The PlayStation 3's main trump card, though, is its built-in Blu-ray drive. Don't underestimate the inclusion of this feature. By combining a Blu-ray player with the most powerful games machine ever created, you're essentially getting two £300 devices for the price of one.

Plus, the regular PS3 firmware updates keep the Blu-ray player inside the console completely up to date with all the newest standards and features. You can't say that about the vast majority of other BD players our there.

DVD playback is also fantastic. The PS3 uses its Cell processor to upscale DVDs to 1080p high definition, so even your DVD movies will look fantastic on an HD display. The Cell's enormous processing power can also be used to clean up fuzzy, blocky or grainy parts in DVDs or downloaded movie files.

And while we're on the topic of movie files, the PS3 is now compatible with most popular media formats, pictures, audio and video. DivX playback is a recent firmware addition, meaning videos downloaded from the internet can now be played on the PS3.

And you can do that in two ways - you can copy them to a USB storage device and plug it in, or your can stream them from your PC over your home network.

All media can be accessed in this way, which means if you've got a lot of photos, music and videos on your computer, you can view them on your PS3 as though they were stored locally.

Screaming fans

One of the biggest drawbacks with the Xbox 360 is that it makes a lot of noise. The internal parts generate so much heat that the Xbox requires large cooling fans, which rotate at such a speed as to create a perpetual drone. When playing games and watching DVD movies this noise gets worse.

The PS3 in contrast make no such noise. If you're playing a game or watching a movie, you won't hear any annoying buzz noises unless you hit the mute button - and even then you'll need a pair of razor sharp ears.

So finally, let's talk about value for money. As previously mentioned, you're getting a lot more than just a games console here.

You've also got a future-proof Blu-ray player; a web browser; a music, video and picture viewer; an upscaling DVD player; a social networking hub; and you can even install Linux on it. Plus, this model now comes with a DualShock 3 controller.

The PS3 is a brilliant, brilliant games console that will only get better over time. The PSN (PlayStation Network) is not yet up to the standard of Xbox Live, but it's on its way.

And as soon as this is brought up to date, the PS3 will surely be the most desirable HD console on the market.

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