5 reasons why Xbox Live is better than PSN
This is my follow-up post to the “5 reasons why PSN is better than Xbox Live” post. I guess the point of these posts is that each service has its merits, but neither is perfect. I guess that’s the point of competition, isn’t it? I’ve used both over the past few years (although I must admit I’ve had less time with my Playstation 3 and therefore PSN) and I enjoy using both for various reasons. So then, without any further delay let’s go ahead and jump into the list!
- Community Integration
Unlike PSN, all of the features you get with Xbox Live are available in each Xbox Live game. Basically, Xbox Live’s friend system was designed, from the beginning, to work with every game on the Xbox 360 unlike PSN where it’s up to each developer to integrate their own system. What that means is there’s a global friends list that I can interact with (including sending/receiving voice and text messages, game invites, picture messages etc.) not only from the Xbox 360 dashboard, but in-game as well. It doesn’t sound like much but it makes playing with friends a lot easier. Of course, it should be mentioned that these features come at an expense since, unlike PSN, Xbox Live is not free. - Amount of Content
There’s no question about it - Xbox Live has an almost overwhelming amount of content. Whether you’re looking for games, video, expansion content, demos or gamerpics you’ll have a lot to choose from. From the beginning Microsoft has been serious about making Xbox Live Arcade a place to find those experiences, whether classic or not, that give you a taste of that “pop in and play” style of gameplay perfect for short sessions. Since those initial plans though, games have varied to include full-length experiences as well. Whether you’re looking for classics like Rez HD or brand new games like Braid, there’s a good chance you’ll find something to suit your style.Of course the Xbox Live Marketplace doesn’t stop there - you can also purchase or rent movies, check out trailers, and sample music videos from the Video Marketplace. The amount of content still dwarfs what’s available on PSN (videos alone) so, much with Xbox Live Arcade, chances are good that you’ll find a movie you like.
- Features and Peripherals
Part of the over-arching Xbox Live experience is utilizing features that are sewn into the system. It’s the seemingly simple things like being able to listen to music, either on your Xbox 360’s hard drive or streaming over your home network, while playing a game. I have to tell you the first time you setup Windows Media Center or the Windows Media Extender for the Xbox 360 you won’t help but have a huge smile on your face. Instantly you’ll be able to use all of the music on your computer in games - so whether you’re killing aliens or flying down a racing track you get that personalized experience that only one’s personal music collection can provide.Aside from features that came with the Xbox 360 out of the box, there’s also a lot of other cool peripherals that Microsoft provides to expand on the experience. One big selling point to the PS3 was that it used bluetooth, and so any ordinary bluetooth headset would work for voice communication. That’s cool, but sometimes using such a solution feels like a cheap experience. The Xbox 360 however, which comes with Microsoft’s own headset made specifically for voice communication on Xbox Live just feels right. Of course there are also a lot of other peripherals that will cost you money - products like the chatpad for text messaging (I understand that Sony is working on their own version, but it looks a little wonky to me) and the wireless headset to free up some clutter. I use both, and both work great while making interacting with friends that much easier.
- Software Updates
All along Microsoft has been great about adding features to the software of their console. Sony is a bit slower at this, introducing somewhat out-dated functionality that has existed on other consoles for a while. Meanwhile, Microsoft is dedicated to delivering two feature-packed updates a year (one in the Spring, one in the Fall). Some of the features they’ve added in the past updates are the Video Marketplace, MSN messenger integration and even user interface updates. There’s no better way to keep the experience fresh than by changing things up a bit.Microsoft realizes this and that’s why, 3 years into the consoles life-cycle, they’ve decided to completely revamp the way the dashboard looks. This fall we’ll see an update that changes the user interface into one that’s a little more modern, and a little less Fisher-Price. The update will also add new functionality such as Netflix integration and avatars (not to mention live game shows) that will continue to make using the dashboard fun. The fact that Microsoft is a software company primarily leaves me pretty confident that they can add to their product via incremental software updates without having to worry about pushing out new generations of consoles as often.
- Community
This is easily the biggest advantage Xbox Live has over PSN. Live’s community is absolutely huge, and Microsoft is dedicated to keeping them interested. The last dashboard update included streaming video features like “Major’s Minute” (Larry Hryb’s overview of some of the lastest features the 360 has to offer) and “Community Confidential” (Trixie’s rundown of all of the latest events going on in the Xbox Live community). That’s only a couple of examples but it’s easy to tell that Microsoft wants to keep their customers happy. The other less glamorous side-effect of having a huge community is that you’ll never have to worry about finding someone to game with online. Most big games have their own dedicated communities (Halo 3, Call of Duty 4) but even older games retain a presence online. I remember not too long ago I went back and played Project Gotham Racing 4, and was pleased to find that there were still a ton of people playing.
5 reasons why PSN is better than Xbox Live
This is a series (that’s right, I’ll also do the opposite in favor of Xbox Live) of posts for a while. After having used both online components for the individual consoles, obviously the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 in this case, I’ve found good and bad things about both. So then, without wasting much time let’s dive in and start the countdown!
- User Interface
I have been a fan of the Playstation 3’s cross-media blade interface since I first saw it on the PSP. It’s simple, pretty, and intuitive. Fortunately, not too long ago this approach was also taken when revamping the Playstation Store. Before the store was overhauled what you saw when you tried to browse or purchase content was what amounted to a pretty, if cluttered, website. That’s right. You interacted with the Playstation Store via the PS3’s web browser. After a lot of complaining from gamers Sony finally realized that perhaps that wasn’t the best route to go (especially for a store that has a lot of potential to make money for them) and so they transformed the store into more of a software-based solution.The new store is absolutely awesome. Not only is it pretty to look at (I find myself going in there even when I know there’s nothing I want, just to make sure I haven’t missed anything) but it is, at least in my opinion, much easier to use than the Xbox Live Marketplace. With the Playstation Store you won’t find lists of text denoting what you want to try out. You get image-based icons in various categories that you can drill down into to find what you want. You can also search through the content alphabetically so, unlike the Xbox Live Marketplace, you won’t have to scroll through a giant list past the A’s and B’s to finally get to the first letter of your download. Add to that the simple touches like placing a shopping bag icon next to any content you’ve already downloaded (saving you the time you may have lost redownloading something you didn’t know you already had) and the experience is just plain better. I’m happy to say that the same system was carried over to their Video Store as well.
- Trophies
When I first heard that Sony was taking a crack at the beloved achievements system I assumed the worst. How can an idea so simple be elaborated on? You do things in games, you’re rewarded with points. Can’t go very far past that, right? As it turns out, I was wrong. Getting trophies is way more fun than getting achievements, for a couple reasons. One problem with achievements is they can be easily gamed. For instance, I can go out and rent a game that has a bunch of extremely easy achievements and pad my score by 1,000 points in a weekend. Sony, by breaking up their trophies into 3 separate difficulty levels, have found a way around that problem.Throughout a game with trophies in it you’ll be presented with opportunities to win Bronze, Silver and Gold trophies plus a Platinum trophy for earning all other trophies available for that game. Your trophy count for each of these separate levels (Bronze being the easiest to obtain, Platinum being the most difficult) is displayed on your PSN card which is easily accessible from the XMB’s friends list so, if someone has been padding their trophy count with easy-to-get bronze trophies you’ll be able to tell right off the bat. Another cool feature of the trophy system is that, in order to progress your gamer level you need a certain number of trophies, including certain types of trophies. So, for instance, say I have a thousand bronze trophies but I need at least 3 gold trophies to progress to the next gamer level rank - I’ll be stuck at my current level until I go out and grab those golds. Pretty cool stuff.
- PSP integration
One huge advantage that the PS3 has over the Xbox 360 is that it already has the PSP, a handheld multimedia powerhouse, ready to be integrated with your PS3 experience. Through remote play you can interact with your PS3 from your PSP (remember how I mentioned they both had the same interface?) and do things like watch videos, listen to music, access the Playstation Store, and even play games. This gives me a whole bunch of opportunities to interact with PSN from my PSP. Say, for instance, I just heard that a new game has been added to the Playstation Store. Unfortunately, I’m not going to be able to get to my PS3 anytime soon but I do have my PSP with me. As long as I have a wifi connection (built into the PSP) I can use remote play to turn on my PS3 and start the download so it will be waiting for me when I get home.As another example of how cool remote play is, imagine you’re totally addicted to PixelJunk Eden on the PS3. As with before, you’re away from your PS3 but you want to get your fix and even earn some trophies, so you use remote play to play PixelJunk Eden on your PSP (despite it being a PS3 game) and, since trophies are available even over remote play, you get to add to your trophy count! Pretty cool stuff. Just the idea of the established functionality plus potential further integration in the future has been enough for me to add the PSP to my must-own gadgets list.
- Real Currency
One of my biggest complaints about the Xbox Live Marketplace (and most online gaming-related stores these days) is that they shy away from using actual monetary values for things you purchase. For example, why say a certain game costs $10.00 when you can instead say it costs 800 Microsoft points? To avoid confusion, that’s why - and Sony understands this. Of course equating the money your users spend to funny money does have its financial benefits (users will be much quicker to spend “fake” points instead of actual dollar amounts) but it still seems a little deceitful, doesn’t it? That also adds another step in the content-purchasing process. On Xbox Live if I want to purchase something I must first purchase points, then use those points to buy whatever game I’m interested in. Fortunately, the same is not true for PSN, and as long as I have my account information tied to a credit/debit card, I can quickly make purchases just like on iTunes and guess what! On the Playstation Store if something costs $10.00, it says $10.00. Not 800 Space Bucks. - PSN IS FREE
This is a huge feature. Microsoft charges $50 a year for their Xbox Live service while PSN is 100% free. You can play your games online without spending a single cent. This is my biggest response to anyone who gets down on PSN because it doesn’t have a particular feature that is available on Xbox Live - PSN is free. They’re allowed to lag a little behind despite making a ton of progress of late, just because they aren’t billing me yearly. I accept that. With PSN there’s absolutely no barrier to entry because they’re banking on your liking the content that’s available and maybe purchasing a game or two. I have to say, spending $20 on the PSN store for a couple games is much easier when you know you aren’t being billed to use the service. Just sayin’.Runners Up:
Another huge feature of PSN is the ability to download full games, not just arcade games. I’ve already spoken highly about the power of releasing Siren, a somewhat-niche title, as a download but this has worked for other titles too. Games like Warhawk and Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty have offered full-game experiences without having to go to the store and purchase a physical copy. The main reason this is only possible on PSN is the Playstation 3’s hard drive capacity. It generally doubles the Xbox 360’s in most cases, plus you can upgrade your own hard drive rather than spending ridiculous amounts of money for a proprietary solution as Microsoft has done. Being able to deliver full content experiences via digital distribution is the next big thing in gaming and I’m happy Sony is on-board.
These are just a couple features I like about PSN over Xbox Live, but didn’t get their own specific bullet points. First off, content. Sony has made an effort to bring original and unique content to PSN over the same old arcade game rehashes that we see all-to-often on Xbox Live. Games like Fl0w, PixelJunk Monsters, PixelJunk Eden, Super Stardust HD as well as future titles such as Fat Princess and Flower prove that Sony is committed to bringing the goods.
Buy, Borrow or Bury: Too Human
Well, this certainly is a very interesting game. I already posted about all of the drama surrounding Silicon Knights and more importantly Denis Dyack, so I’ll leave that alone in this review. I will however provide a little background as to the game’s development cycle. To be blunt, this game has been in the works for a long time. Though some claim that development started as many as 10 years ago, the truth is that at that point the game might have been conceptualized. In fact, the game hadn’t started being truly developed until around 4 years ago. Ten years may have been overkill, but 4 years is still a long time to make a game.
There was one facet of the trials and tribulations surrounding Too Human that I failed to mention in my drama post, and that’s their trouble with Epic and the Unreal 3 engine. Basically, Silicon Knights sued Epic (creators of the Unreal 3 engine - an engine used all too often but some example games are Gears of War, Bioshock and, of course, Unreal Tournament 3) because they failed to deliver an Unreal 3 engine development kit on time. I’m not going to take sides on this particular battle, I just wanted to point out that this is yet another snag that could have cost Silicon Knights some time.
So then, after all of that work does Too Human come out on top? First off let me say this - Too Human can be compared to a game style that’s as many as 10 years old. At the same time the game is an example of innovation. Sound confusing? It is. Basically, Too Human is an action RPG akin to Hellgate: London or Diablo II but it takes the action aspect of the game to a whole new level. Your character can pull off a bunch of Devil May Cry-ish maneuvers, and you can wield both melee and ranged weapons which complete that feel. The combat feels much more fluid and intense than in any other action RPG you’ve probably ever played. There are combos you can pull off, a somewhat limited list of special attacks for you to master (much like a fighting game), and the usual bit of skill and inventory management that you would expect from any decent RPG.
The game is broken up into 4 separate segments, each looking vastly different with huge, interesting environments that are a bit linear. If you’ve ever played Phantasy Star Online you’ll understand what I’m talking about - you’re stuck to a single path and can’t stray much, but the level design is pretty despite all that. Technically the game performs quite well. Although I had heard a lot of questions about the animations in Too Human I never noticed any issues, and the framerate remains quite solid even with a large amount of enemies on the screen. I did notice some hiccups in the cinematics, mostly an inexplicable “shaking” effect, but I still can’t decide if it was intentional or not. The best way I can describe it is the cinematics (which are done in-engine) sort of make it look like the gameworld is having an earthquake, as models on-screen bounce up and down ever so slightly. It’s not a big deal but once you notice it you might find yourself taken out of the moment.
One of the biggest compliments I paid to Too Human’s demo was that the combat was very fun, and that carries over to the retail version of the game. It’s fast and furious and you feel like a true hero while you’re bounding back and forth between enemies pulling off finishing moves, juggling enemies in the air with your guns, and basically just running things all-around. You don’t really get much help from your squad very often, they sort of serve as cannon-fodder, but that’s never an issue because you’re so powerful. That’s not to say that everything is perfect, though.
I did have some issues with the gameplay. In any game I’ve ever played of this genre I’ve always been able to hold and stack health potions. That’s not the case in Too Human. If the enemies you kill drop 3 health orbs and you only need 1, you’ll have to leave the others on the ground and move on without them. That can be a bit of a pain sometimes when the enemies really pile on, and to be able to store potions would have saved me quite a few deaths. I remember hearing one of the Silicon Knights developers mention that they made the choice to be unable to store potions because they didn’t want the gamers to have to worry about managing their potions, but I think the problem could be solved in other ways. Hellgate: London in particular had an automatic potion system. In that game if you had 5 potions and you started to get low on health it would automatically activate your potion for you (unless you had none). The in-game death sequence is also an issue. Everytime you die you have to wait 20+ seconds as an intricate “cinematic” of your death plays. Too Human’s story is based on Norse mythology, so when you die a valkyrie comes down to usher you off to Valhalla. It’s a cool effect the first time you see it, but you’ll probably see it 100+ times throughout the game and it can really become tiresome.
The story is basically a retelling of Norse mythology, as I mentioned. It’s not of particular interest to me but I’ve talked to a few people who liked it a lot. It was enough to keep me interested, and includes re-imaginings of mythic Norse gods, treachery, deceit, and epic battles. Really that’s all anyone can ask for I think! The game kind of ends on a sour note, but it’s important to keep in mind that Too Human is being planned as a trilogy. With that in mind the story definitely sets up the second part of the three quite well, as it even ends on a cliff-hanger ending of sorts.
Of course one of the best parts about RPGs is the “phat loot” you get while playing the game. There’s absolutely no shortage of cool gear in Too Human. From several different pieces of armor, to multiple weapon types, you’ll have more than enough to collect during the game. You can also upgrade your gear with runes plus use those runes to upgrade charms for even further character customization. As with most other RPG games the items are divided up into separate classes (colors) denoting different rarity. However, unlike other RPGs, in order to use the more powerful items you’ll have to “craft” them from blueprints. This is a weak way to shoe-horn a crafting system into the game in my opinion. Really all it means is that, instead of getting the actual item, you get a blueprint for the item. You spend money to craft the item (crafting is completely independent of skill, class, or anything so the only thing that matters is the money) and then you can equip the item. It’s pretty frustrating, in effect, to have to purchase your items after you’ve already fought for them. With all of that said, earning loot in Too Human is just as addicting as it is in any other game. Just as in World of Warcraft you’ll be excited to show off your cool new armor or weapon to your friends.
That’s where we run into another problem. The multiplayer, while fun, is lacking. It consists of co-op play so you can make your way through the levels of the single player campaign with a friend…but that’s it. Just one friend. So then, despite there being 5 different character classes in the game you can only play 2 in co-op. Kinda lame. I guess the original plan was to have 4 player co-op but they never got around to it. I’d love to see that sort of functionality patched in at a later date, but until then we have to live with it. Playing with a friend is fun as you would expect. You fight together, earn loot and have a laugh. The only problem is that the co-op is completely devoid of the story. There are no cinematics, and so you’re forced to play by yourself in order to get the story.
Despite all of that I still think Too Human is a solid game. It most definitely isn’t for everyone and it seems like it could easily be one of those “love it or hate it” types of games. With all of the drama surrounding the game I think that it’s been hyped a little bit more than it deserves, but like I said in the beginning of this review I’m going to set all of that aside. I have to give Too Human a Borrow. You might love it, you might hate it. There’s plenty of replay value there if you do want to sink your teeth in. I spent nearly 20 hours beating the single player with just one character, and I’m looking forward to going back and replaying as another.
Delicious Library
Here’s another video for your viewing pleasure! This time I demo Delicious Library 2.0, a neat application for cataloging your media. Check it out!
Now Playing:
Ronnie Drew - Donegal Danny
Resistance: Fall of Man
The netbook explosion
If you subscribe to any of the gadget site feeds as I do you might have noticed a trend as of late - everyone is working on a netbook. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about let me give a little background. Around the time that the XO laptop (OLPC) and Asus’ Eee PC were announced a lot of people weren’t sure whether these ultra-small, lightweight and inexpensive machines would be profitable. Did they really have a specific use? For the most part, to compensate for the lower price and smaller size, these machines didn’t have the processing power found in your average laptop or notebook computer. They also were originally based on various distributions of Linux, taking advantage of the operating system’s lightweight system requirements.
As it turns out these first couple forays into the world of netbooks were very successful. Since that time Asus has released and announced several different versions of its Eee PC, and other manufacturers like Acer, Lenovo, MSI and Sylvania of all places are jumping in with their own netbook offerings. Obviously there’s a market for netbooks, but who is prone to use one? When I first saw the Eee PC I though to myself “Wow, that’s really cool - having a tiny machine for casual use would be great!” Then, at the same time, I remembered that I have a 2-year old Macbook that is plenty small and outperforms it. On top of that I purchased an iPod Touch not too long ago and I find myself using that more than anything for when I just need to check a website or do basic computing functions. Netbooks kind of fall in between these two product ranges so it’s hard for me to justify using one.
I suppose the people that will use one will be business travelers who are interested in having a very small, convenient computer that’s easy to take with them. I have to say though, as more and more of these come out and the performance improves they become increasingly interesting. They’d be amazing for a school situation - give every student in a middle school access to an unimposing netbook that’s relatively inexpensive and integrate that into their curriculum. Or imagine having them available for rent on planes. Instead of having to worry about carrying on your potentially bulky laptop you could rent a netbook for $5 and have access to your email, the internet and maybe do some word processing along the way.
I think that netbooks do have a future in the industry but I’m still not sure where they fit. Asus can’t have only sold so many units to people falling for the wow-factor, right? We’re on the cusp of the cellphone making the step up from telephone to computing device, and in the interim perhaps netbooks fill the gap. I think for them to really take of it’ll require a bit more attention paid to the original premise of a netbook - cheap. A lot of the most recent versions have started to creep up into the $500-$600 range where you can just as easily purchase a low-end PC. I’d also like to see a lot better battery life. If I could get a netbook with a battery that lasted all day (8 hour estimate) that would be a huge feature which traditional laptops don’t provide. For now though, I think I’ll stick with my collection of devices to get the job done.
Now Playing:
Mudvayne - Nothing to Gein
Too Human