Let's Talk Modern Consoles, PCs, And Handhelds

[halgia]

I played the first (and so far, only) episode of Life is Strange last night. It's a Telltale-style adventure game with the feel of an indie movie (they call it "The Walking Dead meets Gone Home...with time travel", which is pretty apt), and I liked it so. much. The lip syncing is kind of comically bad, and it's pretty 18-year-old earnest, but other than that, I totally bought the characters, the time-travel is done basically like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time but with dialogue branches instead of run-and-jump puzzles, and basically, it's one of those things that when I was playing it I felt like it was exactly my life, even though my life is and has never been anything like it.

 

[RapBert]

I played the first (and so far, only) episode of Life is Strange last night. It's a Telltale-style adventure game with the feel of an indie movie (they call it "The Walking Dead meets Gone Home...with time travel", which is pretty apt), and I liked it so. much. The lip syncing is kind of comically bad, and it's pretty 18-year-old earnest, but other than that, I totally bought the characters, the time-travel is done basically like Prince of Persia: Sands of Time but with dialogue branches instead of run-and-jump puzzles, and basically, it's one of those things that when I was playing it I felt like it was exactly my life, even though my life is and has never been anything like it.

 

This is pretty much what I thought as well. I really liked the characters and the story and I can't wait to find out what happens next.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just got a Wii/Wii U classic controller tonight, can't wait to test it out. And got Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Darksiders and Darksiders II for my PS3 (used copies).

[PrincessEnnui]

I got Oblivion shortly after I bought Skyrim. Didn't enjoy it because the player created characters were truly fug and somehow managed to die by jumping from the top of a hill (steep?). Boyfriend did not approve of my vanity.

 

I also bought DA: Inquisition. I liked that it clearly drew some inspiration from the latter half of the Persona series with the "social" features. Honestly, I was kind of let down by the story which felt really disjointed and lost at times because it was open world. It is really strange because Skyrim is similarly structured and I never felt "lost" when I got sidetracked.

 

I really hope the next set of open world games will have a island inspired theme like Final Fantasy X. I sometimes play X on cold days just because Besaid Island and Kilika are so warm and inviting. I am tired of all the cold environs. Inquisition had a nice mix of environments though. Also, I cannot stand when developers make confirm button the same damn button as the jump command. There were three other buttons that could have been used. Jeez.

 

Another thing I disliked about Inquisition was the minimap. Just awful. It is a circle with little symbols and nothing else. No paths, no outlines of buildings or landmarks. It is actually less useful than the Great Crystal map in Final Fantasy XII and that map is truly USELESS. Terrible minimap. I spent more time in Inquisition pathfinding than actually battle or questing. The last full storyline area before the final battle I "died" multiple times because the path was unclear.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I got Oblivion shortly after I bought Skyrim. Didn't enjoy it because the player created characters were truly fug and somehow managed to die by jumping from the top of a hill (steep?). Boyfriend did not approve of my vanity.

 

I also bought DA: Inquisition. I liked that it clearly drew some inspiration from the latter half of the Persona series with the "social" features. Honestly, I was kind of let down by the story which felt really disjointed and lost at times because it was open world. It is really strange because Skyrim is similarly structured and I never felt "lost" when I got sidetracked.

 

I really hope the next set of open world games will have a island inspired theme like Final Fantasy X. I sometimes play X on cold days just because Besaid Island and Kilika are so warm and inviting. I am tired of all the cold environs. Inquisition had a nice mix of environments though. Also, I cannot stand when developers make confirm button the same damn button as the jump command. There were three other buttons that could have been used. Jeez.

 

Another thing I disliked about Inquisition was the minimap. Just awful. It is a circle with little symbols and nothing else. No paths, no outlines of buildings or landmarks. It is actually less useful than the Great Crystal map in Final Fantasy XII and that map is truly USELESS. Terrible minimap. I spent more time in Inquisition pathfinding than actually battle or questing. The last full storyline area before the final battle I "died" multiple times because the path was unclear.

 

I'm running into a similar issue in Oblivion. Only with killing bad guys. The whole first person thing drives me crazy perspective wise O_o. I was pretty much almost killed by rats. /facepalm

[Danny Franks]

I got Oblivion shortly after I bought Skyrim. Didn't enjoy it because the player created characters were truly fug and somehow managed to die by jumping from the top of a hill (steep?). Boyfriend did not approve of my vanity.

 

I also bought DA: Inquisition. I liked that it clearly drew some inspiration from the latter half of the Persona series with the "social" features. Honestly, I was kind of let down by the story which felt really disjointed and lost at times because it was open world. It is really strange because Skyrim is similarly structured and I never felt "lost" when I got sidetracked.

 

I gave up on Oblivion because I felt like I was achieving absolutely nothing. I must have been missing a trick, but all those trips through the portals seemed to offer nothing but killing bad guys, the story was a complete non-event, and after your tenth set of Elven ruins, containing some goblins and ghouls, there really wasn't much interesting going on.

 

Skyrim was far better, in all respects. Every set of ruins or caves seemed to have something in it that made it worthwhile. But I think your point about not feeling waylaid like you did in Dragon Age was because, again, Skyrim's story was vague and lacking in any urgency. At least, I thought it was. Dragon Age seemed to be built on the basis that precipitous events were happening and you needed to react now! Then you could spend hours gathering Elfroot instead,

[Izzyboy]

Yeah, Oblivion was a great game for its time but Skyrim blew it away in every conceivable aspect in my opinion.  I would agree that the storyline in Skyrim felt much less urgent than in DA: Inquisition.  In Skyrim I would get sidetracked by sidequests just for the hell of it, in Inquisition I was doing sidequests but always with the purpose of making sure I was strong enough to tackle the next storyline event.

 

Been playing Transistor lately...its a pretty fun game although the combat takes a little bit to get the hang of and the story doesn't really open itself up to you.  Still its a very unique game with a great setting that I liked.  And all of you can play it for free if you have PS Plus!  I was a dummy and bought it a week before it was announced it would free for February :\

[PrincessEnnui]

While I agree that Skyrim invites the player to take their time, I think it does a great job encouraging exploration and sending the player back to the main quest. The main quest all but encourages joining the Companions, College of Mages, and, to an extent, the Thieves Guild. If you want all the words of power in the game, joining every faction is necessary, but most of the words are available in the second or third major quest for the faction. If you want to complete the main quest, you have to deal with the civil war side quest first.

 

I think of any game I have ever played, Skyrim is the best "quick start" game. You can just load up the prisoner file, create your character, and get through Helgen and do anything you want. Even the few restrictions can be handled relatively early on by completing the main quest Dragon Rising. In fact, about the only real restriction that requires real intensive focus on the main quest and two separate side quests is purchasing the Windhelm home.

 

Were it not for all the game breaking bugs and freezes, Skyrim would probably be my favorite video game ever. And even the glitches and (most) freezes can be remedied with the right tweaking.

 

In Inquisition, I think the game suffers from dividing the players attention on three fronts, the war room missions, the main quests, and side quests. I think delegating tasks in the war room is brilliant. However, it is very slow. Not to mention the war room frequently froze on me, so I gained little from the mission outlines and completion messages. They should have used a system similar to Final Fantasy Tactics proposition system and used in-game calendar system or something similar to determine the amount of "time" invested.

 

The main quest itself frequently gets derailed by the side quests, which are far too numerous. Even doing the minimum amount of side quests to get by can easily take more time than the player intended to spend because sudden increase in difficultly in some areas, the mini map and quest markers being useless or misleading, and unclear objectives.

 

Search side quests are particularly time consuming due to the player having to be right on top of the item in the first place. Worse still, the play might only have sound to go on if the player has turned off their vibration feature, especially if they (read: I) didn't know that the search feature used vibration to help locate the item.

 

I think I need to start a thread. I enjoyed Inquisition (honest!) but its somewhat disappointing.

[Joe]

On the subject of Skyrim. Killing things and absorbing their life force. Maybe there's another example that inspired both properties, but it makes me think of Highlander. Possible inspiration?

[halgia]

I really didn't like Skyrim very much after the initial rush. I played through the main story and a bunch of the side quests, but it hasn't stuck with me at all, I think because there are basically no characters in it. Sure, there are NPCs, some of them even sort of have a personality, but you never interact with them in a meaningful way more than a small handful of times. The plot machinations are as good as any other game, some of them are kind of cool, and a few visuals have stuck with me, but none of it had any weight for me.

 

(I happen to be sitting in on an RPG writing class right now, and today the lead writer for Elder Scrolls Online called in to talk about that stuff. He mentioned that, contrary to ZeniMax who do that game, Bethesda doesn't have any people whose only job is writing; they have people who do both the design and the writing. I think it shows.)

 

I played Inquisition on PC so I don't know about the vibration, but there was a patch that came out halfway through my playthrough that made the search system much, much better. I also never had the war room freeze on me, but it definitely took too long to walk to the room, wait for the loading screen, and watch the walking-up-to-the-table cutscene before you could actually get to the menu.

[Joe]

From a story persepctive, Skyrim has a great skeleton. However, it needs to be seriously fleshed out. I'd read the Skyrim novel if someone wrote it.

[Izzyboy]

I played Inquisition on PC so I don't know about the vibration, but there was a patch that came out halfway through my playthrough that made the search system much, much better. I also never had the war room freeze on me, but it definitely took too long to walk to the room, wait for the loading screen, and watch the walking-up-to-the-table cutscene before you could actually get to the menu.

 

 

I played it on PS4 and don't remember having any issues with it freezing ever.  I do agree that I wish a skip function would've been implemented for all the war room animations, it got old seeing them over and over again.

 

Skyrim and Obliviion were really the first open world type RPGs I ever played.  And honestly the only reason I played Oblivion was in preparation for Skyrim (I first played Oblivion maybe a year before Skyrim came out).  I kind of enjoyed the freedom those games gave you as most of the RPGs I had played previously were more JRPG style and very very storyline drive (Final Fantasy, Breath of Fire, Dragon Quest).  I still like JRPGs better, but games like Skyrim are nice for a change of pace.

[Danny Franks]

I really didn't like Skyrim very much after the initial rush. I played through the main story and a bunch of the side quests, but it hasn't stuck with me at all, I think because there are basically no characters in it. Sure, there are NPCs, some of them even sort of have a personality, but you never interact with them in a meaningful way more than a small handful of times. The plot machinations are as good as any other game, some of them are kind of cool, and a few visuals have stuck with me, but none of it had any weight for me.

 

That's exactly the problem I have with the Elder Scrolls games. None of the NPCs have any personality, and your PC is just a faceless, characterless avatar. There is nothing but the open world, looting ruins and killing dragons and other monsters. There really isn't anything to draw you back to its world, because the world is empty. And the things you did never impacted on any of those NPCs either. You kill a dragon and the Jarl of Whiterun says the exact same things he said before you did it. You can get married, but why? No one has any personality to be attractive, and it offers no benefits that I could see.

 

I think the game that best combined gameplay and character development was Mass Effect. By the time I was playing the third game, I felt a strong emotional connection to so many characters in that series. I was just smiling and sniffling my way through certain sections of the game. There was so much to love about so many of the characters, that repeated playthroughs were warranted just to explore the different things those characters might say and do, depending on your choices.

[JayKay]

I bought Skyrim a few years back based on hype alone, having no experience with The Elder Scrolls and was disappointed. A few months later Oblivion was on sale and it was so cheap that I bought it, even though from the graphics it looked to be practically last-gen.

Turns out, I prefer Oblivion. The world is more alive imo and it's just plain more fun. Skyrim has fascinating additions like the Forsworn (who I am convinced are inspired by my favorite Lovecraft story, "The Very Old Folk") but doesn't dig deep enough with them.

I also feel like Oblivion has more depth to it, mechanics-wise. Levelling up skills seems to be different in Skyrim and maybe easier but also less open. Might be better for relative ES newbies like me, but I don't like feeling as if Skyrim is coddling me, even if I suck.

And the elves look so much better in character creation in Oblivion than in Skyrim. I'm playing a Khajiit in Skyrim because the elves are hideous and the humans are super rough. Orcs, Khajiit and Argonians look way better in Skyrim for some reason. I appreciate that Skyrim is harsh on all living things and it reflects on the character options, but damn.

I've warmed up to Skyrim since playing Oblivion, but loading a save in Cyrodiil is still more exciting for me.

[PrincessEnnui]

Finally!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNxmg4w7azQ

 

I am a big fan of DD, and I am happy this entry is coming to the PS3 as well. From what I've gleaned changes are: you can team up with other pawns and arisens (true co-op), each vocation is limited to one weapon (yellow vocations are limited to bows), more vocations, the climbing mechanic returns (including scalable trees). Its supposed to be out later this year. XD

[thuganomics85]

Finally got some time to wrap up some games this past week.

 

Finally beat Dragon Age: Inquisition (well, I still have a few collectibles left, but all the main stores are done.)  While I did find the ending underwhelming (although, I did like the final party where you celebrate with everyone), overall, it more then lived up to what I was hoping for.  Really liked the exploring, fighting, characters, political intrigue, and decisions your character had to deal with.  They did a good job at introducing new characters that were compelling, but checking back in on past ones.  Obviously, I knew Leliana was going to play a big part in this game, but I cheered with Morrigan made her big entrance.  

 

For this playthrough, I played as a male human warrior, so I'm curious to see how it will differ with other races and/or playing as a female.  Romance was easy though: no way my Inquisitor wasn't going for Cassandra.  I loved how she started out as sort of the cold, harden warrior woman, but the more time you spend with her, you see different sides of her (loved that she secretly loved Varric's crappy romance novels.)  I heard some complaints about her being religious, but I didn't mind.  I never felt like she was forcing her own views on anyone else, and she was more then willing to admit that The Chantry had issues that needed fixing. Overall, all of the companions were great, and I enjoyed flipping everyone around, but for the big quests, I usually ended up with the Cassandra/Varric/Dorian team.

 

Finished Assassin's Creed Unity.  Sadly, I was disappointed.  Gorgeous game, but even moving past all the technical glitches (which, thankfully got fixed pretty quickly for me at least), I was just kind of bored with the story, the combat and parkour felt rough for some reason, the side quests felt repetitive, and I never warmed up to Arno.  What was worst was that I did love Elise, his love interest, and really wished she was the lead character instead.  I found her story way more interesting and she was just a more lively on screen.  

Really pissed that she dies in the end.

 

Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor was a pleasant surprise.  The combat was fun (although, a bit repetitive in the end), loved the Nemesis system and how you could pit Orcs against one another, and I liked seeing a darker story set in this series (even if it the story was typical revenge fair.)  Characters were good, but I still could tell that Talion was voiced by Troy Baker, despite him using a British accent.  I think I've just heard his voice too many times these past few years.  Don't get me wrong; he's great at it, but I'm starting to wonder which games he's NOT in.

 

Right now, I'm going to wrap up Far Cry 4, which I've really been enjoying.  Got both Bloodborne and The Order 1886 as gifts, so I'll probably get to them after.  I'm still just counting the days for The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.  It better not get delayed again.  Oh, and the same with Batman: Arkham Knight.

Edited March 29, 2015 by thuganomics85

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just started playing Back to the Future the game on my PS3. Really like it so far, wish it was a little more action filled than just point and click. But other than that it was worth the buy :).

[PrincessEnnui]

PSN is having a sale (40% off) for the Dragon Age series through the 16th. This includes the original, II, and Inquisition. I picked up Awakening and the Return to Ostegar DLC. Other DLC packs for II are on sale too. It's probably cheaper to just get the ultimate edition, but Dragon Age (standard edition) was the first game I got for my PS3 way back when I first got it. I am super excited about playing Awakening for the first time ($19.99 is just too expensive).

 

Also, if you haven't heard yet there's DLC for Inquistion coming in May. Its not necessarily a Dawnguard or Dragonborn though from what I here. Hope this wasn't against forum rules, it just caught me by surprise and I thought people might like to know.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Still too expensive for Awakening. Seen it used for a little cheaper.

[PrincessEnnui]

Still too expensive for Awakening. Seen it used for a little cheaper.

 

Definitely, but I try to make an effort to buy new when I can nowadays. Plus, considering it's PSN, who knows when a price drop or sale will happen again. ;)

[JayKay]

Finally!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNxmg4w7azQ

I am a big fan of DD, and I am happy this entry is coming to the PS3 as well. From what I've gleaned changes are: you can team up with other pawns and arisens (true co-op), each vocation is limited to one weapon (yellow vocations are limited to bows), more vocations, the climbing mechanic returns (including scalable trees). Its supposed to be out later this year. XD

I yelled. I had no idea this was coming. Oh my god. I'm so excited. I'm so excited. I'm so scared. How am I gonna justify buying a current gen system when I've got 20 unbeaten 360 games staring me in the face? Damn you, CAPCOM!

[PrincessEnnui]

It's coming to PC and the PS3. You've got options! You should take a look at the third trailer. One of the new classes is seeker and a lot of people are saying it looks very Attack on Titan-ish.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvZb2sQ2C3c

[AntiBeeSpray]

Definitely, but I try to make an effort to buy new when I can nowadays. Plus, considering it's PSN, who knows when a price drop or sale will happen again. ;)

 

I'd do that, but the cost is generally up there. So a lot of times I wait for a sale. Or I get it used. PSN aside.

[PrincessEnnui]

I took some pictures of the daffodils by my mom's house with my Nintendo 3DS. I wonder why Nintendo never shows off this feature of the 3DS. I liked the pics so much, I made them my header and background on my blog. Given that it's in the Narcissus family, it fits. :) I also think Nintendo should promote Colors more too. So much wasted potential.

 

I also wanted to share this Skyrim tip with you guys, because I think it's little known and life is to short to put up with hateful NPCs. Let me state that (1) this is a nuclear option and can wreck your save if you use it early and (2) I found this trick on Game FAQs, so I didn't discover it (I can't find the topic I got it from).

 

For us console players, you have to put up with essential NPCs, that you can't really punish, right? Well, here's a trick to make Riften or Markarth a little more bearable. You can literally reduce Maven, Erikur, or Braith (all of whom are unkillable in-game) to ash by two single cast Raise Zombie. That's it.

 

You hit them with that spell as many times as necessary, and poof. "Dusted!" as Sailor Moon would say.

 

The game still treats them as alive, but you won't have to put up with their snotty attitudes anymore. It also means they won't be available for quests anymore (that includes radiant quests too). Again, be careful. I am not certain if this spell causes a bounty or not and it won't help you if you're dissatisfied with your spouse and kids.

 

Edit: Found one of the threads pertaining to this glitch. Clarified that it's not dualcast, but cast twice. Sorry. Seems it can work either way, it just takes more time than I thought to activate.

Edited April 22, 2015 by PrincessEnnui

[AntiBeeSpray]

Very nice pics! 

 

Thanks for the tips :). Will keep them in mind.

[Joe]

It's the town guards who annoy me. They always stop me when I'm using the speedy shout in town. And I got wondering today, what would be in a newspaper in the game. Early this morning, eight town guards were found dead of arrow wounds, stripped of their gear. This afternoon, that strange Khajiit archer was seen selling off eight sets of guard armour and weapons. When questioned, he said the gear had fallen off the back of a cart. In another hold. It must be noted for the record that this Khajiit is a personal friend of the jarl, has invested in several local shops, and has slain at least twelve trolls, ten vampires, and three dragons. The guards declined to press charges, citing lack of evidence. When asked for comment all the Khajiit said was, Wuld Nah Kest.

[PrincessEnnui]

That was perfect! XD

 

I do wonder if that would work on guards. I am not even sure if guards respawn. I've tried illusion spells (frenzy) on guards and they didn't work. It may have been because the one guard I chose to try it on is involved in Delayed Burial. I do wonder if dualcast Raise [whatever] would work on him or any other guard.

 

Edit: Oooohhh, I just looked it up on USEP, and apparently guards in some towns in Skyrim do NOT respawn.

Edited April 22, 2015 by PrincessEnnui

[joelene]

I'm thinking about, after so many years, buying a "new" console but I can't decide which one. I have a DS I bought about seven years ago but only have, like, four games and other than that I'm still playing on my Playstation 1 over and over. But there's really only so many times one can play Final Fantasy 7-9, Legend of Mana, Xenogears and Chrono Trigger.

I had a Wii borrowed for about a year when I rented my friends apartment five years ago and liked it a lot, especially considering all the burned games he had and all of the old Nintendo 8-bit that were on there... On the hard drive, or something? (I dont know how it worked!) And I wanna play all the Zelda games that has come out since A Link To The Past three hundred years ago. I also want to play the Final Fantasies and the Metroids and Mario games, basically all the sequels to my childhood playthroughs. From what I gather I can get my Zeldas and my Metroids and Marios on Wii, but I gotta get a PSX for my Final Fantasies. I wanna play FF more but I might get more mileage out of a Wii what with all the burning and downloading one can do? Or is an Xbox the way to go? I gather you can get a lot of good stuff on that too.

How many FF's can I get on a used PSX 2? Or should I get a 3 if I opt for a PSX? My budget is pretty limited.

Any suggestions?

[PrincessEnnui]

I would opt for a used PS3 (since it seems you're leaning that way), simply because it's cheaper. Plus, if you can buy a of classic PS1 and PS2 games off PSN. Most of those games a fairly cheap $9.99 and under. I have bought my beloved Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy VII, Odin Sphere, Persona 4, and Final Fantasy V off PSN (and more) for cheaper than that because I caught a Square Enix or Final Fantasy sale (or Atlus). They go on sale a couple times a year too.

 

Buying them on PSN ties them to your PSN account, so if you get a PS4 years on down the road, you'll have access to most of them by download on your newer console. Plus, there are still good indie games available on the PS3 like Journey and The Swan and they'll be continue to be released for sometime. I think you can get most every FF on PS3. I think the exceptions are III and IV (the Complete Version or whatever). I think XII might be coming to PSN too, if its not already.

 

I found a used 250 GB PS3 at Game Stop for about the same amount of money ($259 ish), I think you can do better if you shop around online at places like Amazon or E-Bay. Check the dealer reviews first and be aware shipping and handling costs.

 

Be advised, I have never touched a Nintendo Wii, so I am very biased. I would marry my PS3 if I could. :)

[joelene]

Aaah, so this PSN thing is an online download sort of thing, just like Wii has? Didn't know Playstation had that as well but of course it makes sense. Getting Chrono Cross would be a nice bonus since my old copy was scratched and turned unusable after a friends boyfriend borrowed it (isn't that always how it goes when you lend stuff to non close friends? What's the matter with people?).

I am a bit worried that I won't enjoy the newer FF's as much as the old ones (nostalgia is powerful, after all), so I am torn between consoles. And Wii seems to be cheaper. But the PSN thing is a definite plus. Thanks for the info! :-)

Also how many GB does a game take up, generally? Like a Chrono Cross or a FFX?

Edited April 22, 2015 by joelene

[PrincessEnnui]

Every console has some kind of online store - Nintendo e-shop/virtual console(?), X-Box Live(?), Arcade(?).  I like PSN because it has very broad choices for games, television, movies, and music and all of them can be shared between accounts on the same console. So, if you have 3 separate PSN accounts on the same console, only one of them need to have purchased and downloaded Final Fantasy VII for all accounts on that console to play VII. Unfortunately, PSN and Sony have proven very vulnerable to hacking in the recent past. -_-;

 

Again, I have the most experience with PSN. I can't really recall if Nintendo or X-Box online purchases are tied to a specific account or not. I would think so though.

Edited April 22, 2015 by PrincessEnnui

[joelene]

I'm so out of touch. But that all sounds great. It's such a shame they gotta spread all the great game series on different consoles, heh.

It seems 12GB is the lowest storage. How many games could you download on that you think? Sorry for all the stupid questions but I appreciate the info!

Oh, and could I still play my old hard copies of FF VII etc on it or would I have to download new ones?

Edited April 22, 2015 by joelene

[AntiBeeSpray]

I'm so out of touch. But that all sounds great. It's such a shame they gotta spread all the great game series on different consoles, heh.

It seems 12GB is the lowest storage. How many games could you download on that you think? Sorry for all the stupid questions but I appreciate the info!

Oh, and could I still play my old hard copies of FF VII etc on it or would I have to download new ones?

 

Beware of the 12gb model! It can only fit one game on it at a time.

[joelene]

Eep! 40 gig minimum, then. Preferably more. Thanks!

[AntiBeeSpray]

Eep! 40 gig minimum, then. Preferably more. Thanks!

 

You're welcome.

 

Wasn't a fan when Sony put out that model tbh, it was nothing more than a loss leader imo.

[PrincessEnnui]

Oh, and could I still play my old hard copies of FF VII etc on it or would I have to download new ones?

You'd have to get a digital copy. The regular price is $9.99, if you catch a sale, the price drops to half. It sucks, but when VII first came to PSN, hard copies for the PS One were selling for $80.00+ in some places on the internet. XD

 

Also, none of your questions are dumb. It used to be a console cost about $100. Nowadays, it's doubled and the console itself is capable of serving as a DVD/Blu-Ray player or lesser computer if you needed it to be. You should be asking questions. :D

Edited April 22, 2015 by PrincessEnnui

[joelene]

Lol, that's what I think!

Oooh, maybe I can get some change back selling my old stuff then.

Well we'll see if I can find some good bargains or not, but PS3 seems like a good get!

Seems like it might be a good idea to try and get a hold of one of the newer slim models with more storage as well. More money but probably worth it in the long run. Reading some horror stories about older models now.

Edited April 22, 2015 by joelene

[Izzyboy]

Its probably worth it to get one of the slims with more storage. Even though the games you're looking at (older FFs and other older games) aren't going to be very big relatively speaking, storage can still fill up quickly and you never know when you want to play something newer that requires more storage space. In the long run you'll thank yourself for having the additional space! 

 

PSN is a pretty great service (outside of the annoying down times due to maintenance or hacker attempts) , if you sign up for Playstation Plus ($50 for a year membership) you'll have access to (at least) 2 free games every month as well. Officially its 2 free Vita games, 2 free PS3 games, and 2 free PS4 games every month, but a lot of times one of the games on Vita will also be playable on PS3/PS4 so it will be free there as well. The free games tend to be smaller, indie style games but for me that's fine as I like indie games (and some of them lately have been outstanding). Thats in addition to all the sales they run periodically, some of which can be pretty substantial on PSone/PS2 classics.

[joelene]

That sounds great as well! Turns out a friend of mine has a PS3 he was thinking about selling anyway (he upgraded to a PS4) so it's mine for about $75 bucks, including a few games like FF14 and Heavy Rain (we were out drinking and he said $55 but I was like, that's far too cheap! Another 20!)! It's a slim with 80Gb, I believe. Don't think I can get a much better deal than that!

[PrincessEnnui]

That sounds great as well! Turns out a friend of mine has a PS3 he was thinking about selling anyway (he upgraded to a PS4) so it's mine for about $75 bucks, including a few games like FF14 and Heavy Rain (we were out drinking and he said $55 but I was like, that's far too cheap! Another 20!)! It's a slim with 80Gb, I believe. Don't think I can get a much better deal than that!

 

That's a good price, especially coming from a friend. No stressing over delivery or condition... Plenty left over for you to browse PSN. ;)

[Izzyboy]

Yup, you won't be able to beat that deal anywhere for sure. 80Gb is still plenty if you're looking at mostly smaller downloadable games, although keep in mind the operating system automatically takes up some of that 80GB (I think its around 12 or so). Unfortunately i don't think upgrading the harddrive on the PS3 is as easy as it is on the PS4 (which literally takes 5 minutes and is WELL worth it) or I'd say just buy a larger harddrive online and put that in and you're set (although if you're interested there's videos all over on how to do it). Either way, you'll be happy with the PS3 I'm sure!

[JayKay]

Heavy Rain is amazing. My best friend got me to play it with her and I'll never forget a certain sequence that blurrily begins in a "moving" vehicle.

[joelene]

Oooh! Looking forward to it!

[joelene]

I assumed the PSN store wouldn't be regional since it's all about downloading but apparently this isn't the case, so Chrono Cross, for instance, isn't available to me. So goddamn frustrating. I don't know why they do this. Idiots.

[PrincessEnnui]

Where are you? Are you over in Europe? I shouldn't have assumed that you were in America (my sincerest apologies). PSN is not the same everywhere, I've heard bad things about Europe's PSN... For whatever reason, Sony can't pull it together for that one. It's improved marginally, but it's still far behind other regions. But people in North America can access Japan's PSN, so maybe there's a way.

[joelene]

Yeah I'm in Europe. That's alright, I guess I shouldn't have assumed things would be better now than it was in the old days. Why make it better! Right, Sony? Ugh. I doubt if they haven't made CC and other games like it available by now they ever will.

[AntiBeeSpray]

Yeah I'm in Europe. That's alright, I guess I shouldn't have assumed things would be better now than it was in the old days. Why make it better! Right, Sony? Ugh. I doubt if they haven't made CC and other games like it available by now they ever will.

 

That sucks :(. I hate when they do that.

[PrincessEnnui]

That's a shame. I just looked at some official lists for Europe's PSN. Correct me if I wrong, but isn't every original Playstation Final Fantasy is on there, but Chrono Trigger and Cross isn't? That's just weird. Did Square-Enix lose their master copies of the original European releases or something?

 

Don't just give up though. It took months of demanding to get Final Fantasy IX on PSN over here IIRC.

 

I just searched for it and apparently it really is a licensing and localization issue. 

[joelene]

Yeah, CC was never out in EU (I had a NTSC copy). I can sort of understand why some games weren't distributed here back in the day because of the costs of physical copies and adverts for games that weren't part of a series and so on. But online games! Games that are now tried and true classics! How hard would they need to advertise those? A couple of banners here and there spreading the word to forums and you're done. Sold. Language is a non-issue. Every game ever sold here has always been in English (at least in Scandinavia and presumably most other European countries). So basically it's bureaucracy bullshit. I don't even understand the licence issue? Isn't it all Sony? Why would (presumably) a Sony exec in one territory say no to (presumably) another Sony exec? Or is it Square who says no to Europe? Why would they? Who are these people not handing out licences? There's probably a very reasonable (hah) explanation I will never understand.

[joelene]

Ok, it's in my hands finally! 120GB too!

I forgot to ask about PS2 games on PS3. I know you said I can't play PS1 games, but could I buy a used copy of FFX and play it on my PS3? The one on PSN might be better quality but an old would certain be cheaper.