Sony releases a constant flow of updates for the PlayStation 3, this helps keep it up to date with bug fixes but also allows us to get the full potential out of the console. Sometimes the downloads for the updates seem unnecessarily large, but they often add a lot of items that we do not notice. Update 2.70 is 140MB in size making it one of the largest downloads but also takes a reasonable amount of time to install due to the amount of items it adds.
Firstly, there is the addition of a dynamic normalizer which allows people who listen to music off their PS3 to reduce or increase the average volume of songs to level them out.
The internet browser on the PS3 is sometimes slow but in general is always effective, i never use it myself due to my computer being right next to my PS3, but for those who do use it there is now the ability to copy text of the website and then input it into any place which has the onscreen keyboard with a paste button placed underneath the predictive text box.
Video's which are available to download of the PSN store are sometimes large and take a long time to set up, and previously they have been lost in a system restore, but with so many complaints that Sony has received they have been able to allow the video's to be backed up with the normal backup feature. What i would also like is the ability to back up the games and other downloads that you have to pay for to be backed up, but then some would ruin that and make pirate copies.
The Xbox 360 has always been famous with how easy it is for how easy it is to talk to your friends, the PS3 has taken some of their ideas and built on them, such as the new text chat which gets rid of the need to go through multiple menus if you want to have a conversation with someone just messages. You can now create a room where you can talk to your friends in and outside of a game with out having to set it up, it creates an MSN Messenger style chat which competes with Xbox's genuine MSN feature.
One other small feature which may be helpful is the ability to sort your friends by name or by status.
Update 2.70 is one of the best yet but are there any other features that you want for the next update, feel free to leave your suggestions.
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Wednesday, 8 April 2009
PS3 Update 2.70
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Ways to improve the picture quality from your PS3
Improving Picture Quality with LCG Games
The PS3 does not have many options for optimizing the picture quality, but there are some ways that can improve it considerably. These only really work when you are using a HDMI cable.
First, make sure that you do the basic scan under display settings, these will make sure that you get the highest picture resolutions for all your games.
Then turn the RGB Full Range to full, Change Y Pb/Cb Pr/Cr Super White to on.
You will not see any change through the menu's but in game it should make a reasonably large improvement in-game.
This will improve the quality of graphics and definitely will not damage your PS3.
LCG Games
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Sunday, 22 March 2009
Need For Speed - Undercover
EA have brought a variety of games lately but the very popular Need For Speed Series, took a tumble last year with the release of ProStreet, many people have said that this game has been a disappointment and has put them off the series in total.
With the release of Undercover many people were expecting this game to be a let down as well, but when we found out that there were going to be the good old fashioned cops, our spirits were raised. Also in this game there is a large amount of real life cars in this Need For Speed, all of them are completely licensed so they look realistic and you can compare between them easily. They have taken some of the best parts (only good parts from ProStreet) and put them into Undercover. These are options such as the ride height and auto-sculpt body parts with many more options for customization.
One problem with this game I must admit is that it does not take very long to complete as you get so sucked into this game when you start you lose track of all time apart from when your alarm goes off the next morning. The storyline of this Need For Speed actually makes sense which is unusual but makes it really interesting. But on the other hand there are many races that you do not have to complete in the career mode but you can in the normal mode where you can just drive around. As usual there are circuit, sprint and checkpoint modes which are fairly self-explanatory. But there is now modes called outrun, battle and highway battle. Outrun involves you and one other car and you have to overtake and stay ahead of the other car but there is no specific route which sometimes makes it harder to keep up with the other car but also easier to stay ahead. Battle and highway battle are obviously quite similar but the main objective is to go as fast as you can and stay ahead of the other car once you have caught up but is on a specific route and there are many more cars and is much faster packed.
In the cop chases you come across many different levels of heat instead of the original 5 there are now 8 heat levels, you now come across state police, basic police, Nissan Skylines, Porsche Cayenne Turbo and K-9 units which are also known as the SUV vehicles.
Sadly for this game there is no multi-player option on the same system so thankfully it has a very easy to use and effective online play mode. You can do any race that you have ever seen on the game and any cars from the stock verions, bonus cars and your cars from the game.
Overall this game is one of the best that has ever been released in the Need For Speed Series. I fully recommend this game to anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned racing game.
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Saturday, 21 March 2009
Burnout Paradise
Burnout Paradise is the latest game from Criterion Games, they are now releasing many downloadable packs that increase the enjoyment of the game. These include a legendary cars pack that has recently been released a few weeks ago. This pack includes a car which has an uncanny resemblance to the DeLorean from back to the future and has the ability to hover around paradise city. Then there is a car which looks like the car from the original GhostBusters along with many others.
Back to the game, Burnout Paradise allows you to roam the streets of paradise city to find certain items on the map and find shortcuts to different areas on the map. After you have done this you are pitted against some of the best drivers in paradise city to create carnage across the city with a variety of different events. These include, races which are always from one point to another landmark, road rage, stunt run and marked man. These allow you to perfect you driving skills and show other off your latest cars.Showtime allows you to create as much carnage as possible like the older versions. Road Rules are also available to complete, these allow you to go against your friends online and try to beat their time on a road from one end to the other.These cars are helpful for completing the game and also make the online play much more enjoyable. You can get with up to 7 other people online and race with them, do challenges or do a contest such as marked man.
Downloads for this game currently consist of the Cagney pack, two more cars available online only and trophies to unlock, the bike pack which allows day and night play and four more bikes, two of which require unlocking through doing the bike races.Recently, The Ultimate Box has been released which allows you if you do not have a Internet connection to buy the game and the bike, trophy, and Cagney pack downloads.
These which I am about to mention need to be paid for as most of the content will, by the looks of it, this is the Party pack which allows you to have up to 8 people playing one controller around one screen, this allows you to do certain challenges such as, land a barrel roll on the beach, gain as much airtime as possible on the airfield and do a lap of the speedway as fast as possible. Soon there will be toy cars, which are modelled of cars on the main game put into a different context. And finally the much awaited 'Map Pack', this creates a massive increase in the amount of area which you can cover and also allows you to unlock a new car the 'Dust Storm'. This map will give you bigger jumps than ever seen before on Burnout. A price for these has yet to be specified but I am sure that the Map Pack will hold a substantial price tag but I am sure to report back when I have tried it out.Two new cars have recently been released called the boost specials, one of them being a tuned up version of the Carson Hawker which allows you to split between all three of the different boosts available. Soon there is going to be the release of a Cops and Robbers pack the brings a bit of Need for Speed to the game with a large amount of getaway vehicles and police cars to use varying from a Nissan Skyline lookalike to a Lamborghini. These are sure to bring people back to the game as it has been out for quite a while now and has started to lose some of its original charm.
Overall this is a great game, but really aimed more towards people who like a more arcade racing experience, the graphics are spectacular and the amount of time you can spend on it is remarkable. I recommend this game to anyone who enjoyed any of the other Burnout Games and people who are new to the PlayStation as it will show them anything and everything that it has to offer.
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