Thinking about buying a PS3 - A few questions.

RandomLee

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Hello folks,

I'm considering getting a PS3 to play The Last of Us when it comes out so have a couple of questions:


-What is the best model to buy?
I'm not too fussed on HDD size, just want the most basic model providing they haven't removed anything essential like wifi to keep the cost down.


-Is it safe to buy used?
I see them pop up in the classifieds but since I'm on my 4th 360, I'd be hesistant to buy something without a warranty.


-Following on from the last question, how common is YLOD?
Again, after 4 360s, failure rate is a concern! Do the new models still suffer this?


-What is the closest you can get to the Xbox 360 controller?
It would have to be wireless, have the similar button layout to the 360, decent triggers, good build quality and no input lag. Asking too much? I really don't like the feel or layout of the dual shock but all the 3rd party controllers I've seen look like cheap crap. Any websites sell PS3 pads butchered into a 360 housing?


-What are the must have PS3 exclusives?
I'll still get multi-platform games for 360 but I'm sure there's loads of PS3 only games I'm missing out on. Not a fan of MGS series but I do like the look of Uncharted, Killzone, God of War, inFamous, Resistance and LBP. Lots of cool looking RPGs too. It's only really football, guitar hero style games and party orientated games I tend to avoid, so feel free to list as many or as few as you want. I don't play online either, but I dunno if that's relevant.


Appreciate any help ;)

Cheers,

Lee
 
What is the best model to buy?

Doesn't matter. They're all the same. Only the hard drive size is different.

Is it safe to buy used?

The YLOD issue is mostly related to the old 60GB PS2 backwards compatible models, but like any modern equipment, I wouldn't buy anything without a warranty. I think the slims are quite reliable. My 3 year old 80gb fat PS3 has been bulletproof, so it's hard to say for definite what experience you'd have with a used console.

What is the closest you can get to the Xbox 360 controller? It would have to be wireless, have the similar button layout to the 360, decent triggers, good build quality and no input lag. Asking too much? I really don't like the feel or layout of the dual shock but all the 3rd party controllers I've seen look like cheap crap.

Most 3rd party controllers are crap. You can buy a piece of hardware (think it's called crossfire or something, but obviously you'd miss out on the sixaxis, but most games don't use it anyway) to use a 360 controller on a PS3, but otherwise I'd say suck it up & use a dualshock. It's a solid, precise, & reliable controller. Just might take a bit of getting used to after the 360 one. You can buy clip on triggers for the dualshock (Giotek I think) for a few quid. People seem to like them, but personally I don't see the point.


What are the must have PS3 exclusives?

I think you covered most of the good ones. I'd recommend the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus remake, & possibly GT5 if your into racing sims. Maybe check out the Motostorm franchise. Heavy Rain is another one worth looking into. Ratchet & Clank series is good for the most part (haven't tried the latest one, & haven't heard good things).

I don't play online either, but I dunno if that's relevant.

It's not relevant, after all you don't pay for it so it doesn't matter if you use it or not (that's not a dig at the 360's online policy before anybody gets narky, just an observation).
 
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Doesn't matter. They're all the same. Only the hard drive size is different.

That's good to know, I was reading the FAQ and it mentioned a 20GB but I'm assuming that dates back to release.

The YLOD issue is mostly related to the old 60GB PS2 backwards compatible models, but like any modern equipment, I wouldn't buy anything without a warranty. I think the slims are quite reliable. My 3 year old 80gb fat PS3 has been bulletproof, so it's hard to say for definite what experience you'd have with a used console.

Totally agree so I think for peace of mind I'll buy new.

Most 3rd party controllers are crap. You can buy a piece of hardware (think it's called crossfire or something, but obviously you'd miss out on the sixaxis, but most games don't use it anyway) to use a 360 controller on a PS3, but otherwise I'd say suck it up & use a dualshock. It's a solid, precise, & reliable controller. Just might take a bit of getting used to after the 360 one. You can buy clip on triggers for the dualshock (Giotek I think) for a few quid. People seem to like them, but personally I don't see the point.

Yeah, that's usually the case with 3rd party stuff. The new MW3 controller looks pretty well built but I've yet to see a decent review. I'll look into those clip on triggers too. The crossfire thing sounds like a pain, I believe you have to use a the 360 wireless PC dongle if you want to use a 360 wireless pad otherwise you're stuck with the wired pad.

I think you covered most of the good ones. I'd recommend the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus remake, & possibly GT5 if your into racing sims. Maybe check out the Motostorm franchise. Heavy Rain is another one worth looking into. Ratchet & Clank series is good for the most part (haven't tried the latest one, & haven't heard good things).

Heavy Rain! I knew these was one in particular I was forgetting! I'll check the others you mentioned too.

It's not relevant, after all you don't pay for it so it doesn't matter if you use it or not (that's not a dig at the 360's online policy before anybody gets narky, just an observation).

Haha, I do actually pay for a Gold XBL account, I just don't use it to play MP games unless it's something organised with friends (Kinect bowling with family in Canada etc), or video chat / Last.fm etc.

Thanks Kaden, that's massive help! I've replied to each bit above ;)

I have to nip into HMV after work to get a few things so will check out the PS3 prices and see if they're doing any good bundles. Think I'll probably go for it after the new year.

Cheers :smashin:
 
Some suggestions.

Mass effect 2 is definitely worth a look. Extremely pretty. Dragon Age is great too (but massive).

COD4 - Modern warfare
COD - Modern Warfare 2

Have excellent single player campaign modes.

Dead Space 1 and 2, cutting edge horror games (under appreciated), be able to get these at bargain prices too.

Uncharted 1, 2 and 3 yes, excellent cinematics.

Fallout 3, expansive, rich world to explore
Skyrim, much prettier, more expansive, richer world to explore

I'm on an 80Gb Phat, that hasn't missed a beat.
 
QBSBuck,

I agree with most of what you said except for Skyrim. I'd definitely buy that on the 360 or wait for it to be patched further on the PS3. It's currently too broken to recommend on the Sony console.

He did state that he'd still be getting all his multiplat games on the 360, & if that's his controller of preference, I wouldn't blame him.
 
Some suggestions.

Mass effect 2 is definitely worth a look. Extremely pretty. Dragon Age is great too (but massive).

COD4 - Modern warfare
COD - Modern Warfare 2

Have excellent single player campaign modes.

Dead Space 1 and 2, cutting edge horror games (under appreciated), be able to get these at bargain prices too.

Uncharted 1, 2 and 3 yes, excellent cinematics.

Fallout 3, expansive, rich world to explore
Skyrim, much prettier, more expansive, richer world to explore

I'm on an 80Gb Phat, that hasn't missed a beat.

Apart from Uncharted, I've played all those on the 360 but thanks for the suggestions ;)

The Mass Effect series is one of my all time favourites, got the N7 edition of ME3 pre-ordered already. Can't wait for March 2012!

At this point I should really admit to being a 360 fanboy, not to the point of bashing the competition as that's childish, but I really felt let down by Sony with constant delays and lack of any decent launch titles, so I bought a 360 and never looked back until I saw the trailer for The Last of Us earlier this week. As such I'm only after the PS3 for exclusives as any multi-platform titles will always be bought for the 360 first. It will also be nice to have a BluRay player too.

QBSBuck,

I agree with most of what you said except for Skyrim. I'd definitely buy that on the 360 or wait for it to be patched further on the PS3. It's currently too broken to recommend on the Sony console.

He did state that he'd still be getting all his multiplat games on the 360, & if that's his controller of preference, I wouldn't blame him.

I think the problem with Skyrim, and indeed all Bethsoft games, is that they develop on the 360 and then do a lazy PS3 and PC port afterwards. I think that's always been the problem for multi-platform games as the PS3 is seen as being more complicated to develop for. At least that's the common excuse devs give when people complain about poor ports.
 
I think the problem with Skyrim, and indeed all Bethsoft games, is that they develop on the 360 and then do a lazy PS3 and PC port afterwards. I think that's always been the problem for multi-platform games as the PS3 is seen as being more complicated to develop for. At least that's the common excuse devs give when people complain about poor ports.

I'm not sure if it's the common excuse devs give anymore. I think it's the common reason other people on various forums give on behalf of the devs, so the devs don't actually have to say anything at all. It just seems to be an accepted thing that a PS3 port of a multiplat game is going to be inferior, & PS3 owners just have to accept it & be grateful for the few devs who actually know how to get the most out of the machine. To be fair, there's not usually that much in it either way, & atrocities like Skyrim are few & far between. Buggy games in general seem to be getting more common though, & it winds me right up that it seems to be received as acceptable behaviour.

There's no doubt that the PS3 doesn't have a traditional PC type architecture, but it's been around long enough now that any major developer should be able to program a game for a 5 year old console without screwing it up so bad that it crashes all the time, & could corrupt your hard drive, & make your console unusable.
 
I'm not sure if it's the common excuse devs give anymore. I think it's the common reason other people on various forums give on behalf of the devs, so the devs don't actually have to say anything at all. It just seems to be an accepted thing that a PS3 port of a multiplat game is going to be inferior, & PS3 owners just have to accept it & be grateful for the few devs who actually know how to get the most out of the machine. To be fair, there's not usually that much in it either way, & atrocities like Skyrim are few & far between. Buggy games in general seem to be getting more common though, & it winds me right up that it seems to be received as acceptable behaviour.

There's no doubt that the PS3 doesn't have a traditional PC type architecture, but it's been around long enough now that any major developer should be able to program a game for a 5 year old console without screwing it up so bad that it crashes all the time, & could corrupt your hard drive, & make your console unusable.

Totally agree, games do seem to be released with a lot more bugs than ever before and it's a shame that the system which was designed to help devs fix games on the fly is now being used to allow them to rush games onto the shelves and then fix them later after the customers have essentially done their testing for them. I can think of quite a few notable examples of this on the 360 over the past couple of years.

You're also right in saying that the "it's hard to program for" is a tired argument and any dev worth their salt should be more than accustomed to it by now.
 
Doesn't matter. They're all the same. Only the hard drive size is different.

That's not the case at all if he's talking about perhaps picking up a non-slim 2nd hand version.....plus there are differences between the older (original) 120/250GB slims compared to the brand new ones.
 
That's not the case at all if he's talking about perhaps picking up a non-slim 2nd hand version.....plus there are differences between the older (original) 120/250GB slims compared to the brand new ones.

I've decided on a new one, so what differences can I expect to find between slim models other than HDD capacity? My console tinkering days are well behind me so not bothered about homebrew or cfw if it's anything to do with that.

TIA ;)
 
That's not the case at all if he's talking about perhaps picking up a non-slim 2nd hand version.....plus there are differences between the older (original) 120/250GB slims compared to the brand new ones.

My bad, I made an assumption that he was going to purchase new. You're right, the original 60GB's had more USB sockets. Memory card slots, & full (?) PS2 backwards compatibility. Some slightly newer fat PS3's had software PS2 b/c, but I have no idea how good/bad it was. As far as I'm aware, all PS3's from the 40GB model are pretty much the same. The older models are also the least reliable. You tend not to hear many horror stories from the 80GB onwards.

I've decided on a new one, so what differences can I expect to find between slim models other than HDD capacity? My console tinkering days are well behind me so not bothered about homebrew or cfw if it's anything to do with that.

TIA ;)

No differences on current slims purchased new except hard drive size (there was apparently some whiny fans on early slims). I should have been clear initially. It's just the fats that had technical differences that you'd notice.
 
I've decided on a new one, so what differences can I expect to find between slim models other than HDD capacity? My console tinkering days are well behind me so not bothered about homebrew or cfw if it's anything to do with that.

TIA ;)

As Kaden has said above, no differences in the new slims apart from HDD size (and with current HDD prices it's probably an idea to "go large" and get the 320GB!)....aside from the fact you can't tinker (although it's just plugging in a USB stick) on the newer models ;)
 
I would go for the 320GB model Slim it means you don't have to worry about HDD space. Aswell they are probably the most reliable ylod wise there is a slim (muahah) chance of you getting it.

You can pick a PS3 320GB for around ÂŁ200 just on its on there is probably other deals going around aswell

games wise well you've mentioned them all so no need for me to input on that xD
 
I would compare the cost of the big harddrive slim vs little, and then look at the cost of upgrading the harddrive. It's a v simple process to switch out the HDD.
 
It would be cheaper just buying the 320GB model PS3 for a 160GB HDD its around ÂŁ60-70
 
Good to know bud
 
Not just that the price in metal has gone up in price
 
Hello folks,
What is the closest you can get to the Xbox 360 controller?
It would have to be wireless, have the similar button layout to the 360, decent triggers, good build quality and no input lag. Asking too much? I really don't like the feel or layout of the dual shock but all the 3rd party controllers I've seen look like cheap crap. Any websites sell PS3 pads butchered into a 360 housing?
I hate the standard DS3 too, fits my shovel sized hands not. I always wanted a 360 esque controller for it too however, that changed a few months ago. I bought some of the ORB triggers and thumbstick attachments (concave thumbs just like the 360 one) and it's brilliant. I actually and quite amazingly (for me!) prefer it to the 360 controller now.

What are the must have PS3 exclusives?
I'll still get multi-platform games for 360 but I'm sure there's loads of PS3 only games I'm missing out on.
Of course every PS3 owner should have LBP but I have to say the best game for me this year (including all the 360 releases) is Resistance 3. It's brilliant, a real return to form as the second was not so good. Most of the time you're not hurried along with some crap buddies and scripted squad movements, but can pretty much take things at your own pace. It blows both BF3 and MW3 away by a million miles as far as I'm concerned but that's just my opinion.
 
but I have to say the best game for me this year (including all the 360 releases) is Resistance 3. It's brilliant, a real return to form as the second was not so good. Most of the time you're not hurried along with some crap buddies and scripted squad movements, but can pretty much take things at your own pace. It blows both BF3 and MW3 away by a million miles as far as I'm concerned but that's just my opinion.

As far as single player fps campaigns go, I'd have to agree with you. A thoroughly enjoyable game. I did like the 2nd one, but the 1st & 3rd do feel more like part of the series, whereas 2 felt a bit out on it's own. Then again, after the brilliant Modern Warfare (single player campaign) I haven't liked a COD game since, so I'm the wrong person to get a positive opinion of COD from.
 
Theres a good offer at the moment for ÂŁ269 - 320gb console plus GT5, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3 & FIFA 12.

Resistance 3 was a very enjoyable game - shades of Half Life 2 & Left 4 Dead in it. Killzone 3 is also a cracker of a game - my GOTY, although I'd suggest playing KZ2 beforehand. Some good exclusive titles due early next year also in The Last Guardian and Journey too.

I'd recommend the Gioteck trigger extensions too - the triggers on a standard DS3 are just plain wrong - they curve away from you so my fingers tend to slip off - there's a reason most FPS games swap the controls around on PS3 so that the trigger buttons are L1 & R1 instead of the triggers...
 
I'd recommend the Gioteck trigger extensions too - the triggers on a standard DS3 are just plain wrong - they curve away from you so my fingers tend to slip off - there's a reason most FPS games swap the controls around on PS3 so that the trigger buttons are L1 & R1 instead of the triggers...

I personally don't get it, because they're not triggers. I don't know why people insist on judging the "not triggers" on the dualshock to the "triggers" on the 360 controller. Just looking at L2/R2, they were never intended to be used for triggers on shooters, there's far too much travel in them for that. L1/R1 all the way. Also, my fingers have not slipped off of L2/R2 once in the 3 years I've had my PS3. Everyone to their own though.
 
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Theres a good offer at the moment for ÂŁ269 - 320gb console plus GT5, Battlefield 3, Uncharted 3 & FIFA 12.

Resistance 3 was a very enjoyable game - shades of Half Life 2 & Left 4 Dead in it. Killzone 3 is also a cracker of a game - my GOTY, although I'd suggest playing KZ2 beforehand. Some good exclusive titles due early next year also in The Last Guardian and Journey too.

I'd recommend the Gioteck trigger extensions too - the triggers on a standard DS3 are just plain wrong - they curve away from you so my fingers tend to slip off - there's a reason most FPS games swap the controls around on PS3 so that the trigger buttons are L1 & R1 instead of the triggers...


Do you get the lube out before playing >_< Like the guy said above mine have never slipped off and the things you put on L3 and R3 aswell if you want a controller like that buy a 360 xD
 
Do you get the lube out before playing >_< Like the guy said above mine have never slipped off and the things you put on L3 and R3 aswell if you want a controller like that buy a 360 xD

I personally don't see the point of the triggers, & I'm undecided on the analog covers, but if it enhances folks enjoyment of their console it's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a different console.

I just find it funny that people keep calling L2 & R2 triggers just because that's what the 360 controllers lower front buttons are called. Why are we comparing this using the 360 controller as the standard benchmark? I'm not suggesting for a second that we use the dualshock as the standard either. The 2 controllers are designed differently. Just because they have a similar button layout doesn't mean that each individual button has to perform exactly the same task in the same way. Doesn't make one worse than the other, just makes them different.

For example, I can't actually get my head round how anybody can find the 360 analog sticks comfortable as my body is reasonably symmetrical & therefore, in my humble opinion my controller should be as well, but there's a definite following who prefer the 360 analog sticks, & who am I to tell them they're wrong.

Like I said before, everybody to their own, & if spending ÂŁ3 on some Giotek triggers makes you gaming experience more comfortable then it's ÂŁ3 well spent.
 
Do you get the lube out before playing >_< Like the guy said above mine have never slipped off and the things you put on L3 and R3 aswell if you want a controller like that buy a 360 xD

I do actually - Dead Space doesn't half make you pucker up... :rotfl:

I've never liked the so-called triggers on the DS3 - if that's what they're supposed to be - too much travel for shooters and not enough for racing games - they're really half-arsed.

Seen those stick extenders, but they look uncomfortable. The 360's stick are much better because the stick itself has a concave profile to it which aids grip, the PS3's being convex (I hope I've got those the right way round!) makes finger slippage easier especially on racers. The old 360 controllers were best though, the sticks were more rubbery than the current ones and much more grippier.

As the the differing stick placements - I'm comfortable with both.
 

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