Where's the beef!?
Written: Aug 13 '01 (Updated Aug 13 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Can play DVDs and old Playstation games, PS controllers usable as well
Cons: Not very many compelling games out for it currently; games are expensive!
The Bottom Line: So much potential yet to be tapped. Unless you have extra money on your hands, wait till there are 4 or more games that interest you before plunging in.
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| kenshin27's Full Review: Sony PlayStation 2 Slimline Console |
I've owned my PS2 for about 6 months now and my PS2 game library consists of a grand total of _2_ games. And I haven't even played either of 'em to any serious degree since I've been busy finishing up my season in NHL 2001 for the PS.
First Impressions
When I first took the unit out from its box, my first thought was, "Wow, this thing's pretty heavy." After giving it a once over my second thought was, "Wait a minute, this thing's half empty! Why the heck is it so heavy?!" Basically, about half of the machine is empty space that looks like room for a hard drive or other expansion goodies if ever they were needed in the future. But even with this empty space, the unit has a solid heft to it that makes it feel like it's worth the $300 you just shelled out for it. ;-p
As for its looks, I've never been too impressed by the PS2 shell. Sure it's black and futuristic-looking but it's basically an oddly shaped rectangular black box with grooves. Yippee. There are two ports for controllers and also 2 USB ports for what, I'm not quite certain at this point. The disc tray slides in and out very smoothly though and the entire unit definitely doesn't feel cheap.
Play Game!
After connecting all the wires and whatnot, popped in my first game (Star Wars Starfighter) and prepared to be dazzled. Startup sequence was nice (all swirly and twinkly and stuff) but not noticeably faster than the old PS startup. The controller was markedly lighter than the old Dual Shock controllers that I had to buy separately for the PS so that was a plus. Since it's lighter, any strong vibration coming out of it is really felt.
The game graphics were _very_ nice although I have a feeling any hardcore PC gamer with a 64MB NVidia GForce3 card would just roll their eyes, "Whatever." But it's definitely good looking and hey, you're paying like 1/3 of the cost of a gaming computer setup. Scrolling and movement was smooth, no slowdowns, overall good time.
Popped in a few of my old PS games and they all worked fine. The PS2 memory card slots will also accept PS memory cards but you can't save PS2 games onto them. Would've been nice if you could but I guess they just wanted to bilk us even more on accessories.
Play DVD!
Now we come to the reason why I opted to buy the PS2 earlier this year. I was in the market for my first DVD player (not counting ones that come with computers) and I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone. The PS2 works reasonably well as a DVD player and has a whole assortment of DVD player functions that are easily controlled by either the regular gaming controller or a remote control (sold separately). I've only had one DVD that would not play on it past a certain point but besides that, there hasn't been any major compatibility problems.
That's it?
Now the mainstay of any good console gaming system is its game library. And sad to say, the PS2 currently is not very well blessed in this department. Not that there aren't any good games (I've heard good things about Onimusha, Twisted Metal: Black, and the Armored Core series). As I started out saying at the beginning of this article, I own only 2 titles for it, Gran Turismo 3 being the other one. _But_, it seems that a whole slew of mouth-watering, hand-twitching games are going to be out soon for the PS2. GT3 was the first one. Spectacular graphics but more of the same as far as game play is concerned. I'm eagerly awaiting EA Sports 2002 line of sports games (coming this fall) and also Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (November release). So this Christmas season should be pretty exciting for PS2 owners.
The final word
The PS2 as it stands now is not as compelling a buy as its predecessor was during its day. I think the tepid game library has kept enthusiasm and spending down. But hopefully that will change very soon. It _better_ change if Sony hopes to compete with Microsoft's X-Box this winter. They can't just sit around hoping to rest on their PS laurels. As a console system, it shows promise and I believe Sony has enough weight to throw around and pressure game developers into doing some great stuff for them.
So if you're not craving a new console system or DVD player anytime soon, then it's safe to just stick with what you've got for the next few months. This holiday season will be a good barometer to see how the PS2 will fare in the years to come. That is unless this sinking economy just sucks everything down. =p
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kenshin27
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Member: Ben C
Location: NJ
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 17 members
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