Top Designers Pick Their All-Time Favorite PS2 Titles
Grand Theft Auto: Vice CitySony is currently celebrating 10 years of the PS2; it was a system that featured a huge, perhaps unparalleled, number of classics.
What were you favorites? That's what the PlayStation Blog asked many of the industry's top game designers. As you can see, guys like Stig Asmussen, Tim Schafer, David Jaffe, Cliff Bleszinski, David Cage, Hermen Hulst, Ted Price, Warren Spector, and Evan Wells have chimed in with their top 3 PS2 titles. It's interesting to see; is anybody surprised to see David Cage's list of ICO, Rez and Okami? The mastermind behind Heavy Rain enjoys the artistic, yes? And Tim Schafer is in a similar boat; his selections were Katamari Damacy, Okami and We Love Katamari. We see a lot of love for all the Grand Theft Auto titles, too, including Vice City, which landed at #1 on several lists. Of course, you'll also find Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Devil May Cry, Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill 2, God of War, Final Fantasy X, Ratchet and Clank, Resident Evil 4; you know, the usual suspects.
There are just too many greats. I suppose if I were forced, I'd put all three GTAs at the top of the list (oh, I can do that; there was a GTA Trilogy set, wasn't there?), and then go with Final Fantasy X and God of War II. Still, I would feel terrible that I had to omit the first GoW, MGS3, FFXII, ICO, SotC, DMC, SH2, GT3, Katamari Damacy/We Love Katamari, DQVIII, Champions of Norrath, and others. Just...too...many.
Tags: ps2, playstation 2, ps2 games, best ps2 titles
10/27/2010 9:08:42 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (67 posts)
Killa Tequilla
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:27:25 PM
5 up, 1 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:02:54 PM
There is a difference in his statement and yours. The consensus pretty much is that the PS2 was the best console to date. History has proven that. Your statement however was semi-fanboyish and simply not true given the fact there are thousands and thousands of games to be judged and only a limited number of consoles.
Man up dude. If you can't take a little internet criticism and heat how are do you going to cope in the real world when some one puts you in your place for making such absurd blanket statements?
Last edited by Jawknee on 10/27/2010 11:10:49 PM
1 up, 7 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:20:31 PM
0 up, 2 down
Lawless SXE
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 1:47:39 AM
Peace.
1 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 2:18:46 AM
1 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 12:35:42 PM
Did you really just try to resurrect that discussion?
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shadowpal2
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 4:07:48 PM
killatequilla vs jawknee.
It was Adam360 vs. Ben Dutka at one time...ah those were the DAYS LMAO!!! I still remember Ben's final post against that guy.
Now I'm not comparing you two to either Ben or Adam...but hey I SAY...FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!! It always brings a smile to my face. KEEP THE FIRE BURNING!!! HAHAHA!
1 up, 0 down
Alienange
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:02:06 PM
Reply
10 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:14:02 PM
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Aside from those though my list would be:
1.)GTA3 because it was a great party game.
2.)Darkwatch cuz it was a unique and fun FPS.
3.)The Bouncer, the best beat em up. I was sad that it was so short.
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tridon
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 4:52:30 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:40:52 PM
4 up, 3 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:12:44 PM
0 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:19:36 PM
I hate to say it be I'd have to agree with you on probably not seeing another Bully released.
Just in my state alone(N.J.), we've already had a anti-bully law in place, but now there's also another amended bill to it which severely stiffens up the criminal penalties, and it's just sailing through our state legislature right now.
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Kangasfwa
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 2:33:48 AM
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TheCrazyMerc
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:28:20 PM
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1. Socom II
2. Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec
3. Ace Combat 5
4. Ace Combat 4
5. Kingdom Hearts Series
6. Socom III
7. Final Fantasy X
8. Gran Theft Auto Series
9. Twisted Metal
10. Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2
Last edited by TheCrazyMerc on 10/27/2010 10:29:50 PM
1 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:55:28 PM
Last edited by Jawknee on 10/27/2010 10:55:44 PM
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Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:37:03 PM
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LOL! at Resident Evil 4. That PS2 port was garbage. Mikami left Capcom because of that crap of a port. I can't ever really count RE4 as a PS2 game. Its still a Nintendo exclusive to me.
My list:
1. DragonQuest VIII
2. Final Fantasy X
3. Final Fantasy XII
4. ICO
5. Shadow of the Colossus
6. Metal Gear Solid 3
7. Metal Gear Solid 2
8. Resident Evil Code Veronica
9. God of War
10. God of War II
1 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:42:03 PM
Funny thing is, The ResiEvil Code Veronica PS2 was dead to me because the original Dreamcast version was by far superior.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 10/27/2010 10:45:31 PM
1 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:48:16 PM
As for Code Veronica, i first played it on Dreamcast then bought it for PS2 later and didn't notice any drastic problems with it other than it wasn't as clean. The textures looked lower res.
1 up, 0 down
Mr Bitey
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:50:30 PM
GameCube - looked amazing.
PS2 - looked a lot grainier, but had the Adda Missions.
Asides from the graphics, I don't remember any serious issues with the PS2 version though.
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:17:35 PM
0 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:28:02 PM
0 up, 1 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:38:31 PM
It wasn't just the graphics. Read.
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WorldEndsWithMe
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:55:33 PM
0 up, 1 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:56:32 PM
"- Worse controls - aiming isn't as responsive, which can hurt you in tight situations.
- Lower Ganado count.
- Requirement of awful motion blur (see Freezer Room on Island).
- Ganados' faces look mutilated (and I'm talking bad design - this is not a good thing) due to lower poly count.
- Less environmental objects reduces atmosphere.
- Sounds are muffled. Ganados sound pretty bad.
- Less fog due to weak hardware. Hurt immersiveness.
- Water isn't reflective - instead its just flat and boring. Bad for lake scene.
- Lighting is far worse, especially with lightning (you wouldn't even know it is there). Reduces atmosphere at night.
- Longer load times - oh yay."
EDIT: Yes World is right, i am a bit of a whore when it comes the technical aspects of games. I tend to notice flaws, bugs and glitches far easier than some. I can't help it. I'm a perfectionist. :)
Last edited by Jawknee on 10/27/2010 11:58:00 PM
0 up, 2 down
Jawknee
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 12:22:29 AM
0 up, 1 down
Underdog15
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 12:38:49 PM
I'm with you on DQVIII. By the end of the main PS2 era, DQVIII was probably my favorite game of that system. It might even be my most favorite ever!
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Ludicrous_Liam
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 10:47:37 PM
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1.Metal Gear solid 3.
2.GTA:SA
3.PES2005 (lolwut)
4.God of war II
5.Gran turismo 4
Luckily (or unlucky for PES) we got sequels to all of them on PS3, in some way or another. BTW Pes 2005 was my first PS2 game and I played it to death.
Last edited by Ludicrous_Liam on 10/27/2010 10:52:19 PM
1 up, 0 down
WolfCrimson
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 1:39:14 AM
1 up, 0 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 2:23:00 AM
2 up, 0 down
Jawknee
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:13:18 PM
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BikerSaint
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 11:34:28 PM
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And I've only got about 350 titles, so that leaves about another 1650+ PS2 game's I've never got to play so far(but I am chipping away at it 2 to 4 games a week), so here's some from the titles I have played, or at least sampled.
There's just no way I can pick only 5 though...
Okami
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of Destiny
Beyond Good & Evil
Deus Ex: The Conspiracy
MGS (all)
Syphon Filter (all)
Ace Combat (all)
Last edited by BikerSaint on 10/27/2010 11:38:51 PM
2 up, 0 down
tridon
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 4:47:43 AM
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BikerSaint
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 11:12:47 AM
Grab the first 3, they should be super cheap by now, but just be advised of one thing though, the 3 console versions jumped consoles..... the 1st started on the PS2, the 2nd one jumped to the xbox only, & the actual 3rd spiritual successor went to both the PS2 & the xbox.
The Deus Ex series so far has been a great one, & it's all about conspiracy theories.
I have all 3 in my PS2 & original xbox collections, & I love em all.
As for the games, there elements of just about everything you can imagine in the games, stealth, RPG, body augmentation, FPS, bio-mods, terrorism, & multiple interactive story lines, branching out(like Heavy Rain).
The first one, "Deus Ex: The Conspiracy" was on the PC, then ported over to the PS2 & it recieved over 40 GOTY's & numerous awards.
The second one was "Deus Ex:Invisable War", but it only wound up on the PC & the original Xbox.
The third one, "Deus Ex:Human Revolution" that is supposed to come out next year, actually was supposed to really the 4th title in the series, with the real 3rd one being "Project Snowbind", which originally was to be a Multi=player only, called Deus Ex:Clan Wars), but there's a whole other story behind that(which I included below).
Anyway, I took the liberty of making some quick "cliff notes" below from the Wikipedia site for you. But when you get the chance, you should really type in each title over at Wikipedia yourself, just because there's just so much more important info there on each of the D.E. games.
So here's the quick synopsis of each game....
Deus Ex:The Conspiracy (2000) PS2, PC
Set in a dystopian world during the 2050s, the central plot follows rookie United Nations Anti-Terrorist Coalition agent JC Denton, as he sets out to combat terrorist forces, which have become increasingly prevalent in a world slipping ever further into chaos.
As the plot unfolds, Denton becomes entangled in a deep and ancient conspiracy, encountering fictional recreations of organizations such as Majestic 12, the Illuminati, and the Hong Kong Triads throughout his journey.
Deus Ex: Invisible War (2003) Xbox, PC
Invisible War is set twenty years after Deus Ex, and is based on the premise that a combination of all three of the original game's possible endings occurred. The actions of JC Denton in Deus Ex caused the world to descend into a period of war and economic depression known as "the Collapse", during which several factions built themselves into world powers.
These factions include the World Trade Organization (WTO), which converted many of the world's remaining metropolitan centers into highly regulated city-states; The Order, a religious order which created a new world religion from elements of all major religions and sociopolitical principles; the "Knights Templar", who advocate the complete prevention of biomodification; the "Omar", a society of heavily biomodified humans possessing a group mind, which runs a global black market, and wishes to become a transhuman race through biomodification; and ApostleCorp, which seeks to help JC Denton achieve his goal of biomodifying every human on Earth, and thus equalizing the race. While JC Denton is seen by the public as a threat to society, these organizations seek to use or eliminate his power to rebuild the world in the way they see fit. In keeping with the series' conspiracy theory theme, several of the major factions are revealed to be secretly connected—the Knights Templar originated within The Order, while the WTO and The Order are separate branches of the Illuminati.
Project Snowblind (2005) PS2, XBOX, PC
It was originally conceived as a multiplayer-focused third game in the Deus Ex series, Deus Ex: Clan Wars. But after the less than expected commercial performance of Deus Ex: Invisible War, it was decided to set the game in its own universe.
Nevertheless, it remains a spiritual sequel to Deus Ex and retains many visible and conceptual links to its progenitors.
In Project: Snowblind, the player assumes the identity of Nathan Frost, a soldier in an international peacekeeping force known as the Liberty Coalition. After being critically injured during an enemy attack, Frost is implanted with experimental nano-technological augmentations and enhancements, turning him into "the soldier of the future". Frost must use his new powers to help lead the Coalition to victory against overwhelming odds.
Last edited by BikerSaint on 10/28/2010 11:18:37 AM
2 up, 0 down
BikerSaint
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 12:13:57 PM
Fahrenheit(called Indigo Prophecy in NA)
Last edited by BikerSaint on 10/28/2010 12:17:07 PM
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tridon
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 2:01:31 PM
Yeah, I knew about that Xbox-only sequel but I never knew that Project: Snowblind was originally going to be the third Deus Ex. That's a very interesting tidbit. I think I played that game but I don't remember what I thought of it. Maybe if my huge PS3 backlog ever dwindles, I'll go back and play these. Thanks for the info!
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sticklife
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 12:02:29 AM
Reply
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AcHiLLiA
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 12:22:02 AM
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2 up, 0 down
Lawless SXE
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 1:53:25 AM
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Peace.
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___________
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 2:22:26 AM
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2nd place goes to R&C 3 up your arsenal.
3rd place goes to R&C Gladiator.
but BLACK will always be at the top, still no shooter has beaten that, not even on this gens systems!
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WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 2:24:16 AM
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1 up, 0 down
firehahahahaha
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 3:35:51 AM
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2. ICO
3. Jak and Daxter (duno which one as they were all equally good in their own way).
It's really a tough call between ICO and SotC, but Shadow just blew me away more. Every last moment of both games were amazing, but Shadow just lasted longer. ICO was too short :(.
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tridon
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 4:44:56 AM
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2 - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
3 - ICO
Honorable mentions: God of War 2, Okami, Beyond Good & Evil and Drakan: The Ancients' Gates.
Last edited by tridon on 10/28/2010 4:46:00 AM
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BikerSaint
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 11:40:03 AM
I see you liked Drakan.
Have you tried Drakengard 1 or 2 on the PS2 then?
It's a RPG, with flyable dragons too
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tridon
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 2:04:16 PM
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A2K78
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 5:00:32 AM
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Last edited by A2K78 on 10/28/2010 5:01:34 AM
0 up, 1 down
Ultimadream
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 5:17:38 AM
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0!. Metal Gear Soild 2: Substance
02. Final Fantasy X
03. Silent Hill 2
04. Shadow of Memories (US title: Shadow of Memories
05. Farenhiet (US Title: Project Indigo)
06. Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistance
07. Jak & Daxter
08. Kingdom Hearts
09. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
10. Timesplitters: Future Perfect
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Robochic
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 7:05:46 AM
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Fatal Frame 1 and 2
KH 1 and 2
Star wars battle front 1 and 2
GOW 1 and 2
We love Katamari
Katamari Demacy
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G8GTdriver
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 7:14:04 AM
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GTA series (HD remake PLEASE!), GT series, Ace Combats, NFS Most wanted, Socom
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Snaaaake
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 10:38:54 AM
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1) FFX
2) SoTC
3) DMC
4) RE4
5) Burnout 3
Honorable mentions: GOWII, KH2, Persona 4, FFXII, NFS MW, R&C UYA.
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bigrailer19
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 10:52:05 AM
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1) socom 2
2) baldurs gate: dark alliance
3) god of war
Those are the games I played the most and had the most fun with. GoW over GoW 2 cus it was the first and it blew my mind...
I think that the best games for me the games that really stood out as great games were...
1) GoW 1 or 2
2) Prince of Persia: the sands of time
3) metal gear solid 3: snake eater
Last edited by bigrailer19 on 10/28/2010 10:56:53 AM
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bigrailer19
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 10:58:12 AM
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Underdog15
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 12:42:53 PM
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Like seriously... holy crap... the PS2 sold the most systems of any other system that generation for a reason. It kicked major time a$$.
Like seriously... i look at my PS2 collection with great fondness. What an incredible generation of games from every genre.
My most favorite PS2 game was, PROBABLY, Dragon Quest VIII. I have not experienced an epic adventure of that magnitude since.
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DjEezzy
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 1:15:54 PM
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Scarecrow
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 2:37:33 PM
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sirbob6
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 3:51:30 PM
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2.Ace Combat 04
3. Gran Turismo 3 A-spec
Last edited by sirbob6 on 10/28/2010 3:55:57 PM
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LightShow
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 4:34:50 PM
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that said, its hard to pick a second fav. maybe kingdom hearts 2.
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BlinkBoy
Thursday, October 28, 2010 @ 4:47:23 PM
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Dark Cloud 1 and 2
Final Fantasy X
Kingdom Hearts
Dragon Quest VIII
Gran Turismo 3 and 4
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deathfire123
Sunday, November 07, 2010 @ 9:54:25 PM
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1. Dark Cloud 2 - Favorite game. Ever
2. Ratchet and Clank series
3. Persona 4
4. Kingdom Hearts series
5. Sly Cooper Series
6. Jak and Daxter series
7. Final Fantasy X
8. .Hack Series
9. God of War
10. Okami
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StangMan80
Reply
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 @ 9:48:03 PM
But I can name so many, what great memories.
The PS2 is the greatest video game console ever!