It’s the small things in life that make people like me happy. In this case, it’s the release of PCSX2 1.0.

I know that anyone paying attention saw this news a couple of months ago now, but I’m not writing a review, just a blog.

It’s been a long time coming. I first started testing out PCSX2 before the shelf life of the actual PS2 console had even come to its end, and back then it was nothing more than a proof of concept. Each time I’d go back, month after month, and eventually, more like twice a year, and each time I checked, it didn’t seem like it was going anywhere.

In the past year, however, it seemed like it was coming on in leaps and bounds. Anyone who perhaps keeps their eye out for unofficial builds of the latest trunk might have noticed that version r4600 was a pretty big step up and far more stable, and usable than previous versions had been.

Once the big 1.0 update hit though, I was pretty happy. Looking at new features like threaded VU1, directx11 compatible plugins, edge AA, or for those who wanted something really nice, forced hardware AA, got me a little hot under the collar, as a complete geek.

The prospect, for me, of being able to go back and play some of those PS2 classics that I’m so fond of in grand HD is a pretty wonderful one. Now I know, I know, okay. I get that’s it’s not “real HD”, but comparing to things like the few remaining PS3s that can play a PS2 game, and looking at their pitiful idea of upscaling. Of course, then, you have the option of playing your PS2 via component and yes, it’s better than old school composite blurry crap, but it’s still jaggy as all hell, and basically looks like shit.

So when I load up PSCX2 1.0 and start looking through my options and I see that I can run my games at 1080p, with anti-aliasing, colour boosts to make a full 0-255 screen worth using and a nice widescreen format (via patches for games that didn’t already support it), it’s a pretty wonderful prospect.

Old favourites like Persona 3 (pictured above and below) are renewed in grand, proper upscale fashion, and I feel like I want to start playing them again, even though my PS2 has been shelved for years.

Of course, it’s not all heavenly bells and angels singing. Even though it’s reached 1.0 status, PCSX2 still has its share of bugs, and even with all the trimmings, there’s not a lot you can do about a shoddy 128×128 texture, or a low res on-screen hud sprite, but even then, there are some very nice filters built into the plugins that would make you rethink saying that. Sure, it’s not perfect, but the number of games now that are playable at full speed, and that look downright fantastic, makes it more than worth a double take, and perhaps make you consider taking the time to sit down and replay those dusty old games.

Now, my PS2 game collection was never that big to start with, since I would, as a teen, usually sell off games I was done with so I could get cash for new ones. There are a few exceptions to the rule, namely anything I truly loved. Having gone through most of my collection, however, I’d say a good 75% of my games play at full speed and look fantastic. Games like FFX, FFXII, Persona 3 and 4, Xenosaga III and Haunting Ground really stand out, being on the upper end of PS2 graphics, and all play pretty well on my middle tier machine.

Sitting here now thinking about it though, it’s damned embarrassing to consider the PS2 as an old machine, and referring to games as “old classics”. Makes me feel old. Either way, for those of you who perhaps missed out on a few games you might have wanted to play back in the day, or looking to revisit an old favourite, I definitely recommend giving the 1.0 release of PCSX2 a look. It’s very customisable, so even if you have lower end machines, there’s a lot you can do to help games run. Bear in mind not everyone has to play the game at 1080p, or force high end anti-aliasing, and the program even works quite nicely with 3rd party plugins like SMAA injector (which I personally use to bolster my image that little bit more).

Give it a go. You might be surprised.

Dys.