The Greatest PlayStation 2 Game of All Time
The PlayStation 2 has sold over 155 million units. The successor to the original PlayStation console, which was first released in Japan in March 2000 and in the USA in October that year, as well as in Europe in November 2001, was a huge success. It sold 102 million units worldwide, making it a massive hit. Its popularity was fueled by an incredible line-up of games.
Ask social media for the best of the over 3,800 games. You’ll get a wide range of responses on social media, from mainstream titans to obscure curiosities to everything in between. I asked the same question. I received responses that included the guaranteed post-pub bangers of SSX 3 & Burnout 3: Takedown as well as the quirky rhythm action of Gitaroo Man, a few Ratchet & Clank platformers and rail shooter Rez. I also got replies about the colourful rush of Katamari Damacy and the thoughtful introspection of Ico. Silent Hill 2 was my final response. There is a lot to cover and many different experiences to be had.
How can we get to the top of the list for the PlayStation 2 – which is, perhaps, the greatest gaming console ever made? Mind you, that’s a different argument altogether. Here’s how it works: We look at ranked lists on the internet from established gaming media outlets and YouTube channels and then we check Metacritic’s aggregated list of the most-rated reviews for the console. We then crunch the numbers and assign scores to each of the top five positions – one for number five, five for number 1, one for number 5, and so on – and we see what we come up with. It’s a system! It is the system that we use today.
The ranked lists that we looked at were: IGN and Gamesradar+, Complex, US Gamers, Shortlist, and Retro Dodo. WatchMojo. Metal Jesus Rocks. Game Informer’s simple list of the most-successful PS2 games. There are many other lists, but we only used ranked ones for this process. Here’s GAMINGbible’s piece on the PS2’s most memorable games. However, we didn’t count the entries so it isn’t being used in this G.O.A.T. equation. We’re not going to bother with a top ten or even a Top Five. We won’t bore you, let’s get to the chorus.
Shadow of the Colossus can be one of those experiences that you will have to pay for once, and you’ll find it a part of your personal top ten games of all time. It is a lonely, contemplative adventure through an open world, notable for its lack of distractions and its committed vision of emptiness (although that is as much determined by the hardware than the creative influence of Fumito Ueda ), which follows a horse-mounted protagonist who attempts to revive a girl by slaying a number of giant creatures. Although the plot isn’t very interesting, it does have a powerful twist. However, this is not the story people remember Shadow of the Colossus for. It’s all about the mood, its strong sense of place, and the giant beasts that gave the game its name. The puzzle-like ways to defeat them are what make it special. The challenging, complex, and unique SOTC game was remade in 2018 for PlayStation 4. You don’t need an older PS2 to play this game in 2022.
With Metal Gear Solid 2, decisions were made. Most notably, Raiden was switched to the role of the protagonist, while the original Metal Gear Solid‘s Solid Snake character was relegated to an… introductory performance. These decisions didn’t go down well with everyone who loved Hideo Kojima’s stealth-action series. MGS3 was a return to basics for the director and company. However, they also added a lot of freshness to the mix, making it the most important Metal Gear Solid title. A prequel set over 40 years before the first Metal Gear Solid, Snake Eater brings Naked Snake aka Big Boss to the fore as our playable hero, arms him with camouflage capabilities and a new up-close-and-personal combat system, and sets us loose in an alternative-world Cold War. Although the cutscenes can drag on, the moment-to-moment gameplay is thrilling, fast-paced, and highly engaging, even though it has lost some of its visual flairs. Subsistence is an expanded version of this game. However, it’s the solo campaign that Snake Eater can still find its definitive highs.
There is no denying that Grand Theft Auto San Andreas, the third 3D GTA title to be released on the PS2, feels stiff, janky, and incredibly impractical. It’s also not the most enjoyable game you can play right now. We have been treated to almost two decades worth of open-world third-person refinements. Let me tell you, San Andreas was like a one-way ticket from San Francisco to Los Angeles. You could feel the heat reflecting off of the pavements and hear traffic roaring through your 14-inch television speakers. It was more than a destination. A virtual world that we could live in for as long as it lasted allowed us to fully experience our lives. The game’s plot riffed on several real-world events, such as the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. It is a shame that San Andreas‘ reputation was damaged by the botched release of 2021’s Definitive Edition. Newcomers will have come to the high def remaster expecting the classic, but instead, they receive a subpar release rife with bugs, mangled character models, and environment models. Rockstar needs to fix this classic.
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