# I need PS2 Game recommendations **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 23, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450 "2003-01-23T15:28:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/1 "2003-01-23T15:28:47Z")
I finally got a PS2, and am trying to encourage my wife to play with me, but she’s very picky on what she likes. Can any of you recommend good games where both players can play concurrently? (Especially RPGs) She enjoyed the PS1 version of Diablo, and we bought Baldur’s Gate “Dark Legacy” for PS2, which she likes, too. Any other games like that? She’s sometimes a little intimidated to pick up a game and play alone, so thats why she enjoys having a partner who can play at the same time… any suggestions for concurrent play games that you have enjoed with your SO or friends? Thanks, ``` Joe ``` ---
**Author:** ![Survey1215](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Survey1215](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survey1215)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/2 "2003-01-23T18:42:19Z")
Back before we got the PS II and GTA III began to dominate my life, my wife and I played a ton of JetMoto III together. There’s a FIFA World Cup game and ATV: Off-Road Challenge (I think thats the title) that she expressed interest in when seeing them played at a friends house, so we’ll prolly get one or the other soon. She isn’t into rpg’s at all, so I couldn’t offer any help in that regard. ---
**Author:** ![dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorkusmalorkusmafia/32/7266_2.png) [@dorkusmalorkusmafia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorkusmalorkusmafia)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/3 "2003-01-23T18:53:59Z")
RPGS aren’t really very good on a PS2 in my opinion. There are some fun ones out there but they just don’t seem to grab my attention like the ones from former systems or the PC. Okage: Demon King is funny and somewhat fun though. The premise of this RPG is that your shadow gets possessed by evil king Stan and you have to rid yourself of him. It is quirky and a bit weird; however, I didn’t find it fun enough to keep playing. I really like the latest 2 Grand Theft Auto Games. Vice City is really a lot of fun. It isn’t nearly as hard as the previous and it is fun to play off in partners. I would play with friends until one of us died and then we would trade off to another player. It is very open ended so you can almost always do something completely different than the person playing ahead of you. Sly Cooper and the Thevius Racoonus was also a lot of fun. It is reminescent of Spyro the Dragon (when it was still fun) with sneaking capabilities. The controls function very intuitively and there are lots of variations in the game that keep it fun and moving. Gitaroo Man (a game I bought from other Doper suggestions) is also a lot of fun. I didn’t think it would be as fun as it is but damn, that game is addictive. It is a goofy japanese music game where you save the universe by playing your guitar. It plays a lot different than you would think. I haven’t played Kingdom Hearts. It is a RPG produced by Disney that I have heard only good things about. I don’t think there is nearly as much advancement potential as is typical in most RPGs but that shouldn’t turn you off of it. It is also probably going to be my next PS2 rental or purchase. So, the top 3 games that I would really recommend (sorry GTA can only remotely be considered an RPG) would be as follows: 1. GTA: Vice City (Open ended action/adventure type of game with lots of exploration) 2. Sly Cooper and the Theivius Racoonus (platformer game) 3. Gitaroo Man (music/rhythm game. Completely different than what you would expect) ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/4 "2003-01-23T18:59:58Z")
Try **Virtua Fighter 4**. It might not be her cup of tea, but it will prove therapeutic, especially if you’re better than her. That way when you come home and there’s no dinner on the table you can say, “Dammit woman get over to the PS2, I’m gonna teach you who the king of this castle is!” Then Virtua-smack her some. Note that this strategy will not work on your children, as they will surely defeat you in any fighting game no matter what their age. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/5 "2003-01-23T20:51:24Z")
Most, if not all, racing games have head-to-head mode, but that’s not concurrent, pretty much by definition. Hm, ditto for puzzle games…and fighting games… The only one I can think of off the top of my head is the upcoming Tenchu 3 (sequel to one of the best games ever), but that’s not due until March, IIRC (and I probably don’t). I’m sure there are others (Timesplitters 2, or MOH: Frontline, maybe?) - I just don’t own them. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/6 "2003-01-23T21:21:54Z")
The Sims for PS2 has a 2-player mode; I haven’t tried it myself but it seems like an interesting concept. If you like the PC version, of course… I can’t think of many Diablo/Baldur’s Gate-type games for the PS2. There “Gauntlet Legends,” which has cooperative play and is very much like Baldur’s Gate (technically, BG is very much like Gauntlet). But I haven’t seen many good reviews for it; it looks like BG was the superior game. ---
**Author:** ![Teebone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Teebone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teebone)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/7 "2003-01-23T22:22:02Z")
I don’t know of any PS2 RPG games you can play concurrently (but doesn’t mean there aren’t any). I liked Suikoden 2 for the PS2. I heard Wild Arms 2 was good and of course get Final Fantasy X if you haven’t already. Teebone ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/8 "2003-01-23T22:31:41Z")
The Madden football games are good for 2 player, if you’re into that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Drastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Drastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drastic)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/9 "2003-01-23T23:43:01Z")
GTA 3 and 3.5 (aka, Vice City), of course. Ico is a beautiful puzzle-solver that does a great deal with superbly-done minimalism. Burnout 2 is a great arcade racer, if you like the idea of causing massive pile-ups of other cars. Rez is a hard thing to find a copy of, but worth it IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_Schmeese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@Marconi\_Schmeese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_Schmeese)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/10 "2003-01-23T23:47:44Z")
FWIW, my husband did the same thing with me so I would play PS2 with him! I got _hooked_ on **SSX Tricky**. It’s a snowboarding game, but you get to pick your character, etc. I’m always the little Asian girl who cusses in Japanese every time she jumps! :eek: It got so bad, I would play it by myself on my days off! ---
**Author:** ![MrVisible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/46a35a/32.png) [@MrVisible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrVisible)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/11 "2003-01-24T00:13:33Z")
For RPG’s, I heartily recommend **Suikoden III**. It kept me completely absorbed for weeks. Great game. To encourage my SO, I picked up **Cookie and Cream** , a cool two-player arcade-style game, where you have to play cooperatively to win. Also, **Gauntlet: Dark Legacy** is a blast. But as it turns out, all I had to do to get him hooked on the PS2 was pick up Vice City. ---
**Author:** ![handy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5a626/32.png) [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/12 "2003-01-24T00:43:41Z")
Kingdom Hearts is too much work for the amount of control you get. FFX was nice. I preordered FFXI three years ago & they said its about to be out soon. GTA VC is fun. There are some cheat codes you can use when things get stuffy. ---
**Author:** ![joemama24\_98](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce7236/32.png) [@joemama24\_98](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joemama24_98)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/13 "2003-01-24T15:35:25Z")
Wow. Thanks for so many responses. I have some great ideas now! I’m slowly turning her into a video game junkies. I outfitted an old arcade machine with a computer running MAME ([http://www.mame.net](http://www.mame.net)) and some genuine arcade controls. Despite having over 1000 games, the only one she likes is Bust A Move/Puzzle Bobble (which I admit, is pretty addicting) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/14 "2003-01-24T15:53:19Z")
You mean there are other games than Puzzle Bobble?! ---
**Author:** ![hello32499](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cc9497/32.png) [@hello32499](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hello32499)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/15 "2003-01-24T17:14:56Z")
Final Fantasy X – can’t recommend it enough Suikoden III – second that one Kingdom Hearts – great game Grandia II – is a good game Final Fantasy Tatics – an old PS1 game (since PS2 is backwards compatable) is ---
**Author:** ![hello32499](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/cc9497/32.png) [@hello32499](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hello32499)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/16 "2003-01-24T17:16:04Z")
oh yeah, about that last post, sentence structure and spelling don’t count ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2003, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-ps2-game-recommendations/150450/17 "2003-01-24T20:05:59Z")
Hm, I apparently lost a post… It’s an old PS1 game (which means it’s cheap!) but Worms World Party is a blast!