Read this before you buy the PS2 (Sony Playstation 2)

Member Name: ryanbritto

Product:	Sony Playstation 2
Date:	15/01/01 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: GOOD GRAPHICS , DVD

Disadvantages: EXPENSIVE

The original Playstation transformed games into a socially acceptable interest, a subject you could talk about with friends as you sat huddled around the TV in the early hours of the morning. It was the redefining of video games that made the Playstation such a massive success. Millions of fans have been waiting for the release of the Playstation 2 and this anticipation has made the job of Sony a very difficult one. There has been so much speculation about the Playstation 2 for so long that whatever Sony do some people are always going to be disappointed. There have been serious delays in the release of the Playstation 2 and they are only little stocks available in this country.

I luckily pre-ordered one of the Internet from a Company called software first and got mine a few days after Christmas. But is the Playstation 2 really worth £300.

The PS2 I a good-looking machine resembling a consumer electronic device rather than a games console but to be far it covers both bases. One of the most noval aspects of the design is that it can be used in either horizontal or vertical orientation. Although it will balance on its sided unaided it is well investing in a vertical stand to avoid any accidents and make it look even better too.

The outside is lovely to look at the inside is the interesting part. The CPU is a 128-bit affair, which runs around 300MHz. This may not seem like a lot by PC standards but for a console it is a lightning fast chip. Backing up the CPU is 32MB of RDRAM system memory. The graphics chip runs at 148MHz but is only supported by 4MB of video RAM. The SPU chip provides up to 48 channels of sound. The embedded DVD drive will spin DVD disks at 4-speed and CD-ROM disks at 24 speed. It will read PS2 CD-ROMS and DVD-ROMS, Playstation CD-ROMS, Music CDs and DVD-video disks.

Almost as interesting as what is on the inside of the box is the array of ports and connectors on the outside. Sony has only incorpo
rated two controller ports on the PS2. This is strange as the N64 and the Sega Dreamcast have four controller ports. This means that you will need to buy a multitap peripheral to play four player games, which increases the overall cost and makes the setup look messy. Adjacent to each controller port is a memory card slot. Another oddity was Sony decision not to use a memory stick for the Playstation 2, instead of having the same memory card design as the original Playstation.

Setting the PS2 apart from any previous consoles is the inclusion of numerous ports that you would be more accustomed to seeing on a PC. You?ll have two USB ports and a firewall port. These connectors open the door to all manor of peripheral devices. The fact that you can already get a USB ADSL modem is an exciting prospect and could prove Sony right in its decision not to ship with a standard modem, like the Dreamcast.

At the rear of the PS2 is a type 3 PC card slot offering all manner of peripheral connection, although this has been replaced with a proprietary hard disk for the US version and is likely to be the same for the UK model. There is also an expansion Bay at the rear to house an internal Hard Disk. You will also find a multi 1 /O port for connecting the device to your TV, but more interesting is the optical digital connection. This is necessary for the DVD movie aspect of the machine but we can also hope for Dolby Digital encoded games in the future although whether the PS2 is powerful enough to process Dolby Digital in real time remains to be seen. If you have an amplifier that accepts optic digital connection that I recommend you use it as the sound is far superior to that produced using a multi 1/O cable.

Inside the box you will find a single dual shock 2 controller, an 8mb memory card and a composite AV cable. The chances are that the AV cable will be replaced with an RF cable for the UK release. This is a shame as most TVs now all have AV
inputs and picture quality through the TV Ariel is terrible when compared to a direct V connection. It is good to see the memory card is in the box as it avoids disappointment when you come to save your game and you?ve forgotten to buy a card.

Sony is pushing the PS2 hard as it has a DVD player as well as a console, and many DVD buyers have been waiting for the release so they can kill two birds in one stone. The DVD playback is surprisingly good and if you make us of the optical digital output you can get decent surround sound two. Ultimately the quality of the playback isn?t up to the standard of a dedicated DVD player, so anyone who is into home cinema would never be happy watching films on the PS2. What the average consumer will not be happy with is to control the DVD player using the gamepad. The inclusion of play and stop button on the chassis could have helped this situation greatly. On the plus side there are already several third party infrared remote controls to turn the PS into a more user-friendly DVD.

As with any machine that is designed primarily around game playing, one of the most important aspects of the PS2 is the quality of the software. One of the main issues with the PS2 is the lack of anti-aliasing. This is a graphical technique that smoothes the edges of 3D models to avoid jaggies or stepping effects on rounded or diagonal edges. The word from developers is that the PS2 is hard to code for and any effects like anti-aliasing are very difficult to implement. This may be true or not but the PS2 is still a new platform and those problems should be resolved soon.

Another point that is worth looking at is that the PS2 is completely backward compatible with Playstation games and it will even make them look better. If you already have a huge catalogue of PS1 games this could add to the appeal of the PS2.

The Playstation 2 is an impressive piece of hardware and it is a lot more than a box, which just pl
ays games. There is no denying that £300 is a lot of money, but there I no doubt that PS2 will become the gaming platform for 2001. Even with the X-Box and the Nintendo Cube there are just too many Playstation fans out there for it not to succeed

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