20 PS2 Games That STILL Hold Up Today
“Twisted Metal: Black” (2001)
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Whether you’re playing the game natively on a PS2 or reliving it through the PS4 version, “Twisted Metal: Black” surprisingly still looks and plays great. Textures feature enough detail to match the game’s gritty tone without teetering over the edge and looking unnatural. Story-wise, every character feels fully fleshed out with deep backstories and excellent voice acting. Couple that with the various secrets hidden in each level and a smooth frame rate, and “Twisted Metal: Black” easily wins top spot as one of the PS2’s best games.
“Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal” (2004)
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If you’ve ever wanted to see how far your PS2 could be pushed in technical performance, the “Ratchet & Clank” games were a great way to do so, “Up Your Arsenal” being the most intense. Not only is the difficulty scaled up, but the weapons were bigger and badder than ever before. Controls were tightened to the nth degree compared to the previous games, too. In other words, “Up Your Arsenal” was, and still is, the definitive “Ratchet & Clank” experience. We just wish that the PS3 port was better developed than it turned out to really make it shine.
“Metal Arms: Glitch in the System” (2003)
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Much like “Twisted Metal: Black”, “Metal Arms” manages to strike a perfect balance between boasting highly detailed visuals and not going so far to reach the uncanny valley. Visuals aside, “Metal Arms” is still a riot to play today. The combat is explosive, the humor is witty, and the tethering mechanics offer so many ways to approach certain missions. It’s just a real shame that this third-person shooter is forever stranded on old hardware on account of developer Swingin’ Ape Studios closing while mid-development of the second game.
“SSX Tricky” (2001)
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Perhaps the biggest reason we still remember this game is its association with the Run DMC song that blares when you start. But hey, it did a tremendous job at hyping us up for what was to come! “SSX Tricky” made snowboarding insanely cool with its colorful cast of boarders, ridiculous tricks to pull off, and ways the AI and the player can interact and harass each other. Of course, goofing around with friends in multiplayer was the height of many Friday nights. Hopefully EA can get the rights back to certain songs so that they can bring this gem forward to modern hardware.
“Sly 2: Band of Thieves” (2004)
You could say “Sly 2” was one of the games that predates the open world games we expect today. And if you’re wanting one of those but in a more condensed and manageable format, this is it. “Sly 2” offered up a handful of imaginative locations with unique villains prowling around every corner. Every mission forced you to know the layout, how to spot areas to potentially lose guards, and encouraged you to find collectibles for access to new moves. Plus, you had the inclusion of Murray and Bentley as playable characters, opening the door for clever puzzles and combat scenarios.
“Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec” (2001)
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Realism can really make a game age worse than milk, but in the case of “Gran Turismo 3”, it somehow still looks incredible even after all we’ve seen from GT7. “Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec” was one of the best racing games you could play on your PS2. The cars looked sexier than they ever had (at the time), the controls were significantly more responsive, and the environments were rich with detail. Whether you love racing games or motorsports, GT3 was a must-own.
“Tekken 5” (2004)
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“Tekken 5” was probably as close to flawless as few fighting games have ever gotten to. For starters, you had what was the biggest roster at the time, clocking in at a whopping thirty-three fighters, and each had their own ladders in Story Mode. Then came the Devil Within campaign, which, love it or hate it, had its fair share of cool ideas. And if you missed out on the original games, you could experience the arcade versions of the first three “Tekken” games. Yes, this was all in one complete package, and it was all absolutely glorious! Maybe not Devil Within, but still, “Tekken 5” remains one of the best fighting games you could ever play.
“The Warriors” (2005)
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To be honest, the classic 3D trilogy of GTA games look…eh, kind of rough. Same with “Bully”, which is arguably better played under the Scholarship Edition. “The Warriors”, however, holds up tremendously well on both PS2 and PS4. It’s not too realistic, it controls well, and the amount of stuff you can do in combat outweighs whatever issues there might be in the gameplay. Regardless if you have seen the 1979 film it's based on, you absolutely need to play this game. You owe it to yourself.
“Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King” (2005)
We don’t get to show a lot of love for “Dragon Quest” here on MojoPlays, but if there is one game from the franchise we could play again and again, this is the one. From the cel-shaded visuals to the sprawling landscapes, “Journey of the Cursed King” is a real looker. More importantly, it plays just as well in both exploration and combat. It’s a JRPG that does not waste your time and keeps its mechanics simple enough for anyone, even novices, to pick it up, and that’s something most JRPGs completely neglected during this time. Also, it has the best design for the Hero in the franchise. Fight me.
“The Simpsons: Hit & Run” (2003)
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Funny how we put “GTA: Springfield” on the list instead of the other ones while it features classic puppet mouths for character animation. But it’s true - “The Simpsons: Hit & Run” is a blast to play. From races and chases to collectibles and kicking Marge down the street, “Hit & Run” gave you almost total freedom to explore and interact with Springfield the way you’ve always wanted to. On top of that, the seven chapters with different characters taking the spotlight make the game easy to digest compared to modern games. Just play around with it for an hour, and you’ll quickly see why so many have been asking for a remake or remaster in recent years.
“The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King” (2003)
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Remember when movie tie-in games used to be good, sometimes better than they had any right to be? At the top of Mount Doom stands “The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King” and unlike many future movie tie-in games, this wasn’t just merely a cash grab but was crafted by developers who loved the films and source material. Building off the formula laid out in the previous entry, The Two Towers, players take up arms as Aragorn, Gandalf, and even Frodo and Sam as they battle their way through some of the film's most important moments, including The Black Gate of Mordor. The game holds up remarkably well thanks to its fixed camera and pick up and playability and even allows co-op through the entire campaign. They just don’t make them like this anymore and that’s a shame considering how many modern blockbusters could easily be adapted.
“Viewtiful Joe” (2004)
In the landscape of 2D platformers, it can be hard to stand out from the crowd, but Viewtiful Joe managed to do it with more style than many of its contemporaries. With a timeless cel-shaded art style, players step into the shoes of an average Joe - and I just got that reference almost 20 years later - who’s been transformed into a superhero to save his girlfriend after they’re both pulled into “Movieland”. Joe is given access to numerous powers with his new V-Watch, such as Slow and Mach Speed, which are pretty self-explanatory, as well as “Zoom In” which increases damage as well as granting Joe new abilities. With near perfect platforming and the ability to combine powers for different effects, Viewtful Joe and its sequel play like they could have been released on modern consoles today.
“Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction” (2005)
What happened to destructible environments? Why is it we have fewer now than we did back on Sony’s second console at the start of the 2000s? “Mercenaries” set players loose in a world they could destroy to their heart's content while taking on missions however they choose. Warring factions will offer you jobs depending on how much of their side you’ve destroyed or attacked and the game even features multiple endings depending on your actions. While some of the controls can be a bit finicky and the many vehicles you can hijack don’t have the tightest controls, there’s no denying the guilty pleasure of going in guns blazing to see how much chaos you can cause while racking up as much damage as possible. The series received a sequel but most agree the first outing is the best in the franchise.
“The Thing” (2002)
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As we already covered, they don’t make movie-tie games like they used to anymore, let alone games that canonically continue the story and give fans the answers they wanted almost 2 decades later. Returning to the Antarctic outpost, a U.S. Special Forces team is sent in to find out what happened to the research team stationed there. Filled with the same tension as the iconic film, players must maintain trust within their team lest they all turn on one another, all while attempting to discover if the Thing is hiding amongst your unit. The design and transformations of the Things are still horrifying to encounter while maintaining trust with your comrades affects their willingness to share ammo and resources with you. Even after all these years, discovering which of your crew is sus is still a thrilling task.
“Medal of Honor: Frontline” (2002)
Long before Call of Duty was the king of first person shooters, there was Medal of Honor; and long before it was chasing CODs coattails by trying to reinvent itself, the peak of the franchise was undoubtedly Medal of Honor: Frontline. Opening with the storming of Normandy Beach, the feeling is still just as visceral now as it was the first time gamers stepped off that boat back in 2002. Frontline knew what it wanted to be and it did it immaculately with no frills or gimmicks, and that’s honestly what makes this entry stand the test of time. Gamers are taken back to WWII and sent on well designed and handcrafted missions that are still compelling today. COD might be king now but much of what made the COD formula the industry standard started here.
“Fatal Frame 2: The Crimson Butterfly” (2003)
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Horror in video games is a difficult balance to get right. Some, like “Silent Hill 2”, perfectly nail the tension and physiological dread while exploring the fog laden town, while others simply rely too much on jump scares. Fatal Frame 2 manages to find the harmony of both, echoing films like “Ju-on” and “The Ring” while forcing the player to confront the encroaching terrors head on with their Camera Obscura. While searching for their missing twin sister, players need to wait for the perfect moment to snap a picture of the spirit and hurt them before they can attack you. The fixed perspective keeps players constantly on edge and the near constant silence allows for every creaking floorboard and slamming door to echo throughout the empty village. The Fatal Frame series continues to this day, but “The Crimson Butterfly” is where the series nailed its formula for terror.
“Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix” (2006)
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Back on the PS2, players were spoiled for choice when it came not only to arcade racers but also Rockstar games. In a time before the company was focused on re-releasing Grand Theft Auto V more times than Skyrim, they created an open world racing series called Midnight Club focused on late night street racing across iconic cities and car customization. DUB Edition Remix acted as pre-DLC DLC, featuring all new vehicles, customizations options and almost 30 new licensed music tracks to listen to while cruising the streets looking for your next race. Players could even create their own races and change the type of race as well as weather effects they would encounter adding near infinite replayability. We haven’t seen the Midnight Club series in almost 2 decades but its best entry’s DNA can be felt in modern Rockstar games and it's still a wild ride even today.
“Star Wars: Battlefront II” (2005)
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Long before EA tarnished the name possibly forever, Star Wars Battlefront II was and still is one of the best Star Wars games ever made. Featuring everything modern Battlefront games don’t, mainly fun, even with the online servers shut down, Battlefront II still offers engaging multiplayer as well as a fully fleshed out single player campaign. With a wealth of iconic vehicles to pilot, characters to control, and even space dog fights, Battlefront II was one of the most ambitious Star Wars titles at the time and still holds up due to the variety of its gameplay and clear love for the source material. EA just needed to click “copy/paste” and they could have brought Battlefront to an entire new generation of Force users. At least the series’ high point is still wildly playable today for those looking for a bit of nostalgia but also what could have been.
“Tony Hawk’s Underground” (2003)
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The Tony Hawk series was riding high after its four main entries but the developers at Neversoft wanted to change up the formula for the series’ fifth outing. You wouldn’t think adding a storyline to a skating game would be compelling but when you’re up against a backstabbing little weasel like Eric, you just can’t wait to show him up and give him what he deserves. The Tony Hawk games manage to maintain a timeless quality about them due to their responsive controls and infinite replayability and Underground remains one of the series’ best efforts before it began getting too experimental with the numerous peripherals and gimmicks. We can always hope for remakes of the Underground entries, but if not, they remain the pinnacle of the series even today.
“Burnout 3: Takedown” (2004)
While the “Need For Speed” series continues to search for its identity, the “Burnout” series is left languishing in EA’s back catalog even while they continue to ape the “Burnout” formula, the 3rd entry in the “Burnout” series remains one of, if not THE best arcade racer ever made. Zipping around tracks at speeds so fast the scenery blurs all while trying your best to knock out the competition while they hunt you as well is still just as heart pounding now as it was back in 2004. While most modern arcade racers have moved to open worlds, there’s something special about memorizing the tracks to shave precious seconds off your time as you just barely avoid barreling full speed into that last turn. Racing games have certainly gotten bigger and more beautiful to look at over the years, but few have managed to capture the arcadey joy of “Burnout 3”.
