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If you are reading this I have to assume that you are either interested in the PS2, thinking of buying one or already possess one. As there are so many things written already on the PS2 you may well ask why I insist on doing another one. I am doing this because I am in a somewhat unique position to the other writers. They have either got a PS2 or are just voicing their views about it without playing on it. I think I can provide a better insight as to whether or not it is worthwhile buying. This is because I am currently renting a PS2 because I was not sure whether to buy one or not and did not want to fork out loads of money in cause it wasn't worth it, much like how you feel if you are thinking about buying the PS2.
The PS2 is the successor to the magnificent original Playstation, which was the best selling console ever bar the handheld gameboy. So it has a lot to live up to, to say the least. The original Playstation was a phenomenon and it repeatedly bettered itself over its fairly long life in console terms. Can the PS2 be all that and more, well yes and no, it’s more complicated than that.
The PS2 was a much-hyped console, which piled even more pressure on to it. Amidst a blaze of publicity the PS2 arrived here in good old Blightly much to the delight of the loyal fans who had pre-ordered their console. I just wish I could turn back the clock and pre-order myself a few consoles as demand was too high for supply and PS2's became immediately sought after. A week after launch people were selling PS2 consoles for around £1000-amazing what some people would pay!
So far in its life the PS2 has had more than its fair share of criticism from disgruntled owners and doomsayers alike. Is this fairly aimed at the PS2 or just a result of the expectations being too much to live up to? A bit of both probably. The main criticism aimed at the PS2 is its ugly design. So it doesn't look that good, so what? Well some people seemed to think that looks were imperative for a games console but I can't remember any previous console being a looker in my eyes. Personally I do not think the PS2 is that bad looking. If you lay it down like a Playstation 1 then it looks a bit fat and ugly I'll admit.
This problem though is easily solved by the purchase of a vertical stand for a snip at £10. This piece of kit can easily solve the PS2's beauty problems. The PS2 looks much nicer standing up as the ugly bulky bit at the back is hidden and all you can see is the black front with the purple PS2 logo and matching stand. This improves it no end as the first thing anyone says when they see the PS2 like this is something along the lines of "Wow, that’s a nice bit of kit, I was told it looked horrible though". Problem solved. Another advantage of displaying the PS2 like this is that the DVD drive comes out sideways-swish. So if you are a tad vain then buy a stand, however if you really care about the looks then why are you buying a console, surely it’s the way it performs that counts.
Another often heard criticism of the PS2 is the moaned "Its crap". This is simply not true. As we all know, a new games console is always accompanied by launch titles. We all also know that launch games tend to lean towards the dire. This is no different for the PS2. How can people say the PS2 is rubbish when the launch games probably only just scratch the surface? I seem to remember that the original Playstation seemed to be improving all the time. This was because the developers were still making the Playstation work harder and only after around five years did they finally reach the technological limit of the Playstation. So this is likely to be the same for the PS2.
Right, criticisms aside should you buy one? Well it all depends on your circumstances; if you are loaded then the chances are you already have one. If however you are not, and like me see the £300 price tag as a bit of a warning read on. The PS2 will no doubt be a very good games console. It is now the favourite to win the next-gen war unless Microsoft or Nintendo pull something amazing out of the bag. So it seems like the PS2 will be the console to buy...eventually.
The thing is that the games available at the moment are not very good on the whole. Tekken Tag has been complained about for being to similar to Tekken 3 and Ridge racer 5 also has no really noticeable advances. So far the only acclaimed launch game is SSX, which is a superb game, and from the games that I have played: Tekken, Ridge, Wild wild racing and others it is easily the best. Zone of the Enders is another promising game for the PS2 but this is it at the moment. I strongly advise you to stick with your own console for the time being as buying a PS2 is simply not worth it.
Having rented a PS2 for two weeks now I have completed SSX and would also have completed ZOE in a similar time frame. If I had off bought my own PS2 I would now be seriously out of pocket and my PS2 would be redundant after a month until some better games such as GT3 emerge. The fact is that if you buy a PS2 now it is going to cost you £299 for the console with one pad, another pad will cost £19.99, a memory card will set you back a whopping £27.99 and a good game such as SSX will create a large £39.99 hole in your wallet. This all adds up to just under £400 which I think you'll agree is a lot of money to fork out.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not slating the PS2, far from it, I am merely suggesting that you put it on hold until a later date. The PS2 is in my view a great machine and will be well worth its price tag in a few months - no it will not decrease noticeably, if at all in price. This is because the PS2 is also a DVD player. Now it is obviously not a excellent DVD player but it can compete with DVD players up to around £200. This means that the price of the console is not ever likely to drop below £200 for a long time-a couple of years seems to be a good estimate.
So what about the console, will it ever be worth its price tag? Of course it will, it’s a great machine. As mentioned above the DVD player is of a good standard and this is an important selling point for people like myself who have not got a stand-alone DVD player yet. The picture quality is impressive and the sound is extremely good - so that Dolby digital label actually means something. For those new to DVD's they are really worthwhile as the quality is so much better than videotapes. DVD's also offer special add-ons such as extra scenes that vary from DVD to DVD but are generally well worth viewing. Unfortunately the DVD player in the PS2 does have one downfall and this is the unwieldy menu screen controlled by a games control. However this problem is solved by the addition of a PS2 DVD remote at around £10. I hear you groan "not more money but this like the stand is a good investment.
I was attracted to the PS2 mainly because of the game console part (duh) but also because it can be easily made in to a multi purpose entertainment centre. A minidisk recorder can be plugged into the PS2 to record from CD's which the PS2 plays admirably well. With the later addition of a sub and tiny satellite speakers you can transform your PS2-Ok so it will cost you but we can always dream. The game console itself is 128 bit-the same as a Dreamcast but much more than the 32 bit Playstation. This suggests that it will be a very good console and it also has the emotion engine- a chip muted to be able to synthesis emotions, sounds impressive. Unfortunately we cannot tell anything definite from the PS2 specs as the N64 was a better machine than the Playstation and look what has happened to that. The thing is that Sony has a proven track record so the PS2 is bound to be the best console or at least up the top with the others.
So why are you telling me not to buy it? I am trying to get you to save money as I am not buying a PS2 as I have had one for two weeks and it is getting boring already. The simple fact is that at the moment it is the games that are letting the PS2 down and this will rectify itself with time-SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE>>>DON'T BUY IT YET!!!. There got it now, good.
So what to do in the meantime? Well you can do what I did and rent a PS2 from a friend who trusts you, believe me they will not be so attached to it as to refuse. I rented my PS2 with the DVD Blade, SSX and some demo discs for £7 a week. Alternatively you could stick with your old console whatever it may be, as long as it’s not a Sega Saturn! If you really want to get a different console how about a N64. These can be picked up second hand for around £35 and still have some wicked games, Goldeneye or Perfect Dark anyone. Another way to go is to shell out a bit more on a second hand Dreamcast. These consoles are very cheap and excellent to play on and offer some outstanding games such as Crazy Taxi for very little cash. A Dreamcast will probably not depreciate very much in the next 6 months so think of it as a small cost console to tide you over until the PS2 truly becomes massive.
Trust me, and you'll be laughing!
The PS2 is the successor to the magnificent original Playstation, which was the best selling console ever bar the handheld gameboy. So it has a lot to live up to, to say the least. The original Playstation was a phenomenon and it repeatedly bettered itself over its fairly long life in console terms. Can the PS2 be all that and more, well yes and no, it’s more complicated than that.
The PS2 was a much-hyped console, which piled even more pressure on to it. Amidst a blaze of publicity the PS2 arrived here in good old Blightly much to the delight of the loyal fans who had pre-ordered their console. I just wish I could turn back the clock and pre-order myself a few consoles as demand was too high for supply and PS2's became immediately sought after. A week after launch people were selling PS2 consoles for around £1000-amazing what some people would pay!
So far in its life the PS2 has had more than its fair share of criticism from disgruntled owners and doomsayers alike. Is this fairly aimed at the PS2 or just a result of the expectations being too much to live up to? A bit of both probably. The main criticism aimed at the PS2 is its ugly design. So it doesn't look that good, so what? Well some people seemed to think that looks were imperative for a games console but I can't remember any previous console being a looker in my eyes. Personally I do not think the PS2 is that bad looking. If you lay it down like a Playstation 1 then it looks a bit fat and ugly I'll admit.
This problem though is easily solved by the purchase of a vertical stand for a snip at £10. This piece of kit can easily solve the PS2's beauty problems. The PS2 looks much nicer standing up as the ugly bulky bit at the back is hidden and all you can see is the black front with the purple PS2 logo and matching stand. This improves it no end as the first thing anyone says when they see the PS2 like this is something along the lines of "Wow, that’s a nice bit of kit, I was told it looked horrible though". Problem solved. Another advantage of displaying the PS2 like this is that the DVD drive comes out sideways-swish. So if you are a tad vain then buy a stand, however if you really care about the looks then why are you buying a console, surely it’s the way it performs that counts.
Another often heard criticism of the PS2 is the moaned "Its crap". This is simply not true. As we all know, a new games console is always accompanied by launch titles. We all also know that launch games tend to lean towards the dire. This is no different for the PS2. How can people say the PS2 is rubbish when the launch games probably only just scratch the surface? I seem to remember that the original Playstation seemed to be improving all the time. This was because the developers were still making the Playstation work harder and only after around five years did they finally reach the technological limit of the Playstation. So this is likely to be the same for the PS2.
Right, criticisms aside should you buy one? Well it all depends on your circumstances; if you are loaded then the chances are you already have one. If however you are not, and like me see the £300 price tag as a bit of a warning read on. The PS2 will no doubt be a very good games console. It is now the favourite to win the next-gen war unless Microsoft or Nintendo pull something amazing out of the bag. So it seems like the PS2 will be the console to buy...eventually.
The thing is that the games available at the moment are not very good on the whole. Tekken Tag has been complained about for being to similar to Tekken 3 and Ridge racer 5 also has no really noticeable advances. So far the only acclaimed launch game is SSX, which is a superb game, and from the games that I have played: Tekken, Ridge, Wild wild racing and others it is easily the best. Zone of the Enders is another promising game for the PS2 but this is it at the moment. I strongly advise you to stick with your own console for the time being as buying a PS2 is simply not worth it.
Having rented a PS2 for two weeks now I have completed SSX and would also have completed ZOE in a similar time frame. If I had off bought my own PS2 I would now be seriously out of pocket and my PS2 would be redundant after a month until some better games such as GT3 emerge. The fact is that if you buy a PS2 now it is going to cost you £299 for the console with one pad, another pad will cost £19.99, a memory card will set you back a whopping £27.99 and a good game such as SSX will create a large £39.99 hole in your wallet. This all adds up to just under £400 which I think you'll agree is a lot of money to fork out.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not slating the PS2, far from it, I am merely suggesting that you put it on hold until a later date. The PS2 is in my view a great machine and will be well worth its price tag in a few months - no it will not decrease noticeably, if at all in price. This is because the PS2 is also a DVD player. Now it is obviously not a excellent DVD player but it can compete with DVD players up to around £200. This means that the price of the console is not ever likely to drop below £200 for a long time-a couple of years seems to be a good estimate.
So what about the console, will it ever be worth its price tag? Of course it will, it’s a great machine. As mentioned above the DVD player is of a good standard and this is an important selling point for people like myself who have not got a stand-alone DVD player yet. The picture quality is impressive and the sound is extremely good - so that Dolby digital label actually means something. For those new to DVD's they are really worthwhile as the quality is so much better than videotapes. DVD's also offer special add-ons such as extra scenes that vary from DVD to DVD but are generally well worth viewing. Unfortunately the DVD player in the PS2 does have one downfall and this is the unwieldy menu screen controlled by a games control. However this problem is solved by the addition of a PS2 DVD remote at around £10. I hear you groan "not more money but this like the stand is a good investment.
I was attracted to the PS2 mainly because of the game console part (duh) but also because it can be easily made in to a multi purpose entertainment centre. A minidisk recorder can be plugged into the PS2 to record from CD's which the PS2 plays admirably well. With the later addition of a sub and tiny satellite speakers you can transform your PS2-Ok so it will cost you but we can always dream. The game console itself is 128 bit-the same as a Dreamcast but much more than the 32 bit Playstation. This suggests that it will be a very good console and it also has the emotion engine- a chip muted to be able to synthesis emotions, sounds impressive. Unfortunately we cannot tell anything definite from the PS2 specs as the N64 was a better machine than the Playstation and look what has happened to that. The thing is that Sony has a proven track record so the PS2 is bound to be the best console or at least up the top with the others.
So why are you telling me not to buy it? I am trying to get you to save money as I am not buying a PS2 as I have had one for two weeks and it is getting boring already. The simple fact is that at the moment it is the games that are letting the PS2 down and this will rectify itself with time-SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE>>>DON'T BUY IT YET!!!. There got it now, good.
So what to do in the meantime? Well you can do what I did and rent a PS2 from a friend who trusts you, believe me they will not be so attached to it as to refuse. I rented my PS2 with the DVD Blade, SSX and some demo discs for £7 a week. Alternatively you could stick with your old console whatever it may be, as long as it’s not a Sega Saturn! If you really want to get a different console how about a N64. These can be picked up second hand for around £35 and still have some wicked games, Goldeneye or Perfect Dark anyone. Another way to go is to shell out a bit more on a second hand Dreamcast. These consoles are very cheap and excellent to play on and offer some outstanding games such as Crazy Taxi for very little cash. A Dreamcast will probably not depreciate very much in the next 6 months so think of it as a small cost console to tide you over until the PS2 truly becomes massive.
Trust me, and you'll be laughing!
Page:
I am very sorry Dan.
William Wallace wrote:
> Shma shmaw
Your comments are a valuable asset to the forums.
> Shma shmaw
Your comments are a valuable asset to the forums.
Never mind! It happens. It just seemed a little odd that you did it, but all is now explained!
er-no wrote:
> Dan2K1 wrote:
> NO offence er-no, but that was the most boring
> piece of offel I have
> read.
ok so maybe it was, and maybe
> the original was a good post Dan, but jd99 has been around before,
> and he only posts topics to try and win GAD....
Has he ever won? No. Will he win for this? I doubt it. Why? Because long posts are discriminated against. Really? Probably. Er-no are you going to apologise? Why should he? I don't know.
See?
> Dan2K1 wrote:
> NO offence er-no, but that was the most boring
> piece of offel I have
> read.
ok so maybe it was, and maybe
> the original was a good post Dan, but jd99 has been around before,
> and he only posts topics to try and win GAD....
Has he ever won? No. Will he win for this? I doubt it. Why? Because long posts are discriminated against. Really? Probably. Er-no are you going to apologise? Why should he? I don't know.
See?
ssxpro wrote:
> Ant. It is rare for me to be annoyed with you, but if you look
> carefully, I was discussing each point. The best way was top quote
> message and reply to each bit. However you just go and quote the
> whole lot and put two words at the bottom. This happens a lot these
> days, and I think its silly. Stop it.
Oops, your right ssxpro. Sorry mate.
Anyway, I was only doing it for a laugh! It's the first time I've ever done it!
sorry sir.
{:)
That's twice I've said that to you lately. {:)
> Ant. It is rare for me to be annoyed with you, but if you look
> carefully, I was discussing each point. The best way was top quote
> message and reply to each bit. However you just go and quote the
> whole lot and put two words at the bottom. This happens a lot these
> days, and I think its silly. Stop it.
Oops, your right ssxpro. Sorry mate.
Anyway, I was only doing it for a laugh! It's the first time I've ever done it!
sorry sir.
{:)
That's twice I've said that to you lately. {:)
Dan2K1 wrote:
> NO offence er-no, but that was the most boring piece of offel I have
> read.
ok so maybe it was, and maybe the original was a good post Dan, but jd99 has been around before, and he only posts topics to try and win GAD....
> NO offence er-no, but that was the most boring piece of offel I have
> read.
ok so maybe it was, and maybe the original was a good post Dan, but jd99 has been around before, and he only posts topics to try and win GAD....
Ant. It is rare for me to be annoyed with you, but if you look carefully, I was discussing each point. The best way was top quote message and reply to each bit. However you just go and quote the whole lot and put two words at the bottom. This happens a lot these days, and I think its silly. Stop it.
Page: