It's been two months since the final game, the Japanese only Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin hit Sony's PS2 platform, and with the news that GameStop won't be buying back the console or accepting trade-ins by June 1st, the end of the console's life is truly at hand.
The console debuted in March back in 2000 in Japan, and October in the US. After 13 years of support, approximately 150 million systems were sold, not only outselling, but outlasting all other consoles of that generation. To date, this figure would make it the most popular console of all time. Sony claims a library of over 10,000 titles are available for the system, and a whopping 1.5 billion games have been sold since launch. Sales were spurned on by the console's backwards compatability feature, allowing gamers to play their PS1 games, and the ability to watch DVD's. For a short time, it was actually the cheapest DVD player available on the market.
Speaking personally, the console was one of my favorites, and I still enjoy quite a few of the games today. I plan on catching up on some of the greats that I missed during the console's heyday, thanks to (albiet limited) backward compatability, and the PSN store. So, in honor of the system, in no particular order, I present some of my personal favorites of the the PlayStation 2.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 - I was one of the many to pick up a skateboard and damn near break my arm after playing the THPS series. This was a time when the franchise kept improving, before it began its inevitable decline with Ride and Shred. 3 was one of, if not the first games were as soon as I stumbled across the trailer, I watched it obsessively. The electric colors of Tokyo were what really captured my eye, and the addition of the revert move made combos virtually endless. I was salivating waiting for this game. When it finally arrived, I was far from disappointed.
Everything about the game was smoother, there was deeper customization with parks and characters, and with MTV's "Jackass" riding high in the ratings, every junior schooler was thrilled with the addition of Bam Margera. And the new free skate mode was a joy, easing some of the competetive tension in co-op play. I'm still able to relive the memories of this game since Tony Hawk HD added in some of THPS3's levels and revert move with the Revert pack.
Manhunt - This game was to the PS2 what Night Trap was to the Sega CD. Just...y'know, good. Another brain child of Rockstar, Manhunt was definitely meant for an older audience, and was one of the more sensationalized games in the early 2000's, released under various adult classifications abroad, or just banned outright. But there was more to this game than just sensational violence for violence sake. Characters stepped into the shoes of a freed death row inmate, forced to take part in a series of snuff films under the orders of a fallen Hollywood director, given voice by Brian Cox.
It played out like a combination of "8MM" and "The Running Man," all tied up in a neat little bow featuring a naked man in a pig mask wielding a chainsaw. The limited connection to the GTA universe was a neat touch by the Rockstar staff, and the game's cover shooting mechanic would be seen in later GTA titles. Getting to the nitty gritty, the game emphasized stealth so players could sneak up on enemies, which consisted of members of various gangs, each with their own theme. A wide array of weapons and a three tiered execution system showed graphic depictions of violence, and showed players why they should never, ever, play with plastic bags.
Final Fantasy X - As one of the most beloved games of the series, FF7 was a hard game to top, but FFX was a worthy competitor. The game featured a great many technical achievements for the FF brand, with explorable 3D areas, overhauled Aeon summoning, and a massive skill building system with the "Sphere Grid" that could turn traditional character types into whatever the player liked. The game captured audience attention from the opening cinematic, in which they're treated to a giant creature collapse a massive city into rubble, interspersed with cuts of a high paced game of "Blitzball."
It was also the first to have voice acting, allowing for players to really connect with the game's cast of characters. The plot itself meshed a competitive pilgrimage with political intrigue and religous undertones, It was also the first FF game to ever earn a direct sequel, a notable accomplishment in a franchise that, at the time, had spanned 14 years. The game and its sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, are currently set to get an HD release sometime next year.
Twisted Metal: Black - After the disappointing Twisted Metal 4, Black brought the franchise back with a bang with its intense visuals, and an evil twist on some of the longstanding characters, all under the directorship of David Jaffe. Taking place in the head of TM mascot Sweet Tooth, Black's cast of characters were all residents of a mental asylum, freed to compete in vehicular combat by an even more malevolent version of the organizer Calypso.
Past TM games were indeed dark, but cartoony at the same time, and relatively tame by comparison. Black ramped things up and was the first game in the series to earn a mature rating, and rightly so. Character back stories dealt with everything from cannibalism to murder. Accompanying all the sinisterness was a solid game that longtime fans could relish in with all the improvements, but was easy enough for newcomers to pick up and enjoy.
God of War - Another Jaffe standout, God of War introuduced the world to Kratos, "the ghost of Sparta," a bald badass who would go on to become the titular God, and eventually dethrone the remaining Greek Gods from their thrones high atop Mt. Olympus in an epic story, and even more impressive boss battles. It became one of the standout franchises for the PlayStation brand that continued onto additional Sony consoles with seven games in all.
The game managed to seamlessly blend together Greek myths and monsters with relative ease, proving that history majors could indeed get a real job after all. Titans, Hades, Perseus, Zeus, Gorgons, Pegasus, Athena, Hercules, and Harpies were just the beginning of the various Greek legends involved in this series, but it all began on the PS2.
Bully - Another Rockstar gem, Bully was criticized even before it was releasd, simply based on the title alone, and Rockstar's GTA-based reputation at the time. If detractors only bothered to play the game, they realized that protagonist Jimmy Hopkins was more about standing up to the those who fit the title, rather than pushing others around. All the controversey surrounding the game proved to be unwarranted, as the worst things offered by the game were little more than simple school yard shenanigans seen in "The Simpsons," like egging, slingshots, and fisticuffs.
The game was surprisingly deep with customization, missions, and a mini-games disguised as classes that would reward players with upgrades or weapons for their performance. Add in a fairly large open world for players to explore with a number of ways to get around, and Bully was another stand out on the PS2, eventually finding its way to the Wii and Xbox 360.
GTA: San Andreas - GTAIII may have started the franchise's legacy, but San Andreas perfected it, and stands as the most popular game of the console, selling over 17 million copies. There's hardly a soul alive who hasn't played this game, as it was eventually ported to the Xbox, making it the first GTA that wasn't a PlayStation exclusive. It feautred a heavy customization system, allowing players to make protagonist CJ look, dress, or fight almost however they wanted. Each change was more than just superficial, and would affect the gameplay in any number of ways.
Some of its more zany side missions detracted from the tone of the game's serious story, but for the sheer mind boggling array of options the game added with gang warfare, burglarly missions, car customization, more options for money, it deserved every bit of attention it got. And finally, after three years of waiting, we got a character who could swim. That alone was cause for celebration.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time - The various killers of Assassin's Creed and inFamous's Cole MacGrath owe a lot to this acrobatic Arabic. Sands of Time took the 2D sidescroller and turned it on its ear by having players soar through the air to avoid traps, solve puzzles, and make their way higher and higher into a corrupted palace. Not orbital space high, but just enough to induce vertigo.
Sands of Time also gave players a mechanic they've wanted since they were slapping paddles in games of pinball, the ability to rewind time. Miscalculate a jump? Rewind. Get tagged by a cheap shot? Rewind. Make a bad movie based on the game? Sorry, dagger of time can't help that one. Flipping over enemies and running along a wall was a joy, and I'd even say that Assassin's Creed wouldn't have made it without this tricky Prince.
Silent Hill 3 - Silent Hill 2 had the uber creepy pyramid head and a bizarre uxoricidal plot, which is par for the course with Konami and Silent Hill overall, but Silent Hill 3 finally fleshed out the plot from the first game. Players step into role of Heather, the baby Harry rescued at the end of the first game (unless you got that weird UFO ending). It was the first time in the series that a female character was the lead, and with her direct involvement with the cult, made for an even more harrowing experience.
The usual staples were all there, such as the radio static, and reliance on a flashlight, but movement was more fluid, and combat was praised as the best of all the Silent Hills, which had usually been clunky and akward. The new ability to block also made things a bit easier. The pink bunnies scattered amongst the Otherworld amusement park ware particularly creepy.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater - After hearing about the "grand soldier" Big Boss for the last two games, MGS3 finally gave us the chance to see the man in action, the events that inspired and shaped his body and mind, and just how deserving of that legacy he was. He's a character that's still being developed by MGS creator Hideo Kojima two platforms later. It helped establish some of the more confusing plot elements introduced in MGS2 with the whole Patriots sotryline, as well as who the hell Revolver Ocelot's been working for all this time.
The game itself took players back in time to the Cold War, when technology was far from a sneaking suits, radar, and proper rations. Players instead had to rely on the elements, hunting and catching their own food for health, and having to use proper camoflauge to blend in with the environment to avoid enemy detection. It also had arguably the best sniper battle in gaming to date. Just be sure to visit the bathroom before you pop this one back in. The cut scenes alone total just shy of 5 hours.
Resident Evil 4 - I'm cheating a bit here, as this originally debuted on the GameCube, but its legacy is significant enough to warrant mention. This was the first RE game to switch to the over the shoulder view, which it (and a number of other games) have used ever since. Environements no longer subsisted on a fixed view, which gave players freedom from cheap hits from offscreen enemies. Umbrella and zombies took a step back from the bad guy role, replaced by a religous cult obsessed with an ancient parasite called Las Plagas. Leon has been busy since he was last seen in RE2. Recognized for his service in the Raccoon City incident, he's traded in his police uniform for a job with the secret service, and is on assignment to rescue the President's daughter from an unnamed Spanish village.
Past RE games relied on cheap jump scares to give players their thrills, like with the dogs that burst through the hall windows, or the nemesis slamming through a wall, but 4's chanting cultists with arachnid like bugs bursting out of their heads all set in a decrepit village and medieval castle was more than enough to give players the creeps. With an upgraded weapon system, melee attacks, and grenades, gameplay was anything but stale. The ability to play as multiple characters in the game's Mercenaries mini-mode was more than enough to keep players from being bored long after finishing the main campaign and Ada storyline.