playstation 2 is really good (Sony Playstation 2)

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Product:	Sony Playstation 2
Date:	17/09/01 (1 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good graphics

Disadvantages: x-box is just around the corner

So the all-singing, all-dancing PS2 has finally landed on this little island of ours, even though its over a year old in Japan. Sony made a right mess of its release date over here, constantly revising its deadlines and then having the affront to limit its availability to pre-book only. As a consequence those that didn't reserve their Stations are going to have to wait until at least March until the next shipment arrives.

However, I managed to borrow a friend's for a couple of weeks while he went holidaying abroad. I have to admit the styling & design of the machine is quite cool and contrasts quite remarkably with its 6 year old predecessor.

However, one should never judge books by covers. What matters is gamesplay, speed, sound and graphics. Sure the PS2 doesn't disappoint on any of these factors, even though the choice of games right now is very limited - especially original games. I have a feeling we're going to see a lot of sequels or re-writes of existing PSone games but with slightly improved handling & graphics, which is really a bit of a joke if this is allowed to happen.

The graphics are good it has to be admitted, but I've also seen the graphic capabilities of Microsoft's X-Box and that is 10 times better than what the PS2 can ever hope to achieve, and I'm not talking about screens-shots or MPVs either.

The sound is excellent especially if you use a decent scart cable to your hi-fi or Pro-Logic TV. The DVD player is very good in this area (including picture quality, although it does find it difficult with colour saturation where reds & browns are poorly defined - a good sign of a relatively poor graphics board).

In addition Sony had the good sense to make this machine backwards compatable, which means you don't have to sell all your old PSone games. However, what is annoying is the fact you have to buy several add-ons to make this machine worthwhile.

The machine co
sts £300 (100 quid too much, even now); then you have to buy a memory card in order to save games, which can cost between £25-£35; the games themselves are at least £40 for no more than slightly polished PSone versions.

I have to be honest and say that I wasn't sad to hand back the PS2 to my friend today. It's a good machine with a lot of potential but I think I'll stay loyal to my PSone for now.

The PS2 certainly isn't worth the £300 asked, the games are relatively poor at the moment,especially for originality & gamesplay. And as for the bonus of a DVD tacked on, well you can buy a decent DVD player on its own for a £150 with dedicated superior sound, on-screen-menus and picture quality.

And then of course there's the wait for the next shipment to arrive, and who knows how many units that will behold. It's already a known fact that a lot of 3rd party software houses are finding it difficult to code programs on the PS2 due to its complicated hardware structure, so quality games are going to be few & far between, but will invariably be expensive.

I would personally recommend that people don't follow the crowd in their manic search for the next-gen console machine. Stick with a PSone, with its huge games library & cheapish prices; or better still, try a Sega Dreamcast, which has an improving range of new titles that critics & gamers are raving about.

Hopefully in about 9 months time the PS2 will be readily available and Sony will have the good sense to lob £150 off the price, otherwise it will sink without trace, especially with X-Box due for release over here February 2002.

Patience,therefore, is a virtue.....just wait and you won't be disappointed

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