PS2 - Best Games

Well guys, strangely enough with the announcement of Space Channel 5 v2 on the way to the US PS2 this summer and a probable price drop at E3, I'm thinking of picking up a PS2. GASP!

I'll likely get the following games:

ICO
R&C
VF4 Evolution
Shinobi
Zone of the Enders 2

I don't like GTA, GT3, or DMC, and I've already played most of FFX. Does anyone have any other recommended games? Also, I'm looking for a larger controller, since I don't really like the Dual Shock all that much. Any controllers that are nice and big like the Xbox pad?
 
Space Channel 2 is on the way to the US? Yay!

In the meantime, check out Contra: Shattered Soldier if you've got a taste for nostalgia. Rez and Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance are two of my other big PS2 faves, but they're available on other platforms as well.

Likewise with Tiger Woods 2003, but damn - this video game has me hooked on a sport I have no interest playing in real life!

Kolgar
 
Shinobi
Grandia X
GunGrave

If you're thinking about getting Rez (and you really, really should!), definitely get it for DC. The PS2 version suffers from RRV-level jaggies due to output and interlacing issues, and believe me you don't want to see that in a wireframe game where everything is made out of lines (and not just the edges of things like in a normal game like RRV.)

Space Channel 5 pt 2 is a great choice, but you might want to observe the rule-of-thumb and get the DC version instead if you can accept that it's not translated (it's more than playable on import, though). The PS2 port came out really bad and is far inferior to the Dreamcast Space Channel 5 pt 2.
 
The games you mentioned are all great (you may want to double check for Shinobi, at least try it before you buy it - people are very split on it)

Get Rez and Frequency, (and Amplitude if you like Frequency). Jak & Daxter, Mark of Kri, Klonoa 2, Ace Combat 4, Contra and Onimusha 2 are also very good. I vaguely remember you disliking MGS2 so that's not an option, right?

BG:DA is very nice co-op game, but it's also available for Xbox, and basically looks the same as PS2 version so judge them for youself before deciding. Xbox version has pro-scan ans some people say PS2 version has slightly better antialiasing and textures.

SC5-2, I've heard, has suffered pretty terribly in the graphics department compared to DC version, but at least it's in English :\ I've heard the image quality is kinda blurred, or something. Noone seems to like how it looks, but I'm still looking forwards to it, as SC5 was one of my DC favorites.

Even if you didn't liked GTA3, you may still like GTA:VC, so at least check it out. You may like the happy-shiny 80s atmosphere, and much better missions.

As for controllers, you may like the wireless one made by Logitech. I think it's bigger than the standard one, and I know it has very good build quality.

*edit* What can I say - I think Rez is better on PS2 (smoother and trippier, frankly) It's 60FPS, better looking effects and clearer digital audio on PS2 vs 30FPS and better IQ on DC. Don't listen to Lazy or me, see and decide for yourself. PS2 version you can find *dirt* cheap, though, and DC version you have to import if you want a new copy. Btw, it's not RRV-like jaggies, that would be an exageration, it's more like J&D as far as image quality goes.
 
marconelly!:
*edit* What can I say - I think Rez is better on PS2 (smoother and trippier, frankly)
Did you compare the two versions in person?

The PS2 version does that field-rendering thing, and the real point to note here is that the DC version can be played through VGA! Anyway, here's what importer NCSX (National Console Support), who stocks both versions if you're interested in picking it up, has to say:

"When goaded into describing Rez in ten words or less, we'd probably sputter: "Video artwork, fused with musical rave...on rails." Sort of. NCS won't attempt to definitively classify and try to fit Rez into the "shooter" mold or slap on the "rhythm game" label and leave it at that. We're not so sure that it can comfortably be classified as a game. An interactive experience might better suit what Sega has wrought. Interested gamers will just have to dim the lights, bump up the bass on the speakers, and relax for a few minutes before powering up the Dreamcast. Start the game and simply immerse yourself in this shimmering sea of video aesthetic exotica and booming musical hypnosis. That said, we'd love to see a sequel to Rez, if only for more of the gorgeous designs and visual effects that make it so unique. Given a choice between the recent USA Playstation 2 version and the "native" Dreamcast version, go with the DC edition. It looks cleaner - thus conveying and relaying a purer, undiluted hit of video high.
 
Did you compare the two versions in person?
Yes I did, actually. I didn't even know about the difference in the efects until I did.

NCSX guy is just one person though, so if you want go like that, I know several people who agree with me. Besides, it's in NCSX's interest to sell the import game, as that's what their business is based on... Given how the two games are quite simillar, they are of course going to push the one that suits them more :\
 
marconelly!:
Besides, it's in NCSX's interest to sell the import game, as that's what their business is based on... Given how the two games are quite simillar, they are of course going to push the one that suits them more :\
Now you're actually questioning the credibility of the venerable National Console Support just because they don't agree with you? NCSX is one of the longest running, most trusted, and highest rated for customer service/support online sources for videogames... they're so straightforward with consumers in fact, they often reveal the prices they pay and the profit margins for the items they stock. They've been around since 1989 and have been keeping gamers abreast of import news and games via the internet since 1995 - you can check the site and archives at http://www.ncsx.com/

By the way, NCSX is selling both the PlayStation2 and Dreamcast versions of Rez.
 
Last I heard the PS2 Rez ran at 60fps, while the DC Rez was 30fps with a flicker filter.

However, the PS2 has an spdif out, and Rez IS about the music, soooo.. :)
 
zurich:
Rez IS about the music,
It's also about the expression of color, shape, and light, which are unmatched through Dreamcast VGA. Seriously, there are some subtle details you only notice through VGA clarity. VGA is also progressive, so that's another graphic bonus.
 
Yeah, but on a 21" monitor, 640x480 resolution looks more jaggiefied than Rez does on PS2 with component :\

There's no point. Let's just agree to disagree and let other people see what looks and feels better for themselves.
 
marconelly!:
Yeah, but on a 21" monitor, 640x480 resolution looks more jaggiefied than Rez does on PS2 with component :\
That is absolutely untrue, and the whole point of my recommendation. The PS2 version of Rez is poorly filtered in the way some other games like RRV, VF4, and DOA2 on PS2 are. Many PS2 games, even field-rendered ones, don't suffer from the same degree of interlace issues like the aforementioned games... Rez just happens to be one that does. Post some screenshots of the PS2 version to see what I mean.
There's no point. Let's just agree to disagree and let other people see what looks and feels better for themselves.
I've never had a problem with that. I'm just trying to present the facts.

Another thing for potential buyers to note is that the import Japanese DC version is in 100% English. There's no Japanese at all, so it's just like any other localized US game.
 
Transvibrator can often be purchased on the ebay for quite insane amounts of money (~$300) I will get it if I can find it for less than $100 (and even that is too much...)

That is absolutely untrue, and the whole point of my recommendation. The PS2 version of Rez is poorly filtered in the way some other games like RRV, VF4, and DOA2 on PS2 are.
Well, everyone knows how 640x480 looks on a 21" monitor, no need to explain that :\

As for the comparision with RRV, that game not only uses half frame buffer but also has problems with keeping up the steady 60FPS framerate where the lines in half buffer go out of sync. It's by far the worst offender in that regard, and there isn't really any other game on PS2 that I can think of that does the same. That is why I'm saying Rez is not bad in that regard like RRV is.
 
Beatmania II. You got to get the controller though. But well worth it, there are already 4 or 5 in this series.

I think there is Beatmania III on the way as well, but I am not sure.
 
marconelly! said:
Transvibrator can often be purchased on the ebay for quite insane amounts of money (~$300) I will get it if I can find it for less than $100 (and even that is too much...)

That is absolutely untrue, and the whole point of my recommendation. The PS2 version of Rez is poorly filtered in the way some other games like RRV, VF4, and DOA2 on PS2 are.
Well, everyone knows how 640x480 looks on a 21" monitor, no need to explain that :\

As for the comparision with RRV, that game not only uses half frame buffer but also has problems with keeping up the steady 60FPS framerate where the lines in half buffer go out of sync. It's by far the worst offender in that regard, and there isn't really any other game on PS2 that I can think of that does the same. That is why I'm saying Rez is not bad in that regard like RRV is.



I never actually got to see RRV in motion... but was it THAT bad?? god some people described it like it was the worst looking thing ever created by humans... :?
 
Nick Laslett said:
I'll use my Blaze VGA adaptor to see what Rez (PS2) looks like tonight.

Never bothered before.


it will probably come up looking like GT3 or ICO look on it. CRAP. half-resolution-kind-of-crap.

but u never know...
 
Best games:

XENOSAGA
ICO

I never actually got to see RRV in motion... but was it THAT bad?? god some people described it like it was the worst looking thing ever created by humans...

I don't recall being 'REALLY' annoyed by any prob with the gphx. Still it was an early first gen title....

The only title that really really pushed the boundaries of bad IQ that I can remember is the Japanesse Tekken Tag game... I remember viewing that for a few minutes and I was like :oops: , from what I remember.... the char.s looked like moving blobs of jags, real real nasty.
 
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