Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with playstation

Gaming for the new oldbie

vizsla — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 16:39:28 -0800

I'm 40ish. I know nothing about modern gaming. I used to love adventure games back in the 80s like Zak McKraken, KGB and Thermonuclear Wargames. I have some time on my hands and want to take the plunge into the modern world of gaming. Where do I start? I had a look at those role-playing multi-user games like Second Life and I just don't see the point. Maybe I'm missing something. I like games that involve some (if not, a lot of) thinking. I guess I used to enjoy SOME games that involved a lot of manual dexterity - I did play Wolfenstein 3D when it first came out. I am not a huge science fiction fan. I like games that teach you something maybe. But again, I shouldn't put too many restrictions down - I might surprise myself. So I guess I'm looking for ideas for games and platforms to play them on. Again, I know nothing - never owned any gaming equipment before so please don't assume I actually do know what I'm looking for!

Does the PS3 outperform the PS2, playing PS2 games? A lot?

grobstein — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 20:31:47 -0800

Does the PS3 outperform the PS2, playing PS2 games? A lot? So I fouled up and got the PS3 model that doesn't play PS2 games. This turns out to have been bad. I'd like to play PS2 games. I'm trying to decide between 1) selling my current PS3 and upgrading to the better version, or 2) buying a new PS2.

Option 2) is cheaper.

What I want to know is, does the higher-end PS3 do a better job on PS2 games than a new PS2 would?

Are there major graphical improvements?

Can the PS3 sometimes play PS2 games in HD (um on reflection this seems pretty improbable. . . )?

MetaFilter Solid 4: Wisdom of the MeFites

Doctor Suarez — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 22:31:02 -0800

MetaFilter Solid: New Playstation owner, getting Metal Gear Solid 4, but I've never played any of the earlier games. How can I best get up to speed? I looked on Wikipedia for the story summaries, but they're incredibly short, and since the stories are notoriously confusing anyway, the passages actually made my eyes hurt.

Also, since I'm enmeshed in GTA IV right now, playing the first three MGS games doesn't seem like a good (or efficient) option.

Is there a better way for me to get acquainted with the characters and events, or are the Wikipedia blurbs the best I've got?

Also, if some or most of the previous games' content isn't going to be all that relevant, I'd love to know what I can just ignore.

So come out from under those cardboard boxes and help me out!

What are the best display settings for a PS3?

Effigy2000 — Sat, 31 May 2008 23:31:25 -0800

What are the best display settings for a Playstation 3 to ensure I get the best possible picture quality when watching Bluray discs and standard DVDs? I just bought a Playstation 3. I bought it pretty much for the sole purpose of playing Bluray discs and upscaling my existing DVD collection.; games are pretty much an added bonus here, as far as I'm concerned.

So with that in mind, what are the optimum settings for a PS3 in the display settings section of the PS3's setup menu, especially where upscaling is concerned? I'm running it through an HDMI cable and my TV is a Sony Bravia 40" LCD TV. Assume I'm not an AV guru when telling me. I've also updated the system software, so you know.

Thanks in advance!

Where can I get a mod chip for the original Playstation?

bradbane — Tue, 13 May 2008 14:05:50 -0800

Where can I get a mod chip for the original Playstation? I realize this sounds like I want to pirate games, but I found my old PSX in my parent's attic and all my discs are scratched up and unplayable. I'm visiting a friend soon who has some of the same games and he said I could make copies, but I would need to track down a mod chip. My Google-fu is failing to turn up anything that doesn't set off my scam radar, and it's hard to tell what's legit when all the customer reviews I can find are years old.

I would rebuy the games used, but a lot of them (I like RPGs) seem to have become collector's items on Ebay and cost more than I'm willing to pay.

Best karaoke game with unlimited songs?

jjsonp — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:52:51 -0800

Best karaoke for PC? What we want is some program + service which provides a Konami-like interface with a vocal+ musical track, and with (paid) access to _all_ songs, because what you really want with karaoke is to sing songs you LIKE. And that of course changes as new songs come out.

My wife and I have had a blast over the years playing karaoke-style games on XBox, PS2 (and now the Wii). We much prefer the Konami games to Sony's SingStar - SingStar is nice since it has the original artists & videos, but the absolute time-track on Konami's implementation is far superior if you don't know the song well (which is usually the case at parties).

The fatal flaw of both however is that the number of songs you can access is extremely limited. We downloaded all the songs for Konami via XBox Live years ago - about 80 (and cost about $80), 70% of which were lame songs no one's ever heard or would want to sing. SingStar sells separate genre-based discs, with about 50% of the songs being worthwhile.

I can't believe the recording/gaming industry haven't recognized that millions of game-buyers are willing to pay a dollar a song or whatever to have it in their karaoke collection.

What is out there to provide this functionality? Thanks!

Tranferring game (NHL) data from Xbox 360 to PS3?

xmutex — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:01:26 -0800

This is probably a dumb question to which I already know the answer, but: is it at all possible to transfer an NHL 08 (EA) season from an Xbox 360 to a Playstation3?

PS2 plays some DVDs and not others?

carsonb — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 08:02:17 -0800

Why does my roommate's PS2 play some DVDs and not some others? Is there anything I can do about it? I've seen plenty of previous threads where the PS2 DVD drive 'wears out', etc. From what I gather, however, that means that the player won't play any DVDs—whereas our PS2 is picky. For instance, it will play the Planet Terror Bonus Materials disc (disc 2) but not the actual movie disc (disc 1). Same goes for my Death Proof DVDs. There are various other discs that I've tried in it, and results so far seem random. It'll play burned DVDs but not a brand-new Criterion disc. This disc 1/2 delineation is the first seemingly predictable response from the damn machine. Is the drive just going out? If it is short for this world is there anything I can do about it to prolong the magic? What else could it be?

For completeness' sake, I haven't tried playing an actual PS2 game on this rig though by all accounts (roommate's) it works fine as a game console. It has taken and played all music CDs I've introduced. It ate the PB&J I fed it yesterday with no complaint. (Boysenberry, yum!) I'm frustrated, and want to spend my Sunday watching bloody gore and car chases. Help!

Stereotypical Girl Gamer

Laura in Canada — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:59:11 -0800

My apologies in advance for furthering the stereotype. I'm a girl, I like video games, but I lean towards puzzles games & sims... & my skills suck. My boyfriend is a video game collector & fairly avid player, as it is, his interest in types of games & his skill level are a fair bit different than my own. We recently got a PS3 & I'd like to expand the library by adding a few new games for myself (I'm looking for older stuff preferably: PS2 or even PS1 games). I like to play, but often have trouble finding games... so here I am turning to the MetaFilter Suggestion Engine. The problem, to me, seems to be that the catalogue of games for Playstation is enormous & much more "hardcore-gamer" oriented than the Nintendo systems. I've looked at Metacritic, but it's overwhelming & hard to pinpoint games I might like.

Games that have held my interest in the past:

Nintendo DS:

Phoenix Wright
Mario Kart
Super Princess Peach
Puzzle Quest
Mario & Luigi:Partners in Time (although got too hard in the last stages)

Gamecube/ Wii:

Pikmin 2
Elebits
Trauma Center
Lego Star Wars

I'm also a fan of The Sims (1 & 2) on the PC & enjoy Loco Roco on the PSP. Last example, we bought Kingdom Hearts (PS2) yesterday & I enjoyed that as well, it's different than other games I've played & I think it will end up being too hard for me in the long run, but I like the gameplay.

P.S. I did find other similar threads & have Katmari Damacy on my list to add to our library, I'm just hoping for more suggestions to fit my interests.

Will a PS3 bought in Singapore work in Brazil?

dcrocha — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 03:38:32 -0800

Will a Playstation 3 bought in Singapore work in Brazil? By "work" I mean play the games in color and not black-and-white. Devices bought in the USA work because TVs in Brazil are all PAL-M/NTSC compatible, but not sure about Singapore's color system.

Are there any family-friendly PS3 games?

jackypaper — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:29:18 -0800

I'm buying a Playstation 3, but I want to include at least one game that my girlfriend will also enjoy. The Wii seems to be more kid- and girl-friendly. Is there a non-RPG, non-sports PS3 game that is "fun for the whole family?"

What PS2 game should we play next?

jaybeans — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 10:32:36 -0800

After a lovely weekend playing Harry Potter on a borrowed xbox 360, my lady and I are feeling inspired to dust off our PS2. Given that we like adventure and aren't so big on shooting, what game should we rent this weekend? We tend to prefer games that focus more on fun and exploring rather than absurd button mashing (think more the Harry Potter series and less Halo). No guns, armies, aliens, etc. My girlfriend says all her video gaming skills topped out when she was eight, so games that are aimed at a younger age group that we can play and enjoy without a huge learning curve generally work best.

Connecting an Xbox so it comes on automatically

gfrobe — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 08:20:13 -0800

When I had a Playstation, I could just turn it on and it would appear on the TV. I now have an XBox hooked up to the same TV through the same scart connection, but have to cycle through all of the inputs on my TV to get the XBox screen to appear. Is there a way to make it automatic like it was with the Playstation? Same goes for turning it off. When I turned off the PS2, the TV would come back on. Now, when I turn off Xbox, I have to repeatedly hit the input button to get the TV back. I haven't changed any settings on the TV since switching the games so am curious if this is a limitation of the Xbox or am I perhaps missing a setting somewhere?

How do I downgrade PSP firmware 2.71?

milovoo — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:58:58 -0800

Does anyone have clear instructions on how to downgrade PSP firmware from 2.71? I have always been irritated with my PSPs inability to run any homebrew, but it seemed fairly risky to downgrade the firmware. Now it looks like there are some safer options, but all the instructions I have found are a bit convoluted or translated from some other language making them a bit off. Do I still need a copy of GTA to downgrade (no one mentions it, but maybe it's just assumed at this point, I don't have one)? The PSP I have is not a TA-082, if that still matters. There must be someone out there skilled as both a hacker and a decent writer who can set this down to help others who are confused.

Will a US Playstation 3 settle in the UK?

badlydubbedboy — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 06:12:57 -0800

Will a US-bought Playstation 3 work in the UK? A workmate is going out to the US, and could bring back a shiny new PS3 for me. The question is, will the following bits of a US PS3 package work over here?

1. The console (assuming I have an electrical voltage converter)
2. Will UK PS3 games work on a US console?
3. Will UK Blu-ray discs play on a US console?
4. Will I be able to log onto the European Playstation network?
5. Will my CRT TV do to see the hi-def quality or am I better off buying a cheap LCD HD-ready TV?

PlayStation power supply

Paragon — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 22:38:49 -0800

Help me fit an NZ power supply to an American PlayStation My American fiancee has brought her PlayStation to NZ with the hope of playing all her old games here. We, stupidly, plugged it into the power without accounting for the differences in voltage. Zap!

As best I can tell, the PlayStation's internal power supply has been fried, but the rest is fine. My online research suggests that we can avoid the voltage issues by just buying an NZ PlayStation, cannibalizing the power supply, and plugging it into the American PlayStation (this is my preferred solution because all the games are NTSC, and modded NZ PlayStations are idiosyncratic about displaying colour apparently).

Is this possible? The American PlayStation is model SCPH-9001, if that's important. Is this difficult? I'm hoping I can just get the part, plug it in, and go nuts, but please disabuse me of the scheme if it's a bad idea for some reason. Alternatives also willingly considered!

Am I blue?

sourwookie — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 07:33:45 -0800

My PS2 is not working as a DVD player. Never has. I get audio, but the image alternates from a few seconds of program to a few seconds of brilliant blue screen. Games work perfectly. FWIW, the PS2 is hooked up to a VHS machine (my TV is elderly) which then feeds into the Co-ax on my TV. VHS works perfectly also.

Movies on the PS2

squidlarkin — Sat, 13 May 2006 23:30:44 -0800

What exactly do I need to do to play AVIs and the like on my Playstation 2? I have a CD-RW drive and don't want to spend any money.

I wanna talk smack.

recurve — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 23:00:19 -0800

I can hear everyone talking when I'm playing online, I just can't talk back with my PS2 headset. What could be the problem? I play an FPS online with the PS2, and recently purchased a Sony headset. I can play online just fine, I can hear what everyone in saying, they just can't hear me. I called the help line for the headset and they told me to check with my ISP that certain ports are open, which I did--all ports are open. I exchanged the thing for a new one--no help. Any suggestions as to what could be causing the problem?

I have the new slimline PS2 and connect directly from my cable modem to the PS2 via ethernet cable( i.e. no router). I play "Killzone" .

Doom, but with Nazis

thewittyname — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 19:24:32 -0800

Help me find some simple shoot-em-up types games for either the PC, PlayStation 2 or the XBox I'd like to find some PC/PS2/XBox games for my father-in-law that are relatively simple-minded shoot-em-ups. I'm thinking along the lines of original Doom or Serious Sam. Something with swarms of enemies and not too much in the way of puzzle-solving or strict mission-based play.

The problem is that he doesn't want to play games with aliens or anything too sci-fi. Something more historical with just humans is preferred. However, most games like that, like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor, are too complicated for him. He wants something more mindless with lots of enemies.

He has access to a PC and both an XBox (the original, not a 360) or a PS2. Any ideas?

How do I use my laptop as a screen for a playstation?

BuddhaInABucket — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 20:23:53 -0800

What would it take to hook up my playstation 2 to my powerbook? We only have one TV in the house, so there's no way for me to play playstation without pissing off the rest of the family. I'd love to just use my laptop screen to play games on. How do I do it?

backing up psx with os x

mecran01 — Fri, 30 Sep 2005 12:43:10 -0800

How do I make backups of playstation (psx) games I own with OS X? I was given a "chipped" playstation, and I've been buying cheap originals at the local Rhino games. I want to back them up so that my kids (ages 8, 5, 4, 1.5) can trash the copies rather than the master copies. I'm not trying to be sneaky pirate guy. In fact, bittorrenting psx games is more trouble than it's worth when they are seven bucks for a used cd.

PS2 Games

MrZero — Fri, 10 Dec 2004 08:55:48 -0800

PS2Filter: Help me pick a game for my mentally handicapped brother...[more inside]

US Playstation games USSR

GrumpyMonkey — Wed, 01 Dec 2004 07:18:19 -0800

Is there a difference between US and European playstation games? I want to get games for my nephew and brother-in-law who live in Moscow but my sister says that games bought here (the US) will not play there. I have googled and asked at a bunch of stores and have gotten many different answers. Has anyone here had any experiences with this?

DVDs on Gaming Console?

arto — Thu, 30 Sep 2004 13:33:04 -0800

Playing DVDs on a PlayStation or XBOX: Threat or menace? I've seen occasional references suggesting this will somehow wear out a console's DVD drive. True or false?