(Thanks to Peter Fitzearl)

For the first time in months, I was actually happy that I was awoken by the postman so early in the morning! After being handed over a fairly bland looking box I rushed to the nearest TV and, after frantically looking for some scissors, tore my way in. There it sat, the beautiful finish glaring at me with the words ‘Playstation 3′. After gently placing my PS2 on the floor, I plugged in its successor with pride.

A triumphant sound blasted out from my TV as the Cross Media Bar appeared on the screen. At this point my games had yet to be delivered; I guess the postman didn’t see them in his bag. I decided to quickly update to firmware 1.6, download GT HD and register on the Playstation Network. What struck me most was the ease of using the Cross Media Bar and setting up the wireless internet connection.

Halfway through the update the postman came back and handed me another three packages - at last some games to play! After patiently waiting for the update to finish and install I tore in to the remaining packages. First up was MotorStorm.

The new firmware allowed me to put the GT HD as a background download and launch in to the game. The title sequence started but I was too eager to play so I skipped it and went straight in to the game. After setting up a new profile I started a race and wow! For my very average, ten year old 23″ TV the graphics looked stunning - I can’t wait to get my HDTV! As for the gameplay, it was addictive! The slow motion crashes just got better and better and the variety of routes in the courses are brilliant. If this game doesn’t show the power of the PS3 then I can’t wait to see the ones that do!

Next up, I decided to test the online play, something I’ve never done on a console but have plenty experience of on the PC. However, you should note that, as far as I’m aware, when background downloading is on you can’t play a game online at the same time, only the single player mode! The online section was found through the games menu and, after passing the game updates and initial disclaimer, browsing for a race was simple. I had the choice of two universes, Australian and the EU. Weirdly enough the EU didn’t seem to have many people in it so I scooted across to Australia and played in a few games. If you’re unlucky enough to enter a race which has already started you’ll have to wait for the race to finish but, as most races seem to only be two laps, this wait is never long.

Before each race you have the option to select which vehicle you want, so you don’t have to use the same one over and over. In the race you’re against up to eleven other players, which in all my games online has always been the case. The most important thing to note, however, was the fact the race never once lagged and my connection stayed smooth the whole time.

The same basic routine followed for the other games I own which are Formula One Championship Edition and Resistance: Fall of Man. In my experience the online games were easy to access and everything flowed beautifully. When ‘Home’ makes its debut the online experience on the PS3 is going to be very hard to beat.

The wireless Sixaxis controller handles like a dream. I’ve had no problems using it so far, never lost a signal and it always responds instantly. Most of Friday I spent playing Resistance: Fall of Man with a friend as co-op and both controls worked together with no hitches. As for the motion control, I don’t really have a game that puts it to full use. Motorstorm allows you to steer with it and it’s very responsive and works brilliantly, but using it for driving feels a little odd. In Resistance you can shake it when jumped on by an enemy and you kick them off. All in all the controller seems to work perfectly wired and wirelessly and when games such as Warhawk make their appearance the Sixaxis motion control will no doubt be a great asset
to the game.

On to the next test, what are the ‘Noticeable issues’ that affect GTA:SA and so many other games? Well after placing GTA:SA in and starting it up I began to cycle/drive around the city in the first few missions. So far I’ve noticed one of two things. The first is that the game seems to freeze for about a second every so often, but this hasn’t really caused me any distress in playing so far. The other is much rarer but it seems that some cars randomly transport themselves by either disappearing completely or going at some super speed on the roads. Everything else about the game has run fine for the length of time I played it.

Another important factor that I feel you should know about the Playstation 3 is the fact that it runs extremely quietly and, after having it turned on from eight in the morning until two in the morning (that’s 18 hours), the console was still cold to touch.

So after a day of owning the Playstation 3 I can safely say I don’t regret purchasing it at all and even at such an early stage in its life it’s already proven to be a fantastic console. As I type this review it’s still proving itself useful by folding proteins for the Folding@Home project!

Now back to Motorstorm…