Sony PlayStation > Reviews (291)

In the beginning there was Pong. It didn't smell (boom-boom) but it was highly addictive, if a little boring after a while. Then there was Atari, and then Nintendo and Sega, and it was good. Then it wasn't so good, and wasn't really going anywhere, and needed a good kick up the jacksie. So God's computer-games specialist angels assigned Sony, the world's biggest electronics company and inventors of the walkman, to, in 1994, make the PlayStation. It revamped the gaming world, turned the gaming industry into bigger bucks than the film industry, and made thumb-tapping at home cool again. And it was good. And they were pleased. ('They' being Sony's filthy rich board of executives.)

So there's my potted history of gaming, à la The Bible. Now onto the serious stuff. I'll begin very basic, as I realise there are people out there who are so unfamiliar with computer games they're frightened it might bite their hand off.

The PlayStation is a 'games console'. You stick a wire in your TV, stick a game in the console, and voila!, you can play games. Still with us? Good. So why should you buy a PlayStation, instead of the other similar consoles on the market, like a Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, Gameboy Advance, Mega Drive, PS2 or X-Box? What made the PlayStation so good when it was first sold seven years ago?

Well, Sony, PlayStation's makers, were new to the gaming industry. They hadn't made a single computer game previously. Inexperience was an initial concern, and could provide the PlayStation's downfall. As a result, they breathed new life into computer gaming. You see, the two former gaming front-runners, Nintendo and Sega, had consoles slightly out of date. They were using painfully slow game cartridges for their consoles and the games were poor and needed updates. Basically, they were doing the same style of games as they had done a decade previously. Instead of the standard 2D platformer games, like Mario or Sonic, or the text-only role-playing games, like the early Final Fantasies, the PlayStation introduced stylish, slick and far more modern games like WipeOut, a futuristic 'pod' racer, and Tekken, an intelligent 'beat 'em up' in - wait for it - 3D, not the standard 2D.

Seven years and nearly 80 million sales later (the biggest selling home console ever), PlayStation is still as popular as ever, although it's bigger brother, the PlayStation2 is beginning to take over. Immediately, a big plus for the console is the fact that the games are CDs, which not only means that you can listen to an audio CD, but the games can store far more data than a game cartridge. And for a console that in technology terms is ancient, it's held it's own well, with superb graphics continuing to appear on most of the games. Gran Turismo 2 probably proves this best, with stunning visuals and an excellent likeness to real-life cars.

Games developers soon realised the PlayStation's potential and made games by the bucketload, with only a few as low quality, sheep-fodder standard. With over a thousand titles now available (much much more than any other console), there really is something for everyone.

Another plus is all the licensed games. This is when a sports association (like FIFA - football) or a film company sell the rights to make a game based around them with official features. So, in a football game, all the players names, stats, positions, teams and even appearances are accurate. Although admittedly many of them are just cheap cash-ins (hello Tomorrow Never Dies - based on the Bond movie) there are many very good official games (hello F1 2001) and there's nowt better than driving in your favourite Formula 1 car down the twisty tarmac of Silverstone. Even if it is just a pixellated likeness on a TV screen. The PlayStation is good value too, with the console itself going for just £80 (or, if you like to be precise, £79.99). Most games are £30 or under, and games that sell very well are plonked onto something called a 'Platinum' range, where they are sold for just £20. Sony has also recently introduced a 'Bargain' range, where games are going for a mere tenner.

In the same way that calculators, thirty years ago being the size of a Spanish Vila, can now fit in your pocket, technology has advanced so that the PlayStation has been reduced in size. The Psone, introduced in the summer of 2000, is a third smaller than the original model, and although it works exactly the same as before, now has the ability to play games with a portable screen connected to it, thus destroying the need for a TV. You'll also (eventually) be able to connect it to your mobile phone, providing it's got WAP, and you can download data off the internet. The Psone is a great venture and ideal for PlayStation newbies, but if you already own the original PlayStation, it's fairly pointless buying this.

The PlayStation has plenty of extras. A memory card, smaller than a credit card, allows you to save your game's progress, so you can continue playing at a later date - a very useful thing indeed. Many controllers offer a feature called 'Dual Shock', which actually rumbles and shakes the controller at necessary points in the game - when you hit a wall or crash in a driving game, for instance. This adds to the experience immensely and is great fun. A multi-tap allows up to four players to play simultaneously on certain games. It's great for a party game and a lot less lonely. There are also third party companies (i.e. not affiliated with Sony) who make other peripherals, such as steering wheels, VR headsets and even dance mats. They're all fairly crazy and perhaps an unnecessary waste of money, but a bit of a laugh. Be warned though: if you buy anything, even so much as a controller that ISN'T made by Sony, then your 1 year guarantee (a free guarantee that comes with every PlayStation allowing you to have your console fixed should it be broken) becomes instantly void as soon as it's plugged in. This is only because Sony don't want to accept responsibility if your third party controller mucks up your console. If I were, I'd stick the official stuff.

What am I trying to say in this op then? Well, it's pretty simple: BUY A PLAY STATION NOW! I don't care how, just do it, steal the money if you must (that's a joke; not my fault if you're arrested), just buy the god-damned thing. Join us friend, and experience addictive gaming like never before! Choose not to, and life an afterlife in the eternal flaming pits of hell!! (Sorry, did that sound frightening to you?)