Ever since Sony released their Playstation in 1995, they have made such a great name for them over the course of 8 years, which continued and even DOUBLED when the Playstation 2 was released in October 2000, about a year and one month after Sega had released their new console, the Dreamcast. Because of the MASSIVE amount of hype that the PS2 had gained, it totally overshadowed the Dreamcast, and because of all the 3rd-party developers jumping on to Sony’s boat, that eventually led to Sega pulling the plug on the Dreamcast a lot sooner than they were wanting to. Now two years later, and even after the release of two high-rated consoles (one from a top-rated company, the other from a money hungry jack....rabbit), the PS2 is still going strong with major 3rd-party support, even with it’s “weaker” system specs when compared to the Xbox and Gamecube (although in a lot of cross-console games it’s noticeable that the PS2 versions always have pixel problems with blurry effects).

System: Black, Sleek, and Bland
One of the good things about the system itself is that it doesn’t take up TO much space. Oh wait, I lied. The PS2 is a lot wider horizontal now, but about the same size as the regular Playstation going back, maybe a tad bit shorter since they didn’t need as much room to go back as much. The PS2 is a solid black, with “PS2” in blue/white lettering on top of the console. On the front of the console is the disc tray with the Restart/Power and Eject buttons to the right of it, and then the two controller ports plus memory card slots above each controller port The back of the console is where the cooling fan is, the AV and power cable ports, and a power switch.

For those with a pretty tightly packed entertainment center where a horizontal console as long as the PS2 probably wouldn’t fit, the option to set the PS2 up so it’s vertical is there, and you can even buy a vertical stand to support it while it’s sitting vertical. Even the little Playstation symbol on the system tray will turn so it’s still right side up while vertical, I thought that was a nice touch. I don’t know whether or not having the PS2 vertical while playing will cause any problems, but that’s why I don’t have it vertical so I don’t find out what those problems are if there are any (plus I’ve got plenty of room for it to lay horizontal).

The nice features about the PS2 is that of the cooling fan that works VERY well. I’ve had my PS2 since August 14, 2001, and since then I’ve been on NUMEROUS gaming binges, which have been doubled since Kingdom Hearts and SOCOM have come out, the fan has done a really good job of keeping the system cool so it doesn’t over heat. To turn the PS2 off, you can either have the power switch in the back turned on and press and hold the Restart button and it’ll go into stand-by mode, kind of like your computer, where the power is on, but it’s not on. Get it? But if you’re going to be gone for say, a whole 2,3, or 4 months, then you’re going to want to turn the entire system off by the power switch in the back.

After going through the Playstation and Nintendo 64 generation where the Nintendo 64 was clearly the console to get if you were any kind of multiplayer gamer, because of the four controller ports. Unfortunately, the Playstation only had two, and if anyone wanted to play with more than two they had to pay an extra 30-40 bucks for a controller adapter. Welp, this kind of “tradition” continues with the PS2, as there STILL are only two controller ports, and you still have to use a special peripheral to play with more than four players.

The game discs are 8 inch DVD-ROMS that hold twice as much as Gamecube, and about half as much as the Xbox does, with 3-4 or so gigabytes worth of space. Now 3-4 gigabytes of space is a WHOLE lot of space to fill up, and the best thing is, I don’t think any game has even come CLOSE to filling up a whole PS2 disc, probably not even half of it. Most games are around 1-1.5 gigabytes, and so that shows how much more room there is for improvement in game sizes, the amount of space they can take up for graphics, and anything else that they may find fit to use.

For those who like to have multiple systems in one, you’ll be pleased that the PS2 is readily available to play DVD movies, and is also backward compatible with the original Playstation games. As for the DVD player, even though Sony has their own brand of stand-alone DVD players, the PS2 was included with a fairly cheap one with so-so picture quality and about the same for the Audio, but it’s still a DVD player, and for those without a stand-alone DVD player already this is really convenient until they can find a better stand-alone, or until whenever. If you don’t want to use the PS2 controller as a DVD remote, then there are a couple 3rd-party controllers along with one of Sony’s own brand. Sadly, you can’t turn the entire console off or put it in sleep mode with the remote, so you’ll still have to get up eventually to turn the system off.

Controller: Why didn’t the controller upgrade with the times?
I guess Sony thought that the Dual Shock controller released later in the Playstation’s life was such a great controller, that they’d just keep the exact same design for the PS2 and make it black and name it the “Dualshock 2”, because they’re so original (just like the console’s name, haha). Well, Sony had every right to do so, because the PS2 controller is still one of the most comfortable controllers on the market. While playing with it for long periods of times, your hands feel just the same as they did before, however after playing with the Gamecube controller for about an hour or so, once I go back to play some PS2, the controller feels very blocky, and it actually is when you take a second to feel it and look at it. But that’s alright, because the controller is still comfortable, and the button placements are perfect. The only gripe I have lies with the dual analog sticks and that they’re right next to each other in a straight line, instead of kept kind of offset like Gamecube’s controller and Xbox’s controller.

The controller cord is about 6-8 feet long, and should provide you with enough distance to reach from your PS2 to wherever you’re wanting to sit/lay down/stand. The controller durability is strong, as mine has taken major punishment from throwing it around when I’d get mad at SOCOM, and the buttons also stay in good shape, although will get kind of loose after a long time of use. Right now my left analog stick is really loose, and whenever I’m playing SOCOM, it’s so easy to switch fire rates whenever I’m trying to move, because it takes barely anything for the analog stick to click.

There are 8 buttons on the controller, plus the two analog sticks, directional pad, and the Start and Select buttons. On the shoulder of the controller is where the R-1, R-2, L-1, and L-2 are at, the L buttons on the left side (go figure), and the R buttons on the right side of the controller (again, Sony is real original with names). There is also an R-3 and an L-3, which is when you push in one of the two analog sticks until they click (or in my case, barely touch it and it registers).

Games: “It’s all about the games” is a term used very loosely
If it weren’t for the amount of games available and games soon to be available that are flooding the PS2’s library, the system probably wouldn’t be where it is today. Luckily, Sony has had wonderful luck with 3rd-party developers, which are basically what keep the PS2 alive. The PS2 certainly couldn’t live without the amount of 3rd-party support that it receives like Nintendo could, mainly because Sony’s in-house developer isn’t quite as EXCELLENT at creating good games as Nintendo is.

The PS2 has a good mixture of games for kids/teenagers/adults of all ages, and includes a wide variety of genres to choose a game from (fighting, adventure, action, FPS, RPG), especially RPG’s. Although not being flooded with a ton of excellent RPG’s, the system still has a ton of them. There’s also a good mix of games to own out now, and also ones that are soon to come out, both from Sony themselves and 3rd-party developers (I’m looking forward to a few of the 3rd-party games).

No matter what kind of gamer you are, you’ll most likely find a game to suit you on the PS2, including games like Final Fantasy X, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Gran Turismo 3, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 & 4, Kingdom Hearts, SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals, Suikoden III, and other types of games ranging from extremely odd but fun, to games that may spark your interest after one 5 minute play session with the game. A lot of younger children will also enjoy the system, with Britney’s Dance Beat, Jak and Daxter, Ratchet and Clank, and Sly Cooper and the Thievious Raccoonus; mainly the adventure games, which are probably the only games that could even KEEP a child interested.

There’s also a couple games that even adults may have trouble dealing with, which would be the uber popular Grand Theft Auto 3 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Stealing cars, ripping off candy stores, catching a hooker for extra health, and a bunch of other crime related events that really create a ton of controversy around the two best selling games on the PS2.

Future Games: Success comes with the games, and games come with the success
Although very happy with the selection of games that is currently out for the PS2 right now, mainly SOCOM, Kingdom Hearts, and GTA: Vice City...some of the future games for the PS2 have really interested me, but what will 2003 bring? Right now there are only a few titles that are even remotely CLOSE to interesting me one way or another, which include titles like Devil May Cry 2, Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time, Xenosaga: Episode 1, .hack: Infection, Resident Evil Online, Final Fantasy XI (if it ever makes it over here to the states), Final Fantasy X-2 (what?! a direct sequel?! RADICAL!), and a few others that haven’t really had much announced about them yet.

Although looking to have a great year, a lot of people are a little skeptical about whether Sony can stay on top with the PS2 because of the multitudes of AAA games coming out for the Gamecube and Xbox, including Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker for Gamecube and Halo 2 for the Xbox, the two most hyped up games right now. What do I think about PS2’s future in 2003? It surely is going to be a good one, especially with SOCOM leading the way, but there are other games that will interest others that I have absolutely NO interest in, so it really depends on what kind of audience the games go out to.

Overall: 2003 brings lots of surprises
While still being early in the year, it’s nearly impossible to predict what’s going to have happened by years end, so between now and then, there is a ton of things that could happen, including newly announced games, sleeper hits, and if Sony’s online plan keeps going strong, the Network Adapter could lead the way with Resident Evil Online and FFXI. I am very optimistic about PS2 in 2003, almost as much as I am with Nintendo’s online plans, so hopefully there will be more titles other than SOCOM that will be able to prevent me from selling it to have extra cash for more GC, Xbox, and Gameboy SP games.

happy gaming

Recommended: Yes