PS2, Price: £104.99: PROS: A mammoth back catalogue means there is a game for every taste, lots of interesting peripherals. CONS: Getting on a bit now, expensive.

IT'S ten years since Sony rocked the world of videogames with the first PlayStation. Ten years. An entire decade. Before PlayStation, gaming was seen as a minority interest for teenage boys and young children. Sony changed all that.

It took games into trendy nightclubs, it signed up popular musicians to provide soundtracks and it spent millions on TV advertising to convince us that gaming was cool.

And it worked. The world embraced the PlayStation like no other console before or since. That's why you can still buy games for the original ten years later.

The PS2 has continued where the first PlayStation left off. It seems as though everyone has got one. That's why Sony has redesigned its machine in time for Christmas 2005.

The "new" PS2 is much slimmer and altogether better looking than the original, although the pop-up lid smacks of cost cutting and you can no longer stand it on its end.

The gubbins inside is essentially the same old 128-bit processor and meagre amounts of memory so all your games look exactly the same.

Hopefully, the DVD playback will be improved, though. The first PS2 wasn't exactly a showpiece for the virtues of digital home cinema.

Stock shortages mean you could find it hard to get hold of one this close to Christmas. If you do, there is already a huge back catalogue of games, many available at pocket money prices, and some terrific peripheral add-ons like the Eye Toy camera that puts you on screen with your favourite gaming characters. Sony's memory cards still look over-priced though.

Verdict: Buy it for the extensive software but look for some better deals in the January sales.

XBox: Price: from £99. PROS: The best graphics of any console, hard drive, online connectivity. CONS: Fewer games.

Microsoft has to be congratulated for launching XBox so successfully. Apart from Japan, the Box has been a big hit with gamers desperate to escape the clutches of Sony.

What's more, the XBox is more powerful than the PS2, has sharper graphics and a far more rounded online gaming experience.

DVD playback is better (although you need to fork out extra in order for it to work) and the hard drive means you'll never have to buy a memory card.

Games aren't so plentiful but there's still an extensive back catalogue. Software costs around the same as a PS2 equivalent. The Box also has some cracking exclusives like Halo/Halo 2 and the Project Gotham Racing twins.

Although Bill Gates is expected to announce XBox two next year, there is still plenty of life left in the original

Verdict: A great buy and a cracking companion to a PS2.

Gamecube, Price: from £79.99: PROS: Dirt cheap. CONS: Support drying up, the usual Nintendo problems.

Trailing home in a distant third place, the Gamecube is superb value for money but not the console of choice for the future.

Although the little box has a great library of games it seems as though third-party support will ebb away over the next 12 months, leaving just Nintendo to support the console.

We have already seen this happening. The next Resident Evil game will be developed for the PS2 instead of the Gamecube and some publishers have already stopped bringing GC software to the market.

Kids who just have to own the latest thing could find themselves seriously out of step with their peers if they get a Gamecube on Xmas Day.

Adult gamers will find much to enjoy by exploring the Cube's back catalogue, much of which is available at ludicrously cheap prices.

Verdict: Not one for the kids but true gamers wouldn't be without it.

GameBoy Advance, Price: £69.99. PROS: Pocket friendly portable with lots of games. CONS: Soon to be superseded, expensive for what it is.

If you are a relative thinking about splashing out on a GBA for a grandchild then heed my words: "Don't do it."

Compared to the original GameBoy, the GBA has only been around for a relatively short space of time but it's days are already numbered.

Nintendo is readying a replacement (the Dual Screen or DS) for launch early in 2005. When it arrives the GBA will be as popular as a pair of week-old pants.

The DS will be backwards compatible with existing GBA software so there seems no sane reason to buy the old one this Christmas unless you can find it incredibly cheap (say less than thirty quid).

Verdict: Wait for the DS. This console has had it.

Tapwave Zodiac, Price: £269. PROS: Terrific screen, plays movies and games. CONS: Expensive.

The Tapwave Zodiac is more PDA than games machine but that still hasn't stopped publishers embracing its multimedia capabilities.

Armed with a swift processor and a dedicated 3-D graphics chip, the Zodiac has a growing catalogue of classic games including Doom II and OutRun. What's more it can also play movies, MP3 files and display your photos in full colour. It even tells you when it is the wife/girlfriend's birthday.

Verdict: If you need something to organise your life then this is the one.

Gizmondo, Price: £230: PROS: Superb multimedia, CONS: An outsider and an expensive one at that.

You have to fear for the Gizmondo taking on the might of Nintendo and the upcoming Sony PSP.

Still the Gizmondo goes into the ring with these heavyweights packing a mighty punch of its own. You want features? Then how about: a top-spec games player, a digital camera, an MP3 player, a movie player, Bluetooth wireless and a satellite GPS receiver? How on earth have they packed so much into such a small item?

Although the specs are sensational I'd be inclined to wait a bit to see how many games are available before taking the plunge. Remember the Nokia N-Gage? (no, thought not).

Verdict: Looks great, but wait six months to see how the market develops.