20 PS2 Games With The BEST Cheats
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VOICE OVER: Ty Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
Back when most video games had cheats, the PS2 had some excellent ones. Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we're taking a look at 20 PlayStation 2 games that had the most fun and hilarious cheat codes to exploit. Our list of PS2 Games with the best cheats includes “The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction” (2005), “Hitman 2: Silent Assassin” (2002), “The Simpsons: Hit & Run” (2003), “Spider-Man” (2002), and more!
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at 20 PlayStation 2 games that had the most fun and hilarious cheat codes to exploit.
Having a hard time plowing through every character’s arcade mode? Look, we get it - TMB’s AI can be freakin’ ludicrous at times. It feels like everyone is gunning for you and only you the majority of the match. Well, if you just want to see every ending, TMB does boast a small assortment of fun cheats that can turn every match into a joke. You can turn all of your weapons into instant health or immediately upgrade to the Mega Guns. But those not wanting to put up with the B-S will activate God Mode without question. TMB is great, but damn, do the other drivers really need to be this aggressive to the player?
“Hitman 2” really, really wants you to mess with its physics and weaponry. It may not seem like it at first given how serious the game generally is in tone. Plus, the cheat codes for instant healing and skipping levels are the same kinds of cheats you’d expect from any other game from this era. However, once you input the cheats for bomb mode, nail guns, slo-mo, and zero gravity, “Hitman 2” quickly becomes an entirely different game. Think you can take out your targets in this madness?
We don’t normally get to gush over the genuinely great Disney games, but when it came to cheat codes, “The Incredibles” was a total power fantasy. In addition to the typical “refill health” codes, the game came with a ton of passwords that altered the game. You had a code that doubles the game speed, a code that halves the game speed, one that insta-kills everything on screen, and even one that temporarily grants you eye lasers. There are even some dumb fun codes that can enlarge everyone’s heads or cause your character to leave a trail of fire in their wake.
Sure, you can play “The Sims 2” legitimately if you want to. By all means, play the game as you gradually upgrade your house, purchase new clothes, drown Sims in your pool, and the whole nine yards. But if you want a game where you can do anything you want, you most likely used the cheat codes. There are cheats that will grant you an obscene amount of money, cheats that unlock all of the recipes, clothes, and furniture, and even a cheat that lets you skip time. With these at your disposal, “The Sims 2” became a way more chill game than it already was.
The first “BloodRayne” came with a hearty helping of cheats that let you go nuts. There were codes for instant healing, level select, and of course, God Mode. But why are we highlighting the second game instead? Well, there were way more codes that did cooler things! One code would cause all enemies to freeze, another that wiped out all enemies, one that makes the dismemberment even more graphic, and even a code that unlocked a secret difficulty! Couple some of these with codes that gave unlimited rage, health, and ammo, and you have the ultimate vampire power fantasy.
Yes, we know this is an odd pick considering “Cart Fury Racing Championship” wasn’t exactly one of the best racing games you could nab for your PS2. However, the cheats for this game were out of pocket! For example, one code will envelop the course in a thick fog, making it difficult to anticipate turns properly. Another two codes can cause cars to explode if they touch a wall or another car. But the best one is low gravity. Crash while this cheat is active, put on some lovely opera music, and witness the majesty of your destruction.
Of course, you can play “Mercenaries” with the standard cheat codes. You know, the ones that grant invincibility, a crap ton of money, and infinite ammo. Thing is that “Mercenaries” was one of those games where the best cheat codes got you unlockable characters. Many of these simply allowed you to play as different NPCs, but two codes let you play as characters you would not expect in a game like this. How crazy is it that Indiana Jones and Han Solo are both in this game?? Makes sense, though, since LucasArts was the publisher, but still!
“Midnight Club 3” only has wacky, cosmetic cheat codes while the first game only has one code that unlocks the buggy from “Smuggler’s Run”. “Midnight Club II”, on the other hand, went nuts with its cheat codes! For starters, one code will give you all the nitro you need to bully your way to first place. Another makes your vehicle indestructible and prevents your character from bailing from their motorcycle. And then, there’s a whole set of codes that alter the difficulty from comically easy to absurdly hard. But the best code in the game grants you machine guns and rockets. Now, you own the streets. No one will ever rob you of first place ever again.
We won’t lie - “Legend of Black Kat” doesn’t have anything as ridiculous as weapons in a street racing game or giving you eye lasers. Instead, there's entertainment to be had in simply making the game a bit easier for yourself. You have a few codes that can give you invincibility while others can give you fun costumes for Katarina. But if you’re having trouble obtaining every Chest Key and finding every treasure, there are codes that can give you all the keys you need and will mark your maps with green X’s to indicate where a treasure is buried.
The main attraction in “Oni” isn’t exactly the cheat codes. Really, it’s the combat. Admittedly, it will feel weird at first, but once you get a grasp on how it functions, damn, is it fun! And “Oni” leans into the power fantasy hard with the cheat codes. We aren’t just talking about invincibility either. One code lets you knock down enemies in one hit. Another takes it a step up and lets you KO them in one hit. Then, you got some goofy codes that activate big heads, tiny bodies, and even let you change characters. Nothing too crazy, but still fun codes to mess with.
When it comes to insane cheat codes that turn games into a madhouse, “Hit & Run” is among the craziest. You got a code that unlocks the speed cap, turning every car you drive into a rocket. There’s a code that causes your car to launch into the air whenever you blare the horn, a code that causes every car you touch with your car to explode, and a code that enables what we like to call “Homer” mode where the graphics get super blurry. Just try to get through the whole game with all of these cheats enabled. We dare you.
In all honesty, “Guitar Hero” has cheat codes that aren’t exactly cheats. Sure, some of the games have an “unlock everything” code and a code that never lets you fail a song. But for the most part, they’re all cosmetic. You can change the heads of the crowd to monkeys, eyeballs, or spooky, scary skeletons, and one code even makes your guitar invisible so it looks like you’re jamming out on a real air guitar. One code you absolutely must try for yourself is “Performance Mode” which hides the track and forces you to play completely from memory!
This game was already immensely fun to play normally. What else could we use to make the game even more entertaining? Well, entering the code “dodge this” would trigger Matrix mode, making everything move in slow motion. “Spiderbyte” will turn Pete into a tiny Spider-Man. But the big ticket codes were the ones that changed your character. Most codes unlocked simple NPCs. However, everyone who looked up codes for this game immediately gravitated towards unlocking Green Goblin. Some copies even allowed you to play as MJ, but that was removed from so many reprints of the game that finding a copy that works is hard to find.
For the most part, the Lego games’ cheat codes are used for unlocking a ton of characters at the very start of the game. Heck, some games even restrict you from totally unlocking the character and still make you purchase them. But the real joy comes from the sillier cheats. They were just goofy cheats that did things you wouldn’t expect like turn lightsabers into brooms or guns into teacups or give everyone and everything a Groucho Marx disguise. All you really need from these games is lighthearted, goofy fun, and these codes certainly capitalized on that side of Lego.
When it came to cheat codes, these games spilled every secret. Imagine the awe and excitement on everyone’s faces when reading you could unlock Darth Maul and Wolverine in “Pro Skater 3” or Jango Fett in “Pro Skater 4”. You mean to tell us there are “Star Wars” AND Marvel characters in our favorite skating game? Well, in that case, who cares about maxing out my custom skater’s stats when I could be pulling off sick tricks with a dual-bladed lightsaber or arm claws! Unlocking all levels instantly when playing the guest characters is all you could ask for.
Whereas most of our entries keep unlockable characters, maps, and fun cosmetics behind cheat codes, “Crazy Taxi” hides a whole other layer to its gameplay on the PS2 version. On the surface, this port appears to be just that: a simple port of an arcade classic. However, the basic codes you can access will force you to play the game differently and actually learn the routes. One code will take away your guiding arrow at the top screen while another removes the destination beacon. Then, you have the code that unlocks “Another Day”, which completely changes your spawn point and the spawn points of passengers. And if these weren’t hard enough, go ahead and use the code that unlocks Expert Mode, which removes both the arrow and beacon from the game.
“Psi-Ops” has a ton of cheat codes for you to discover. Seriously, it’s almost a whole laundry list of codes! The majority of them are cosmetic, turning your character into various NPC’s and side characters. Heck, one code will even turn your character into Scorpion from “Mortal Kombat”! But the best codes were the ones that unlock bonus missions. These missions could be obtained normally by simply finding different gnomes hidden in each level. But why do that when you could play them instantly? Not every one of them was a winner, yet they were still neat minigames to discover.
When giving “Ultimate Destruction’s” codes a quick glance, things can look a little lackluster. Really, does the Hulk need an abundance of different colored shorts? No. There were plenty of codes here that made the game significantly more entertaining than it already was. You could double your damage output, turn all vehicles into buses, and even play as different characters. There was a catch to some of these codes, though: you had to beat the game first. Even then, one final unlockable character escaped most people’s grasp as the code for him would only work if you beat the game with a score of more than one million points.
“Enter the Matrix” has a relatively short list of cheats for you to use, shorter than most of the other entries we’ve seen already. Unlock all weapons, infinite ammo, infinite health… The real fun begins when you input the code for infinite focus and invisibility. One lets you look cool and cheese enemies while the other…well, it lets you cheese enemies in a more comical way. One code will even turn on friendly fire, allowing you and your friend to put the whole story on pause just to fight each other. Just be careful as some codes do cause the game to freeze up in certain areas.
There’s no denying that GTA III, “Vice City”, and “San Andreas” have the best cheats of any PS2 game to ever hit the market. Rockstar Games really let you turn the games into a playground of mayhem and chaos with these codes. Make your character super thick, maximize your Wanted level instantly, turn all NPCs into hostile mobs, snap traffic out of existence, turn all taxis into nitro-fueled gas guzzlers, turn off gravity for cars when hit, spawn tanks from thin air - you basically became a GOD in these games. You had the perfect excuse to unleash your inner Homelander and turn into a complete psychopath without any question. Need we say more?
Which PS2 game do you think had the best cheat codes? Did it make our list? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!
“Twisted Metal: Black” (2001)
Having a hard time plowing through every character’s arcade mode? Look, we get it - TMB’s AI can be freakin’ ludicrous at times. It feels like everyone is gunning for you and only you the majority of the match. Well, if you just want to see every ending, TMB does boast a small assortment of fun cheats that can turn every match into a joke. You can turn all of your weapons into instant health or immediately upgrade to the Mega Guns. But those not wanting to put up with the B-S will activate God Mode without question. TMB is great, but damn, do the other drivers really need to be this aggressive to the player?
“Hitman 2: Silent Assassin” (2002)
“Hitman 2” really, really wants you to mess with its physics and weaponry. It may not seem like it at first given how serious the game generally is in tone. Plus, the cheat codes for instant healing and skipping levels are the same kinds of cheats you’d expect from any other game from this era. However, once you input the cheats for bomb mode, nail guns, slo-mo, and zero gravity, “Hitman 2” quickly becomes an entirely different game. Think you can take out your targets in this madness?
“The Incredibles” (2004)
We don’t normally get to gush over the genuinely great Disney games, but when it came to cheat codes, “The Incredibles” was a total power fantasy. In addition to the typical “refill health” codes, the game came with a ton of passwords that altered the game. You had a code that doubles the game speed, a code that halves the game speed, one that insta-kills everything on screen, and even one that temporarily grants you eye lasers. There are even some dumb fun codes that can enlarge everyone’s heads or cause your character to leave a trail of fire in their wake.
“The Sims 2” (2005)
Sure, you can play “The Sims 2” legitimately if you want to. By all means, play the game as you gradually upgrade your house, purchase new clothes, drown Sims in your pool, and the whole nine yards. But if you want a game where you can do anything you want, you most likely used the cheat codes. There are cheats that will grant you an obscene amount of money, cheats that unlock all of the recipes, clothes, and furniture, and even a cheat that lets you skip time. With these at your disposal, “The Sims 2” became a way more chill game than it already was.
“BloodRayne 2” (2004)
The first “BloodRayne” came with a hearty helping of cheats that let you go nuts. There were codes for instant healing, level select, and of course, God Mode. But why are we highlighting the second game instead? Well, there were way more codes that did cooler things! One code would cause all enemies to freeze, another that wiped out all enemies, one that makes the dismemberment even more graphic, and even a code that unlocked a secret difficulty! Couple some of these with codes that gave unlimited rage, health, and ammo, and you have the ultimate vampire power fantasy.
“Cart Fury Racing Championship” (2001)
Yes, we know this is an odd pick considering “Cart Fury Racing Championship” wasn’t exactly one of the best racing games you could nab for your PS2. However, the cheats for this game were out of pocket! For example, one code will envelop the course in a thick fog, making it difficult to anticipate turns properly. Another two codes can cause cars to explode if they touch a wall or another car. But the best one is low gravity. Crash while this cheat is active, put on some lovely opera music, and witness the majesty of your destruction.
“Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction” (2005)
Of course, you can play “Mercenaries” with the standard cheat codes. You know, the ones that grant invincibility, a crap ton of money, and infinite ammo. Thing is that “Mercenaries” was one of those games where the best cheat codes got you unlockable characters. Many of these simply allowed you to play as different NPCs, but two codes let you play as characters you would not expect in a game like this. How crazy is it that Indiana Jones and Han Solo are both in this game?? Makes sense, though, since LucasArts was the publisher, but still!
“Midnight Club II” (2003)
“Midnight Club 3” only has wacky, cosmetic cheat codes while the first game only has one code that unlocks the buggy from “Smuggler’s Run”. “Midnight Club II”, on the other hand, went nuts with its cheat codes! For starters, one code will give you all the nitro you need to bully your way to first place. Another makes your vehicle indestructible and prevents your character from bailing from their motorcycle. And then, there’s a whole set of codes that alter the difficulty from comically easy to absurdly hard. But the best code in the game grants you machine guns and rockets. Now, you own the streets. No one will ever rob you of first place ever again.
“Pirates: The Legend of Black Kat” (2002)
We won’t lie - “Legend of Black Kat” doesn’t have anything as ridiculous as weapons in a street racing game or giving you eye lasers. Instead, there's entertainment to be had in simply making the game a bit easier for yourself. You have a few codes that can give you invincibility while others can give you fun costumes for Katarina. But if you’re having trouble obtaining every Chest Key and finding every treasure, there are codes that can give you all the keys you need and will mark your maps with green X’s to indicate where a treasure is buried.
“Oni” (2001)
The main attraction in “Oni” isn’t exactly the cheat codes. Really, it’s the combat. Admittedly, it will feel weird at first, but once you get a grasp on how it functions, damn, is it fun! And “Oni” leans into the power fantasy hard with the cheat codes. We aren’t just talking about invincibility either. One code lets you knock down enemies in one hit. Another takes it a step up and lets you KO them in one hit. Then, you got some goofy codes that activate big heads, tiny bodies, and even let you change characters. Nothing too crazy, but still fun codes to mess with.
“The Simpsons: Hit & Run” (2003)
When it comes to insane cheat codes that turn games into a madhouse, “Hit & Run” is among the craziest. You got a code that unlocks the speed cap, turning every car you drive into a rocket. There’s a code that causes your car to launch into the air whenever you blare the horn, a code that causes every car you touch with your car to explode, and a code that enables what we like to call “Homer” mode where the graphics get super blurry. Just try to get through the whole game with all of these cheats enabled. We dare you.
“Guitar Hero” series (2005-15)
In all honesty, “Guitar Hero” has cheat codes that aren’t exactly cheats. Sure, some of the games have an “unlock everything” code and a code that never lets you fail a song. But for the most part, they’re all cosmetic. You can change the heads of the crowd to monkeys, eyeballs, or spooky, scary skeletons, and one code even makes your guitar invisible so it looks like you’re jamming out on a real air guitar. One code you absolutely must try for yourself is “Performance Mode” which hides the track and forces you to play completely from memory!
“Spider-Man” (2002)
This game was already immensely fun to play normally. What else could we use to make the game even more entertaining? Well, entering the code “dodge this” would trigger Matrix mode, making everything move in slow motion. “Spiderbyte” will turn Pete into a tiny Spider-Man. But the big ticket codes were the ones that changed your character. Most codes unlocked simple NPCs. However, everyone who looked up codes for this game immediately gravitated towards unlocking Green Goblin. Some copies even allowed you to play as MJ, but that was removed from so many reprints of the game that finding a copy that works is hard to find.
“Lego” series (2005-)
For the most part, the Lego games’ cheat codes are used for unlocking a ton of characters at the very start of the game. Heck, some games even restrict you from totally unlocking the character and still make you purchase them. But the real joy comes from the sillier cheats. They were just goofy cheats that did things you wouldn’t expect like turn lightsabers into brooms or guns into teacups or give everyone and everything a Groucho Marx disguise. All you really need from these games is lighthearted, goofy fun, and these codes certainly capitalized on that side of Lego.
“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” series (1999-2020)
When it came to cheat codes, these games spilled every secret. Imagine the awe and excitement on everyone’s faces when reading you could unlock Darth Maul and Wolverine in “Pro Skater 3” or Jango Fett in “Pro Skater 4”. You mean to tell us there are “Star Wars” AND Marvel characters in our favorite skating game? Well, in that case, who cares about maxing out my custom skater’s stats when I could be pulling off sick tricks with a dual-bladed lightsaber or arm claws! Unlocking all levels instantly when playing the guest characters is all you could ask for.
“Crazy Taxi” (2001)
Whereas most of our entries keep unlockable characters, maps, and fun cosmetics behind cheat codes, “Crazy Taxi” hides a whole other layer to its gameplay on the PS2 version. On the surface, this port appears to be just that: a simple port of an arcade classic. However, the basic codes you can access will force you to play the game differently and actually learn the routes. One code will take away your guiding arrow at the top screen while another removes the destination beacon. Then, you have the code that unlocks “Another Day”, which completely changes your spawn point and the spawn points of passengers. And if these weren’t hard enough, go ahead and use the code that unlocks Expert Mode, which removes both the arrow and beacon from the game.
“Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy” (2004)
“Psi-Ops” has a ton of cheat codes for you to discover. Seriously, it’s almost a whole laundry list of codes! The majority of them are cosmetic, turning your character into various NPC’s and side characters. Heck, one code will even turn your character into Scorpion from “Mortal Kombat”! But the best codes were the ones that unlock bonus missions. These missions could be obtained normally by simply finding different gnomes hidden in each level. But why do that when you could play them instantly? Not every one of them was a winner, yet they were still neat minigames to discover.
“The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction” (2005)
When giving “Ultimate Destruction’s” codes a quick glance, things can look a little lackluster. Really, does the Hulk need an abundance of different colored shorts? No. There were plenty of codes here that made the game significantly more entertaining than it already was. You could double your damage output, turn all vehicles into buses, and even play as different characters. There was a catch to some of these codes, though: you had to beat the game first. Even then, one final unlockable character escaped most people’s grasp as the code for him would only work if you beat the game with a score of more than one million points.
“Enter the Matrix” (2003)
“Enter the Matrix” has a relatively short list of cheats for you to use, shorter than most of the other entries we’ve seen already. Unlock all weapons, infinite ammo, infinite health… The real fun begins when you input the code for infinite focus and invisibility. One lets you look cool and cheese enemies while the other…well, it lets you cheese enemies in a more comical way. One code will even turn on friendly fire, allowing you and your friend to put the whole story on pause just to fight each other. Just be careful as some codes do cause the game to freeze up in certain areas.
“Grand Theft Auto” series (1997-21)
There’s no denying that GTA III, “Vice City”, and “San Andreas” have the best cheats of any PS2 game to ever hit the market. Rockstar Games really let you turn the games into a playground of mayhem and chaos with these codes. Make your character super thick, maximize your Wanted level instantly, turn all NPCs into hostile mobs, snap traffic out of existence, turn all taxis into nitro-fueled gas guzzlers, turn off gravity for cars when hit, spawn tanks from thin air - you basically became a GOD in these games. You had the perfect excuse to unleash your inner Homelander and turn into a complete psychopath without any question. Need we say more?
Which PS2 game do you think had the best cheat codes? Did it make our list? Let us know down in the comments, and be sure to subscribe to MojoPlays for more great videos everyday!
