I like Gauntlet: Dark Legacy. It definitely has it’s flaws, but it’s still pretty cool.
As for fighting games, check out Barbarian. The single player leaves a little to be desired, but the multiplayer is pretty sweet.
GTA3, SSX Tricky, Madden 2003, and if you can play imports, Dance Dance Revolution Max.
Console games begin and end with SSX Tricky. I hate snowboarding and skating stuff, but if you gave me a choice of just one game, I’d take SSX Tricky.
GTA3 is overrated, IMHO. I mean, it’s pretty good, worth your $45, but it isn’t the ubersupergame everyone says it is. SSX Tricky really is as good as people say it is.
There is onbe out for the pc called mafia
http://www.gamespy.com/reviews/september02/mafia/
And for the op heres the best professional game review site around thats still free www.gamespy.com
You should find almost every game from the n54 ans ps1 on
erm n64
I can’t believe anybody hasn’t mentioned ICO yet.
Stunning graphics, a moving storyline, and a breathtakingly simple play mechanic.
It won awards for both graphics and story at last year’s Game Developers Conference and was the only PS2 finalist for Game of the Year. (It lost to Halo.)
If you like the Final Fantasy games, and aren’t turned off by cartoon characters or poor camera control, check out Kingdom Hearts. It’s an engrossing RPG set amongst various Disney worlds. It’s a lot of fun if you like that type of game.
And I must recommend my favorite game of all time, Frequency. It’s a music/rhythm game, and addictive as hell. You can find a demo in the current Playstation magazine I think.
GTA 3 is perhaps the best PS2 game I have ever played. Okage Demon King is pretty funny for a rpg though it has absolutley no replay value.
I’d recommend both Onimusha and Devil May Cry.
Both great action/adventure games.
Get 'em cheap, though. Onimusha is far too short to pay more than $20 for it.
I don’t own a console, but I’ve been playing the PC version of GTA3, and I’m very impressed. The only thing I really dislike is having to go back to your hideout every time you want to save, but that’s a common thing for consoles. Oh, and I wish I could fix the zoom level of the little corner map (it zooms in and out based on your speed). But that’s a nitpick.
Hijack: can anyone tell me a way to beat the @$#!& Turismo mission that doesn’t involve superhuman reflexes? I either have to go so fast I can’t control my turns (handbrake inevitably spins me so I’m 180 degrees from where I want to be facing) or I get passed standing-still by the other racers.
Hmm, when I get home today I think I’ll copy A3’s “Woke Up This Morning” into GTA3’s MP3 folder and just drive around Liberty City…
Rez, if you can find it. I believe it has been deleted in the US due to criminally poor sales.
ICO is a brilliant game on every level. It’s one of the best examples of game design-as-work-of-art I can think of.
Onimusha and Onimusha 2 are surprisingly fun, seeing as how I hate the Resident Evil games so much. Devil May Cry is rock stupid but a lot of fun; at least I imagine it would be if I could ever get past the first boss fight.
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is another shallow-but-fun game. If you’ve played the PC Baldur’s Gate games, be aware that the PS2 game is a lot closer to Diablo and Gauntlet than Baldur’s Gate.
My favorite music game is Gitaroo Man. It’s everything Parappa 2 should’ve been – weird and goofy, and the music is fantastic. Rez is also neat, as others have mentioned.
I’m always reluctant to mention GTA3 just because it represents everything I hate about computer games. But it’s a damn well-made game.
I’d play Grand Theft Auto 3 before Vice City, if only because soon there will be a ton of used copies that you’ll be able to buy on the cheap.
Used games will be great for you–you can pick up some older but still kick-ass games at significantly less than their original price.
Here’s some perspective on the GTA series: The GTA3 has sold 7 million copies to date, which at $50 a pop would rank it among the top 10 grossing films of all time. This 7 million is especially impressive when you consider that the game was not even released in Japan, where many games pad their sales figures.
Oh and Vice City has reportedly had 4 million copies pre-sold already. The game doesn’t even come out until October 29.
Every time someone for advice on PS2 games, I’m torn. On one hand, I’ve played quite a few PS2 games, so I have a good idea on what is and isn’t good. On the other hand, none of my favorite games are front-page franchise titles that have been megahyped to the edge of the Milky Way and back, so there’s a chance the advice seeker may not know what the heck I’m talking about.
Nonetheless, I feel a real duty here to stem the tide of PS2 hype, so here goes.
Mercutio, the sad truth is that neither I nor anyone else on this board can recommend a game for you…because we don’t know what you like. Yes, yes, you said you were open to anything, but take it from someone who’s been there, a lot of PS2 games are extremely unusual, extremely deep, or extremely hard, and you definitely don’t want to get anything you’re not up for.
The best thing for you to do is to go to a place that sells and/or rents PS2 games. Believe it or not, there are titles out there other than Grand Theft Auto 3, Final Fantasy X, and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. In fact, there are actually games out there that are easy to learn, including numerous arcade conversions! (With the demise of the Dreamcast, the PS2 has assume the role of premiere arcade conversion system.) What, you thought all the players who liked simplicity and easy gameplay and in general an alternative to the super-complicated war strategies and RPGs and ultra-realistic sports titles simply DISAPPEARED after the 16-bit era (June '93-late June '93)? No, screw the hype, and get out there and get an idea of what there actually is available. Believe it nor not, Sony does understand the need of catering to all their players, not just the ones who’ll sing the praises of Final Fantasy Whichever to the high heavens.
The next step is to find something you like. This will take a while, and, in particular, a lot of rentals. I’m astonished that almost no one ever talks about this. (I knew this one place that sold Neo Geo games, and I was haranguing them for rentals for months.) At least one massive national chain, Blockbuster Video, offers free memberships and has a tremendous selection of PS2 games for rent. I can think of no other way to get a game that you’re not sure you’ll like, in your PS2, ready to go, for a fraction of what it’d cost to buy it. And of course, this also works for games that you’ll only like for a few days. Don’t worry about the quality of the disks; despite all the horror stories you’ve heard, the disks can take some abuse and still work. They’re also a lot easier to clean than the old cartriges.
Pay NO attention to ANY media outlets. I cannot emphasize this enough. I’ve read those stupid game reviews, and the overwhelming majority of them are flat-out worthless. (The most useful function of a video game magazine is kindling.)
Okay, on to actual recommendations. You can go to http://www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/8940.html for my reviews of PS2 games that have not gotten monstrous colossal media cover. (GameFAQs, in general, is a great site for video game news and advice.) In addition, the following are all good to own:
Swing Away Golf, a tremendously fun, easy-to-learn golf game with a ton of challenges and contests. Easily two years of continuous gameplay before you’re even close to done.
Capcom vs. SNK 2, the latest installment of Capcoms new signature fighting game line. Lots of characters, plenty of replay value, and even a rank beginner can get the basic ending, but only a real pro will beat the true bosses.
CART Fury, great for parties, spur-of-the-moment challenges, macho trips, or just when you need a break from slipping all over the road and slamming walls in Gran Turismo 3.
Finally, a few words of warning:
Tekken Tag Tournament (along with the upcoming Tekken 4) is a great game if you like extremely complex gameplay which takes at least several weeks to learn. The reason the Tekken series has gotten such astonsihing unqualified praise from just about every medai outlet is that’s what they like. You may or may not agree with them on this. (In my arcades, on any given day, there’s probably one player out of four who does anything BUT mash random buttons.)
Gran Turismo 3 is a fine game if you don’t mind unbelievably difficult license exams, unbelievably difficult time trials, unbelievably difficult races, a staggering amoung of decisions to make, constant cash woes, constant tire wear problems, horrible traction, and almost never enough horsepower to win anything. The reviewers absolutely eat up challenge-bloated monstrosities. Again, you might not.
Dead or Alive 2 Hardcore is a fantastic game if you have a lot of friends to play with, and if you don’t mind a long, long, haul to get all of the alternate costumes, many of them depending on collecting random items in the most difficulty mode which appear COMPLETELY AT RANDOM. It’s amazing how nearly all the discussions invariably avoid little details like these which absolutely make or break a game.
Bloody Roar 3 - AVOID. Avoid it like unexploded ordinance. You’ll thank me later.
In short, don’t believe the hype and trust your judgment. That’s the best advice I could give.
Let us know when you’re having fun, okay? 
(Oh, PS…you need a Gameshark or Codebreaker. I will not tolerate any foolish dissent on this. Increase the fun, decrease the frustration.)
[hijack]
DKY, Is Gran Turismo 3 really that difficult? I’m playing GT2 now (on my PS1. GT3 is the main thing attracting me to the PS2) and one thing I really like about it is that the license tests are so much easier than in GT1. I remember having to spend an entire week just to get the first license, then not being able to get any further. With GT2, I was able to get the first three licenses in one evening.
[/hijack]
Sublight - Look, it came with the system. I’ve played it. I’ve played it a lot. The game is now sitting in room pending my figuring out how to best dispose of it.
It is that hard.
The fact that there’s something in the universe that’s harder is completely immaterial to me, and I get really irritated whenever anyone uses this argument. (“But Keyboardmania is even harder than Beatmania IIDX, so your concerns about half the songs on Light 7 being absolutely freaking impossible are COMPLETELY UNFOUNDED!!”) It it still that hard.
License tests - Insane requirements. Took me about ten tries to get a BRONZE clear on the b license final. One wall-tap or dirt job (which is really easy with these cars) is an automatic failure. Never came close to getting any of the other licenses without a Gameshark. Never even sniffed gold clears (mandatory for numerous goodies) without same. That hard.
Time trials - Same automatic failure conditions as license exams. Ridiculously low times to beat, and you have to get the #1 time on each for the special race car. Never got a #1 time on anything without a Gameshark. That hard.
The actual races - If I had a nickel for every time I upgraded and fine tuned and tweaked and modified my car to death, and come race time it STILL got left in the dust by all the other cars, I could probably afford a GT3 vehicle in real life. Some of them, frankly, absolutely baffle me…how the hell hell am I even supposed to RUN fifty laps at Special Stage 11 without my head exploding, let alone finish at something other than dead last? And every time I ran a FF race on the easiest level without any Gameshark help, they could’ve entered golf carts and beat whatever care I had. That hard.
Choices, choices - I know I asked this before; here it is again. Are there gamers out there who actually ENJOY having to make about five million adjustments before each and every race to have any chance of winning? Limited slip, ABS braking, spring adjustment, flywheel…does anyone know what the hell half this stuff even MEANS?
Yes, sublight, this game really is that hard.
I prefer games that have plenty of replay value without making each and every step a horrific nightmare struggle. Yes, there are plenty of PS2 games that fit the bill…I’d never have considered the system otherwise. And yes, at least one racing game (CART Fury) qualifies. My point is, there really are a lot of games out there, and you can get plenty of enjoyment out of this system even if you’re not into mega-complex shooters or mega-complex racers or mega-complex sports games. You just have to look.
For those of you interested in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City:
DKW Sorry, I just realized how snarky my post came off sounding. I was sincerely wondering if they had made #3 harder after making #2 easier. No offense was intended.
Sublight: I consider myself slightly-better-than-average at GT3, and I’ve managed to get all but the final (1-A) license. I’ve completed about 87% of the game according to the menu screen.
DKW, I’m not trying to put you down or anything, but in my experience, I didn’t have that hard of a time with GT3. The 1-A license is next to impossible, and I didn’t get ANY golds in the tests I did pass, but I got a lot of enjoyment out of the game.
As for tuning, I only ever make two adjustments to my car–the kind of tires (which only matters when you get farther into the game), and to the overall gear ratio of my racing transmission, which is a single simple slider. You set it to one end if you want good acceleration, and the other if you want high top speed.
Yes, GT3 can be massivley complex if you want. But I didn’t find it to be that hard to get through a good portion of the game. I easily got my $50 worth, and considering you can get the game for $17 (used) now, I think it’s worth picking up.