Children's Toys?

Post by **Charles** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 6:05 pm

Time marches on and earlier this week we celebrated my eldest child's 10th birthday.

Having managed to hold off getting one for several years, we finally relented and bought Harry a Playstation 2.

Now before you all tell me we got the wrong thing, let me explain my thinking:

1 All his friends have PS2's at the moment - even though they might be updating to PS3/XBox/Wii etc. As such, there are a ready supply of exchangeable games between him and his mates

2 As it is his first games console, I wasn't prepared to buy the newest and shiniest one because he might get bored of it. Â£100 is OK, but Â£400 for a PS3 is a bit much (I have got my new car to think of)

3 I am an "out and out" Sony fan

4 I'm not sure whether Blue Ray (in the PS3) is going to survive the latest HD DVD format war.

Anyway, and we now get to the main point of this post, as part of the accessories pack we also bought, there happened to be a steering wheel and pedals. So I was wondering, which driving games would you recommend - for my son, of course?

KevinB10 · Post by **KevinB10** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 6:53 pm

I have owned my PS2 since it first came out and still get enjoyment from the driving games.
I would recommend "Gran Turismo 4" - a brilliant all round game, also either "WRC Rally" or "Colin McRae Rally" - both are great fun.

With the Grand Prix season only two weeks away I am sure my copy of "F1 2005" will get played again, but I would not recommend buying an F1 game unless you are a complete fan as they can become repetitive.

Have fun Charles!

Sunnyville · Post by **Sunnyville** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:10 pm

Are you only going to let him play driving games lol.

I must admit that the Blue ray Vs HD DVD is hotting up and it will be a while before the battles are finally won or lost.

I too have to agree that I would not buy a plastation3 for that cost. No games console is worth that IMO.

I do own an Xbox 360 though (I bought it for me and not the children) and i think that they have made a very good head start on the playstation 3 already.

Which PS2 did you get charles? Is it the new little thin one??

I can also recomend the grand turismo games, GREAT playability and a fantastic simulator. Michelle and myself used to play those games until the early hours lol.

I like your thinking about swapping games with his mates, VERY good idea. I know that you can trade games at some of the games stores these days and that is a very good idea to.
I bought gears of war for the 360 when it first came out and my 11 yr old finished it in 1 weekend

Even worse than that was the fact that I had played it for nearly two weeks previous to that and sat and watched as he passed where I left off.
So do you think your son will be better than you on it ? lol

Kev

Post by **Charles** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 7:33 pm

Sunnyville wrote:Which PS2 did you get charles? Is it the new little thin one??

That's the one - very neat indeed

So do you think your son will be better than you on it ? lol

Kev

Definitely - I've never been into them at all

Steve A · Post by **Steve A** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:10 pm

Charles

Gran Turismo 4 is an absolute must, the game is massive has most of world famous tracks, including the Nurburgring, so when he's older he'll be able to terrify you on the real thing. (Would you let him drive the ALPINA).

You earn money, win medals and get to upgrade the performance of all the cars, i have spent too much time on that game!!!

The rally game would suggest is Colin McCrae, all of the games are fantastic.

As i've got a PS3 on order

(i couldnt resist) i have many games the little man is welcome to.

Steve.

Grant · Post by **Grant** » Thu Mar 01, 2007 11:33 pm

I was believeing it all till I read this bit: for my son, of course? You'll be on it too!

Hope he loves it!

Post by **neil** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 12:11 am

I have a PS2, I've been toying buying a Xbox 360 - but waiting for the PS3 to come out and hopefully the resultant drop in the Xbox price

GT4 is pretty good - My favorite driving game is Forsa on the normal Xbox (can't wait for the follow up on the Xbox 360 !)

Other games that I like : GTA San Andreas (not suitable for Harry though)

My Harry's got Cars and loves it - gets very baggy when I switch it off.

I got back into Virtual Fighter evolution the other night too

ALPB1033 · Post by **ALPB1033** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 3:42 am

My son has a PS2 as well. I did played the driving game with him for a while but I got fed up. So I brought my car for the real thing instead. Sometime I did ask him if he likes to drive my car but he always says no. I don't know why as most of the kids like to get on a powerful car like ours to have a bit of fun. I didn't find that happens to him.

sclarke · Post by **sclarke** » Fri Mar 02, 2007 5:01 pm

Sarah, my wife, won a PS2 when they first came out and we still have it. If you are feeling miserly then start off with Gran Tourismo 3 - A-spec (GT3) which can be bought for about a tenner or less now and still stands up against even the latest driving games. GT4 is bigger and better but the driving experience is pretty similar to GT3 and I still play GT3 regularly now (still haven't completed it!!).

I have tried a PS3 (American import) and can report that the graphics are great but the game play remains unchanged, so buying a PS2 is a really good move considering the price difference.

Hope he enjoys it

Post by **neil** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 2:23 am

Ps3 out today !

Anyone buying it ?

Steve A · Post by **Steve A** » Fri Mar 23, 2007 9:29 am

Picking mine up today but wont get cahnce to play until sunday/monday as i'm off the Bournemouth for a very large Pi$$ up

I'll give my opinion when i get back