Well look what we have here, the PS2 the brother of the excellent PSone.
I remember being a kid and waking up early just to get my hands on the Mega Drive for the morning, remember that one? Well Sega were successful then and the Mega Drive was a must have accessory.
Sony have pulled through and changed things, now the must have console is the PSone of course. Though as technology progresses and time moves on it was only a matter of time before the brother of the PSone made an appearance and here it is, the PS2.
The PS2 was on the shelves two years back just before the Christmas of 2000. Sony had an excellent Christmas that year, not only was there so many orders placed, each one was going for £280 GBP.
However, as time has gone on and sales becoming to decline and with the extra rivalry of Microsoft and their X-Box, also in competition was the Nintendo’s Gamecube and Game Boy Advance. So therefore prices dropped and heavily too.
My PS2 cost only £169.99 GBP which is extremely cheap not just for the PS2 but for the console itself filled with power. The PS2 really is value for money.
Now that I have the PS2 I make the most of it while I can, often I find myself with many good mates, all sat around the PS2 drinking half drunk and trying very hard to complete a game.
So what's the PS2 got inside that black casing?
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The Console
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Although we hear about the PS2 having a whack load of power it’s actually only sufficient. Sufficient is a bit harsh when you see the graphics enabled on the game, you’d find it hard to believe that the rival X-Box manages to beat this on the power side of things. It’s memory
is a good enough - 32MB Direct RDRAM.
The PS2 isn’t as powerful as the Gamecube or X-Box however, it’s more enjoyable and useable and that's guaranteed!
The console is fairly stylish, with the black colour it’s look pretty sturdy from a distance but when you get close you realise that the actual console has been carefully made.
They have these two little power lights too which give it the more updated ‘these times’ look. Red for Standby, but when turned on it goes Green and the little disc eject button goes a lovely electric blue. It’s little things like this that really makes proves that the time spent on making this really gives you the satisfaction as a customer.
Thinking about the little things created for this console I find another unique touch that really does impress you, the start up. When you first switch the console on you’ll find yourself on the Browser Screen. This is much more unique and modern looking. Here you can choose whether to go straight to the CD/Game or Memory Card. You also have the option of changing the settings which are not that complicated, just language and things like audio.
The design enables you to keep your console in two different positions; 1- Standing up, 2 - Lying down on it’s base. Either way is just as good as the other, standing up does give it a more unique look but still, laying it on it’s base is good enough and safe.
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Games
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This is an extraordinary factor about the PS2. Following the PSone success, game manufacturers and designers found themselves willing to sign contracts exclusively to Sony. Therefore unique games like the Burnout, GTurismo and Metal Gear Solid are only accessible through the PS2, so what do you do? buy the PS2.
Games of this standard seem to come from only the Sony range. I have came across some good games found on other consoles but with the PS2 you have a much wider range and variety of games for you to choose.
There are so many games out for the PS2 which like I say, gives you that extra easy choice to find a game that suits you. The Getaway (RRP £44.99) has just only came out and the orders placed for that was enormous. It’s games like this that get people more attracted to the PS2.
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Connecting...
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AV Cable- For this one you need to have a TV with 3 AV coloured outputs which should be found on the front of the TV. There are 3 different colours-
RED: Right Audio
YELLOW: Video
WHITE: Left Audio.
These don’t exactly matter to much as the whole use of this means that there should be no tuning or messing about with the TV involved. You should be able to turn your TV to AV1/2/3 and find the PS2 working playable there.
It is possible for you to connect the console to the VCR if wanted but is a little complicated and you should read the manual if this is an idea you want to go follow.
It’s fairly simple and the instructions manual clearly explains on how to connect the TV in more detail.
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Accessories and Features
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Why oh why did Sony have to spoil things? it’s disappointing to find that your game requires you to save at a certain point, you go to find the Memory Card on sale and see that it’s about £ 28 GBP (RRP £27.99 GBP)
It’s not just the memory card that you have to purchase further in order to use the PS2 to the max. In order to play DVD’s you need to buy the remote to play them and work with them and as for Internet capabilities, well here you have to buy the Modem and Hard Drive which are both sold separately.
Once your online though, your able to download playable games not exactly the type you purchase but other than that, you can download music and surf online.
The DVD feature about the console is excellent. I have just recently watched a DVD on their and found that it was a smooth screenplay, terrific sound and easy to use. However, the box for the console does point out that in rare circumstances some DVD’s will be unable to play on the console, but remember, that's extremely rare but does need to be pointed out.
Control Pads for the PS2 are excellent although you may find them very similar to the latest analogue control pads for the PSone. They are pretty much the same however the PS2 pads are in the colour black. This doesn’t effect the excellent use of the pads though, you have 2 options of either using;
-Analogue: More Sensitive but more easier to use on some driving games, does take time to get use to but once that's conquered, so is the game your playing as the analogue is terrific.
-Pad Buttons: Not as sensitive and more accurate, easy to use and master, efficient but doesn’t give the flexibility that the analogue does.
There are various adaptors that do different things including, multi-tap where your enabled 2+ players and RFU adaptors that are parts of the connections that are not required but accessories. The one thing I do like is the Vertical Stand which should set you back about £30 GBP which is excellent and keep your console safe and tidy, looks great too.
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So there we go, I have covered everything that should be said about. In thinking overall on the console; I really think that the PS2 offers so much to the consumer and has everything to satisfy you.
The only disappointment here is that there are a fair few extra costs that will have to be made in order to make the most of the console. These costs are not that cheap and you need to think hard about whether you can afford to buy this as well as maintain it including purchasing extra accessories such as the most needed Memory Card.
It’s an excellent buy and I can’t think of anyone who would say ‘No’ to this. It really is fantastic! You’ll be there for hours just messing about on it in disbelieve that you have the best console made by Sony on the current market. Thanks Sony!
Visit them at:
http://www.playstation.com
Thanks for reading!
All the best!
! Jamie !
by (2%):
10.03.2005 10:52
Thanks for the rundown. We just bought one of these from ebay and I'm glad of the warning on what extras are needed.
28.02.2005 15:34
it gives all the info you need, the costs and extra things you need for it. it is very accurate as well
03.02.2003 22:15
My son has been asking for one of these, thanks for the advice....mandyxx