PS2 - Playstation2? & Lack Of Discussions?

[iesposta]

Is the topic of Playstation 2 off limits?

Is it too new to be classic (year 2000)?

 

Searching brings up nothing, and browsing brings up a very few topics.

 

I know people have strong feelings about them as a game company.

(My brother will have nothing at all to do with Sony.)

 

Sort of like Apple, they tried so hard to make a closed system, but gamers have managed to open the platform — first in hardware mods, then in software only mods.

 

Even recently, Sony released software to play a single older Japanese game.

This software turned out to be a PS1 emulator running on the PS2.

After that was discovered, now we have a way to play Playstation one games from Hard Drive or USB drive.

Of course, the early PS2 have all the PS1 hardware built in to play PS Discs, and the newer PS2 have a software solution to play original Playstation Discs (if I remember correctly, I only have an older PS2 Fat system.)

 

I'm still amazed it can do so much with 32MB of RAM and a processor speed in the 300MHz range.

My guess is it was built as a great video card, with an adequate computer?

[Eltigro]

I actually just hooked up my PS2 slim yesterday. Got a nose bleed while pretty much standing on my head trying to navigate the mess of wires behind the TV...

 

Played some Final Fantasy VII (PS1 title, of course), God of War II, Half Life, and Breath of Fire III on it.

[fiddlepaddle]

I've spent time playing ps2 games, but not for a few years since my ps2 stopped reading most disks after I watched maybe 300 movies on it. I bought another one used, but haven't even plugged it in yet...

 

Also, I had a Sony TV where the on/off button stopped working after a couple of years, and a Sony stereo where the volume up button stopped working and I had to use the remote to turn it up (both purchased in the 1980's).

 

In my opinion/experience, Sony makes crappy hardware. Now I always look for any alternative to Sony products (but obviously not possible with the ps2, except I guess you might be able to emulate it these days but haven't tried)...

[Schizophretard]

Is the topic of Playstation 2 off limits?

I don't see any reason it would be.

 

Is it too new to be classic (year 2000)?

Definitely. It has only been off the market for 3 years.

 

Anyway, this is my favorite game for it:

 

 

I liked Risk as a board game but this PS2 version I found very entertaining and addictive.

[Flojomojo]

Playstation 2

2 NEW FOR RETRO

2 OLD FOR COOL

[vw57drvr]

I still have my launch day PS2. First console I ever pre-ordered from KB toys. That machine blew me away. I don't know how much longer mine would work if I used it. Ive already had to adjust the voltage to the drive laser. Luckily, for now, my PS3 plays all my PS2 games. In my opinion, the PS2 is still relevant. Socom 2 got me into the online shooters.

[+save2600]

PS2 is easily my most favorite of the modern consoles. No forced internut connectivity for countless updates that have you spending more time downloading and installing vs. actually playing like the PS3.

 

Prefer wired controllers to wireless and the system has been extremely reliable for most, even after all these years. I've got two fat systems outfitted with HD's where using Free McBoot, I rip all my games to. Saves the laser and games boot up much faster. Love the library too and it's my go-to system for classic arcade games since giving up on MAME. Between the Namco, SNK, Sega, Capcom, Midway, Atari and Taito collections, more classic entertainment than you can shake a stick at. And on the cheap too! Though they majorly screwed up Wizard of Wor. Speed is way too fast as to make it unplayable.

 

Besides a great library chock full of original titles, there's stuff like the Predator, AvP and Star Trek games, all the great driving sims, updates to classics such as Maximo, Rampage, Defender, Rygar, Shinobi, Gauntlet, Wolfenstein, Outrun, Contra, Raiden, R-Type, Castlevania, Defender of the Crown, NBA Jam, MLB Show, Hot Shots Golf, NHL Hitz, the Williams and Gottlieb pinball games, etc. - what's not to love??

 

Oh and of course... Guitar Hero!

 

There's so much greatness going on in the PS2, hard to keep track of it all. Backward PS1 compatibility. Can hook to the internut if you wanted. USB ports that allow some games to take advantage of mice, keyboards and driving controllers. Even has the progressive scan feature on some of the later games. Up to 100 games myself and don't see the collection going anywhere anytime soon. Like I said and game for game, easily my most favorite of all the modern disc-based consoles. Bravo Sony and all the developers that jumped on the PS2 bandwagon. All around great time for gaming throughout its lifespan.

[Silverfleet]

Man, I love the PS2! I bought my original early on, when the 2nd wave of them became available in early 2001 after being sold out for months. I remember going from store to store constantly striking out until a random CompUSA (remember that place?) had one. I felt like I hit the lottery! I hustled over to GameStop and bought TimeSplitters and a multi-tap to play it with friends. It was glorious. When that original one died, as many of the early ones did from Disc Read Error disease, it was replaced by a Slim. That thing is still kicking butt. I also have a few working "Fat" PS2's tucked away, just in case.

 

I amassed a large library of games over the years, and I still have a few games for it that are new/sealed. At this point, they may stay that way, as some of them (Grandia III, Viewtiful Joe, MGS3, and Gradius V among others) are probably worth a few bucks now and will be considered classics in the future. I also have a ton of games that I stockpiled when they were beginning to disappear from stores that I haven't played, and I'll go back to them later.

 

Is it a "classic console" yet? I don't think it's quite there yet. It's in that middle phase before becoming a retro console, if you ask me. It's one of the best consoles ever made. I still play mine all the time.

 

But what makes a console? THE GAMES! There were so many great ones on the PS2. Some of my favorites:

 

-MLB Power Pros: Hidden gem of a baseball game. Combines old-school pick up and playability with a weird JRPG.

-Final Fantasy X: Completely blew me away at the time, great game

-Neo Contra: Often overlooked, but a ton of fun and completely ridiculous, especially with two people

-ESPN Football 2K5: the best modern football game ever made. So good, it forced EA to buy the exclusive rights to the NFL license.

-Gran Turismo 3 and 4: spent so much time with these two. GT3 was mind blowing at the time, and the 1000+ cars in GT4 was great.

-Dragon Quest VIII: Such a great RPG. The score, story, and visuals were fantastic. I did get stuck in this one, and I'll return to it someday.

-The GTA series: You know why it's awesome. Complete game changers.

-Burnout 3: Takedown: this one is a ton of fun, and the graphics still hold up today. Great with friends, too.

-Virtua Fighter 4: I spent a long time with this game, trying to master a few of the characters.

-The TimeSplitters series: These were among the best FPS's in their day. The 3rd one was especially great.

-Capcom VS SNK 2: Probably my favorite 2D fighter of that console generation. You could play through it 100 times and still want to play more!

 

Then there are the multitude of "Collection" compilations... those were all fantastic! I especially loved the Capcom and Taito ones.

 

There are a ton more too, but those are just some in my collection that I love.

[boxpressed]

Playing through Dragon Quest VIII again, this time with my kid. He loves it. Such a deep and charming game that values humor over gravitas. Reason alone to buy a PS2.

[Austin]

I have a decent set of US PS2 games due to the prices being so low now. It's a great system and I've always appreciated the built-in PS1 compatibility (as such, in my entertainment center my PS2 doubles as a PS1). I'll admit I have a soft spot for a lot of the earlier releases. Ridge Racer 5, Tekken Tag, Fantavision, Devil May Cry, etc. Still play them quite a bit, along with some later efforts like Gradius V, R-Type Final, etc.

 

I also have a Japanese system for the imports, and I see the PS2 as being one of the last systems with a healthy list of English-friendly import releases that you just couldn't get over here.

[Nutsy Doodleheimer]

I bought my PS2 a few months after it's launch release in March 2001. And let me tell you. That and the original Xbox are my favorite of the modern era consoles. The PS2 has an awesome library and a ton of games are dirt cheap. I dig the backwards compatibility with the Playstation 1 library.

 

Many of the games I enjoy are the compilation discs. The Midway Arcade Treasures, Capcom Collection, SNK, Atari Anthology, Activision Anthology, Genesis Collection, Sega Classics, Intellivision Lives, and Namco Anniversary. Plus it even has the Mega Man Anniversary Collection with the first 8 original games plus 2 Japanese arcade games. The Mega Man X Collection that includes the first 6 X series games. And the Sonic Plus Collection and Sonic Gems Collection that has the entire Sonic Genesis/Game Gear/Sega CD library.

 

The Grand Theft Auto series was a homerun for the PS2. Vice City especially which is in fact my all time favorite PS2 game of all time. They did a fantastic job detailing life in 1986/1987. One of the very few games and series I never put the controller down.

 

In conclusion. The PS2 is one of the first systems that the console is a whole entertainment center as you can not only play CD's but watch DVD's. I have never had any problems with mine like some especially the Disc Read Error and the red screen. The PS2 is one of my top choices in modern gaming. And some of the best libraries in gaming.

[Tempest]

Playing through Dragon Quest VIII again, this time with my kid. He loves it. Such a deep and charming game that values humor over gravitas. Reason alone to buy a PS2.

DQ 8 is still the best DQ in my opinion. It's got the right mix of great graphics, amazing voice acting (I think they used the same actors in DQ Heroes), and the right amount of game difficulty and length. Who couldn't love a game with a move called sarcastic snigger? It's a shame that I never used any of Munchie's attacks because he's so cute.

 

If I had to give up all my post NES systems I'd probably keep the PS2 because it has the highest ratio of good RPGs on it.

[boxpressed]

DQ 8 is still the best DQ in my opinion. It's got the right mix of great graphics, amazing voice acting (I think they used the same actors in DQ Heroes), and the right amount of game difficulty and length. Who couldn't love a game with a move called sarcastic snigger? It's a shame that I never used any of Munchie's attacks because he's so cute.

 

If I had to give up all my post NES systems I'd probably keep the PS2 because it has the highest ratio of good RPGs on it.

I just completed the DQ 8 postgame with my kid and finally got the gospel ring. I won't say any more to avoid spoilers for those who haven't played DQ 8, but we put in 120+ hours over many months. There wasn't a whole lot of wasted time, either, since I'd already beat it, and I was using the official guide to take the correct paths in dungeons. Lots of value in the length of the game. Agree that the game difficulty is just about perfect. I would buy a PS4 just to play DQ 11 if it's anywhere close to being as good.

[Schizophretard]

The Grand Theft Auto series was a homerun for the PS2. Vice City especially which is in fact my all time favorite PS2 game of all time. They did a fantastic job detailing life in 1986/1987. One of the very few games and series I never put the controller down.

And this was the right way to make a rip-off of Vice City which itself was kind of a rip-off of the movie this game is based on. So, who really ripped off who? Who cares? They all rock!

 

[leods]

Many of the games I enjoy are the compilation discs. The Midway Arcade Treasures, Capcom Collection, SNK, Atari Anthology, Activision Anthology, Genesis Collection, Sega Classics, Intellivision Lives, and Namco Anniversary. Plus it even has the Mega Man Anniversary Collection with the first 8 original games plus 2 Japanese arcade games. The Mega Man X Collection that includes the first 6 X series games. And the Sonic Plus Collection and Sonic Gems Collection that has the entire Sonic Genesis/Game Gear/Sega CD library.

 

I so agree. And the list goes on and on, With Vampire Darkstalkers, KoF Collection, SF Alpha collection, and then the dozen upon dozens of ports or arcade games.

 

And Monster Hunter. One of the most brilliant and frustrating games I've ever played.

 

And I love the fact PS2 Emulation is comming to a good place. One day I won't even care if my PS2 breaks, and the disks rot, cause I'll have everything in multiple backups. I think it will still take some time for PS2 Emulation to get to a place where you don't Need a PS2 anymore, but I think this day will probably come.

 

What Controllers do you guys like for the System? I have a bunch of different ones. The original is still my favorite for using the analogs, but I never liked the d-pad all that much. I have a PS1 hori commander, and some 15th anniversary Street fighter Controllers I prefer for using the d-pad. Of course I also have some arcade sticks. The Hori are good for fighting games, and the ASCII are good for shooters.