Mrs. hrhomer and I are purchasing a Playstation 2 on Thursday. Plans are already set to buy GTA3 and GTA : Vice City. There’s $$ in the budget for one or two other games.
We need a solid platform-type adventure, along the lines of Banjo-Kazooie, or the Crash Bandicoot games. What are the best ones available? I’ve heard good stuff about Rachet and Clank. Anyone played Ape Escape 2?
Also, we’d like a cartoon-type racing game, like CTR or the Mario Kart games. Any recommendations?
hrh
I chose Sly Cooper and the Thevius Racoonus based on good reviews here. Damn, if they weren’t right. It is a great game and I am really looking forward to Sly Cooper 2 if it ever comes out. It had only received favourable reviews.
I picked up Spyro: Enter the Dragonfly for 10 bucks at Walmart a few weeks ago. It is ok but leaves a lot to be desired. It isn’t nearly as fun as Sly Cooper but still worth the money I spent on it.
Hitman 2, I personally think this game is boring as hell. It is like an action game where you have to wait. Some people find that fun in a platformer I guess but not me. It does seem insanely popular though. So if others recommend it, remember that it is a mixed bag.
Haven’t played it myself but the Jak and Daxter PS2 game has got some great reviews.
Here are the top ten on gamerankings.com (a meta-review site for games) for PS2 platformers:
http://gamerankings.com/itemrankings/simpleratings.asp
I’ve heard really good things about Ratchet and Clank (sort of a megaman/mario hybrid), and my kids really liked the Spider-Man:The Movie game.
but i’m a strategy/rpg man, myself.
I’ll second Jak and Daxter. It rocks. Great graphics, great control, good voices, a nice mix of platformer-type challenges. Plus it is a Greatest Hits game now, so it’s only 20 bucks. Can’t go wrong.
I’ve got Sly and Jak and they are both very good games. They’re both a little short but you never expected them to challenge Mario for quantity did you?
Sly is a game that you will never get everything. Hooboy the timetrials are so difficult. But when you beat them you get a commentary on that level. But when you fight the Jungle Mama, well let’s just say that’s my absolute favorite boss fight.
Jak’s sequel is coming out in october. It’s going to be darker and more adult.
Do you have G4Tv? If so I recommend watching “Judgement Day.” They’re the Siskel & Ebert of gaming reviews. They’re pretty funny and spot on. Their review of Sly is going to play Aug 9th (repeat). Anyway there are also several other shows which do viewer voted best games of this and that type.
I always liked Oni, pretty good action game. Devil may cry is also good, i think the second is coming out or it just did. BTW why buy GTA3 and vice city? aren’t they basically the same?
I always liked Oni, pretty good action game.
I will warn people, however, it’s not easy or simple. Also the fighting tends to get repetitive. I liked Oni, but I can see why many people do not.
I loved DMC, but again, it ain’t easy. The second one came out a while ago, and it apparently ain’t that great.
Aside from stylistic differences? (chicago vs miami etc?) I would say because the missions in GTA3 are probably more fun, but VC has motorcycles and helicopters.
-Ben
You HAVE to get Ratchet and Clank. The game is just a blast to play, has lots of replay value, and is pretty funny on top of all that.
Apparently the results page for the search at gamerankings doesn’t link. You can do the search yourself from the linked page by choosing the relevant platform and category (“platformer” is a sub-category under Action)
Here are the top 6 (which scored above 80%)
I don’t know that it fits into any of the categories you mentioned, but I highly recommend Ico.
Another vote for ICO. Technically, it’s not a platformer I guess, but it’s such a spectacular game it should go into any list of recommendations. Just beautiful and engrossing.
As far as traditional platformers go, I’d have to add another recommendation for Sly Cooper. Great production values on that one; it’s closer than any other game I’ve ever seen to playing a cartoon.
And I can’t let a PS2 thread go by without recommending Suikoden 3. It’s an RPG, not a platformer, so if you’re not into console RPGs you may want to give it a pass. But it’s so much fun; involving and engaging without taking itself as seriously as the Final Fantasy series.