I never bought a Playstation 2. What games did I miss?

[raankh]

If you haven't played them on other platforms:

Silent Hill 2
Shadow of Memories (I liked it, many hated it)

I'm not into driving games myself, but I've heard that Grand Turismo 3 is the best in the series.

I very much recommend the Soul Calibur series if you like fighting games, and I found Mortal Kombat: Deception surprisingly enjoyable.

 

[xbeaker]

It would help if we knew your gaming preferences. Even the best games of a genre will bore you if they aren?t your thing.

That said..

SSX Tricky (better then the other versions I think)
God of War (and GoW 2)
Resident Evil 4
Shadow of the Colossus (if you love it, go back for Ico. But SotC is the better of the two)
I have heard great things about Okami. But I have never played it myself. I am waiting for the Wii version at this point. From what I hear it is a Zelda game, but link is a goddess in the form of a wolf. Instead of an elf? erm, in the form of a wolf.
Twisted Metal Black. It is an early game, so the graphics are not spectacular. But it is a great game, especially in multiplayer
Gran Turismo 3
Prince of Persia: Sands of Time

If you no longer have your Xbox..
GTA: Vice City
Burnout 3
Psyconauts
Soul Calibur 2 or 3

 

[soladrin]

well, all i ever did with my (brothers) PS2 is play Armored Core games nothing else really, but yea, if you dont have a freakish love for big robots you can probably skip those too.... the story lines are really vague

 

[Ownagecake]

The only PS2 games I really played were Soul Calibur (Beating your friends hundreds of times is always fun) and Grand Theft Auto, and I had a LOT of PS2 games.

 

[Selka]

Here's my list for must have PS2 games:

RPG: Odin Sphere. Forget about FFX and XII. After 7, the series has continuously been disappointment after disappointment. XII is too damn long and the combat gets really repetitive. FFX has a story and characters that make me ashamed of ever enjoying JRPGs. Odin Sphere, on the other hand, is near perfect. Disgaea is also high on the list. Kingdom Hearts was okay, but the sequel had possibly the lamest beginning to a game ever.

Hack n' Slash: Devil May Cry. For the love of god and all that is holy stay away from God of War and pick up this gem instead. I have never understood the appeal of God of War, especially with games like DMC and Ninja Gaiden having come out before it and before much much better. There are things in video gaming more enjoyable than the shotgun in Devil May Cry. It has a perfect difficulty curve, a wide choice of upgrades that allow you to customize, wonderful controls, and combat that is just plain fun. Fun Fun Fun. Also, it had skippable cut scenes if I remember correctly, which is good because the story is something which you should avoid like the plague.

Adventure: Okami, Ico, and holy shit Silent Hill 2. I've never actually played Okami, but people have compared it very favorably with the Zelda series, so it has to be good. I know that's very hallow of me, but damnit Zelda is great and anything that's like it must be amazing also. Pick up Ico too, it has the best puzzles I've seen since Lufia 2. Silent Hill 2 is the scariest game and best horror game ever to be made; an absolute masterpiece. Resident Evil 4 is pretty damn good as well. Stay away from Shadow of the Colossus, it's horrible, boring, and uninteresting. Don't believe everyone else's lies. Honestly though, the 'adventuring" in that game is nothing more than riding your horse for hours on end until you find the right rock cluster to climb up, and the battles are mostly all the same thing. Climb, jump, hold on, climb, stab, repeat until you die of boredom. If you're going to play a Grand Theft Auto game, pick up 3. The other two don't have as dark of an atmosphere, and tried to do too much without adding any real new gameplay elements.

Racing: Grand Turismo 3. Best racing game ever. End of Story.

Fighting game: There's a big debate of which is better, Soul Calibur 2 or 3. My vote goes for 2. Soul Calibur 2 was the perfect fighting game, and in 3 Namco tried to do that whole "fix something when it isn't broken" and ended up screwing over everything. Soul Calibur 2 has the same thing going for it as Starcraft. It has a boat load of characters that can all do very unique things while remaining incredibly well balanced, requiring smarts and reflexes to become truly great.

Platformer: I actually don't know. I haven't played a PS2 platformer that is worth recommending. I've heard good things about Psychonauts, so I suppose go for that one.

Stealth: Metal Gear Solid 2. The more and more I post on these message boards, the more I realize that my taste in games is vastly different than the general populace. I digress, MGS2 is a wonderful game, better than 3. Raiden is awesome, the art direction is the best the series has seen, even if the graphics aren't as good as they are in 3, the difficulty curve is great for people like me who enjoy not getting eaten by alligators over and over again at the start of a fucking game, and the story builds on the original beautifully. Screw what gamespot says, this game is definitely not overrated.

Most importantly, never buy: Devil May Cry 3, Manhunt,Final Fantasy: Dirge of Cerberus.

 

[sergeantz]

Here's a game I haven't seen yet. Psi Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy. It kind of has a bit of the FEAR touch in it, but you can do a lot more cool stuff. There's just something special about mind-controlling a sniper, having him clear out the level, then making him jump out of the sniper tower to the hard ground below.

I also dig the tekken series.

 

[DarkKaz]

Most importantly, never buy: Devil May Cry 3

Surely you jest? It was a bit frantic, and the learning curve was a bastard, but it was still a ton of fun and the cutscenes were so fun to watch I often looked forward to the end of the level just to see them.

 

[finaltomorrow]

No offense to you Selka, but your suggestions are just dripping with personal bias.

Anyway...

RPG:
-FFX and FFXII were excellent; if you've ever played an FF game, liked it, yet are not fanboyishly attached to its traditions (i.e. are somewhat open-minded), I think you will find a lot in them. XII is a big leap in terms of gameplay and mature, nearly cliche-free storytelling, if you're interested. People often complain just because it's not as insanely emotional, the way I see it.
-Kingdom Hearts and its sequel were fun; they had obvious flaws and were nothing very provocative, but they were both very entertaining throughout. The Disney-ridden yet intricate story, along with great music, was, to me, very inspiring.

ADVENTURE:
-Okami's gameplay is much like Zelda's, but its aesthetics and its EXACT mechanics make it a very different experience. Highly recommended.
-Shadow of the Colossus doesn't deserve a placement in genre. It could just as easily be RPG, action, or puzzle. This is epic game poetry, and its also fun. There is much to appreciate in the game, and playing it through will definitely make you FEEL something. The game constantly has your attention, even though it plays off of so few mechanics... OVERT mechanics, that is...

PLATFORMER:
-Ratchet and Clank is wonderful. Deadlocked has more of an arena-style structure with less adventuring, but the first three are a great mix of role-playing, andventure, shooting, and platforming genres.
-The Jak series comes sort of close behind Ratchet. Gameplay is a little stiff in comparison, but the storytelling nearly makes up for it.

ACTION:
-Timesplitters is great multiplayer, with an entertaining single player. A fairly unique-in-style, worthwhile play.
-Splinter Cell has not been mentioned here, has it? Terrible. This is stealth gaming at its finest. Unilke MGS's great action-oriented gameplay and top-tier storytelling (don't get me wrong; if I'd have played any of them yet I'm 100% sure I'd list them here, as I know they are great games), these games make you think your way through missions. First is great, second steps down in general quality, third (I've heard) is the best so far.
-Bully is pure fun with a bit of a social message. Doing the things that are possible in the game are just a blast, and the gameplay is varied throughout. If you liked GTA, it's for you. If you haven't played GTA, don't miss this one.

Games I hear are good:
-Psychonauts
-God of War
-Indigo Prophecy
-Disgaea

EDIT: Added Bully.

 

[SatansBestBuddy]

Okay, I'm saying it again: SLY 2.

Why does no one else mention it?

This is a great game, and more than deserving enough of your time and money.

 

[emissary]

Metal gear solid in all it's forms are masters of a particular genre. A very small, insignificant genre, but you don't get any better anywhere else.

And they're all now cheap in bargain bins.

 

[LisaB1138]

I have to echo the "surely you jest?" about DMC3. The Best. Combat. Eva. No character is more responsive (or cooler) than Dante. (Sorry, Kratos.) And the style system makes the replay value INSANE. (Plus, I don't know if you're a girl or not, but if so, Dante's alternate costume is a real treat. *winks* It's not often we girls get the eyecandy.) Just make sure you get the Special Edition.

I'll just add my vote to the following already mentioned games: Okami, SOTC, ICO, Beyond Good and Evil, Silent Hill 2, Onimusha series (sans 4), God of War(s).

 

[strayjay]

Racing: Grand Turismo 4. Best racing game ever. End of Story.

Fixed.

Okami, God of War, Way of the Samurai (I'm amazed it was already mentioned!), Tourist trophy if you're into motorcycles or just racing in general, and GTA San Andreas all stand out.

With the GTA series, just buy San Andreas and don't bother with the other two. Once you've played SA, the others are just kind of disappointing.

 

[camomilk]

If you like rhythm games at all, you should definitely check out the Guitar Hero series.

EDIT: Actually you should probably check it out anyways, I didn't know I liked rhythm games until after I played Guitar Hero.

 

[RPJesus]

I'm going to save myself a half hour and say "a lot".

 

[blackadvent]

Psychonauts

Trust me on this one- AVOID the PS2 port of Psychonauts. The load times will make you kill someone. Buy it on Steam, get it on the PC, or get the XBox version like xbeaker sad.

 

[The Irrelevant Gamer]

Wow. The list grows. See why I call myself irrelevant? I have missed a lot of console gaming, and I know it. Once again, thanks. A lot of these I would not have thought to look for.

 

[Ranzel]

The PS2 was a time of great joy for me. Ever seen the reaction of the kid who got an N64 for christmas? That was me, except with PS2. I had it for a long, long time, before I sold out for a 360. I don't regret it, but the new Ratchet and Clank sure does strike my fancy.

Anyway, the best games I'd played on PS2 are as follows-

Kingdom Hearts

Kingdom Hearts 2

Disgaea

Killzone

Ratchet and Clank (All except Deadlock)

Dark Cloud 1/2. (I liked 1 better, both great.)

Shadow of the Colossus

Suikoden 3

Okami (It's possible, nay probable that the brushing will be better on Wii. Then again, you can't get a Wii for the price of a PS2 and near half of these games.)

Dragon Quest VIII

Ico

Final Fantasy X

God of War


Those were some of the greats. My PS2 list is riddled with other titles, Psychonauts being one of them, but there are better places to play that.

Its my humble opinion that PS2 is, in terms of exclusive games, one of the best systems ever made.

EDIT* And Zone of the Enders. Really, really good game, that one. Best robot fighter I've ever played hands down.

 

[Yerocha]

I reccomend the Shadow Hearts series, with emphasis on Covenant if you can find it. They're really quirky and deep, and the battle system is incredibly fun to use.

 

[corky842]

I found this list over at the Penny Arcade forums. [http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=2369]

 

[Selka]

I'm a little honored that so many people commented on my list, even if most of their comments were negative. I can't understand the appeal of Shadow of the Colossus, or Devil May Cry 3, but then again I'm the kind of guy that thinks Super Mario 64 was a waste of time and MGS2 is better than MGS3. I suppose if you tend to find yourself agreeing with most of the things posted on this forum, then pick up these games (especially SOTC, since I'm the only person in the world who isn't madly in love with it). If you come away saying, "damn, that game was kind of bad, Ico was hundreds of times better." I just want everyone to know that I FUCKING CALLED IT! If you come away saying, "Damn, that game was tons of fun," then I'm glad you had fun with it, and I will continue to be confounded by the entire world.

Also, I've never played Gran Turismo 4, but if it's anything like the third then it's going to be an experience you will never regret.