So I just experienced gameplay on a PS3 for the first time; yes, I'm that far behind the times. Until today the Gamecube and PS2 were the newest systems I'd played with the exception of about ten minutes on a Wii (which was enough to last me a lifetime. No offense fans of the system). And so now here's a pointless thread that details my experience on it. Who knows, maybe it'll spark a discussion...or maybe it'll just serve as comic relief for someone who gets a laugh at my primitive self battling with the old-newfangled machine. So I decided to talk about it here, because why not?


Never mess with another man's/woman's games

So first off I felt bad for it, but I was playing my cousins' game...on his system...at his house...without his knowledge. Yeah. But his mom (he's just turned eighteen) was the one who suggested I play it, so after wrestling with my conscience for about a half hour I decided to break one of the cardinal rules of gamer etiquette and go into another man's game room and play his games on his system without his knowledge and thus without his consent.

This brings us to the next bit of my experience:


Figuring out how to work the blasted interface!

Okay so after a minute or two trying to figure out how to play his games without affecting his profile --or if I could play without making a profile of my own. To this very moment I still don't know if I was playing anonymously or on one of his siblings profiles, though I suspect it was the latter. Oh well, I earned them a free trophy if I was.

Next I looked through the downloaded games because he didn't have any games on disc that weren't rated for strong language which I can't tolerate in a game personally. So the first game I encounter is DoA 5: Ultimate. Yeahh...not for me either. Suffice to say I only found one game I could play and it was Minecraft. Now if you know me, you know I don't like Minecraft really. Still I had a chance to play a PS3, and by golly I was going to play it!

Then I realized that I couldn't access the game without altering his stuff for some reason.

So I was left with no option but to test it out using one of his discs after all. I settled on Assassin's Creed III because I've always thought that series looked incredibly fun, also because Black Flag didn't work for me because I was afraid starting would overwrite his file there too (I'm not used to HDD saves).


So...how do I even load the thing?

Yes, you read that right: I couldn't figure out how to load the disc (it was a slim). Where was the eject button??

Well since I couldn't find one, I came to what seemed like a logical conclusion: it must eject using an on-screen command. I mean that would make sense, right? That's how PCs do it after all.

This, however, was not a PC.

So after finding out that it has neither an eject button nor an eject option in the UI, I proceeded to struggle to find a way to open the disc drive...for roughly forty-five minutes.

*facepalm*

Before it was all said and done I found myself searching the interent looking for someone to actually post a "how to open your PS3 disc drive" tutorial; like that was going to actually happen.

Surprisingly I actually found someone that explained it though! Sadly the wording didn't make sense to me, so I was back at square one. Fun times.

Finally I stumbled across a still shot of an open disc drive, and even though it didn't show instructions (obviously. It was a still shot) I immediately understood what I needed to do.

Seriously?!? You mean the top cover just slides back??? *facepalms again*

Well almost an hour later and feeling stupid, I finally manage to insert the disc. Was it going to be worth the trouble? Well duh, of course it would be: I was going to be playing a PS3.


An hour later, I'm finally gaming!

I managed to figure out a way to play without making my own save file or using his...sort of. The blinding flash of the obvious hit me: start a file and delete when you're done, dummy!

Yes, my inner voice can be mean to me at times.

So I played Assassin's Creed III...and I played it...and I played it...and I played it. I spent just over two hours on this game before stopping and deleting my file so I could be done before he came back and found me.


What I thought of it

First off, I loved the game even more than I had anticipated; it's quite addicting. Sadly I could never bring myself to actually own it because of the content ratings (why strong language, Ubisoft? I want to play your games!), still that doesn't change the fact that I had a blast playing on a PS3 for the first time. It surpassed my expectations in gameplay and in the system itself.

And the graphics: they surpassed what I expected as well. I've seen the screenshots and watched the trailers of many PS3 games online, but if you've never played one for yourself, trust me those screenshots and videos are deceiving as these graphics are much more impressive in person, especially when you're the one playing.

My only gripes with the game would be that it felt very linear, and like I simply moved from point A to point B when it told me to and how it told me to. This is likely because it was the first few missions though, as I saw the last bit that I played begin to open up a bit more to exploration and such. Then there's the fact that it felt like the game was holding my hand every step of the way, constantly giving me a marker to travel to and telling me what to press. Again, part of this was because I was just starting the game, and the other part was to keep me from getting lost in such a detailed environment. And finally, it felt more like I was playing an interactive movie more than like I was playing a game. Still the gameplay was engaging and a blast while it was taking place, and the story scenes were entertaining as well so oddly I didn't really mind.

In conclusion to this random thread that nobody actually cared about

After overcoming decades worth of design traditions being tossed aside, I was very much impressed with the systems' features, capabilities, and speed. I can now say I'm even more hyped about the future of gaming and getting that PS4 next month than ever before.

Eirinn :

It's really funny that you mentioned that it felt like an interactive movie. I suspected as much when I heard one of my co fellow employees talking about it- and that really turned me off.

And yeah, new stuff is hard to figure out at times. :/

As for complaining about the rating, I feel for you. It's a huge issue for me. Though provocative women are pretty much the no.1 Reason I won't buy a game. Definitely not while I have two younger brothers, one of which is 14, the other being 12.

You're articles make me look at Playstation more, and more and more. When ever I go game shopping, I am always dumbfounded by the lack of good games, or games I would at least give a chance. The good ones break morality, and the lame ones are lame. I just want a game like Star Wars. Clean, family fun that doesn't put off adults because things are designed like a child's game, ect. But oh well.


Consoles look worse and worse. PC games appear to be where it's at- I'm really hoping Sega, now that their contract with Nintendo is up- will start making Sonic games for PC and multiplatform. They've been very silent about the next Sonic game coming out for the blue blur's 25th anniversary.

I, for one, though this was a good idea for a thread, and was worth a read. Thanks for posting it.

Sword legion : Thanks, man. I had to post about something this monumental in my gamer life, since this is literally the first time I've played a game that's even close to being a current title since I was thirteen and played Harvest Moon: Back To Nature.

As for the game, it indeed felt like an interactive movie, but like I said, it was surprisingly fun and worth playing through a few times were it not for the rating.

I'm personally seeing consoles getting better and better, but I'm also seeing that conservative gamers like us have to be picky in our selection these days as well. I've found that there are just certain developers whose games I have to pass over without even bothering to check --Ubisoft is one of those companies. However there are some devs that are keeping it morally conservative thankfully, and the indie scene is really stepping it up in that department as well, making some of the best looking games out there while keeping it clean. And thankfully the PS4 seems to be much easier to find morally conservative games for than the PS3/XBox 360. I have a considerable sized list of games that I can --and want to -- play for the PS4 already, and it keeps growing. I suppose in the end it's just like all forms of entertainment: we have to pick and choose what we take and what we leave.

And I hope the looks my articles inspire are turning up some positive results for you. It's great to hear that they're actually serving their purpose and helping people see what the new systems can offer.

Eirinn :

Well, yeah! Your articles do do that!

My cousin (he's a big gamer, and was a melee player) said that a lot of Nintendo fans moved to the Playstation3 when the Wii came out. Not sure if I've discussed that with you yet, but the Wii is NOT my favorite console. (To me, it's not much more than a 2x Gamecube, which is why when my mom's friend was selling one for 20$, I bought it. Now to just set up Shadow the Hedgehog in my room. . . and later Star Fox Assault. . . )

I really feel like there should just. . . . be more good games out there. I mean, it's so easy to see what I want, and what others want, like you. And yet I never see it implemented. It makes the developers feel distant, or perhaps we all just have different dreams of what makes a good game.

Maybe not.

Cave story was an excellent Indie title, and a free one at that.

You know one system I didn't like when I was younger, but now I've come to love? The Nintendo Gamecube.


Almost every game that came out on it, I swore was worse than the N64 counterpart. But not so. Yeah, Mario Sunshine is different. Wind Waker, AND Twilight Princess are bad follow ups of OOT and MM. You shouldn't need to completely change your graphic style Nintendo, and Don't call it a series, if the only part of continuity is the fact that the main character is wearing the same green tunic, and wielding the same Master Sword as the hero who saved the world from the same villain 100 years ago. It takes a lot more then that to make a series. (HINT see the modern Sonic series up to 06, or look at where you were going with MM)

There are a number of Mario games I love for that system and two great Sonic Titles. Plus the remastered Dreamcast era ones. Star Fox Assault is looking good. (purchasing that tonight) And Mario Strikers, MAN that was addictive!

If feels to me like the Gamecube was Nintendo actually staying caught up and being a competitor with other companies, I was even holding a copy of Splinter Cell (something I've very looking into buying) the other day at the smash Tourney.

Why did they drop the hardcore aspect after the Gamecube? Did they just not want to compete?