The Playstation 2 was the first disc-based system I ever owned. I spent a summer umpiring baseball games at my local little league, saving up every penny to get a PS2. I was greatly intrigued by the system when I first played it-my friend rented one from Blockbuster along with, bizarrely, Tekken 3 (a PS1 game). But the thing that appealed to me the very most about the PS2 was its then revolutionary idea of being reverse-compatible, along with the presence of a DVD player. I loved playing my friend's Playstation at his house, but by the time I had enough money for a system, I figured that I would get the PS2 and kill two birds with one stone. The first game I bought for the system was Marvel v. Capcom, another PS1 game, which also seems a bit silly at the time, but I loved playing the game in the arcades, and it wasn't quite as pricey at Wal-Mart as some of the PS2 games. I still do not, and never have, owned a PS1, and contentedly played my PS1 games, which has a library I probably prefer to the PS2, on the PS2 until I got my PS3, where I now play them. But this beast has an extremely fond place in my heart as a console, and it does have plenty of excellent titles I've thoroughly loved, along with a big backlog of games I haven't yet experienced, so sorry if your favorite is left out! The crazy thing about this system is that I've beaten almost all of the PS2 games I own, and have had them beaten for years, which means I've actually reviewed very few of them for this blog, save for one that appears prominently in this list. Below are some caveats and honorable mentions:
I've never had a chance to play:
Shadow of the Colossus
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
Metal Gear Solid 2 & Metal Gear Solid 3
Resident Evil 4
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
God of War II
ICO
Okami
And a host of other titles on the system
Honorable Mentions:
Guilty Gear Isuka-my entry into the brilliant Guilty Gear series, and one of my favorite fighters on the system
SSX Tricky-we had so much fun playing this at my friend's house, but I never owned it until recently, so it probably isn't as high on my list as it should be
Dragonball Z Budokai 3-features almost the entire roster of DBZ characters, had a great story mode, and we still play it sometimes at my house
X-Men Legends-The sequel is just far superior
Final Fantasy X-2-an excellent but very confusing sequel to an excellent and not very confusing
game
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4-great game, but not as good as the third
Any sports sim I could get my hands on, from MVP NCAA Baseball '06 to Madden '05 to NHL '05. This is probably where I spent the bulk of my gaming time on the console.
Grandia 3-a very good and underappreciated RPG I used to own, but now have no clue where it is.
NBA Street-completely filled the NBA Jam shaped hole in my heart.
And now for the final list:
10. Dynasty Warriors 4
This was my first Dynasty Warriors game, and while it's probably not an excellent game, boy is it fun. I have no idea if this is the best in the series or on the console, but it has my heart.
9. Tekken Tag Tournament
All of the Tekken characters? In one game? Fighting two on two? Yes please.
8. X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse
I feel like this game really deserves more love than it gets. It's extremely good in every way, and introduced me to the Diablo style mechanics I've really grown to love over the years. And by the way, could we get another game in this vein that doesn't have oversimplified combat like Marvel: Ultimate Alliance? Thanks.
7. Final Fantasy XII
This is a game in the vein of Zelda II: Link's Adventure that gets a lot of unwarranted hate for daring to do something different. But it really does a ton of things well, and even a ton of things better than (swallows) Final Fantasy X. The real time combat, genius use of the gambit system, non-random encounters, and very good story combine to make a very memorable RPG experience late in the PS2's life. The much improved voice acting from its predecessor is also a big plus. I have the cool steelbook collector's edition (note-it's not expensive at all), which was only like a dollar more than the standard edition when I bought it from Gamestop way back when.
6. God of War
This is the one game on this list that I have actually reTROviewed for this blogs, if you want a longer treatment, go check it out in the link. This is a super fun and innovating game with a few warts that will only slightly mar the genius that lies within. The Temple of Pandora will stick with you as one of the finest dungeons in video game history, if you persevere through the game.
5. Guitar Hero II
Take your elitism elsewhere. Guitar Hero II is the best version of an incredibly fun and social gaming experience. It's got a great selection of tracks, and a much improved control scheme from the first game that's much more forgiving if you're slightly off in the timing of your strumming, hammer ons, and pulloffs. This is really a game that everyone can play, and the fun clicky peripheral made for a very unique gaming experience that really captures the PS2 era for me.
4. Gran Turismo 3
They walked a very fine line with this game-blending hyper-realistic controls and physics with accessible fun. I know nothing about cars, but I do know that this was the first PS2 game I purchased for a reason-it's crazy fun.
3. Grand Theft Auto III
I don't think there's any question that Grand Theft Auto III is the most influential and important PS2 game, and probably should be number one on my list. But I've never beaten it, still don't own it (copies rarely come up in local sales, which is where I do the bulk of my collecting now), and have really only spent time with the game casually at my friend's house. But that time was absolutely mind-blowing, and is really up there with my first experiences with Super Mario Bros., Super Mario 64, Pokemon Red, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time in stretching my mind to what could be accomplished in a video game. We used to try to commit heinous crimes, then hole up on top of a parking garage and see how long we could last at 5 stars without dying. Hint-not long. But a trip to the hospital later, and we were back being bad! Everyone has their own stories like this, which demonstrates the genius and flexibility of this game, and when I get a copy, I'll play it legitimately through and report back to see if it rises up the list.
2. Final Fantasy X
This game completely capture my attention in high school and college. It has, by far, the best story in any Final Fantasy game. It's a really tightly crafted narrative that works so very well, has several captivating plot twists, and well-developed characters. I really don't think there's any competition for the story crown among the Final Fantasy fold. If you combine that with the incredible character customization in the sphere grid and weapons customization, the fantastic endgame with the monster arena, and my favorite video game minigame of all-time, Blitzball, you have a true masterpiece. The voice acting is VERY bad at times, and I think that only slightly detracts from my unapologetic love for this game. But it's still not number 1...
1. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
This game gets the narrow edge over Final Fantasy X due to the social nature of the game. The single player mode is just perfect, but playing this game head to head with friends is one of the most fun experiences I've had in a video game. We spent many happy hours kick flipping, doing manuals, and grinding our ways to ludicrous high scores, and those times are what stick out to me. This is the pinnacle of a tremendous series of video games, and it will always be beloved in my heart.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this list, and I should be back next week with another clear, and maybe another top ten list with my top ten DS games.
-TRO
No comments:
Post a Comment