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- *intro sound*
- [huffing in disdain]
- [large sigh of discontent]
- [box sounds]
- [smol huff]
- I guess we'd better take a look at it...
- [music begins]
- Where do I even start with this thing?
- We could look at it from a number of angles and go, ooohhh, that's pretty.
- It's like a Playstation, but smaller.
- We can't actually open the lid, but we already knew that, and it's a shame, as I'd love a
- collection of mini-CD based games.
- Oh look, the controllers aren't Dual Shock pads.
- But to be fair, they have included 2, which is clearly better than one, and also this
- is the Playstation controller I remember best.
- I mean back in 1995, we didn't understand the wonders dual analogue sticks could bring.
- This is nostalgia.
- Some buttons and a D-Pad, or some buttons
- where a D-Pad should be marvellous.
- Weight wise, it's not far off an original Playstation pad and feels almost as durable.
- Although the wire isn't actually that practical - it's quite short, not ideal for sofa gaming.
- AND.... like all these minis, I hold issue with the pads being the wrong scale to the
- console, but I guess IN THAT INSTANCE practicality seems to take precedence.
- Talking about scale.
- It's roughly in line with the SNES Mini, although you can see something is a bit amiss when
- paired with the NES Mini.
- Now we'll just have a bunch of mis-matched consoles to plonk next to each other.
- Cheers guys.
- At least it works through an HDMI splitter.
- So in the future we can have about 60 mini consoles all plugged into the same TV, and only then
- realise how much we've been duped.
- *PI SPEAKS* "Guys, I can emulate pretty much everything
- you know, with just one HDMI Cable?...." *PI STOPS SPEAKING*
- SHUT IT RASPBERRY.
- No one likes a smart ass
- Alright, then let's get down to business.
- AND TRY AND HACK THIS BASTARD.
- Now a couple of lads have been able to find a hidden menu of the underlying PCSX Rearmed
- emulator, by simply boshing a keyboard in, and hitting ESC within a game.
- Apparently it works with Logitech or Corsair keyboards.
- Unfortunately my EasySMX doesn't seem to be compatible.
- Ahh, I guess we'll actually have to play this thing instead.
- So given that we can plug a keyboard in it's
- obvious the controllers plug in using a conventional USB connector.
- No proprietary shenanigans here.
- Well I guess that was half nostalgic?
- and the game selection.
- Well, it's alright.
- It's like the game collection you or I might have had in the 90s.
- You know, a range of games, some we picked up cheap, others we really wanted, but a nice
- mix, and just nice, nothing spectacular.
- Honestly it feels more like Sony are trying to recreate the 90s nostalgia of limited choice, or a
- lack of funds, or even your mate Ben's game collection from down the road, who didn't
- have the best taste.
- I mean, there are some games here I absolutely love, like Grand Theft Auto, but there's nothing
- really I see and think, god damn, I need to play that.
- If you want the ultimate Playstation experience then this is NOT it.
- Look, here's a dump of the firmware on Github, and within this mass of code are actually
- the names of various games which were clearly tested for the PS Classic.
- We've got;
- Tomba Parasite Eve
- Tomb Raider Tomb Raider 2
- Grand Theft Auto 2 Fighting Force
- Driver Toy Story 2
- Gran Turismo
- Crash Bandicoot Crash Bandicoot 2
- And even Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone
- Hagrid: "Been some very strange going ons about of late be careful harry"
- Yeah.. maybe it's best if they didn't include that one
- I'll put a full list below.
- But some (even many) of these games you would argue should be included with the PS Classic,
- so why aren't they?
- Now as an educated guess we could speculate that it's probably due to licensing or localization issues.
- I mean most of the Playstation's titles weren't exactly first-party releases.
- Maybe it's just because Sony didn't want to damage the sales of modern-day remakes.
- But it could also be due to poor performance of some titles on the open source emulator
- Sony decided to pair this device with.
- It seems a strange (and possibly morally dubious) software choice for what could be such a successful
- commercial product.
- But the more you delve into this thing, the more it feels like, it was kind of rushed and
- thrown together.
- Possibly to get it in stores before Christmas.
- By this point, I'm sure you've both seen & heard of all the issues surrounding this little
- device.
- Now, you could argue that these things are aimed at the casual retro gamer, who just
- wants to plug a system into their HDMI TV and relive the past.
- They're not going to care about frame drops, about slightly shoddy emulation or even
- having NTSC titles mixed with PAL variants.
- In fact, they probably won't even notice.
- They'll be having a whale of a time reliving the mid-90s, whilst haters hate and critics
- critique.
- BUT, you can see why people might be upset.
- It's not even about the product, it's really about Sony shifting a half arsed device to
- their fan base.
- It's about breaking a trust which has built up over decades.
- I mean imagine you had a favourite baker in your village
- And one day he decided to start using really nasty cheap flour
- without telling you and the bread just tasted horrible
- That that wouldn't be very nice, would it? you might be a bit upset with that baker
- And if anything is going to be scrutinised.
- It's a product which is based on the console many people who live and work within the gaming
- today were brought up on.
- It may even be the system which drove them into this line of work.
- So you can bet your ass they're going to notice even the smallest difference and have
- their say about it.
- I am probably, myself, in a quite a good position to give an impartial verdict on the PS Classic,
- mainly because by 1995, my console days were pretty much over.
- I'd moved onto PC, and although I played my friend's Playstations, most of the games don't
- hold a nostalgic memory for me.
- Surely I'm not going to notice if there are glitches or slowdowns.
- But, I honestly do.
- From the moment you power on the console, it feels like you're using emulation.
- And I know you are but the SNES Classic and the NES Classic mangage to get around that
- I know emulation the Playstation is harder but
- You can hear sounds cutting off, pops, clicks.
- You can see frames stuttering from place to place and emulation issues aside, we also
- have those PAL variants, like Grand Theft Auto.
- Now, given I'm from the UK, this shouldn't bother me, I'm used to it, and as GTA is actually
- a UK developed game, it's programmed for 50Hz regions pretty well.
- But it still feels like you're sloshing a bowl of water about compared to when I've
- played it previously.
- And the PAL thing is weird, because you'd think, given this console is pushing out a
- 60Hz display, that the 50Hz PAL issues would be cancelled out.
- BUT in fact, the software is just emulating a 50Hz machine for the games keyed to that
- region, and so instead we get the timing of a 50Hz gaming running through a 60Hz output
- and that actually exacerbates the frame rate issues.
- A lot of PAL games were actually re-programmed to compensate for the output change, so you
- wouldn't notice much difference, but it's rare to find a game which fully compensated for
- the speed difference, or made use of the increased PAL resolution.
- Most were just lazy tweaks, and most of the titles here are an example of that less than
- favourable conversion.
- Why they chose the PAL versions is odd, but it may be due to those variants having better
- localisation options than NTSC versions, thus meaning the PS Classic can be shipped all
- over the place without being region sensitive.
- What else do we have?
- Ahhh yes, I didn't expect the lack of display filters to bother me, but the 720p output
- isn't sharp, so you almost want those filters to mask that problem.
- I mean if you want a positive, it does a decent job of replicating that fuzzy 90s RF output
- experience, proving that once again Sony seem to be looking for nostalgia in 90s limitations,
- rather than creating that ultimate experience.
- But really, I want to see sharp jagged edges.
- Jagged enough to rip my face off, and with the setup they've chosen here, you just don't
- get that.
- It's not all bad.
- I mean it's a nice enough menu, replicating the feel of the original system.
- It's a nice enough memory card feature for each game.
- It's even got an additional save state option as well.
- And nice warping textures, just like the original machine.
- and the games, if you can forgive the odd glitch they are nice enough too.
- I mean, at least Sony didn't kick us completely in the teeth by choosing a load of light
- gun games.
- Although I would have awarded points for humour in that instance.
- If I'm honest, I think the biggest issue with the games is that they're from an era which
- just doesn't age as well as the consoles which came before or even after.
- This early age of 3D is very much a unique thing, which we only witnessed for a brief
- period of time, and actually, the games are arguably better to play through an emulator with all
- the bells and whistles turned on, to make everything look like our rose-tinted brains
- remember them.
- Actually, and somewhat ironically, you can actually make these games look superb using the PCSX Emulator, just not
- through the Playstation Classic... well, without it being hacked anyway.
- But look it is what it is, and it is Sony's Playstation Classic.
- It's got fantastic packaging, which is probably the highlight, and it's a system designed
- for the casual user, which would appeal to the casual retro gamer.
- In that way, it's very similar to an AT Games Mega Drive Flashback.
- In fact, this console feels a lot like a system made by AT Games, just without their logo
- anywhere to be seen...
- I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing it just makes me feel a bit uneasy.
- For the more serious gamer, well, you've probably already got an original Playstation, or just
- a copy of Final Fantasy VII on the PS4, either way, there's no reason to really buy a classic
- or moan about it.
- Or buy it and moan, or not buy it and moan.
- Unless you feel betrayed by Sony, which I wouldn't blame you for in the slightest.
- In which case, I would suggest you moan the night away.
- But not like that.
- You filthy animal.
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