PlayStation 3 Hardware

This is going to be a hard review to write. One incorrect piece of information and I could face being flamed in the Comments.

Anyway lets begin.

First of all let me say that yes I probably am a fanboy. That's not a bad thing though. I've owned all Playstations since the beginning. Including the PSP. Being a fan of Sonys consoles is nothing to be ashamed of. What does being a fan mean? Well it means that through thick and thin I will always stick by the Playstation. I have tried the Xbox and Wii and both just don't appeal to me at all. Let me explain it differently. I'm also a fan of Eminem, did I stop liking him when he cancelled his Ireland tour? No. Did I stop liking him when he started to use his daughter to attack his ex-wife in his songs like in the Song Kim? No. He's a genius in what he does and thus doing a few bad things is not enough for me to stop buying his music. Everyone makes mistakes.
Well the same is true for Playstation. The launch titles might have been pretty poor and the price was a bit steep but that's okay as the console is just starting out, give it a chance. (more on the price in a minute)

The PS3 is the most advanced game console on the market. That's not an opinion it's a fact.
It got off to a rocky start thanks to the public not getting enough information on why it's expensive and thanks to the bad launch titles and lack of exclusives. Give it a chance though, the PS2 launched with some bad titles too like Bouncer and Fantavision yet that turned out okay in the end.

For those not in the know, this is why it is so expensive compared to the 360:

First of all there's Blu-Ray. Not much of the public even know what Blu-ray is. Well let me try to explain it in simple terms.
Blu-Ray is a new type of disc that the PS3 uses for it's games and movies. It takes it's name from the blue-violet laser it uses to read and write data. The violet laser operates at a wavelength that is much shorter than that of the common red lasers which are used in DVDs. This enables the the disc to store a lot more. A common DVD disc stores 5GB of data, a HDDVD (that's what the 360 uses) can hold almost 30GB but a Blu-Ray disc can store over 50GB of data, in a while that will be doubled to 100GB with the release of Dual Layer Blu-ray disc. Sounds fancy but what does it mean for us??
Well it means that games on the PS3 have the potential to be 3 times larger then games on the 360. 3 times more textures, 3 times more physics, 3 times better AI etc etc.
There's more to Blu-ray then just it's capacity though. Blu-ray is a HD Disc and can play at the maximum 1080p resolution. Meaning it's 5 times sharper then DVDs when played on a HDTV. It really does make a difference. The graphics on any PS3 game or film looks great on a regular tv but play the same game or film on a HDTV and the difference is mind-boggling.
And there's more to Blue-ray. The disc uses Java Software. This makes it's interactivity during films a lot better. It enables you to read biographies on the actors while the film is still playing. You can pop up the menu while watching the film and have a look at how an effect was done before resuming the film. You can even change how the disc is played. Maybe you'd rather a short explanation of how a stunt was done during the film, well you can program that extra feature to play at a certain time during the film. The possibilities are endless.
I was in town today and spotted a Blu-Ray Player going for 1500 Euros. All it does is play Movies, nothing else. The PS3 has one built in for half that price.

What else makes the PS3 stand head and shoulders above the rest? Well there's the 60GB of memory it has.
Gone are the days of losing your important game saves down the back of the sofa. Every game save is saved on the PS3 itself. But don't worry, that doesn't mean that you can't bring a game save over to your friends house. The PS3 accepts a wide range of memory sticks and memory cards. Just stick a memory stick or memory card (the one you use for your Digital Camera will work fine as will the PSPs memory card) into the PS3, transfer your save onto it and bring it your friends house. Easy.
That's not all the 60GB is good for though. Yes, there's more.
Some large games like Oblivion and probably the soon to be released GTA4 use the space to save chunks of the game onto your hard disc. This means the PS3 won't have to load as much from the game disc during play. This leads to loading times at a fraction of what they would otherwise be. In GTA4 there will be no loading times AT ALL during gameplay apart from the initial load on startup. Even that will be rather short because part of the game is already loaded into the memory.
Some worry that doing that might fill the 60GB of space pretty quick. Well Oblivion caches about 4MB onto your hard disc. That's just a fraction of the space.
Not to mention you can install a larger hard drive if you want more space. This is not some back alley illegal operation either. In the manual that comes with the PS3 it explains step by step how to install a larger hard disc. So there's no excuse.

So what else does the PS3 have going for it??
The Cell, that's what.
The Cell is the brains and brawn of the PS3. It's the chip that provides the power and speed.
It's 40 times more powerfull then the processor in the PS2.
Normal PCs and the PS2 have 1 processor maybe 2. This means that most average PCs can only deal with one thing at a time. If you try doing 2 things the PC slows and lags and eventually freezes.
The Cell Chip however has not 2 but 8 processors. This means that the PS3 can cope with doing 8 things simultaneously.
So instead of 1 processor trying to handle everything that happens on screen all at once the PS3 has 8 working together. Each one concentrated on it's own given task.
Game developers have realised the potential of this immense power.
Let me explain the possibilities of this:
Developers now use each of the 8 processors to handle individual tasks. For example in Resistance 1 processor was used for physics, 1 was used for Enemy AI, 1 was used for graphics etc etc. In the upcoming game GT5 one single processor was dedicated entirely to producing the Rain Drops as they fall on the windshield.
The games currently on sale in your local shop are just test subjects. They don't use the cell to it's full potential as the developers are new to the hardware and need time to get used to how best to program for the PS3.
This is just the beginning of the PS3s life. We have much to look forward to.

So what else is there??
Future Proof.
The PS3 has the advantage of growing with us. When you took the PS2 out of the box that's what you had for the next 5 years whether you like it or not. The PS2 is the same now as it was 5 years ago. Nothing added.
However when you start-up the PS3 for the first time and realise there's something about it that you don't like well don't worry. Chances are it will be fixed soon. For example, currently the PS3 does not have the ability to make a photo in your photos folder into a wallpaper so it's always there in the background. However within a month or so a new update will be released which alters your PS3 to allow it to make wallpapers of your favorite photos. Sony are always checking in on what consumers want for there PS3 and they are always creating a new update. Your PS3 will be a lot better in a years time then what it is now. Updates are also used to fix bugs or add security protocols for Internet Security. Getting the newest update couldn't be easier. You can download it for free of course from the Update Option on the Cross Media Bar on the PS3 or if your not connected to the internet then you can get the update at an Internet cafe by downloading it on to a USB Memory Stick then transfer it onto your PS3 or there is one more way to get the newest update. You can just buy or rent the newest game on the market. Games include the newest upgrade for you to install.

All these exciting new stuff got me sidetracked. I haven't even told you about the Cross Media Bar or what the PS3 can actually do.
So let me take it back a notch as I'm getting carried away.
The PS3 is a full purpose media device. It can store photos, music, video and downloaded games on it's hard disc. Currently I have about 100 songs, 70 pictures and about 40 videos (mostly gametrailers and porn) stored on my PS3.
There's more to it then that though. A recent update enables me to access all the content on my PS3 via my PSP. This means I can watch my videos, view photos or listen to the music on my PS3 from the comfort of the bathroom toilet.

The 60GB version of the PS3 also comes with WiFi. So if you have broadband at home you can connect to it without any wires. Of couse if you don't have wireless broadband you can still make use of those wires.
This is where the PS3 shines. Using the Internet is completely 100% free. You are not charged for your 40 Player deathmatch in Resistance. You can play games against anybody from around the world absolutely free.
The only thing you need to do is log on to The Playstation Network (or PSN for short) and create an account and user name. After that your free to do whatever you want. The PSN Shop is a place you can go to download free classic games like Tekken Dark Resurection, free trailers and upgrades. The only thing you might need to pay for is extra content. For example downloading new weapons, clothing, game modes, larger maps etc etc for a certain game.
The internet explorer on the PS3 is as good as the the one on most pcs. It can view almost all sites like Bebo and Youtube and future upgrades will probably enable it to view the whole internet with ease. Although you might want to hook up a keyboard for typing. Any USB keyboard and mouse will do.

I almost forgot to mention the controllers that the PS3 uses. They are wireless.
The battery lasts for about 60 hours gameplay but don't worry they are rechargeable. And you can keep playing while it's charging too. I have 2 controllers. I leave one charging while playing with the other. When one dies I just switch them around.
Sixaxis is a new feature on the controllers. By tilting the controller you can control your car in Motorstorm or shake of aliens in Resistance. It's a nice novelty although current games don't show it at it's full potential.

Finally are the Games.
It's been a bad start for the PS3 in terms of games with Fight Night, Motorstorm and Resistance the only games that stand out from the crowd however give it a few months and things will look a whole lot better.
October is the month to look forward to as that is when we'll see a lot of AAA games being released.
Games like GTA4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Home, Little Big Planet, Final Fantasy 13, Resident Evil 5, Stuntman 2, Lair, Army of Two and Mercenaries 2 are all games to look forward to in the upcoming months.

Summary:
Well what can I say, I'm exhausted after writing this long review. Personally (and I stress personally) I think the console war is over before it began. The PS3 is the future of gaming and I'm proud of being an owner of one.
Everyone has different preferences though so it's up to you what you choose.
As for the score...well bad launch line-up is not something that I can blame on the actual console so that shouldn't effect it's score. I honestly can't find anything bad enough about the console that warrants any score penalties. It's a perfect machine.