Sony Playstation 3 (Steve)

I stumped up a small fortune for a new PS3, along with Motorstorm and Resistance:FOM last weekend. I've had a few days with the beast now and feel compelled to air my thoughts so far*

First impressions are very good. It's a very slick looking machine, and feels sturdy and expensive (which it is). It comes with a whole host of cables to get you up and running, but NO HDMI cable, which I find unforgivable given Sony's continual blathering about HD. Alas the quality feel of the product does not extend to the controller, or the SIXAXIS as they insist on calling it. It feels cheap, light, and it still has crappy analogue sticks. The new analogue triggers also feel very flimsy and are poorly positioned. I've only had limited time with the 360 controller, but the general consensus is that it is a far superior pad.

The games are a joy though. Motorstorm is absolutely stunning to look at, huge fun to play and has a cracking 12-player online mode that never gets dull. Resistance is also a great hit. It's no Halo beater, but the single player game is absorbing and the online modes are expansive, with a good number of levels, FORTY-player online matches and a great set of weapons.

The online stuff is not bad so far. It doesn't match up to what I've heard about Live on the 360 - it's probably closer to Live on the original Xbox at the moment, but with the ability to download smaller games, game demos and movie trailers, all in HD glory. And on that point, the video output of the PS3 through HDMI on my Panasonic plasma is STUNNING. Truly gorgeous. Both games and Blu-Ray movies look the business.

Chuck in a load of extra connnectivity (USB, multiple memory card/stick ports, ethernet, wifi, all sorts of video/audio outputs) and this does seem to be the ultimate living room hub. It's certainly a neater solution than the 360, and much quieter (and less unreliable so far, but time will tell). The cost is going to be the killer if anything - £425 gets you a lot, but are the extra features worthwhile for everyone?

It's a good machine, and there's a lot more to come. PS Home, Little Big Planet, and a lot of exclusive games. It gets a big spanx thumbs up.

*Sucker Kenshi in to buying one