Console Debate #20 Playstation 3

[fox | 1,665]

[Rooster | 124]

I had two of them ylod on me early in the consoles lifetime.  However I had some good times and put a lot of hours into it. 

[Hammerfestus | 3,820]

I‘ve never played it.  During its lifespan I really wasn’t involved with video games. The only thing I’m aware of on the system that I’d like to play is the Metal Gear game and Final Fantasy...13 I think was on there?  

[TDIRunner | 2,725]

Most of this generation was a low point as far a video game console quality.  I went through 2 PS3's while the system was still active which is disappointing.  In addition, this was probably the era where I spent the least amount of time gaming.  But on the flip side, the gaming from this era was a lot of fun.  I bought my first PS3 specifically for Metal Gear Solid 4 and that game didn't disappoint.  I played through it from start to finish probably 8 times in a row without playing anything else.  I've never done that with any video game before or since.  I really need to play through it again and it's been many years since my last.  I highly recommend this system, and despite a slight COVID spike, now will probably be the best time to get these games for next to nothing.  

[TDIRunner | 2,725]

27 minutes ago, Hammerfestus said:

I‘ve never played it.  During its lifespan I really wasn’t involved with video games. The only thing I’m aware of on the system that I’d like to play is the Metal Gear game and Final Fantasy...13 I think was on there?  

There were a few Metal Gear games on the PS3, but I assume you mean MGS4, in which case you should definitely give it a try sometime.  

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,104]

I bought one when MGS 4 came out. It was a solid console, but not historically great. 7/10.

[DefaultGen | 5,399]

5, in the middle for me. Most criticisms I have of it are of the era rather than PS3 itself. Game design started losing me with an abundance of movies and boring open worlds, consoles blended together with fewer exclusives, performance is never prioritized, etc. Don't like the dual shock. It will always feel like the analogs were tacked on as an afterthought rather than ergonomically placed.

My favorites are the same as everyone else's and all 3D action games: Uncharted 2, MGS4, Demon's Souls, TLOU. If I have a less popular favorite... Sports Champions? Disc golf and bocce are so fun. Why don't we have more good disc golf and bocce games??

Also Playstation Home was a cool idea. I said it.

Edited March 19, 2021 by DefaultGen

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

Not sure.  I hated the Dual Shock 3, and greatly preferred XBL this era, so the 360 got 90% of my attention.  This was my BD player.

But I did enjoy Demon's Souls, 3D Dot Game Heroes, Valkyria Chronicles, MGS4, Uncharted 1-3, Last of Us, Heavy Rain, Infamous, God of War III, and the PS2 remasters.

Did not especially care for Resistance 1-2 or Killzone 2.

[Nintegageo | 582]

7. Had some great games though it is perhaps the weakest library a Playstation has claimed. I agree that this era in gaming was not the strongest one

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

People hate on this era, but I loved it.  Just a sample of the multi-plats:

Portal 2, Orange Box, Dark Souls, Dragon Age, Bioshock trilogy, Mass Effect trilogy, Red Dead, GTA 4-5, Skyrim, Oblivion, Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Dishonored, Vanquish, Bayonetta, Mirrors Edge, Ninja Gaiden 2, DMC4, DMC, Dead Rising 1-2, Enzio trilogy, the 5 Tomb Raiders, Castle Crashers, Geometry Wars 2, Limbo, Braid, the Batman's, Dead Space trilogy, Left 4 Deads, Ass Creed 4, Borderlands 1-2, Burnout Paradise, and so forth.

If you write it all off because "open world" you've done yourself a major disservice.  Not saying everyone says this, but it is a general sentiment with certain demographics.

[themisfit138 | 523]

6/10. I bought a 20GB model just after launch. Used it mostly as a bluray player. Until it stopped reading discs. I did my gaming on 360 for that gen. Then later I bought a slim to play a few games I missed. 

[spacepup | 2,404]

I'd give it a solid 7.5.  There are definitely way more than a few games I really enjoyed.  It's honestly hard for me to imagine how anyone could sincerely say "Trash. No redeeming features." about any system, without giving it a legitimate attempt.

There are many games that I enjoyed, and then several games that I absolutely loved.

I thought the LittleBigPlanet series was SUPER fun, and I remember playing tons of online levels that were extremely creative and interesting.  It is such a fun, quirky, and creative series.  While not as innovative or new, I also really enjoyed that Ratchet and Clank PS3 game.

NieR is one of my favorite games ever, not just for ps3.  I absolutely loved that game.  Has a very interesting story and gameplay mechanics, and one of the best soundtracks I've heard with some beautiful music.

Reed mentioned some very solid titles above - I'll add a few games that I really enjoyed:

Ni no Kuni
Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom
Enslaved: Odyssey to the West
Tokyo Jungle (this is so unique and fun/weird ha!

There are many many others, but these are just a few that I remember really enjoying.  There are also tons of sequels, compilations, and tons of decent action/adventure games.

Maybe it isn't everyone's favorite system and that's fine - heck, for me personally, PS2 is WAY higher on my favorite list, but I still had lots of great gaming time with the PS3.


 

 

[Reed Rothchild | 9,510]

6 minutes ago, spacepup said:

NieR is one of my favorite games ever, not just for ps3.  I absolutely loved that game.  Has a very interesting story and gameplay mechanics, and one of the best soundtracks I've heard with some beautiful music.

I want to play this so bad.  Really hoping the remake gets ported and localized for Switch

[Nintegageo | 582]

@Reed Rothchild I think my issue with the gen (even though I enjoyed it) was they were too ambitious vs the hardware. Load times were attrocious, it's the 1st gen where buying a phys. copy meant you only owned 1/2 the game, the console had a crazy small hard drive, it introduced companies deciding that shipping a game that needed some work was okay because patches were a thing, et cetera et cetera.

There were many great games just many issues with them. The later gens are not innocent though they certainly improved. I think the sweet spot is playing the last gen games on the new gen hardware, heck other than the new God o War game that is perhaps the main reason I want to own & play a PS5.

[AstralSoul | 502]

I gave it an 8 although it's easily my least favorite PS console, but my favorite console of gen 7, a generation that is my least favorite since gen 3. So it's the best console for me with a handful of fantastic exclusive games along with a bunch of ports of great multiplats, but like others have pointed out, it's more of a statement of the overall gen than the console itself. It was an era that I was losing interest in gaming is actually where I started going backwards with collecting. It wasn't until Wii and PS3 that I started collecting for GameCube and N64 and SNES. Games of that era felt too samey, everything was a 300 hour open world adventure or a dark and gritty online multiplayer FPS. Focus began to be on DLC, patches and online oriented gameplay. On top of that, the dual shock 3 is the worst controller of its kind. In 32 years of gaming I've never once had a controller break on me... except the not one, not two, not three but FOUR dual shock 3 controllers I went through. I didn't mind the dual shock 1, 2 and I love the DS4 but the 3 even felt like garbage even as you held it. PS3 had a lot of forgettable games to me and of all the consoles I own it's probably the one I play the least.

That said it still had some of my favorite games of all time. Not counting exclusives, it introduced me to Dark Souls, Bioshock, the Last of Us, God of War through the HD remasters, more Ratchet and Clank, Uncharted, Final Fantasy XIII, Heavy Rain, and Limbo. Since I was never much of a PC gamer this was also the era where downloading titles was a thing for me and it was wonderful being able to just download smaller titles and old PS1 and PS2 classics just as Wii had virtual console. And it also introduced trophies which is a great addition to modern gaming. Nor something I tend to focus on because I just don't have the time or patience for now of them but having something like that make you go the extra mile in some games it just fun to do at times.

Overall, a good solid console in an otherwise bleak era of gaming.

[fox | 1,665]

3 hours ago, Reed Rothchild said:

If you write it all off because "open world" you've done yourself a major disservice.  Not saying everyone says this, but it is a general sentiment with certain demographics.

I think the sentiment at that time was it was nothing but a “Medal of Duty-Field” military shooter box

Edited March 19, 2021 by fox

[nrslam | 474]

Interesting to read others' take on this. I've never owned, and likely never will, a PS3.  After being underwhelmed by both the PS2 and Xbox, this is where I switched from "gotta collect everything" to "only buy what I like".  Word on the street was that poor reliability combined with mandatory downloading made this a console (along with Xbox360) to skip.  Hence my "No Interest" vote.

[Tanooki | 4,930]

Not remembering what I put for PS1, but it's a toss up between those 2 are their greatest console.  So much done just so well, amazing games unique to it.  The blu ray player and quality streaming combined with fantastic unique experiences it's an excellent system.  Given the parallel competition at the time, there really was no competition either.

[Estil | 1,261]

As usual I was a late adopter of the PS3/PS4 but at this point I can't get enough of getting trophies in both.  It helps that there are PS3/PS4 ports of all three PS1 Final Fantaises and all three PS2 ones that all have trophy support, for example.

[Kguillemette | 1,543]

I went with 6/10. I'm not much a fan of games from that era in general. In fact, I use my ps3 as a DVD player far more than as a gaming console. 

[Tanooki | 4,930]

Hmmm trophies, that's the one thing I HATED about the system of I'd have marked it a point higher.  It aggravated me not being able to stop them from popping up for years until they allowed it in a firmware update, and still annoyed me it still did it in the background still.  You should be allowed to opt out from that level of stupid bragging/esteem coddling stupidity if you don't want it.  I know it's perhaps my age, but I like to choice my own benchmarks to be proud of, not have some canned garbage thrown at me, worst of all popping up during sequences of story or play breaking up the flow and immersion.

[Estil | 1,261]

10 hours ago, Tanooki said:

Hmmm trophies, that's the one thing I HATED about the system of I'd have marked it a point higher.  It aggravated me not being able to stop them from popping up for years until they allowed it in a firmware update, and still annoyed me it still did it in the background still.  You should be allowed to opt out from that level of stupid bragging/esteem coddling stupidity if you don't want it.  I know it's perhaps my age, but I like to choice my own benchmarks to be proud of, not have some canned garbage thrown at me, worst of all popping up during sequences of story or play breaking up the flow and immersion.

Really?  I find it quite rewarding to get a trophy pop-up...or the old fashioned kind of stars/badges/icons/etc you'd get for achievements in Nintendo or Sega or PS1/PS2 games.  They didn't take THAT long though to let you opt out of trophy pop ups did they?

[DorkOverlord | 679]

This is actually the only PS console I don't own. I remember being remotely interested when it first came out, but was too cheap to pay those launch prices. I opted for an Xbox 360 instead. 

[Sumer | 221]

I gave it a 5.  It was OK, but definitely preferred gaming on the 360 during that era.  Played a lot of Halo and Call of Duty on the 360 and only got a PS3 Slim for the Uncharted games, really.

[asmikace | 68]

This might be personal bias but I give it a 6. I got a used backwards compatible one and since I was a poor college kid, I didn't have a LCD tv at the time to enjoy most of the PS3 games due to needing that widescreen resolution. I did enjoy MGS4, Saints Row 2, Dead Rising, and Katamari Forever on it while experiencing most of the PS2 games I never played before. This was also the time I was going to PC games so I neglected the system. While it was better quality system then the Xbox 360, I felt the high price and difficult hardware architecture really puts it points behind the PS1 and PS2 and the fact that it will be impossible for the exclusive games to be ported over will hinder it's legacy unlike the 360.