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Ah yes, the PlayStation 2 control pad. Is Sony being bland and stingy for not giving us all a new controller, a better pad perhaps that incorporates something new? Or are they being very clever indeed, at the same time as saving you £20 here and there? Either way you look at it, the control pad for the Playstation 2 isn’t going to change, and I haven’t heard many complaints about it yet. It does differ from the original Playstation controller, not only in colour but in some other features too.
So how good is the PS2 pad? Well, being a Dreamcast and a PlayStation 2 owner, I haven’t really had ‘that’ much time to extensively test the PS2 pad, needless to say, there haven’t been many games on the console that are worth playing, don’t get me wrong – I do have some PS2 games, but nothing comes close to the likes of Crazy Taxi on the DC in my view. Although Crazy Taxi is coming out on the PS2 soon! Ahem, anyways, cut to the chase, I prefer the Dreamcast pad, it’s more innovative, has two ports for visual memory units/rumble packs, and is generally more comfortable. But the PlayStation 2 pad is quite comfortable to hold, and looks the business in that black PlayStation 2 colour.
IF you’re annoyed at Nintendo and Sega for not bringing out a rumbling controller, making you pay up to £15 for a separate rumble pack, then say thank you to Sony, as the PS2 is a dual shock built in rumbling pad, so you won’t have to fork out any extra cash on the feature. However, being almost identical to the PSX pad, there are no ports for you to place a memory card in, and there’s nothing quite as good as a VMU in my view! But hey, it saves you fiddling about, so in this respect it’s good. Memory cards go straight into the console – just like the last Playstation. The rumble effect isn’t so noticeable that you hurt your hands, but it’s a good feature that actually enhances the game playing experience, and is compatible with practically all PS2 games.
Comfort? As I have already mentioned, I do prefer the Dreamcast controller, but then I haven’t gotten used to the PS2’s. Compared to the N64’s though, Sony’s peripheral excels – I can’t stand the N64 pad! The basic shape is good, and although the pad does make your hands sweat more than most, for some reason, it’s easy to hold and all the buttons are within easy digital reach. The analogue sticks are very good if you want a slightly more comfortable control method, although I think the D-pad offers more accuracy etc. The underside of the pad is curved – I’m not quite sure if the original Playstation one was, but I like this aspect an ideal place for you’re forefingers!
How much? Well, unless you’re going to be playing single player games all your life, and there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with that, but I doubt there are many people who wouldn’t mind playing with a friend or 3. So you may well know that Sony have been particularly mean, but ultimately highly intelligent, in that they have only included two control ports on their PS2. Therefore you’re going to have to get a multiplayer multi tap device if you want a four-player game. I’m not sure you can use the Playstation multi tap, I really don’t know, but the PS2 official one is around £25! You’ll also need more control pads, but you can definitely use the Playstation 1 pads, so that’ll save you money – getting the standard pad for £10 and have change in your pocket shouldn’t really be a problem! I did get a second pad, and I did get the official Playstation 2 pad, costing me a further £19.99 on top of everything I bought at the time! This is the standard price for most pads, and being the dual shock 2® controller, you do save money – not having to buy a special rumble pack. Obviously if you buy a non-dual shock pad, then you won’t be able to buy a rumble pack for it, as there aren’t any slots to put one in. Good price I’d say, for what you get.
The buttons! Well, it’s the same as the Playstation pad, with the famous triangle, square, circle and ‘x’ buttons, as well as the d-pad, select and start, and the shoulder buttons – R1/2 and L1/2. Now, I remember a while back there was a lot of hype regarding the PS2 pressure control button feature, and although I am sure this will prove excellent in the future, when games that support this are available, there aren’t many if any games at the moment (I think FIFA may do) that make use of this. Supposedly, this means the harder you press, the harder the punch, acceleration or kick is. Maybe this is a good idea, but to me it seems like a good way to help lessen the life of your pad. Still, don’t be too brutal and it should outlive the console (if PS3 uses the same controllers!). I have played the GT3 A-spec demo from the OPM2 magazine, and despite the game looking pretty poor in comparison to the likes of F355 and Le Mans 24 on the Dreamcast (mental note ‘it is just a demo’), I did notice the pressure control system worked for it. Press harder to accelerate faster, harder and drive faster! Excellent idea, that I’d like to see included in a lot of new games. Maybe Crazy Taxi will surprise us (not that I’ll be getting it)!
Packaging? Well, it comes on a plastic casing, not as nice as the Dreamcast or Nintendo boxes, but saves on shelf space! Its not very exciting packaging, but the fact that it can be thrown away (I mean recycled) does help you to save space. You don’t really need any instructions, it’s easy enough to use!
Overall, a good pad that will seem very familiar to Playstation owners, and in this respect they won’t have to learn a new language as it were. Myself being a non-PlayStation owner found it easy to learn the buttons, simplistic really! The wires are long enough for you to sit far away from the TV, and are longer than the Dreamcast wires. I do prefer the DC pads, but just because the PS2 pads are very similar to the PSX pads, doesn’t mean Sony is being mean. It’s got to be 4 stars really! Very shiny and black! Very good!
Thanks for reading I hope you’re still awake!
Dan2K1
So how good is the PS2 pad? Well, being a Dreamcast and a PlayStation 2 owner, I haven’t really had ‘that’ much time to extensively test the PS2 pad, needless to say, there haven’t been many games on the console that are worth playing, don’t get me wrong – I do have some PS2 games, but nothing comes close to the likes of Crazy Taxi on the DC in my view. Although Crazy Taxi is coming out on the PS2 soon! Ahem, anyways, cut to the chase, I prefer the Dreamcast pad, it’s more innovative, has two ports for visual memory units/rumble packs, and is generally more comfortable. But the PlayStation 2 pad is quite comfortable to hold, and looks the business in that black PlayStation 2 colour.
IF you’re annoyed at Nintendo and Sega for not bringing out a rumbling controller, making you pay up to £15 for a separate rumble pack, then say thank you to Sony, as the PS2 is a dual shock built in rumbling pad, so you won’t have to fork out any extra cash on the feature. However, being almost identical to the PSX pad, there are no ports for you to place a memory card in, and there’s nothing quite as good as a VMU in my view! But hey, it saves you fiddling about, so in this respect it’s good. Memory cards go straight into the console – just like the last Playstation. The rumble effect isn’t so noticeable that you hurt your hands, but it’s a good feature that actually enhances the game playing experience, and is compatible with practically all PS2 games.
Comfort? As I have already mentioned, I do prefer the Dreamcast controller, but then I haven’t gotten used to the PS2’s. Compared to the N64’s though, Sony’s peripheral excels – I can’t stand the N64 pad! The basic shape is good, and although the pad does make your hands sweat more than most, for some reason, it’s easy to hold and all the buttons are within easy digital reach. The analogue sticks are very good if you want a slightly more comfortable control method, although I think the D-pad offers more accuracy etc. The underside of the pad is curved – I’m not quite sure if the original Playstation one was, but I like this aspect an ideal place for you’re forefingers!
How much? Well, unless you’re going to be playing single player games all your life, and there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with that, but I doubt there are many people who wouldn’t mind playing with a friend or 3. So you may well know that Sony have been particularly mean, but ultimately highly intelligent, in that they have only included two control ports on their PS2. Therefore you’re going to have to get a multiplayer multi tap device if you want a four-player game. I’m not sure you can use the Playstation multi tap, I really don’t know, but the PS2 official one is around £25! You’ll also need more control pads, but you can definitely use the Playstation 1 pads, so that’ll save you money – getting the standard pad for £10 and have change in your pocket shouldn’t really be a problem! I did get a second pad, and I did get the official Playstation 2 pad, costing me a further £19.99 on top of everything I bought at the time! This is the standard price for most pads, and being the dual shock 2® controller, you do save money – not having to buy a special rumble pack. Obviously if you buy a non-dual shock pad, then you won’t be able to buy a rumble pack for it, as there aren’t any slots to put one in. Good price I’d say, for what you get.
The buttons! Well, it’s the same as the Playstation pad, with the famous triangle, square, circle and ‘x’ buttons, as well as the d-pad, select and start, and the shoulder buttons – R1/2 and L1/2. Now, I remember a while back there was a lot of hype regarding the PS2 pressure control button feature, and although I am sure this will prove excellent in the future, when games that support this are available, there aren’t many if any games at the moment (I think FIFA may do) that make use of this. Supposedly, this means the harder you press, the harder the punch, acceleration or kick is. Maybe this is a good idea, but to me it seems like a good way to help lessen the life of your pad. Still, don’t be too brutal and it should outlive the console (if PS3 uses the same controllers!). I have played the GT3 A-spec demo from the OPM2 magazine, and despite the game looking pretty poor in comparison to the likes of F355 and Le Mans 24 on the Dreamcast (mental note ‘it is just a demo’), I did notice the pressure control system worked for it. Press harder to accelerate faster, harder and drive faster! Excellent idea, that I’d like to see included in a lot of new games. Maybe Crazy Taxi will surprise us (not that I’ll be getting it)!
Packaging? Well, it comes on a plastic casing, not as nice as the Dreamcast or Nintendo boxes, but saves on shelf space! Its not very exciting packaging, but the fact that it can be thrown away (I mean recycled) does help you to save space. You don’t really need any instructions, it’s easy enough to use!
Overall, a good pad that will seem very familiar to Playstation owners, and in this respect they won’t have to learn a new language as it were. Myself being a non-PlayStation owner found it easy to learn the buttons, simplistic really! The wires are long enough for you to sit far away from the TV, and are longer than the Dreamcast wires. I do prefer the DC pads, but just because the PS2 pads are very similar to the PSX pads, doesn’t mean Sony is being mean. It’s got to be 4 stars really! Very shiny and black! Very good!
Thanks for reading I hope you’re still awake!
Dan2K1
"In Sound and Silence: Fritz Lang Presents 'M'" - 2008
Montage Film Reviews freelancer writer Simon Collings BA (Hons) has written a review of the film 'M' 1931 (dir. Fritz Lang).
To read the film and buy the DVD see HERE
Montage Film Reviews freelancer writer Simon Collings BA (Hons) has written a review of the film 'M' 1931 (dir. Fritz Lang).
To read the film and buy the DVD see HERE
Ah yes, the PlayStation 2 control pad. Is Sony being bland and stingy for not giving us all a new controller, a better pad perhaps that incorporates something new? Or are they being very clever indeed, at the same time as saving you £20 here and there? Either way you look at it, the control pad for the Playstation 2 isn’t going to change, and I haven’t heard many complaints about it yet. It does differ from the original Playstation controller, not only in colour but in some other features too.
So how good is the PS2 pad? Well, being a Dreamcast and a PlayStation 2 owner, I haven’t really had ‘that’ much time to extensively test the PS2 pad, needless to say, there haven’t been many games on the console that are worth playing, don’t get me wrong – I do have some PS2 games, but nothing comes close to the likes of Crazy Taxi on the DC in my view. Although Crazy Taxi is coming out on the PS2 soon! Ahem, anyways, cut to the chase, I prefer the Dreamcast pad, it’s more innovative, has two ports for visual memory units/rumble packs, and is generally more comfortable. But the PlayStation 2 pad is quite comfortable to hold, and looks the business in that black PlayStation 2 colour.
IF you’re annoyed at Nintendo and Sega for not bringing out a rumbling controller, making you pay up to £15 for a separate rumble pack, then say thank you to Sony, as the PS2 is a dual shock built in rumbling pad, so you won’t have to fork out any extra cash on the feature. However, being almost identical to the PSX pad, there are no ports for you to place a memory card in, and there’s nothing quite as good as a VMU in my view! But hey, it saves you fiddling about, so in this respect it’s good. Memory cards go straight into the console – just like the last Playstation. The rumble effect isn’t so noticeable that you hurt your hands, but it’s a good feature that actually enhances the game playing experience, and is compatible with practically all PS2 games.
Comfort? As I have already mentioned, I do prefer the Dreamcast controller, but then I haven’t gotten used to the PS2’s. Compared to the N64’s though, Sony’s peripheral excels – I can’t stand the N64 pad! The basic shape is good, and although the pad does make your hands sweat more than most, for some reason, it’s easy to hold and all the buttons are within easy digital reach. The analogue sticks are very good if you want a slightly more comfortable control method, although I think the D-pad offers more accuracy etc. The underside of the pad is curved – I’m not quite sure if the original Playstation one was, but I like this aspect an ideal place for you’re forefingers!
How much? Well, unless you’re going to be playing single player games all your life, and there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with that, but I doubt there are many people who wouldn’t mind playing with a friend or 3. So you may well know that Sony have been particularly mean, but ultimately highly intelligent, in that they have only included two control ports on their PS2. Therefore you’re going to have to get a multiplayer multi tap device if you want a four-player game. I’m not sure you can use the Playstation multi tap, I really don’t know, but the PS2 official one is around £25! You’ll also need more control pads, but you can definitely use the Playstation 1 pads, so that’ll save you money – getting the standard pad for £10 and have change in your pocket shouldn’t really be a problem! I did get a second pad, and I did get the official Playstation 2 pad, costing me a further £19.99 on top of everything I bought at the time! This is the standard price for most pads, and being the dual shock 2® controller, you do save money – not having to buy a special rumble pack. Obviously if you buy a non-dual shock pad, then you won’t be able to buy a rumble pack for it, as there aren’t any slots to put one in. Good price I’d say, for what you get.
The buttons! Well, it’s the same as the Playstation pad, with the famous triangle, square, circle and ‘x’ buttons, as well as the d-pad, select and start, and the shoulder buttons – R1/2 and L1/2. Now, I remember a while back there was a lot of hype regarding the PS2 pressure control button feature, and although I am sure this will prove excellent in the future, when games that support this are available, there aren’t many if any games at the moment (I think FIFA may do) that make use of this. Supposedly, this means the harder you press, the harder the punch, acceleration or kick is. Maybe this is a good idea, but to me it seems like a good way to help lessen the life of your pad. Still, don’t be too brutal and it should outlive the console (if PS3 uses the same controllers!). I have played the GT3 A-spec demo from the OPM2 magazine, and despite the game looking pretty poor in comparison to the likes of F355 and Le Mans 24 on the Dreamcast (mental note ‘it is just a demo’), I did notice the pressure control system worked for it. Press harder to accelerate faster, harder and drive faster! Excellent idea, that I’d like to see included in a lot of new games. Maybe Crazy Taxi will surprise us (not that I’ll be getting it)!
Packaging? Well, it comes on a plastic casing, not as nice as the Dreamcast or Nintendo boxes, but saves on shelf space! Its not very exciting packaging, but the fact that it can be thrown away (I mean recycled) does help you to save space. You don’t really need any instructions, it’s easy enough to use!
Overall, a good pad that will seem very familiar to Playstation owners, and in this respect they won’t have to learn a new language as it were. Myself being a non-PlayStation owner found it easy to learn the buttons, simplistic really! The wires are long enough for you to sit far away from the TV, and are longer than the Dreamcast wires. I do prefer the DC pads, but just because the PS2 pads are very similar to the PSX pads, doesn’t mean Sony is being mean. It’s got to be 4 stars really! Very shiny and black! Very good!
Thanks for reading I hope you’re still awake!
Dan2K1
So how good is the PS2 pad? Well, being a Dreamcast and a PlayStation 2 owner, I haven’t really had ‘that’ much time to extensively test the PS2 pad, needless to say, there haven’t been many games on the console that are worth playing, don’t get me wrong – I do have some PS2 games, but nothing comes close to the likes of Crazy Taxi on the DC in my view. Although Crazy Taxi is coming out on the PS2 soon! Ahem, anyways, cut to the chase, I prefer the Dreamcast pad, it’s more innovative, has two ports for visual memory units/rumble packs, and is generally more comfortable. But the PlayStation 2 pad is quite comfortable to hold, and looks the business in that black PlayStation 2 colour.
IF you’re annoyed at Nintendo and Sega for not bringing out a rumbling controller, making you pay up to £15 for a separate rumble pack, then say thank you to Sony, as the PS2 is a dual shock built in rumbling pad, so you won’t have to fork out any extra cash on the feature. However, being almost identical to the PSX pad, there are no ports for you to place a memory card in, and there’s nothing quite as good as a VMU in my view! But hey, it saves you fiddling about, so in this respect it’s good. Memory cards go straight into the console – just like the last Playstation. The rumble effect isn’t so noticeable that you hurt your hands, but it’s a good feature that actually enhances the game playing experience, and is compatible with practically all PS2 games.
Comfort? As I have already mentioned, I do prefer the Dreamcast controller, but then I haven’t gotten used to the PS2’s. Compared to the N64’s though, Sony’s peripheral excels – I can’t stand the N64 pad! The basic shape is good, and although the pad does make your hands sweat more than most, for some reason, it’s easy to hold and all the buttons are within easy digital reach. The analogue sticks are very good if you want a slightly more comfortable control method, although I think the D-pad offers more accuracy etc. The underside of the pad is curved – I’m not quite sure if the original Playstation one was, but I like this aspect an ideal place for you’re forefingers!
How much? Well, unless you’re going to be playing single player games all your life, and there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with that, but I doubt there are many people who wouldn’t mind playing with a friend or 3. So you may well know that Sony have been particularly mean, but ultimately highly intelligent, in that they have only included two control ports on their PS2. Therefore you’re going to have to get a multiplayer multi tap device if you want a four-player game. I’m not sure you can use the Playstation multi tap, I really don’t know, but the PS2 official one is around £25! You’ll also need more control pads, but you can definitely use the Playstation 1 pads, so that’ll save you money – getting the standard pad for £10 and have change in your pocket shouldn’t really be a problem! I did get a second pad, and I did get the official Playstation 2 pad, costing me a further £19.99 on top of everything I bought at the time! This is the standard price for most pads, and being the dual shock 2® controller, you do save money – not having to buy a special rumble pack. Obviously if you buy a non-dual shock pad, then you won’t be able to buy a rumble pack for it, as there aren’t any slots to put one in. Good price I’d say, for what you get.
The buttons! Well, it’s the same as the Playstation pad, with the famous triangle, square, circle and ‘x’ buttons, as well as the d-pad, select and start, and the shoulder buttons – R1/2 and L1/2. Now, I remember a while back there was a lot of hype regarding the PS2 pressure control button feature, and although I am sure this will prove excellent in the future, when games that support this are available, there aren’t many if any games at the moment (I think FIFA may do) that make use of this. Supposedly, this means the harder you press, the harder the punch, acceleration or kick is. Maybe this is a good idea, but to me it seems like a good way to help lessen the life of your pad. Still, don’t be too brutal and it should outlive the console (if PS3 uses the same controllers!). I have played the GT3 A-spec demo from the OPM2 magazine, and despite the game looking pretty poor in comparison to the likes of F355 and Le Mans 24 on the Dreamcast (mental note ‘it is just a demo’), I did notice the pressure control system worked for it. Press harder to accelerate faster, harder and drive faster! Excellent idea, that I’d like to see included in a lot of new games. Maybe Crazy Taxi will surprise us (not that I’ll be getting it)!
Packaging? Well, it comes on a plastic casing, not as nice as the Dreamcast or Nintendo boxes, but saves on shelf space! Its not very exciting packaging, but the fact that it can be thrown away (I mean recycled) does help you to save space. You don’t really need any instructions, it’s easy enough to use!
Overall, a good pad that will seem very familiar to Playstation owners, and in this respect they won’t have to learn a new language as it were. Myself being a non-PlayStation owner found it easy to learn the buttons, simplistic really! The wires are long enough for you to sit far away from the TV, and are longer than the Dreamcast wires. I do prefer the DC pads, but just because the PS2 pads are very similar to the PSX pads, doesn’t mean Sony is being mean. It’s got to be 4 stars really! Very shiny and black! Very good!
Thanks for reading I hope you’re still awake!
Dan2K1