Dragging a 27-inch-screen television everywhere you want to take your Sony PlayStation 2 seems impractical to all but the most dedicated gamers. So it wasn't going to take long for someone to come up with small, portable standalone screens for video game consoles.

Interact's Mobile Monitor for PS2 ($149) makes a great companion for just about any audio-visual device without a screen that can be plugged in with simple A/V cables. It will work with VCRs, DVD and VCD players as well as Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast, PlayStation's systems, Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft's Xbox.

But the base of the Mobile Monitor is designed to fit on top of the PS2, with clasps that easily slip over the monitor's base and flanges on the console.

The high-resolution, 5.6-inch color LCD screen renders game images crisply, although at such a small size, some words seem garbled on the screen. While playing Sega's Major League Baseball, I could barely read the outfielders' names. Brightness and color dials enable you to adjust the picture.

Because both video game console and monitor require AC power to work, you won't find too many gamers in the deep woods playing with their PlayStation 2, unless they have expensive power generators running on gasoline.

Later this summer, Interact plans to offer a universal power inverter, so you can plug your PS2 into a car's cigarette lighter socket for true game console and monitor mobility.

Information: 410-785-4064 or www.interactaccessories.com.