The Bottom Line: Since you can use the Playstation 3 for more than just video games, I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for an all-around multimedia experience!

Well, since our family has been using Sony Playstations for years (the original and then the PS2), it was a natural fit for us to get the Playstation 3. However, we did wait a while until we got the system, as we were still enjoying games on the PS2 as well as the Wii that we had gotten a couple of years back. So finally we went looking for one this past Christmas. I was finally able to find a 120 GB Playstation 3 system at GameStop as everywhere else was sold out.

THE FEATURES

Here are some of the features of the PS3 system:

- 120 GB Hard Drive (no more little pesky memory cards that hold only 8mb, so besides storing game save data you can store your photos, music and videos on the PS3 as well)
- HDMI Output for 1080p resolution (it's great to see this in HD)
- Built in Wi-Fi (so you can surf on the internet too, the browser is a little cumbersome though)
- Able to play PS3 games (obviously)
- Able to play DVDs (it upscales the DVDs to HD)
- Able to play Blu-Ray DVDs (it's great to see movies in HD)
- Able to play music CDs
- Able to stream movies from Netflix (more on this below)
- Dualshock 3 Wireless controller (that you recharge via the PS3 with an included cable)
- Able to use your PSP as an additional controller

So, the PS3 is obviously a system that allows you to play some serious games, but it also lets you do so much more. The great part is that since is kind of like an all-in-one multimedia solution, you don't need to have a separate DVD or Blu-Ray DVD player.....so that'll save you some money there!

THE GAMES

After getting the PS3, we had to get some games to play on it, so we wound up getting Battlefield: Bad Company, Civilization Revolution, Final Fantasy XIII, Tomb Raider Underworld and Burnout: Paradise City. I was impressed by the high quality of the graphics and sound on these PS3 games as compared with the games that we played on our PS2. Sure there may not be quite as many games like you can find on the Xbox360, but I still like the selection of games available on the PS3 right now.

Also, when new PS3 games come out, they are definitely not cheap. They are usually in the $49.99 to $59.99 range, so I usually wait a while until prices come down to buy them or look to see if I can find them any cheaper on eBay or Half. If a popular game has been out for a while, SONY will usually put out the game as a Greatest Hits game. Then the prices are usually in the $19.99 to $29.99 range which is much more reasonable.

NETFLIX

Okay, I really love this part. If you have a Netflix subscription (even if it's just 1 movie at a time-unlimited), you can get a disc from Netflix that will allow you to stream movies to your PS3 system that you can watch on your TV. Sure, we like watching the movies that come in the mail, but we've watched a whole lot more movies and TV shows via Netflix. So, you could watch an entire season of Dead Zone in one sitting if you wanted to, and it doesn't cost you anything extra.

Sure, not all of the movies and television shows are available to watch instantly, but you'll find that there are still thousands of options to choose from.

PLAYSTATION NETWORK

At least for right now (who knows what will happen in the future), it costs you $0 to play your multiplayer games on the Playstation Network using your PS3. Now, I know that they have added a Playstation Plus subscription that gives you additional exclusive content, downloadable games, etc., but if you just want to continue playing for free online, you don't have to subscribe. There are free things that you can download as well, like the bi-weekly, Playstation Pulse, which is like a short little 6 minute show about the latest Playstation games and movies that you can buy and/or download.

Also, since the PS3 can be connected to the internet via Wi-Fi, you periodically have system updates for your system that do take a little time. It can be a little annoying at times especially when you really want to watch a movie or play a game, but it's not the end of the world.

PLAYSTATION 2

If you're like us, you probably have or had a PS2 system with a lot of games. Now, this version of the PS3 is not backwards compatible, so you cannot play PS2 games on it. It would've been nice to play some of those PS2 games on the PS3, but we realized that we didn't want to play many of those PS2 games anymore because they just don't have the superior graphics & sound that the PS3 games do.

THE COST

Well, this is where the hurt comes in....our PS3 120GB system cost us about $299.99 + tax when I bought it almost a year ago. I know that you can probably find this system on eBay for less now especially since they are selling a 160GB system now in stores for $299.99. Sure, it doesn't seem too bad since you are replacing several multimedia components with just one device but still.

OVERALL

Overall, I am very pleased with the Playstation 3. The fact that it can do so much more than just play games makes it worthwhile having!