Playstation Home is one of those applications that if you are a PS3 owner you have to try at least once, the premise is simple enough in that it’s a lot like the widely known SecondLife. Players are given the use of their very own avatar where they can choose the look they want, included is a standard apartment which can also be customized and decorated. While Playstation Home does indeed offer actual games to play the majority of them are mini-games that are good for a few minutes of killing time but not much else. On your travels you will discover locations that tie into movies like the Men in Black franchise along with the various games companies plugging popular titles like LittleBigPlanet, Resistance, Uncharted and even Bomber Man.
The busiest locations are parks and town squares where users can mingle and show off their wide variety of strange and wonderful costumes, avatars whiz past on all manner of vehicles ranging from bikes and cars to fantastic flying inventions that are sure to make you look twice. Animals also feature with dogs and big cats like tigers and lions taking the spot light, but they aren’t just kept as pets since players themselves can transform into the animal of their choice - which sounds like a brilliant feature except as with many other items on Playstation Home they have to be purchased by using real money through the PSN Store.
Once you realize how much money everything costs you can’t help but feel ripped off by Sony and it’s affiliates. A vast majority of the outfits and items you will see in the store and dotted around the world are licensed officially through everyone from Wrangler to Lucas Arts and while that sounds like and endless possibility of styles and looks at the end of the day it still reeks of a cash-grab. It’s true most online games require payment for their DLC but I think Playstation Home goes above and beyond anything I’ve seen before. I kept noticing items and outfits from some of my favourite games showing up in Home’s many stores and it occurred to me that there should be a system in place that would reward Home users game related items if the server said they played that title. While it’s true I was awarded a Resident Evil ornament for having the game on my system it was a small drop in the ocean of games I’ve played since then and none of them figured into Home’s free available content.
I’ll admit it wasn’t all a big scam, users were genuinely friendly and there was a strong sense of community in many of the main areas. Groups of people gathered and chatted about this and that while others joined in activities with each other and the remainder busied themselves flying model air planes, exploring on foot or riding bikes. I can see the need and positive effects of having a strong social community based platform like Home available for Playstation users but the price of the extra frills and thrills leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It’s worth giving Home a try if you haven’t - whether you want to kill a few hours or just socialize it really is fun while it lasts.
