It plays games. It plays full-length feature films. It can display digital photos and play MP3 music files. And it looks damn sexy while doing all of the above.

Sony&s new PlayStation Portable launched last week at the hefty price tag of $250, but for the hardcore gamer or technophile no amount of money could keep them away from owning this new piece of hardware.

Upon opening the box and looking at the system for the first time, it looks like an electronic work of art. The glassy-coating over the black shell, transparent buttons and metal casing on the sides of the unit make it look like a sophisticated electronic device, not another portable game system like Gameboy Advance or Nintendo DS.

The system is sold only as a &Value Pack,& which includes a 32MB memory card, headphones with remote control, a soft pouch and two pieces of software. It uses Sony&s new &Universal Media Disc& format, made especially for this new system. One of the discs included in the box is a sampler disc with previews of upcoming games, movie trailers and music videos.

The other included disc is the full movie of &Spiderman 2.& Watching the movie on the system&s vibrant screen is something that must be seen to appreciate, and while the disc lacks the extras of most DVDs and the picture is slightly less than DVD quality, it is still a great freebie and is a prelude to the other movies being released soon for the system.

Most owners of the system are there for the games, and it does not disappoint.

The game lineup at the system&s launch is among the best in video game history, in terms of quality and quantity. New installments in the Metal Gear, Twisted Metal, Ridge Racer and Wipeout series are now available. And original titles like the puzzle game Lumines only make the system more desirable.

The graphic capabilities of the system are unbelievable, at times coming close to the power of the PlayStation 2, a home console. Wireless gaming completes the list of features, with the ability to play against other users up to 100 feet away, and in the future users can play against others online using wireless access points.

If there is a flaw to the system, it&s the beautiful design. The shiny, glass-like finish on the system means that every fingerprint and speck of dust that gets on the unit will absolutely drive owners mad trying to keep their system perfectly clean.

And once the first tiny scratch appears on the screen from trying to wipe it clean, it will definitely be noticeable and become an eyesore to owners who hope to keep their system pristine.

Also unavoidable with the system are screen imperfections. The system&s big, high-resolution LCD screen means that any blemish in the manufacturing process will immediately send owners back to the store, trying to exchange their system for a &flawless& unit.

Dead or idle pixels on the screen have been the biggest source of problems on the new system, and while Sony and other electronic manufacturers claim that it is normal for LCD screens to have a few idle pixels, most consumers don&t agree. And with a screen as beautiful as this system&s, just a few inches away from the player&s eyes, bad pixels are extremely annoying.

The system is a great success in technology and portable gaming. The graphic capabilities are amazing, and even when the initial &wow& factor of the graphics start to fade, the quality of the games available will still keep owners playing daily.

Nintendo was once the king of the console market until Sony&s PlayStation took over. Will Sony&s PlayStation Portable do the same to Nintendo&s dominance of the portable game market?

If Nintendo&s new portable DS platform doesn&t get some must-have games soon, then history may just repeat itself.

Lumines

Could this game be the next Tetris? Reviewers and gamers everywhere are raving that this puzzle game is one of the best titles for the system and is a must own.

The goal of the game seems simple enough. The player must arrange a square puzzle piece made up of four blocks and up to two colors, creating a rectangular group of same-colored blocks, the pieces disappear, increasing the player&s score and creating more space on the playing field.

While it may seem similar to Tetris, Lumines& emphasis on music changes the strategy of the game. Blocks don&t disappear from the board until a bar, representing the music&s tempo, wipes across the screen, and when the pieces disappear they create beats that sync with the background music.

The better the player performs, the more parts of the song are played until it is completed and the player unlocks the next board, with its own visual theme and music.

The game is incredibly addictive, and the soundtrack is excellent and adds to the style of the game. Created by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, Lumines is another great game from the man who created such other music-themed works as Rez and Space Channel 5, and anyone who was a fan of those games should definitely buy a portable system and Lumines.

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Nicholas Fricke can be reached at [email protected]