Bust a Move is addictive. My (soon to be) sister-in-law just got a PS2. We spent the first week playing Super Bust a Move and Pac Man.
Also, you said she didn’t like fighting, does that include RPG’s? I’ve really been having fun with Dark Cloud. It came with my PS2. (Yeah, I bought one after playing hers).
-Lil
I’ll vote for Sly Cooper and the Thievus Raccoonus, a beautiful platformer with cel-shaded graphics and a bit of humor. Great game.
But my big recommendation is… gamers are made, not born. For the real, true beginners, having someone to play with is extraordinarily helpful. Sit and play with her for a while, learn a new game together, and soon you’ll become superfluous. In a gaming sense at least.
Which is why I’m going to recommend two great 2-person games:
Cookie and Cream, a delightful little platform game which relies entirely upon two people collaborating. Brilliant design, fun puzzles.
Baldur’s Gate - Dark Alliance is a fighting game, sure. But there’s something great about sitting with someone else on a couch while both of your characters explore underground labyrinths and kill monsters together that’s remarkable.
I’m slowly converting my wonderful non-gamer boyfriend into a wonderful gamer boyfriend, and this strategy, so far, has worked for me. So well that he now has a major addiction to the Nintendo Advanced SP that I got him for our anniversary.
Good luck!
If music games aren’t out of the question, consider Space Channel 5: Special Edition. It came out last month and it’s only $15, but it might be hard to find locally if your town is anything like mine.
I would second a recommendation for ‘The Sims’ myself. It was so fun to make my character and take them through life and love. 
The reviews for The Sims ‘Bustin’ Out’ seem to suggest it might also be a highly addictive game.
Another couple of recommendations if music games aren’t completely out:
Karaoke Revolution by Konami: It comes with a headset and allows you to sing along with many tunes from the 60s through the 00s. It’s a very cool game–the technology for matching the tones for scoring is impressive, and it has levels from beginner to expert so even if you’re not the world’s greatest singer you can still advance.
DDRMAX2 by Konami: They package the game with a dance pad now. I just got this a couple of weeks ago and have been having a lot of fun with it (plus it’s actually (gasp!) exercise!)
Hey, thanks for bringing that up. I have the original on Dreamcast, so at that price point I just might have to buy. Now if they’d ever get around to porting Jet Set Radio 2 to PS2.
My wife got addicted to The Sims on our PC, and she’s never really been much of a gamer.
I’ll second Ratchet and Clank, as well as Final Fantasy X. Have you thought about Final Fantasy X-2? It looks impressive, and it’s got an all-female cast.
Maybe she’d like games w/ movie tie-ins? So that she’s already familiar with the story/ can act it out? If so, maybe try the EA LOTR games (NOT Fellowship!), Harry Potter, Star Wars?
Oh, and never rule out GTA3 or GTA:VC…beating up hookers, robbing people, and stealing cars can be a very good way to relax. The games are good, too.
Thanks for all the advice. I decided to go with Ico, and found a pretty cheap copy online. Whoo-hoo! Hopefully this will keep her entertained through her “I’m about to get laid off and it’s Christmas” blues.
Oh, and Stonebrow, thanks for the advice on the LOTR games. Fellowship is the only one I’ve played, so I figured the rest were crappy too. I’ll have to check them out. Do they have two-player modes?
no prob. As far as I know, the games are 1-player only. But they are awesome…they go from movie scene (straight from dvd) to in-game play with little transition in graphics. The first scene in The Two Towers is the Battle of the Last Aliance (starts out with movie footage), and you get to be Isildur at the head of your army. Then, in later missions, you can either be Aragorn, Gimli, or Legolas.
I believe that the gameplay of ROTK is similar, though you can also play as Gandalf.
and btw- it’s stonebow, not stoneBrow. As in, the character from Robert Jordan’s once-great saga. As in, my massive member has a slight bow to it that is at once terrifying and yet strangely compelling.
Crap. Sorry. If it’s any consolation, people tend to call me lightningtool, instead of the work related and self-mocking lightingtool. Thanks again.
How about Rez - Special Package?
IIRC, there was a Monkey Island game released for PS2. It’s from a venerable adventure game series, so it’s worth a shot.
How about puzzle games? Especially the Bust-A-Move series.
Incredible Crisis for the PS1 can be had cheaply, and it’s full of spastic goodness.
HTH. HAND.
Maybe shes really just not into video games? buy her something shiny instead, that usually works.
I’ve also heard good things. Apparently the perfect “social” game, especially with alcohol involved. Solo play value not great, though.
Another vote for ICO. It’s a great game all around, just beautiful. Even if she doesn’t like it, you can see it.
Final Fantasy X-2 is good, goofy fun – more of a spastic roller-coaster ride than an RPG. It makes me feel just old, but y’all are younger than me…
The Tony Hawk Pro Skater series is great (although I’ve heard mixed reviews of the latest entry Underground). Believe me, I hate sports games, so I never expected to like it, but got hooked quickly.
Thanks for all the updates. As I said earlier, I bought ICO, and she seems to like it so far. We actually play it together, one person controlling and the other saying, “No, no. Go over there. No, over THERE!” Good times.
Another vote for The Sims, the advantage on PS2 is that there is the usual no end game as well as levels to be played out. I like the levels more than the endless stuff myself. It bears no relation to the old sim city games I still play on my PC.
Have you bought the magazines with the demo disks or sat her down with the demos that you get with the machine? That was how I found out what I did and didn’t like. I love my demo of ratchet and clank and keep waiting for it to appear on sale somewhere.
Driving games differ so much from the light and brezy silliness up to full scale racing, is there anything in there she may like? I couldn’t deal with all the frills of Gran Turismo but I love my Burnout.
Some folks just don’t like them no matter what, they will never be converted.
Does she like singing/karaoke? One of the new PS2 games is called Sing - it works like a karaoke machine, except the videos are the actual videos featuring the stars (not those crap-but-cool cheapo things in karaoke bars) and you get a score at the end based on how well you sang. It’s supposed to measure rhythm, pitch and tone, and is great fun. You can then also play back the video again, with your voice recorded into it.
Now that is creepy… watching as Dido badly lip synchs your less-than-impressive vocals…
Like your girlfriend, I don’t like shoot-em-ups, driving, flying, or fighty games. But I love playing video games. We tore through the new Ratchet and Clank II: Going Commando. It was like a two player game for my husband and I. There are some bits with flying that he enjoyed, so when it got to a part I didn’t like or really sucked at, I’d hand the controller over to him. I got to play the bits I liked and he got to be the hero when he finished a part I couldn’t.
Also, if she likes to be totally scared, get Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly. I started playing, but got creeped out and made the hubby play it while I directed him around with a laser pointer pointed at the TV screen. Yeah, we’re a real power couple.
I’m going to look into this ICO of which you all speak.
Also, the Simpsons Hit and Run is really fun, even though it’s a lot of driving. Again, if I can’t do it, hub gets the controller and cleans up. I loved Cookie and Cream, but he got bored with it. I think I’ll make him play that this weekend.
I got the Eye Toy for Xmas, and it is great fun for social gaming, and keeping kids amused. The games that come with it are simplistic but stiull fun.