console noob, couple of Qs

condra

Hi guys.

Firstly, sorry in advance if any of my questions offend anyone by being so noobish.

Im 26 and I havent really played games in a number of years and am completely out of touch with the gaming/console scene.
The last console I owned was a sega megadrive, the last game I played was Unreal Tournament on my G5, which I enjoyed immensly. I now have an Apple Macbook which means poor graphics performance.

Im considering getting a budget gaming console, mostly just to mess around with until the weather gets better.

I have a few specific questions, but would mostly like to know if Im going in the right direction!

The current plan is to get a second-hand PS2.
Would this be generally considered the best option, over something like an xbox for example?
I cant believe how cheap they are now selling for. Are people upgrading to something newer and better?
Are PS1 games PS2 compatable?
Im interested in Final Fantasy 12. Is it out yet, and if not/regardless what Final Fantasy game would be most reccommended or highly regarded. Im particulary interested in plot and atmosphere, and less time having to be spent building up characters in dungeons and forests.

To play online, does one have to sign up to expensive schemes, or does it depend on the game?

One last question, I have ripwave wireless connection, I presume this is too slow [ping or something?] for 1st person shooters but would it do the job for some other online gaming?
Id more than likely upgrade my broadband anyways because Ive been dying to try out an online 1st person shooter.

Thanks in advance for any advice offered.

Crucifix

I'd say a second hand PS2 is a good way to go. PS1 games are compatible with the PS2. FF12 isn't out over here yet, but FF10 for the PS2 is a fantastic game.

Ciaran500

womoma wrote:

1.The current plan is to get a second-hand PS2.
Would this be generally considered the best option, over something like an xbox for example?
2.I cant believe how cheap they are now selling for. Are people upgrading to something newer and better?
3.Are PS1 games PS2 compatable?
4.Im interested in Final Fantasy 12. Is it out yet, and if not/regardless what Final Fantasy game would be most reccommended or highly regarded. Im particulary interested in plot and atmosphere, and less time having to be spent building up characters in dungeons and forests.

5.To play online, does one have to sign up to expensive schemes, or does it depend on the game?

6.One last question, I have ripwave wireless connection, I presume this is too slow [ping or something?] for 1st person shooters but would it do the job for some other online gaming?
Id more than likely upgrade my broadband anyways because Ive been dying to try out an online 1st person shooter.

1. Depends on what you are looking for, at this stage in the consoles life there are loads of games worth playing on either. But if you are looking for FF games go for the PS2
2. PS3 is out in March. Watch out for dodgy consoles if you are buying second hand, alot of PS2 have problems with their lasers.
3. Yep
4. Ehh, dunno
5. Its free to play online with the PS2 but TBH its crappy, if you want an online console go with the Xbox.
6. You might be able to play some games but you are still going to notice the lag.

Kinetic^

Just wondering why you intend buying a console at the end of it's life cycle?

Surely with the Xbox 360 released, wii and PS3 on the way you would hold out for one of them?

chamlis

Re: Ripwave.

Don't bother man. It'll break your heart.

CiaranC

Just wondering why you intend buying a console at the end of it's life cycle?

A massive game library at the fraction of the cost?

tba

Kenny 5 wrote:

Just wondering why you intend buying a console at the end of it's life cycle?

Surely with the Xbox 360 released, wii and PS3 on the way you would hold out for one of them?

A cheap console with a huge selection of good games to tide him over until the next gen prices drop? I'll take that please.

If you are going to get a PS2 get these

GTA San Andreas
Shadow of the Colossus
Ico
Final Fantasy X
Lego Starwars 2

Mr E

I did the exact same thing at the start of the year. I never had a PS2, so I had a ton of gems to catch up on. I got a second hand one for €99 (probably even cheaper now).

Forget San Andreas - its overrated.

Look out for:

Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero 2
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
Klonoa 2
The Jak/Ratchett/Sly games (3 or 4 of each!) are fun platformers (and well rated).
3 Prince of Persia games (Sands of Time, Warrior Within, Two Thrones)

Kinetic^

Vice City is by far the best of the GTAs so far.

I take your point on the fraction of cost thing but I still don't buy it Quit living in the past and go for a wii!!!!!

Darnell13

You could probably get GTA San Andreas dead cheap now, so it wouldn't cost you too much to try it yourself. I agree with TmB, it is overrated, but if you want to know what the big deal was...

Also if you're gonna get a football game get one of the Pro Evolution Soccer games, not FIFA.

I'm sure you know this, but there are TONS of good games to be found in the pre owned sections in GAME and Gamestop, as well as xtravision, at pretty good prices.

Check www.ign.com for reviews of games etc.

GrumPy

Kenny 5 wrote:

Vice City is by far the best of the GTAs so far.

I take your point on the fraction of cost thing but I still don't buy it Quit living in the past and go for a wii!!!!!

lol

Darnell13

I forgot to mention Resident Evil 4...it's pure quality and it's on ps2.

Blowfish

chamlis wrote:

Re: Ripwave.

Don't bother man. It'll break your heart.

There are plenty of games that will be perfectly playable on ripwave. In fact at the moment i'm playing several MMO's on dialup, and having absolutely no lag whatsoever.

petes

Blowfish wrote:

There are plenty of games that will be perfectly playable on ripwave. In fact at the moment i'm playing several MMO's on dialup, and having absolutely no lag whatsoever.

Dialup kicks ripwave's ass:p

User45701

i wouldn't go for the ps2 myself, if u can id buy a few 2nd hand parts here and there and build a alright spec pc for gaming pc games are far better than ps2 games the only decent ones i remember being burnout and emmmm

Kinetic^

User45701 wrote:

i wouldn't go for the ps2 myself, if u can id buy a few 2nd hand parts here and there and build a alright spec pc for gaming pc games are far better than ps2 games the only decent ones i remember being burnout and emmmm

Sure if he could afford that then maybe he should choose a wii/360/PS3.

CiaranC

I dont think so. What sort of gaming PC could you build for under €100?

User45701

suppose but if ur going to go for older consoles then get a n64 with goldeneye far better than anything that came out on ps2

Zombrex

womoma wrote:

The current plan is to get a second-hand PS2.

That is a good choice. You can find a huge library of second hand PS2 games in stores like GAME and GameStop.

womoma wrote:

Would this be generally considered the best option, over something like an xbox for example?

Like any system there will be some great games only on the Xbox, and some only on the PS2. The PS2 would tend to have more exclusive A+ games (such as God of War), but the Xbox has its share too. I bought both, but if you can only afford to buy one I would still recommend the PS2 for you, as someone getting back into gaming.

womoma wrote:

I cant believe how cheap they are now selling for. Are people upgrading to something newer and better?

Have you been living on Mar for the last few years

The console world is currently moving to the "next-generation" of consoles, as they do approx every 5 years or so. In Nov 2005 Microsoft launched the "Xbox 360" as the next version of the Xbox. This December Nintendo launch the "Wii" (yes it is a stupid name) as its new console. And in March Sony launch the "Playstation 3", which as the name suggests is the next in the line of Playstation consoles.

This means that the current-gen consoles (the Playstation 2, Xbox and GameCube) are near the end of their life cycle and new ones are being sold quite cheaply and second hand ones are going even cheaper. The second hand games are also selling very cheaply as gamers clear out their old games to make way for their new next-gen consoles.

It is actually the perfect time to be getting back into gaming. You can pick up a second hand console and a ton of games very cheaply. I bought an Xbox about 2 months ago for €70 (second hand from GAME with 1 year warrenty) and a ton of amazing games for about €5-€15 each. I was like a pig in sh1t

womoma wrote:

Are PS1 games PS2 compatable?

Yes, the Playstation 2 actually has a small chip inside it which is basically a Playstation on a chip, that allows for backwards capatability with nearlly all Playstation games.

womoma wrote:

Im interested in Final Fantasy 12.

Out soon I think (there is a new FF game coming out but I long ago lost track of which number it is) and it is getting great reviews (9 out of 10 in this months Edge). So if that FF 12 you are in business

womoma wrote:

Is it out yet, and if not/regardless what Final Fantasy game would be most reccommended or highly regarded.

Never really got into FF (FF7 on the PC put me off) so can't answer I'm afraid

womoma wrote:

To play online, does one have to sign up to expensive schemes, or does it depend on the game?

The PS2 can play online but it requires you buy an add on network adapter, and the service is almost non-existent in Europe and the games that support it are few in numbers

The Xbox has a much better system known as Xbox LIVE!, and comes a network adapter build in. But the service is a bit expensive (think it is like €99 a year), and the take up in Europe was a bit small as well so finding players to play against is supposed to be a bit difficult.

All the new next-gen consoles have far better online support (remember the current gen consoles game out in 2000-2001 when online gaming was still growing), so it might be a better option to leave online play for an upgrade to one of these in a year or two.

I certainly would not up online play high up on list of priorities when choosing a second hand console. For example the PS2 has crap online play but it still has brilliant games, which should really be the priority.

womoma wrote:

One last question, I have ripwave wireless connection, I presume this is too slow [ping or something?] for 1st person shooters but would it do the job for some other online gaming?

Ripwave is not designed for something like gaming (even Irish Broadband will tell you that), so unfortunately any type of online gaming will be bad, and you might find yourself being kicked from the game because you are too slow to play against. If you want online gaming, on a console or PC, you should upgrade to a higher speed line of sight service from IBB or switch providers to a DSL (over your phone line) service.

womoma wrote:

Id more than likely upgrade my broadband anyways because Ive been dying to try out an online 1st person shooter.

Really the online 1st person shooters live on the PC. The only 1st person shooter I can think of that ever gets played online is Halo 2 on the Xbox LIVE! system, where as there are hundreds of popular 1st person shooters on the PC.

gamer

get 30ft rj45 cable from maplins 15euro.put ripwave in window upstairs facing the the aerial.say u r getting 5 bars now ,if you get 8 bars upstairs,run new cable down from ripwave unit to pc,take out old ibb rj45 cable, replace with rimaplins cable.most rooms have ventilation slot square 5inch by 4inch on exterior walls,interior near ceiling .Run cable out thru that,into external vent unit downstairs.smart broadband is ten times faster ,if you have phone line installed.broad band by phone only costs 35europ permonth,including line rental.YOU can download demos,for xbox360 or pc, 80meg max,unless you are getting 9/10 bars on your ripwave unit.BARS show up on ripwave led,move it round to get a good signal.ripwave is 512k per sec max speed,smart is 3megs persecond at the moment. better to get phoneline if you can afford it.Get timesplitters 1,2,3, has great story,plus play against 7 bots,on loadsa maps,closest thing to goldeneye on the ps2.get burnout 1,2,3 and midnight club 2,3, play against a freind on 1 tv. I think pc is best for fps,ps2 is handy plug into a 32inch tv,get component cable, for a better picture on a 60htz tv.ITS worth getting broadband to play online fps ,download demos,if you have a large lcd tv ,you can plug pc into it ,thru svideo,or component ,component is better.

condra

WOW!

thanks so much guys for taking the time to reply.

Id like to respond indivually if i may:

Crucifix
Cheers. If I go ps2 Ill keep an eye out for FF10.

Ciaran.
Thanks for the reply. Ill be sure to make sure I dont get a PS2 with a dodgy laser.
I would be more tempted by an xbox for online gaming only for the subscription cost, and the fact that I currently dont have a suitable connection.

kenny

Just wondering why you intend buying a console at the end of it's life cycle?

I get your point, but Im still impressed by Sonic 1 on megadrive! For a small outlay, Im hoping to be blown away for quite some time.
Thanks for the Vice City reccommendation also.

chamlis-
yeah I think Ill leave the online game thing for another time when I might set up a PC.

TMB and TBA - thanks for the recs.

Darnell13 thanks for the reply. IGN bookmarked.:) Interested in resident evil also. Ill check it out.

Blowfish I had a feeling ripwave would be ok for MMO, but always thought that PCs were better for MMOs?

User45701=
my budget is tight, I literally was thinking of goin halves with my brother, 50 quid each. I will likely build a PC at some stage in the future though. Ive never been a fan of Nintendo by the way, and my brother would never allow it, he has a childhood allegance to Sega, which doesnt mean sticking with Sega, just avoiding Nintendo

Wicknight
Thanks for the deatiled reply.

Yep I pretty much have been livin on Mars Just took a look at the ad for the ps3. Looks great. Still, probably more for dedicated hardcore gamers.

Regarding the network adapter. I thought you only needed that on the first gen ps2, that the slimline one had it built in? Regardless, it looks like Im not gonna go down the online game road with a ps2.

As far as PCs go, Ill probably build a gaming PC some time especially for online 1st person shooter stuff, but thats a longer term project.

Gamer
thanks for the advice. i am using ripwave upstairs already with the gismo in the window facing the mast. ill most likely change my ISP at some stage in the next year, to something faster more reliable and beter value. thanks for the game reccomendations and the display tips.

Zombrex

womoma wrote:

Regarding the network adapter. I thought you only needed that on the first gen ps2, that the slimline one had it built in? Regardless, it looks like Im not gonna go down the online game road with a ps2.

Oh sorry, yup that is correct. I've got one of the old style ones.