Well done to the team and I’m sure Uncharted 3 will have a similar impact.

It seems that what we originally thought was an error effecting the blu-ray drive exclusively, may be an issue with the whole system. While we did already buy a new system to replace it, it’s like adding insult to injury when the old one dies before it can at least transfer our data across.

I suppose for some lighter users it would be not such a big deal, but we have a lot of content that we’ll have to download again, game saves lost which may make me not want to go back in those games and patches which can take hours upon hours to download.

Then there’s game installs. Those can be monstrous in size and although at this point in the system’s lifecycle, developers have figured out how they can avoid huge installs, they can still be a problem, especially for the older games.

What I ended up doing was just accepting that the old PS3 was dead and just put it away in its box and set up the slim. I do like the slim a lot more than the original in design. Below is a breakdown of the good and bad points.

Good

• Smaller and sleeker
• More symmetrical (doesn’t have the base shorter on one side)
• Uses around half the power according to reports
• No power switch on the back means it’s quicker to get going
• Control by HDMI is a cool new feature but you need a compatible TV
• Getting rid of the card readers means there’s less place for dust to gather, no one needs card readers anyway
• Nicer logo (no spider-man font)

Bad

• Only two USB ports
• No backwards compatibility (not that I ever used it on the original, but it would be nice to know it was there)
• Fans are not really loud but they are more noticeable than before and have a whiney sound to them which can be annoying, even when idle. I’ve yet to test it when the system is under strain though.

I’ll have more soon when I get a chance to play more, but so far, despite not wanting to replace the PS3, it is a nicer machine to own. I just hope that this one can last until the next generation of consoles roles around.

That said, I did pre-order the game because I want to play it and have no other choice. I’m sure it will look ok to me since I’m not the most picky gamer, but still. Sony are trying their best to give the PS3 the best possible chance in the marketplace, and stuff like this is certainly not what they need.

Quick note: Only games that I’ve played / am excited to play soon will be eligible to win awards.

Best Action Game - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Uncharted 2 – Among Thieves was destined to be a great action game from its inception. The game has astonishing graphics, great fun gameplay and a very engaging story. It’s simply a must play for all PS3 owners.

Also notable: Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, inFamous, Batman: Arkham Asylum (playing soon)

Best Fighting Game - Street Fighter IV

In the past, I’ve never really known a lot about Street Fighter, or really played it much, if ever. I got Tekken 2 bundles with my PS1 back in the day and always just assumed that Tekken was the pinnacle of fighting games. I must admit that I’m not a fighting game expert, and while I didn’t get into the technical side of SF4, I appreciate the 2D nature of the game and the old school gameplay mixed with modern subsystems which allow many different tactics to be deployed.

Best Music Game - The Beatles: Rock Band

Beatles: Rock Band really stands out among a sea of cheap Guitar Hero cash-ins and while the main entrant in the series, GH5 was actually good, and metallica was good for fans of that type of music. The other GH games: Greatest Hits and Van Halen were shameful cash-ins for Activision. New entrant DJ Hero was surprisingly good but despite the fact that I haven’t played DJ Hero, from what I’ve seen of the game, it can’t compete with Beatles: Rock Band’s incredible attention to detail, great setlist and fun gameplay. The game was made with love, it was clear and that’s a great thing to see.

Also notable: Guitar Hero 5

Best Puzzle Game - Critter Crunch

Critter Crunch is an incredibly stylish downloadable PSN puzzle game where you feed critters to larger ones to create chains. Controls are tight, graphics are incredible and the art style is simple irresistible.

Best Racing Game - Dirt 2

While Dirt 2 does effectively insult and ignore the history of Rally and what Colin McRae stood for, the fact is that it is a very well made, very fun off-road racing game in its own right. Despite playing the game on PC, it’s still undoubtedly the best driving game of the year on PS3. The only game to beat it in the genre in my opinion is Forza 3.

Also notable: Need for Speed: Shift

Best Shooter - Borderlands

I’ve been agonising over this award for a while. Borderlands and Modern Warfare 2 are the main contenders although I did also play Killzone 2. KZ2 and Modern Warfare both have single player campaigns which I didn’t enjoy whatsoever. Please note that this is my own personal opinion. Borderlands, even though it’s known as a co-op game, I’ve been playing so far exclusively single player and I’ve been enjoying myself more than I thought I would do. When I go online, I’m expecting it to get even better so I’m looking forward to that.

Also notable: Modern Warfare 2, Killzone 2

Best Sports Game - FIFA 10

FIFA finally got the jump on its arch rival Pro Evo Soccer this year, and in my opinion it’s richly deserved. Konami has sat back while EA have been really working hard to improve their game and make it the definitive football experience. While I’m not a huge fan of real football, I’ve always had a soft spot for the games, despite skipping about 5 years of the FIFA series up until last year. The gameplay is solid and the licenses of all the leagues and teams is a great thing in my opinion, and has always been one of the series strong points.

Also notable: NBA Live 10

Best Visual Quality - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

It’s hard to argue with this, UC2 has mind blowing graphics in both gameplay and cutscenes. I’m sure I’ve never seen better, more real looking cutscenes before anywhere.

Also notable: Killzone 2, Ratchet & Clank: ACiT

Best Use of Sound - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

UC2 has possibly the best voice acting ever in a video game. Nolan North is fantastic as Drake. The whole cast is brilliant. Voice acting aside, the soundtrack is perfectly suited to the game and the mood feels right when you play. Sound effects too are top notch.

Also notable: Ratchet & Clank: ACiT, Killzone 2, Modern Warfare 2

Best Story - inFamous

inFamous is a very impressive open world game. While I found the difficulty to be punishing at around the mid-point in the game, I thought the story was well told and very in depth for a new IP. Other games like Batman had good stories but are less impressive mainly due to there being such a huge pool of stories to draw inspiration from.

Also notable: Batman: Arkham Asylum, Ratchet & Clank: ACiT

Best Multiplayer - Modern Warfare 2

MW2 is probably the best multiplayer game of all time, and that’s not an understatement. The game is impeccably well engineered to offer not just a great gameplay experience, but also by far the best matchmaking and hosting service ever. One of the most important aspects in multiplayer gaming is how fast actually getting into the game is and how the smooth / lag free the gameplay itself is once you get there. MW2 excels in all areas, leading to the massive commercial and critical success it has garnered to this point.

Also notable: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Killzone 2, Battlefield 1943

Best Downloadable Game - Shatter

This category I think is the toughest to call of all of them. It says a lot about the breadth of great games available on PSN in 2009 that I can’t pick one. In the end, I picked Shatter because it offers something rarely seen anymore in modern gaming, and that is a breakout style brick breaking game, with a twist. I could have given this category to Critter Crunch but didn’t because I felt I should share the awards around as much as possible. Flower is also fantastic and a game you can give to pretty much anyone. Fat Princess is less mainstream but very fun nonetheless. PixelJunk Shooter is a recent release and is also very good. All in all, you should get all these games.

Also notable: Critter Crunch, Flower, Fat Princess, PixelJunk Shooter

PS3 Game of the Year - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

I’m sure you know by now, Uncharted 2 is incredible. It;’s won more awards that any other game and deservedly so. Pick this up, and if you don’t own a PS3 yet, now is the best time yet to grab a slim version.

Also notable: Ratchet & Clank: ACiT, inFamous, Batman: Arkham Asylum

Up next: Wii

I’ve had issues with my Wii and PS3. We bought the PS3 together but now my bro is buying a slim because our launch 60 has an f’d up blu-ray drive. I don’t trust discs anymore and he plays it much more anyway so he’s footing the bill.

When I’ve had trouble with both of the generally more reliable systems, I can only imagine the joys being a 360 owner would bring.

This week they’ve launched a host of new spaces and items. The Audi space and Sodium One are the main two, but there’s also items you can buy based on LBP and other things.

The Audi space’s main reason for existence is the special game, which looks a lot like wipeout but with an Audi. The objective in the game is relatively simple. You try to build up as much speed as possible and then drive off the end of a large ramp. The further you fly, the higher the score. If you get a high enough score, you can unlock an Audi Apartment. I’m not sure what the required score is, and I probably won’t get it, but it’s cool for the people who get it.

In the end though, this space, like all the others except the original bowling alley, has next to no replay value.

The other space, called Sodium One is much the same story. The space includes multiple mini-games but it also asks you to purchase the full versions of these games to play at higher levels.

If the games were really fun and controlled well then fair enough, but in my opinion the hover tank game controlled very loosely and it didn’t feel very satisfying.

Not only that but Modern Warfare 2 didn’t get any awards on PS3 either. Not even for best shooter or best multiplayer.

Despite how great Uncharted 2 is, I think in terms of multiplayer, MW2 surely has the edge. Also controvertial is Killzone 2 beating MW in best shooter on PS3.

I feel as if the playstation team used this opportunity to highlight the exclusives for the system. Having said that, UC2 and KZ2 are both very worthy in both categories.

Seeing as we may have to get a PS3 Slim soon, the new data transfer utility will help a lot and make things much easier. It allows you to hook up two systems by ethernet to move games and save data over.

You will also be able to play minis on your PS3 with the update, which may sound weird but I suppose it can’t hurt really.

edit: Maybe it can hurt. What if Sony use this to overprice content that should be cheaper, and justify rising prices for all other PSN games which used to cost around £4-5 and end up at £8-12.

Firstly, this game is stunning to look at. It runs at full 1080p and you can tell. It has a beautiful hand-drawn art style that lends itself perfectly to this type of game.

Secondly, the gameplay is great. I played this on the iPod touch after I found out about the game through the Playstation Blog. I thought it was fun on the app store, but the controls were a bit iffy at times.

None of those complains are applicable in this PSN downloadable game. The d-pad movement and button control just gives such precision it’s a joy to play. The game features a full story mode, which is very well presented for a game like this. It’s more than you would expect definitely. It also features a variety of other modes like puzzle and survival as well as co-op and versus play both online and offline.

I did manage to play a game of vs online but in the end I liken this to games like street fighter or other fighters where unless you consider yourself very capable, then I would steer clear because it will be difficult for you to win even one game.

The presentation of the game is top-notch. The menus and little details in the game are great. Things like when the main character biggs dances at the end of a level, or when his son smalls comes onto the screen in a comedic speedy fashion, it’s hard not to laugh every time you see those things.

This is so much so that even when I lost a game online and all the critters fell down and got into a scrap with biggs, that made me laugh.

The final reason you should get this game is that it’s by a small independent company, Capybara games and not only should you support them for the game itself, but because they’re charging a very reasonable price for it. £4.45 on the PSN is great considering the recent trend of increasing the prices of most new games to around £7.99 or more.

So in conclusion, if you have a PS3 and you can afford to part with £4.45 then I strongly recommend you check this game out. It’s near impossible that you’ll regret it. I can’t wait to see what Capy do next.