Over the last year, I’ve spent a good chunk of my gaming time with my Xbox 360. With Final Fantasy 14 on the horizon, and more console MMOs coming to the PS3 and not the 360, I felt that the time was about right to trade-in. It’s kind of ironic, then, that getting the console has renewed my love for single player games.
A big part of this comes from playing Uncharted 2. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. The game is famous for how well it does cinematic game play. But, what’s great is that the experience doesn’t end there. The acting, environments, and, most importantly, the game play is there to support the cinema.
Too often, I felt like the 360 was pushing me to play online to get the best experience. As a result, I tended to never finish the single player games I had on the system. And I had a lot. Always looming over me was the monthly premium I was paying to get the most out of the big sellers, like Call of Duty 4. Now though, that premium is gone and I don’t feel like I have to go online to get the most out of my investment.
But, that aside, we’re in the “next-gen” of gaming. How does the online match up?
The 360 presents its online better. Hands down, without question, the dashboard of the 360 makes the PS3 look last-gen. Still, there’s very little the system actually offers outside of that eye candy that PS3 doesn’t compete with. There aren’t enough exclusive titles on either to raise one above the other in a real way. So, in the end, it comes down to what you want.
Which brings us back to the main reason I switched to the PS3 in the first place: MMOs.
2010 looks like the year we’ll finally see MMOs come to consoles in a big way and, sadly, the 360 is being stubborn. You have companies like Cryptic spending development dollars to exclusively launch their games on Microsoft’s console. For one reason or another (I blame Gold Membership stubbornness), they’re not open to the idea.
PS3, on the other hand, will have 3 MMOs hit their network this year alone. MAG, Free Realms, and The Agency. This 461 page long thread on the SW:TOR forums says it’s a possibility we’ll even see “the next big thing” hit the console but, of course, time will tell.
What’s striking to me is that, even though the Xbox presents its online so much better than the PS3, it’s actually infinitely more limited because of the corporate mindset behind it. The PS3 may not look as nice but how companies utilize the machine’s internet access is pretty much up to them. That means open door MMOs. That means betas. It means more is available and more will come of it.
So, I apologize I haven’t updated much this week. I really haven’t been playing too many traditional MMOs as I get reacquainted with my gaming roots. Uncharted 2 is refusing to let me go (one more reason why I’m glad this is also a console gaming blog). I’m itching to get back in touch with WoW and LotRO though, so within the next few days I plan on spending some serious time in the online universes I’ve grown to love.
Anyone else have a PS3? I’m interested to know your thoughts on the system and where it’s headed.
PS: Did I mention the graphics? Oh, I didn’t. They’re fantastic. The graphical fidelity I’ve seen here tops anything I’d seen from the 360. My PSN ID is GameByNight if anyone wants to get together and play something 🙂
2 pings