What to expect from PS3

Finally, there's the PlayStation Store itself, which took a minute to load up on our wireless connection. Once it does, though, navigating its blue-and-yellow interface is pretty easy (and also mouse-and-keyboard navigable). Here, you'll be able to download free demos, cheap games and other media, just like Xbox 360 owners have been doing on Live for a while now.

There are two irritations, however; when you're downloading something, you can't do anything else until the progress bar is done inching its way across your screen. And if you need to cancel the download for some reason, the system won't resume it from where you left off; even if you try to immediately grab it again, you'll start your download over from zero.

It's not perfect, but overall the PS3 is a formidable chunk of hardware right out of the box, and with the now-standard firmware updates that Sony introduced with the PSP, we expect it'll only grow more formidable over the next year or two.

Think we left out something important? Feel free to discuss your own experiences with your new next-gen monster in ourforum.

Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.