£299
Performance: Ferociously powerful, the latest PlayStation combines cutting-edge, Hi-Def gaming with enormous multimedia potential. A hard drive of up to 60GB and Blu-Ray player make this the nerve centre of a top HD home cinema set-up, while the ability to stream content to PSP is potentially another killer app.
Love: Sheer oomph and multimedia power, including Blu-Ray.
Hate: Pricey. AAA-grade games not exactly flooding the shops.
£300
Performance: The veteran of next-gen console-land gets an update – adding an HDMI port and a whopping 120GB detachable hard drive to the mix. With by far the biggest catalogue of games out of the big three, the Elite also has the most established and polished online service. What it lacks in power compared to the PS3, it more than makes up for with impressive software support,
and some seriously addictive, exclusive titles.
Love: Huge games catalogue.
Hate: Less powerful than PS3.
£180
Performance: This brings gaming to the masses with its amazing “Wii Wand” controller. Nintendo has avoided direct competition with the PS3 and 360 and gone down a pure fun route to next-gen glory. It seems to be working so far, as it’s the punter’s clear favourite, worldwide.
Love: Far more immediate, fun and lady friendly than its rivals.
Hate: Questionable longevity.
From £3,300
Performance: Awesome power from a choice of AMD or Intel processors. A gaming god.
Love: Brute force. Great styling.
Hate: Huge casing. Huge price.
£2,500
Performance: Super graphics + excellent sound effects = the best gaming PC around.
Love: Supremely powerful.
Hate: £2.5k is rather a large outlay.
£150
Performance: Pretty similar to its big brother, which is good, but we wanted more extras.
Love: You can stream content to it from PS3.
Hate: Not much different from the original.
£100
Performance: Twin touchscreens, Wi-Fi and a lot of exceedingly odd, yet lovable games.
Love: Innovative. Loads of great games.
Hate: Can’t match PSP for multimedia.
