That's a funny situation you have, experiencing some kind of "love at first play" with the PS3. Which game was it? You say you can't afford to just go buy a PS3 in addition to your 360, so I'm guessing you keep tabs on your cash like I do. So, one advantage, although small, perhaps, is the money you'll save with the free PSN service. You could buy a game with that money. Really, you'd be buying the PS3 for the games and for its functionality. How many exclusives do you have in mind that you'd want for your PS3? Are you a fan of Metal Gear Solid? What about Valkyria Chronicles, Little Big Planet and Resistance 2? Are you looking forward to Killzone 2? There are a lot of great exclusives for the PS3, so just think about which titles you want the most between the systems. I personally would have felt deprived without MGS4 and Valkyria Chronicles, and I just got LBP and I'm blown away. I also had a great time with Folklore and I love Disgaea 3, but don't have enough time to play them all.

Do you like Blu-Ray movies, and do you already have a Blu-Ray player? That's another thing to consider.

The PS3 also comes wireless ready, and you can link it to your PC and stream the music and movies on your PC to your PS3.

The controllers charge quickly while you play and last for a long time between charges. There are no extra accessories to buy to make them wireless. Oh yeah, the PS3 supports bluetooth as well, so if you have a cell phone headset, you can use it for your in-game mic. I have a Plantronics Voyager headset that I've connected to my PS3.

Those are some of the advantages I considered when I was researching the PS3 and 360. MGS4 wasn't even out when I bought mine, and look at me now... surrounded by awesome games and Blu-Ray movies with free online service. I've never used XBOX Live, but I've also never had a problem with PSN. I was playing a user created level on LBP yesterday and the creator knew I was playing within minutes and sent me a message to ask how I liked it. I was able to go to my inbox while in-game, so I thinkthe whole thing functions well. Home is also on the way and has a public beta right now that you can play around with. It's not everyone's pancakes with blueberry syrup, but it's free and you can meet likeminded people and walk around voice chatting.

Hope that helps!

I've seen a few people who make a point to analyze screenshots and zoom in on textures, like before MGS4 was released, there was commotion in the forums about the graphics being horrible because there was some texture that didn't look as good as a texture from another game when magnified. There must be people who rely heavily on the graphics, tricking out their PCs like sports cars to compete for frame rates and video settings. I actually agree that this thread is pointless, except it gives bored people (who are too lazy to play their PS3) like me something to do. Anyway, Disgaea 3 was a good example of the value a game could have without bearing great graphics. I do understand the feeling of thinking a game is awesome just from looking at the graphics--that was something I did when I was a child going to the arcades. I would waste several dollars playing a game I sucked at because it looked awesome.

I also think there is a valid point made about the substance of modern games deteriorating in the face of greater efforts to achieve graphical superiority. I'm just starting to enjoy next-gen gaming almost as much as gaming on my PS2, but I wonder why I still feel Shadow of the Colossus was so epic and I look at my PS3 games and I don't see any equivalent. I think about MGS3 more than MGS4 too. Then again, I haven't played any games all week so I'm probably just doing the nostalgia thing. Alright! There's my contribution to the pointless banter.

[QUOTE="Macri"]HOME is pretty lame as it now.... there is no customization, not much to do at all.... I did spend time talking to people and playing bowling, but it does become very very boring.... Its still missing the great features it said it will have... Video and music sharing.... customize your home with your own photos.... right now it really just a huge chatroomWR_Platinum

I guess you never tried to customize your character, because they have that feature....

Its like people excpect so much in a BETA.....Its in the BETA stage people! STFU with your b$@$#@ bout how it doesn't have "this" and "that".

Anyway, to the TC. I agree with you 100%.  Home is actually really good. It has great potential to be something great for everyone on PSN, can't wait till it comes out with the official launch.

Did you guys win the IceBreaker set yet? It's got my favorite pants and shoes. Pretty cool feature if you ask me. Oh yeah, and have you guys joined any clubs yet? Speaking of which, I need to get online and see if I got into the vegetarian club...

To those of you who are annoyed about the score, you should pay more attention to the last line of the review. Something along the lines of "if you own a PS3, you should own this game". That's a pretty good review in my book.SillySkeleton

Gotta admit, the words in the review are more generous than the score itself. I thought it was a good review, considering how great the game is, but it was lazy on their part to say the game isn't challenging and then neglect to mention the ranking system and the unlockable hard difficulty. Oh, the decorative medals, which are pretty much an in-game trophy system much like MGS4's. It can be a lot of fun spending time figuring out how to win each battle with an "A" ranking, plus you can win royal weapons to customize your characters with depending on your rankings.

Oh yeah, another thing that wasn't mentioned, for those who played Skies of Arcadia, is that Vyse and Aika are playable characters in the game. VC's got me hooked like when I was playing MGS4. Check it out people!

I want to know the full story about how one of the posters above ended up biting his MGS4 disc. Details! You can't just leave us wondering! Shoot, you could write a bestselling novel about that... it's a brilliant, original idea (eating MGS4). Yes! Title the book, "Eating MGS4". Or, better yet, write it as a screenplay so we can watch it as a Blu-Ray movie in about five years.

To the TC, you should definitely research the game. I thought the Metal Gear series wasn't anything special until after I'd purchased my PS3, which was before MGS4's release. Since it was being hyped as one of PS3's big exclusives, I watched the trailers and decided I had to own the game as part of the PS3 experience. But like most people suggest, I got the Essential Collection with the first 3 MGS games to tide me over while I waited for MGS4. When I played them, I thought to myself, "This is the stealth/action equivalent of Final Fantasy 7, one of the most epic things I have ever experienced!" MGS4 is has a deeply involved story, so if you don't care about what happens in the game and you just like shooting things mindlessly, this is probably not the game for you.

Oh yeah, and if you like the gameplay, MGS4 comes with Metal Gear Online for online multiplayer.