Games The Defined The PS2 - Add Your Contribution!

[Jmustang1968]

On the madden talk....is no one going to address the elephant in the room? The vastly superior and amazing deal of the nfl/ESPN 2k football games?

Because it wasn't superior

[BogusMeatFactory]

On the madden talk....is no one going to address the elephant in the room? The vastly superior and amazing deal of the nfl/ESPN 2k football games?

Because it wasn't superior

Blasphemy!! I do think that, if madden is up for debate to be included though we should talk about it. Why wasn't it superior? The 2k football had better presentation, better voice over, better franchise mode, better career node AND FIRST PERSON FOOTBALL!

[Ack]

And yet it just didn't sell the way Madden did.

[marurun]

And yet it just didn't sell the way Madden did.

So did Limp Bizkit for a while. Didn't make him any good.

[retrosportsgamer]

On the madden talk....is no one going to address the elephant in the room? The vastly superior and amazing deal of the nfl/ESPN 2k football games?

Because it wasn't superior

The 2K series defined the Dreamcast, not the PS2.

[Michi]

Using what's currently on the 'official' list, these are my thoughts so far*:

Defining
God of War Series - Like the games or not, the list would be incomplete without them.
Grand Theft Auto series - See above.
Kingdom Hearts - Disney and Square combined became unstoppable (and its fan base annoying)
Metal Gear Solid series - The hype surrounding these games before and after their launch could not be contained by mere gaming mortals.
Final Fantasy series - Pick your poison.
Gran Turismo 3 & 4 - I could take them or leave them, but I remember people going ape-sh*t over them so...
Devil May Cry series - This one is very iffy for me, to be honest. I don't hear a lot of talk about them now, but they were popular during their time. And it did get a reboot (which some will not speak of.)
Guitar Hero - I did't even play the games, and I still think of PS2 whenever they're mentioned.
Shadow of Colossus -
Persona 4 - Popo will be mad at me for splitting these up, but this is the title that I remember blowing up. Persona 3 got some people taking, but Persona 4 got people hooked and brought in newcomers who then went back to Persona 3.
Sly Cooper Series - May be the best platformer on the system. Still pretty highly regarded as far as I can tell.
Dragon Quest VIII - It's Dragon Quest. And one of the better regarded titles.
Silent Hill 2 (and/or3) - Many consider this better than the original. And other than Resident Evil 4 it's the only horror title I remember at the time being so well reviewed. On the other hand, it did receive some added content in the Xbox version, so I can see this one going either way. But I still think of PS2 (and Sony) when I think of this series.


Honorable Mention
Jak and Daxter Series - I remember people talking positively about the first one...and then complaining about everything that came after. I think Ratchet and Clank are far more memorable and revered.
Persona 3 - See above.
Ico - I remember Ico in a sense that it was usually preceded by a mention of how good Shadow of the Colossus was.


Cult Games
Everquest Online Adventures - too niche, me thinks. When I think online PS2 games, I think Final Fantasy XI (sorry, Bogus)
Katamari Series - I love me some Katamari...but even I don't think of it as defining.


Defer
Tekken series - Where these really popular at the time? I can't recall. I was more focused on the 2D compilations.
Star Wars Battlefront - I think these were more Xbox staples, but I did't play them at the time so...
SOCOM - I don't remember a lot of talk about these either, but I'm not a shooter fan.
Madden Series - I know some people used their console as a Madden machine, but these games have been around so long that I don't really feel they defined any one generation or console.

I'm basing my criteria mostly on "these are the games I think about when I think of PS2," even if I might not have played all of them.

[BogusMeatFactory]

Haha it's okay Michi! I still love ya!!

[Segata]

On the madden talk....is no one going to address the elephant in the room? The vastly superior and amazing deal of the nfl/ESPN 2k football games?

2k5 is still awesome. Still the best NFL sim game. I only have the Xbox version tho.

[Gunstar Green]

Robot Alchemic Drive!

What... no? Nobody?

I'll... I'll just see myself out.

[nightrnr]

Okay, so I skimmed the posts so far (apologies if I missed one) and I only saw a single mention of Ratchet and Clank (and not even as an official recommendation). That should make the list more than any other 3D platformer, says I.

Part of me thinks a Tekken should be there somewhere to represent fighters, but I'm not a uber fan of the series either.