The Playstation 2 in all its glory
Today is the 10th birthday of the Playstation 2! If I didn’t have a Playstation 3 without backwards compatibility, my PS2 would certainly have a ton of play time. I still remember when I first got my PS2. I was a straight A student and my parents bought me a PS2 to reward me for the hard work I’ve put into school. The first game I ever put in was “ESPN Winter X Games Snowboarding”. I couldn’t believe that graphics that this console was capable of. Although I have a strong background in gaming (I think everyone grew up on Nintendo back in the day), I think that the moment I got my PS2, was the moment in my life that I became a true gamer.
I remember when life used to be so simple. There was only one console that was better than all of the others, and that was the PS2. There are so many PS2 titles that are rated 9/10 and higher on most, if not all review sites. To celebrate, I’ll make a quick list of my top five favourite Playstation 2 games of all time.
#5
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3
I have spent an insane amount of my time playing this game. After school, I would play this game in Free Skate Mode and shoot the shit for a while before supper and homework every night. I would simply sit there raking in the points by the millions casually skating around with no purpose except for the freedom of just having fun. THPS3 is exactly what a game should be: fun. I could literally entertain myself performing caspers, backflips, truckstands, etc. and never get bored of it. It’s sad to see that the modern THPS games don’t hold up to the classics like THPS2, but this still remains a classic to me to this day.
#4
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
Oh, what to say about this game. This is another game where I’ve spent avoiding the main points of the game, and just enjoy its Free Run mode. Although I’m not too big of a fan of the soundtrack, I still found it fun to play my own music while hearing the engine of my Mazda RX-7 scream. I’d also like to say that once you get used to the game’s physics engine, the game itself became one of the best drifting games ever in my opinion! Polyphony Digital has done an amazing job with this game, which is why I’m disappointed with the delay of the largely anticipated Gran Turismo 5. Yeah, yeah yeah. “We’re just waiting for an open window for sales”. Just give me my GT5 already!
#3
Dark Cloud 2
When I first got my hands on the first Dark Cloud title, I was amazed at how epic the game was. It was new and different from all of the other games out there, so naturally, the sequel improves on all aspects of the first game and makes it better. I am happy to say that I still play Dark Cloud 2 and that I have not lost interest in this game at all. Although the dungeon crawling is quite repetitive, I hardly notice it when my goal is to get the best possible sword, because I think the visual design of the swords and other weaponry (but mainly swords!) are what captivated me. The brilliant and colourful designs were just amazing. Max and Monica were both very likable characters and so are the rest of the supporting cast. The leveling systems were improved immensely from the first game, and everything just seems so natural. Definitely a top pick. I hope a Dark Cloud 3 is in the near future. I seriously wished White Knight Chronicles didn’t come out if it meant a Dark Cloud 3 release was coming. Please! Give me a DC3!!!
#2
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
I personally don’t think there has been a Grand Theft Auto game released after San Andreas that was as good or better than San Andreas. The storyline is so wacky, but it’s sandbox style gameplay worked so well. GTA:SA is probably one of the funniest games I have EVER played. In all honesty, I loved how the cars of the game are modeled after some of my favourite Japanese cars. It had a Mazda RX-7, Nissan Skyline, Toyota Supra MKIV (FWD? WTF!), Acura NSX, Subaru WRX, Mitsubishi 3000GT, etc. I spent a good portion of the game modifying my cars and driving the crap out of them. I would drift down mountains, pull drift donuts, rally up and down the side of a mountain, canonball run around the entire map, have top speed trials in the country side.. man, what couldn’t you do in this game? Aside from modifying and driving your cars to your heart’s content, you also had access to: stunt moto X, piloting airplanes, sky diving, gambling, having sex with prostitutes, eating burgers, shopping for clothes to look fly, fighting the US Army, flying with a jet pack, getting high, having gang wars, having your own gang, owning your own property, competing in marathons, hanging out with Triads, flying fighter jets and attack helicopters, playing as a taxi driver, playing as an ambulance driver, playing as a super hero, running around in a gimp suit beating people with a dildo, playing pool, having girlfriends, going on dates with your girlfriends, cheating on your girlfriends, shooting your girlfriends if she gets on your case, having a friend join you in a two-player massacre, swimming, getting fat, working out, stunt BMXing at the skate park, stealing a combine and running people over with it, importing your favourite car, ETC ETC ETC. Seriously, you don’t need me to go on. This is a game full of quality.
#1
Final Fantasy X
I didn’t like this game at first. It actually took me a few years to force myself to play a an hour of the game. I couldn’t understand why it was so good.
…then, the story started to unravel.
I couldn’t believe how involved the story was. I was hooked on the story and the characters in the game. This is one of the few games where I actually played as it was meant to be, and for me to call it a classic is saying a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever felt sad for playing a game. It wasn’t because it was horrible, but it was because I could almost feel how the characters are feeling. You can feel the hate that Tidus has for his father, you can feel the struggle that Wakka feels over the loss of his brother, you can feel the sorrow that Yuna feels as she gets closer to the end of her pilgrimage. I wish modern games had stories like this one. Today, stories are just so-so. To this date, no game other than FFX has left me depressed after beating the game because the game was over and I wanted more.
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Please Sony, keep supplying me with top tier classics. I’m sort of disappointed with the current selection of games, but I understand we all have to be patient.
HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY PLAYSTATION 2! We’ve had some good memories together. Here’s a tribute to ya bud:
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