So I just got a PlayStation 2...

[Treblaine]

...but don't really know of any kick-ass games for it. I know of a few, which I'm planning on getting as soon as humanly possible.

But I'm genuinely very uneducated about the truly great titles of this console, so can anyone recommend any?

I feel I should point out for the sake of me not getting swamped to death with suggestions for them, I'm already planning on getting Ico, Shadow of the Collosus and Silent Hill 2.

Metal Gear Solid 1 if you haven't played in on PS1.

And if you liked that then go for Metal Gear Solid 3. The subsistence version costs more but has a fully 3D camera, which can make the game much more enjoyable to the modern gamer.

You can skip MGS2, it's pants and 90% of what happens in it has zero bearing on the other games.

 

[oreopizza47]

If they haven't been mentioned yet:

Sly Cooper series
Jak and Daxter series
Ratchet and Clank series
Beyond Good and Evil
Devil May Cry series
God of War series
Hitman series

Those are all the really well-known ones that can't be avoided for a complete experience. For more out-there ones:

Killer7
Metal Gear Solid
Stretch Panic

There's my two cents.

 

[ABLb0y]

Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 3
Silent Hill: The Room
the Sands of Time trilogy
Final Fantasy X
Final Fantasy XII
(If you're in america, or rich enough to have it imported) Rule of Rose

 

[LikeDustInTheWind]

The Ratchet And Clank games were great
God Of War is awesome
Hell, almost every Ps2 game was great.

 

[Total LOLige]

Star wars: Battlefront 2
Enter the Matrix
Endless opportunities for fun with these two.

These and beyond good and evil

 

[thelonewolf266]

Timesplitters: Future Perfect... In fact all the Timesplitters, just get them all.

Can't own a PS2 and not have Timesplitters.

This times a billion and Star Wars:Battlefront 2 is a must buy.
Also the Jak and Daxter series is amazing and you need to get it.

 

[Naix99]

There are three games i can recommend:

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssss!

there's the Gun of the Patriots also!

 

[Ghengis John]

Soul Calibur 3 was a great exclusive on the system... of course... nobody plays that anymore.

I do, or rather I do with a friend. Soul Calibur 4 just broke too much so on the rare times he visits we always boot up 3.

Well that's good to hear. I always thought it was pretty neat they even released an arcade edition patch for the game. And "broke too much"?

 

[AgentNein]

(If you're in america, or rich enough to have it imported) Rule of Rose

Probably in my top five games of all time.

 

[Athol]

Star Wars: Battlefront II - The space battles alone are awesome!
Hitman: Blood Money - Need I saw more?

 

[ReservoirAngel]

And if you don't have a Gamecube then you should get Resident Evil 4.

I hadn't thought of this. Maybe it's time I braved that game again after my utter puss-out the first time I attempted it.

For the love of god don't play the ones before 4 then! Resident evil 4 is a joke in terms of horror compared to the previous 3.

I dare you to play resident evil 3 and not shit yourself the first time you hear "STARS!"

Resident Evil 1 only startled, never scared. Resident Evil 2 I don't ever seem to remember playing.

As for Resident Evil 3? One "STARS!" and I was sobbing into my security blanket on the living room sofa, and one Nemesis appearance and fight had me sleeping with the lights on, afraid to go anywhere dark, for a number of weeks.

Still this pant-wetting terror has given me an undying resolve to best that game, just to prove to Nemesis that I can beat him without needing emotional support[footnote]Even though I will inevitably end up playing it from the embrace of my significant other because I have the emotional maturity and horror threshold of a small child.[/footnote], because honestly? Fuck Nemesis!

 

[blasmeister]

All the Grand Theft Auto games,
All the Final Fantasy games (yes even X-2. Its actually pretty decent)
Warhammer 40k: Fire Warrior (the only FPS I've ever really liked)

 

[Unesh52]

Godhand

Agree. That game was hilariously over the top, though in truth I only rented, so I wouldn't know how it holds up over time.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was much better than the last few they've put out, and the co-op missions are fun, if short and a little arbitrary. Devil May Cry 3 (Special Edition if you can) was one of my favorites, along with MGS 2 and 3 (both have special editions which bring substantial improvements and fun extras). Apparently Ratchet and Clank are good, but mine was a Jak and Daxter household (until they made that awful combat racing game... ugh). But all of these seem to have current gen iterations... hmmm.

Psychonaughts is a classic. Zone of the Enders was hopelessly short (~5 hrs on the first run through), but it's an astonishingly fluid giant mech action title. I liked it a lot. And speaking of giant mechs -- a friend of mine recently picked up an old title he really liked: RAD (Robot Alchemic Drive). It's actually a 2nd person game where you control a giant robot from the perspective of a human remote controlling it on the ground. Haven't played it myself, but it sounds interesting. Uh... the Hitman titles are worth picking up, and I know they sell a box set with all the ps2 versions on it (though TBH, Bloodmoney makes the other two a little redundant). Oh, and one game that it seems no one but I like: Rise to Honor. It's about Jet Li. The cutscenes are unskippable and unbearable, the levels are linear, and the obligatory stealth sections are complete ass, but I remember having a blast with it. The fighting was fluid, the chase scenes were spectacular and rewarding, and the gun fights were... well, I went back and replayed it several times just to replay those parts. Maybe it's just nostalgia.

 

[Vindestructable]

Devil may cry 3 if you can avoid throwing your controller through the tv for the fist few minutes

 

[Nihilism_Is_Bliss]

Timesplitters: Future Perfect... In fact all the Timesplitters, just get them all.

Can't own a PS2 and not have Timesplitters.

THIS

Also, Devil May Cry 3

 

[Adamc-mh]

There are three games i can recommend:

1. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
2. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
3. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater

Haha^true

I just got a ps2 and bought the metal gear solid collection, check the games out some of the best games ever.

 

[XIGBARx13]

Ratchet & Clank - 1, 2: Going Commando, 3: Up Your Arsenal
Kingdom Hearts- 1, 2
Grand Theft Autos - III, Vice City, and San Andreas
Persona 4
God of War - 1, 2
Okami

 

[AnAngryMoose]

Timesplitters: Future Perfect... In fact all the Timesplitters, just get them all.

Can't own a PS2 and not have Timesplitters.

ThisthisthisthisTHIS!

Get. Every. Single. Timesplitters.

Also, Second Sight. Also made by Free Radical (whom I loved before they became Crytek) and it has possibly one of the most engaging and interesting stories I've seen in a game yet. A lot of fun twists and turns and it's quite underrated.

 

[Jimmy T. Malice]

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a great game that still stands up today. The parkour and sword-fighting just flow seamlessly together to create an excellent experience (plus it has time powers!)

 

[snappydog]

Haven't read all of the pages so I don't know if this has been brought up already... must have been, but anyway. Kingdom Hearts. Seriously. You might have heard that it's a Squeenix Final Fantasy/ Disney crossover starring a boy with massive shoes and a giant key for a weapon, and all that is true... but somehow it works. Brilliantly.