The PlayStation 2 – Past, Present and Future

There’s no denying it. Sony’s PlayStation 2 was the most successful console of all time. On March 3rd, 2000 the PS2 was released in Japan, and in just 48 hours nearly 1 million PS2s were sold to giddy consumers, making it 10 times more successful than its predecessor. As of June 2005 more than 90 million PS2s had shipped worldwide and by November the PS2 was the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, accomplishing the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch (the PS1 taking over 9 years to reach the same benchmark). Last year the PS2 had ranked up 120 million units in sales, which is no mean feat. And it’s still selling strong. Last year the slim line model sold more than 100,000 units every month, and according to vgchartz.com the PS2 has sold an approximate average of 996,730 units a month since August. So what is Sony doing to exploit this steady demand? Not much, it would seem, when you consider the almost complete absence of the PlayStation 2 at GDC, E3, the German Games Convention and TGS.

Are We Facing A Gaming Drought?

We, as gamers, have just been terribly spoiled. Everything we’ve wanted has been supplied over the last few months. Innovation? Just pop in Super Mario Galaxy. A good story? Try a bit of Mass Effect. Is action your thing? Have a go on Call of Duty 4. What about immersion? The watery world of Rapture is just a loading screen away in Bioshock. Not for a very long time now has the gaming scene been so varied and so full of promise. Developers are experimenting with game design in Portal, presenting never-before-seen graphics in the like of Crysis, and encouraging group play in ways we’d only half-imagined with Rock Band. For every Lair and Spiderman 3 there’s been a flood of great games to make up for it; Halo 3, skate, Half-Life 2: Episode 2, Metroid Prime 3, Zack and Wiki, PGR4. Everyone has been accounted for, and everyone has been sated.

Is it all about to come to end? We’ve entered a new year, and with it comes uncertainty. Whispers of a gaming drought are abound, rumours of us being left with nothing but 2007’s dregs, those titles that didn’t quite make it into the holiday period. Are we really going to have to break out the old consoles, or return to the games we didn’t have either the time or money to play? Perhaps’but there is hope, and a little investigation proves that there are, in fact, plenty of titles to keep the hardcore gamer happy in the coming months; some of which you may be aware, others hidden gems. Join us, as we delve deep into the offerings of Q1 2008.

Halo 3 VS Bioshock

This is another feature I wrote a few months back, so the chronological inconsistencies are not errors! I thought it was a nice enough piece so here it is.

Halo 3 and Bioshock are here. They’re essentially the two biggest titles on the Xbox 360 this year – if not two of the biggest titles to ever be released – and they’ve been phenomenally well received. Currently on Metacritic.com Halo 3 is averaging 95/100 from 50 reviews, and Bioshock 96/100 from 76 reviews. Being that these games are principally FPSes – the most predominant genre on the market – how are they distinguishing themselves in a significant way? Are they really that different from the other games out there? How do they compare, and what contrasts can be drawn?

It wouldn’t be entirely unfair to argue that both games are, in substance, nothing new – just magnificent examples of the genre. However, the FPS label is but a skin-deep one for these powerhouse titles. It is in their concept and execution that they show their true, vibrant colours.

Resident Evil 4

I found a couple of pieces I wrote quite a few months back hiding away in the dark corners of my PC a few moments ago, and I thought it would be cool to share them here. My writing has improved much since, but I’m proud of this nonetheless. So here it is!

It all begins so peacefully. Leon Redfield stares idly out of a car window as the scenery rushes past, engaging in idle chit-chatter with his two drivers. Not long after we see the typical horror film cliché, Leon leaving to investigate all by his lonesome, leaving the two men behind as he heads towards the unknown.

Then comes a moment so scary it’ll have you emptying your entire clip in a rush of adrenaline. In a cut scene that so greatly resembles the controversial ‘head-turning’ sequence of the very first Resident Evil Leon is attacked without provocation by what at first appears a docile inhabitant of this remote village. However, this is no zombie…

Moving on, Leon views the township through the safety of his binoculars. Cows chew lazily in their stalls, clucking chickens scamper to and fro, men tend to the crops, and women stoke a huge fire on which burns the corpses of previous trespassers. Clearly this is a place that rests on a knife edge between rural tranquility and horrific butchery, and surely with Leon’s arrival this delicate balance will only last so long.

And so begins your momentous, horrifying, and unquestionably gripping journey. Capcom’s Resident Evil 4 – the sixth entry into the Resident Evil franchise – kicks off with one of gaming’s most memorable and scary openings to date. It’s danger from the get-go, and it doesn’t let up. Well, maybe just long enough for you to start thinking you’re safe again…