Happy 10th anniversary PlayStation 2!

The PlayStation 2 came out in October 26, 2000, it was one of the most ground-breaking consoles of the U.S. at the time. Today is October 26, 2010, this means that, yep, it’s the PlayStation 2′s 10th anniversary (or you can say birthday) today!

Well, Sony celebrates 10 years of the PlayStation 2 by giving out a $99 bundle which is a “limited edition” with the Toy Story 3 game in it. That’s nice since maybe people who don’t own this awesome console can have the chance to buy it and try games like Gran Turismo, God of War, Ratchet and Clank, or any other successful Sony title for the PS2 that grabs your attention. How am I gonna celebrate 10 years of the PS2? Well to do this, I’m going to show you a list of my favorite PS2 games, so I guess you can try these games if you first bought your PS2. Please note that all the videos shown are not mine and belong to their respective owners.

SSX (Snowboard Supercross):
This is one of the best snowboarding games for the PS2 out there, also the most nostalgic PS2 title for me. The characters are unique, controls are easy, gameplay is fun, the soundtrack is pretty awesome, and it’s one heck of a trip. Get out of the way CoolBoarders 2001, because there is a better alternative to your type of game.

TimeSplitters 2:
This is one of my most favorite console FPSes. I have not tried the first one, but that dosen’t matter because TimeSplitters 2 just blows away all the other 2 games from the series. Like SSX, I like the character design and the gameplay is fun. Although it can be challenging, but just keep trying or else you won’t finish this game, it’s worth to keep trying anyways. This game has HUGE similarities to the hit N64 game, “GoldenEye 007″, the reason why is the fact that there were former Rare members that opened Free Radical Design (now Crytek UK since of 2009) to develop games like TimeSplitters and Second Sight. But overall, it’s definitely worth trying if you want different console FPSes.

Frequency & Amplitude:
Rhythm games, rhythm games, rhythm games… These two are the best ones for the PS2 from Rock Band developer, Harmonix. The reason why I put both is because they basically have the same gameplay style, which is challenging but is enjoyable. The backgrounds that show up while you are playing a song is so Tron, that it’s pretty trippy. The only difference between the two is that the “FreQ” (a.k.a your avatar) is 2D in Frequency, while in Amplitude it’s 3D. I liked Frequency’s avatar system better since it’s more customizable. To end it, they’re not your average Beatmania or DDR game (although they have similar gameplay to Rock Band and Guitar Hero), they’re pretty original and awesome rhythm games to try out for the PS2.

ICO:
A mystifying platformer for the PS2, but a good one. It’s about a young boy that was born with horns, which his village thinks it’s evil, so then they lock him up. But when he gets out, adventure ensues. From meeting Yorda, to battling a queen. This game is a pretty cool platformer to try out on your PS2 if you like more adventurous and less comical platformers, since it has a pretty good storyline. It also interests me that the fact the game is instead on a CD-ROM instead of a DVD, this game has a lot to it that’s why.

Medal of Honor Frontline:
Another good console FPS which performs better on the PS2. Except this time, this game is based on World War II. You play as Lt. Jimmy Patterson of the OSS, fighting your way to Europe to Nazi Germany. I think back then EA did great games like this and SSX, but overall this game is awesome because of it’s style, gameplay, and action. So try out this game if you like World War 2 games, because this one is pretty epic.

Gran Turismo 3 A-spec:
What made Gran Turismo even more advanced? This game right here, even though Gran Turismo was always an extremely advanced racing simulator. Since they had the ability to develop something before the PS2 came out, Polyphony Digital did a great job at working hard at this installment of Gran Turismo, because the graphics are amazing, the cars are cool, the gameplay is fun (like most games), and I love the sound effects and music. A racing game that is worth a try for your PS2.

Well even though the PS2 faced some things I was uncomfortable with like killing the Dreamcast and controversies like disc read error lawsuits, this console it still marvelous. It’s also the most nostalgic console that comes to mind, because I owned one since it came out in 2000. This nostalgia makes me remember awesome games like SSX and TimeSplitters 2, oh yeah, and demo discs! So if you have been under a rock and have not tried the PlayStation 2, I think it’s time for you to buy one and get some cool games like these ones, even though some of these games are multi-platform. So, I’ll say it again, happy 10th anniversary (or birthday or whatever) PlayStation 2!

Advertisement