I accepted the Bloodborne Ragequit challenge!

Just grabbed my recently-released new PlayStation 4 exclusive game that many are fussing about: From Studio’s BLOODBORNE.

Actually, I kind of regret that I did not pre-ordered the game so I missed some initial freebies on the release. I was skeptical in getting the game as you all know that this was somehow a spiritual successor to Demon’s Souls and the Dark Souls series which all gamers agreed to be one heck of a tough game in this generation.

Got myself an R-All copy which I doubt to be an R3 copy, including some DLC code and a free PS Plus code for 14 days.

I’m really looking forward to this game, I know it will test my patience a lot.

I’ll keep in touch once I get in the game for the first time.

|> Nirvana – Heart-Shaped Box

Dragon Age Inquisition main quest completed!

This late night, I just finished the main story of Inquisition, a total of 44 hours of full-packed story. It was the best Dragon Age game I ever played, and the first in the series I actually completed. I thought the first 2 are boring but with this kind feeling the 3rd game left off of me, I might as well try to replay the earlier games on the Xbox 360. Too late though.

With my completion of the game in my PlayStation 4, I realized a lot of things that makes it so beautiful and I can bring up as an achievement for the next few years. I couldn’t say a lot of things rigjt now but one thing is for sure: This game really deserved to be 2014’s Game of the Year. I wasn’t wrong in grabbing this game off the store shelf and spending hours and hours playing. The story is catchy and every cinematics leave me goosebumps. Not to mention the joy of slaying Dragons you see all around.

Now I’m looking forward to my actual review of the game.

Thanks BioWare, more Dragon Age to come!

|> Escape the Fate – The Webs We Weave

A Decade After: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360

Today’s generation, we have a so-called “refresh” of the devices we use for casual and hardcore gaming. For Home Consoles, the lead is on the new and powerful – the PlayStation 4, followed by the Home Entertainment-Centric – the Xbox One. While these two beasts have everyone’s attention for hardcore gaming, we still have the Wii U which was released earlier as part of the 8th Generation of Gaming. For portable gaming, the PlayStation Vita is there with the Slim one and the Nintendo 3DS series with the “new” one. Not to mention in everyone’s attention are the mobile platforms from Apple and Google. Though these devices are what we enjoy right now, we still have the last generation gaming consoles that are still enjoyable due to the massive library and continuous support from the developers. Let’s look back to the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Back in 2005, it was the start of the 7th generation of Gaming and apart from that, the format wars exist as well, that is the HD DVD vs. the Blu Ray. Although the Xbox 360, released ahead of the PlayStation 3, do not used both these Media Formats (instead it used the existing DVD format), the Xbox 360 once supported Toshiba’s HD DVD format for movies. The PlayStation 3 however, had the built-in Blu Ray drive for Game storage and movie playback which created a long-lasting appeal to movie geeks as well as the cheapest Blu Ray player in the market. That added a point to Sony’s home console back then. The HD DVD’s 25GB storage eventually lost to Blu Ray’s 50GB marketing. Despite that, the Console Wars still continued to go on.

I was able to get my hands on the PlayStation 3 back in college (2009) as a gift from my Mom. And until 2014, the games I played on the console were exclusive titles like the Uncharted series, God of War, Resident Evil, and a few more. Since Online gaming in the PlayStation 3 is free, I was able to enjoy the online features in The Last of Us and Grand Theft Auto 5. I also bought a Rock Band and Guitar Hero set recently and downloaded a few DLC songs to its 120GB hard drive. Then I thought of registering on the PlayStation Plus service and got more games added to my library each month. The PlayStation 3 had an enjoyable games back then, the DualSHock 3 is good and I was thankful i got the Slim one that was not prone to the YLoD. My family was satisfied on what the PlayStation 3 can do. It was my first Home Console after I sold my PlayStation 2 a few years back and focused on PC Gaming.

Then I got an Xbox 360 on 2014, a very very late purchase. It was unplanned but it was actually intended for my girlfriend Tin for Just Dance and some Kinect games. We purchased the Xbox 360 E with B internal memory and Kinect and some few games. Every game we had for this console required Kinect. It was good, the fact that I never had the chance to play Just Dance or any games that require the PlayStation Eye on the PlayStation 3. The Kinect was enjoyable but tiring. It was good for the kids.

A few months after, I had the chance to buy myself the new PlayStation 4. As of this writing, it was an awesome gaming system with good games but the massive library of the previous generation keeps me holding back in selling my PlayStation 3. Considering that I already have a lot of memory with that system, lots of purchase, accessories, etc. Eventually, I had to do it so I can purchase and support the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Plus as a required subscription for the online features. It was the The Last of Us bundle and I was able to complete the game which I wasn’t able to in the PlayStation 3. Sadly, I had to sold the Rock Band set as well, knowing that there is no Rock Band in the new system as of the moment. That was a heavy sacrifice I got there. Sold the system to my office colleague but eventually regret in doing so coz’ it went YLoD afterwards. Poor PlayStaton 3…

So, while keeping busy with the new PlayStation 4 system and my new handhelds, the PlayStation Vita and the Nintendo 3DS XL, we’ve decided to move on an apartment so we can finally stay up late in the office in case it is necessary. It was a tough decision that I will have to play the PlayStation 4 only during weekends. Then recently, we’ve decided to purchase a 32-incher HDTV, it was an LG 32LB65B. Together, we brought the Xbox 360 system instead since the system is no longer being used by my girlfriend. So, I decided to buy a few titles that I assume I can enjoy like Gears of War/Alan Wake, and some titles that I never had the chance to play on my PlayStation 3, Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire. A few gaming on the system, I feel enjoyment despite it is a previous gen device with outdated graphics capability. Despite that, I do not see it as a drawback as I appreciate the overall gameplay than the graphics itself. Sadly, my Xbox 360 do not have an internal hard drive and instead, I used a 32GB USB stick to install the games for better performance and not abuse the DVD drive. So far, I do enjoy the Xbox experience knowing myself being a PlayStation guy from the kiddie days.

What I can say is that, both consoles differ just on its technical capabilities and the exclusive games, but the experience itself is a factor. Below is a summary of what I could say between these systems:

– The PS3’s XMB UI is simple and direct to the point. The design stayed as just that from the very beginning. The Xbox 360’s Dashboard had a lot of revamp to match the Xbox One and Windows 8’s Metro Style tiles design. The design is more friendly specially when Kinect gestures are used.
– The controllers have different experience. I like the rumble and triggers, as well as the PlayStation button on the DualShock 3. But the ergonomics of the Xbox Wireless controller is much better, more relaxing in my hands. The placement and the analog are much better too. The bluetooth connectivity on the PlayStation 3 and the ability to charge the controller via USB out of the box is good as well.
– The build of both consoles are good. The PlayStation 3 have this simple and minimalist style while the 360 have lots of ventilation, not to mention that the Xbox 360E looks liek a mini Xbox One.
– The experience using a Blu Ray drive is way better that the 360s specially due to limitations of DVD, when playing games, the 360 needs to swap discs instead of a single Blu Ray disc on the PlayStation 3.
– The 3D support is much better on the PlayStation 3 is much better but I just recently found out that the Xbox 360 do have 3D as well.
– Although I do enjoy the Gears of War series currently, the exclusives in the PlayStation 3 are much better. Yet, I think in some multi-platform games, the Xbox 360 is much better in terms of experience.
– It seems to me that the Xbox 360 is designed more on FPS and other shooting games. Adventure games and some other genres feel better on the PS3 instead.
– The region-restricted rule of the Xbox 360 makes it a hard time for me to find Asian/PAL compatible games. I had to look further on pre-owned ones and test it right away unlike in the PlayStation 3, there’s nothing to worry about on these.
– The Xbox 360 needs an Xbox Live subscription to avail the online features yet the online experience is better than the PSN. The online feature of the PS3 do not require PS Plus subscription yet much better to have one.
– Although I only have the 4GB model and do not have the separate and very expensive Xbox 360 hard drive, I like the feature that you can use your tiny USB Flash Drives to save your game content. It was an awesome job from Microsoft even if you’re stuck to 32GB, just pick the fastest and reliable ones. File transfer between drives is easy as well. In the PlayStation 3 though, you’re stuck in your internal harddrive and in case you want upgrades, you have to perform expert steps first.

Although I already sold my PlayStation 3, sometime I feel regrets that I shouldn’t have sold it. Yet, with its absence I find the Xbox 360 a great console. Hopefully it will not get RRoD. Having these two consoles over the decade is a great experience. I hope the current generation consoles will be the same. In the end, the last generation will always be a legacy and inspiration to the future of the gaming industry.

Thanks!

|> Black Veil Brides – Fallen Angels