Outside of Warhawk and possibly Resistance, I've yet to have a compelling online experience with the PS3. It's not as though I haven't tried, though. Sitting in the cubicle next to Sterling has some benefits (although persistent office odor is definitely not one of them), and so I have been fortunate enough to witness the PS3 in action on a near-daily basis.
On top of gleaning what I can from Sterling's play sessions, I've also had the opportunity to review some PS3 games myself, and I have to say that I haven't been very impressed. For a machine that is supposed to be technologically superior to the 360 in every way, I just don't see it.
Of course, it could be that I'm selling the PS3 short, because it hasn't had the year head-start that the Xbox 360 has. Then again, shouldn't it be that much more robust for having spent that extra time in development? I'd say yes, but even the 360 took its time ramping up to the majestic machine it is today. The 360 didn't always have a massive library packed with the best games on the planet... it took a couple of months to push out Fight Night Round 3 and Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter.
Where are these breakout titles on the PS3? They simply don't exist (although Sony fanboys will be quick to point out that the PS3 version of Fight Night Round 3 is widely considered superior to the 360... hey, that's what an extra year of development will get you). Honestly, despite the continued promise of Lair and Heavenly Sword, I'm still going to say that I'll believe it when I see it.
Disgusting Downloadables
I was super excited when I saw that arcade classic Rampart was available over the PlayStation Network, because I have been a fan of that game since forever. Say what you will about my tastes, just don't knock Rampart. This game was originally played in the arcade with a trackball, an antiquated relic that was essentially a mouse turned upside down that would enable you to slide a cursor around the screen by spinning the ball.
The idea is that you're a king in a castle and you have to use your cadre of cannons to defend yourself from an onslaught of nefarious sea-going ships (equipped with cannons of their own). After repelling an attack, you have a limited time to build up your fortresses' walls with Tetris-esque chunks of stone while trying to expand and capture more territory. It's brilliant in its simplicity... and now I could have it in my very own home! How had Microsoft not nabbed this one for Xbox Live Arcade?
My enthusiasm, however, was short-lived. Once I'd downloaded the game through the tedious process that is downloading anything over PSN, I discovered that while Rampart was still the same game that I loved, its execution on the PS3 was thoroughly awful. Put simply, the controls are totally hosed. Granted, this game was originally played with a trackball, so short of releasing an expensive and largely useless peripheral that would be impossible to perfectly replicate, but they could at least tune the game so that the analog stick and d-pad functioned as you'd expect.
Unfortunately, during the exceptionally tense parts of the game where you frantically attempt to seal up your castle using odd-shaped bricks, both the analog stick and the d-pad decide that they don't really feel like acting as dependably as you might want. They're not your bitches, after all... if they want to move the piece two spaces over instead of the one space you clearly indicated with the briefest of presses on them, they will. These fussy controls turned a time-worn classic into a brand-new exercise in maddening frustration.
As I write this, I find myself becoming even more annoyed, because Rampart is in my living room just waiting to be enjoyed, but I know that this particular version will only leave me empty inside. Boy, I sure am glad I put off watching the second season of "Entourage" for the half-hour it took to download the stupid thing.
That's right. What passes for "background downloading" on the PS3 is only valid in the loosest sense of the term. While background downloading, you really can't do anything except paw through your collection of saves in the media bar or look for more garbage to buy off of the PlayStation Network. You can't, say, watch a DVD or even play a videogame while background downloading. Um... I'm sorry, but that's stupid.
