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Umit Koseoglu
Okay, the January sales have come and gone and there are alot of special offers on Games Consoles. But which one should you choose - and why?
Hopefully this article will help you decide...
Playstation 2
Price: Around �160
Manufactured by: Sony.
Extras: Inbuilt DVD and CD player, Can be connected to the internet.
Great games for the PS2: The Simpsons Hit & Run, Enter The Matrix, Tony Hawks Underground.
The PS2 has been around for some time now, and it's still hugely popular. The console is upgradeable via two USB sockets, which allows you to add a Light Gun or a Eyetoy, which is a little webcam type thing which allows you to be in the games you play. The graphics for the PS2 are great and look very realistic.
XBox
Price: Around �130
Manufactured by: Microsoft.
Extras: Inbuilt DVD player - although you need to buy a remote control for this, Can be connected to the internet, Has an inbuilt hard drive to save games and download new characters.
Great games for the XBox: Fifa 2003, Splinter Cell, Halo.
The XBox is another popular game console which is quite new on the market. It has a 733Mhz processor, Broadband capability, Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound and a 20gb hard drive. Okay enough of the technical crap. The games for the XBox are priced between �20 and �40, which is a little cheaper than the PS2 games. If you purchase an XBox Live kit (about �40) then you can play other users online, although you need a broadband connection for this.
Gamecube
Price: Around �70
Manufactured by: Nintendo.
Extras: Steering Wheel (�20).
Great Games for the Gamecube: Hulk, Resident Evil, Hitman 2.
The Gamecube used to be over �100 but last year Nintendo decided to lower the price to about �70. The games for the Cube are quite pricey - some are �50, although you can get some pretty decent ones for �25. There is a mat thing available for about �10 that allows you to get closer to the action in Football games. The Gamecube can also be hooked up to a 5 inch screen which allows you to play the GC on the move, although you would need to connect it to a suitable adapter.
Gameboy Advance
Price: Around �60
Manufactued by: Nintendo.
Extras: TV Tuner (About �65).
Great games for the GBA: The Sims: Bustin Out, Crash Bandicoot, Super Mario Advance.
The GBA is the only hand-held console that I've featured here. It is available in 4 different colours - Platinum, See Thru Blue, Purple and Black. The games for the Advance are priced between �25-30, which makes the GBA the console with the cheapest games. The Gameboy Advance SP is a fliptop version of the normal Gameboy Advance, and there isn't alot of difference between them, apart from the SP has an inbuilt backlight. If you have the regular GBA then you'll need to buy a light magnifier as the screen is so dark you can't see what you're doing.
Well I hope thats helped you decide what console you wanna buy. And remember to shop around as there are always special deals available. If you head down to GAME then they sell loads of second hand games at great prices.
Happy Gaming!