GameSpot Review
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, a disembodied James Earl Jones sound-alike narrates over a series of dramatic spaceship battles. He speaks of an oppressive struggle between the League of Free Worlds and the despotic Colonial Navy and of the hope that one day peace will be restored. This is the conflict gamers will enter into with Psygnosis' latest spaceship simulation, Colony Wars.
Colony Wars is a two-disc set of missions whose narrative sequence changes based on battles won and lost. Once you learn the basic six-degree control of your League fighter and sit through a mission briefing, you're ready to embark upon a League-appointed sortie, defending a cargo ship against a swarm of enemy fighters, or perhaps destroying a critical space vehicle on the other team's side. Missions differ in theme, but their successful completion often involves the same pattern of following your wing commander's orders to blast this or that ship. As critical events unfold, the James impersonator returns to punctuate these less-than-completely engaging missions with your current status quo.
Plotline aside, Colony Wars delivers the real experience with its spectacular cinematic graphics. As enemy ships explode before your HUD in the battlefield, you'll behold incredible space vistas that seem to come straight out of your favorite Star Wars movie: iridescent planets and suns reflecting through approaching stars and space debris; a caravan of monstrous motherships with glowing booster engines; and even the classic fireworks displays of laser charges exploding in the cold void of space. Guiding your maneuverable craft through these environments makes for dramatic space pursuits, fly-by attacks, and emotional moments (such as witnessing a fellow wingman being chased and gunned down), which almost make up for the comparatively bland storyline and monotonous missions.
Gamers who were fans of the Wing Commander series on the PC may be disappointed that Colony Wars tends to feel more like an arcade game than an epic, engaging adventure. Once in the cockpit, you are taken through the dynamic visual world of your own interactive sci-fi movie: a long film, with a heavy dose of special effects and action, but one that is definitely short of being a classic. --Tim Soete
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.
Manufacturer Description
Pilot stat-of-the-art military aircraft in a full-scale war for intergalactic supremacy taking place in over 60 'real world' missions. High-resolution 3D engine delivers movie-quality special effects and outstanding graphics.
STILL the best...
This game, after so many years, remains the finest space combat shooter on any console. It's depth and variety rival even the PC greats. The branching story and hours of background material provide more of an experience rather than a console game. The cutscenes and voice acting are excellent, and the pace is just right! For those who have never played this wonderful game, I highly recommend it!
The best space-combat game for playstation
For while, it seemed like Psygnosis was unstoppable. Fresh off of the success of the awesome Wipeout games came this, one of the great console games of all time.
For starters, in the presentation and production values department this game is just plain awesome. Not ONLY does it feature some of the best graphics ever to be found on playstation, not ONLY does it feature a branching story and changes based on your successes or failures, and not ONLY does it feature some of the best menus, menu sounds, music, and in-game cinemas to be found in any game for any system ever... it also features a built-in encyclopedia of all the star systems, planets, and ships in the game complete with voice-narration!
This game offers great challenge, great gameplay, flawless presentation, tight controls, and a great storyline. The music is so good I wish there were a soundtrack.
This game is everything a great game shoud be, and fans of classic games owe it to themselves to buy this one A.S.A.P., especially if they like space-combat games.
Great game, greater plot
This game involves a lot of depth. The story is interwoven though mission briefings, in-game action and all sorts of background found on the games "database." The game tells the story of violent civil war between an evil Colonial Empire and the League of Free Worlds. The story is amazing with insight into what may very well happen if we continue to abuse our natural resources. The game itself is just as good as the plot if not better. On a closing note, remember that the story allows you to fail missions and even loose the war! There are SIX ENDINGS!
A waste of time - and an insult to LOST fans.
Well, I won't give out any spoilers, but I will say that this game was definitely pushed through for gullible LOST fans (and I'm one of them) to snatch it up for top dollar.
The voiceover acting is good in some points, terrible in others. Lots of characters are here, but there are some glaring omissions like Boone, Shannon, Rousseau, and Mr. Eko. For some inexplicable reason, the LOST theme music is intact for the first chapter but is subtly changed for all subsequent chapters. Why change it? It makes no sense.
The movement in this game will be either a slow walk or jogging - the character moves like a mannequin with overstarched underwear.
Sure, the facial animations are nice, but the synching of the lips is completely off - there's no excuse to skimp here, because we saw facial animations and lip synching done to perfection in Heavenly Sword.
Play time in this game consists mainly of jogging, wandering around, shooting, taking pictures, jumping, sliding under trees like Pete Townsend, and figuring out fuse puzzles. (Yep, you read that right, FUSE PUZZLES.)
This game is very quick - with only seven levels, most gamers will probably finish it in 3 days, which is hardly worth its high price tag.
It would have been wiser for the game developers to wait and release this game 6 to 8 months down the road and give it more quality. Some of the unlockable extras are nice, but there could have been so much more to enjoy with more effort.
Die hard LOST fans and people looking to become LOST fans will be totally confused at why a show that receives such high ratings led to the production of such an inferior game.
Save your money, folks...this one isn't worth it.
Over with too quickly
It was a great entertaining game but frustrating at times- why the heck can't you jump over anything? It was fun seeing everyone from Lost and interacting with them but it came off as lame sometimes. My biggest complaint is that I breezed through this game in about 2-3 days- and that was not playing non-stop either! There is a reoccurring game where you have to "match the fuses" which is fun at first but quickly got old for me. The graphics were nice but nothing spectacular but over all I would say save your money. I would say rent it if you can- its nice to play if you are a lost fan, but not worth the $60 price tag and all the hype.
Fun doesn't last long.
Stunning visuals and fun Lost show tie-ins don't really make up for the poor gameplay in Via Domus. I was pretty excited to check it out after seeing the preview on the season three blu-ray extras, but I was hoping for something a little more challenging. The game works like the TV show. You play a character not seen on TV. He was on the plane and crashes on the island with the real cast. You have some sort of task or scene at the beginning, titles appear, then you get into your episode. Each episode contains a main task that you need to solve, a flash back to help you remember your past (you have post-crash amnesia), and then it ends in a cliff-hanger. The whole game seems very Lost-like so fans will enjoy, but gamers would likely get frustrated by limited action, restricted (stiff) player movement, and repetitive puzzles. The visuals are pretty good in hi-def, especially the jungle, but the island isn't so open as you would hope it would be (I would bump into bushes in the jungle quite a bit). I think Via Domus is rental worthy mainly because it takes less that 6-7 hours to solve.
Editorial Review
Any fan of seat-of-your-pants space combat (think Star Wars, minus the license) simply must get their hands on Red Sun, the third chapter in the Colony Wars saga. Fans of the first two games (Colony Wars and Colony Wars: Vengeance) will immediately know what to expect: fast and furious dogfights, spectacular graphics, and an always cool orchestrated musical score.
Assuming the role of interplanetary gun-for-hire Valdemar, you find yourself in the middle of a great mystery involving warring empires, mysterious "allies," and a chase after a mysterious superspaceship known as the Red Sun. As Valdemar completes missions, he earns money that can be used to upgrade weaponry needed for each increasingly difficult mission. Red Sun serves up an impressive array of weapons, including lasers, missiles, shields, and other countermeasures. Acquire enough cash and you will want to upgrade to a better (read: faster, sturdier, more expensive) spaceship in which to carry on the fine fight. Red Sun's sense of variety and customization ultimately makes this title one of the better space-combat games available on any platform.
As with the other Colony Wars games, impressive in-game movies help advance the story line. Still, we found these interstitial segments to be way too short to be truly effective. Also, while space jocks will love the spectacular explosions that enemy crafts leave behind during their demise, we found that many enemies are too easy to beat (which makes those explosions just a bit less impressive). It's hard to get too excited about a hollow victory. Perhaps the simplicity is due to complaints that its predecessor Colony Wars Vengeance was too hard (which indeed it was). We couldn't help feeling that many enemies were flying their fighters with their eyes closed.
Red Sun really doesn't add new gameplay elements that haven't already been seen in the first two games, but then again why fix what's not broken? Still, some innovation would've been nice. Despite the flaws, Red Sun is still a class production that pushes the (rapidly) aging PSX hardware as few other titles do. This game is worthy of your time and credits. Even if you missed the first two chapters, Red Sun's ease of gameplay during the initial levels makes this the most accessible title of the series. No doubt about it, even if you think the best space dogfights took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, you shouldn't miss Episode 3 of the Colony Wars series. Colony Wars veterans and newbies alike will find that Red Sun, despite some issues, could make even Luke Skywalker green with envy. --Mark Brooks
Pros:
They've done it better than ever!
The folks at Psygnosis, after months of delay and constant promises, have finally shipped Colony Wars III, Red Sun. A hard-core fan of the first two games, I have been waiting for long. When I stumbled on it at a video store, I rented it and hoped for the best. My hopes were more than answered. This game is friggen awesome! The AI is horribly improved, and the mission tree is much cooler, as you can now chose your missions as Valdemar, a Han Solo-type. The graphics and gameplay are massivly improved, and I now live for Thunderbowl, the constantly hightening tournament that works pretty much like Twisted Metal. Bottom line, with great CGI, the best characters the CW universe has ever had, and a fabulous universe of aliens and factions, this lives up to the best Playstation series this side of Final Fantasy!
Second only to Colony Wars
Colony Wars III: Red Sun is definitely more enjoyable than its predecessor, Colony Wars: Vengeance. Psygnosis and Midway finally made a game that is not overly difficult in the opening missions but gradually forces the player to strategize (i.e. luring fighters away from capital ships in order to take them out more easily) instead of plunging into the hazardous heart of the battle.
The mission tree aspect of the first two games is gone, which means that the critical Engram missions must be completed. If you'll remember, though, all except one ending in Vengeance were basically losses, so the difference isn't that great.
CW: Red Sun really gives the player an idea of what it's like being a mercenary. Your only concern is cash for upgrading your ship and equipment. Thus, rival factions offer impersonal contracts for jobs that need to be done, which is why you'll often find yourself eliminating certain units in one mission and then protecting similar ones in the next.
I enjoy not only the freedom to willingly upgrade my craft, but also to customize the weapons on it. Many of the weapons offered are veterans of CW and CW: Vengeance; others are newcomers, like the Gauss Gun, which penetrates shields and directly damages enemy hulls.
In response to complaints, the cutscenes are NOT too short. Only Vengeance did a poor job of moving the story along; CW and Red Sun have outstanding narrations and fairly lengthy CGI movies. In fact, Red Sun has the longest opening scene in the series. For those who don't understand why the League and the Navy are still fighting, you obviously didn't read the back of the jewel case. There it states that the Vengeance Wars are raging (as in Colony Wars: Vengeance) and it is explained in the intro that the final battle (obviously before Kron is ousted) is about to begin. Red Sun does not pick up after Vengeance but somewhere near the end.
Finally, it's interesting to see a different perspective of the conflicts between the League and the Navy. Valdemar knows little about the war and is informed during a dream that something much more critical is about to transpire. Wary that mankind actually does not depend on the outcome of the war, Valdemar embarks on a journey in search of a greater scheme. I enjoy his final remark, "I quit my job. It was time to go to work."
Very Good Game
I expected this game would be very easy.It was not.Even though it had lots of cool new weapons,a Stun Missile,a Stun Torpedo,a General Purpose Laser,(three of those),and a gauss gun,and some returning weapons,a shield laser,a hull laser,a scatter gun,a plasma cannon,a plasma missile,and a plasma torpedo,it was very challenging.And you don't fight the League hardly any in the game.And the Navy are traitors late in the game.You also fight some aliens,the Sha'Har,and ally some other people,the Darogothans.In fact the League at the end ally you! Aside these few problems,Colony Wars Red Sun is a very good game.
![Comet Crash [Online Game Code]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sdwTiGVNo-T0RY9T0uhf-YNToG3OdIPSVIIxbGPB66EqFzjboqQu6vxNbQJoMPgMkyVXs8zThQToeoA0VtZ4mwHEgFmeTOOuaLaUDiLl8lgyg-6jaFIcLrtMUy70bj8Us=s0-d)
Very Fun
Gonna keep this pretty short. This game has a little bit of a learning curve. Once you get it down it's a lot of fun. I showed my brothers this game and got them to play the 3 player co op with me. We played from beginning to end. They loved it along with me. The only problem I have with this game is there is a specific strategy to beat each level. You can't really come up with your own strategies which is kind of a bummer. Other then that it's a great hybrid tower defense/real time strategy game.
Tower Defense with an Extra Floor
To describe this as short as i can its classic tower defense goodness with extra gameplay elements that gives you a unique experience i have never seen before. (in tower defense)
There are 3 parts to the game itself
1- Tower Defense: Classic place your towers and upgrade them to stop the enemy's from getting to your home orb thingy (unsure on name) and destroying it.
2- Ship Piloting: Unlike in traditional tower defense where you just build towers in spots by clicking on said spot you actually have a presence on the battlefield as a flying ship. This in some ways actually makes it better for consoles. You fly your ship where it needs to go, and it builds. Go over enemy territory and you will be attacked by their defenses and should you die you will respawn back on top of your orb after a short wait. (of which you can do nothing while waiting) While that may seem worse than the mouse if you play traditional tower defense on your computer it moves fairly fast and is agile, you can get where you need to be very fast. Also unlike other tower defense (for better or for worse) you don't get money for killing enemies. Meteors fly around the map, grab one (With your ship) before it fly's off the map and bring it to any tower (most likely yours) and they will destroy it revealing money, and a good amount of it (you can probably build about two basic towers with the money) and they vary in size so with the bigger ones you get even more. The do come around often, the is usually atleast one on the map at all times. One thing i must mention is you cannot attack with your ship at all.
3- Building your Horde: Also unlike in traditional tower defense, to defeat an enemy you must do the exact same thing they are doing to you, sending enemies. You build factories (which build units for free, but they themselves will cost a nice chunk of money) which build up units and store them. You can upgrade them to build better units. Once you have an amount you want, you select which units and the (not really exact but fairly close) amount of them you want to be sent out and then they are sent from your home orb thingy on the shortest path determined by the game (it is fairly accurate) and of which can be changed by placing towers along the path and they go directly for the enemy home orb thingy. These like all enemies in tower defense cannot attack, except for when they smash into (and then die) the enemy home orb thingy, but some units can affect your opponents units it may cross with along the way.
Thats the game and i am sure you will enjoy and for $10 its a heck of a lot better than games 4 times that price.
This game is not perfect however.
Multiplayer- While a great idea and actually fun its too loose. You can place your starting orb wherever you want and you can place structures (as long as they are not obstructing the path) wherever you want. I could place a whole bunch of towers right outside my enemies home orb and the only way he can stop me is to build his own towers to destroy them (which may be destroyed if mine are better) but they wont attack the home orb thingy. (destroying each other's towers is actually a neat element if not abused) Plus really when it comes to winning, (in multiplayer anyway) you just build as many units as you can and then send them all out. Finally you cant go online to play but with the above mentioned it would make it painful to play a good match with anyone. You better trust your friends our this mode will be unpleasant.
Money Limit- Simply put you have a limit on the money you can have! Kinda weird. Although you will most likely never reach said limit if you are playing this right.
Graphics- Truthfully this is not a gripe but it should be noted that they are in no way fantastic. The graphics are actually very simple but they fit the game. (towers and units are simple, the environment, meteors, and your ship are more detailed.
Overall its a great singe player experience, multiplayer needs a bit of work but is playable.
Very very well spent $10.
Awesome Game
This game is great. I started writing a review of the various features of this game but I am too lazy. Just go to their site to get the details. All I'm going to say is that the fiancé and I have spent countless hours playing through on co-op - Easily 100 hours over the past few months. Yes, your GF/wife will even like this game!! There are 32 levels and 4 difficulty levels so you can spend a great deal of time on this game, making the $10 cost seem like a steal! I would seriously pay much more!
Once you have beaten a level you will want to go back and get a perfect score. Once you do that you will want to play it on expert, again, until you get a perfect score. Some of these levels are REALLY hard on expect which for me is great! There are a few levels we have played dozens of times before beating on expert, and dozens more times until we got a perfect score.
There is an online score board for the "ranked" (Normal) difficulty. There is no online multiplayer at the time of this review (3/3/10). If you like tower defense (TD) or real time strategy (RTS), you must give this game a try. Go through the training, get past the small learning curve and never look back!
Amazon.com Product Description
Experience classic Real-Time Strategy (RTS) gaming on PlayStation 3, now fine tuned through a collection of limited and exclusive features designed to please any C&C fan, with Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Ultimate Edition. Go back in time and battle alongside your friends and Hollywood stars in an action-packed, over-the-top world, as the best-selling and most-beloved series within the Command & Conquer franchise returns, now enhanced for the PS3.
In Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Ultimate Edition the desperate leadership of a doomed Soviet Union travels back in time to change history and restore the glory of Mother Russia. But the time travel mission goes awry, creating an alternate timeline where technology has followed an entirely different evolution, a new superpower has been thrust on to the world stage, and World War III is raging. The Empire of the Rising Sun has risen in the East, making World War III a three-way struggle between the Soviets, the Allies, and the Empire with armies fielding powerful over-the-top weapons and technologies like tesla coils, Kirov war blimps, massive samurai robots, armored bears, dolphins with sonic weapons, floating island fortresses, and transforming tanks. Gameplay In true Command & Conquer form, action in Red Alert 3 Ultimate Edition is based on classic RTS gameplay. Through this players align themselves with either the Allies, the Soviets or the Empire of the Rising Sun, and proceed to establish bases, manage collected resources from controlled territories and escalate technology acquisition in order to eventually eliminate battlefield rivals. Throughout the game players will utilize the franchises familiar mechanism of churning out an array of buildings, units and vehicles to facilitate this, but will also be faced with a series of new variables. Some of these will come in the form of new, powerful units like the Empire of the Rising Sun's Shogun Executioner, a giant mech wielding energy blades, the armored attack bears of the Soviets and the sonic attack of the Allies' dolphin ship, but there is also a change to the game's terrain to consider. Now in addition to battle on, and over land, players also have to be aware of the realities of naval warfare, as combat is extended to the waters on their borders. Another aspect of RTS gameplay that Red Alert 3 Ultimate Edition address is the need for superior control functionality. Too often when a PC RTS game makes the leap to gaming consoles, shedding keyboard and mouse functionality, players experience a reduced ability to respond quickly to attacks via unit production and/or changes to production. This is not the case in Red Alert 3 Ultimate Edition. Through its radial command menu, which utilizes the DualShock 3's analog stick and the 'X' button, players can execute commands with three button presses or less and can queue up production of units to occur as resources are gathered to supply them. In addition, commands to existing units on the battlefield and your commanders are easily facilitated by controller shortcuts, such as a single face buttons to select/deselect all on screen units and another to direct their movements, providing a fast way to make immediate field commands. Key Game Features: Plenty of Multiplayer Options In addition to 4-player versus online skirmish functionality, Red Alert 3 Ultimate Edition also features a fully co-operative campaign mode where you and a friend can team up and play together. Through this mode players can develop their team-based combat strategy both over all and in the immediate sense of the battles at hand. Co-op functionality is also available with the help of one of several AI commander in the event that your friends aren't online.
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Classic Red Alert action with a new twist !!
Since the very first Red Alert came out so many years ago on the PC, I have been a fan. Red Alert was the first RTS (Real Time Strategy) game I had ever played and I absolutely loved it. Red Alert 2 was even better in gameplay and with the addition of Hollywood stars playing the character roles in the cut scenes, the game became even more fun.
When I first heard Red Alert 3 would be coming to the PS3, I was both excited and skeptical. Excited because of my love for the franchise, and yet skeptical because I had never played Command & Conquer on a console system. The mouse and keyboard interface was something I was not sure I could part with and I didn't know how playable the game would be without it.
With that said, I took a leap of faith and bought the game anyway. Although it is a different play experience on the console, I find that the new interface using the PS3 control pad is very manageable and after a game or two, it was no problem for me to know where to go and what to do. A radial menu has been added that allows you to select various construction options simply by pushing the stick in one direction or the other. Pretty soon you will find yourself knowing exactly what to click when, so don't let your familiarity with the keyboard dissuade you from buying and/or trying this game.
The graphics are crisp, although the tips and writing are a bit hard to read on a non HD television. The factions have a nice variety of weapons and styles and more has been promised via downloadable add-on content at a later date. The new Empire of the Rising Sun faction has some really cool new weaponry, including large mechs and transforming robots in the classic anime realm. There are a nice variety of included maps with more promised to come via download later.
Online play so far has been very smooth. I have played three online matches as of this review and have experienced no lag or connection issues when playing others. You also have the option to play the computer in skirmish/base building mode. Up to 4 players can play head to head online at a time.
The cinematics, although classically over the top, are great as always, with some great Hollywood talent playing key roles yet again. The soundtrack is awesome and keeps you immersed in the action. The soundtrack is included as a stand alone bonus feature on this addition as well, along with plenty of other nice bonus features and behind the scenes videos.
All in all, once you adapt to the interface changes, this game is good old Red Alert on steroids. You will have a blast and I think you will find that this is the first real console RTS to stay true to it's origins and keep the long time fan interested. It will also be easily adaptable to the new player who is making their first venture into the C&C universe.
If you still have any doubts, go online to the Playstation store and download the free demo. It lets you go through tutorials as well as two missions to get a feel for what the game is like.
I highly recommend this game to all fans of the PS3 and the Red Alert/C&C franchise.
Classic Red Alert real-time strategy
This latest installment of the Command and Conquer franchise was clearly built around what made the previous Red Alert installments popular. The story is zany and often cheezy. Big name actors play the parts of generals and commanders and even do so with real live-action footage. The graphics are great and I have not experienced any glitches at all. Online plays smoothly as well. When playing online, you can even pause the mission to talk to your co-commander(if it's not a computer!)
Overall, there is lots of attention to detail and plenty of options. You can choose between the Red Alert classics(soviets, and the allies) as well as the new faction, the empire of the Rising Sun. It's great fun and I think it's a worthy successor in the Red Alert series.
Those who are worried about the lack of mouse and keyboard controlls shouldn't be. The command menu works well and only takes a game or two to get used to. So far, my only complaint about the game is the price. I know the Playstation version had a couple small exclusive goodies, but we shouldn't have had to pay the full retail price when the game had already been out(and selling for much less)on PC and Xbox for over 6 months.
When Compared To Halo Wars, This Is Superior in EVERY Area!!
There really seem to be only two true RTS franchises that made their way over to the consoles, so I thought it would be beneficial to compare and contrast the two.
After having played both games extensively, I don't understand the lack of press coverage this game is getting.
This game seriously superior to Halo Wars in Every Single Area.
The basic controls are pretty much identical, but there's a ton of advanced controls available as well that make this game a pleasure to play. I control the game faster with the PS3 version than the PC version using a mouse oddly enough.
The Graphics in this game are better than both Halo Wars and the 360 version of Red Alert 3. The extra time that EA spent polishing up the PS3 version of the game really shines through. The game has more depth and strategy than Halo Wars as well.
The game has three different factions that really play out very differently, and they're all a lot of fun to play. Reminds me of Starcraft. In Halo Wars, you're stuck with only one faction in singleplayer mode, and two in multiplayer that happen to play out almost identically.
And most importantly, the game has a lot more meat to it and is all around more fun than Halo Wars.
he basic controls were nice and easy to learn, but there's a lot of advanced controls (hold one button while pressing another, double tapping specific buttons, etc.) that will be picked up during the course of playing the game.
9.5 Presentation
The best cutscenes anywhere in any game, period! They really pull you into the story
9.0 Graphics
Better than the 360 version and most RTS games.
9.5 Sound
The Soundtrack Rules.
9.0 Gameplay
Great all around. But a split screen mode, mod support, and yes, KB+Mouse support would've been nice to have.
10.0 Lasting Appeal
There's tons of strategies to try out in single and multiplayer. I haven't been able to stop playing the game since I picked it up at launch.
AV Component Cable Set for Playing PS2 on an HD TV
My nephew assures me he can see a big difference on his new HD TV when he connects his PS2 with this cable instead of his old cable. The picture on the screen is much clearer than the picture with the old cable. Sure was a pretty cheap way to make my nephew happy.Premium High Resolution Component AV Cable for Playstation 3 PS3, Playstation 2 Ps2
Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr Does NOT Equal Y Pb Pr
Component video cables for the PS2 are supposed to be hooked up to TVs that have Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr connections. Many newer TVs (like the ones I have) have Y Pb Pr connections. They LOOK the same. The manuals say that they're for component video. But there is one crucial difference. The Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr PS2 video output doesn't work in a Y Pb Pr TV! They mention this in the fine print of the PS2 manual but, as I found to my sorrow, it's easy to overlook.
Before you buy this (or any other) component video cable to hook your PS2 up with your HDTV check the connections on the HDTV. If it's Y Pb Pr it probably won't work.
Just to be clear, I DID change the video output of the PS2 from RGB to Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr before connecting the cable to the TV. Did not work (on two different HDTVs that have Y Pb Pr connections)
The cable itself doesn't deserve a "1" rating. I'm almost sure that if you have a HDTV with Y Cb/Pb Cr/Pr connections you'll love this cable. I just wish I could test it myself...
----------------- Update 12/2/2009 ----------
If you can't use component cables, S-Video works pretty well. You're much better off with S-Video than composite!
it's a cable!!!!!
When I bought my new LCD TV it only had 1 S-Video slot, which went to my GameCube because Nintendo deemed it necessary to discontinue making systems with Component ports. In order to play whatever games I want without constant plugging / unplugging, I decided it was time to get a PS2 component cable.
I stumbled across this one and found it to be the cheapest option, and since it's just a cable I purchased it.
Overall I have been satisfied with its performance and have experienced no problems with it whatsoever. If you're in my situation where you're buying a PS2 component cable out of necessity, look no further as this is by far the cheapest option you'll find.
To the people experiencing problems, check your PS2 system settings to see that you switched your PS2 video options from RGB to Y/Cb/Cr.
Issues with PS1 games played through PS2
This cable works great when playing actual PS2 games on my PS2. With my new HDtv, I put in FFX and was horrified by how bad it looked going through the normal composite cables that come with the PS2. But with these, it looks, downright beautiful. Gone are the scan lines and the muddied colors stretched to fit, and i am very happy with the results.
But the PS2 is backwards compatible, and i enjoy a lot of PS1 games still, sadly, with this cable connected I can't get past the menus of any PS1 game. I've gone through and tried every combination of settings I could find but they all just stop after the initial Sony of America etc. screens. So keep that in mind if you intend to play a lot of PS1 games, because as it stands my PS2 Slim is now a PS2 only machine.
