Thinking of buying a PS3, well I DID LOL

[FiftyDollarCurse]

It's probably cheaper to just buy a slim PS3 and a slim PS2 than to try and track down a backwards compatible PS3.

[Jayson]

PSN is free to play online. You will need a bluetooth headset (or an old wired PS2 USB one will work as well) for voice chat. The PSN cards are for buying games/movies/DLC on the PSN network, though you can just pay with a credit card too.

If you have Netflix, request a free streaming disc from them, it works pretty good.

[kgcarini]

What! You got a PS3. j/k

Have fun with it. I would like to get one in a couple of years. (Too expensive for me!)

[Dakinggamer87]

Awesome you got a PS3!! There are a ton of great games to choose from.

Some of my recommendations:

Ratchet and Clank: ToD, Crack in Time
Infamous
Metal Gear Solid 4
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2

PSN also has great original titles like PixelJunk Eden!!

[wclem]

Gonna try Ratchet and Clank tonite!!

[FiftyDollarCurse]

I'm curious, did you ever play any of the PS2 Ratchet & Clanks? Which game are you starting with?

[wclem]

I have played them on the PS2, which one.... Off the top of my head I honestly couldnt remember.

I have played too many games LOL

[itsmattxp]

Congrats on making the plunge, you do not have to pay for PSN but you have to pay to buy games off the PSN store.

[IcKy99]

Platforming:
Little Big Planet
Rachet and Clank series

Adventure:
Darksiders
Infamous
Uncharted series

[wakeup]

Zelda-style adventure games, Mario-style platformers, Resident Evil-like survival horror games, and don't care about online play

I don't know. When I see this, I think of Wii and Ps2. You said you dislike Wii's controller but you can just hook up a gamecube controller (which cost like $10 now). And PS2 has so much Mario-style platformers and Resident Evil-like survival horror games that you can go on for years completing the good ones. And with regards to the Mario-style platformers on the ps2, they look almost as good as the ps3. I must say the Resident Evil-like games have improved on the ps3 though (improved graphics do work wonders).