Growing up with the PS2 | GamesYouLoved
Growing up the Playstation 2 was my go to system after getting one for my birthday like most kids around that time. It was also a paramount time for gaming in general, with the Playstation 2 bringing gaming to its next level.
Article by Ben Irving
Here are my personal top 5 of games I loved as a child and still love to this day.
Number 5: Lego Starwars II: The original trilogy
Lego starwars was a popular pick for most PS2 players as nearly everyone owned a Lego game. Being a child who loved Lego and Star Wars felt this was a match made in heaven. The base story is very nice and humorous as mostly everyone knows the story of the Star Wars trilogy. It’s nice to put a funny twist here and there.You play through levels constructed around the places from the movies.
The game has huge replayability as there are collectibles, secrets and a huge range of characters to unlock with in-game money!
Number 4: SSX 3
SSX 3 was a flawless snowboarding title that was also released on the Xbox. It has super fast game play and a huge variety of locations, ranging from city’s to alpine mountains that have avalanches chasing you down them. SSX 3 is not just a base racing game though, it has score attack modes and other challenges to complete. There are a wide range of characters to choose from, some that have stayed in the series to this day. There is also a very nice free mode if you just want to ride around, accompanied by a pre-recorded in game radio station.
Number 3: The Sims 2
This may be higher on some peoples lists – but I picked up the Sims 2 close to the end of the Playstation 2’s lifetime. Mostly everyone knows what the Sims is but for those who don’t, its a life simulation game. You can buy a car, get a job, move house, make friends and enemies. My personal experience with Sims always seemed to bring me to a point in the game where all id be doing was taking care of my Sims needs, e.g. Eating sleeping and giving my Sim entertainment. The controls are very solid as you can choose to control a cursor to give commands or the Sim itself from a 3rd person perspective. This can also be done in split screen coop.
Number 2: Runabout 3 Neo Age
Now this is a real gem! Going back to play this game just made me see how awesome it is. The concept of this game is to complete challenges in a liner, sort of, track that is a bunch of city streets. Think of it like when you set a waypoint on Grand Theft Auto and follow the tracker to where it is. But the missions aren’t the best bit about this game, actually they are quite tedious and annoying, so when play I go straight for the free ride mode.
This gives you a choice between a lot of vehicles ranging from motorbikes with blonde dames on the back to a tank…. Yes a tank… And yes it has guns. You can just drive through the ‘Track’ destroying everything in your path. Which as you can imagine is quite a bit of fun.
Number 1: Ratchet Gladiator
As part of the Ratchet and Clank series, Ratchet Gladiator was destined to be great. There is so much in this game, in the amount of crazy weapons, Levels, Vehicles, explosions and great voice actors.
Along with one of the best soundtracks on the Playstation 2 in my opinion. As a kid I completed this game to many times to count. And I know it like the back of my hand. It has great graphics for its time, looking like it belonged on the early Xbox 360. There is so much packed in, yet you never feel overwhelmed or the need to slow down.
Article by Ben Irving
