Play on Home: "Prepare to be bored"

UK mag Play has issued a fairly damning verdict on Home, having been party to the beta since "early this summer". Snip:

What were we dreaming of? GT5 garages? Trophy cases showcasing our Uncharted skills? Whorehouses? If not these things, we were hoping for a fresh, vibrant and innovative way of networking on the PS3; this, though, is not the first opinion that strikes you, upon entering Home.

At the beginning, the outlook is much more depressing. The initial process of designing your character is fun, given that everything from lips, head size and build can be adjusted to your satisfaction, but it’s those first moments of aimlessly walking around that can be quite alienating. You begin in your empty apartment, with a door leading to the outside world and a seaside view from the windows in your room. Upon walking through the door, we were greeted with a sight that is unfortunately indicative of the Home experience: a download screen. For every new building that we entered, a 30-50mb additional update was needed, which was a little bit frustrating– why not condense everything into one 500mb download, and cut out the middleman? Perhaps this is something they’ll work on before it’s unveiled to the public.

The mag does add at the end of the piece that things are likely to get better when more people get involved.

As the service became populated, we saw how it all came together. Home, when brimming with life, excitement and conversation is something that you’ll want to be a part of, and it could genuinely work as a social tool. The PS3 lacks a decent community aspect, and Home, if implemented properly, could very well bring the Network to a higher standard. It could be worth the wait.

Full thing through the link. Home releases this autumn.