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Gaming

04th Dec 2018

Playing the PlayStation Classic is a bit like going on a date with an ex

Rory Cashin

ps classic

One of the most in-demand Christmas presents this year, but should you be asking Santy to get you one?

Picture this: you’ve decided to go on a date with a long-ago ex.

You meet up, and they look pretty much the same, but smaller, maybe they’ve lost some weight.

You get right into it, and the wave of nostalgia and ease is what hits you first.

Everything is fun, everything is familiar, why did we ever move on from this?

But then… BUT THEN… the cracks start to appear.

They actually don’t look all that good, not anymore, and all of the little things that annoyed you about them back then are now HUGELY FUCKING IRRITATING, and you realise you’ve moved on, you’ve gotten used to better.

And you know what? You DESERVE better!

So this one-off date is good for what it is, a single night of fun, maybe something to return to when you’re bored and can’t think of anything better to do, but it is not a sustainable source of entertainment.

And so… the PlayStation Classic.

Clip via PlayStation Europe 

At just a hundred quid, it is a pretty decent stocking filler, and some of the games included will make for a great distraction at a house party around Christmas and New Years.

While the pre-loaded version of Tekken 3 is the slower-than-the-US version of the game, it is still a lot of fun to play. Same goes with Twisted Metal, and if you’re in a forgiving mood, Destruction Derby.

And then there is Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Mr. Driller, which will have the kind of eternal appeal that pretty much sets them up alongside the likes of Tetris or Bomberman.

Plus, at least some of the single-player games still stand tall, especially Metal Gear Solid and Rayman, but how far you’ll get into them will really depend on how good your TV is.

The higher the definition, the bigger the screen, the worse a lot of these games end up looking. Especially any of them with high speeds (Cool Boarders 2, in particular, is ghastly to look at), while the new controllers don’t work well with anything that requires you to aim a gun.

This, coupled with the classics that REALLY should have been on here (The Die Hard Trilogy, Wipeout 2097, Tomb Raider, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro The Dragon, Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night), means that we’re not getting the PSOne at its best.

So… all in all, is it worth buying? Maybe, if you can go in on one with your housemates or family, then there is definitely some fun to had, but just like that ex you got rid of years ago, it won’t be long before you return to something new and improved.

The PlayStation Classic is available to buy right now.