A few months ago I wrote a short article about how I bought a Playstation 3, and then packed it back up and put it in my closet. Since then, I’ve set up the PS3 and have spent a fair amount of time with it. I still don’t own any games (well, real games anyway) for the console, but at the same time, I’m pretty happy with the it. If that makes any sense.

I figure since there are so many negative articles about the PS3, why not write something positive about it for once? Now listen, I could easily rebuttal every positive I write down with a negative, but remember, this is a positive write up. Without further ado…

Playstation Store: I have to hand it to Sony, the Playstation Store is awesome. It isn’t the most user friendly experience (damn it, a negative already), but the amount of content up there more than makes up for it. The store gets updated every Thursday with a wide range of content. You can usually find at least one or two new demos, additional game content, download only titles, movie trailers, wallpapers, and then some. Prices vary, but there is a healthy amount of free stuff up there for grabs. I might not have any games, but I downloaded enough demos to fill up more than half of the 60 gig hard drive. In fact, I recently went through and deleted a bunch of stuff.

The download games haven’t quite reached the ‘amazingness’ that is Xbox Live Arcade, but the variety is certainly there. There are a handful of classics like Symphony of the Night, Mortal Kombat 2 and QBert, and some really solid original stuff like fl0w, LocoRoco Cocoreccho, and Super Stardust HD. Upcoming titles like Echo chrome also look damn sweet. On top of this, Sony is slowly releasing certain full retail titles on the shop too, with a port of Tekken for the PSP (in glorious HD) and Warhawk paving the way.

The Playstation Store proves that even if you don’t own any physical games, there is still plenty to play around with.

Legacy games look great: You have to hand it to Sony for including almost full backwards compatibility with both Playstation 1 and Playstation 2 games. The PS3 upscales all of your old titles, and they look as good as they’re going to look on an HD screen. It’s also nice that these games all save on the hard drive, so no need for memory cards anymore.

It’s a great Bluray/DVD player: As we all (should) know, the PS3 also plays Bluray discs, and needless to say they look damn fine. Considering Bluray players are a steep price to begin with, I’m not sure why anyone wouldn’t buy a PS3 just for that reason. Also, thanks to a recent firmware update, the PS3 upscales standard DVDs. They obviously don’t look as nice as a BD, but thanks to the upscaler they look really good. Chances are your DVDs will look twice as nice on the PS3 than the DVD player you already own. I never bothered watching DVDs on my PS2, but the PS3 has become my primary device for watching movies. Even if BD dies in the HD format war, at least you’ll still have a great DVD player, and can play Metal Gear Solid 4… which brings me to my next point.

It has Metal Gear Solid 4: Now chances are this game will come out on the 360, but for right now, it’s not. Because I can’t seem to gush enough about the MGS series, I figured I would just remind everyone of just how awesome MGS4 is going to be. Even though we’re four games into the ‘Solid’ series, and people will likely be baffled by the story, I honestly think this game could bring new MGS fans into the fold. It’s clear that Kojima Productions is doing their homework when it comes to controls, and Western game development. One thing Kojima Productions has that not many others do have, are great animators, freaking fantastic level design that can be played through in a near infinite number of ways, and sound that is going to blow your roof off. These guys are likely going to use the Sixaxis in ways you didn’t think possible either. Just think about what they did with the original Dual Shock and dream. I can’t wait.

Good games are on the way: Okay, so Heavenly Sword and Lair both proved to be a bust, but that doesn’t mean Sony is out of solid exclusives. Games like Folklore, Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, and LittleBigPlanet look like must haves to me. While it may not remain exclusive, it’s the only place you’re going to find Final Fantasy XIII. Though they haven’t been announced, you just know it’s only a matter of time before something comes out of the Ico team, and the inevitable God of War 3.

Playstation Network is free: Finally, it may not be as robust as Xbox Live (though easily trumps the Wii), but getting onto the Playstation Network is free. Seriously, all you do is register and you’re set. You can easily take part in online games and compete for bragging rights on leader boards for different games. It’s easy to add all of your friends to your friend list (you know, all zero people you know that own a PS3) and keep tabs on what they’re up to. It also helps that the PS3 also includes built in wi-fi, so you don’t need to buy any additional stuff if you already have a wireless network set up in your house.

And there you have it.