PS3 Discussion Thread

[L.J.]

Playstation store update - 7/31

Downloadable Games

PixelJunk Eden ($9.99)
PixelJunk Eden is an organic platformer that sees you take control of a little ‘grimp’, swinging and jumping between tall alien plants, and collecting pollen to grow more life. Lush visuals, slick controls and amazing music make it an incredibly atmospheric and addictive experience. Download the full game today and prepare to enter Eden!
ESRB Rated E
File size: 106 MB

Add-on Game Content

Soul Calibur IV: Customization Equipment 1 ($1.49)
Revival is the word with equipment delivered directly from the previous Soulcalibur series. As a sneak preview, the armour of Sophitia, the head gears of Astaroth, Nightmare and Voldo are available to name some. Did we mention that the head gears of Yoshimitsu is also available as well?
File size: 3.09 MB

Rock Band
Build your Rock Band library by purchasing these song game tracks. For song credits, visit www.RockBand.com.

* “Yomp” - thenewno2 ($0.99)
* “This is It” - Staind ($1.99)
* “They Say” - Scars on Broadway ($1.99)
* “Electric Crown” - Testament ($1.99)

File sizes: 21.3 MB - 42.7 MB

Game Demos (free)

LEGO Indiana Jones The Original Adventures Demo
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures takes the fun and creative construction of LEGO and combines it with the wits, daring and non-stop action from the original cinematic adventures that enthralled audiences everywhere.
ESRB Rated E10+
File size: 762 MB

Madden NFL 09 Demo
Madden NFL 09 is the first ever sports game that adapts to you! Continuing 20 Years of Innovation, Madden NFL 09 unleashes over 85 new features and enhancements, including the all-new Virtual Training Center, EA Sports BackTrack and the Adaptive Difficulty Engine, which tailors the experience to your individual playing style and football IQ.
ESRB Rated E
File size: 1230 MB

FaceBreaker Demo
The renaissance of the arcade boxing genre is upon us. Created by the same team that developed the award-winning Fight Night Round 3, FaceBreaker offers irreverent fun, immersive gameplay, and eye-popping stylized graphics. In this in-your-face, arcade world full of ego-wielding characters, each boxer comes to life with unique attributes and distinct personal style. Add a little personal motivation to your fight by uploading a photo of your face to create a realistic likeness using Photo Game Face, and go toe-to-toe with a real-life friend or foe.
ESRB Rated Teen
File size: 952 MB

Game Videos (free)

The Last Guy Trailer
You are the chosen one, and it is up to you to rescue the last survivors on earth by leading them to safety through zombie-infested streets. With a classic arcade style overhead view, make your way through detailed real-world cities and use your heat vision to find people hiding in buildings. Then lead them to the Escape Zone before time runs out in this frantic, addictive game.
File size: 69 MB (1080)

Vampire Rain Altered Species Trailer 3
File size: 97 MB (HD)

Beijing 2008 Track Trailer
Bring home the Gold! Compete in the official video game of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with new gameplay mechanics at home or with online multiplayer. 38 events across 10 official Olympic sports including track and field, aquatics, gymnastics, and cycling! Check out one of the new trailers featuring several track events!
File size: 55 MB (HD)

Beijing 2008 Swimming Trailer
Bring home the Gold! Compete in the official video game of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games with new gameplay mechanics at home or with online multiplayer. 38 events across 10 official Olympic sports including track and field, aquatics, gymnastics, and cycling! Check out the new aquatics trailer for a taste of Olympic competition!
File size: 67 MB (HD)

Bionic Commando Rearmed: The Making Of - Part 2
Explore the re-making of a classic side-scroller in part 2 of this 3-part documentary that looks at how Bionic Commando was brought back into action!!
File size: 298 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour - BMX Progression
Defending BMX Dirt champion Ryan Nyquist talks about how the sport has changed and how BMX Dirt is a melting pot of International competitors. Nyquist talks to us during the BMX Dirt finals where he captured the win.
File size: 134 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour - BMX Rewind
A compilation of all the moments to remember in BMX Dirt, BMX Vert and BMX Park from the first stop of the AST Dew Tour in Baltimore, Maryland.
File size: 125 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour - FMX Unleashed
A compilation of the best moments in Freestyle Motocross from the first stop of the AST Dew Tour in Baltimore, Maryland.
File size: 122 MB (HD)

AST Dew Tour - Skate Highlights
A compilation of the best moments in Skateboard Park and Skateboard Vert from the first stop of the AST Dew Tour in Baltimore, Maryland.
File size: 94 MB (HD)

PS3 Themes (free)

Killzone 2 Theme
Customize your PS3 system with a cool Killzone 2 Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 3.87 MB

PixelJunk Eden Theme (x2)
Customize your PS3 system with a cool PixelJunk Eden Theme. This theme allows you to change up the look of your background and XMB icons. Download today!
File size: 0.98 MB - 1.02 MB

PS3 Wallpaper (free)

Siren: Blood Curse Wallpaper (x2)
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Siren: Blood Curse wallpaper
File size: 346 KB - 2.41 MB

Soul Calibur IV Wallpaper (x2)
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Soul Calibur IV wallpaper
File size: 288 KB - 1.57 MB

Street Fighter IV: Summer 08 Wallpaper
Customize the background of your PS3 system with this new Street Fighter IV wallpaper
File size: 185 KB - 795 KB

Game Music

Soul Calibur IV: Downloadable Music (x17 individual tracks @ $0.99 each, full set @ $14.99)
The ultimate music pack with all the stage music from the original SOULCALIBUR (1999). This set contains all the separate music files available by purchasing Music Set 1-17. Go to the OPTION menu and select STAGE MUSIC SETTINGS to play the music once purchased. Refunds cannot be offered for any individual music set already purchased prior to the ultimate music pack download.
File sizes: 5.58 MB - 8.97 MB (tracks), 75.1 MB (full set)

[Rich-n-Texas]

Are you playing the game yet?

I'm at the shooting range right now trying to get a handle on the controls.

[GMichael]

I'm at the shooting range right now trying to get a handle on the controls.

I have so much trouble with the controller during shoot'em up games. Hope that new controller comes out soon.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I have so much trouble with the controller during shoot'em up games.

So does that mean there're games that aren't so "thumb stick" intensive?

Hope that new controller comes out soon.

I know what you're trying to do GM... ain't gonna work this time! Mark my words!!!

[GMichael]

So does that mean there're games that aren't so "thumb stick" intensive?

I know what you're trying to do GM... ain't gonna work this time! Mark my words!!!

I have the pro-force driving wheel. I love the driving games. R&C is about the only shoot'em up game I like.
The new controller has been said to split in two. One half you can aim like a gun using the motion sensors. The other half has all the option controls like moving and choosing weppons etc. I'm going to wait for that instead of getting a BT mouse & KB.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I have the pro-force driving wheel. I love the driving games.

Oh MAN!!! You have the driving wheel? That's cooooool! Wish I had one. I d/l'ed NASCAR 09 demo, but I just couldn't keep it off the wall.

R&C is about the only shoot'em up game I like.

My PS3 came with a free voucher for PAIN; I installed it but haven't played it yet.

The new controller has been said to split in two. One half you can aim like a gun using the motion sensors. The other half has all the option controls like moving and choosing weppons etc. I'm going to wait for that instead of getting a BT mouse & KB.

I'll start a pool to bet on who gets it first, you or L.J.

[L.J.]

My kid's been wanting the Time Crisis 4, but I've been waiting for the price to come down. I ain't dropping $80 on a game. It looks OK but I don't think it is multi player like the arcade version and the gun isn't wireless.



I may try to hunt down a used one from gamestop or something. It would be cool if more games supported the gun.

[GMichael]

Oh MAN!!! You have the driving wheel? That's cooooool! Wish I had one. I d/l'ed NASCAR 09 demo, but I just couldn't keep it off the wall.

My PS3 came with a free voucher for PAIN; I installed it but haven't played it yet.

I'll start a pool to bet on who gets it first, you or L.J.

The wheel doesn't work on all driving games so be carefull. I think there's a thread on AVS showing which ones are supported.

Pain isn't so much a shoot'em up game as much as it's a launch theirass's game.

Smart money would be on LJ.

[GMichael]

My kid's been wanting the Time Crisis 4, but I've been waiting for the price to come down. I ain't dropping $80 on a game. It looks OK but I don't think it is multi player like the arcade version and the gun isn't wireless.



I may try to hunt down a used one from gamestop or something. It would be cool if more games supported the gun.

Looks too much like a water pistol.

[L.J.]

Looks too much like a water pistol.

I thought toy guns were suppose to look that way. That way it's not easily mistaken for the real thing and cause bad situations to happen. A kid could get into a lot of trouble with a fake gun. I remember a segment on the news a while back that did a comparison of a toy vs real guns and they looked pretty identical.

I noticed that the guns at the arcade are brightly colored as well.

Oh, congrats on 9K brotha!

[GMichael]

I thought toy guns were suppose to look that way. That way it's not easily mistaken for the real thing and cause bad situations to happen. A kid could get into a lot of trouble with a fake gun. I remember a segment on the news a while back that did a comparison of a toy vs real guns and they looked pretty identical.

I noticed that the guns at the arcade are brightly colored as well.

Oh, congrats on 9K brotha!

I see your point. Didn't think of that. I'd rather have a cobalt blue though.

Tanx, I see 5 digits in my future.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Well I've watched three BD movies now and last night's offering: "The Bank Job" directed by Roger Donaldson was the first with DTSMA audio. The first thing I noticed was that this format is very forgiving of my room acoustics. There was plenty of LFE to go around. I was able to feel the spatiality of just about every environment the characters were in at any given time. It really does give you a sense of being on the set with the actors. More than once I caught myself looking behind me on the couch because I thought the cats were doing evil in the kitchen. I could hear things like shoes sliding across tiled floors, and mechanical sounds that I could actually identify, like the air pressure release when a hydraulically operated door opened or closed. In other words, the audio was very very realistic.

While I was at the store yesterday I picked up Peter Gabriel's "Growing Up" live concert DVD and it just so happened that this DVD has a 1.5Mbps DTS track, and even though I wasn't really doing an apples to apples comparison (live concert vs. drama movie), I'd have to admit that I can understand where people who say you can't hear a difference between a high bit-rate DTS track and DTSMA are coming from. However, I heard a difference in what I called spatiality earlier (or maybe 'a more discernable sense of surrounding' would be a better way to put it), so it was quite a thrilling experience for me.

The video is where I have some concerns though. The color in all three flicks I watched just didn't jump out at me. Are we supposed to be seeing life-like color or vibrant colors? I've never been able to make any real noticeable difference when I've tried to adjust the color settings on the TV with a test disk, and I'm wondering if my TV might be a candidate for an ISF calibration.

In any event, PS3 = good for me!

[Rich-n-Texas]

The wheel doesn't work on all driving games so be carefull. I think there's a thread on AVS showing which ones are supported.

I don't think there'll be a racing wheel in my immediate future. I do have a "Hands-on Throttle & Stick" (HOTAS) USB set, but I haven't plugged it into the PS3 yet to see if it'll recognize it. I was intending to use it with MS Flight-sim but, well, best laid plans 'n all that suff.

Pain isn't so much a shoot'em up game as much as it's a launch theirass's game.

I know. I was reading the description about it... looks like fun. I like launching sh!t.

[GMichael]

I don't think there'll be a racing wheel in my immediate future. I do have a "Hands-on Throttle & Stick" (HOTAS) USB set, but I haven't plugged it into the PS3 yet to see if it'll recognize it. I was intending to use it with MS Flight-sim but, well, best laid plans 'n all that suff.

I know. I was reading the description about it... looks like fun. I like launching sh!t.

Not chit, people.

Your system sure has come a long way from your HTR days. Did you ever put that to use in another room?

[Rich-n-Texas]

It's in my bedroom and connected to my very old Sonic three-way speakers with dual tweeters & 12" bass.



I agree, I have come a long way, and that's thanks in great part to the knowledge and guidance of people here, who's names I won't mention... again... because they know who they are. Music, Rock-n-Roll especially is thoroughly ingrained in my fabric, so this community is a natural outlet for me (Read... there aren't any Beer Drinking forums that I'm aware of).

[L.J.]

Well I've watched three BD movies now and last night's offering: "The Bank Job" directed by Roger Donaldson was the first with DTSMA audio. The first thing I noticed was that this format is very forgiving of my room acoustics. There was plenty of LFE to go around. I was able to feel the spatiality of just about every environment the characters were in at any given time. It really does give you a sense of being on the set with the actors. More than once I caught myself looking behind me on the couch because I thought the cats were doing evil in the kitchen. I could hear things like shoes sliding across tiled floors, and mechanical sounds that I could actually identify, like the air pressure release when a hydraulically operated door opened or closed. In other words, the audio was very very realistic.

While I was at the store yesterday I picked up Peter Gabriel's "Growing Up" live concert DVD and it just so happened that this DVD has a 1.5Mbps DTS track, and even though I wasn't really doing an apples to apples comparison (live concert vs. drama movie), I'd have to admit that I can understand where people who say you can't hear a difference between a high bit-rate DTS track and DTSMA are coming from. However, I heard a difference in what I called spatiality earlier (or maybe 'a more discernable sense of surrounding' would be a better way to put it), so it was quite a thrilling experience for me.

Man, I wish I still got that excited over HD audio

[GMichael]

Man, I wish I still got that excited over HD audio

Really?
I still get that excited over DD or DTS. Half the time I'm getting up to answer a knock on the door. The other half of the time I'm laughing at the cat for looking around to see who's making a sound that's from the TV. Every time someone steps on a twig behind me she gets excited and starts trying to find the source.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Yeah so I just inserted DT's "systematic chaos".

DD 5.1 48KHz 448kbps as measured at the PS3. Audio volume setting from "Triangle" = +1. Room volume = 95dB peak.

Good soundstage, good LFE presence.
Warmish ( ) but good CC detail. LaBrie's voice is clear, and Portnoy's inter-mixed vocals are clearly visible on a different audio plane during "The Dark Eternal Night.".
Again... Impressive soundstage.

[Rich-n-Texas]

We have lift-off!!!

I took the game disk to Fry's; they ran it on their system and it worked. I brought back home, loaded it, and now it's installing. I'm a hap-py boy!

Well, something's still not quite right. I couldn't use the controller at all last night when I tried to play any games.

I turned on the PS with the fully charged controller, waited until the four lights stopped flashing and one light to become lit solid, then put it down and picked up my 880 remote. I was able to navigate around using the 880 with no problems.

Next I inserted the MGS4 game disk, and at the point where it gives me the same message that I quoted in my previous post, I again couldn't get a response when I pressed the X button on the controller. Only when I pressed the X button on the remote did the game start loading. When I got to the point where I start the game by pressing the controller's Start button, I got no response from the game. I could start the game using the 880; I could use the Circle, Triangle, X buttons, but not from the controller.

Tonite I'm going to power the PS on by touching the on/off button, then press the PS button on the controller and I'm betting I won't have any problems when I press the Start button to start the game.

What am I doing wrong here?

[GMichael]

I think that your PS3 has recognized your 880 as controller number 1. It will ignore most input from any other controller at that point. Only the PS button in the center of the controller will get a response. And that response will most likely be: Do you want to turn off your system (y,n) and, Would you like to reassign controller options (or something like that) (y,n). At that time you can make that controller number 1 and the system will respond to the rest of the inputs.

[Rich-n-Texas]

Oooooooooooooohhhhh! I see said the blind man. Good work GM.

[GMichael]

Oooooooooooooohhhhh! I see said the blind man. Good work GM.

I only know because I've sat there cursing the thing out for hours trying to figure out why my controllers wouldn't work. The answer was burned into my heated mind.

[L.J.]

That's interesting. My controller starts in the 2nd position sometimes too. I wonder if it's possible to set the NYKO or BR remote on 7 or something like that. Most games I have still work with the controller in the 2nd position so I don't pay much attention to it.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I do not know if this has been mentioned here, but I stumbled on to a way to drastically improve the PS3 PQ with DVD's, to the point where it is better than any of the HD DVD players out there(this was HD DVD big marketing point).

Insert a DVD and press play. When the movie starts, press the triangle (options), and a menu comes up. Look for AV settings, and you will see these groups of filters called Mosquito noise filter, Block noise filter, and frame noise reduction. Turn them all to three, and see if you notice any PQ improvement on your DVD's. I personally was shocked at the difference between having them off, and have them on full. When I compared the mummy DVD on my XA-2 with the Reon chip to the PS3 both running split screen, and running frame by frame together via digital timecode. I could not tell any difference between the two no matter how hard I looked.

[Rich-n-Texas]

I do not know if this has been mentioned here, but I stumbled on to a way to drastically improve the PS3 PQ with DVD's, to the point where it is better than any of the HD DVD players out there(this was HD DVD big marketing point).

No, it hasn't.

Insert a DVD and press play. When the movie starts, press the triangle (options), and a menu comes up. Look for AV settings, and you will see these groups of filters called Mosquito noise filter, Block noise filter, and frame noise reduction. Turn them all to three, and see if you notice any PQ improvement on your DVD's. I personally was shocked at the difference between having them off, and have them on full. When I compared the mummy DVD on my XA-2 with the Reon chip to the PS3 both running split screen, and running frame by frame together via digital timecode. I could not tell any difference between the two no matter how hard I looked.

I've seen those options under the "AV" settings icon, but didn't mess with them. I'll give it a shot.

I started up the PS3 then MGS4 last night the way I described above; the controller came up as #1, and the game played fine.