Lurking in the background of the gaming world is the vulture. The vulture, see, is the one who busily collects ’’old’’ systems and libraries of games for them while everyone else is spending tons of cash on the ’’next big thing.’’ Being a bit of a vulture myself, I absolutely love the original Playstation. Let everyone else worry about Microsoft’s Xbox and the new systems from Nintendo and Sony. I’m content to play High Heat 2002, NBA Live 2000, Road Rash: Jailbreak, Medal of Honor and a host of other titles on my trusty Playstation.
If you don’t have a Playstation but have always wanted one, now is the time to grab a system. They sell new in the U.S. for under $100, but can be found on auction sites like eBay.com and from certain Amazon.com dealers for much less than that. Better yet, games cost next to nothing. While a new game for that shiny Xbox will set you back $50, Playstation titles can be found at any reputable Game Exchange for around $15 a pop or less. And, finding them on the aforementioned auction sites and dealers means you’ll probably pay even less money.
Sure, the graphics aren’t as sharp as on the new system, and the frame rate is sometimes a bit slow. However, the game play is all there and there are some great games available for the Playstation. First person shooters, platformers, sports titles, racing games and all sorts of things are out there for the Playstation. And, I’d wager that I have as much fun blasting Nazis in Medal of Honor than the local ’’kewl dood’’ with the Xbox has slaughtering aliens in Halo.
As far as I’m concerned, gaming has to do more with the game engine than the graphics. Perhaps I’m odd for holding such an opinion, but the emphasis these days seems to be more on producing titles with eye-popping graphics than on good, old-fashioned fun. The Playstation still comes up big in the ’’fun’’ department, so I really don’t care if the graphics look a bit ’’flat’’ and out-of-date now.
And, the Playstation has one of the best control pads on the planet. The Dual Shock controller gives you some precise, analog action and resembles a short, sturdy joystick. The button layout is great in that reaching everything makes sense -- that means you won’t wind up lost and wondering in the middle of a game during times of tense action.
Now, there are two things to watch out for when it comes to the Playstation. There are a ton of titles for it, and a good number of those games really stink. Make sure to check out some reviews on the Internet about specific games before you get them. Sure, the games are cheap, but what’s the point of bringing home a title that you’ll hate. Also, beware of the cheap memory cards out there. Those, of course, are used to save games, and it’s a real drag to have one quit working and lose all your data halfway through a complex, detailed game that takes some time to solve. Stick with the genuine Sony memory cards, and you’ll be fine.
So, come on out and join the vultures. Plenty of folks still love this system, and with good reason -- it’s cheap, and finding games for it isn’t a problem.