The One on PlayStation2

Many of you guys who are in the know surely would ask why did I kick start my Techie Tuesday with the Sony PlayStation2 (PS2). After all it is already considered the last generation of gaming console and everyone should be talking about the PS3 now. Well, if you're truly a gamer, you would know that the PS2 is far from being extinct or casted into the museum of great gaming consoles, PS2 hardware sales is still going strong.

Furthermore, this is the first gaming console that I first bought, and I think close to 500 hours of my life had been spent on it ever since I bought it in 2003. So definitely there are a lot of sentiments with me and the PS2. Last but not least, it was the only Playstation console that launched with a vibration-enabled controller bundled.

Launched on March 5, 2000 in Japan, the PS2 has climbed into record sales of 127 million units by end of 2007, almost comparable to the combined sales of 140 million units of the iPods which was launched in the same year.

It has gone through 2 major facelifts since the original model, from the squarish PS2 to the PS2 slim to the current PS2 slim with built-in power supply.

What made the PS2 shine is really its vast library of games available, coupled with *ahem* method, literally thousands of video games are available at your fingertips. It has literally any possible genre of games that you can hope for: from the staple Japanese Role Playing Games, Action Adventure, Fighting, Racing, Sports to the quirky Dance Dance Revolution and EyeToy series.

Probably half of you already got put off by the unfamiliar lingos that I have been using, well too bad I already tried to use as simple terms as possible for non-gamers to catch up. Go borrow your nephew's PS2 or better still buy one second hand set to try it out yourself.

A quick search in online second hand market yields the results of a couple of modified Fat PS2's selling for more or less S$150. Why Sotongball recommends you to buy a second-hand set is because the now-discontinued Fat PS2 has less over-heating issue; and also very likely the console is already wallet-friendly as modding had been banned in Singapore.

Below is STB's recommendations for each genre of games for the PS2:

RPG: Final Fantasy X and XII, Kingdom Hearts I and II, Xenosaga I, II and III

Action: Metal Gear Solid 1,2 and 3, God of War 1 and 2, Devil May Cry 1,2 and 3

Fighting: Soul Caliber II and III

Racing: Burnout Revenge, Need for Speed series

Sports: NBA Live, Winning Eleven

I promised myself not to go into details of any games so that I won't go on and on and on for this post :p Well that's the PS2 for you and hope you will find it a enjoyable console as much as I do if you happen to pick it up - it's never too late.

Sotongball sold his PS2 to his colleague last December due to his busy schedule and has regretted that ever since...