So how’d you find “The Tester”?

So the first episode of the PSN reality series, The Tester, finally hit the PlayStation Store on the last update. It’s nearly a gig large and it should take you awhile to finish downloading, especially if it’s continually on pending due to PS3 playtime. I gave it a look, and here’s a little something I got from it.

So the first episode of the PSN reality series, The Tester, finally hit the PlayStation Store on the last update. It’s nearly a gig large and it should take you awhile to finish downloading, especially if it’s continually on pending due to PS3 playtime. I gave it a look, and here’s a little something I got from it.

I’ve watched a lot of reality shows – from top-raters like Survivor and The Amazing Race, to under the radar ones I can’t even remember the titles of. You might say I liked the genre, though I’d rather say I had a bit of a gaming drought that got me to watching TV more. Being a much bigger fan of PlayStation, I have to admit that I was curious as to how Sony would go about their first stab at it.

I won’t go into detail so as to avoid spoiling it for those who want to get into it, so don’t worry.

Reality shows, given their nature, would focus on character and interpersonal dynamics apart from the competition that brought them all together. For its pilot, The Tester had next to none of that. The episode had about enough to give a decent backgrounder on one aspirant, leaving much of the rest a complete blur. Too bad, there seems to be a diverse crowd in that Tester joint, so if you’re curious about what the others did and where they came from, you’ll probably have to wait for the succeeding episodes.

Okay so you’re not interested in the characters, except maybe the cute host. Now we move on to another angle – the competition. Just like all the other reality shows, The Tester will come with tasks, and those who suck will be put up for elimination. For comparison, I’d say that the closest that The Tester’s format goes is with the one in America’s Next Top Model, which isn’t exactly the only one of its kind. If the modelling skills needed to be seen for Top Model, The Tester’s tasks would focus on the skill set needed to be a good game tester.

Since very little contestant talk time was shown, the episode went right to business. They came, they had their first task, a few of the usual confession-cam scenes in between, and they sent the first aspirant home. It was that quick.

About the only non-spoiling point of interest I found in the middle of all that was the brief tour around the house. There are PS3s all over the place, and it’s even decorated with a PSOne mounted on the wall – made me think I should do the same to my old faithful. They’ve got games like Uncharted 2 over there, but they didn’t show any playtime or reveal much of what they know about it because, as I’ve said, they went right to business.

Overall, a lackluster opener. It’s free, but it didn’t quite compensate for the time you spent downloading it. We’re gamers, so if you want us to take a break from playing to go see the show, you might as well make sure we come back for seconds. There are a few points of interest, but I don’t believe the producers built on them to keep the gaming audience glued. This, of course, comes from a gamer’s standpoint. I’d have loved to see them play each other on a game, but I really can’t blame the show for lacking what I wanted to see. Then again, if it’s a show for gamers, then might as well show something gamers would relate to.

It’s not a complete waste of time. In fact, I’m going to watch the next episode just to see if the show progresses into something other than the competition. There’s still a lot to be seen.