Released on September 9, 1995, the Playstation was Sony's first attempt at releasing a home console. Sony had originally partnered with Nintendo to create a CD-based add-on for the Super Nintendo, but when that deal fell through, Sony continued development and released the project as a stand-alone console. Marketed as a more "grown-up" alternative to the Nintendo 64, the Playstation completely dominated the 32-bit generation, sending the Sega Saturn to an early grave. Notable franchises launched on the Playstation include Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, and Ace Combat. Sony also pulled off a major coup by luring Squaresoft, publisher of the Final Fantasy series, away from Nintendo. The system's only real competition at the peak of its popularity was the Nintendo 64, which was marketed mostly to younger gamers and still used cartridge-based games instead of optical media. The Sony Playstation went on to enjoy a 10 year life span and sell over 100 million consoles and almost 1 billion software units worldwide.

Air Combat

Rating: 3.5

Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Genre: Flying/Combat Released: 09/13/1995

Rarity: Common Value: $

Grid Runner

Rating: 3.5

Developer: Radical Entertainment Publisher: Virgin Interactive Genre: Puzzle/Action Released: 09/06/1996

Rarity: Uncommon Value: $

Grid Runner is a capture-the-flag style game in which two players face off against each other on a maze-like grid. To win each round you must capture a pre-determined number of flags, which are placed around the grid, before your opponent does. Throughout the game, one player is "it", and while "it" the player can not capture any flags. That player tags the other player making them "it", and then proceeds to capture either unclaimed flags, or flags which the opponent has already captured thus switching them over to the other side, al the while being chased by the other player. To determine who will initially be "it" at the beginning of the round, each player races to capture the first flag, which will cause their opponent to be the first "it". This may sound convoluted, but is actually quite simple. In single player mode, you face off against a particular opponent in three successive rounds, and then go to a bonus round before facing of against the next opponent. Each new opponent is more challenging than the one previous, as is the new grid which will introduce new obstacles. You also have magic at your disposal, including teleport, speed, and mine spells as well as the ability to shoot fire energy balls which can slow down your opponent as well as destroy certain obstacles. The graphics are about what you would expect out of an earlier Playstation title, and the game has nice sound effects and unobtrusive background music. The controls are a little bit stiff, and I wish the game was a little bit faster paced, but overall the gameplay provides a fun gaming experience. This isn't the kind of game that I would come back to again and again, but it is definitely worth checking out. The gameplay will keep you going until you finish the game, but once you have done so you will probably not feel the need to play the game again.

NHL 97

Rating: 3.0

Developer: Visual Concepts Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Ice Hockey Released: 11/12/1996

Rarity: Common Value: $

While NHL 97 looks very bad compared to subsequent EA hockey games, for its time the game was a real leap forward from the 16-bit generation. The players are all large and fully polygonal, but the low polygon count takes away a lot of the detail. The glass over the boards looks more like a window screen, but the boards themselves are covered in advertisements which helps add to the realism of the game. Some of the proportions in the game seem off, such as the ice being too small and the nets being too narrow. The crowd noise is nearly nonexistent, making you feel like you're playing in an empty arena, but the sound effects are quite good. I especially like the sound the puck makes when it hits a post. The game has no play-by-play or color commentary (the NHL series would get that the following year), and instead has John Davidson acting as both the arena announcer and commentator, but he only shows up before and after the game and during intermissions. His comments are all done using full motion video, and due to the relatively small number of videos his comments are always vague and often out of place. This is a shame because John Davidson is a great color commentator, and it would have been nice for his talents to have been put to better use. Still, it had a cool "wow" factor in its day. Continuing the style of the latter 16-bit games, NHL 97 is fast-paced. Skaters zip around the ice quickly and deliver hard body checks. Shots are for some reason very slow, unless you take the time to really wind up first. The games responsive controls and crisp passing make it fun to play, and I only get frustrated when my goalie lets in a softie, which unfortunately happens more often than it should. I love stat tracking, and this game offers plenty of it. Like most hockey games, it offers exhibition, full season, and playoff modes, as well as player creation, trades, and free agent signings. It also includes a shootout mode which can be useful for practicing breakaway shots and manually controlling your goalie. Among the multiple camera angles available is a helmet cam which while not very useful is cool to check out in that it was not possible on the 16-bit systems. NHL 97 is easily the worst 32-bit game in EA's NHL franchise, but I would still much rather play it than any of the 16-bit iterations.

PGA Tour 96

Rating: 4.5

Developer: EA Sports Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 09/23/1995

Rarity: Uncommon Value: $

Released shortly after the launch of the Playstation, PGA Tour 96 was the first golf game to appear on the system. For a game that's 14 years old (as of this writing) the game holds up surprisingly well. The game uses the standard 3-click system common with older golf games. Because the screens are all pre-rendered it is not possible to zoom around the course to see exactly where it is that you are aiming, although some might argue that this actually makes the game more realistic. You aim your shot using both the target arc which shows the potential path of your ball, and a yellow line overlaid on a small overhead map on one side of the screen. The swing system is pretty unforgiving, as even slight inaccuracies in your clicking can cause a huge difference in the trajectory of your ball, but this is a golf sim and not an arcade-style game so this is to be expected. The game includes two courses; Spyglass Hill, located on the Monterrey Peninsula and where the Pebble Beach Pro-Am is sometimes played, and TPC at River Highlands located in Cromwell, Connecticut. You can play as any one of 14 included PGA pros, including Tom Kite and Fuzzy Zoeller, or create your own amateur player. Much like actual golf, the game is amazingly quiet. Aside from the occasional wildlife, there is no sound aside from those made by your club and your ball. For some reason, EA decided to include a television-style announcer, but his only comments come prior to your first putting attempt. This makes the announcer seem out of place, and EA should have either recorded comments to be used throughout the game or eliminated the announcer entirely. Although the graphics are nothing to write home about, they are a huge improvement over the golf games of the 16-bit generation and look quite realistic for their time. The player animations are digitized video of the actual players, showing them not only swing the club but react to poor shots. Aside from the part-time commentator, the game has no glaring flaws and should be enjoyed by anyone who is a fan of golf, be it video golf fans like me, or those who follow the PGA and/or play the sport.

PGA Tour 97

Rating: 4.0

Developer: EA Sports Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 09/27/1996

Rarity: Common Value: $

As the sequel to PGA Tour 96, the 1997 edition had big shoes to fill. EA's first attempt at a golf sim on the Playstation was nearly flawless, and they could have basically phoned this one in by releasing the same game with two new courses and maybe a couple of new PGA pros. The game does feature two new courses; TPC at Sawgrass, which is located in northeast Florida and is home to The Players Championship tournament, and The Links at Spanish Bay, a true links course, located on the Monterrey Peninsula. No new players were added however, as the game features the same 14 tour pros. EA tried to improve the game's graphics by apparently digitizing actual photos of the course, but the results are mixed. Sometimes it adds a new level of detail to the view, and sometimes it makes the game look more pixelated and grainy. They also added a second camera angle which shows up in a little pop-up window. This reverse-angle view appears both when you are aiming your shot so that you can see the back end of the target arc, and after your swing so that you can see your ball arrive. While it is a neat feature, it takes a couple of seconds to load and this delay gets old after a while. The sound has been improved somewhat, with the addition of more ambient noises like waves crashing into the shore and ships' horns in the distance on the Spanish Bay course, but TPC at Sawgrass sounds just as silent as the courses in PGA Tour 96. The announcer now comments on every shot before and after, but sounds more like a combination caddy and narrator than broadcast-style announcer. Although I don't care for the graphical changes to PGA Tour 97, the game has the same feel as the previous title, and the addition of a links course is an added challenge. If you're tired of the two courses in the 96 edition, there is no reason not to pick this game up.

PGA Tour 98

Rating: 3.5

Developer: EA Sports Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 09/27/1997

Rarity: Common Value: $

Amazingly, this game still features the same 14 PGA tour pros, but EA has somehow managed to fit 5 courses onto the disc instead of the two courses included with the previous installments. PGA Tour 98 features the world famous Pebble Beach, TPC at Sawgrass (again), the Colonial Country Club in Forth Worth which is home to a non-major PGA tournament, the Bay Hill Club in Orlando which is home to the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and TPC of Scottsdale located in Arizona, home to an annual PGA open tournament. While not the meat and potatoes of the game, the menu system and presentation of the 98 edition is considerably more polished than the previous installments which really helps the game feel more "next gen". PGA Tour 98 features the same digitized player animations as the previous games, but uses a combination of techniques from the previous two titles in displaying the scenery. The foreground scenery is hand drawn as it was in PGA Tour 96, while the distant background appears to have been created with digitized photos much like the 97 edition. While these pre-rendered screens are a departure from the polygonal environments ubiquitous in 32-bit sports titles, they look clean and detailed while polygons can tend to make things look blocky if not properly utilized. The game still uses a small pop-up window to display a reverse-angle shot showing the back end of the target arc while aiming your shot, but instead of using the same window to show the arrival of your ball, the main view switches to the area of the course where your ball is going to land after you hit it. This makes the game feel more like a television broadcast, but the game loads the data before the ball is hit causing an irritating several-second delay between the completion of the 3-click swing and the swing itself. EA still hasn't messed with the solid core gameplay, but it would have been nice to see EA do something new to keep the series fresh. If you're a fan of the series then the 4 new courses included on this disc are sure to keep you busy for awhile, but things are starting to feel a bit stale.

Ridge Racer

Rating: 4.0

Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Genre: Arcade Racing Released: 09/09/1995

Rarity: Common Value: $

Ridge racer was a North American launch title, and is a port of the arcade game of the same name. The game features three variations of the same track, a short, easy track and two successively longer and more challenging track variations. While it would have been nice to have three completely different tracks (like Daytona USA on the Sega Saturn), the three tracks in Ridge Racer have enough individuality to keep the game interesting although it cuts down on the replay value. A normal race pits the player against 11 other racers in a 2 or 3 lap race, depending on the track. The player can also choose to race in a "time trial" mode against one other car, but only on the most difficult track. There are 4 cars available to choose from, each with different strengths and weaknesses in 4 categories; acceleration, handling, traction, and maximum speed. 8 additional cars can be unlocked by killing ever creature on the Galaxian loading screen that appears when the game in launched. Reminiscent of Outrun, the player can choose between 6 music tracks to listen to while driving, but since the game completely loads itself into the Playstation's RAM, the one can insert their own music CD into the drive once the game has finished loading. The game also includes a "music player" mode which allows the player to listen to the tracks on the CD without having to enter a race. Ridge Racer runs smoothly and has crisp, colorful graphics that look great for a launch title. Despite not having analog controller support due to its age, the game controls well and the ability to power slide through turns adds to the fun. My only complaint about the gameplay is that bumping into the back of another car even if only slightly slows your car down considerably, which is frustrating when you are cut off by another driver. While the difficulty is not scalable, the difficulty level is fairly well placed. This is a game that should be enjoyed by any fan of the arcade racing genre. It is worth noting that a slightly updated version of the game is included as a bonus disc in the later Playstation release, Ridge Racer Type 4.

Ridge Racer Revolution

Rating: 3.5

Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Genre: Arcade Racing Released: 09/25/1996

Rarity: Common Value: $

Ridge Racer Turbo Mode Bonus Disc

Rating: 4.0

Developer: Namco Publisher: Namco Genre: Arcade Racing Released: 05/05/1999

Rarity: Common Value: $

This disc was included as a bonus pack-in game with Ridge Racer Type 4. The disc features the complete Ridge Racer game, plus a scaled down version of the game running at a smooth 60 frames per second, known as "Turbo Mode". You might not think the difference would be noticeable, considering that the original game ran without any slowdown, but the difference is quite obvious. Unfortunately, to make up for the extra processing power needed to generate that frame rate, the game only runs in either "Time-Trial" or "Time Attack modes, meaning that it is not possible to race against more than one other car. This isn't that big of a deal, but the track feels empty without the other drivers. The disc also contains videos, slide shows, and playable demos for other Namco games, such as Tekken 3, Time Crisis, and Namco Museum. Its pretty impressive that a game company would provide a complete game from the same generation as a pack-in with a subsequent title from the same series, especially when that game is good enough to warrant a separate purchase even three years later. As this disc features the original game in its entirety as well as the bonus material, there is no real reason to own a copy of Ridge Racer if you can grab Ridge Racer Type 4 instead.

Tetris Plus

Rating: 4.0

Developer: The Tetris Company Publisher: Jaleco Genre: Puzzle Released: 10/18/1996

Rarity: Common Value: $

Tetris Plus was one of only two Tetris games released for the Playstation (the other being "The Next Tetris"), and is identical to the Sega Saturn release of the same name. Along with the requisite "Classic" and "Vs." modes, Tetris Plus features a "puzzle" mode (isn't the whole game a puzzle?) that is really the meat and potatoes of this release. In puzzle mode, you help the archaeologist, known only as "The Professor" navigate through ancient tombs by clearing the blocks standing in his way. It is your job to get him to the bottom of the pile (marked "GOAL") before the spiked ceiling, which descends periodically, kills him. The catch is that he will constantly climb to the top of the pile if he doesn't have a space at least two squares wide in which to wait, even if that means that he is climbing right up into the spikes and his own death. There are 4 excavation sites of 20 puzzles each, for a total of 80. In each area, the puzzles get progressively harder, but you have as many chances as you need to pass each one. The trick to completing each puzzle is to figure out which blocks need to be removed first, as simply trying to remove all of the blocks as quickly as possible is not necessarily the best strategy in every situation. Vs. mode plays similarly to the puzzle mode in that each player is racing to get the professor to the bottom of the pile first. The game adds blocks to your opponent's pile by pushing them up from underneath, which inches the professor closer to the spikes. The game also features an "edit" mode which lets you create and save your own puzzles. The game controls better than the Japanese-only "Tetris S", but it still doesn't feel as good as the older Tetris releases. I felt like I was fighting to get the blocks to move fast enough, and it took too long for each piece to be locked in place after it hit the pile. When you are racing against a descending ceiling of spikes, you obviously want to get blocks in place as quickly as possible. I don't really like the way it handles, but the first time I booted up Tetris Plus for this review I played it for about 3 hours straight, so obviously the controls aren't that bad. The puzzle mode really adds something new to the Tetris experience, and this game's polished presentation and detailed graphics give it some eye candy as well.

Tiger Woods 99 PGA Tour Golf

Rating: 2.5

Developer: EA Sports Publisher: Electronic Arts Genre: Sports/Golf Released: 11/30/1998

Rarity: Common Value: $

PGA Tour 96 was three years and four games ago, but EA is still using pre-rendered environments and digitized player animations. The game runs at a poor frame rate, mostly due to the new fluid camera that follows the path of your ball, which was well intentioned but ultimately makes the game look worse. EA apparently was trying to appeal to the casual market by bringing Tiger Woods on board, but the money perhaps would have been better spent on development. The franchise felt stale already, and yet another year of the same old thing just makes the game feel old and tired. As with the 98 edition the game features 5 courses, but 2 of them, TPC at Sawgrass and TPC at Scottsdale, are making their second appearance in a row. New to the series are TPC at Summerlin, TPC at Las Colinas, and TPC at Southwind. The roster of tour pros has been cut down to 8, and only Tiger is new to the series. It is also no longer possible to create your own golfer, although you can edit the name of one of the included PGA players. Instead of a helpful announcer the only voice you hear is Tiger's as he complains about your bad shots, but at least the ambient noise sounds more realistic, if you turn off the music that is. The game still uses the same 3-click system, but it is now possible to add spin to the ball. While this sounds cool at first, the spin control is used while the ball is in the air and not during the swing, so the spin control acts as more of an error correction mechanism which just dumbs down the experience. From the opening FMV sequence selling golf as an extreme sport to the poor production values, it seems obvious that EA was targeting the casual audience whose interest in golf was cultivated by the rise of Tiger Woods. As golf games go on the Playstation, this one ranks towards the bottom.