Scanning through the gaming news this week I came across an article in the Telegraph about ‘must have gaming kit. It shares a few brief thoughts on each console and gives a selection of three ‘must have’ games. It is a nice little overview, but a few points caught my attention.

Firstly, they started with the PS2. While I know the PS2 is still going strong is it really the topper for an article on ‘must have kit’? The article was not just for gamers and maybe the PS2 is still considered a friendly option. I personally would have put the PS2 at the end, not the start, merely because surely it is slowly on it’s way out, and don’t we all want the newest things?

Moving to the PS3, the list of must play games they cited (Warhawk, Heavenly Sword, Motorstorm) made me realise why I rarely play the PS3 compared to my time on the other consoles. I agree that the games are fairly good choices, but they are from a weak pool. I never finished Heavenly Sword, Motorstorm was fun but not exactly game of the year, and I never played Warhawk but do not feel I am missing out. The best things about the PS3 may be how nicely it plays movies and the backwards compatibility (at least on the 60gb model).

The 360 really shines out with a list of games that reminds me of good gaming times (BioShock, Halo 3, Crackdown), but is it really the best of 2007? I feel this way about the Wii’s list too (Metroid Prime 3, Rockstar Table Tennis, Super Paper Mario).  Where is Resident Evil 4? Where are the non shooters on the 360? 

This takes me back to the PS2, in its must have games we have action, sports and family genres (God of War II, Rudby 07 and Buzz), with a good title for each. Maybe this is why the PS2 is at the top, where exactly has the next generation got us?

Is the last generation of consoles still the best thing to have in your sitting room? If you are a non gamer is the PS2 the best place to start? Is a family looking to buy their first console going to beneit the most from the diversity of the PS2? And lastly am I missing out because I have moved to the next generation?

I don’t know how to answer these questions, but I do feel they should be a little food for thought as we all go consumer crazy over the following month.