My PS3: The Last Days

     This is my last day/time actually taking the time out to comment about my PlayStation 3. As I have moved on form the PS3 and on to the PS4, I can remember a time when I didn't want anything to do with Sony and their PS3. But that was way in the beginning and since then I fell back in love with my PS3. Sony makes some very good first party games like (Infamous) (God of War) (Killzone) (Uncharted) and lately (The Last of Us) and (Beyond Two Souls which didn't do so well but to me the story of the game was unbelievable). Even though there are more games that Sony makes as first party, there is no question that they make some of the best damn games out there and because of that, I went with Sony and their awesome first party of games.

    

     Before I was a PS3 man, I was and Xbox 360'er. I stood outside in 2005 and got my Xbox (the Arcade Edition) with two buddies of mine and we all went home and just didn't look back at the PS2 or the original Xbox. It was all about the new system. When they announced the PS3, I looked at it and kind of laughed at it and said well I will own it one day, but that machine looks terrible. There was also the thing of what the hell is a Blu-Ray disc? Why would anyone change the format of the disc or why would they not adopt (HDD)? (Sorry Hdd players around the world).

    

     Anyway, as time went on around February of 2006, my Xbox died! The first encounter (and not the last) I had with the dreadful red ring of death put me in a state of pure and utter piss-itivity! (I know its not a word but that is a shot out to my old drill sargent!) I replaced it and went on to enjoy my new one. As time went by, PS3 had came out and was announced at a price of $1 Billion dollars!! Well not really, but when it came out, that's what I heard as far as price goes! So because of that, I didn't even give it a shot, at least no until 2009. When the end of 2009 came, around November or December, I went out and picked up a PS3 because it was time to see what Sony had actually been doing and since I loved my PS2, I wondered why in the hell would they make a system so expensive? It must do wonders?! Well when I went to Gamestop and picked up a 60gb backward compatible PS3 (a fat boy).

    

     That was one of the best decisions of my life! I didn't care for how it came on (and still don't) but the interface was cool and changing the backgrounds was awesome. There were even moving parts to it! The problem I had was that all of my friends at the time were on 360 and none of them really wanted to jump ship (as they called it) but I had to because I had become bored with my 360 and it's little nagging "red" problems. But that's neither here nor there. I picked up a little game called Killzone 2 and played it and thought it was okay. I never was a real big online player but I gave killzone 2's online a shot and most of the friends I have on PSN right now, came from that same game (shotout to you guys)! I played Killzone 2 online like everyday! The sounds of the killings and ambient noises left me always wanting more and more. The time I had a kill streak of 8 kills in a row (4 of them came back to back to back to back) set me off into a world of elite status (in my own world that is).

    

     As I started to die down from that game, I picked up God of War one day and again....mind blown! I don't know what they were thinking (Santa Monica Studios) when they made that game but thank goodness you guys were on whatever you were on in that creative studio. God of War was a game that made killing awesome all over again for me. Since I am a fan of Greek Mythology I though it was cool to see the time period get some love (last game I played like that was Battle of Olympus on NES, loved that game). After that game I believe I got a PSP 2000 and then upgraded to a PSP Go. Got some God of War games on the PSP and everywhere I went my PSP went with me.

    

     I played other games and other systems (I had all 3. Wii, 360, and PS3) and enjoyed them with my girlfriend at the time. We alternated a lot between the Wii and PS3. After awhile I got into Uncharted and when I first played that, it reminded me of the first time I played Tomb Raider and it felt good to play. Nathan Drake is a character, and a funny one at that. The story with that game is awesome and the dialouge is what really gets me, the banter back and forth. One day out of the blue, I found out you can swith out hard drives and put a bigger one in. I thought that was awesome and did some research on which ones work and don't work and I took a chance and picked up a 500gb laptop hard drive. Durring that same time, modding was real big and I was hip to j-tag Xbox's and buddy of mine clued me in to what you can really do with a PS3! Tinkering with my system one night, I bricked my system! My 500gb hard drive I just put in....wasted by my tinkering. I was pissed and all kinds of other things. But for some reason I didn't throw the system out.

    

     My fiance can tell you and anyone else who knew about  my modded PS3 (if you guys didn't know, the modded PS3 was the one that was bricked) that thing was awesome. Wait, I forgot to tell you yes some way I unbricked my PS3 and back then that was unheard of. When my screen finally came back on to the debug screen I woke her up at about 4:30 or so in the morning telling and screaming!! I had to see if what I did was real and later that day I went to a buddy of mine who was real nice with making Xbox and Wii's "much better" than what they were (sorry he moded them lol). He had about three or four PS3's that were bricked and all but one came back to life. I then learned about how to mod PS3's and tinker with them and ran Java programs on them and different little utilities. Put different OS on some of them (those that could) and found a great way for meeting PS people. Xbox was so cool for bootlegging things and and it had its moments but the PS3 was capable of SO much more once you really went inside of it. I don't recommend it fat PS3's are the best by far!!

  

     I got out of my modding phase and eneded up selling that particular PS3 to a guy and then I bought two slim ones (the one I have today, the other was stolen) because I wanted one for the living room and one for the bedroom. I switched both hard drives form the 120gb to a 320 and another 500gb. Time went by and more games just kept coming and coming. I lived in the 3 ecco systems of Wii, 360 and PS3, but I would always buy more for my PS3 because that was my system of choice. We all have that system of chooice and there is nothing wrong with that. Xbox had a better online experience and because I didn't do a lot of online gaming (I did but not a lot), that was not the best choice for me. I love Mario and the only place to get that is on Nintendo, so in a sense I buy Nintendo just because of Mario and their first party games. They are always fun. Which brings me to Sony and the PS3. I was into their first party games even though their online service was not as good as Xbox Lives. But When PlayStation Plus dropped, why would you want free game? Who cares if you ever play them or not, they are free and you might find one you really like *cough cough "Hotline Miami" *cough cough.

    

     Anyway, in the final days, which really started in this year in September, I wanted to stop playing PS3 all together and get ready for The PS4 that was coming out in November. The problem was GTA V was coming out and deep down, I really wanted to play it. I caved and bought the game and played GTA V hardcore everyday (even after beating it 6 days later) up until GTA Online came out. After Online came out, I played it maybe once or twice after that, three times at the most. I kind of said I was not going to play anything else, but there I was playing NBA 2K14 on the 1st of October. GTA took a back seat to NBA 2K14, Hotline Miami, and Battlefield 4. It's not like GTA V was not good, because it was great, but I just moved on somehow and I became enamored with looking at how Battlefield and 2K would look differently on next gen systems. (And they do impress a lot) So this writing is dedicated to the era of the PlayStation 3 and the games that lived on it (and the ones that I will not get to play [Batman Origins]) and the ones that still survive today.

    

     Games like Demon's Souls (2009), Metal Gear 4 (2008), The Uncharted Series (2007-2011), Heavy Rain (2010), God of War Series (PS3 versions 2009 & 2013), Gran Turismo 5 (2010), both Batman Arkham Asylum (2009) and Batman Arkham City (2011) (did not say the latest release because did not play it Batman Orgins 2013). Let's not forget Killzone, and Mass Effect, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead and all the rpg's and Portal 2, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of The White Witch (which is so freaking sweet, pick it up if you can), MLB Baseball (any of them, can't go wrong), The Puppeteer, Dragon's Crown, and any other game I missed....I am sorry if your favorite was not mentioned. But do a search for the best PS3 Games and you will find something for sure. I do miss the PS3, but for me (as the type of gamer that I am) it was time to move on to next gen, where I am sure Sony will have more classic first party games in store for us and with over 180 games in development for the next gen PS4, how could I not move on?

 

Lot of ways to connect now:
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Thank You to all those around the world (here is looking at you England) who support my site and people everywhere that read tech/games from my point of view or experience.

 

Coming Soon:
Nexus 5 review: after almost a month with the phone, how does the Nexus 5 and Android KitKat 4.4 stack up, check back here soon.
Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4): its been 7 years since Sony released a console. What did they follow up with and is it worth sitting in your living room for at least another 7 years? Check here soon.
Microsoft Xbox One (X1): Not my first choice for a console.....or is it? Did I convert over to X1 as my console of choice for next generation? Find out soon.
And other content as well.

 

 

NBA 2K14 ReVisited

    Well today another short update on another game out there that I love. NBA 2K14 on PS3. First I just want to say yes I am getting the PS4 version as well. The same basketball game on two different systems? Yes! First off, NBA 2K14 next gen looks freaking awesome. But we are not talking about that one, we are speaking on 2K14 current gen. Anytime I play my PS3, I get in a game of basket ball. I don't know why, maybe because I am a basketball nut or I just really love 2K games (PLEASE COME BACK NFL 2K, ENOUGH WITH THE MADDEN!!!).

     If you were wondering on how you should rate NBA 2K14, think about it like this. NBA 2k14 is "S" series in the iPhone line up. So 2K13 is equal to the iPhone 4 or the iPhone 5. 2K14 is the iPhone 4s or the iPhone 5s, same product but different internals and functions. Now if you hung in there with me, then you can understand what I am saying and know that I am not saying more than what it sounds like. Anyway, 2K14 is basically the same 2K13 game that I loved, but the look and the feel of the game is just a tad bit different and the updated the rosters, controls and the overall presentation. Not saying that this is a bad thing, but it just almost feels like you have done this once before.

     A few questions I got was should a person run out and get this? Well when it first came out, I would have told you "Hell Yeah!" (in the Stone Cold Steve Austin voice). But if you asked me that same question again today, well you might get a different answer. My answer today would come back to you as..."well are you getting a next gen system?" And the question right there will tell all. For those of you who are getting a next gen system, there are a couple of ways of doing this.

1. Have a PS3 and getting PS4: Get the NBA 2K14 Super Fan Pack from the PSN store. It's $99.99 but hear me out. This is the bundle I got. You get the PS3 version of the game (digital download version) and then when you get the PS4, you can just download it from there and have the new NBA 2k14 next gen version as well. So instead of paying $60 for current and then $60 for the next gen version, that is $120 so you wind up saving $20. The good thing about this is, you can have your PS3 version on your system or your child's system and you can play the new version on your PS4.
2. If your not getting a PS4 (or not just yet) and you have a a PS3, then I would say yes, pick this up whenever you can. It is not a game that you JUST HAVE to run out and get unless your a die hard NBA fan and then in that case you probably would have it already.
3. If you want 2K but don't have either system, go with the next gen version, unless you are on a budget and then if that is the case, get PS3 and a used copy of NBA 2K14. 
4. Lastly, for the Xbox 360/One fans, if you don't have 2K14, don't get the current gen version, get the next gen version. 

I don't know what the frame rate or hd quality the game runs at on X1 (because not all games on the X1 run at 60 frames and or 1080p), but I know on the PS4 its 60 FPS (frames per second) and at 1080p, that I can not pass up and neither should you. 

     But this current gen version is starting to show its age on current gen systems......to me. Its like seeing a blu-ray movie and then going back to see a dvd movie of that same movie. My eyes have been opened to the next gen and I will admit I am a bit spoiled by the look of it. Looks are not everything and I got that, but it also looks like it plays well, well at least better than this gen's version. I don't have a problem with recommending this game to anybody though. I will play this game up until I open my PS4 and my copy on next gen finishes downloading. Probably later tonight, I will take in a game of basketball because I love the My Player mode (I think its My Carer now) and that is what I always play. I didn't do the Lebron Path to Greatness mode and I will not. No knock on Lebron, but just not a mode I am interested in, I am more focused on myself. I also dabble in the Association mode. Its nice to go make a trade you think your favorite team should make and then play it out how you want it to.

     Overall, the game is still solid as ever. The updates for the game come pretty quick, the online part of this game is still terrible and lags, but it is a good game that you would not be upset at spending $60 for. I wish the developers would stop taking short cuts in this game (like with the shoes!!! and things like All Star Break, my game was still in Houston) because those were things I thought they would change in this years edition, but sadly they did not. I still love the game and because of that, I say you should still go out and pick it up. It is still one of the better sports games out there and thank goodness no Jay-Z soundtrack this year (YES!!). Still go out and pick this up on this gen or next, you won't be upset overall.