First of all, I'm not the type of person that will put a system down just because I own a different system (like those Dreamcast vs. PS2 maniacs out there!). But unfortunately, you will always find people that are like that... People that are so loyal (is that the right word?) to their gaming systems that they don't realize that it's the quality of the games that really matters, not the specs on the machines.

I guess people do this because they want to convince themselves that they made the right decision by buying the system that they have now. Or maybe that they don't want to accept that their system has flaws... Whatever it is, just drop it and enjoy your freaking games!!

I'm sorry for that little venting I did... =) Now on to the system - - - Playstation 2!

Forgive me for saying that I, too, couldn't wait and just had to buy one in an auction! Please don't ask me how much I bought it for or I might just bang my head on the wall again... Well, I didn't buy it for a $1000.00, that's for sure!!

My PS2 games are Madden 2001, NHL 2001 and SSX. I'm mostly playing Madden and SSX. Here's what I have to say about the performance of the system...


What I like about my PS2: Like most would say, I like it because it plays 4 different types of media, namely: DVD, Audio CD, PS1 games and PS2 games. It plays all these medias smoothly. Having the option to stand it on its side is a plus for those who have little room to work with. Oh, and you don’t need to buy the vertical stand to make it steady. The stands (vertical, horizontal) are just for cosmetic purposes.

PS2 as a DVD player works just fine. I was using a stand-alone DVD player before, I did notice that the picture quality on the PS2 is somewhat darker or not as bright as my stand-alone DVD player but at the same time, the colors are more vivid! The colors are more “saturated”, darker… When looking at the picture, I feel like there’s a layer of film that is covering the screen, which makes the picture not as bright. I cannot think of a word to describe it more accurately, but if someone knows what I’m talking about please let me know of that word! =) I think a good example would be when you have a picture to enhance using any photo editing software, you edit the pictures brightness and contrast. By lowering the contrast of the picture, you would achieve the same feel as what I am talking about.

DVD playback is smooth without any hick-ups and pauses. Menu navigation with the game controller is very straightforward, just use the d-pad to highlight and press X to select. It’s that simple. I did not buy a remote control for just the purpose of playing DVDs, I just bought an extension cord for my game controller and my problems are solved. It’s cheaper and it’s very unlikely that I’ll end up loosing them.

It’s also cool that they included an audio digital out (optical). This way, you can really enjoy the sound format that the DVDs (games also) came in (AC-3, DTS). On the video end, they only included the regular composite cables; if you want better picture quality, go with S-Video (more common on TVs) or Component cables. Component cables are better that S-Video, but it’s hard to tell which one is better just by looking at it.

Audio CDs also plays smoothly. I just can’t figure out how to put the CD on shuffle during playback. I don’t have the manual with me right now, so I don’t know if it comes with the shuffle or not… So far, all my CDRs are playing well; it loads fast as well…

I only tried a handful of PS1 games on this machine and it all works. It gave me a smile when I heard that PS1 intro music on my PS2! Aaahhh, good ol’ times, I said to myself. =) On some games the load time and the graphics did not change. It’s also cool that I can use the old peripherals from my PS1. PS1 controllers, memory cards, extension cord and the multi-tap works fine with the PS2. Backward compatibility is great!! Note that the PS1 memory cards only work with PS1 games; same thing with PS2; its memory card only works with PS2 games.

Although I only have 3 games, they all work fine with my system. It comes with beautiful graphics and sound. The memory card for the PS2 loads data very fast! Saving data is not as fast as loading but still an improvement from PS1 memory cards. The games that I played also has auto load; it loads all my game settings for that particular game so I don’t have to do it manually.

Although, there’s not much games out there right now, the games that are coming soon for this system are very exciting… Gran Turismo 3, Final Fantasy series, Metal Gear and so on… I can’t wait to get my hands on those! This is also one reason I bought this system. I’m a fan of those titles I mentioned and the companies that signed up to make games for the PS2 are the companies that I usually buy my games from… EA Sports, Konami, Square etc. etc.


What I don’t like about this system: Where’s all the cool games!!! There are only a few great games out there for the PS2. I just hope that the great games will come soon… It’s a good thing that I can play PS1 games on this system; otherwise it wouldn’t be too fun at all! It’s known that the PS2 is a little hard to develop games for; that’s probably the reason for the scarcity of great games. I just hope that this won’t be a Sega Saturn in the making!!! (please NO!!)

I’ve never been a fan of plug-in upgrades! But this is what Sony is making all their PS2 customers do; buy upgrades! In the future, we will be required to buy an adapter for a high-speed Internet connection or maybe a hard drive if we want to go play online. What other plug-ins they have in store for us; I just don’t know… It’s also too bad that Sony only included 2 controller ports. You have to buy a multi-tap if you’re planning on playing with more friends

When in the upright position, the system sometimes crashes. Crashes – meaning, the game will just freeze and the only thing to get rid of it would be to turn off and turn back on the PS2. This happened to me twice, playing Madden 2001 and SSX. There’s nothing more frustrating than having the game freeze on you after a great Super Bowl game in Madden 2001. Or right after you’ve won that gold medal you worked so hard for in SSX!! And yes, they both happened to me. The crashes only happened with games though, not with DVDs.

The PS2s on/off switch is located in the back of the unit. The only buttons located on the front are the reset and the CD changer buttons. The system will go on standby if you press the reset button for more than 2 seconds. A quick tap will just reset your game. Sony just likes us to use more energy here in California…

Because of all these weaknesses, I’m concerned that PS2 might have a short life span… The reason I said this is because of the coming release of X-Box from Microsoft and Nintendo’s new system. If the PS2 were unable to attract gamers by producing great games, then a lot of these gamers would just save their money and buy the “next best thing”! It also doesn’t help that until now, PS2s are still hard to find. You still can’t buy PS2s in regular retail outlets. Usually, you have to go online and pay outrageous amounts to get yourself one! Sony did say that they will be shipping millions of PS2s this coming April.


The Final Verdict!

If you’ve been dreaming about this system, go ahead and buy it, it won’t be such a bad idea to get one. But NOT NOW!! With the limited great games out there for this system, it’ll be stupid to pay more than retail by going online to buy one. My suggestion is to wait another month when Sony ships all those PS2s. This way, you won’t overspend and you’ll have money left to buy more games (when the good ones come out). And if you don’t have a DVD player, buying this would just make it much easier. And plus, a company as big as Sony, you know they will always be in the hunt to deliver the best entertainment (hopefully). PS2 will not be another Sega Saturn. =)


Recommended: Yes