A catalogue of thousands of games, prices that just won't stop falling, supported by nearly all major developers and publishers .
Disadvantages:
Pushed to the back of Sony's priorities, software piracy, the sequels of the sequels have sequels .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Full title: A tired old has-been or a sprightly console entering the 'golden' years? hah, that'll teach them to try and limit my 'special' characters, my 'over the 50 barrier' titles and my 'indecent exposure'. Anyway... The Sony PlayStation was the first console I ever bought. An inspiring first sentence, I know. I stumbled into the console market blind, unsure what the difference between a Saturn and a PlayStation was, I thought they were the same thing. I had played on each a few times and could see very little difference, bar the fact that the Saturn was uglier. My choice of the PlayStation was the result of a coin-toss, how ironic that tails should not work in Sega's favour.
When I walked into my local branch of Argos I still wasn't sure what I wanted so I just guessed at what game I wanted, WipEout 2097, another lucky choice. I hadn't checked reviews or other's opinions in the choice, I just picked and bought. I didn't even know what kind of game it was. Had I chosen a truly diabolical game, and their do seem to be an inordinate amount of those around, I doubt my love for the little grey box of tricks would had burgeoned to the point it lies at now. I remember only too well the excruciating wait at the checkout for my goods to appear, the agonising journey back to my home and the
I can still remember pulling the PlayStation out of its packaging. It felt nice, bulky, but comely and handsome. The minimalist design, just three outside buttons and a PlayStation symbol on a grey background, added to the mystical aura that was quickly filling the room. My friend and I cast the instructions aside, they remain unfound and unread to this day, and jammed all the leads into the holes at the back, in a similar manner to a child with those annoying blocks that the children just won't stop swallowing. Eventually we'd linked up all the right things and found the right channel, by which time the excitement had grown to the point where my bladder resembled a football. Holding back the urge to dash from the room and relieve myself, I carefully placed the game inside the PlayStation and closed the lid, hearing that blissful click of it sealing. The almost orgasmic sensation of pushing the power button and hearing it locking into place was a life-changing experience. I had never seen an FMV (Full Motion Video, or the pretty things, as seen in Toy Story, Antz etc) before. My head very nearly exploded with pride and delight.
This was also the first time I'd ever held a dual shock pad, and had assumed that it was just a name. We put on the demo of Porsche Challenge. "Bloody hell, the pad just moved!" The accessories on the PSOne are a big advantages. You'll have no problem finding cheap third-party accessories; although Sony do make the best quality stuff. You can get light guns, memory cards, steering wheels, mice, and very many unnecessary and useless things. The pad is the most important aspect of anything there so it's vital that you have two pads that suit your hands comfortably. I'd recommend the official PlayStation pad, it's about £20 but it's well worth the extra cash, besides, one is provided with extra PlayStation sold. The memory cards come in a range of sizes, from 1mb to 32mb. I'd recommend an official Sony 1mb card as the others can have problems, and the larger ones are difficult to use. As for the other accessories, it's generally down to the individual to decide. If you're a speed demon, get a steering wheel, if you're a gun obsessed nutter, then get a light gun, and if you want to burn out your retina, get a virtual reality headset (at only double the price of the console). If you are looking for special built-in features you're going to be disappointed, although it does function well as a CD player, along with a sound interpreter, which changes sound into images on the screen. With the purchase of a special adaptor (available for about £30) you can watch VCDs but DVDs are out of the question. There is also some talk of the new PSOnes being suitable for online gaming, via a mobile phone. This sounds to me like an ambitious plan to try and increase sales, so don't hold your breath.
After I'd had my fill of WipEout 2097 (a good month after I'd bought it, Lord praise Psygnosis) I added another, and another, and another, and another. My rapacious appetite could not be quashed, and yet I always steered clear of that demon that overhangs the PlayStation, software piracy. It's not big, it's not clever and it's not nice. Software piracy annoys me. Not because it damages the games companies, undermines the economy and endangers the whole future of gaming, but because they all seem so smug. Well let me tell you, I'd rather pay an extra £25 and have the lovely, but oh-so-difficult to remove, cellophane, the slightly enlarged packaging, the printed CD, the black back and the very dull and always discarded manual. Why? Because I'm BRITISH! I much rather have everything done officially and by the book than save a bit of cash.
On the subject on gaming, the games are the most important things of any console, although the new ones would have you believe differently (if I wanted a games machine with the power and accessories of a PC, then I'd get another PC, do you hear me Bill Gates? Do you?). The games on this are phenomenal. It comes as very high praise that I rate the gameplay aspects of some of the PlayStation titles over those on the Sega Dreamcast. People constantly dig at the PlayStation for having endless sequels. True, but to spawn sequels you have to have originals, and the PlayStation has those by the bucketload. We've got some of the biggest and greatest games of all times including Gran Turismo 2, Metal Gear Solid, Ape Escape, Tomb Raider… The list goes on and on, believe me the PlayStation has an absolutely huge catalogue of games for it, well over 2000 games are available in Japan, while we have about 900 here. Most of them are pretty mediocre, in my opinion, but every once in a while when you release as many games as this you're going to get absolute gaming gems. And, a word to the wise, avoid EA SPORTS like the Black Death. Put it this way there have been eight follow-ups to FIFA 96, and the controls are still exactly the same.
However all is not puppies and roses in the PSOne camp. Unfortunately Sony have seen the need to release another console, as some of you who have strayed outside or opened your eyes recently may have noticed. As a direct result of this we've seen Sony push our lovely original PlayStation to the back of its mind, despite its huge sale figures, for both hardware and software. I completely deplore this move, partly because I don't want to see any of my consoles being strangled by its parent company, but mostly because of the fact that its replacement is a cheap cash-in not worthy to bear the PlayStation name (a point which some will recognise from an opinion on the PlayStation2 I did). However, the majority of games publishers are still backing it and releasing plenty of games, although a scary amount are sequels, but this is offset by the huge price reduction that we've all been witness to in the last few months. The brand new game price is £29.99, although internet stores offer very cheap prices (SoftwareFirst.com recommended). There is also a new value range, with plenty of class games, available at £10. For any people hoping to buy a PlayStation on a budget then I'd recommend you start your search here.
On the subject of reliability I have no option but to give it my highest praise. In nearly 3 years I have never had a single problem, either with the hardware or the software. The box itself is very sturdy and can stand up to plenty of maltreatment, although I wouldn't recommend testing that out. I would be perfectly happy to buy a second hand PlayStation for this reason, and with people flogging them off at the rate they are I would say that there are quite a few bargains to be had, check auction sites and your local paper for details.
For those of you out there without a PlayStation (yes, all five of you) I recommend you buy one now. Maybe the graphics aren't as rounded with 'lots of extra polygons', 'lots of special shiny effects' and 'more realistic faces' but it does have something far more important. It has heart, a soul. It lives. It breathes. It translates a spinning disc into pure, unadulterated pleasure. Buy one today. Don't fall for the overhyped PlayStation2 gimmicks, don't splurge your cash on the doomed N64, don't wait for the ultra-powerful X-Box, just buy what the console that changed the face of gaming. Ladies and gentlemen, eight words sum up my opinion of this machine…
I LOVE IT, LET IT BEAR MY CHILDREN.
I thank you.
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