have to take it in consideration when making a game.
 
B

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
Manmademan said:
This isn't true anymore with PSN and XBLA. There are a TON of games on both that don't get a lot of press and will never appear on PC.
Click to expand...
If you're talking quantity PC still has every console/handheld beat.

Just the amount of flash games and such is just a huge amount of games.

hardcastlemccormick said:
The appeal of consoles has always been that they lack the maintenance of the PC, but it seems like consoles need more attention than PCs these days.
Click to expand...
I can't confirm that. I think most platforms are pretty comparable.
Despite the ridiculous "solution" in my experience the last few months Sony wins the maintenance award now because of PS+ and everything patching at night.

Don't get me wrong: That you have to pay it to make it more convenient is absolute horrible. It's just a side-effect of PS+ being worth it for me personally.
 
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