A look into PlayStation 2’s 5 finest titles
The PlayStation 2 is an achievement. Not only is it the best selling video game console of all time, it had a massive software support from first party and third party developers from all over the world, and had a library of whopping 3,874 games. OH THE GAMES! Some of the finest third party as well as first party titles, either big or middle/small budget, covering genres from action to role-playing to horror to simply wacky stuff, were here. PS2 not only home to the best gaming has to offer, but many “cult classics” as well. Reading about different titles in the PS2 library is a fascinating journey in itself, coming from personal experience.
“At the height of the PlayStation 2’s success, the word effectively came to mean video games for a lot of people,” said Anna Marsh, a game designer who worked on Tomb Raider and Hitman.
For me, few titles stuck out the most. I’ve been mostly an action-adventure all my gaming life, and PS2 had some really good ones.
5. God Hand (Capcom/Clover Studios) [2006]
God Hand represents director Shinji Mikami at his absolute creative peak. Tired of directing horror games, he wanted to make a fast paced action game with all the creative freedom that Capcom, the development studio, could offer. Its beat-em-up gameplay was reminiscent of the classic brawling action games like Final Fight and Streets of Rage, only in 3D. And its tone is crazy wild, combining all sorts of inspirations like western, post-apocalypse, even Japanese centric inspirations like Super Sentai (Japanese version of Power Rangers). Despite selling poorly, it has gained a massive cult following thanks to YouTube Let’s Plays and Reviews.
4. Ace Combat 04 (Namco) [2001]
Do not let the rather generic military cover art fool you, this is one of the most adrenaline pumping action romp on the PlayStation 2. Its a flight action game with easy-to-understand control scheme and a simple goal : shoot down anything labelled as “Enemy”. But it weaves a narrative around each mission and put you in amazing circumstances. In one mission, you’ll have to navigate a narrow corridor, avoiding lasers that can damage you. In other, you need to escape from then impossible to defeat enemies that are hot on your tail.
Lastly the narrative, which is experienced rather than told. The radio chatter adds a lot flavor and context to current events, as you blaze through the sky along with the blood pumping soundtrack.
3. God of War II (Santa Monica Studios) [2007]
The word “cinematic” doesn’t get any more grand when it comes to the God of War franchise. God of War II in particular feels like an epic movie, just in a playable form. You’ll go through the journey of Kratos, the angriest gaming protagonist through vast landscapes of Greek mythologies, fighting God and monsters alike, to get revenge on Zeus for tricking him into losing his Godhood.
With gorgeous graphics and animations, soaring soundtrack, more traps and puzzles, new enemies to fight, lots of weapons and moves, this is a pitch perfect blockbuster game.
2. Okami (Capcom/Clover Studios) [2006]
Where as Shinji Mikami wanted to break away from his main genre, director Hideki Kamiya also did the same with one of the most ambitious action-adventure game Capcom ever produced at the time. At in the Japanese mythological period, you play as Goddess wolf Amaterasu , going through entirety of Japan and ridding them from evil and corruption.
One of the stand out quality of the game its beautiful graphical aesthetics, which were inspired from Japanese ukiyo-e style paintings. The game looks timeless, 15 years on. Game is inspired from 3D Zelda games, with varied locations, people to talk to, enemies to defeat and secrets to find. The game is also elevated by its phenomenal soundtrack, with 3 composers composting 218 songs filled with Japanese folk and contemporary genres.
1. Shadow of the Colossus (Team Ico) [2005]
It is rare to see games try to do something different. Rarer still are those who do it flawlessly.
Objective is simple. Defeat 16 hulking monsters to save a girl life. But the journey is more arduous than that.
Each of the 16 colossi is a different puzzle, each requiring a different method to defeat them. Its a great sense of victory when you do defeat them, but as you go on through the game, you get a sense that your actions aren’t really that heroic.
Fumito Udea’s signature “minimalist” approach to game design shines through, which in turn creates maximum impact at every point in the game. Combined that with Kow Otani’s beautifully haunting soundtrack that adds to its atmosphere. And the ending is nothing short of a brilliant tragedy tale equivalent to an amazing theatre play.
It’s a one-of-a-kind experience.
