The original PlayStation rewrote the rulebook of video gaming. Video games used to be considered the pastime of sad geeks with no girlfriends, but the PlayStation changed all that. It did something that had previously been unthinkable - it made video games cool. It transformed games into a socially acceptable pastime, a subject you could talk about at the pub without fear of ridicule, and something that joined groups of friends as they sat huddled round a TV until the early hours of the morning.

It was this redefining of video games that made the PlayStation such a massive success. Millions of loyal fans have been waiting with baited breath for the release of the PlayStation 2 (PS2), and it's this anticipation that has made Sony's job a very difficult one.

In many ways Sony's problem is similar to that which faced George Lucas with the release of Star Wars Episode I - everyone had been anticipating the film for so long that, no matter what Lucas did, it would never live up to expectations. Similarly, with the PS2 there has been so much speculation for so long that no matter what Sony delivered. some devotees were always going to be disappointed.

The PS2 should be enjoying its UK launch as this review is published but I've had one for almost six months now. The Japanese launch was back in March and I managed to pick up a machine while on a trip to Hong Kong. So, did it live up to my expectations? Well, yes and no. But let's first look at what your £299 will buy you.

There's no denying that the PS2 is a good looking machine resembling a consumer electronics device rather than a games console, but to be fair, it covers both bases. One of the most novel aspects of the design is that it can be used in either horizontal or vertical orientation. Although it will quite happily balance on its side unaided, it's worth investing in the vertical stand to avoid any accidents and it makes it look even better, too.

Although the outside is lovely to look at, it's the inside that's the interesting part. The processor is a 128bit affair which runs at around 300Mhz. This may not seem like a lot by PC standards, but for a console it's a lightning-fast chip. Backing this up is 32Mb of RDRam system memory.

The graphics chip runs at 148Mhz but is only supported by 4Mb of video Ram. The SPU2 chip provides up to 48 channels of sound. The embedded DVD drive will spin DVDRoms at four-speed and CDRoms at 24-speed. It will read PS2 CDRoms and DVDRoms, PlayStation CDRoms, music CDs and DVD discs.

Almost as interesting as what's on the inside of the box is the array of ports and connectors on the outside. Surprisingly, Sony has only opted to incorporate two controller ports on the PS2. This is a strange move since both the Nintendo 64 and Sega Dreamcast feature four ports, as does the forthcoming Nintendo GameCube.

This means that you'll need to buy a multi-tap peripheral to play four-player games, which not only increases the overall cost, but also makes the set-up look messy. Adjacent to each controller port is a memory card slot. Another oddity was Sony's decision not to use Memory Stick for the PS2, instead opting for the same memory card design as the original PlayStation.

Setting the PS2 apart from any previous consoles is the inclusion of numerous ports that you'd be more accustomed to seeing on a PC. Just to the right or underneath the controller ports (depending on the machine's orientation) you'll find two USB ports and a FireWire port. These connections open the door to all manner of peripheral opportunities. The fact that you can already get USB ADSL modems is an exciting prospect and could prove Sony right in its decision not to ship with a standard modem, like the Dreamcast.

At the rear is a Type III PC Card slot, again offering all manner of peripheral connection, although this has been replaced with a proprietary hard disk interface for the US version and it's likely to be the same for the UK model. The US PS2 also has an expansion bay at the rear to house an internal hard disk, so it's fair to assume that the UK machine will follow suit.

At the rear you'll also find the multi I/O port for connecting the device to your TV, but more interesting is the optical digital connection. This is obviously a necessity for the DVD movie aspect of the machine, but we can also hope for Dolby Digital encoded games in the future, although whether the PS2 is powerful enough to process Dolby Digital in real time remains to be seen. If you have an amplifier that accepts an optical digital connection I strongly suggest that you use it, since the sound is far superior to that produced using a multi I/O cable.

Inside the box you'll find the PS2, a single Dual Shock 2 controller, an 8Mb memory card and a composite AV cable. The chances are that the AV cable will be replaced with an RF cable for the UK release. This is a shame since most TVs now have AV inputs and the picture quality through the TV aerial is terrible compared to a direct AV connection. It's good to see the memory card in the box since it avoids disappointment when you come to save your game and find that you've forgotten to buy a card.

Sony is pushing the PS2 hard as a DVD player as well as a games console, and many prospective DVD buyers have been waiting for its release so they can kill two birds with one stone. Of course, this line of thinking is only sound if the PS2 makes a good DVD player.

Whether or not the DVD quality is acceptable depends on your point of view. The DVD playback is surprisingly good, and if you make use of the optical digital output, you can get decent surround sound, too. Ultimately though, the quality of the playback isn't up to the standard of a dedicated DVD player, so anyone who is into home cinema, like myself, would never be happy watching films on the PS2.

That said, playback is good and Sony is hoping that the average consumer will be satisfied with the quality. However, what the average consumer won't be happy with is having to control a DVD player using a game pad. The inclusion of play and stop buttons on the chassis could have helped this situation greatly. On the plus side though, there are already several third-party infrared remote controls to turn the PS2 into a more user-friendly DVD player.

As with any machine that's designed primarily around game playing, one of the most important aspects of the PS2 is the quality of the software and, unfortunately, this is where things aren't quite so rosy. That's not to say that there aren't some good games available for the machine, just that I expected better from such a potentially powerful system.

One of the main issues with the PS2 software is a lack of anti-aliasing. This is a graphical technique that smoothes the edges of 3D models to avoid 'jaggies' or stepping effects on rounded or diagonal edges.

The word from certain developers is that the PS2 is hard to code for and effects like anti-aliasing are very difficult to implement. This may or may not be true, but the PS2 is still a new platform and I'm sure that these early problems will be resolved in time. But, anti-aliasing isn't the only problem - there just aren't any early games that make you sit up and say "wow!" This is compounded by the fact that games such as Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast still look fantastic.

However, there's no way that I'd count the PS2 out. The developer support for the platform is staggering and the demos of forthcoming games like Metal Gear Solid 2 are nothing short of breathtaking.

Another point that's worth considering is that the PS2 is completely backward-compatible with PlayStation games and it will even make them look ever so slightly better. So, if you already have a huge catalogue of PlayStation games it could add to the appeal of the PS2.

The PS2 is an impressive piece of hardware, and it's clear that Sony has put a lot of effort into producing a box capable of more than just playing games.

There's no denying that £299 is a lot of money, but there's also little doubt that the PS2 will become the gaming platform for 2001. Even with Microsoft's XBox and Nintendo's GameCube looming on the horizon, there are just too many PlayStation fans out there for the PS2 not to succeed.

Contact:
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe 0990 998 877
www.playstation-europe.com