Buying a PS3 - Suggestions!

[Barnox]

So I'm looking at becoming one of the Unwashed Console Masses, potentially. Not to replace my Master Race Box, and not without good reason, of course.
As the PS3 reaches the end of its lifespan, I took back over the games released for it, and weep. These games will ever have their day in the wonderful digital world that is my Steam library. They will never be an .exe that will run and frolic through my cores, me with one hand upon WASD, the other perched atop my mouse, finger strumming gently across the ridged wheel...
Long story short, PC is never getting these games and I still want to play them.

I have a 360, but the only exclusive I thought worth getting for it was Banjo & Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts (I like customisation games (More on that in another topic sometime?)).

Looking around, I seem to be able to pick up a 500GB PS3 for about £170. Dualshock and power cables come as standard. It'll be on my PC desk, upright if they do that. I'm at a power socket shortage, so PC will be unplugged, PS3 plugged in. Ethernet from the PC to the PS3. Would the HDMI from the PC work as a PS3 -> monitor cable (as techy as I am, the 20 different cables for the consoles elude me)? Will the Dualshock work well as a PC gamepad?

And the games! Currently looking at:
Dragons Dogma (Dark Arisen) (It sounds good, the game+expansion is pretty cheap for a new game)
Little Bigplanet 2 (Customisation to the max! Physics!)
Demon's Souls (Dark Souls was my GOTY)
Valkyria Chronicles (Tactical RPG, incredibly well reviewed)
Rune Factory Oceans (I enjoyed Harvest Moon)
Metal Gear Solid 4/2+3 HD collection (What's a PS3 without MGS? I enjoyed #2)
Zone of the Enders HD collection (I enjoyed the first one back in the day, can't remember much of it aside from flying acrobatic mecha and micromissiles. Nostalgia choice)


As you can see, I'm looking more for games with at least a bit of thinking behind them, not hundredmanshoots. RPGs are definitely nice, the more upgrading weapons/nonrestrictive classes/crafting the better.
Pricewise I'm looking at games that are a little older. £20 is probably the max I'd spend at the minute (ZoE/MGS collections are that much for several games).

I've heard nice things about the Atelier series, not sure where to start with that one (just get an old one as it's cheapish? Get the newest one as it supersedes the older?). Armoured Core V sounds interesting, but I've heard that the gameplay doesn't quite match up with the depth of customisation.

Any suggestions? If it's out on PC, I'll probably be getting it there instead.

[Splynter]

Check out this old thread: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/foru...ecommendations

For a more recent suggestion, take a look at Ni No Kuni. It's gorgeous, lots of fun, and scratches that old-school JRPG itch nicely.

[Jesus_Phish]

Looking around, I seem to be able to pick up a 500GB PS3 for about £170. Dualshock and power cables come as standard. It'll be on my PC desk, upright if they do that. I'm at a power socket shortage, so PC will be unplugged, PS3 plugged in.

Get out. Just get out now.

Ethernet from the PC to the PS3. Would the HDMI from the PC work as a PS3 -> monitor cable (as techy as I am, the 20 different cables for the consoles elude me)? Will the Dualshock work well as a PC gamepad?

The PS3 has built in wifi if thats any use for you. Also, how are you going to use the PC's ethernet port if you have your PC unplugged?
The HDMI on a PC and a PS3 should be the same, unless your PC uses HDMI mini, which just means it's a smaller connection. If your monitor has HDMI you can run a HDMI cable from the PS3 to the monitor.
The Dualshock can be used as a gamepad though not all games will support it without a 3rd party program (I don't know what it's called.)

It might be worth you investing in the following items. A bigger plug extension, you'll probably want five sockets on it. A cheap as chips ethernet switch and a HDMI switch. In those items you've got two plugs for your pc and monitor, one for the playstation and one for each switch. This means you're not ever going to have to go switching cables in and out of your PC and PS3. You just push a little button on the HDMI switch to toggle between the pc and ps3.

And the games!

If you've never played Red Dead Redemption I highly recommend it. A lot of people say Uncharted is worth it, as apparently is God of War. I think both those games can be bought in collections with all their editions.

I'm also going to suggest you pay for Playstation+. It's a great service. 60 bucks a year and you get something like 3 free games a month, which you get to keep for as long as your subscribed. They're good games too, AAA titles and some indies. You also get 10% discounts on top of other discounts on the playstation store.

[Barnox]

The PS3 has built in wifi if thats any use for you. Also, how are you going to use the PC's ethernet port if you have your PC unplugged?

Oh, didn't know that. And I meant take it out of the cold, dead PC and stick it in the PS3. The current ethernet setup is using two of those "internet through the mains" adaptors to connect my (downstairs) router to my PC. Works a charm, even through the fusebox and two extension leads.
Current power setup is a 3-port adaptor: PC, Monitor and Ethernet thingy. PC is above the desk, and back is very easy to access (I take the headphones out the back each day anyway). I only have one monitor, so I won't need PC on at the same time.

For a more recent suggestion, take a look at Ni No Kuni.

I've looked at it, it looks good, but very recent. Recent = pricey, and I have a large backlog to pick from. Not to diss your suggestion, if money wasn't an option I'd be in there.

If you've never played Red Dead Redemption I highly recommend it.

I borrowed Red Dead Redemption from a friend, finished it on the 360.

[Splynter]

I've looked at it, it looks good, but very recent. Recent = pricey, and I have a large backlog to pick from. Not to diss your suggestion, if money wasn't an option I'd be in there.

Oops, missed that line in your first post. If you want some bang for your buck, see Sonic Ultimate Genesis Collection, something upwards of 20 Genesis/Master System games in one, and was about $30 Canadian last I saw it. Tales of Graces F (JRPG) is a lot of fun, and it came out last year so it should be at least somewhat discounted by now. Marvel Ultimate Alliance is kind of Gauntlet with Marvel heroes, and was a lot of fun. The sequel was supposed to be decent as well. The first one was a launch title, so it might be tough to find. Demon's Souls as you mentioned is really good, though I haven't played it since Dark Souls released, so I'm not sure how it will fare in comparison to its younger sibling. Another possibility is 3D Dot Game Heroes, which is top-down Zelda from the makers of Dark Souls.

[lordcooper]

Be sure to grab the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus HD remasterythingies if you haven't played them. They're unique.

[Splynter]

Funny. I didn't put that one in my list as I was sure he'd already listed it, such is their reputation. It's worth it for SotC alone.

[RandomTangent]

How about Heavy Rain? I haven't played it yet, but I've heard it's smarter than the average manshoot

[db1331]

3D Dot Game Heroes is a fantastic game. It's actually made by the same guys who do Demon's/Dark Souls:



Apart from that, absolutely get Demon's Souls. Also, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. The Uncharteds are worth playing, especially the 2nd one. And the Okami HD remake on PSN will make your eyeballs leak rainbows.

[SirKicksalot]

inFamous is a good game. It's more like Assassin's Creed than Prototype IMO. I haven't played the sequel but I heard good things about the sequel's standalone expansion.

I hear good things about Tokyo Jungle. Flower is great.

You MUST play 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand because it's the most entertaining game ever made. It's a hihgly replayable score attack shooter inspired by The Club, with tons of challenges, multipliers and combos. It has a dedicated insult button.

Move is a lot of fun with friends. There's not much to play outside of the Wii-style shovelware - off the top of my head there's inFamous 2, Killzone 3 (otherwise a rubbish game), Resistance 3 and LBP2.

Heavy Rain is pure shit. One of the worst stories ever and awful QTE-based gameplay, both with and without Move. Go play The Walking Dead again, that's the Heavy Rain model done right.

The thing that's common for all first-party Playstation exclusives is that the production values are insane, but the actual games are often clumsy and unsatisfying. This applies to the Uncharteds - don't believe the hype. They're clumsy and braindead shooters which completely fall apart in the final hours. God of War 1 is pretty good except for retarded difficulty spikes. GoW2 is horrible and I never bothered with the rest.

[lordcooper]

How about Heavy Rain? I haven't played it yet, but I've heard it's smarter than the average manshoot

I quite enjoyed Heavy Rain, but you can't go in to it expecting a game. It's an interactive movie.

[RandomTangent]

I quite enjoyed Heavy Rain, but you can't go in to it expecting a game. It's an interactive movie.

Sounds interesting! And probably worth a look. I'll bear that in mind!

[sabrage]

Heavy Rain is pure pathos on a QTE skeleton. For once, SirKicksalot and I agree.

Make sure you get Wipeout HD and the DLC, Fury.

[db1331]

Also, I tried the Dragon's Dogma demo thinking it sounds like something I should love, and boy did I hate it. I mean I couldn't stand two minutes of it. You've got some sidekick who just runs ahead of you shouting what you need to be doing. He will even grab monsters and yell at you to finish them off. It felt like I couldn't stop to even think, because the guy was yelling at me so much. It was basically "RAMIREZ, DO EVERYTHING" from MW2 but in an RPG.

Also, GameStop has a bundle with a white console, 12 games, and a year of Playstation Plus for $299. Not sure whether or not you could find something similar in your neck of the woods.

[lordcooper]

Also, I tried the Dragon's Dogma demo thinking it sounds like something I should love, and boy did I hate it. I mean I couldn't stand two minutes of it. You've got some sidekick who just runs ahead of you shouting what you need to be doing. He will even grab monsters and yell at you to finish them off. It felt like I couldn't stop to even think, because the guy was yelling at me so much. It was basically "RAMIREZ, DO EVERYTHING" from MW2 but in an RPG.

You can tell them not to do that stuff, pawn AI is malleable through ingame mechanics. It's also worth pointing out that the demo mission/tutorial is highly linear and not representative of the actual game. I've spent a silly amount of time just exploring the gameworld.

[Barnox]

You can tell them not to do that stuff, pawn AI is malleable through ingame mechanics. It's also worth pointing out that the demo mission/tutorial is highly linear and not representative of the actual game. I've spent a silly amount of time just exploring the gameworld.

The only real criticisms I've heard of it are that "it doesn't feel like the devs were having fun" and the Pawn AI. Saw a short video and they wouldn't shut up. Good to know you can lobotomise them.

I've added Vanquish and Bayonetta to the list, bringing it up to about £250 total, which is really quite nice for a console and a dozen retail games.

Ico/SotC, I'm not sure. I've spoiled the story for myself a while back... is Ico's gameplay varied enough to warrant a purchase (a demo I played was just ferrying Yorda around by the hand a beating off shadows)? Are the Colossi worth it?

[sabrage]

Ico is, to date, the only game that has made me cry. A single, solitary, manly tear, and that was the second time that I beat it.

[lordcooper]

SotC is definitely the better of the two IMO, but they've both taken me to places other games haven't. I think they come as a package anyway.

[Voon]

No mention of Journey? Sure, it's not much of a game when you just walk to the mountain with a pillar of light as far as I know but I heard some very good things about it.

[Xercies]

I ddn't like Ico as much that bloody woman is annoying and it just frutrated me a lot, where Shadow Of The Collosus was just so much better with the exploration and each collosus just being its own great platformer type level and I did shed a tear at the end.