Every Rockstar PS2 Game Ranked
#17: “Surfing H3O” (2000)
“Surfing H3O” might be the dumbest title Rockstar ever came up with and one of the worst games they have ever published. Developed by a Japanese studio named Opus Studio Inc., “Surfing H3O” is one of the clunkiest, most awkwardly controlled games we’ve ever played. And what makes it even more painful is that there is no creativity behind the surfing itself; the game quickly devolves into a mundane collectathon that just so happens to be themed around the sport. Not worth the money? It isn’t even worth your time.
#16: “Manhunt 2” (2007)
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Of all the Rockstar games to have been published, the “Manhunt” series has aged horribly. We’ll get to the first game in a bit, but there are a couple of things that put “Manhunt 2” towards the bottom. First off, the controls are no better than its predecessor; Daniel Lamb feels just as jarring to control as James Earl Cash. The story, on the other hand, is as painfully tiring and trite as the “ultraviolent” kills you’ll perform in the game. At the end of the day, “Manhunt 2” is your typical angsty teenager - unreasonably aggressive, exhausting to deal with, and is only acting out because of lack of attention and hormones.
#15: “State of Emergency” (2002)
There isn’t anything inherently wrong with “State of Emergency”. To its credit, it is a pretty solid beat ‘em up with a unique cast of characters to choose from. Where it falls shorter than its relevance is the replay value…which there is practically none. Four levels? Developer VIS Entertainment wanted to make a beat ‘em up, and they could only cobble together FOUR levels? Even with missions to try and get you to keep replaying those four, it winds up making the entire game monotonous. “State of Emergency” would get a sequel in 2006 developed by a completely different studio, and it somehow managed to be severely worse than its predecessor. VIS Entertainment would be shuttered in 2014, almost a decade after releasing their final game, “Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer”.
#14: “Oni” (2001)
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“Oni” was unique in so many different ways. For starters, a game developed by Bungie and published by Rockstar? How crazy would that be to witness today? Getting back on track, “Oni” managed to stand out on its own thanks to its anime artstyle and combat. Sadly, it falters in questionable AI and a story that feels like it wants to go somewhere but stops as soon as you expect it to expand. Don’t get it twisted - “Oni” might be worth trying for yourself; just don’t expect anything truly spectacular to come out of it.
#13: “Manhunt” (2003)
And here we are back to…”Manhunt”. As we mentioned earlier, “Manhunt” has a couple of problems that would carry on to its sequel. We’ll give the game’s shock value a pass because at least it leans in heavily on the snuff film theme. It owns it. Controls and combat, though, are still cumbersome to deal with. Like “Oni”, we wouldn’t tell you to steer clear of “Manhunt”, but this is nowhere close to PS2 games we would recommend to you. Ultimately, it feels pointless to play, and you’re more likely to forget the whole game once it's over.
#12: “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories” (2007)
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Look, we know this GTA game is noticeably close to the bottom of our list, but this is still a game we’d encourage any Rockstar or GTA fan to play. “Vice City Stories” was great on PSP with its return to an iconic location, brilliant story, and writing. The only reason it's the lowest ranking GTA game on this list is that it doesn’t really do anything different than its PSP original version. If you already played this on the handheld, then do you really wanna dump money for crap like new ramps, a few new Rampages and odd jobs, and an Easter egg?
#11: “Smuggler’s Run 2: Hostile Territory” (2001)
“Hostile Territory” attempts to expand a bit on the original “Smuggler’s Run” by including more vehicles and new kinds of missions. Not only will you be delivering illegal products, but you’ll also partake in missions where stealth and vehicular combat take top priority. Sadly, that’s kind of where the creative juices stop flowing. There isn’t anything about “Hostile Territory” that puts a brake on things, but there also isn’t anything remarkable about it either. It’s alright, and we’re honestly fine with the way it is.
#10: “Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne” (2003)
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“Max Payne 2” came so close to utter brilliance, but it sort of got in over its head when it came to story. Just for clarification, the gameplay? Marvelous, just as enthralling as the first game! The gunplay? Incredibly satisfying just like the original! So…what’s the problem here? As much as we love the story between Max and Mona, man, there is some really, REALLY weird dialogue in here! It gets really corny throughout, and it’s not the kind of corny you can laugh at and roll your eyes at. We mean “corny” as in “who in the hell thought this was A-grade writing”? Still…freakin’ fantastic game in every other aspect.
#9: “Midnight Club: Street Racing” (2000)
Damn, even today, the first “Midnight Club” looks like a beauty! Throughout the 2000’s, it certainly felt like we were getting a new racing sim every month between this, “Project Gotham Racing”, and “Gran Turismo”. But what separated “Midnight Club” from the bunch was the massive world to explore and race around in. Well, that and the sweet soundtrack! Some aspects may not have aged too well given the advancements we’ve made today in controls and game feel, but still, the first “Midnight Club” serves as an excellent time capsule in what racing games were like in the early 2000’s…more or less.
#8: “Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories” (2006)
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In all honesty, the PS2 version of “Liberty City Stories” is a bit of a letdown. Part of the original PSP version’s draw was the ability to play with five of your friends across different game modes. That isn’t to say “Liberty City Stories” is worth avoiding for that reason alone. You still have the crime-ridden streets of Liberty City to explore and wreak havoc in, only this time, it is in greater detail than the last time we saw it. Plus, it focuses on one of GTA III’s best characters, Toni Cipriani, and it showcases the technical capabilities of Rockstar’s own proprietary engine, which would eventually evolve into the RAGE engine.
#7: “Smuggler’s Run” (2000)
While the first “Smuggler’s Run” is a bit smaller in scope than its sequel, it still surpasses it in different ways. Smuggler’s Mission was an excellent campaign that left the gates open wide enough for players to find their own solutions to completing missions. Turf War was a thrilling set of minigames that served as excellent practice for driving. And Joyriding was great for simply exploring and understanding the game’s level design without fearing the game’s enemies. In a way, this was a game that truly understood the phrase “player agency” by giving them the means to figure out how they want to approach missions.
#6: “Midnight Club II” (2003)
Speaking of games that require an understanding of their level design, “Midnight Club II” was a much more demanding game than its predecessor. With the first game laying down the groundwork for formula and controls, “Midnight Club II” stepped in to crank the difficulty up a few notches by making maps more complex while still tucking away sneaky shortcuts. Your knowledge of the tracks as well as your driving skills were put to the test here, and it was this level of challenge that launched the franchise into one of the top IP’s of racing games.
#5: “Red Dead Revolver” (2004)
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Many folks seem to forget that there was a “Red Dead” before the first “Redemption”. Despite what the title implies, “Red Dead Revolver” saw you using far more weapons than your standard six-shooter. As the story progressed, you’d take control of other characters that came equipped with their own weapons to defend the town of Brimstone. Master the bow, shotgun, dual pistols, and yes, the revolver, and you might be the best of the West. Well…before Marston and Morgan showed up.
#4: “The Warriors” (2005)
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“The Warriors” was another one of those rare examples of licensed video games turning out good, and it actually blew everything out of the water. Rockstar could have easily made a simple beat ‘em up in a similar vein as “State of Emergency”, but they went far deeper than expected. In addition to the many combos and maneuvers you could pull off on your own, you could also pull off attacks in conjunction with your friends or learn new skills by helping other characters, leading to crazy and dumb things like arresting anyone you want just because you have handcuffs. Once again, Rockstar showed here that player freedom can mean different things, and in this case, it was through a deep and entertaining combat system.
#3: “Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix” (2006)
The original “DUB Edition” was already an evolution for the “Midnight Club” games in how it expanded upon vehicle customization that affected your stats as well as the inclusion of a custom track editor. But the difference between the original and “Remix” is in the content packed into the latter. You have a couple dozen new cars to choose from, several new maps for races and battle mode, and a second campaign taking place in Tokyo from “Midnight Club II”. This was street racing at its finest, making “Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix” a must-play for any racing fan and PS2 owner.
#2: “Bully” (2006)
On the surface, “Bully” may as well have been called “GTA Jr.”, but doing so would have been a disservice to the game. While it does have a bit more of a focus on delinquency like “GTA” does on crime, there is more to “Bully” than meets the eye. Yes, you have a game that lets you be a scrappy kid and run around to cause trouble for persnickety grown-ups. However, like its older brother, “Bully” holds some smart commentary on the fallacies of education systems, how kids fall into this weird heirarchy with each other, and how adults typically perceive and treat kids despite what intelligence they may hold. “Bully” might be rough around the edges for some, but when you spend time to understand and get to know it a bit better, you’ll be amazed at what you find.
#1: “Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy” (2001-04)
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“GTA III”, “Vice City”, and “San Andreas” were simply too good to put as their own individual rankings. These truly are the best games Rockstar ever put out on the PlayStation 2, even if some aspects of them, like mechanics, gunplay, etc., have not aged all that well. This trilogy showed the potential video games had in immersing the player, letting you do almost anything you wanted from racing and shooting to ways you could break the game and complete missions in unconventional ways. We don’t rave about these games for nothing, and neither does the fanbase. Go and play these if you haven’t already!
