The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time. A couple times over the past few years, we've decided to sit down and take a good, cold, hard look at the PlayStation 2's library and select the best of the best to let you know what our favorites were (and are). Even though the system is fighting with every last breath to stay alive, it's still surprising to us that new games continue to creep into our list. So, because it's been a while, we figured it was time to look at our picks again and update our choices for the best 25 PlayStation 2 games of all time.
Now, it's important to note that we went about choosing these titles not because they were fun when they came out or because they were influential to future games in some way. No, these picks are the best games to play today. Think of it as the desert island question - if you're stranded somewhere for the rest of your life with 25 PS2 games to play, these are the games that you'd want to bring. They're the most entertaining, engrossing and downright fun picks from the PlayStation 2's massive library.
So without further ado, let's get this list started.
Developer: Vanillaware
Publisher: NIS
Year Released: 2007
Synopsis: When you describe GrimGrimoire, it almost sounds like one of those knockoff Harry Potter toys you'd find in your local supermarket's children section. Here, you'll play as a new student in a magic academy that's got a bunch of devious students and creepy teachers and is run by "Gammel Dore." However, once you get past those Hogwart-like nods, you'll find a real-time strategy game so engaging that you won't mind some of the upper-tier battles taking 90 minutes to best. Once the Archmage of Fear is released, you'll keep reliving the same five days as you use the skills you've learned -- such as the ability to breed dragons, command the dead, and use fairies effectively -- to engage in massive sprite battles on a 2D plane representing the halls of your school. Our bet is that somewhere between managing your mana and ordering your massive chimera into battle you'll forget that this isn't a current-gen game, that there are no Trophies and that there are no HD visuals. This is one of those games that just consumes your life.
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Year Released: 2005
Synopsis: Bah� bah-buh-bah-buh-bah-buh bah-bah-bah -- oh, hey, didn't see you start reading this. Sorry. Sure, anytime we think of We ? Katamari, we start thinking about how much fun it is to roll trees, buildings and random junk into a big sticky ball, but we mainly get lost thinking about that hypnotic soundtrack with its simple beats and distant voice. Sigh. Still, if you're looking for a summary of what makes We ? Katamari awesome, we can sum it up in one word: quirkiness. Yup, it's a term that gets thrown around quite a bit nowadays, but from its simple blocky visuals to its goofy story -- you're the prince and you're rolling up stuff on Earth to make your father, King of All Cosmos, happy -- We ? Katamari is all quirk and a game so goofy you just have to love it. You'll start with a tiny ball and run it into tiny objects. When the ball gets bigger, you move on to bigger objects. Eventually, you're going to have a massive ball eating up anything and everything in its path. It's awesome.
Developer: Naughty Dog Software
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2005
There can be no discussion of Ratchet & Clank without also mentioning the Jak and Daxter series. The twin developers of the games, Insomniac and Naughty Dog, respectively, had long enjoyed career parallels, both rising to fame as Sony-focused development houses before Naughty Dog was eventually acquired by Sony. Naughty Dog's first Jak game was, true to form, a fantastic platformer, with tight controls, some great characters and a massive world to explore.
The sequel bit the style a bit too hard off the GTA games and tried to go open world -- perhaps too ambitious for the development timeline. Jak 3, however, mixed elements of both games; Jak talked, but he wasn't a whiny, brooding emo figure like in the second game (well, not as much), but weapons were brought back to mix more with the platforming of the first game. The scale of the world and the storyline were both widened and everything was brought more or less to a close. It represents the height of Naughty Dog's considerable production values on the PS2 and like our Ratchet pick, is not to be missed.
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: Atlus
Year Released: 2003
Strategy role-playing games have been around for decades now, but it was Nippon Ichi Software's tongue-in-cheek approach to the macabre land of demons and angels that truly perfected the grid-based setup of classics like Ogre Battle and Final Fantasy Tactics. Plus, let's face it Disgaea superfans, the first game still has the best characters (and Prinny voice actors, d00d!); no offense to Adell and Mao, but Laharl, Flonne and Etna are where it's at.
It wasn't just the cute, dark world that NIS created though, it was the ease in which players could move their units around and make tag-team attacks. That you could cancel out of moves or stack multiple actions in quick succession lent itself far more to setting up ridiculous tag team strikes. The first game's then-ludicrous numbers have since been surpassed thanks to people that power-leveled through the game and influenced NIS to make its own adjustments to things, but for sheer amounts of depth, grind-ability, story and relatively newbie-friendly approach to executing actions within turns, nothing beats the original.
Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: RedOctane
Year Released: 2006
If Frequency and Amplitude were Harmonix's idea of rhythm action games in germination, Guitar Hero was the culmination of those ideas into something that resoundingly clinched the developer's spot as the new king of the genre, dethroning the mighty Konami in the process. The first Guitar Hero was addictive, sure, but the second added bass lines, true multiplayer battles and a track list that some feel may never be beaten.
In a word it ruled, and became nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. In dorm rooms and bars (to say nothing of inter-office throw-downs), it became the de facto standard for substance-fueled, clicky plastic instrument war, catalyzed by a generation of YouTubers throwing their accomplishments up onto the web for all to see. Future games may have improved on the ability to play against others and have certainly widened the track list, but Guitar Hero II was the perfect sequel at the perfect time; it capitalized on the success of the craze while adding a few new things here and there. It was and still is the prime example of instrument-driven videogames at the height of their boom. Sure, future games have enhanced the formula, but none of them will have the same kind of charm and freshness that Guitar Hero II had back in the day.
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Year Released: 2002
The first game scared the holy living piss out of anyone who actually played through it, but much of the debut's fear-inducing moments were born out of technological deficiencies. The sequel, on the other hand, was running on the PlayStation 2, and with a few years of R&D under its belt Konami managed to craft one hell of a fright-fest. It preserved most of the original game's what-might-be-out-there fear, but with major advances to the graphics and sound, the game was able to deliver a far more immersive, frightful and compelling storyline.
Leading man James had more at stake, more involvement with the town and far more demonic, powerful and, uh, pyramid-shaped skeletons in his closet. The soundtrack was incredible too, showcasing why some of Akira Yamaoka's songs are played at those fancy-pants new video game concerts out there. There are few iconic moments as strong and utterly terrifying as the sound of Pyramid Head dragging his massive sword around the dilapidated hospital -- and it's only made worse when you actually see him from afar just a bit later. When it comes to horror games, there's creepy, there's boo-I-just-scared-you and then there's the sinking, persistent, endless dread that comes over you as you try to make you way out of Silent Hill, and the second game absolutely nailed that kind of terror.
Developer: Clover Studio
Publisher: Capcom
Year Released: 2006
Hideki Kamiya will makes awesome games. Case in point: Okami, a game that owes plenty to the Zelda series in terms of how it progresses and the kind of ways it pushes players through an ever-increasing world. The thing is, Okami is most certainly its own beast. It stands on its own as one of Capcom's most innovative and enthralling games ever made.
Yes, that's right; we're throwing down the "ever" card. Okami's that good; it blends a perfect mix of find-item-to-progress with enough side quests and random encounters to make you think it's almost an RPG. Almost. Instead, it's that fantastic blend of action and RPG genres that makes for a compelling reason to move on -- as if the idea of being able to pause the game at any time and draw on the surface of the screen with a brush isn't enough to get you all hot and bothered. Oh, we know it is, we know. That's precisely why it's occupied a rather cushy spot on the Top 25.
Developer: SEGA AM-2
Publisher: SEGA
Year Released: 2003
Virtua Fighter 4 surprised the hell out of everyone. It wasn't that VF3 on the Dreamcast (or, if you're a purist, the arcade) was a bad game -- far from it. It was just that few expected SEGA to continue one of its most innovative and technical (both in terms of visuals and gameplay) fighters. Both Virtua Fighter 4 and VF4: Evolution didn't exactly blow up the sales charts, but they represented something sorely missing from the raft of fighters on the PlayStation 2 at the time: a tight, balanced, technical fighter that favored gamers that would practice and learn a character's moves and timings more than just a simple button masher.
If Virtua Fighter 4 was solid, Evolution elevated things even more. Yes, there were the requisite rebalances of characters due to feedback and how they did in tournaments, but there were also two new players added, which necessitated that everything be leveled again. It made an already great game even more compelling -- at least for those who were freaks about learning timing and damage -- and introduced a deeper single-player mode that made decking out your characters in ridiculously stupid outfits and throwing their AI ghosts (which you trained, of course) online that much more entertaining.
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Year Released: 2006
Final Fantasy XII was the last proper installment of the legendary series on the PS2 and it shows. A marvelous achievement in terms of visuals, Final Fantasy XII was an epic game and one of the best RPGs on Sony's esteemed console. Although many had qualms with the MMORPG-inspired battle system, Final Fantasy XII inhabited a remarkably stunning, articulated world filled with fascinating characters and incredible secrets. The game itself was massive in scope and required a serious investment to beat, especially when you consider the amount of side-quests to complete, which were virtually countless in number.
Regardless of your feelings on the aforementioned battle system, gamers can't deny the fact that Final Fantasy XII had some of the finest voice acting we've ever heard in videogames to date. This single element heavily contributes to Final Fantasy XII's charm and its worthiness on our list of the PS2's finest.
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Year Released: 2005
Synopsis: Resident Evil and the PlayStation have always gone hand in hand; the franchise got its start on the system, and the popular survival horror series has thrilled fans with its fast-paced action. Unfortunately, it's always been plagued with clunky controls that made the characters feel much more like unwieldy tanks than actual human beings and visuals that were somewhat old and unimpressive. Resident Evil 4 pushed the boundaries of the PS2, showing that not only could the survival action genre control like a dream, it could look phenomenal as it did so.
Leon's adventure to find the president's daughter took him up against chainsaw-wielding villagers and massive monsters. Plus, players had to quickly respond to key action moments with random button presses forcing them to stay on their toes, because they never knew if death was waiting for them around the next corner. With additional weapons, side missions and details included in the PS2 version that weren't in the Gamecube title, Resident Evil 4 was one of those games that action players loved to curl up with in a dark room and beg to be scared again and again.
The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time the Page for Picks #15-11...
Now, it's important to note that we went about choosing these titles not because they were fun when they came out or because they were influential to future games in some way. No, these picks are the best games to play today. Think of it as the desert island question - if you're stranded somewhere for the rest of your life with 25 PS2 games to play, these are the games that you'd want to bring. They're the most entertaining, engrossing and downright fun picks from the PlayStation 2's massive library.
So without further ado, let's get this list started.
25) GrimGrimoire
Developer: Vanillaware
Publisher: NIS
Year Released: 2007
Synopsis: When you describe GrimGrimoire, it almost sounds like one of those knockoff Harry Potter toys you'd find in your local supermarket's children section. Here, you'll play as a new student in a magic academy that's got a bunch of devious students and creepy teachers and is run by "Gammel Dore." However, once you get past those Hogwart-like nods, you'll find a real-time strategy game so engaging that you won't mind some of the upper-tier battles taking 90 minutes to best. Once the Archmage of Fear is released, you'll keep reliving the same five days as you use the skills you've learned -- such as the ability to breed dragons, command the dead, and use fairies effectively -- to engage in massive sprite battles on a 2D plane representing the halls of your school. Our bet is that somewhere between managing your mana and ordering your massive chimera into battle you'll forget that this isn't a current-gen game, that there are no Trophies and that there are no HD visuals. This is one of those games that just consumes your life.
24) We ? Katamari
Developer: Namco
Publisher: Namco
Year Released: 2005
Synopsis: Bah� bah-buh-bah-buh-bah-buh bah-bah-bah -- oh, hey, didn't see you start reading this. Sorry. Sure, anytime we think of We ? Katamari, we start thinking about how much fun it is to roll trees, buildings and random junk into a big sticky ball, but we mainly get lost thinking about that hypnotic soundtrack with its simple beats and distant voice. Sigh. Still, if you're looking for a summary of what makes We ? Katamari awesome, we can sum it up in one word: quirkiness. Yup, it's a term that gets thrown around quite a bit nowadays, but from its simple blocky visuals to its goofy story -- you're the prince and you're rolling up stuff on Earth to make your father, King of All Cosmos, happy -- We ? Katamari is all quirk and a game so goofy you just have to love it. You'll start with a tiny ball and run it into tiny objects. When the ball gets bigger, you move on to bigger objects. Eventually, you're going to have a massive ball eating up anything and everything in its path. It's awesome.
23) Jak 3
Developer: Naughty Dog Software
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2005
There can be no discussion of Ratchet & Clank without also mentioning the Jak and Daxter series. The twin developers of the games, Insomniac and Naughty Dog, respectively, had long enjoyed career parallels, both rising to fame as Sony-focused development houses before Naughty Dog was eventually acquired by Sony. Naughty Dog's first Jak game was, true to form, a fantastic platformer, with tight controls, some great characters and a massive world to explore.
The sequel bit the style a bit too hard off the GTA games and tried to go open world -- perhaps too ambitious for the development timeline. Jak 3, however, mixed elements of both games; Jak talked, but he wasn't a whiny, brooding emo figure like in the second game (well, not as much), but weapons were brought back to mix more with the platforming of the first game. The scale of the world and the storyline were both widened and everything was brought more or less to a close. It represents the height of Naughty Dog's considerable production values on the PS2 and like our Ratchet pick, is not to be missed.
22) Disgaea: Hour of Darkness
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software
Publisher: Atlus
Year Released: 2003
Strategy role-playing games have been around for decades now, but it was Nippon Ichi Software's tongue-in-cheek approach to the macabre land of demons and angels that truly perfected the grid-based setup of classics like Ogre Battle and Final Fantasy Tactics. Plus, let's face it Disgaea superfans, the first game still has the best characters (and Prinny voice actors, d00d!); no offense to Adell and Mao, but Laharl, Flonne and Etna are where it's at.
It wasn't just the cute, dark world that NIS created though, it was the ease in which players could move their units around and make tag-team attacks. That you could cancel out of moves or stack multiple actions in quick succession lent itself far more to setting up ridiculous tag team strikes. The first game's then-ludicrous numbers have since been surpassed thanks to people that power-leveled through the game and influenced NIS to make its own adjustments to things, but for sheer amounts of depth, grind-ability, story and relatively newbie-friendly approach to executing actions within turns, nothing beats the original.
21) Guitar Hero II
Developer: Harmonix
Publisher: RedOctane
Year Released: 2006
If Frequency and Amplitude were Harmonix's idea of rhythm action games in germination, Guitar Hero was the culmination of those ideas into something that resoundingly clinched the developer's spot as the new king of the genre, dethroning the mighty Konami in the process. The first Guitar Hero was addictive, sure, but the second added bass lines, true multiplayer battles and a track list that some feel may never be beaten.
In a word it ruled, and became nothing short of a cultural phenomenon. In dorm rooms and bars (to say nothing of inter-office throw-downs), it became the de facto standard for substance-fueled, clicky plastic instrument war, catalyzed by a generation of YouTubers throwing their accomplishments up onto the web for all to see. Future games may have improved on the ability to play against others and have certainly widened the track list, but Guitar Hero II was the perfect sequel at the perfect time; it capitalized on the success of the craze while adding a few new things here and there. It was and still is the prime example of instrument-driven videogames at the height of their boom. Sure, future games have enhanced the formula, but none of them will have the same kind of charm and freshness that Guitar Hero II had back in the day.
20) Silent Hill 2 (Greatest Hits Edition)
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Year Released: 2002
The first game scared the holy living piss out of anyone who actually played through it, but much of the debut's fear-inducing moments were born out of technological deficiencies. The sequel, on the other hand, was running on the PlayStation 2, and with a few years of R&D under its belt Konami managed to craft one hell of a fright-fest. It preserved most of the original game's what-might-be-out-there fear, but with major advances to the graphics and sound, the game was able to deliver a far more immersive, frightful and compelling storyline.
Leading man James had more at stake, more involvement with the town and far more demonic, powerful and, uh, pyramid-shaped skeletons in his closet. The soundtrack was incredible too, showcasing why some of Akira Yamaoka's songs are played at those fancy-pants new video game concerts out there. There are few iconic moments as strong and utterly terrifying as the sound of Pyramid Head dragging his massive sword around the dilapidated hospital -- and it's only made worse when you actually see him from afar just a bit later. When it comes to horror games, there's creepy, there's boo-I-just-scared-you and then there's the sinking, persistent, endless dread that comes over you as you try to make you way out of Silent Hill, and the second game absolutely nailed that kind of terror.
19) Okami
Developer: Clover Studio
Publisher: Capcom
Year Released: 2006
Hideki Kamiya will makes awesome games. Case in point: Okami, a game that owes plenty to the Zelda series in terms of how it progresses and the kind of ways it pushes players through an ever-increasing world. The thing is, Okami is most certainly its own beast. It stands on its own as one of Capcom's most innovative and enthralling games ever made.
Yes, that's right; we're throwing down the "ever" card. Okami's that good; it blends a perfect mix of find-item-to-progress with enough side quests and random encounters to make you think it's almost an RPG. Almost. Instead, it's that fantastic blend of action and RPG genres that makes for a compelling reason to move on -- as if the idea of being able to pause the game at any time and draw on the surface of the screen with a brush isn't enough to get you all hot and bothered. Oh, we know it is, we know. That's precisely why it's occupied a rather cushy spot on the Top 25.
18) Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
Developer: SEGA AM-2
Publisher: SEGA
Year Released: 2003
Virtua Fighter 4 surprised the hell out of everyone. It wasn't that VF3 on the Dreamcast (or, if you're a purist, the arcade) was a bad game -- far from it. It was just that few expected SEGA to continue one of its most innovative and technical (both in terms of visuals and gameplay) fighters. Both Virtua Fighter 4 and VF4: Evolution didn't exactly blow up the sales charts, but they represented something sorely missing from the raft of fighters on the PlayStation 2 at the time: a tight, balanced, technical fighter that favored gamers that would practice and learn a character's moves and timings more than just a simple button masher.
If Virtua Fighter 4 was solid, Evolution elevated things even more. Yes, there were the requisite rebalances of characters due to feedback and how they did in tournaments, but there were also two new players added, which necessitated that everything be leveled again. It made an already great game even more compelling -- at least for those who were freaks about learning timing and damage -- and introduced a deeper single-player mode that made decking out your characters in ridiculously stupid outfits and throwing their AI ghosts (which you trained, of course) online that much more entertaining.
17) Final Fantasy XII
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Year Released: 2006
Final Fantasy XII was the last proper installment of the legendary series on the PS2 and it shows. A marvelous achievement in terms of visuals, Final Fantasy XII was an epic game and one of the best RPGs on Sony's esteemed console. Although many had qualms with the MMORPG-inspired battle system, Final Fantasy XII inhabited a remarkably stunning, articulated world filled with fascinating characters and incredible secrets. The game itself was massive in scope and required a serious investment to beat, especially when you consider the amount of side-quests to complete, which were virtually countless in number.
Regardless of your feelings on the aforementioned battle system, gamers can't deny the fact that Final Fantasy XII had some of the finest voice acting we've ever heard in videogames to date. This single element heavily contributes to Final Fantasy XII's charm and its worthiness on our list of the PS2's finest.
16) Resident Evil 4
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Year Released: 2005
Synopsis: Resident Evil and the PlayStation have always gone hand in hand; the franchise got its start on the system, and the popular survival horror series has thrilled fans with its fast-paced action. Unfortunately, it's always been plagued with clunky controls that made the characters feel much more like unwieldy tanks than actual human beings and visuals that were somewhat old and unimpressive. Resident Evil 4 pushed the boundaries of the PS2, showing that not only could the survival action genre control like a dream, it could look phenomenal as it did so.
Leon's adventure to find the president's daughter took him up against chainsaw-wielding villagers and massive monsters. Plus, players had to quickly respond to key action moments with random button presses forcing them to stay on their toes, because they never knew if death was waiting for them around the next corner. With additional weapons, side missions and details included in the PS2 version that weren't in the Gamecube title, Resident Evil 4 was one of those games that action players loved to curl up with in a dark room and beg to be scared again and again.
The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time the Page for Picks #15-11...
15) Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 FES
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Year Released: 2008
Synopsis: Persona 3 is, arguably, the ultimate game for JRPG fanatics. It appeals to the Japan-obsessed gamer in every way, from its setting and style to its randomized dungeon-crawling. The game was already a phenomenal hit when it was first released on the PS2, but publisher Atlus saw fit to launch Persona 3 FES several months later, which adds an almost obscene amount of content to the already terribly impressive RPG.
Persona 3 combines the satisfying charm of dating-sim elements (and general high school life) with a fetchingly dark world and creature collecting. So not only do players nurture relationships between the main character and his fellow students, but players also collect various Personas in order to wage war against the devilish forces at work in the world. If you're a fan of the Persona franchise or JRPG's in general, Persona 3 is not to be missed.
14) Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Developer: Level-5
Publisher: Square Enix
Year Released: 2005
Synopsis: Square Enix's massive role-player is so big, it'll probably take you 30 hours just to get off the first continent -- and there's plenty more than that (not to mention a couple of islands). Yes, friends, Dragon Quest VIII was THE RPG event of 2005 and it seems to have gotten better with age. This is for good reason, too: few games in the genre come close to it in terms of size, personality, fun, and replayability. The amazing thing is, it doesn't do anything we haven't seen before... it just does everything so well, that its charm cannot be denied.
If we were to list the reasons that Dragon Quest VIII accomplishes such a feat, we'd be here all day, but to name just a few, artist Akira Toriyama has really outdone himself with his creature and hero designs; the monster arena mini-quest is almost a game in itself; the built-in casino segments are addictive fun; and the soundtrack, graphics, and voice-acting tell one heck of an entertaining story. Need more reasons? Just go out and buy it... we're positive that you'll find a couple dozen motives of your own.
13) ICO
Developer: SCEI
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2001
Synopsis: You've probably heard the hackneyed story a million times - a horned boy is born every generation and sacrificed to keep evil spirits away, yadda, yadda, yadda - but somehow Ico, a 2001 release from Sony, managed to keep the age-old yarn fresh.
Players take up arms as a young boy with horns who decides he isn't down with the whole sacrifice thing. On a journey to keep yourself alive as shadow beasts bear down on you, players roam a rich countryside and join an imprisoned princess for some mind-bending puzzles and gorgeous gameplay.
Although many felt the game was a tad too short, visuals, sound and puzzle design put that concern on the backburner and made this little fable one of the PlayStation 2's best. There's something infectious about this tiny tall tale.
12) Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Developer: Insomniac Games
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2004
Though Insomniac Games hit pay dirt instantly with the first Ratchet & Clank game, it wasn't until all the concepts of a platformer, a weapons-based shooter and the lightest of RPG elements that let all those weapons and health level-ups come to a head that the series really became a must-have. Make no mistake; if you own only one of the Ratchet games on the PS2, make sure it's Up Your Arsenal. The sequel, Deadlocked, lost much of the charm of the first three games, and earlier efforts just didn't gel as completely as Up Your Arsenal, nor did they sport its online modes.
The game's length, storyline, weapon variety, different modes and ability to re-play the story through a second time were all a hoot. As if that weren't enough, you could unlock a neat little peek behind the scenes of the game's underlying tech in the Insomniac Museum (a returning feature from the previous game).
11) Gran Turismo 4
Developer: Polyphony Digital
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2005
Synopsis: The Gran Turismo franchise has long been the pinnacle of racing simulation, and Gran Turismo 4 is the best of the series. With well over 700 cars in its lineup, Polyphony's driving simulator has an absolutely monstrous vehicle lineup that spans over a century of classic and even experimental designs. The series' career progression was expanded in the fourth release with some fantastic challenge races, and its presentation practically smelled like a showroom.
When coupled with a proper force feedback-enabled steering wheel, Gran Turismo 4 really put players, or should we say drivers, behind the wheel of some of the best and most well-known cars ever released. Driving simulations simply don't get better or certainly bigger than Gran Turismo 4, so it easily puts up a fantastic qualifying time to nail a place in our starting grid.
The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time the Page for Picks #10-6...
10) Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening Special Edition
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Year Released: 2006
Synopsis: Picking a reason why Devil May Cry 3 is a frickin' awesome game is kind of like picking a single reason why you like pizza. Maybe it's good cheese, a tasty sauce or crispy crust that draws you to a good pie, but it's the sum of the parts that keeps you coming back.
Devil May Cry 3 is like a great pizza - a pizza comprised of 32 missions, five difficulties, tons of monsters and multiple weapons.
Following Dante, a half-man half-demon who just can't seem to stay out of trouble, Devil May Cry 3 puts gamers through one of the most challenging games PS2 owners ever popped a memory card in for as the hero blasts bad guys, solves puzzles and tries to meet up with his brother.
Armed with his guns and sword - and four styles of play - Dante breaks out dozens of attack combinations on his missions and leaves you in that funky-place between challenged and frustrated.
9) Kingdom Hearts
Developer: SquareSoft
Publisher: SquareSoft
Year Released: 2002
Synopsis: The premise behind the game was completely absurd: Disney cartoon characters like Mickey Mouse thrown in with Square Enix characters to make a new kind of action RPG. However, as strange as it sounds, these two dissimilar franchises came together incredibly well.
Sora's massive adventure to find his friends Kairi and Riku took him through numerous Disney inspired worlds, such as Wonderland and Olympus. Along the way, he befriended famous characters like Aladdin and Ariel, fought alongside Donald Duck and Goofy, and captured the hearts of various RPG fans. There seemed to be something for everyone, including secret endings and bosses, fighting tournaments and hidden collectables. Even if you hated Disney or Square Enix titles, you couldn't help but be impressed by the massive impact this title had on the PS2, which spawned a popular sequel and mid-franchise card battling game.
8) Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Developer: Naughty Dog Software
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2001
Synopsis: While there's a massive fault line that gamers gather 'round to holler and scream at each other about when it comes to naming the great platformers of our era (or any era for that matter), Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is among the elite. It represents a stellar culmination of 3D platforming elements, many of which are have been used before, and yet it still feels fresh and new even after all these years. The words "endearing" and "likeable" don't even begin to do it justice.
Besides, even if Jak hadn't spawned two successful sequels and a couple of cool offshoots, Naughty Dog's excellent PS2 rookie would still have made our list because it warmed our hearts, and created a game that was raucous, subtle, beautifully animated, and never made us feel as if we were collecting things... just how a platformer should be.
7) God of War
Developer: SCE Studios Santa Monica
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2005
Synopsis: Though the PlayStation 2 has seen a rather incredible number of extremely high quality titles in its six-plus year lifespan, no game has better shown off what the system is capable of than God of War. We're not just talking visuals here, either -- the control mechanics are virtually perfect, the storytelling techniques are fantastic and the scope of the game is downright enormous.
But while God of War's epic feel makes it stand out, it's the subtle things therein that allow it to sit so high on our list. Nearly every facet of the game's design is perfect, from the pacing to the difficulty to the way its tale is wrapped with Greek mythology. Very few PS2 games can compare to the epic, well-designed beauty of God of War, which is why it deserves to sit comfortable on our list of the best PS2 games around.
6) Burnout 3: Takedown
Developer: Criterion Software
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Year Released: 2004
Synopsis: Criterion Games' racing series really hit its mark with Burnout 3: Takedown, providing perhaps the most white-knuckled driving experience to ever hit a gaming console. The series' perfect control mechanics were dialed in with this release, giving gamers perfect control of a vehicle at 220mph+ and allowing them to barrel down highways and side streets so fast that you almost need otherworldly abilities to stay calm. When mistakes were made, Hollywood-derived crashes became the result.
Burnout 3: Takedown's fantastic visuals allowed for some of the most devastating crashes we've ever seen, and the result is that the game managed to reward the player with plenty of eye candy when they made a mistake. Add in some great online play, the ability to take out other cars, the fan-favorite Crash mode and you have the total package. Simply put, we're not sure how arcade racing will ever get any better than Burnout 3: Takedown.
The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time the Page for Picks #5-1...
5) Final Fantasy X
Developer: SquareSoft
Publisher: Square Electronic Arts
Year Released: 2001
Synopsis: The PS2's first blockbuster RPG is still one of its best. Final Fantasy X, as we could only expect from Square, was an utterly gorgeous looking game, with stunning landscapes, a wild array of color and artistic license, and some incredibly attractive-looking character and monster designs. Still, these aspects have become the status quo for the FF series. But this time, we got voice-acting for the first time in the series, and it didn't suck!
We got a huge modification/upgrade/alteration to the battle system and the supporting cast delivered a slew of cool, goody accents. Best of all, the storyline and its ending are among the best of any game in any genre of the last generation. All in all, Final Fantasy X pretty much delivered flawlessly on the PS2, and we loved every minute of it.
4) Shadow of the Colossus
Developer: SCE Studios Japan
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2005
Synopsis: Shadow of the Colossus has what is perhaps the most risky on-paper design we've ever seen. With only 16 enemies to fight in the game and an enormous world that is practically devoid of any actual tasks to perform, it doesn't sound like the making of one of the best adventure games ever released.
But Shadow's beauty lies in these empty spaces. It was designed much like a fairytale -- you're left to fill in the gaps with your own ideas of how things came to be, what the reason for the events are and so forth. The battles and events that are there are some of the best we've ever seen, with characters and creatures that look like they're straight out of a dream. Shadow of the Colossus is touching, mysterious, beautiful, desolate and even tragic, and these elements make it one of the most original and awe-inspiring games all of time.
3) Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
Developer: Kojima Productions
Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment
Year Released: 2006
Synopsis: Very few game characters can hold a candle to Snake from the Metal Gear franchise when it comes to outright action. However, when it came to telling the origin of the franchise, 2004's Snake Eater was missing a couple of solid elements.
Subsistence provided the definitive exploration of Snake's roots thanks to the sheer volume of changes made to the title. Six new difficulty levels were included. A brand new camera perspective was added to improve gameplay, along with loads of additional camouflage. A demo theater played cutscenes and let you change the movies at will. Games such as Snake vs. Monkey with new levels, as well as the original Metal Gear and Metal Gear 2 on disc made it into the game. A joke theater with loads of video comedy, and a massive online mode rounded out the game, and for players who owned the special edition, a three hour movie comprised of every cutscene from Snake Eater. This wasn't a patch, a port or a simple expansion; Subsistence was a full re-imagining of the Snake Eater experience.
2) God of War II
Developer: SCE Studios Santa Monica
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Year Released: 2007
Synopsis: The PlayStation 2 certainly has no shortage of action games, and when it comes to pure, unadulterated action, no one does it better than Kratos. While the franchise may be known best for its outright and over-the-top violence, Sony Santa Monica crafted a tale with the sequel that was bigger, better, more refined and, if you can believe it, even more epic than the original, and that was no short order by any stretch of the imagination.
The Greek mythology-inspired tale was told with deft hands, the sites were something out of a book of paintings and the combat was essentially perfect. Oh, and let's not forget the boss battles, which still remain as some of the best we've ever seen. Yes, both the original and its sequel rank high amongst our list, but if you've played them, there's no doubt as to why. It simply does not get much better than this.
1) Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Developer: Rockstar North
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Year Released: 2004
Synopsis: Rockstar's enormous follow-up to its smash-hit GTA series, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, was one of the most evolved sequels we've ever seen. The revamped and more responsive gameplay mechanics, the brand new vehicle physics, a ton of upgradeable skills, more than 100 different missions, and some of the best production values around proved that through and through.
But that isn't the only reason it made our top slot. Once you factor in the excellent storyline, the open-ended gameplay structure, and even two-person multiplayer elements, this one became a no-brainer. If you're looking for the most fun and flat-out best PlayStation 2 game ever created, GTA: San Andreas delivers the goods as no other game offers so much variety and ways to make it your own than Rockstar North's creation.
Source for This Articles and Images from: http://ps2.ign.com/articles/772/772296p1.html
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