Help with PS3 Console and Games

[southend4ever]

Hi All,

I have spent months considering purchasing an Xbox or PS3. Yesterday I decided to act with sheer spontaneity, walk into a store, eye up the offers, having walked in their originally to look at Wii games, and allowed myself to be distracted into making a purchase. I phoned a friend and simply asked Xbox or PS3. I ended up going with PS3.

I bought a 40gb PS3 pre-owned. I asked all the questions about capacity etc and being as I won't be a regular, I figured this was more than enough. I have the option of paying a small amount to increase the memory too if need be. After being told that all pre-owned consoles have their memory wiped I was disappointed to turn the console on and find that a user already had an account on there. There was a user called "Dave & Eevie". There was also a number of music tracks on there such as Mcfly and some other unknown albums. Please could someone clarify my thinking that if you are told that the PS3 is wiped then it would not have another user and their photos on the console! I seem to have been told a fib that all consoles are checked before being repackaged.

I was after any advice about other attributes of the console. I signed up to the playstation network yesterday so I was able to access online gaming. I even managed to add my wireless and play one of my games online. The first game worked. The second lost its connection. That was slightly disappointing. What is your experience with online gaming? Any tips? I played Man U v Arsenal and my online colleague typed a message saying 8-2. I liked this a lot. But, how do I type a message back? Is there anything else you would recommend I do when configuring my PS3?

The games I bought were Fifa 11 (Yes I know the new one is out soon), Grand Theft Auto IV and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. GTA IV was recognised by the system but it seemed to take an eternity to load up and I was left with a black screen saying please wait for 10 minutes. I gave up and changed games. Can anyone say whether this isnormal for GTA IV? I also wonder if anyone could make any recommendations for games?

Thanks for any time you can take. I am an experienced gamer but haven't used a games console other than the Wii for years. I have been far more into PC games - e.g. Football Manager, the Wii, and online poker. However, I am about to embark on a new journey and would much appreciate your assistance.

Kind Regards,
Greg

 

[Beefy]

Hey Greg.

Firstly, good decision. The PS3 is a fantastic piece of kit. Mine isn't just a game console, it really is a multimedia centre. It's my DVD and Blu-Ray player, it streams files wirelessly from my laptop meaning I can watch anything I download straight away on the big screen, I've started watching football on it through liveonlinefooty.com, it's great for the iPlayer and 4OD. If you get Play TV then you can use the PS3 as a freeview box and record TV shows onto the harddrive (and if you have a PSP as well then you can access those recordings through WiFi wherever you are in the World). It's also got a great free music on demand system which I used this morning when I fancied listening to see tunes while ironing my shirt.

I've never bought one pre-owned. What sort of warranty did you get with it? It's pretty easy to wipe the hard-drive so you should be able to get rid of the other person's info if you've not already done this.

What game were you playing when you lost connection? At the end of the day you are slave to an extent to the quality of the servers that the game you're playing is on. I personally find the FIFA servers fine but I know a lot of people don't like them. The wireless on the PS3 isn't the best but is usually adequate to play. I have my router near to the PS3 in my flat though so I can connect it direct with the ethernet cable. If you use wireless though then try to avoid downloading stuff at the same time or doing much else which could slow down the connection.

I've not played the first Modern Warfare, but FIFA is very good, and I say that as someone who grew up on Pro Evo. I'm not sure what problem you had with GTA IV... that is one of a number of games which tries to take advantage of the PS3's hard-drive by doing a large installation when you first turn it on. I seem to remember that taking half an hour or so, but I'd have thought that it would make clear on your screen that it is installing. One annoying thing that you'll find on games like that and other older games is that they'll want to download and install a huge number of updates when you first play and these can take ages. I installed LittleBigPlanet on my new PS3 earlier this year and it took hours (overnight) to download three years worth of huge updates. It's a pain.

It's difficult to suggest games without knowing what your tastes are. Red Dead Redemption would be my first suggestion though. It's basically Grand Theft Auto on horses. Batman Arkham Asylum is very good, and is dirt cheap now it's on Platinum, as are the two Uncharted games, the second of which is often regarded as the PS3's best game. Metal Gear Solid 4 is tremendous if you enjoy that series of games, the Call of Duty games are regarded as being the king of the shooter genre, although I prefer Warhawk myself (a very fun online-only game available from the PSN store as a download). The PS3 has a huge back catalogue now so you'll not find it hard to find something that you like.

There's a list around here with everyone's online gamer tag. I'm beefy78 if you want to add me.

 

[TrueBlue]

PS3??? you idiot

Should have got an xbox

 

[Beefy]

hahaha, first thing I thought when I saw this thread was 'I wonder how long it'll be before TrueBlue comes in and says you've made the wrong choice'.

 

[Teenage-shrimper]

I had a 40g ps3 for 3 and a half years but i broke because of me and my brothers wearing it down and now ive got a 160g ps3 . But anyway i have GTA iv and installing does take a while but that is just normal. Its worth the wait its a quality game. I got it when it came out and im still playing now. You should see the bioshock 1 installation time it took about 50 minutes!!.

And if you want to add me my account name is Luke_sufc139. (dont ask about the 139)

 

[Beefy]

I actually started playing the DLC packs for GTA IV yesterday. It was the first time I've picked up the game for maybe two years. I found the controls a little awkward after playing to death Read Dead Redemption which tweaks the control system a bit. It's not my favourite game of the GTA series but just driving around their version of Manhattan is amazing. It almost feels like a real place.

 

[Teenage-shrimper]

Oh and to send a message to people you have not added as a friend. press the playstation button and go right to the friend's list and go to players met. Find the player you are looking for press triangle as it is quicker and go to create message. Hope this helps.

p.s. you need to get the new modern warfare coming out. or battlefield 3.

 

[Teenage-shrimper]

I actually started playing the DLC packs for GTA IV yesterday. It was the first time I've picked up the game for maybe two years. I found the controls a little awkward after playing to death Read Dead Redemption which tweaks the control system a bit. It's not my favourite game of the GTA series but just driving around their version of Manhattan is amazing. It almost feels like a real place.

The thing i found stupid with it is that if you walk into random person for a certain amount of time they die. Anyways GTA San andreas was where it is at by far one of my favourite game of all time

 

[Onion_Bag_Dave]

Well done PS3 all day!

Bit of a weird one but I really like the Skate games!

Again I will challenge you all to a game of FIFA 11 and FIFA 12 when it is out!

Add me Onion_Bag_Dave

Good luck!

 

[southend4ever]

cheers lads,

added the 3 of you who have given me your names. where is this thread with everyones user names? who wants a game of fifa 11? i am a newbie go easy!!!

 

[SUFCNATHAN96]

Had no problem with my Xbox but My PS3 allways has connection problems. But if I want to watch movies PS3 wins hands down.

 

[pickledseal]

I'm thinking of investing in PS3 as want a Bluray player plus enjoy bait of FIFA action as well as racing games. I have been thinking of getting a pre-owned but wasn't sure how much memory to go for - what is it used for? Just downloading games/apps? I'd store music/films on laptop. Any advice/ deals gratefully received!

 

[Beefy]

I wouldn't buy a pre-owned PS3. That's just my personal opinion. I had my launch model 60GB machine for three years until it died at the start of 2011 and looking around the net and speaking to friends who own PlayStations it seems that mine was one of millions which carked it due to the use of poor quality lead-free solder on the motherboard.

Don't get me wrong, I'd always recommend a PS3 over an X-Box 360 which has its own checkered history with reliability and build-quality also, but I'd pay the extra and buy a new machine with a manufacturers warranty. Particularly now that they are down below £200 new.

As I said, I had a 60GB machine initially and never filled the hard-drive. I've now got a 320GB and doubt I ever will fill the hard-drive but I do have a lot more than 60GB on this machine. The bulk of the space is taken up with game installs and saves although it's handy for keeping downloaded films and music on. I've got this season's Curb Your Enthusiasm saved on mine, for example. You can always upgrade the hard-drive later on, which is a much cheaper and easier process than it sounds like.

 

[pickledseal]

Cheers bud. Thinking I'll take my DS XL into Game and see what they can do... rarely play since getting my iPhone. Recon I'll go 180Gb looking at prices - might try to get it at same time as FIFA 12! Got to see what's in my first paycheck on Friday too.