Film, Gadgets, and Geekdom

I would like to declare my official position on Live Free or Die Hard.  It was an awesome action movie, the choice of actor for the bad guy was very good, and Bruce Willis almost picked John McClane back up.  Don’t get me wrong, I liked the character as Bruce Willis portrayed him.  I definitely got a “This is John McClane” feel from the role.  He was older and was shaved bald and I can deal with that.  The PG-13 rating left me wanting more out of the movie.  You didn’t quite get to hear the entirety of McClane’s catchphrase and he didn’t get nearly as bloody as he did in the previous movies.  All I can deal with since it was rated PG-13.  We can only hope for an unrated version or something like that which will bump it up to R standards, but never do “unrated” movies do such.

So, in terms of favorite Die Hard movie, Die Hard with a Vengence is still my favorite, followed by the first Die Hard, then Live Free or Die Hard, then the second movie.  So, for those of you I thoroughly confused, the movies in order of most to least favorite:

1. Die Hard with a Vengence
2. Die Hard
3. Live Free or Die Hard
4. Die Hard 2

Now, I like all the Die Hard movies, so don’t think that since Die Hard 2 is on the bottom, that you can just skip it in a marathon.  That would be worthy of asskickery.

In other news, I would like to render my official verdict in the PS3 vs. Xbox 360.  I think that I like the PS3 a little more than the 360.  Why?  Well because the interface on the PS3 is much cleaner, less cluttered and easier to deal with.  The ability to stream media content from my computer to the PS3 is not limited to Windows like it is with the 360.  I can utilize the Cell Processor and help a good cause with Folding@Home on the PS3.   I like how you can easily upgrade the HDD on the PS3 and it comes with Blu-Ray support out of the box, where you had to buy a separate unit for the 360 to get HD DVD (and even then it might not play everything).  Also, the PS3 comes with HDMI out of the box for full 1080p goodness on Blu-Ray discs.  You could argue that the 360 now has HDMI support, but I would disagree since I have a 1st generation 360 and am limited to 1080i out of my component cables.  That will teach me to buy first gen in the future.  The PS3’s power supply is all self-contained in the unit, whereas the 360 has this giant brick that you have to make sure stays ventilated along with the console itself.  The PS3 is backwards compatible with all PS1 and PS2 games, while the 360 has to emulate the few games on it’s backward compatibility list.  Sometimes games that are on the backward compatibility list don’t actually work on the 360.  Though, I think the backwards compatibility on PS3 was a little over engineered in that they added a whole PS2 to the inside of the PS3.  The PS3 also has a built in WiFi adaptor, whereas the 360’s is another $100.  The PS3 is now an upscaling DVD player and upscales PS1 and PS2 games.  I think I am seeing Microsoft’s pattern here.  Sony is doing all of their unit upgrades with firmware updates that are free, for example DVD upscaling was added in 1.80.  Microsoft is updating their unit with add ons you have to buy separately.  Now, to be fair, the 360 has had some decent firmware updates that have added 1080p support and more accepted file types for streaming media, but on the whole, I like the things Sony is adding to their PS3 a little more.  Oh, and the PS3 has motion sensitive controllers, which is ok.

However, there are some things I like about the 360 more than the PS3.  I do like the 360 controller a hell of a lot more than the PS controller.  It is much more comfortable and has rumble, which PS3 controllers don’t have (yet).  I didn’t use PS3 controller because all the Playstations at one time or another had the PS3’s controller design.  I kind of like the HD DVD add on because that doesn’t put that extra strain on the 360’s main drive, but that’s a mild concern.  The PS3 does get a little hotter than the 360, but since I’m not playing right next to the machine and it has its own shelf, this is kind of low on the list.  I like the game selection much more for the 360 (Gears of War and Crackdown, baby), but it has the advantage of being based on proven hardware and the console was released a year earlier.  I foresee the PS3 overtaking the 360 in this field in the coming years.  Once game designers really take advantage of the seven processors inside the PS3 and the Blu-Ray disc format, I personally believe the PS3 will win the console fight.

I’m sure I could spend more time thinking up reasons one is better than the other, but I think I have covered a good chunk of them.  Take note that I love both of the systems and I am happy that I have both of them.  I wish I could have waited for the 360 Elite, but then I don’t think I would have both systems.  Maybe I’ll save up for an Elite and give/sell my existing 360 to one of my friends who doesn’t have one.  We shall see.

Also, notice I said nothing of the Wii.  She isn’t part of this fight.  She is standing above both contenders, smirking her little smirk of ingenuity.  She doesn’t fall into the same weight class as the 360 or PS3 (literally or figuratively), in fact she is in a class all her own.  She doesn’t do much, but what she does do, she does very well.  There are some issues that I have with her, but she can’t help it.  She’s a video game console with a brand new look on how to play video games.  There are some bugs to be worked out, but like any sickness, it will clear up in time.  I can’t rightly say whether she will stand the test of time, but I can say that she will be fun while she’s around.  If some new things are done with the Wii, she might be able to keep on running alongside her two bigger, fatter brothers.

Ok, that’s enough personification of a video game console.  Keep in mind all of these statements are my personal opinion.  If you don’t like something I said, please feel free to shove it.  If you think I missed anything that you think is important or you just have a question, feel free to comment.  You can also, just comment because you like what I said, or if you have your own two cents, or blah blah blah.  You know what to do.