A REVIEW: IT'S REAL COOL, BUT NOT WORTH A FIGHT.

Byline: REDMOND CAROLIPIO Staff Writer

There's a quote from John Travolta about a milkshake in ``Pulp Fiction'' that sums up my feelings about my first few hours with the PlayStation 3:

``That's a pretty (bleeping) good milkshake. I don't know if it's worth five dollars, but it's pretty (bleeping) good.''

Of course, the PS3 is more than a milkshake, but you get my point.

With ``Resistance: Fall of Man'' from Insomniac as my virtual guide within the confines of the Arena Interactive Lounge in West Los Angeles, I can say that the PS3 is impressive and has the potential to be legendary -- ``potential'' being the key word.

For anyone who pays attention to aesthetics, you might need to budget some extra room in your entertainment center. The PS3 is a black, shiny monolith that won't make the noise of the 360, but its rounded shape and large size won't make it the easiest thing to fit for some people. Plus, it's as heavy as a tombstone.

Graphically, the PS3 games are stunning, and they should be, considering the processing juice behind the system. There was a conversational cut scene in ``Resistance'' where I stared at how crisp and fluidly the faces of the characters moved. The lips were synced nearly perfectly with the words, and even the expressions of the characters could have passed for real acting.

The backgrounds in the game also were worth watching, especially one scene in a church with light piping in from the windows.

When it came to game play, I was impressed -- but not blown away. I saw plenty of instances of excellent physics, lighting, detail and frame-rate. Battles in ``Resistance'' featured a lot of scorched earth that exploded beautifully, as well as some pretty smart bad guys that knew how to take cover.

However, I didn't see anything that completely blows away the best of the Xbox 360. If that's going to happen, we're probably not going to see those games for a while. That's the gamble with consoles -- the gaming graveyard is filled with unrealized potential.

One thing that surprised me was how quickly I adapted to the Sixaxis controller. The fact that it doesn't rumble irked me in the beginning, but I actually didn't miss it that much. It took some time getting used to the mushier, tension-sensitive shoulder buttons. The motion-sensing feature of the controller made its mark early, when a small creature jumped on my face and I literally ``shook'' it off. Very cool.

So, is it worth dropping $600 or waiting in a line for more than a week? Not yet. No matter how powerful a system is, there's no denying that games will always be the engine behind its success. And a launch lineup is way too early to judge the fate of a system. Don't worry if you're one of the many who came away from PS3 launch day empty-handed. Just grab a milkshake and wait until the really good stuff comes out.

redmond.carolipio(at)dailybulletin.com

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