SPECIFICATIONS / KEY FEATURES

PS3 system (60 GB HDD):
Dimensions: Approximately 325mm (W) x 98mm (H) x 274mm (D)
CPU: Cell Broadband Engine™
GPU: RSX
Main Memory: 256MB XDR Main RAM
Embedded VRAM: 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
Hard Drive Disk: 2.5” Serial ATA (60 GB HDD)
Main Input/Output: USB 2.0 (x4), MemoryStick/SD/CompactFlash
Ethernet: 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T
Bluetooth: 2.0 (EDR), Wireless Controller (up to 7)
Wireless Communication: IEEE 802.11 b/g (w/60 GB HDD PS3)
Screen Size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI: HDMI out – (x1/HDMI)
Analog: AV MUTLI OUT x1
Digital Audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL x1)
Disc Drive: Blu-ray/DVD/CD (read-only)

PS3 system (20 GB HDD):
Dimensions: Approximately 325mm (W) x 98mm (H) x 274mm (D)
CPU: Cell Broadband Engine™
GPU: RSX
Main Memory: 256MB XDR Main RAM
Embedded VRAM: 256MB GDDR3 VRAM
Hard Drive Disk: 2.5” Serial ATA (20 GB HDD)
Main Input/Output: USB 2.0 (x4
Ethernet: 10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T
Bluetooth: 2.0 (EDR), Wireless Controller (up to 7)
Screen Size: 480i, 480p, 720p, 1080i, 1080p
HDMI: HDMI out – (x1/HDMI)
Analog: AV MUTLI OUT x1
Digital Audio: DIGITAL OUT (OPTICAL x1)
Disc Drive: Blu-ray/DVD/CD (read-only)

It’s seemed like an eternity of waiting, but I want to tell you right off that despite what you may think, no matter what you’ve read, the PlayStation 3 is undoubtedly the most spectacular gaming system that Sony, or any other company, has ever blessed gamers with. I’ve been happily standing in Sony’s corner since their announcement of the new system, following news, reading posts and flames against the system and dealing with the title of “fanboy”

Fanboy? I hardly think so. I’ve read the specs on the PS3 as well as the other systems, I’ve seen what developers have to offer as far as games go, and while things like being able to interact with the game like the Wii allows is cool and everything, I also want good games. Now, I’m not discounting the ability of Nintendo to make a good system, and they may very well have the ability to create something good after two system releases that were less than spectacular. However, the power and potential belongs to the PS3.

The biggest complaint has been about the pricing, but let’s analyze that. The premium edition comes in at a hefty $599, but keep in mind another system from over a decade ago, the 3DO which was price at a whopping $800. Keep in mind as well that the PS3 not only plays games, CD’s and DVD’s, but it also is a BluRay player and to buy one of those off the shelf without the ability to game or go online with it starts at $1000 for a low end player. Personally, I’ll take the $599 price tag, though I do have every intention of eventually getting a stand alone player once the media takes off.

I’ve been hearing Xbox this and 360 that for what seems like far too long now, and personally, I’ve NEVER been a supporter of Microsoft’s little toy. I have had a big problem with their approach, and flaming companies and trying to cry wolf, claiming that others are trying to steal their ideas is the pot calling the kettle black in my opinion. Funny, MS doesn’t like their own tricks used against them, but it’s fine to do it to everyone else. I’ve always equated the company’s presence in the industry as being not too far removed from Sega, and the loyalists remind me a great deal of Sega gamers “back in the day.” The 360 is just another Dreamcast, and I am still sticking to my prediction that it won’t be long before they leave the hardware end completely, but unlike Sega, I have doubts they will develop for any other systems. If they do, it will only be for Nintendo and why? MS seems to have a big problem with Sony and would do anything to try and make them lose their number one spot.

After well over a year of waiting and dealing with delays, I can tell you this much, the wait has been well worth it. The PS3 is undoubtedly one of the best consoles that I have ever had the pleasure of playing and Sony has made their latest generation console not only worth the money and worth the wait, but the one thing that is going to make heads turn, developers want to showcase exactly what they can do, and have your friends envious if they haven’t picked one up yet.

Prior to launch, Sony was more than kind enough to send us here at Underland Online a loaner unit to really get a feel for what the system is all about. Right out the of the, I will tell you that this bad boy is quite heavy, but opening the box itself isn’t unlike the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when the Nazi’s finally open the Ark of the Covenant. The glistening, sleek black look of the system just begs you to play it, and you will, for quite a few hours.

Gone are the days of stripped down menus like the PS2. Instead, the PS3 utilizes a menu system that isn’t too much unlike the PSP, but with quite a few more bells and whistles. When you first logon, you will be required to establish a user profile, and you can set up more than one of these for multiple players in your household. This means that whenever you turn on the PS3, it wants you to select who is playing, and there is another nice attribute with this. Let’s say you’re playing a game, such as Ridge Racer 7 for instance, the PS3 and the game know who is logged in and there’s no need to enter in a new name.

With many of the PS2 games, you would need to register for online play each and every time, but these days are long gone as well. Once you’ve set the PS3 up, you can register yourself for online games, and unlike a few other companies that want to try and milk every dime from the consumers that they can get, Sony and their third party companies are providing online gaming free of charge save for a few titles, such as RPG’s. This will also let you keep a list of friends, see when their online, select an avatar for yourself, send and receive email and even block those annoying players that you simply don’t want to deal with. The PS3 is set up in such a way that it can use just about every peripheral that has been released such as the USB keyboard, the headset, microphones, and the EyeToy. The premium edition of the PS3 also sports a Bluetooth connect that will eliminate wires in many cases and let you use, let’s say a Bluetooth headset for example.

The menu also has internet access just like the PSP does, though I have to say that it doesn’t mean out what you see on a computer, and you’re limited to how many screens can be opened. The good thing however is I have yet to run across any annoying pop ups wanting to help with my mortgage or a host of other things. There is also the PlayStation Store where you can check out demos of PS3 games (including some greatest hits from yesteryear), trailers for movies, and even download exclusive games that can all be stored on the included HDD. You also have access to parental controls that can be used to keep your young ones from watching movies that you may not approve of and I would assume games as well since I did see some PS3 titles that the system read with a parental level code. Ah, no more frivolous lawsuits by parents who just don’t know how to parent their children and want to blame each and every industry possible for the problems with their kids.

The controller, while the same style as what many PlayStation fans have grown to love and enjoy (and thank you Sony for NOT going with the design that was showcased at E3 two years ago) but there are a few changes. The first, and most important, is that it’s wireless, but here’s the nice touch. Instead of having to deal with replacing batteries constantly, the controller is rechargeable. Simply plug hook a USB cable up to the PS3, link it up to the controller, and that’s it. Once it’s fully charged, it’s time for wireless action, and the controller charges extremely quickly.

The L2 and R2 buttons have been slightly designed to give them a much better feel and while the other controllers weren’t bad, I don’t think that you will ever find yourself wishing that you could use one of those. There is also an indicator light by the L and R buttons that allows you to see which port number the controller is for, so there’s no need to worry about flipping switches when playing a multiplayer games and the PS3 supports up to four controllers without the need for a multitap adaptor.

The final addition to the controller is the PS button. This functions just like the Home button on the PSP, but with some different features. It isn’t a button that you can hit by accident, and you do have to hold it down to use it. This will let you shut off the controller or the system or even exit back to the main menu of the PS3. No more shutting down the system to change games. Even better however is that if you’ve shut the system down previously, simply grab the controller, hold down the PS button and you’re back in business once again and ready for gaming. Sony, you make my life so easy, so complete.

The word on the street was that the PS3 would not have region coding, at least for games. The facts are that no matter what anyone tries to do in hopes of countering importing titles, someone will find a way around it, so why not just get rid of it completely? While I didn’t bother importing a PS3 game from Japan (it’s kind of pointless at this point) I wanted to test the extent of the “region free” aspects of the system, and luckily have the proper accessories in my arsenal to do so.

The first test was a Japanese PS1 Ace Combat 2, and though I had my fingers crossed, the system told me that it was a region coded disc, so no such luck there. Next up was an import copy of Gran Turismo 4 and once again, it failed due to region coding. So, it’s safe to assume that if in fact the PS3 is region free as far as games are concerned, this will only be with new titles.

BluRay; it’s the next generation of DVD in case you haven’t been keeping up, and the PS3 can play them. If you know nothing about it, you might be wondering what the big deal is. Allow me to put everything into perspective. A single layer DVD can hold 4.7 GB on a single layer, and the numbers go on from there maxing out at 17 GB for a dual layer, double sided DVD. That’s not a bad bit of space, but a single layer BluRay can hold 25 GB of information and has been pushed at this point up to 200 GB on a sextuple layer disc. Breaking this down a bit further, a 50 GB BluRay DVD can hold 9 hours of high definition video, or 23 hours of standard video meaning that a single BluRay disc could feasibly hold an entire season of a series like 24 with room to spare. (And yes, I DO have to drop in the 24 references at any available point.)

The BluRay discs run perfectly, and the PS3 is so quite that you wouldn’t even know that it’s there. DVD’s also run without any problem, and unlike the PS2, the PS3 has been designed in a much better fashion meaning that the laser is going to wear out nearly as quickly, if ever (at least that’s what I’m hoping for.) I also ran a test on backup media and there was no issue at all playing a burned DVD. The same is true for photo CD’s and MPEG’s, though Real Media and Divx weren’t recognized by the system. Since it does have updateable firmware however, hopefully that will change in the future. The one thing about the PS3 playing MPEG’s however is that it doesn’t seem to currently have the codex installed to clean the video up and make sharp images. The system also supports high definition and the ability via at HDMI cable, you can not only enjoy your BluRay movies with the best picture quality, you will find games that allow you to do the same.

So, how exactly does the system load disc you might wonder (if you don’t already know.) There’s no “pop-top,” no sliding try, but instead the PS3 takes all discs just like a car CD player would. What’s really cool however is the ejection method. There isn’t a button, not exactly, but an arrow that you run your finger over and the next thing you know, you’ve got your disc back. I was like a kid with a new toy (okay, I guess I was) and spent a great deal of time playing with this feature, laughing with glee and remarking how cool I though that it was, and I’m sure PS3 owners will as well.

For your old PS and PS2 saves, you will need to buy an adaptor to transfer them onto the PS34 HDD, but the system is set up to read just about every form of storage media on the market. I hooked up my digital camera (a Sony of course) and there was no hesitation knowing what it was. Also, I’ve tried to use my DVD player in the past to display pictures (again, Sony . . . you see the trend here) and there was some lag time, but with the PS3, there were no issues. The system is set up to let you create an internal memory card for either of the previous system (and after testing a number of older games, I found no issues with my library of games as far as having them work.) If you want to take a copy of your save file to a friends house, it’s very easy. I simply copied a save onto a flash drive and that was it. The PS3 of course will work in conjunction with the PSP as well, so the future for gaming looks even better than it ever did before.

What the PS3 is fully capable of is something of an untapped market at this point. I’ve already been playing and started working on reviews for no less than eight titles for the system and the cell processor makes everything run perfectly with no lag at all. The loads are fast, and they can be even faster if you have a title that will allow you to install it onto the HDD. Say what you want about Sony, but the PS3 really has been well worth the wait and keep this in mind as well; a 360 simply means that there may have been some slight change, but ultimately you’ve ended up right back where you started.

-mike-