Man, I had I Playstation 2 way back in the day, but I only had the thing for about 9 months or so. I got it the day it came out, and then I had it up until about a week prior to the release of Grand Theft Auto 3, the very first one.

I know, I know, what a time to sell the PS2, just when it was starting to turn the corner.


Well, back then I was very dissapointed in the PS2 at that time. I had such high hopes and huge expectations for the PS2, thinking it would be the alpha and the omega, and I was just very dissapointed with the games that were available. I had a Dreamcast at the same time, and I actually liked my Dreamcast better. The only game on the PS2 that really impressed me was Ico. Everything else was very mediocre, and had tons of jaggies and other visual problems. This was very early in the life of the PS2, and certainly, things have definitely changed since then.

But back then I made a decision. The XBOX and the GameCube were about to come out, and I decided to sell all my Dreamcast stuff, and all my PS2 stuff, and that I was going to hop on the XBOX and GameCube bandwagon to the fullest extent. I did that, and for all those years, I never looked back. Actually, there really weren't that many PS2 games that made me wish I had a PS2. A few games here and there, but not that many, and most of the best ones were likely to come to the XBOX in six months anyways, and would probably look and sound quite a bit better. So I really didn't think I was missing out on much.

I was also a big time videophile, and I thought that the PS2 was just a horribly designed system, that was really lacking in the quality of the video that it could put out. I mean, that thing looked like total crap on a HDTV.

But now, things have changed. Years have gone by, and I went Retro wtih my gaming. Going retro helped me learn some things about video games. That I didn't have to have games that were in HDTV, and widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 to enjoy them. Good games are good games period. Sure, I still love games that are progressive scan, and widescreen, but I don't absolutely need that, as much as I did in the past.

The main reason I dumped the PS2 was because at the time it didn't have a single game that was progressive scan. I knew that virutally every XBOX game was progressive scan and most of the best GameCube games would be, so I decided to ditch the PS2. Way back in August of 2001.

Here we are, over 3 years later, and I've just been reunited with a shiny brand new PS2. I got the slimline model, because I like the fact that it's nice and tiny, and much more portable. I'm really looking forward to Sony coming out with a nice screen for it, and some type of battery pack. But that's another story.

Anyways, the main reasons that I decided to get a PS2 after all these years, is that I think that I've missed a number of very big time games that I really should have experienced. Plus a lot of really new games, that look really cool were coming out this year. And a few more games are coming along that are supporting progressive scan, which is nice.

I got a big batch of games to keep my PS2 comfy and cosy this XMAS. Of course I got San Andreas, what a really cool game that is. The GTA 3 games just have a unique flavor all their own. I would rather see it on XBOX, but it's nice to play it now and not have to wait 8 months or whatever. I also got Ratch and Clank: Up Your Arsenal, what a sweet game that is!!! Man, one thing that the PS2 really has over the other consoles is the 3D action platform game. Speaking of those, I got Jak 3 as well. I got Killzone, to see just how far programmers have been able to go with the PS2. Pretty impressive for a PS2 game. Maybe a little too ambitious, but cool regardless. I got Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, had to check that puppy out. I also got Neo Contra, because I'm a big fan of the 16 bit era Contra's, but I must admit that I'm not too thrilled with this one. On the old school side, I got Ico to revist that, and I got Contra Shattered Soldier, a game that I never tried before.

Still a bunch more games that I want to check out on PS2. Wow, I know I'm very late to the PS2 party, but there are some really cool games on this system. Once you get past the fact that the PS2 isn't any kind of technological marvel, then you realize that there are still some damn good pieces of software on it.


And it looks nice in warm vanilla pudding too!!!