Xbox vs PlayStation

E3 2009 - Who Won?

2009-06-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

With everyone anticipating secret information or super exciting news to be announced at the E3 every year, it is very easy for Sony or Microsoft to disappoint their fans. After the two press conferences, another debate surfaced - Who won the E3 2009? Sony and Microsoft both think that they won, obviously, even Nintendo is claiming to have won. Let's summarize what was announced and make our own decision.

I was actually quite impressed by Sony's press conference. The new information given on Uncharted 2 and God of War III were definitely impressive, especially the new Uncharted 2 footage. I thought it was a fantastic way to open the show.

What I think was the strongest point of the conference was the amount of PS3 exclusives announced. There was Team ICO's new project, The Last Guardian, I'm sure everyone has seen the video released a few weeks ago. Rockstar's new title, Agent and Gran Turismo 5 were also good news, although not surprising. Final Fantasy XIV was a pretty big surprise, given the fact that they are still working on XIII.

I almost forgot MAG! MAG, which stands for Massive Action Game is a massively multiplayer online action game featuring 256 player battles. It was already announced last year but this year, Sony showed off the first in-game footage of it in action. Sorry for the video quality, this is the best I could find.

There was also the PSP Go, which kind of disappointed me due to its price. Also no second analog stick but a 40% drop in weight, like anyone had trouble lifting their old PSP?

I liked the new motion controller, even the guy presenting it seemed to have fun doing so. I think it could be awesome depending on what Sony decides to do with that later on.

The biggest letdown of Sony's conference is that there was still no price drop announced! A lot of people expected it, but it didn't happen.

On its part, Microsoft announced enhancements to the console as a media center. Xbox 360 owners will now be able to stream personalized internet radio through their consoles. This service will only be available for Xbox Live Gold members.

There is also the new "Live Party" feature. You can now connect with people from different locations as an avatar in a virtual room where movies and games can be enjoyed in a simulated environment. The 360 will also be compatible with Twitter and Facebook, allowing you to updade and keep track of your profile from your console. I have to admit that I wasn't too excited about this but I guess some people will be really happy.

There were also some interesting games announced such as Alan Wake, Halo Reach and Halo 3 ODST, Forza 3, Left 4 Dead 2, Splinter Cell: Conviction and my favorite, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2. Another big but not too surprising news is that Metal Gear Solid: Rising will be available on the Xbox 360, but won't be an exclusive. Same for Final Fantasy XIII, it will be available on both consoles in Spring 2010.

Now the biggest announcement from Microsoft, Project Natal! Why using a motion controller when your whole body can be the controller? With the Wii huge success, Sony and Microsoft had to come up with an answer to the motion controller technology, but this exceeded what everyone could have expected. Full body motion tracking plus voice and facial recognition and analysis. I don't think it looked that great in term of gameplay though.

Overall, I think that Project Natal beats Sony's motion controller. They will probably have different uses which makes it hard to compare them but I prefer Natal technically speaking. However, I think that Sony won this year simply due to the impressive amount of amazing exclusives announced. What's your opinion?

PS3 and Xbox 360 June Release Dates

2009-06-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

I posted the May list a little bit late last month but I'm on time
this time. Here are the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 June release
dates. The list is huge, probably because of the E3.

PlayStation 3 Release Dates

6/02 - Fuel - Racing
6/02 - Red Faction: Guerrilla
6/02 - Virtua Tennis 2009
6/04 - Wolfenstein 3-D
6/08 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
6/09 - Protoype
6/10 - Gunstar Heroes
6/11 - Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island
6/16 - Ghostbusters: The Video Game
6/16 - Guitar Hero Smash Hits
6/23 - Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires
6/23 - Overlord II
6/23 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
6/30 - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
6/30 - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Limited Edition)
6/30 - Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Q2 - Digger
6/30 - Fight Night Round 4
6/30 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
6/30 - Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

Xbox 360 Release Dates

6/02 - Fuel - Racing
6/02 - Red Faction: Guerrilla
6/02 - Virtua Tennis 2009
6/04 - Wolfenstein 3-D
6/08 - Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10
6/09 - Protoype
6/10 - Altered Beast
6/10 - Comix Zone
6/10 - Gunstar Heroes
6/10 - Phantasy Star II
6/10 - Shinobi
6/10 - Sonic the Hedgehog 3
6/11 - Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island
6/16 - Ghostbusters: The Video Game
6/16 - Guitar Hero Smash Hits
6/23 - Dynasty Warriors 6: Empires
6/23 - Overlord II
6/23 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
6/30 - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger
6/30 - BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger (Limited Edition)
6/30 - Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
6/30 - Fight Night Round 4
6/30 - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
6/30 - Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
6/30 - Infernal: Hell's Vengeance

The lists are pretty much the same for both consoles. Digger
seems to be the only PS3 exclusive and I don't even have
an exact date for it. There are about five 360 exclusives to be
released this month.

You Know You Play Too Much Video Games When...

2009-05-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Here's a list of little tips to know if you've been playing too much
video games. If any of this ever happened to you, you might have
to consider taking a break.

You know you've been playing too much video games when:

-You're not impressed when someone younger than you wins a gold
medal in the Olympics because you know that your gamerscore is
higher than his.

-Someone tells you about one of their relative's death and you ask
if he/she dropped anything good. (Please don't try this)

-You realize that your life sucks and decide to restart as a doctor.

-You see a priest and ask for buffs.

-Something awesome happens to you and you can't wait to watch
the replay.

-You consider "saving" before trying something risky.

-Someone ask your age and you answer "I'm level 21".

-You're sick of walking and ask your friend if you can afk and
auto-follow him.

I know that there are some lame ones but hopefully, one or two of
them made you smile. If you thought of anything good while reading
this, please post it in the comment section so we can all laugh!

5 Reasons Why You Should Get a PS3

2009-05-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Following is a list of 5 reasons why you should get a PS3
instead of a Xbox 360.

1. If you're like me, when you spend hundreds of dollars on
something, you don't want it to break after a few weeks only.
Stay away from the Xbox and its RROD and get a PlayStation 3,
its failure rate is reported to be around 0.2% only!

2. Microsoft makes you pay for the console, pay for the games and
on top of that they want to make you pay to play online?
PlayStation Network can do almost everything Xbox Live offers
and is completely FREE.

3. Xbox fan boys used to brag about their "superior" games.
Sony has been releasing the best exclusives lately and still has
more to come. Take a look at Metal Gear Solid 4, Killzone 2,
LittleBigPlanet and the upcoming InFamous.

4. Number one Blu-Ray player out there, the PS3 is not only
a gaming console, it's also an excellent HD DVD player.

5. The PS3 is very customizable! Instead of paying an extra 100$ for
only 80 more GB, you can purchase a 320GB laptop drive for less
than that and install it on your PlayStation. You will never run out
of storing space.

If you liked this list, or are trying to find a way to get me killed, you
might like 5 reasons why you should get a Xbox 360.

Note that you shouldn't take these lists too seriously, it's mostly a
way to show that both consoles have their good points but that there
is almost always a way to counter argue everything.

5 Reasons Why You Should Get a Xbox 360

2009-05-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Following are 5 reasons why you should get a Xbox 360
instead of a PS3.

1. You don't want to spend all day playing online with a crappy
service that doesn't even have half the features its competitor
offers, right? That's why you should get a Xbox and get on
Xbox Live!

2. Who doesn't want to play amazing games like Halo, Gears of
War, Left 4 Dead, etc... Too bad they're all Xbox exclusives!

3. The Xbox 360 is way cheaper than the PS3, Even the Xbox Elite
is around the same price as the cheapest PlayStation 3 available.
With the recession going on, who wouldn't want to save a hundred bucks?

4. The achievements and gamerscore is an awesome system that
rewards you for completing in-game goals in every games you play.
It will keep you motivated and allow you to compete with all your friends.

5. This point might not sound awesome to some of you but it's pretty
useful for families. The Xbox 360 has a parental control feature that
allows you to control pretty much anything anyone can do on your
console. From blocking games and movies to controlling who you
can interact with on Xbox Live and even setting a timer to determine
how long someone can play a day.

If you liked - or should I say hated? - this post, take a look at
5 reasons why you should get a PS3.

Note that you shouldn't take these lists too seriously, it's mostly a
way to show that both consoles have their good points but that there
is almost always a way to counter argue everything.

Most Anticipated PS3 Game of 2009 : InFamous

2009-05-19T13:13:00.000-07:00

InFamous was voted the most anticipated PS3 game this
year on several occasions. Scheduled to be released on February
26th, it is currently one of the hottest gaming subject. Far too early
to be called game of the year, InFamous will definitely be an
important contender to the title in 2009.

Click on the image to order it

In InFamous, you're playing the role of Cole, an everyday normal
guy who falls in a coma for a reason that you will know once you play
the game. When he wakes up, everything is screwed up, people are
getting sick, the government quarantined the city and most
importantly, Cole finds out that he now has electricity based
superpowers.

InFamous is an open-world game, but not as open as games like
GTA. You can walk around the city and do pretty much whatever you
want such as helping people on the streets, killing bad guys or just
following the storyline and completing missions. The bad thing is
that once you completed the missions, you can't go back to the city
and have fun destroying everything you see, the only way to
visit it again is to start a new game.

You can decide whether you will to be the savior of Empire city
or its destructor. Your choice makes a big impact on the game,
Cole himself will look different depending if he's bad or good.
The good Cole will have white lightning and look pretty clean
while the bad one will have red lightning and a dirty look. The
behavior of the citizens and state of the city will also vary
depending on your reputation. During missions, there are
times when the game pauses and gives you a Karma Moment.
A dillema is given to you and you have to make a decision, it's
yours to decide whether it will be a good or a bad one.

There will be 15 missions for the good Cole and 15 more for
the bad, on top of the 70 neutral ones that can be completed
in about 30 hours. There are also moves that you can only unlock
at a certain Karma level and 2 different possible endings. Cole has
2 important people in his life, his friend Zeke and girlfriend Trish,
who will force you to make very emotional choices.

The visual aspect of the game is more than decent. The city
looks amazing as well as the lightning and explosions but there
are some issues during the cut scenes. The game only loads
when you start it which is great but also causes minor issues.
Don't be surprised to see building textures drop in as you run
into areas.

Is InFamous just another over hyped game that will disappoint
once it comes out? I don't think so. Will it be the greatest game
of 2009? I don't think so either, but it definitely seems to be a game
worth purchasing. Get ready to take your decision because there's
only one week left before it's out!

Source : IGN Review

Killzone 2 vs Halo 3

2009-05-18T05:28:00.000-07:00

This is the part two of my popular games reviews. The previous
article was about Gears of War 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4, this one
will be reviewing Killzone 2 and Halo 3. Again, I'm calling it a review
but it's more of a summary to help you know which type of games
are available on each console.

Killzone 2

Click on the image to get Killzone 2.

Killzone 2 was released on February 27th on the PlayStation 3.
Not even three months had passed and it was already considered a
serious contender for the title of game of the year. Easily one of the
best shooter available, Killzone 2 gives famous titles like Halo 3
and Call of Duty 4 a run for their money.

Killzone 2 is actually the third chapter of the series, following the
original PS2 shooter and Killzone: Liberation on the PSP. You don't
have to have played the previous chapters to understand what is
going on in Killzone 2 but those who did will see connections
between the three games. The story takes place after the events
of Liberation. After repealing the Helghast from Vekta, the ISA
decides to launch a counter-attack and bring the fight to their
enemies' world. Unfortunately, the Helghast are ready and have
new weapons to unleash on their foes. You won't feel like you're
watching a movie but the story is pretty good for a shooter.

The graphics are stunning, the music is awesome and the game
is just so exciting. The weapons are all fun to use and have
different effects on your enemies. The action is constantly
pushing forward, bringing you to one event to the next while
fighting off smart opponents. The AI was improved tremendously
since the previous title, the Helghasts cover when you shoot them,
attack you from their hideout, scatter when you throw a grenade
in their direction and are as concerned with your comrades as they
are with you.

The campaign mode is great, you will take around 10-12 hours to
complete all the missions. Some of them are easily replayable,
thanks to the different difficulty levels and computer AI. The
multiplayer mode is also very well done. Like COD, Killzone 2
rewards you as you play with new weapons, more grenades and
even entire classes. The team play is amazing and you can set
up to 5 different game modes in a single game. Eight maps are
available and 32 players can fit into one game, you can always
fill the remaining spots with computer bots if you're missing
a few people, which would be very surprising.

I can't give justice to such an amazing game with this short
review and my limited writing skills, unfortunately. I would
really suggest you give it a try, or at least look up a few videos.
Killzone 2 definately brought the PS3 back in the console war,
making Halo 3 feel like nothing special anymore.

Halo 3

Click on the image to get Halo 3.

Halo 3 was released on September 25th on the Xbox 360.
A lot older than Killzone 2, it is already considered as one of the
best shooter ever. Perhaps not the best storyline or graphics, but we
all know how much fun it can be online, love it or hate it.

At the end of the second chapter, Master Chief was headed towards
Earth in order to stop the Prophet of Truth and his brutes from
destroying the universe. Cortana had been captured and the Arbiter
and his elites had made a truce with humankind. In this third
chapter, the whole focus is on Master Chief, leaving the Arbiter
story behind which disappointed me a little bit.

The 9 levels can be completed in about 10-13 hours but depending
on the level difficulty and amount of players, it can be a lot shorter.
Because of Halo's popularity, Bungie had to tweak the difficulty
levels for the mass of casual players purchasing the game. Most
of the levels will feel way too easy for veteran players and the
hardest ones may be quite hard for the newbies. The enemies'
AI is not bad but the same can't be said for your teammates. Just
like the previous titles, the marines are completely useless, even
the Arbiter, who is supposed to be the feared and bad ass elites
leader is walking around getting shot in the face all the time.

New weapons were added such as the Spartan Laser, the Ruthian
Gravity Hammer and the Spikers. There is also new vehicles, like
the powerful Brute Chopper. The graphics are good enough to
create a good atmosphere without making Halo 3 a visual
masterpiece. The sound is a mix of old and new stuff, you will
still hear the old Halo theme and plenty of new great tracks.

The most important part to me is the online mode. Halo did it again
and created a very addictive multiplayer mode. There are 11 maps
that can be played and you can edit them with the forge mode.
You can't completely modify the map but you can move objects,
items and the spawn points. There are several game modes, all very
customizable, you can modify the starting weapons, the gravity,
game speed, whether the move sensor is on or not and much more.
Up to 16 players can be part of the same game. One of the
interesting new feature is that when 2 sword wielding players hit
each other at the same time, the swords will clash and make the
players bounce off one another.

Overall, I would say that Halo 3 is not the greatest technically
speaking game and that the solo mode is fairly entertaining
without being amazing. Where Halo really shines is online, Bungie
really knew what they were doing and, again, created one of the
most exciting and addictive online game ever on the Xbox.

Xbox vs PlayStation - The Eternal Debate

2009-05-17T09:43:00.000-07:00

More than two years after the release of the PS3, the Xbox vs
PlayStation war is still on between the two gaming giants, SONY
and Microsoft. A lot of gamers are wondering whether to purchase
a PlayStation 3 or a Xbox 360. Asking your friends is not
necessarily the best idea since it's so easy to be biased in this
situation. Let's compare the two consoles right now!

Price
The PlayStation 3 was released at an extremely high price two
years ago but is now down to 399$ for the 80GB version and
499$ for the 160GB version. The size of the hard drive is the
only difference between the two versions, except that the 160GB
one comes with Drake’s Fortune and Pain, which may make up
for the price difference depending on the type of games you like.
I personally don't see the point in getting such a big hard drive.
If you really need the extra space, get a 320GB laptop drive and
install it on your PS3.

The Xbox 360 is sold 299$ for the 60GB version and 399$ for
the 120GB version. Both versions come with the same game and
unlike the PS3, you can't just buy a laptop drive and install it on
your Xbox. If you think that you will need the extra space, get
the bigger version.

Graphics
Now I hear a lot of people saying how good the PS3 graphics are
and that it looks way better than the Xbox. The 360's GPU
actually is more powerful than the PS3 one. It doesn't mean that
it has better graphics though, MGS4, anyone? The Xbox also has
a slight advantage when comparing the same titles, but it's with
console exclusive titles that the PlayStation really shows what it's got.

Here's a video comparing the same title on both consoles -
Xbox vs PlayStation. I'm sure you will notice which one
has the advantage.

Here's another one showing why I said that the PS3 really
shines on console exclusive titles.

Games
Microsoft used to have a big lead in this category, especially
since it was released before the PS3. If we take 2008 games only,
we can see that MS released more games than SONY but if you
compare the quality, or rating of these games, it's pretty even.

The best rated Xbox games are :
Gears of War 2 (94)
Left 4 Dead (90)
Fable II (89)
Tales of Vesperia (83)
Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise (83)
Ninja Gaiden II (82)
Naruto: The Broken Bond (81)
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (80)

And the PS3 ones :
LittleBigPlanet (94)
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (92)
Resistance 2 (88)
Valkyria Chronicles (87)
MLB 08: The Show (86)
SingStar (83)
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (82)
Buzz! Quiz TV (82)
Hot Shots Golf: Out of Bounds (81)
Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice (80)
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (80)

As you can see, both consoles have some interesting games. You
will probably make a decision based on what type of games you
like more than which console makes the "best ones" anyway. The
"I'm a RPG fan so I prefer PS3" excuse, which is always used
during Xbox vs PlayStation debate, is not as good as it used
to be. MS is releasing more and more RPG for the Xbox and
apparently, the next Final Fantasy will be compatible with the
360 aswell.

Another thing, you can play the previous Xbox version games on
the 360 but the PS3 currently eliminates backwards compatibility.

Online Gaming
SONY has improved a lot but is still pretty far behind MS. Not
only is Xbox Live more reliable, it is also more commonly used.
It will be way easier to find an online game for your Xbox games
than it will be with a PS3. I'm editing this after reading Max's
comment. Yes, Xbox Live is superior to PlayStation Network but,
as he said, PS Online is free and Xbox Live subscription fee
is around 50$ for a year.

Durability
Again, thanks to Max for pointing this out. It was said before that
the PS3 is more expensive than the Xbox 360, but your PlayStation
will last longer, perhaps even forever. The question is not will my
Xbox break, but when will it break. I'm sure that everyone has
heard of the RROD (Red Ring of Death).

Multimedia
This is probably the forte of the PS3. It can stream AND store
media while the Xbox can only stream. The PS3 graphics
processor can output resolutions from 480i/576i SD up to
1080p HD. For its part, Microsoft's console will use
current-generation DVDs, with resolutions topping out at 1080i
and 720p. The PlayStation has built-in Blu-Ray and Wi-Fi,
Bluetooth makes it compatible with third party devices and as I
mentionned before, you can install your own hard drive on it.
The 360 has no built-in Wi-Fi, no Blu-Ray and is not nearly as
customizable. There have been rumors that Microsoft would
begin supporting Blu-Ray but it seems to only be that, rumors.

There's one statistic that I would like to discuss before to end this.
28 million Xbox 360 were sold worlwide since the release against
only 10.5 million PS3. The little problem with this, which is, in my
opinion, the Xbox's biggest issue is that this thing keeps breaking!
How many people do you know who are on their second, third or
even fourth Xbox? Yes, the PS3 is more expensive but at least you
will only need one. I'm not saying that the Xbox is bad and that it
always breaks but it seems to happen quite a lot.

Overall I would say, if you like playing online, get a Xbox. If you
like watching movies, get a PS3. If you like Halo, get a Xbox, if you
like MGS, get a PS3. You get it? There is no better console, they
both have their pros and their cons. Make sure that you know what
you're looking for and make your decision based on this.

PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Release Dates

2009-05-14T03:08:00.000-07:00

I found this list on a forum and thought that it was interesting.
Since I don't want to steal anyone's work, I will be posting the list
here and a link to the original website.

I know I'm a little late for this month, by the way. Hopefully, it will
be more helpful in the future.

Xbox 360 release dates

5/01 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine
5/05 - Raiden Fighters Aces
5/05 - Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
5/12 - Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
5/12 - Battlestations: Pacific
5/19 - UFC 2009 Undisputed
5/19 - Terminator Salvation
5/19 - Bionic Commando
5/19 - Virtua Tennis
5/19 - Rcok Band Classic Rock Track Pack
5/26 - Damnation
5/26 - Fuel
5/26 - Star Trek D.A.C

PlayStation 3 release dates

5/01 - X-Men Origins: Wolverine
5/05 - Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust
5/12 - Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
5/19 - Cross Edge
5/19 - Terminator Salvation
5/19 - Virtua Tennis 2009
5/19 - Bionic Commando
5/19 - Rock Band Classic Rock Track Pack
5/19 - UFC 2009 Undisputed
5/26 - Fuel
5/26 - inFamous
5/26 - Damnation

How to Fix Your RROD

2009-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

I mentioned this issue in my first article,
PlayStation vs Xbox. Every Xbox 360 owner
will most likely face this problem at least
once. The Red Ring of Death, also called
RROD, usually appears when one or more
system components permanently fail and is
not necessarily caused by overheating.

I tried looking for most of the famous fix techniques and will show
them to you. Note that you should only use those methods if your
warranty expired as it could further damage your Xbox and is also
a violation of the warranty.

The Towels Technique
This first method is only temporary and is not the one I would
recommend but it is also probably the easiest.

What you have to do is completely cover your Xbox with blankets
and let it fry for 10 to 25 minutes. When it's done, let it cool down
for a few minutes and you should be able to play for a few hours.

I have no clue how it can work, overheating your Xbox doesn't
sound like a good idea to me but according to what I read, it
seems to be working for some people. Here's a video for the
visual ones.

X-Clamp Fix
This is the most legitimate method I found and is probably the only
one I would recommend trying but make sure that you know
what you're doing before to give it a try.

Basically, you have to open your console, then there is two sides,
one with the fan and one with four little thermal band aids looking
things. Remove the band aids and replace them with something
else, in the example that I will show you, pennies are used. Put
your Xbox back together and it should be working, this fix will last
a lot longer than the towel one.

I said that I would show you most of the techniques I found but
they sounded so ridiculous or dangerous that I decided to stick
with these two only. Remember, only use these methods if your
warranty expired, else you can just bring it to Microsoft and they
will fix it for you.

There is also a lot of of guides sold all over the web but it's
probably something like the X-Clamp Fix anyway. It's up to you
to decide if you want to pay for a guide, try one of the free ones
or simply purchase a new console.

The best way to avoid the RROD will always be to buy a PS3 instead
of a 360 anyway. Ohoh I'm joking, calm down! I hope that one of
those method will be working for you and help you save some money.

Xbox Live vs PlayStation Network

2009-05-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Xbox Live and PlayStation Network are two gaming services that
allow anyone to play online multiplayer games without leaving the
comfort of their couch. Both services were included in my previous
review - Xbox vs PlayStation - but I felt that it wasn't quite detailed
enough to help anyone decide which one they need. Whenever you
hear about the Xbox vs PlayStation war, you should hear about
Xbox Live vs PlayStation Network as well.

First is the price, PS Online is free and a 1 year subscription to XBL
cost around 50$. However, Xbox Live Silver is also free, but doesn't
have as many features as Xbox Live Gold and PS Network.

XBL Silver allows you to chat with your friends online and to
download contents such as demos or even games for an extra fee.
XBL Gold is a lot more complete. You can do everything that the
Silver mode has to offer plus video chat, online gaming, create parties
and if you are a Netflix member, to watch streamed movies.

What makes XBL really special is the gamerscore and
achievements. This definitely gives Microsoft an advantage when
comparing Xbox Live vs PlayStation Network. The achievements
are awarded for the completion of game-specific challenges, such as
beating a level, killing several enemies in a short amount of time or
winning a certain amount of games in a row. The gamerscore
correspond to the number of achievement points accumulated by a
user. There is also a friend list, which can contain upto 100 names
and a reputation rating which is voted by other players.

PlayStation Network also offers a friend list and the ability
to send other players messages. Most of the popular games will be
playable with absolutely no lag issue but you will only be able to
play against local players on local servers.

When purchasing something on the Xbox Live Marketplace, you
have to use Microsoft points that can be bought in batches of 500,
1000, 2000 or 5000. On the other hand, the PS3 store uses actual
money deducted directly from your your credit card. The PS3 is
superior on this matter since you may be forced to pay for Microsoft
points that you don't need, even if you will still be able to use them
later.

One thing that the PS3 can do that the Xbox can't is browsing the
internet. This could be great but it is kind of hard to use and the
broswer doesn't support certain file formats such as flash and
QuickTime videos.

Overall, Xbox Live is superior to the PS Network on almost every
aspects but is also more expensive. You can use PlayStation Network
without spending anything and still enjoy online multiplayer games,
or you can spend some money for the extra features such as the
gamerscore that some people just can't live without.

Update : While analyzing my blog traffic, I noticed that a big part of
my visitors were wondering if Xbox Live users could play against
PlayStation Network users. The answer is no, even if both users play
the same game, it's impossible to play or even chat with each other.

The Xbox 360 is for Kids!

2009-05-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing and reading this a lot lately from PS3 fans.
I was not sure where it was coming from and decided to do
some researches to find what could be the source.

My first thought was that it was probably the games. I tried
looking around for kids games on both consoles and found a few
rankings of the "best" kids titles.

After reviewing most of these lists, I realized that there was not
much of a difference between the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.
Games like Monopoly and Disney Pure - which is an off road racing
game that, despite the name, looks suited for teenagers, not kids -
were mentioned a lot for the PS3. Tony Hawk and any sports titles
were the most popular "kid games" for the 360.

Yes, there was some real kid games on both consoles but if you
have to include NFL 2009 and racing games in your top 10, there
can't be THAT many of them, or they're probably just too bad
to even be worth mentioning.

Most of the games seem to be designed to please teenagers or
young adults which seem normal to me anyway. It would not
be very clever for a gaming company to aim for the golden age
market would it?

Then I thought that perhaps it was because of the design.
I actually think that the PS3 looks better than the Xbox 360
but that's just my opinion, I know that it's the opposite for
other people. None of them looks childish to me though.
I don't think that the design would make a difference in the
age group preference for each console anyway.

Lastly, and I think that this could be the source of this rumor,
Xbox Live! I'm sure we've all heard these audio captures of
angry kids swearring while playing on XBL. Watch the video
below if you don't know what I'm talking about.

Is that proof that the Xbox 360 was made for kids? No.
Is there immature kids playing on PlayStation Network? Of course.
Is there more kids playing on Xbox Live? Yes, but that's simply
because there is more people using XBL than PS Network overall.

I'm still unsure where that rumor came from, but until I'm
proved otherwise, I won't believe it.

Gears of War 2 vs Metal Gear Solid 4

2009-04-29T05:22:00.000-07:00

After my first article - Xbox 360 vs PlayStation 3 - I decided to
write a little review on some of the most popular games on each
console. My first article on this subject will be about Metal Gear
Solid 4 : Guns of the Patriots for the PS3 and Gears of War 2
for the 360.

I won't be comparing the games with each other since they are
quite different, I will simply give you some information on each
title.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

Click on the image to get MGS4!

Metal Gear Solid 4 is probably the most technically impressive
game ever made so far. The graphics and cut scenes are simply
wonderful. A brilliant mixture of storytelling and gameplay and
you have lots of gadgets to play with!

MGS4 is a love it or hate it kind of game. Do you like going stealth
mode and sneaking around snapping necks? This is not halo, you
can't just run around shooting everything. If you've been
following the story and played the previous games, you'll be
extremely satisfied with the multitude of cut scenes wrapping
up everything you ever knew about the Philosophers, the
Patriots, The Boss, Big Boss, Solid Snake and his brothers. If you
haven't, don't worry it does a pretty good job recapping the
whole thing. Even if it's your first experience with a Metal
Gear Solid game, you will be able to enjoy all the drama and
intrigue. You can always skip the cut scenes if you're not
interested in the story line.

In this title, Snake, who is prematurely ageing and sick, hunts
down is twin brother, Liquid Snake who is attempting to bring
the world into chaos. I won't give too much details about this
since I don't want to spoil anything.

Everything else is pretty much the same, with some
improvements, of course. They added a stress and psyche
meters. When Snake gets too stressed, his psyche gauge
goes down. If it drops too low you will move and regenerate
your health slower. If the gauge gets really low, you won't even
be able to hold your weapon but it doesn't happen too often.

The artificial intelligence is pretty good, don't expect to trick
your way through the game, the enemy is not so easy to fool.

In summary, not the best game ever, definately the best MGS
yet. If it's your kind of game and you liked the previous ones,
you will like the 4th one. Amazing graphics, amazing story,
good gameplay, the only thing that I didn't like and that happen
in every MGS game is that it's either too easy or too hard. It
may not be a problem for everyone though.

Gears of War 2

Click on the image to get Gears of War 2!

First thing, the gameplay is practically identical to the
first Gears of War, just the same shot and pop that we
all came to love (or hate). If you liked the first one, you
will be happy since it's basically the same thing with
minor upgrade. If you didn't like the first title and
expected something new and better with the 2nd one,
you will be disappointed.

The graphics look fantastic, Gears of War is to Xbox
what MGS is to the PlayStation. I don't think that any other
games get close of it in term of graphic quality.

There have been several complaints about the story
and characters characteristics in the first title. Epic
made some improvements, still nothing awesome but
it's definitely better than the first one and most
shooters.

In this title, you have to defend the last human city
on Sera, Jacinto. The bomb that you dropped at the
end of the first title didn't quite do the job and the
Locust have been destroying everything ever since.

The campaign mode is great, but what make this game
popular is the online mode. Sadly, it's still full of bugs
and glitches and the updates don't seem to be fixing
anything. Gears of War 2 is still a very entertaining
game that most will enjoy despite the occasional bugs.

Feel free to correct me or point out important
information that I could have left out since I do not own
these games myself. I've tried them and did some
researches but I'm far from knowing everything. I am
aware that this is not the most detailed review either,
the purpose is to give you an idea of what are the most
popular games on each console and help you make
a decision. Xbox 360 or Playstation 3?