The Playstation Home Beta is in full swing, and Co-Optimus user Torg001 has posted a lengthy set of impressions from his experience. All in all, it looks pretty neat, and fairly polished, especially for a beta. Here are some of the highlights, and you can check out the full post right here.
The matchmaking and seemed solid, with such advanced characters, it took a bit for everyone to load in but it wasn't too long and you could see/hear people pretty well considering that PS has no standard mic. Even if you didn't have a mic, here is a preset list of voice options (HI, Bye, Yes, No, I have no mic, Etc..), a set of emotes (wave, point, dance, etc.) and a good ol' fashion text pad to type in with the word recognition/prediction.
Much like Fable 2, the voice is based on proximity. The closer you are to someone or something talking or making noise, the louder it will be...
Everyone gets a place to call Home when they start out. That home is a studio apartment overlooking a harbor. Nice ambiance, modernized design, and cleanliness make the apartment very relaxing. Plus, there is a decoration mode that allows you to change to wallpaper, and reposition furniture. Complete control over the furniture layout too, none of that "everything must be perpendicular" nonsense. If I want a couch sitting on top of a table, sitting askew in a corner, then that's what I get...
The bowling alley was the big draw for me, complete with lanes, arcade machines, and pool tables...
And here I thought the recent changes to the Xbox 360 interface were impressive! It just goes to show you the possibilities for this generation's consoles. Thanks again to Torg001 for sharing his impressions!