[Sarafan]

Fellow HLPers, fellow gamers! I have a request for you! My story is that I cant afford a PS3 or Xbox 360 and I'm pretty much restricted to low-end gaming on my PC, however, this year I managed to buy something I always wanted: a Playstation 2.

But, because there's always a but, me being much more of a PC gamer and only a beginner when comes to consoles I have no idea on the repertoire of the PS2 aside from a few of the major releases (ex: God of War, Shadow of Colossus, etc). I already have 5 titles (FFXII, Ace Combat 4/5, Armored Core 3 and Killzone) and as we near christmas I want to expand that but have no idea where to begin so I would like to ask the HLP community what PS2 games should I get? What are the must have?

Any genre, any style, I'm open to all suggestions.

[zookeeper]

Okami is awesome.

[Sarafan]

Okami is awesome.

What is it about?

[deathfun]

B.L.A.C.K.

First person shooter, your regular run and gun, but it's got some of the best graphics PS2 has to offer. Other great games that I've had are your good 'ol James Bond (Everything or Nothing, Nightfire), Battlefront and Splinter Cell

There's also Battlefront (1 and 2)

[SpardaSon21]

B.L.A.C.K. also has some of the most destructible environments you'll ever see.  It is a lot of fun to watch everything explode into fragments, and I wish they had ported it to PC.

[Polpolion]

Katamari Damacy. 

[General Battuta]

Okami and Katamari are both amazing games. I think Shadow of the Colossus, Ico and Okami are the must-haves.

[Nuke]

i only ever played one game on the ps2 and that was red faction. it wasnt even my ps2. i stopped using consoles when i traded my sega saturn in for a voodoo card.

[Mongoose]

The Ratchet and Clank series is really good stuff.  Think fun platforming, only with a ****-load of ridiculous weapons.  Jak and Daxter was enjoyable too, though the second game was something of a clunker.  And to round out the PS2 platformer trilogy, I always heard good things about the Sly Cooper series, though I never played them myself.

Outside of those, I also strongly recommend ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.  If you haven't played it on another platform yet, Resident Evil 4 is a blast.  The Devil May Cry series is supposed to be a lot of fun, although I think there was quite a bit of backlash against the second one.  I'm sure I can come up with one or two other titles if I poke through my collection.

[KyadCK]

+1 for both Ratchet and Clank (Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal were the best, Deadlocked was good because multiplayer, the original was good for background and story, Size Matters........ was interesting) and SW Battlefront 1 and 2.

Most of the FinalFantasy games are good and will kill months of your free time. Each.

Also, keep in mind, PS2s can play all PS1 games. Don't write em off, some like FFVIII are very good.

[Colonol Dekker]

Marvel vs Capcom 2
Final Fantasy X
Metal Gear Solid 2/3
Silent Hill 2
Resident Evil 2
God of War
Shadow of the colossus
Ico
Acquire these games and you won't be disappointed I SWEAR.

[TrashMan]

I only palyed 2 games which were both good:
- SDF: Macross g(it's sadtisfying to fly between buildings, turn into a mech and own on foot)

- Saint Seiya: Hades (fighting game)

[The E]

FF12 is the best title in the series IMHO.
Then there are Silent Hill 2 and 3, Ace Combat Zero, the various MEtal Gear titles, and Zone of the Enders 1 and 2.

[StarSlayer]

Okami

I have Okami for Wii, aside from the motion control support they are supposedly nearly the same.  I will also vouch for it being a really cool game.

[Scotty]

Jak and Daxter is also pretty good for PS2.  I'd stay away from the sequels, though.  The original is a light-hearted platformer adventure game, and the sequels do their absolute best to turn the franchise into a quasi-third-person-shooter with lots of vehicle elements.

Also a second for FFX.  I haven't played 12, but X was excellent.

[redsniper]

Beyond Good & Evil

[FireSpawn]

Gitaroo Man and Parappa the Rapper 1&2.

[TwentyPercentCooler]

FF12 is the best title in the series IMHO.

This. Also, don't forget the Gran Turismo games (if you're into that kind of thing).

I like my PS2 better than my PS3, even these days. The PS2 has such an amazing library.

[KyadCK]

FF12 is the best title in the series IMHO.

This. Also, don't forget the Gran Turismo games (if you're into that kind of thing).

I like my PS2 better than my PS3, even these days. The PS2 has such an amazing library.

Not to mention it's the size of 3 TV remotes if you have a slim.

PS3 is better at media related things (Bluray, streaming, netflix) but the PS2 just out guns it in "good game" lists.

Both FF X and XII (NOT to be confused with FFX-2!) were great games. Each of them has over 500 hours of playtime in my "best" save file, and that doesn't include all the replays.

Their gameplay is very different, FFX's combat style being turn-based random encounter, akin to Pokemon with hundreds of attack options, and the ability to make just about any weapon and armor you can dream, from swords that can deal all 4 elements of dammage at once to armor that will block just about any ailment you can think of.

FFXII's is real-time and gambit based. You set up conditionals for things to happen, and they happen. You can take manual control whenever you like, but life will be easier if you find good gambit sets and get people in their roles.

Both are loot-based player economy; sell what you don't want.

[IronBeer]

You've already listed most of the good titles that I'm aware of. I just want to echo this:

The Devil May Cry series is supposed to be a lot of fun, although I think there was quite a bit of backlash against the second one.

I picked up the DMC HD collection for 360 not too long ago. 1 is quite good, though a bit clunky, and the camera behavior may have you flipping a table at some point. 2 is kinda crappy- you could safely ignore it and not miss much. 3 is easily the best of the group.

I've also got DMC4 for PC, it friggin' rocks, but that's not relevant to the discussion at hand.

If desired, I can elaborate, or I can simply leave this uber-brief evaluation and go.