Since July, we’ve been fumbling with 3-4 remote controls every time we want to watch something. Here we are with all these great components, but it’s so annoying to change the channels or raise/lower the volume.

• Want to watch television? Two remotes — FiOS DVR remote, Panasonic TV remote, and stereo sound.
• What to watch television with surround sound?  DVR, TV, and AV receiver.
• Want to watch a movie? DVR, TV, AV receiver, and PS3 controller.

BTW, it’s weird to watch a movie using a PS3 controller. I don’t know if I’m trying to fast forward or sniping someone from a tower window. My wife can’t stand tryng to watch a movie, being unsure if SQUARE is to stop, or L1 is rewind, etc.

We knew we wanted to get a universal remote, but it’s a bit pricey. The Logitech Harmony line of universal remote controls get good reviews, and I’ve had my eye on the Harmony One remote. It’s supposedly easy to configure(programmed at your home PC), and there’s even a Harmony PS3 Bluetooth adapter so one can control a PS3.

All that goodness comes with a $200 price tag, so my wife has been a little reluctant. Rightfully so, since it’s expensive proposition, but the value is there. Last week, we’d finally had enough, and my wife actually ordered it. My wife, God bless her, has a high tolerance, but she readily admits it’s a bit of a pain to watch a movie.

I worked from home today so I could run errands, and be home for the remote. Setting up the various “Activities’” remote control was fast. Here’s my review of the Harmony One install and setup process:

1. Plug in the remote control cradle and the PS3 adapter so the remote can charge for a bit.
2. Install the software on your home PC.
3. Select and input your various home theater components (brand and model number.)
4. Configure what actions to take, what inputs to change to, what isn’t used.
5. Plug in the remote control via USB cable so the configuration can be transferred over.
6. Bonus — On your PS3, register your Bluetooth adapter.

That’s all there is to it. I’ve noticed one hiccup on the changing of the television inputs, but I’ll figure it out. When you hit “Watch TV” for example, it’s supposed to switch to HDMI1 or whatever. A few times today, it was on the incorrect TV input instead, and I’m not sure yet. There are also some additional remote options/controls on the touchscreen portion of the remote. I’m wondering if I can configure those as well. Again, I’ll figure it out. So far, I like what I see.

Logitech Harmony One

Harmony One in the cradle and the PS3 adapter

This week, Media Molecule / Sony Entertainment announced that it is releasing a sequel to LittleBigPlanet in time for the holiday 2010 season. It’s a fantastic game, so I’m looking forward to picking this up for Christmas. Debut trailer below  

Last Father’s Day, my thoughtful-and-smoking-hot wife surprised me with a copy of Bioshock for the PS3. The game originally debuted for the PC and XBox 360 in 2007, and later ported to the PS3 in 2008. It’s a first-person shooter, much like the classic games of yore that I used to really enjoy, such as Wolfenstein 3D and Half-Life. Did you notice that I said “used to enjoy”? Well, yes, I used to be really into first-person shooters, and no, I never felt nauseous or dizzy while playing them. As a matter of fact, I felt immersed.

However, after some time away from most games in this genre, I got into third-person (over the shoulder) games like the those of the Uncharted series, and also Heavenly Sword. I like them better, because you can still be the character, and yet see what’s going on around. Who’s in front of you, who’s behind you, who’s creeping up next to you with a shotgun. It’s the best of both worlds. In comparison, first-person shooters seemed a little…… I’m not sure how to describe it. I guess what unnerved me was that in those first-person games, you can’t see someone behind you or sneaking up next to you. I don’t like scary surprises — I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t even like showering with my eyes closed. Call it paranoia.

Back to the present — it’s been nine months, and I hadn’t played Bioshock yet, but I knew it was a fantastic game. I mean, I heard, anyway. Early last year, I had downloaded the demo, and it was some scary shit. The visuals were beautiful, but the geez, the atmosphere was too real. The background sounds, the dangerous splicers off in the distance talking, the occasional approaching footsteps that aren’t your own. Man, talk about unnerving. It was scary, and yet exhilarating. I was unnerved (probably unnecessarily since it’s just a game), but since it’s so beautiful and enthralling, I was so intrigued.

Bioshock is one unnerving game experience.

So, there was I was this month. It was a quiet weekend, I’d recently beaten Uncharted 2 a few weeks earlier. I popped in the Blu-ray game disc, and bam!, back to be freaked out. I’ve played only a few hours so far, but wow, it’s a fantastic game. The visuals of this art-deco city under the ocean are stunning and enchanting, and the gameplay is….. well…. it’s well-done, but utterly unnerving. Twice so far, I’ve walked into a room, and then the lights went off. Footsteps approached quickly, and I was attacked.  So yeah, a guy who doesn’t even like to close his eyes in the shower, and there I’m fighting in the dark for my life.

So what’s the premise? The game is set in an alternate 1960 in the underwater city of Rapture. This fellow named Andrew Ryan built a city underwater, and took the so-called “best and the brightest” with him to create a utopian society, far away from religion, capitalism, and communism. Down there, scientists discovered some sort of sea slug that could be used to synthesize this stuff called ADAM, which could be used to make various plasmids. These injectable plasmids would rewrite your DNA, and give you abilities like shooting electricity, fire, etc, out of your hands.

Somewhere along the way, the utopian society gave way to madness and anarchy. Most people went crazy, and started killing each other. Your airplane (you are Jack) crash lands in the water near the Rapture, and end up in this decaying, falling-apart city under the ocean, and surrounded by the surviving denizens of Rapture, now called “splicers.” Oh, they’re all quite mad. Quite, quite mad. People walking around with large butcher knives, blood splattered on the walls, freaky stuff written on the walls in blood, people wearing those weird animals masks (a la The Shining.) One time, there was this one woman crying over a coffin. I walked up to her, and she turned around and started attacking me, while wearing a bunny mask. I killed her, and looked in the coffin. It was empty, except a cake.

If the story and the visuals weren’t so amazing, I would have thrown the disc into the fireplace a long time ago.

Whoa. Geek alert. Calling all 80′s Transformers fans. There is a game. Xbox, PS3, and PC gamers (and fans) rejoice.

On IGN (bottom of page 5) this week, I stumbled upon a mention for a new game coming in 2010 called Transformers: War for Cybertron. Activision is publishing a third-person shooter based the Transformers property, but thank goodness, it ain’t the crap that Michael Bay put out. It’s kinda similar to the 80′s cartoon and comics, but less blocky. You can play as either Autobot or Decepticon faction, as they battle each other in the era before coming to Earth (if you follow the lore.)

The game trailer is available in SD and HD (full screen) on gametrailers.com. It’s a little hard to watch and focus in some parts, but I spotted Megatron, Starscream, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Ratchet.  Even cooler? You also get to see Omega Supreme and Trypticon. Way cool. I hope the game doesn’t blow chunks.

Back on Dec 19th, my friend Reeba got me Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (on recommendation by my dear wife) for a Secret Santa gift exchange. Since Dec 20th, I’ve been playing maybe an hour or so of Uncharted 2 on the Playstation 3, give or take. Some days, I play two or more hours, while some days I don’t play at all. 

Am I in college with free time to play hours a day? No. Do I have an HDTV to enjoy the fine graphic detail? No. In spite of it, I have to say that every game review is right on the money. This game is friggin’ amazing. It has to be one of best games I’ve ever played. The storyline is straight out of an action movie, the protagonist (Nathan Drake) is supremely identifiable, the acting is top-notch, the visuals are stunning, the story is entertaining, and the music is enjoyable. I love this game , because I am having so much fun with it.

Yes, you can get slightly frustrated at times, but not due to deficiencies in the game itself. There are some events and scenes where the goals can feel slighly impossible as you die over and over again. When you get past it, and you eventually will, you feel great. Furthermore, as you play, even though you are struggling, you are awestruck by what you’re trying to do — trying to outsmart the tank chasing you through a village, a firefight through the aforementioned village, fighting and maneuvering a moving train, or jumping from truck to truck in a convoy while battling soldiers shooting at you from other moving jeeps. The ancient puzzles to solve, as well as treasure hunting, and feats & trophies to accomplish and win make it all the better.

I gotta mention the train. In two consecutive chapters of the story, you jump onto a moving train, and must slowly make your way to the front of the train, in order to rescue a friend. You will fight soldiers within and on top of the train, using stealth, hand-to-hand combat, or a myriad of weapons you pick up from the foes you kill. Meanwhile, this train is travelling at full speed through absolutely stunning landscape that looks so realistic, you wish you could just sit on the train and watch the scenery. I’ve embedded a portion of the train chapter below (a rather harrowing portion of the story, let me tell you) from Youtube. Watch it full screen, and hit the HD button. It’s sweet.

I’ve now posted video and pictures here, but if you want to see more, check out the website above for the trailer with actual gameplay. You can click any of the photos here to see larger screenshots of the game in all it’s glory. It’s a phenomenal series, and Uncharted 2 is a great addition to any collection. There are just so many times while I’m playing that I just say to myself, “I can’t believe what I’m doing now.” When you play, you just feel like Indiana Jones.

Nums & Reeba, thank you so much!

I got two new PS3 games for Christmas this year. Both highly rated. Both cool.

The first is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, the 2009 sequel to Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. I loved the first Uncharted and the character of Nathan Drake. This sequel has great gameplay, a great story, and is just fun to play.  It’s truly like being in an action movie. At the time of this posting, I’m about halfway through, and it’s absolutely phenomenal.

The second is Batman: Arkham Asylum. The game was written by Paul Dini, and features the voices of Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill.  Dini, Conroy, and Hamill were all involved in the original (and beloved) 1990′s Batman: The Animated Series, of which I’m also a huge fan. I haven’t gotten too far in this game yet, but it’s interesting.

New games - Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Batman: Arkham Asylum

I’m so looking forward to picking up this sequel when it is released this year.  That HIND helicopter looks like it is going to be a pain in the butt. Yes, the game actually looks like this. The original was so much fun.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune is near the top of the list of my favorite games of all time.  It’s certainly the best game I’ve played in a long time.  I’m nearing the end of the game, which is sad.  The good news is that there is lots of replay value in the game, so I plan to replay it again.  The even better news?  The sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is coming to the PS3 later this fall. 

Below is footage of actual gameplay.  It’s about the same as the original game, but the graphics looks slightly more refined.  In just 5 minutes, I saw some neat new moves that look absolutely fun.  Looks awesome.  Check it out, and maybe you’ll understand why I like the game.  You feel like you’re the main character in this engrossing story. I don’t let Josh watch me play much at all, but I do let him see the G-rated jumping and running action.  He’s always asking if we can have “Nate” (Nathan Drake in the game) find some more treasure. 

Try to watch it in Hi-Res.  I love this series.

Killzone 2

My other redeemed-rewards-points PS3 game arrived today: Killzone 2.  I installed it this evening, but I haven’t had an opportunity to play it yet.  Too many other things to do around here than to play videogames.  I have played the downloadable demo, and the game is pretty neat.  Good graphics, good feel to it.  I’m not ready to play it yet, as I have to finish Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune first.

The premise of the game (turns out to be the 3rd in the series) is you take your battle against the alien invaders to their home planet.  Expecting a quick win, it turns into a slugfest.  Not much of a story, I gather, but it’s an opportunity to do cool stuff in a combat zone with your squad. I’ll play it in a couple of weeks, no rush.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune

I used some reward points to pick up two new games: Killzone 2 and Uncharted: Drakes Fortune.  Uncharted: Drakes Fortune arrived today in the mail, and I started playing it late this evening.  This game is awesome! This platform game is in the same vein as the Tomb Raider series, but I like it so much more.  Yes, it is a lot like Tomb Raider, but it feels like I’m also watching (and participating) in an Indiana Jones movie.  The gameplay intermixes with cutscenes wonderfully, and there’s just enough tips and hints at these early stages to help me find my way.  Controls are pretty intuitive too.

The premise of the game is you play Explorer Nathan Drake, a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, who begins a search for an ancient relic that is linked to his ancestor. With the help of some sidekicks, you-as-Nathan traverse jungles, waterfalls, caves, and ruins while avoiding scummy modern-day pirates.  I’m having a kick-ass time, and it’s only been 90 mins.  That’s usually the sign of a good game.

This game came out in 2007, and there’s already a sequel, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, coming out in Fall 2009.  Why didn’t I get a PS3 years ago?

See the trailer below.  This is actual gameplay. I know, I know, I bet all you console guys and gals have been doing this for years.  I’m catching up to all the fun now.  Kanishk, you were so right.