Good afternoon ladies, gentlemen and those of a non-binary nature, my name is Daibhi and this is the Gamerhub. Sony’s PlayStation has been an absolute juggernaut of the gaming industry, and just about everyone I know has at least owned a console from the franchise of consoles over the years. This week, it’s been thirty years since the world of gaming was turned upside down by Sony, so Gamerhub have got me writing about my favourite games for each console. However, unlike last week’s article, where I wrote about my 10 favourite PS1 games, I couldn’t get this list down to 10 games. There is good reason for this, but primarily it’s because while the PS1 got me into gaming, the PS2 turned me into the gamer I am today.
In March 2000, and November 2000 everywhere outwith Japan, the Sony PlayStation 2 launched to the home gaming world. Selling over 150 million units worldwide, the PS2 became one of the best selling consoles of all time. Whether you had the big beefy original console, or the sleek redesigned slim console, these consoles became a staple of the gaming world. With well over 10000 games to choose from, this console had the largest gaming library ever seen, with the library extended as the console became legacy media. There’s a whole area of homebrew games devoted to this console, and without this beautiful piece of engineering, the gaming world would look completely different. For example, this game’s biggest selling game was Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. If GTA:SA hadn’t got as big as it did, we wouldn’t have the current game available to play on just about anything with a Wi-Fi connection. And speaking of games, time to get on with the list.
Two things: these aren’t what Gamerhub holds to be the best games (that’s up to you), nor are they the best-selling games. These are 15 games I loved, still love and highly recommend playing.
Star Wars Battlefront
LucasArts found themselves in a real problem in 2004. Their games weren’t performing well, and the “fight in a war” genre was dominated by both the early Call Of Duty and Medal Of Honor franchises. The answer was simple. We’ve all watched the Star Wars franchise of movies, and they’ve all got at least one good battle in them, so mashing up the CoD franchise formula with the movies was a brilliant idea. However, I’m not selling you the game’s pitch.
I am selling you the game. Because holy flarking shirtballs this game is good, and it still holds up! The game is nearly old enough to drink in the USA, and yet it’s still really good fun and incredibly replayable. There is a remastered version of this game available on most major consoles in the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection but it’s worth dusting that PS2 off and finding a disc on eBay. It’s primarily concerned with fighting in gigantic battles from the first six movies and keeping control of bases, as either the Empire, Separatists, Jedi forces or Rebels. Want to demolish your friends using AT-ST’s on Hoth? You can. Want to say to your friends that you have the high ground on Mustafar? This game has you covered. Hello there, Star Wars Battlefront. Sorry about the PS4 version of your sequel.
SSX Tricky
This is the game that got thousands of kids into snowboarding, but thousands more knowing Run-DMC songs that don’t involve Aerosmith. That might sound cruel, but trying to reference the song this game is trickier than it is to rock a rhyme that’s right on time. SSX wasn’t the first SSX game to hit consoles, neither is it the first extreme sports game to hit the home console market, but it is possibly the best one to involve Snowsports that doesn’t involve a yeti. This game is a snowboarding/racing game hybrid and was published in 2001 by EA under their EA Sports BIG brand.
This game took everything from the first game and upped the ante to make a truly unforgettable gaming experience. From the soundtrack that stuck with gamers long afterwards, to the breakneck pace in which the races took, to the new tricks. The first game had some cool tricks, but they were all based within reality for the most part. SSX Tricky for the PS2 added new tricks which added a more cartoonish element to them. Want to ape Tony Hawk and perform a 900 on a snowboard? Well, in this game you can, and there’s a lot more you can do.
God Of War.
This is the game that launched an entire genre of gaming into the mainstream, and we are all the better for it. God Of War is amazing franchise that has sold by the tonne in terms of sales on current consoles, but this is where it all started. The game’s plot borrows a lot from Greek mythology, but if you’re new to this franchise: He basically has the same backstory as Drax The Destroyer from Guardians of The Galaxy. A double-crossed demigod of pure rage known as Kratos has to fight his way through a game to get revenge. Revenge for his dead wife and child.
What makes this game an unmissable game is the gameplay. Yes, I hear you point out, Quick Time Events (QTEs) come from this game, but the hack-and-slash combo, duel wielding melee weapons and dynamic pacing also come from this game. There’s also the matter of the graphics which hold up exceedingly well. Seriously, I must have spent days playing this game, and it gets better every time. The remastered version of this game was so good it won Game Of The Year and honestly? I’m not surprised in the least.
WWE SmackDown Vs Raw 2007
The best wrestling game to release on the PS2 (I said what I said), this game broke the mould in what WWE games could do. It had all the arcade fun of Here Comes The Pain with a full use of the DualShock 2 controller. The graphics were better, the game’s storylines were better (apart from one that aged like a bucket of prawns in the summer sun), and there was a better creation suite in this game than ever seen before. The GM Mode was superb, everything about this game just clicks.
However, that’s not why you remember this game. There are primarily two reasons people remember this game. I’m not talking about one of them, as GamerHub doesn’t cover pro-wrestling. Instead, I’ll direct you to WrestleLamia’s excellent Behind The Titantron series (or I would have had WWE not got it taken down). The other reason is the better one to talk about anyway: The soundtrack. No longer did Yuke’s and THQ rely on sound-alike voice actors, they got the genuine wreslters to voice themselves. Hearing the real Teddy Long in his prime telling me I’m going to go one-on-one with The Undertaker still gives me chills. The licenced music for this game absolutely flarking rules too. From Rise Against to Nonpoint, to Bullets & Octane, this game had you singing along a lot of the time.
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4.
I know people rave about the previous installment of this game, but hear me out: THPS4 is better. I know that sounds like an awfully hot take based on a mixture of too much caffeine and nostalgia, but it isn’t. This game is objectively better. The soundtrack is more varied, there’s more parks, more skaters, more challenges and more fun. Yes, THPS3 had Darth Maul, and that’s cool, but the extra characters in this game were genius. Mike Vallely, the skateboarder and pro-wrestling extraordinaire appeared as himself in this game. Jango Fett (who at the time was the coolest thing in nerd culture) appears in this game. But the best of them all (and yes, I am including “Daisy” who’s based on a porn star in this) was Eddie from Iron Maiden. When you have a fictional character and mascot from one of the best metal bands of all time in your game, it’s good.
But as to why this game is actually better? Spine Transfers help you keep momentum as you chain massive combos to put the titular skateboarder to shame. Pulling lip tricks at the top of Nelson’s flarking Column in London was fantastic. Being able to release a herd of elephants to cause chaos was hilarious fun, and all to an amazing soundtrack including The Sex Pistols. Graphically, this game was an improvement on the third game in this franchise, but it wasn’t revolutionary. The reason is that THPS4 pushed this game’s game engine to the absolute limit, which is why Underground is such a vastly different game.
Spider-Man 2
I try when writing lists to keep away from film adaptations of games, as most of them suck after we move to this era of gaming. That being said, for a lot of people, this Spider-Man 2 is the definitive Spider-Man game, even after the three we’ve had on the PS4 and PS5. There are a whole bunch of reasons why, but let’s start with the basics. A fully explorable New York City where Spidey didn’t hang from webs in the clouds. The physics in this game were about as good as could be asked for at the time and made this game a solidly good play. Fall damage became a thing. Licensed voice acting from Tobey Maguire made you feel like this game wasn’t an elaborate knock off.
The range of characters in this game vary from ones in the game to bad guys from the comics that don’t appear in the films. For example, Rhino and Mysterio have appearances (and great boss battles) in this game. But, if following the story isn’t your bag, this game is chock full of emergencies and crimes that appear randomly on the mini map, really making you feel as if you are the web-head himself. But remember, with great power also comes great responsibility.
Simpsons Hit and Run
We all love The Simpsons, right? Even if we all agree that the writing for the TV show went downhill some time ago. Well, just like the TV show having a lot of series, this show has a history in videogames. Some were good (such as the Treehouse of Horror-inspired Escape From Camp Deadly), some were bad (like Krusty’s Fun House), and some are legendary. I put it to you that Simpsons’ Hit & Run is in the latter camp. If you had a PS2 when they were the best console available, there’s a good chance you had this game. I know I did the first time around.
Simpsons’ Hit & Run was launched off the back of games such as Driver and Grand Theft Auto 3, and given a unique twist. For what felt like the first time, we had an interactive layout of Springfield, as well as loads of jokes hidden away for all who enjoy the noble art of easter egg hunting. Whilst some people honestly prefer Crazy Taxi or Driver 3, Simpsons’ Hit & Run is still a fantastic game that holds up pretty well.
Guitar Hero
We’ve all dreamed of being the next Jimi Hendrix or the next Jimmy Page, right? This game was the game that let us all realise our dreams without putting in the thousands of hours or practice. Take the sense behind Time Crisis’s light guns peripherals, a bit of the arcade fun of Dance Dance Revolution and add the party game sense of Singstar, and you get this game. The game that spawned a thousand drunk parties. The game that spawned a whole bunch of new metalheads, and the game that I would honestly have had at the time if I could have afforded it.
The game isn’t that easy to play to start with, as there’s significant lag between buttons and screen to get used to, and getting your hands on a guitar for the PS2 that isn’t battered is nigh-on impossible, but this speaks to the popularity of the franchise. As for the soundtrack, this game is laden with absolute certified bangers. From Ozzy Osbourne to Queen, from Judas Priest to David Bowie, this game caters for all tastes and got teenage Daibhi into a lot of good music on the way.
Burnout Revenge
The Burnout franchise is sadly no longer among us, and whilst yes, Paradise City Remastered is a solidly good game, it wasn’t on the PS2. Instead, in 2005, we got Burnout Revenge. A pulse-pounding, breakneck racing game that not only allowed aggressive racing, it encouraged it. To be fair, causing your friends and family to crash their sweet rides into buses and oncoming traffic was addictive. Graphically, this is the best the franchise looked on PS2, and the gameplay became something we all enjoyed.
It completely reinvigorated the franchise, with the game being a hit with families and students alike. Fun fact: This game was in a ps2 wired to a projector in a nightclub I used to frequent. That was when I had less grey hairs and even less sense. The nightclub opened in the late afternoon and had competitions with this game and it’s not hard to see why. Burnout Revenge supported up to 4 players at any one time and had an unforgettable soundtrack. A mixture of roaring engines, foley sounds and hard rock were abundant from the start.
The Incredibles
It’s showtime! The Incredibles was one of the last great tie-ins to the movies, and this one left the industry with a bang! It almost religiously followed the plot of Brad Bird’s love letter to superhero movies, and featured all the main voices from the film. What makes this game special however is it’s devotion to keeping the film’s visual style as well as the plot. Every frame you could take from the movie looks like a rough draft of the film. Yes, some of it’s a bit blocky, and yes, it takes forever to defeat Bomb Voyage on the first level, but this game genuinely rules.
[A word of warning to would-be gamers trying to play this for the first time. Since starting to write this article for Gamerhub, I have since played the game again on PS2, and this game is almost nauseatingly hard. The camera becomes nightmarish if playing as anyone other than Mr Incredible, the boss battles are needlessly unforgiving. The worst sin this game commits is the sound quality. The beautiful orchestral score by the great Michael Giacchino is played on a loop and that bombastically that you’ll dream of punching the maestro in his perfect f**king face. Still a great game for the time, it just hasn’t aged all that well.]
The Punisher
I know he’s the favourite anti-hero of the right wing, but Frank Castle has more to give than the skull on his chest. Case in point: The Punisher on PS2 is genuinely one of the goriest games ever made for this console. It’s also by far one of the best comic book adapted to games ever made. I have this game personally, and I don’t play it that often, but have a bloody good time every time I do. Frank Castle wages his one man war on New York and you’re in control. The game allows you to run and gun, as well as “punish” criminal scumbags by inventive levels of torture.
The graphics haven’t aged all that well, so your imagination has to do a lot of the work, but nothing is more satisfying as the point where you’re doing your job so well that Iron Man turns up out of the blue to ask you to “tone it down”. This game is decidedly not for the children in the room, and I’m so so glad that they didn’t try to make Frank Castle more kid-friendly for the sake of a game. Other than the brilliant gameplay and half-decent soundtrack, this game’s got a tonne of cameos from people in the Marvel comics sphere, including a particularly brutal Stan Lee cameo. There’s no way Disney would let this game get made today.
Fifa Street
One of the biggest problems facing the FIFA franchise games in the early 2000s was the lack of diversity in the game. The manager mode was cool, the game’s career mode was basic, but every year the game just seemed to have been updated but just copied and pasted. Then… FIFA street happened. Take four players, let them perform the dirtiest tackles ever seen, let them shoot goals that goalies physically can’t stop and let the chaos reign. Rooney, Ronaldinho, Casillis, David Beckham and many, many more appear in this game as you build your own team and dominate the courts all the way from your home court in London to Rio De Janeiro.
This game didn’t just work on the PS2, they put this onto the Gamecube too! It’s a firm favourite at my local pub, The Bobbin in Aberdeen, but that should give you some idea of how popular the game is. It’s 19 years old and people will fight tooth and claw for this game in retro shops due to a mixture of the solid replayability and the nostalgia. Also, Clyde Tyldesley got the sack as commentator in this game, and instead we got a guy rapping onto a high-intensity beat. I challenge you to play this game and not be entertained.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
I’ve recently, with the help of a whole bunch of people, 100% completed this game on PS2. It took me well over 250 hours. That should give you an idea into precisely how big Rockstar North’s magnum opus truly is. I have made CJ fat, thin, musclebound, weak. I have made him a pro at just about every recreational activity and I have also made him the biggest pimp in Los Santos. I have waged war with the police and army, become a cop, ratted out on corrupt cops, ridden motorcycles to an insane degree and discovered that I don’t hate golfing halfway as much as I thought I did.
This game is genuinely gigantic, but it’s a lot of fun. The graphics are blocky, the soundtrack is fun but the voice acting is goofy, and most importantly, the song list on this game has only been beaten by GTA V. I think I’m done with the franchise at this point, because going for the completion was objectively not worth it. Go outside, touch some grass, breathe in some fresh air, you’ll feel better for it.
Canis Canem Edit
From one Rockstar game that takes forever to complete 100% to the game from Rockstar that I wish they would get a remaster: Canis Canem Edit (Dog Eat Dog/Bully) is the game that offended a thousand parents simultaneously. Because this game is out of print and on a console no longer used, the only way you can play this game today is by getting yourself a digital copy, and we here at Gamerhub highly recommend that you do just that. This game is legitimately brilliant, as you’re a kid called Jimmy. Jimmy is a little violent thug sent to a school full of the worst of the worst, as he fights his way through the social pecking order.
The ironic thing is that because this game is called “Bully” in most markets, most of the professionally offended missed the point of this game. No, it wasn’t a school bullying simulator, it was actually a game demonstrating why you shouldn’t bully other people whilst also allowing those bullied that bit of catharsis we all wanted. The lessons are all minigames, but the detention at Bullworth objectively sucks. Grab your firecrackers, catapult and skateboard, Jimmy is this school and town’s Batman!
Kingdom Hearts
There are two reasons why Kingdom Hearts got the number one spot. One is my partner, Hannah’s a big fan of this game. The second one is that I am too, with me being such a big Disney adult. Take the idea, storyline and concept of the Final Fantasy franchise, add in a whole bunch of Disney characters and humour, and mix. The result is the franchise that refuses to die no matter how many times Disney tries to kill it, and the best game on the PS2 in my humble opinion.
There are many reasons for this but let’s start with the obvious. This game got the best graphically out of the PS2. There are moments playing it when you’re not entirely sure which gaming generation this game came out of. There’s the gameplay, which took the Final Fantasy gameplay and made it simpler for those not into turn-based gaming. The plot is pretty impressive for the era it comes out of. The game is beautiful to look at. The soundtrack is perfect from beginning to end. Also, it inspired this video from The Stupendium.
So, that’s our list! There is more to come so don’t worry, we’ll get you sorted with new content soon at the Hub. One final bit of admin: We’re currently hiring at the Hub, so if you fancy some kick ass games and some experience, please get in touch. Contact us at Admin@Gamerhub.co.uk and we’ll get back to you.
For the Gamerhub, I’ve been Daibhi and you are all legends.
