Sony Playstation 2 Slim review

It may be old enough to remember the chart-topping days of S Club 7 and Steps but that doesn’t stop the PS2 from retaining a warm spot in our hearts. It was Jarvis Cocker that told us to Help the Aged, and help the elderly PS2 is what Sony has done – by lopping off all that excess flab it used to carry around and also some excess pounds (of the sterling kind).

It must’ve been a pretty strenuous fitness regime, because the new model weighs less than half of the original, while the internal volume has been reduced by 75 percent. For starters, Sony has removed the internal power supply and tagged it into the power cord à la GameCube, so there’s no noisy fan puffing away when you’re trying to watch a DVD.

But wait, don’t start calling us superficial just yet – the main reason we still love our PS2 is because of that huge – and ever growing – catalogue of games. With Microsoft holding the exclusive on next-gen Pro Evo 6, the Sony fanboys in the office have had to dig out their PS2s for their hit of footie frolics, while classics such as the GTA: San Andreas and Gran Turismo 4 also keep us coming back. Not to mention the party fun that can be had from Guitar Hero and the Singstar series.

Then there are all the reasons we fell in love with the original PS2 way back in 2000: the DualShock2 controller, backwards compatibility with classic PS one games and DVD playback. You may not be able to teach this old dog and new next-gen tricks, but there’s still life in her yet.