Recommend me some kickass PS2 games

[Anayo]

The only past gen system I had was a Gamecube. I always said I'd get XBOX and Playstation 2 when the price dropped.

Well, a Playstation 2 slim threw itself at me for $40. Now I need some games. I'm going to get Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 and Metal Slug Anthology, but what else have I missed out on? I know there's Shadow of the Collossus and Katamari...

Can any Playstation 2 veterans make some suggestions?

[Dylan]

Do you have preferences for certain genres?

[J T]

It's hard to know where to start. There are so many great games for the PS2.

Here are some of the obvious choices since you are just starting out:
Grand Theft Auto series
God of War series
Onimusha series
Devil May Cry series
Guitar Hero series
Prince of Persia series

You can browse my collection for more ideas and I can let you know what I think of any of these games:
http://www.backloggery.com/games.php?us ... onsole=PS2


Now is the time to buy PS2 games because they are as cheap as they will ever be. They are still available, but businesses are trying to sell off their stock. I suspect that in another year or two, the prices will start to go up as the old PS2 games get harder to find.

[Pulsar_t]

Some suggestions follow below. But it's always hard to recommend games when your criteria aren't specified.

Ace Combat 5
Alien Hominid
Amplitude
Arcana Heart
Black
Bully
Burnout 2
Final Fantasy X
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns
Godhand
Gitaroo Man
Gradius V
Gran Turismo 4
Killer7
Kingdom Hearts 2
Maximo Army of Zin
Okami
Onimusha 3
Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast
Persona 3 FES
Prince of Persia Trilogy
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Raw Danger
Red Faction 2
Resident Evil 4
Rez
Silent Hill 2
SkyGunner
Soul Calibur 3
Space Channel V
Timesplitters 2
Twisted Metal Black
Viewtiful Joe 2
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution
Warrios, the
We Love Katamari
Wipeout Fusion
WRC: Rally Evolved
Yakuza
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

[Anayo]

Here's some criteria:

- Something I can't get on the Gamecube
- Things that are graphically impressive - high production/play value, etc. Like Resident Evil 4, which I finished on the cube lately.
- Retro compilations and retro-style games worth looking at are of interest to me as well.

[J T]

- Retro compilations and retro-style games worth looking at are of interest to me as well.

Here are some games that have a retro-style, but are new games worth your dollar:

Contra: Shattered Soldier- Probably the best Contra game and the most difficult.

Gradius V- Beautiful. Challenging. True to its roots.

Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil- About as perfect as a sidescrolling platformer can get.

Lego Star Wars II- The concept of playing Legos seems silly, but this game is a lot of fun and a nice fan service to those that love the original Star Wars trilogy. The drop in/drop out multiplayer gives it an old arcade feel.

Outrun 2006: Coast to Coast- An arcade style racer that reminds you that realism isn't nearly as much fun to play as a revamped Sega arcade classic.

R-Type Final- Hours of shmup entertainment.

The Red Star- Whoever made this has an in-depth knowledge of what makes old school games so much fun.

Tales of the Abyss- Someone once described this as the RPG that doesn't know that the Final Fantasy series ever happened. It has a nice cartoony charm to it that feels like a retro role playing game, even though the graphics and sound are all up to date.

[Funk, E]

ROBOT ALCHEMIC DRIVE

[Pulsar_t]

Things that are graphically impressive - high production/play value, etc. Like Resident Evil 4, which I finished on the cube lately.

Ace Combat 5
Black
Final Fantasy X
God of War 2
Gran Turismo 4
Ico
Kingdom Hearts 2
Okami
Onimusha 3
Persona 3 FES
Psychonauts
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Rez
Silent Hill 2
We Love Katamari
Wipeout Fusion
Yakuza
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

Retro compilations and retro-style games worth looking at are of interest to me as well.

Capcom Classics Collection & Vol 2
Contra: Shattered Soldier
Fire Pro Wrestling Returns
Godhand
Gradius V
Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box
Koloana 2
Metal Slug Anthology
Nights into Dreams
Outrun 2006 Coast to Coast (it's Outrun in lovely 3D!)
Panzer Dragoon
Sega Classics Collection
SEGA Genesis Collection
Silpheed: The Lost Planet
Taito Legends 2
Virtua Cop Rebirth
Virtual On

- Something I can't get on the Gamecube

Arcana Heart
Bully
Dark Cloud 2
Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Gitaroo Man
Maximo Army of Zin
Raw Danger
SkyGunner
Space Channel V
Twisted Metal Black
Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution
Warrios, the
WRC: Rally Evolved

[FiftyDollarCurse]

Not mentioned yet...

Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy X-2
Dark Cloud and Dark Cloud 2
Sly Cooper

... asking for some "good" PS2 game is like asking for pictures of a "nice" set of tits, there's hundreds of uniquely different answers and all of them are right.

[Pulsar_t]

FFX and DC2 are both mentioned but it's not important my lists tend to be tedious to read racketboy's hidden ps2 gems page is also worth checking out.