I've never done this

Although I draw the line at camping outside a video game store at midnight, you will often find that I always end up buying a new games console on the day of its release.

I’m certainly no Gamesmaster – my Xbox Live Gamerscore is laughably low and my presence on high-score tables has always been non-existent, but despite my lacklustre gaming skills I still love playing video games and I always look forward to having the latest games console sat underneath my television.

There was one exception…

Time has passed. Console prices have dropped and I recently found myself with a bit of hard-earned sales commission burning a hole in my empty pockets. On Friday the 22nd I took myself and my commission to the local branch of Zavvi and relieved them of a new Playstation 3.

Sony Playstation 3

I won’t bore you with technical specifications, you can find that elsewhere on the web, but I will tell you that the new PS3 retails for a more reasonable £299 and includes the new Dualshock 3™ game controller and a bigger 80 gigabyte hard drive. Unlike its £425 predecessor it does lack the Playstation 2 backwards compatibility (that has been, until recently, standard issue on the US versions).

The irony is that although my new PS3 has been sat under my television for four days, I have yet to actually play a game on it. It has nothing to do with the quality of the games themselves, just the fact that the media capabilities of the PS3 are so good I have had no time for games.

Playstation 3 XMB (XrossMediaBar)

What the sales blurb fails to tell you is that the PS3 is a very capable media centre. Using the PS3′s built-in wireless connection I have transferred several gigabytes of video from my PC to the PS3′s hard drive (which was easily upgraded by myself) giving me instant access to old episodes of Doctor Who and Battlestar Galactica (yes, I am a geek). In the PS3 I also have a Blu-ray disc player and a very nice up scaling DVD player.

But this is my favourite thing:

I can access the content on my PS3 from anywhere in the world where there is a Wi-Fi connection. I can use the Wi-Fi connection on my PSP to log in to the PS3′s “server” and access the audio, video and game content just as if it was stored on the PSP itself. It was so cool to be able to use my PSP at a chum’s house and play the copy of Ridge Racer that was sat in the disc drive of my PS3 back home.

A year after I said no thank-you to the PS3 I now find myself glad that I have one. It still isn’t worth the £425 asking price of last March, but it is worth the £299 I paid. And that’s saying something considering I haven’t even played a proper PS3 game on it yet!

EDIT: Oh, I thought I’d seen this Playstation Media stuff somewhere before.

Sony PS3

It happens at midnight tonight (or 12am tomorrow morning) – the European launch of the Sony Playstation 3 games console. Uncharacteristically, this time I will not be buying a new console on launch day. Here are the reasons why:

• Price. Regardless of it’s online capabilities, Blu-Ray drive and ability to cure cancer, £425 is an unrealistic price for a brand new unestablished games console. With features that only benefit those with high-definition displays and an online service that is a mere shadow of Xbox Live, the PS3 would only appeal to me if they knocked at least a third off of the price.
• Poor backwards-compatibility. The PS3’s software PS2 emulator is said only to run 72% of existing Playstation 2 games. Considering that my chipped PS2 is 100% compatible with all PS2 games from any part of the world the PS3 will not be replacing my PS2 just yet.
• Price. See 1)
• Looks. Superficial maybe, but the PS3 is a really ugly machine. It kind of resembles a glossy George Forman grill. It is also very very HUGE.
• Price. See 1) and 3)
• I’m buying an Xbox 360. I have friends already enjoying multiplayer games with Xbox live who are practically begging me to join their number. I know nobody who’s planning on getting a PS3.

The thing is, I really really want a PS3. I really want to be there now queuing outside the Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street, I really want get my grubby hands on what is possibly the most powerful games console yet, I really want to play F1 2007 and Motorstorm, but at £425 a throw it really is too much to pay, even for the most hardened of early adopters like myself.

It is estimated that it’ll be over a year until the PS3 is subject to any reduction in price. That’s okay, with the Nintendo Wii, Playstation 2 and Sega Dreamcast sat under my television, I have enough gaming technology to keep me going for a long while yet.

Following the events in the first Katamari Damacy, The King of All Cosmos grew to stardom after taking all of the Prince’s katamaris and replacing the stars. His fans knew no bounds and wished to see more katamaris fill the sky. The King of All Cosmos desired to appease all of their requests and recruited the Prince and his cousins to help. Now they are tasked with rolling up even more clumps, each larger and more different than the one before. Play as the Prince or as any of his cousins to complete the tasks given to you by the King’s many fans.

Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy has kept the core gameplay of the original. Picking up things, getting bigger, picking up larger things, getting bigger still is the name of the game just as it was in the original, except rather than stars, this time you are creating planets at the request of the fans.

The game’s stages have more depth when it comes to completing your goals. For example on the campsite stage, your katamari is on fire! You have to increase the size of your burning katamari as far as you can and then get to a woodpile to light the campfire in under 6 minutes. Your katamari gradually burns out, so you must keep it alight by collecting objects regularly and avoiding water. If the katamari goes out, you lose the stage.

Then there is the cosmos map stage. Every planet you’ve created, plus every star and constellation from the original Katamari Damacy (you can import your save file from the first game) appear on this map – at the appropriate size where you created them. After you’ve collected all that you can, a rainbow is created leading towards the sun. If you can get your katamari big enough to pick the sun up, then you’ve beaten the game. I haven’t managed it yet.

Fame seems to have got to the King’s head. He still talks way too much (in Japanese, I have no idea what he’s saying) and he seems to be very brutal when it comes to failure. Fail to complete a level and the skies will blacken, the King will scold you, and then attack you, firing laser bolts from his eyes.

Katamari Damacy was also about the music. For the first game, the official soundtrack CD was a huge seller. Unfortunately this time around, I don’t think it will be (although my copy is on the way). The sequel’s music doesn’t seem to be as catchy, but there are already some bright spots after a few hours of play, including a vocal rendition of the game’s theme hymn. Prior to the start of a level, you can select your choice of song, or have a song play at random. If you find yourself fixed on a particular song, you’ll be able to play every stage to it now!

Minna Daisuki Katamari Damacy – a superb sequel to a superb game. Take to the streets! Lobby your MP! Send nasty letters to Namco! Do anything to ensure that the game gets a European release.