With four ways to game in the living room or office, buyers have more options than ever before. Here's our quick guide to what separates one system from another.
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Sony PlayStation 3
Will 2007 be the year of the PS3?
Price: $399/$499
Who needs it: The Technophile
The Basics
Sony had a slow start with its third PlayStation, but the exclusives are starting to arrive and the catalog's up to almost 100 titles. Its online service isn't as well-organized as Xbox Live, but it is free and packed with demos, and has more experimental and oddball games than Live. Also free with the system are Blu-Ray movie playback and wireless networking capability, which are built-in rather than add-on accessories, as in the Xbox 360. The motion-sensitive SixAxis wireless controllers have rechargeable batteries, and both the 40 GB and 80 GB boxes are HDMI compatible.
Media and Extended Entertainment Capabilities
Though not all games for the PS3 support 1080p gaming, the system is the most aggressively high-def console available. The system can upconvert standard DVDs or playback Blu-Ray discs for HD movie viewing; movies look fantastic on the system. The PS3 can also read your PC's media library and act as a media server to push content to your PSP anywhere there's an internet connection.
The Exclusive Games
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune:
Combining the best elements of Raiders of the Lost Ark and Tomb Raider, the creators of the Jak and Daxter series turn to jungle adventure in this story of a treasure hunt gone wrong.
Warhawk:
Sony's debut into online-only play is a frantic, lightning-speed aerial battle, pushing the SixAxis controller and your reflexes to the limit. This game is one of the best party games for the PS3.
Ratchet and Clank Future:
One of Sony's premier franchises continues, with Pixar-level animation, to challenge every notion of what a great platforming game can be.
