Summary

I frind just got a X Box 360... Its the worst piece of crud ive ever seen. tHe thing broke in 5 days. Ive had a playstaion 1 and a playstation 2 for years and they have never givin me trouble. The games are awesome. The graphics OK, but still.. this has some of the greater games and effects ive seen.

Sound

Cant really say. It depends on what game your playing. Also it depends if you have the volume on your tv low. 4

Gameplay

Im rating this a 5+
Never had a problem with the games.. All of them rock

Summary

the system looks nice and has usb ports in the front. comes with the original controller which i liked. bought the ps2 because of its large gaming library.

Sound

stereo and surround sound is great.

Gameplay

the ps2 has a large gaming library. many to choose from. the games are cheap especially the greatest hits.

Summary

I have spent the last 3+ years playing my Xbox. Then I began to look at the library of games available for the PS2 and decided to go ahead and pick one the new design PS2. Gameplay is the best part of this system with the broadband now included and great games available. I was a little disappointed with bothe graphics and sound. I was also not happy with the fact that the new PSTwo cannot be used with the harddrive.

Sound

Not the best sound quality - need more support of DD 5.1.

Gameplay

This is certainly the best aspect of the PS2. A tremendous library of games, free online play - can't go wrong here.

Summary

I am not going to tell people what system they should be buying because all of the systems are great, just some systems are better for different people. In my opinion the Gamecube is for people who love Mario, Zelda, and etc. The X-BOX is for people who love online play, first person shooters, and racing games. And the PS2 is for people who love action/adventure games, and tend to not like first person shooters. In my case i hate first person shooters, and love the games that the PS2 have to offer.

Sound

The sound for the ps2 is good, the only complaint i have is that when listening to a CD or watching a DVD, you have to blast your TV to hear anything. In game sound is great, as good as any other system. The sound just depends on the game that you are playing at the time.

Gameplay

The thing i like about the PS2 is the controller!!! it is the same one from the PSone. There was no learning a new controller for this system it was great. I put in my game and it felt like the PSone with much better graphics. Im not saying that all games have great gameplay for the PS2, but alot do, same goes for all other gaming systems out there.

Summary

Its well known I'm primarily a PC and X-box owner, but I know enough about the PS2, and know enough freinds that own them, to feel a review is appropriate. I also feel I've logged enough gamepad-time on the PS2 to be able to give the system a decent, un-biased review. I don't work for Sony, or Microsoft, or Nintendo, so why on earth would I want to be biased towards any particular system? The X-box is often the brunt of a lot of anti-Microsoft feeling. As a musician and a computer enthusiast, I have more than equal amounts of contempt for both multi-national coporations. For that reason I reckon the Gamecube wins the console race hands down on sheer political correctness. Despite any critisism I, or any other review, might level at the PS2, its sales figures do, indeed, speak for themselves. Despite dwindling performance and impressive competition, the PS2 has been pulled out of the fire time and time again by well marketed software franchises and gimmicks. Most recently by the party and kids freindly eye-toy and by the thinly veiled eroticism of the Final Fantasy ladies. Perhaps its a result of their experiences in the music industry, but Sony is the master of the clever marketing ploy.. its always been much better at selling consumer electronics than actually making them competetive. The word 'playsation' has almost come to mean 'games console' in the english language.. unfortunately for nintendo and microsoft you just can beat that kind of market domination. Im sure that subsequent generation of consoles will all be dominated by technologically weak sony products for years to come as well.

Sound

Theres not a lot to say about the sound.. Again, its pretty much left in the dust by every other gaming platform on the market. A huge percentage of us still plug our consoles soundcard straight into the TV though, so as long as reproduction is clear and in stereo, there isn't too much to complain about.

Gameplay

As a houshold gadget, the PS2 looked great when it came out.. sleek and futuristic and smaller than your VCR. Time hasn't been good to the Sony box though, and its no looking a bit tacky and old-hat as a design. Great if your into that black 80's retro thing though. The construction of the hardware has really stood the test of time. Most PS2 owners I know have rarely needed to spend money on maintenance of their consoles, other than the occasional new controller (usually after having smashed the old one repeatedly againsed the wall whilst playing Tombraider). A possible edge over the Gamecube and Xbox is the PS2's innate ability to play DVD's out of the box (the Xbox requires you spend about 15 bucks on a DVD 'kit', and the GC just cant do it, period). Unfortunately DVD playback is a bit shabby compared with even the cheapest dedicated DVD player, its a good feature though, and handy for those wanting to kill two birds in one stone. Backward compatability with the PS1 is pretty much a moot point these days. I don't know anyone who would DREAM of shoving thier old PS1 games into their PS2, especially when they can simply be traded in for a discount at the local game store. The PS1 was a previous generation console.. the games do look pretty dated and the most popular have been 'replaced' by better looking, better playing sequels or clones for the PS2. An excellent example of this is the Tekken and Virtua Fighter series. Possibly the best selling point of the PS2 is the sheer quantity of titles available for it. Theres so much variety its truly mind boggling, but beware gentle gamer, the PS2's repertoir is soiled by many utterly disasterous games. That said, theres some really good, playable titles out there (TS2, Gladius etc..) too that are well programmed, contain original, interesting gameplay and generally stand out well from the mountain of dross. If your on a budget, the low cost of many older PS2 games might seem to point you in that direction. Unfortunately the necessity of buying expensive memory cartridges for your PS2 game data may well niggle when you could be spending the money on more games instead. Visiting freinds who own PS2's often results in having to tip-toe around numerous memory cardridges strew all over the living room floor. Worse still is the invonvenience of having to locate the right cartridge for the right game, and the ugly mess of the cartridge itself, jutting out from your games console like an expensive diving board, totally ruining the appearence of the system. On a more positive note.. the PS2 is the home of all the big franchises: Metal gear Solid, Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, Gran-Tourismo and GTA are all nearly household names thanks chiefly to their excellent quality. Although most of these are now being ported onto the other consoles, its obvious that there is never going to be a final fantasy or Tombraider game on the Xbox (knowing my luck, there will probably be one on the shelves by the time you read this). Most devolpers are now seeing the financial sense of including the Xbox, the PS2s chief contender, in their release platforms. With even rockstar finally playing ball with the excellent GTA3 double pack. The cynic in me firmly believes this is partly due to a number of high quality GTA-a-like titles being released on Xbox and Cube last year. Mostly though, the best the other consoles can do in many cases is to simply produce suerior products. The Xbox's project Gotham series effectively out Gran Tourismo's Gran Tourismo. Dead or Alive III and Tao Feng replace Tekken and Mortal Combat all too easily. The recent Indiana Jones game even gave PS2 stalwart Tombraider a run for its money. With the exclusivity of PS2 games dwindling, and the limitations of the platform limiting what can be done in the future. It does start to look bleak for Sonys machine. The other consoles can simply overpower the weakling PS2 with sheer gaming muscle, and at no extra cost!! Enter the PS2's saviour however, in the unlikely form of add-on gadjets and party games like the eye-toy dance mat, and linux operating system!. These curiosities require much less power than an actual game, and are apparently selling in thier millions.. go figure! The future of the PS2? The 'non gamers game console'.