Throws you back down memory lane
From PS2 exclusives like Okami and Shadow of the Colossus to bestsellers like Final Fantasy X and GTA: Vice City, when it comes to picking the best PlayStation 2 games, there’s no shortage of games to choose from. It’s true – Sony’s second console has a huge library of games and a history behind them.
Released in the US on October 26, 2000 and almost a month later in Europe and Australia, the PS2 arrived at the start of the new millennium. Like many other consoles released at the time (Nintendo Game cube, Sega Dreamcast, and the original Xbox), it became an important part of video game history, revolutionizing the way gaming was done, bringing it online, and making online gaming much more accessible to a wider audience.
The PS2 was a revolutionary console, both in terms of its hardware and its huge library of games. It spawned franchises that continue today and preserved the classics for future generations to enjoy. Having been around for about 12 years and with a catalog of almost 2,000 games, it has dozens and dozens of games that are still replayable classics.
1. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
While Rockstar has always found bold new ways to raise the bar on open world, 2004’s GTA: San Andreas was a leap forward that we’ve never seen before. The huge, bustling state of San Andreas, with three cities based on Los Angeles, San Francisco and Las Vegas, became the perfect playground for players, where CJ and his associates experienced gangland shootouts, high-speed police chases and crazy, large-scale robberies on foot or in dozens of different vehicles. In San Andreas, for the first time in the series, elements of role-playing and survival appeared, for example, you can track what CJ ate or how much he trained, and adjust your abilities accordingly. While all the GTA games are classics in their own right, San Andreas is one of the strongest, most memorable open-world games ever, and the pinnacle of the PlayStation 2 gaming experience.
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid 3 took a step back from the high-tech and conceptual structure of MGS2, and in doing so gave us what is still considered the best installment of the franchise to date. Later Subsistence re-releases included further mechanical upgrades such as a free-wheeling third-person camera, but MGS3’s strongest element is its story: a complex story of honor and duty, of love and patriotism that not only works as a standalone experience, but also sets and recontextualizes every other game in the series.
3. Shadow of the Colossus
More like a puzzle hidden within the shell of a giant boss fight, Shadow of the Colossus kept you hooked long after the credits rolled. Subtly turning a heroic tale of slaying giant monsters into a melancholy love affair, it’s an impressive and unforgettable experience unlike anything we’ve played before. Shadow of the Colossus’ bleak world, intricate puzzles, understated storytelling, dynamic music, and of course, cool giant colossus still hold up, even today.
4. Resident Evil 4
Resident Evil 4 was a great shake-up for the series, ditching the more traditional haunted house antics that come crashing down at night in favor of a shooting game set in the sprawling Spanish countryside. A greater emphasis on action didn’t dull the horror either. Resident Evil 4 was still a deeply unsettling experience thanks to its memorable monsters – Los Illuminados, Regenerators and the man with the chainsaw – and brought a strong sense of the “weird” that turned the phrase “what are you buying?” on the cult Now, with the release of the Resident Evil 4 remake, this game is as popular as ever.
5. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Grand Theft Auto 3 may have revolutionized the open-world action genre with its 3D third-person perspective, but it was the 2002 sequel that took the concept and perfected it. GTA: Vice City improved the game in almost every possible way. It featured a story that was both compelling storytelling and a masterful satire of all the inspirations of the 80s era, featured a whole host of memorable characters voiced by Hollywood pros including Ray Liotta, Dennis Hopper and Burt Reynolds, improved almost every aspect of mechanics and gameplay, and the Vice City soundtrack is still one of the best in video game history. Even now, after being ported to PC, PDA and mobile platforms, Vice City remains not only one of the best PS2 games, but one of the best games of all time.