(Thanks to Ceri Haddon - PSN Username: Cei)

Dragging yourself out of bed at 6:00 is a tricky task any day of the week, but for some reason I was up and about by 5:45 on the 23rd. I think the overload of anticipation was the main factor – after all, it was time to go pick up that PlayStation 3 from my local GAME store…

Arriving at GAME at 6:40 I was greeted by something never ever seen in my small town – a queue. A group of dedicated gamers (and what looked like some parents) were standing outside in the freezing cold, whilst the shop lights glowed, beckoning and teasing. 7:00 eventually came, and in I went. A mere 3 minutes later, my wallet was nearly £600 lighter, and I walked out with a coveted PlayStation 3, a second SIXAXIS controller, Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm, Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII and a Blu Ray remote. I’d been saving y’know!

Of course, the walk to the car was a heavy one - 5kg of no nonsense hardware, plus all the accessories. Approximately 10 minutes later, the unit was opened, plugged into the Samsung 26” HDTV and ready to go. First impressions? The system itself is huge, dwarfing my pair of PlayStation 2s, and the Wii just looks like a joke next to it. Fingerprints were my second concern, what with the high gloss finish – guess it needs a daily polish! The PlayStation 3 definitely makes a statement in your room, in either vertical or horizontal orientation (and yes, the PlayStation still rotates).

Connecting to a wireless network was very simple – you just need the security key, which in my case was WEP. The unit has actually been connected to three different networks to date, and has worked perfectly on every single one, even down to manually assigning IP addresses. Of course, Sony has included an ethernet cable in the box if you’re still on wired networks, and I’m sure it will work just as flawlessly. Updating to the 1.60 firmware took about 5 minutes, and then everything was set. The PlayStation Network took a little longer to organise, mainly due to trying to find the password I had used to reserve my online name! However, yet again, the system is simply, and if you’ve used a PSP the XMB will be instantly familiar. Delightfully, the XMB background colour changes, depending upon time of day.

The next task was to connect all my accessories – yet again, this proved an easy task. Sony’s offical Blu Ray remote was a simple task of pressing Start and Enter on the remote at the same time, and a Logitech DiNovo Bluetooth keyboard simply asked for a passkey to be entered. Using a keyboard is a huge advantage over the onscreen efforts, making entering text a doddle rather than a chore. The second SIXAXIS pad connected in seconds, correctly identifying itself with a red LED on the rear of the pad – great for when you’ve got the mates round.

So what about the software?
Popping in Motorstorm was a satisfying experience. From the preview of the game on the XMB (à la PSP) to the gorgeous visuals, this game is the one to buy. It’s very easy to get in to, but insanely fun to boot. Courses don’t follow the normal concept of a track – instead you get a huge area round which to race, and it’s down to you to go the way you want. Motorstorm really does deliver on those “next generation HD graphics” we were promised, and makes the platform shine. There’s even a demo on the PlayStation Network Store – so give it a go! The motorcycle and ATV vehicles even have motion sensing enabled for steering, leading to many many comic moments when you careen off in totally the wrong direction.

Speaking of the Store, there’s a few downloadable items on there already, with more to come. There are demos of several launch titles (notably Resistance and Motorstorm), HD trailers for films (Casino Royale anybody?) and the downloadable games. Of the latter, I picked up Lemmings and GT:HD 2.0, for a total cost of £3.99 – not at all bad. Lemmings provides a nice aside to action-packed, high adrenaline titles, and sits on your HDD for whenever you want it. It rolls in at 260Mb, so it’s not going to fill your 60Gb HDD (actually 55Gb usable). GT:HD on the other hand is over 600Mb, but provides full HD graphics with HDR lighting effects – it’s great to see a classic series continued onto the PlayStation 3, even if the title does need some obvious work in areas. GT:HD is also linked into an online ranking system – every time you complete a circuit, you get told where you stand in relation to everybody else. It’s a little sobering to learn you stand at a mere 11,000!

Resistance: Fall of Man is very much your standard FPS game, but with the graphics you’d want from the PlayStation 3. It is very slick and realistic, with the PlayStation 3’s prowess being demonstrated at every turn. Interestingly, the PlayStation 3 never seems to get in a bother about heat – it runs remarkably quiet at all times, and even after extending gaming sessions over multiple hours it still doesn’t feel that hot. It might be huge, but there’s some massive cooling in there!

My PlayStation 3 unit also went for a spin on a 14” portable television – just to see how it does. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to read the text on the XMB with this size screen, and although the games look good, it’s hard to recommend replacing a PlayStation 2 with the new. Clearly, the PlayStation 3 is targeted at those with large CRT televisions, or a nice new HDTV.

All this said, do I have any criticisms of the PlayStation 3? Of course!
- Lack of USB cables with spare SIXAXIS pads
- Several launch games have been pushed back (including Oblivion!)
- L2 and R2 buttons don’t feel right
- Onscreen keyboards are slow, get an external
- No HDMI cable included
- 2x BR drive means slow loading
- Not designed for small televisions!

Yet the system is still worth every penny of the £425 price tag. It really is next generation, with all the bells and whistles the 360 lacks out the box. The motion sensing, initially derided as a gimmick and an attempt to rip off Nintendo, has worked without a hitch, and is used in a convincing fashion. The system runs quietly, and has a lovely fluid interface that is intuitive to use. It’s been a long wait, but well worth it.