TOKYO: The PlayStation 2 turned 15 earlier this week, and with a staggering 155 million units sold, Sony’s record-breaking video game console is definitely one worth celebrating.
To mark this milestone event, the Digital Spy team have been rummaging through their old PS2 collections to bring you a selection of their favourite games.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty – Tom Mansell, Video Producer
No list of PlayStation 2 games would be complete without an appearance by Metal Gear, but which one to choose? In some ways the follow-up, Snake Eater, was the more complete game, but there was something special about Sons of Liberty. The OK Computer to Metal Gear Solid’s The Bends, it was surprising and brilliant in ways you didn’t see coming.
Full of classic Metal Gear intrigue and misdirection, it features some of the series’ most memorable settings and is a masterpiece of game design. The graphics blew everyone’s socks off (in 2001) and established new benchmarks for cinematic storytelling in video games.
Speaking of the story – it got pretty bonkers towards the end and the naive Raiden was an unpopular lead compared to the battle-hardened Snake, but it’s the superb design, graphics and gameplay that make it a classic.
Released less than two years into the PlayStation 2’s life, it led the way in showing what the console was capable of and helped establish it as the juggernaut it would become.
God of War 2 – Mark Langshaw, Gaming/Tech Reporter
God of War 2 is a brutal masterpiece and a sequel that got everything right, ironing out the minor flaws of its predecessor while retaining its blockbuster quality, complete with gratifying combat and an engaging story.
Few games have blended intense action and storytelling to such great effect, bringing the Greek myths to life before butchering them in the most gruesome ways imaginable.
Kratos’s second outing was an apt swan song for the PlayStation 2 as it pushed the hardware to its very limits and still serves as a reminder of what it was capable of.
Final Fantasy XII – Matthew Reynolds, Gaming Editor
The PS2’s best Final Fantasy game is unlike any other Final Fantasy game ever made. Inspired by the franchise’s move into online multiplayer games, Final Fantasy XII has real-time, single character-controlled combat that is more tactical than others in the series, thanks to the ability to set up commands for your party to trigger actions in specific circumstances, whether it’s covering your back when low on health or auto-casting haste at the start of an encounter.
It’s very different to other mainline Final Fantasy games in other areas, too, which should be to its detriment – it lacks the same detail in character development or memorable music, for example – but when its combat is such a joy to tinker with, and it’s addictive monster hunting set-up makes such good use of its vast interconnected world, it doesn’t really matter. This is easily the PS2’s finest role-playing game, and it makes its hundred-hour runtime go by in a blink of an eye.
Guitar Hero – Liam Martin, Gaming Reporter
From Gitaroo Man to Frequency, the PS2 was home to many a great rhythm action game, but it wasn’t until Guitar Hero came along in 2005 that the genre would achieve mainstream success, becoming an overnight sensation in the mid-noughties.
Guitar Hero let its players live out their Rockstar fantasies, whether that was thrashing along to ‘Ace of Spades’ or caressing the plastic replica guitar to the chorus of ‘Smoke on the Water’.
If you gave up those guitar lessons after failing to master the A chord, then this was as close to rock superstardom as you were ever going to get, and that was fine by me.
Tekken 5 – Morgan Jeffery, TV Editor
Cards on the table – I’ve never been an avid gamer. Back in the mid ’00s, simple but engaging competitive fighting games were about my level and Tekken 5 was (and remains) as fine an example of the genre as you’re likely to find.
Blending the fast, frenetic Gameplay of the earlier Tekken games with advanced graphics, this classic might’ve lacked the fanciful frills of its Namco stable mate, the Soul series, but, for my money, Tekken’s stripped-back style always made for a more satisfying and exhilarating experience.
Each of the three Tekken games released on the PlayStation 2 had their merits – Tekken Tag Tournament boasted the insanely addictive mini game Tekken Bowl, while Tekken 4 featured the most engaging version of beat-em-up sidegame Tekken Force.
But the home edition of Tekken 5 – in addition to featuring aesthetic advancements and improvements in Gameplay – had the best bonus of all: the arcade versions of Tekken, Tekken 2 and Tekken 3.
Released in 2005, it was a critical and commercial success and – on a more personal note – ate up hours upon hours of my time. I don’t regret a single second.
Devil May Cry 3 – Liam Martin, Gaming Reporter
After a disappointing second outing, Devil May Cry returned to form with a third instalment that was blessed with a deep combat system, spectacular cut scenes and punishing Gameplay.
While the game’s rock-hard difficulty would prove off-putting to some, it made every victory against those screen-filling bosses all the sweeter. In fact, until Dark Souls came along, I can’t think of any game that made my palms sweat, heart pound and hands tremble as much as this one.
Shadow of the Colossus – Hugh Armitage, Commercial Editor
While many an action role-playing game offered the promise of a genuinely expansive sandbox universe, nothing quite delivered it like Shadow of the Colossus. Like the studio’s (also excellent) previous game Ico, Colossus offered a seemingly simple but subtly absorbing storyline and bags of atmosphere.
Whether you were puzzling out how not to get stomped by the colossi or spending hours hunting lizards and fruit just because you could, Shadow of the Colossus offered an entire world to get lost in.
God Hand – Liam Martin, Gaming Reporter
OK, so the visuals were ropey, the camera was useless and the script was ridiculous, but that didn’t stop God Hand from being one of the most unique and entertaining games to be released on the PS2.
The customisable combo system was excellent (I spent hours tweaking my repertoire), the finishers were great (the Ball Buster always makes me chuckle) and the bosses – who ranged from rotund, cigar-chomping demons to homicidal Power Rangers – were some of the most insane I’ve ever encountered.
Not since the glory days of Streets of Rage and Final Fight has the roaming beat-em-up genre been this good.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – Simon Reynolds, Movies Editor
Forget your gigantic, sprawling open world Grand Theft Autos, I preferred the series when it was contained, manageable and wasn’t exhausting when it came to exploring the map. 2002’s Vice City was my PS2 highlight, putting the player in the shoes of hitman Tommy Vercetti as he climbed the Miami crime ladder.
This game? Cool. As. Eff. A lean and lethal combo of Miami Vice, Scarface and Scorsese, it had a killer ’80s soundtrack (Blondie, Mötley Crüe, Roxy Music) and a voice cast that included Ray Liotta, Dennis Hopper and William Fichtner. Vice City is also the only game on this round robin that features Danny Dyer.
