THE SECOND COMING
Two decades since the arrival of the PS2 we look back at some of the console’s best titles
THIS month marks the 20th anniversary of the Play Station 2. Looking back, it’s easy to forget what a game-changing console it really was.
Coming a year after Sega’s innovative Dreamcast, the PS2 seemed drab – especially with lacklustre launch titles like Street Fighter EX3, compared with the Dreamcast’s superb Crazy Taxi, Soul Calibur and Power Stone.
But the PS2’s magic wasn’t just about the games it came with – it was also about the hardware it was packing.
Its custom-designed ‘Emotion Engine’ CPU allowed the highest quality graphics at the time, and backwards compatibility meant you could still play all your PS1 games.
But the biggest innovation was fitting a DVD player as standard, so you could watch movies, or listen to music on it – a move which brought the console out of bedrooms and into living rooms for the whole family to use.
It’s no wonder then it remains the biggest selling console ever made – shifting more than 155 million units over its 12 year lifespan.
To mark this special anniversary,
THE SIMPSONS: HIT & RUN
Released: October 2003
ESSENTIALLY Grand Theft Auto in Homer’s beat-up Plymouth Valiant, Hit & Run sees you unleash chaos in Springfield.
Although considerably easier than 2001’s GTA, it was no less fun – probably more so as it revolved around the dysfunctional town and its quirky inhabitants. The great writing captured the essence of the show, delivering a game dripping with humour, and laugh-out-loud moments.
Hit & Run is universally accepted as the greatest Simpsons game ever, and with rumours circulating last year of a PS4 remaster in the works, here’s hoping we can relive it soon.
ICO
Released: March 2002
THE first of three games developed by the legendary Team Ico studio.
Ico is a boy with horns, who has been delivered to an eerie castle to be sacrificed. He slips from his tomb, encountering a young girl who is also being held prisoner.
The pair flee, and via a series of mazes, and puzzles they attempt to escape.
A perfect example of less if more, its minimalist storytelling allowed for the game’s atmosphere and environment to shine.
A cult hit, Ico’s spiritual successor, Shadow of the Colossus was lovingly remastered for the PS4 in 2018. Here’s hoping ICO can get the same treatment.
GREGORY HORROR SHOW
Released: December 2003
A PERSONAL favourite, this quirky survival horror was based on the cult Japanese CGi Anime series of the same name.
The sinister old mouse Gregory runs a hotel, occupied by equally menacing guests.
If you want to survive your stay, you have to team up with death and steal back the lost souls being held by the other hotel guests.
By spying on your fellow tenants, you have to learn their weaknesses and routines in order to safely slip into their rooms and steal back the bottled souls.
Creepier, and more challenging than it sounds, this title is still held dear by its fans.
TONY HAWK’S UNDERGROUND
Released: November 2003
NO EARLY 00s games review would be complete without a skateboarding sim – and Underground is the best ever made.
It took everything that was great about the Tony Hawk’s series, and dialled it up to 13.
For the first time you could play in-game as yourself, working your way up from underground skate punk, to pro superstar. With extensive customisation options, a great soundtrack, and puerile, Jackass style humour, it knew its market, and remains gnarly.
GOD OF WAR II
Released: March 2007
BUILDING on 2005’s original, God of War II saw Kratos, set on a quest to dethrone a God.
With its trademark mix of combat, puzzle solving, and epic boss fights, GoWII is still regarded as one of the best PS2 games of all time.
From the plot, to the gameplay, to the graphics – everything about this sequel was note perfect.
Visceral, and frenetic, this masterpiece secured Kratos’ place in the annals of gaming history – which is why the series newest game could be appearing on the PS5.