• Yet to enjoy full PS3 1080p

    I thought for sure when I got my PS3, then recently acquired a 1080p Sony Bravia, that I’d finally enjoy some PS3 games in full 1080p. Not so fast, though.

    Turns out, a lot of early PS3 games were made in 720p only. That’s sad enough, but when I finally popped in Prince of Persia, I was expecting 1080p greatness until it read “720p.” I was confused and then read the fine print on Prince of Persia’s cover.

    Turns out, 1080p on Prince of Persia is only possible with an HDMI cable and a TV whose HDMI outputs support something called HDCP. What? Ripoff! My PS3 is a Sony product; my TV is a Sony product; and still no 1080p? Total ripoff. I’ve come away far more satisfied from experiences with online storage.

    (Not that 720p isn’t pretty… but it’s not 1080p pretty.)

     
  • No Acne Tycoon yet?

    Considering how widespread the sim market is, I’m surprised no one’s made Acne Tycoon just yet. I mean, it can’t be any worse than the 500 other ideas that focus on weird industries. I mean, I’ve even seen a graveyard simulator, so why not one that focuses on researching, testing and marketing acne treatments?

    Sure, it’s kinda gross. Sure, it seems trivial. But you never know. I never thought I was going to like Lemonade Tycoon until I tried it!

     
  • Sometimes I just wanna play a few holes of golf

    I know my PSP Slim has plenty of meaty RPGs, in-depth sports games and other pastimes, but sometimes I just want to play a round of golf. That’s why I love Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2. It’s challenge mode scales up quite a bit, but never drastically, and winning it all is quite a challenge.

    But the best aspect is, it involves very little commitment. If you’re in the men’s room and only have a few moments, a couple holes can be satisfying all by themselves. It’s a great way to pass some time. Sure, it’s not like surfing free online auctions sites, but hey… not everything can be as blissful, right?

     
  • Even better in 1080p!

    Still marveling over how much better everything looks in 1080p!

    I’ve started playing Fallout 3 over from the beginning, and Silent Hill: Homecoming, the only true PS3 iteration of the franchise, looks far more creepy and atmospheric than before. Over on the Xbox 360 side, Fable 2 doesn’t seem to benefit that much, but most of the SquareSoft RPGs certainly do.

    From the details in background landscape to the wood-grain rendering in lambo doors, there’s simply nothing that doesn’t look a lot better in 1080p than it did on 480i. Yahoo!

     
  • Finally have my new HDTV!

    After two years of denying ourselves, my wife and I finally got ourselves what we’ve been wanting for a while as part of our videogame habit: a top-of-the-line Sony Bravia 32-inch 1080p HDTV with a 120MHz refresh rate. It has the Bravia 2 engine and, wow, the PS3 and Blu-Ray movies have never ever looked better.

    Sure, some will say that 32-inches isn’t that big a set; but it’s the perfect size and at $772, it was definitely the right price! Everything looks better, the set works like a dream and it weighs about a third of the weight of my old Sony Wega 26-inch.

    If someone offered me a handful of loose diamonds, I’m not sure which I’d rather have, I’m so happy with this set! While I’ll always have a soft spot for my decade-old Wega, we’ll be donating that to charity now; the age of HDTV has finally reached the Hansen household, and I think we bought exactly the right set for us, at exactly the right price and time.