Today (4 March 2020) is the twentieth anniversary of the Sony PlayStation 2 (PS2). The PS2 sold over 158 million units worldwide up to January 2013, when it was superseded by PS3. Its library contains over 1850 games. These games are considered to be some of the best of the era – or any era, come to that. They include games which became classics, and others that kicked off franchises which are still running today, such as Red Dead, Medal of Honor, and Max Payne.
When discussing the PS2, most gamers talk about it with a sense of nostalgia, remembering all the good times that this console brought to our childhood. Picture this: the year is 2005, you just got back from school, Mom is preparing dinner (sexism alert!), and you jump on Need for Speed Underground 2 with the song ‘Riders on the Storm’ playing in the background as you press Start. Not a care in the world! The only thing that matters now, is how you are going to customise your car to make you the fastest racer out there in this on screen paradise.
There is no doubt that the PS2 was an amazing console but let’s talk about what made it the best console of its time: the games. Here are, in my judgement (based on years of gaming), the Top 10 Games that made the PS2 such a much-loved console.
Top 10 PS2 Games
- Grand Theft Auto San Andreas (GTA SA)
This is the number one game, on everyone’s PS2 playlist. Have you ever wondered, how it would be to have the freedom to do whatever you want, consequence-free? Well look no further! This game lets you do anything you like. The game is set in San Andreas a fictional version of California and Nevada mixed together. You play as Carl “CJ” Johnson, an ex-gangbanger who has returned to San Andreas after the murder of his mother. CJ finds his friends and family, members of the Grove Street Gang, in a bad state, forcing him to return to the lifestyle he thought he had left behind.
You can customise CJ however you want: clothes, tattoos, haircuts, body type and even his fighting style. You can drive cars, bikes, planes and even tanks. You can buy properties, work multiple jobs, shoot your neighbour in the face, steal his car and crash it into a police officer. And last but not least, gamble your money away in a casino. These are just some of the millions of things that this game allows you to do!
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- Need for Speed Underground 2 (NFS U2)
This is the game that made every gamer feel like a true street racer. There is nothing more satisfying than buying a crappy old Renault Clio and customising it into the fastest machine in the multiverse. There are plenty of racing games out there but none of them are as iconic as NFS U2. It perfectly captured the feeling of underground street racing.
There are seven racing modes to choose from: circuit, sprint, drag, drift, street x, underground racing league, and outrun. Let’s not forget it also featured some of the best soundtracks of the decade. There was something for everyone in NFS U2.
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- Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater (MGS3)
There is only one word that can describe MGS3 and that is masterpiece! We all have at some point in our life had the dream of being a badass spy on a mission to save the world. This is what MGS3 gives you. It is 1964, the Cold War is at its peak and your former master has defected to the Soviet Union, taking two nuclear shells with him. You play legendary agent “Snake” with a mission to infiltrate the Soviet Union, kill the defector, and rescue a rocket scientist who wants to defect to the USA.
As Snake, you can decide how to approach your mission. Go in quietly, crawl through tall grass, hold up a guard and interrogate him, for example. Now you know about the hole in the fence, you can infiltrate the enemy base. Or you can go loud, shoot the guard, break into the armoury, grab the biggest gun and mow down everyone on sight. After all, nobody will notice if there is no one to notice. It is all up to you. There is drama, love, betrayal, action and plenty of amazing scenes to enjoy.
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- God of War (GoW)
If you are a fan of Greek mythology, then GoW is what you were looking for. Gods, adventure, mythological beasts, gruesome action and a hero who is basically a force of nature himself. You play as Kratos the Ghost of Sparta, a demi-god who was tricked by the God of War, Ares, into killing your own family. There is no sugar-coating it; this is a revenge story. GoW gives you a real sense of being a Greek hero. You are powerful and you have nothing to lose. You have one goal, and nothing will stop you.
GoW has plenty of mythological characters that you will meet along the way like Zeus, Athena, Medusa and much more. As a hack-slash game there are plenty of skills and powers to be upgraded to make you feel as powerful as a real god.
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- Killzone (KZ)
This was the game that made groups of friends run back from school and start killing each other – on screen. What sets KZ apart from all the others is its setting. It’s the year 2347, and the human race is at war with another race called helghast. Both humans and helghast are fighting over the planet of Vekta. The helghast are well equipped, well trained, and they have no mercy.
You and your squad have to fight the war and ensure the victory of the humans over the helghast. The game offers all the things that players love about the ‘first person shooter’ genre and more. There are plenty of game modes which include good old split screen (RIP). Futuristic Guns and shooting Space Nazis: what is there not to love?
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- Silent Hill 2 (SH2)
If you could describe SH2 to anyone, it would be “Horror and what the hell is that thing?!” SH2 is a perfect combination of horror and the surreal. This game was created by the Japanese gaming company Konami. As we all know if there is something the Japanese know how to produce, it is horror movies. Dark corridors, check; creepy music, check; nightmarish creatures that will haunt your dreams forever, triple check.
You play James Sunderland, who decided to come to the town of Silent Hill after receiving a letter from his wife who died three years before. This game has good storytelling and very poetic shots. If horror is what you are looking for, SH2 is not going to disappoint you. Warning! This game is not for the faint-hearted.
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- Devil May Cry 3 (DMC3)
To be a demon hunter you only need a cool look, badass weapons, an awesome rock and roll soundtrack for whenever you slay demons, and for demons to be real. Or, you could just play DMC3. This game is dark, cool and sexy. Play as Dante, the legendary demon hunter. Being half human, half demon, he has all the strengths of a demon combined with all the style and cockiness of a human.
This game provides all the endorphins you need. It has fast-pass gameplay, plenty of stylish weapons, cool characters and enemies, badass cutscenes, and an awesome soundtrack that kicks in when you are in action. Your brain will just want it more and more.
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- Resident Evil 4 (RE4)
RE is among the best-known franchises in gaming. There is an expression “if it isn’t broke, then don’t fix it”. RE4 look at that and said “hold my beer”. This game took everything you loved from the original trilogy and turned it up into the next gear. In the process, this game revolutionised action horror games. There is a creepy old village run by a cult, there are infected villagers who want to kill you by any means necessary, and there are limited resources to fight back with. Sounds like a you kind of problem! You need to be strategic, aggressive and count your shoots, otherwise this game is not for you. With a story filled with action, twists and turns, you will never feel bored playing RE4. Once you finish this brilliant game, it gives two new modes for you to play. All for FREE! Nowadays, you would have to pay for those extra modes.
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- Black
Today you could say that Black is just another generic first person shooter. But for its time, this was one of the most impressive shooters out there. It pushed the PS2 to its limits. It had graphics that would not have looked out of place on a PS3 game, and it was also one of the first games to implement a destructible environment.
The game puts you in charge of CIA black ops Sergeant Jack Kellar, leading a covert mission into Russia. Fast paced and realistic for a PS2 game, if you ever wanted to feel like Rambo and shoot terrorists to save the Free World, Black is the game for you.
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- Tekken 5
Tekken is one of the best fighting games of its generation. If you are into fighting games but you have never played Tekken 5, then what are you doing with your life? It offers plenty of colourful characters (32 in total) and awesome fighting styles. Each character comes with their own cinematic ending, but you have to win the tournament to see it. Even though it was designed for the PS2 console, Tekken 5 could hold its own against most fighting games of today.
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