The PS2 with Singstar Pop was an amazon deal last week, and now I have a console and exactly one game. I realize that as the thing is nearly 7+ years old, I’m possibly one of the last people to get one (of the people who are ever going to get one). On the other hand, I don’t have to be a pioneer and figure out which games are good and which aren’t even worth looking at twice.
So, what games are worth looking at twice?
What kind of games have you liked in the past? The PS2 has an absolutely massive collection of great games. Here’s a few from my collection.
Grand Theft Auto 3, Vice City, San Andreas, and Bully - if you’re into sandbox gameplay
Final Fantasies X, X2, and 12 - if you’re a fan of that series
Okami - Zelda-ish adventure with an absolutely stunning graphics style
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus - both are amazing, sort of puzzle/action games
Guitar Hero 1, 2, and 80s edition - if you’re into music games
Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2 - Mixes Final Fantasy characters with Disney in an action RPG
Gran Turismo 4 - Racing game that focuses more on realism and less on arcade physics
Dragon Quest VIII - “old school” RPG with modern graphics
God of War 1 and 2 - beat 'em up, Greek mythology style
To narrow things down a bit, you may want to check out the PS2 section on Metacritic. Metacritic takes reviews from as many different video game magazines and gaming websites (sometimes dozens for each game) as they can find and averages out the ratings between all of the sources. It makes for some very accurate scores, IMHO.
I JUST got mine as well. With it, I purchased Tony Hawk Pro Skater (Original!!!) and I’ve never been happier. It’s awesome. Graphics kinda suck but as far as nostalgia is concerned, never better.
You could also look into Rock Band. Pretty amazing.
I saw that on Amazon-- amazing deal. I just got a PS2 in October of last year. The system is actually still a huge seller and new games are still coming out semi-regularly.
I’d recommend:
Final Fantasy series
Shadow Hearts series
Dragon Quest VIII
Wild ARMs series
Katamari Damacy and We 
Katamari
Guitar Hero III
Ico and Shadow of the Colossus
Xenosaga series
Soul Calibur III
Space Channel 5
There is also a Metal Gear Solid collection coming out next month that includes all three games in the series for $30. I’ve only played the first Metal Gear Solid and I’m looking forward to checking out the sequels. Persona 3 is supposed to be really good; I missed it the first time around, but Atlus is re-releasing it with extra content in April.
If you have young-ish kids and have a passing interest in Star Wars, I’d reccommend the *Star Wars Lego * series. My 6 year old son and I have a riot playing that game.
If you like sports, all the requisite EA titles like Madden, Baseball, etc are all well-represented and good games too.
And if you wanna rock some old school games, I suggest Activision Anthology and the like. All of the old Atari 2600 Activision games on one disc. Pitfall still rocks!
If you like arcade driving games Burnout Revenge and Burnout III are great.
Fighting games; Dead or Alive 2, Mortal Kombat Armegeddon (30+ characters available to play with no unlocking).
Snowboarding; SSX and SSX Tricky are lots of fun for 1 or 2 players. These games are sort of a racing game with Tony Hawk tricks.
Katamari Damacy is a must.
I also adored Bully.
Metal Gear Solid 2 is the best action-type game I’ve ever played, personally. Metal Gear Solid is good but it was for the PS1, and I haven’t played MGS3.
I like the Tekken series of fighting games. They’re good to have for 2-player games when you have friends over.
The Silent Hill series is awesome for horror. The action isn’t very good in them, but the atmosphere is amazing. Again, I like #2 (it’s been called the scaries game of all time), #1 was good for the PS1, and I haven’t played #3 except for shortly renting it once.
I second the Gran Turismo series. GT3 actually helped my real-world driving, particularly in the snow.
Did you own any other consoles last generation?
If not, pick up Viewtiful Joe. Immediately.
If you also don’t have a Wii, get Resident Evil 4.
Big thumbs up on Space Channel 5. I played 1 and 2 (import) on my Dreamcast (sniff), and they are two of my favorite games ever. Totally brilliant.
The PS2 has a wealth of fighting games, if you’re into that, and it’s getting even more with SNK’s recent releases for the console.
And speaking of SNK, the Metal Slug Anthology is a fantastic collection of arcade run 'n guns.
Another good source of old-school action is the Sega Genesis Collection. It features a host of Genesis classics. There’s also the Sonic Mega Collection if you’re a fan.
Absolutely pick up the upcoming Metal Gear Solid collection. $30 is worth it for the first game alone.
Soul Reaver 2 (one was great too, but it covers some of the same world, and two is better). Soul Reaver two has **THE BEST ** voiceover acting I have ever seen in ANY game. They hired top-notch voice actors. I hate, HATE, HATE, cheesy bad voice overs in games. But the cut scenes in this one are awesome.
Final Fantasy VIII was huge, and had great cinematic cut scenes. The final cut scene (close to 15 minutes long) was better CG (art, direction, etc) than I have seen in any CG movie. Great story, somewhat non-linear (many optional sidequests, and side-games). I spent months exploring this one. Its an earlier game so the graphics aren’t on par with what you see on most RPG’s now days. But the gameplay is great.
Final Fantasy XI, is a HUGE online MMORPG, and will absorb all your free time if you are not careful. I love this game. Wish I could play, but kids under two don’t allow me the free time.