i have entered the twentieth century!

[jazzfish]

This weekend I ordered a laptop and bought a PS2.

So tell me, o lazyweb, what cheap PS2 games should I be acquiring post-haste? Note that I don't do CRPGs (I have no patience for an endless stream of nigh-identical random battles, nor do I believe that pressing a button to slowly read through dialogue counts as "gameplay"). I'm partial to "action-adventure" games, and non-twitchy puzzle games if such things exist. I already own Frequency, am on the lookout for Amplitude, and am contemplating Gitarzan (or, as the rest of the world refers to it, "Guitar Hero"), and that will probably tide me over for rhythm games.

Comments

[plumbob78.livejournal.com]

Dunno your opinion of shooters, but I find the Grand Theft Auto games very fulfilling, if you like shooting people.

GTA: Vice City is one of my favorites.

[jsciv.livejournal.com]

Obviously I am biased, but Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal is a good actiony choice. It has a teensy bit of RPG in that your weapons upgrade, but it's really just a lot of fun shooting and light platforming.

THE gateway game for the PS2 (and it is a ton of fun) is Katamari Damacy. You owe it to yourself to get that.

Most of the rest of my favorites are either CRPG's or action titles with lots and lots of combat, so I'll leave it at those two for now and see what else people say and re-comment appropriately...

[jameshroberts.livejournal.com]

I mostly play RPGs which as you've already said do not appeal to you. I would suggest ICO, Katamari Damacy, and Spyro the Dragon. None of those have much dialog, and are all fairly short (as far as PS2 games are reckoned). Actually, I'm pretty sure Spyro is PS1, but you can play it on a PS2.

[ndkid.livejournal.com]

I think you would appreciate several things about GTA3: Vice City, and it is relatively close to the concept of Action-Adventure, I think.

While I can understand your distaste for random battles, I would still advise you to give Disgaea and/or Final Fantasy Tactics tries, since they aren't *quite* CRPGs, instead being the leaders of the "tactical RPG" variety. And Disgaea's Prinnies are just too *cute*! (And if you're going to knock CRPGs, don't forget to mention how they're structured around the assumption of using spoilers, these days.)

I consider Shadows of Rome to be interesting hack/slash fun, but the action/adventure/stealth portion is somewhat annoying... YMMV.

Soulcaliber 3 (actually, if you want cheap, Soulcaliber 2) can also be fun hack/slash on occasion. So can the Dynasty Warriors series, which is absolutely mindless.

I'm trying to think of puzzle games for the PS2, and am unable to. I hope this is more a function of me than a lack of PS2 puzzle games...

[chaobell]

As has been said, Katamari Damacy. Also Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3. And the Silent Hill and Fatal Frame series, if you're into horror. Disgaea and Suikoden Tactics are the only two tactical RPGs I've ever liked, but the former wins for sheer joy and insanity. And if you find Rez, no matter the price, get it.

[shadowsong.livejournal.com]

the only things i play on the ps2 are final fantasy xii and the various dynasty/samurai warriors games.

[ignis-mcgruff.livejournal.com]

God of War I and II

[rikchik.livejournal.com]

I find it difficult to believe no one else has suggested Prince of Persia: Sands of Time. It is such an excellent game that the store clerks should insist that you buy it when you get a PS2. (I haven't played the 2nd and 3rd installments but I hear they are much less enjoyable.) Ico is fun too, in a similar way.

Of course, buy Guitar Hero. And the Lego Star Wars games are pretty amusing, especially if you have someone else to play with.

[sir-alf.livejournal.com]

The Devil May Cry series, but especially Devil May Cry 3.

Mortal Combat: Shaolin Monks is pretty good. It's the MK characters in a 3rd person fighting game.

Darkwatch was a fun 3rd person shooter.

I've not played them, but the Lego Star Wars series seems to come with some recommendation.

If I think of more, I'll let you know. Peace.

[skreidle.livejournal.com]

On our PS2--which we only got last summer--we have:

Spy Hunter (the new release): Fun arcade-style play.

Tourist Trophy: Very realistic, rather difficult motorcycle simulator.

LEGO Star Wars: Like Knights of the Old Republic, if you've seen or played that. Action/adventure/quest.

Cars: You'll probably want to skip this one--my 9-year-old stepson loves it. :D

This summer, we got a Gamecube (for about $40, refurb, at Gamestop), and several games for that.

[currentlee.livejournal.com]

katamari.
i bought a ps2 just so i could play katamari.

[rbandrews]

The trouble is finding good PS2 games that you don't already own (or have passed on) for the Cube.

Dark Cloud 1 and 2 are playable Roguelikes, and probably very cheap.

Fantavision is relaxing and fun, and comes with a television-screen-saver sort of mode which you can use to render a television inert.

Culdcept is a CCG crossed with Monopoly, and is more fun than either of them.

Shadow of Destiny is an excellent adventure game centered around time travel. Zarf reviewed it.

There are also some good PS1 games:

You know, of course, abot Roll-Away, and the awesome-on-a-disc that is Mr. Driller.

Sorcerer's Maze is like Arkanoid with stuff, and also excellent two-player.

If you find a copy of Team Buddies for less than it's worth, pick it up (it normally goes for almost a hundred, though).

Devil Dice is good, and even though I think I am the only person to like its sequel Bombastic (for the PS2) Bombastic is almost a superset of DD (the DD puzzles are all that's missing. There are puzzles, just not in the DD mode).

what's a "non-twitchy puzzle game"?

[cchan8.livejournal.com]

I liked Ico, but it's slow-paced.

I also used to play DDR a lot on my PS2. Good exercise.

[jlfranklin.livejournal.com]

Robotech: Battlecry has a good mix of shoot-em-up and sneak-about. If you were a fan of the show, it's worth finding.

The Sims, it's not quite the same as the computer version, but it is a good semi-mindless game.

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, 3D version of the popular arcade game. Good party game, surprising amount of replay value.

The Bard's Tale has Cary Elwes as a snarky bard turned reluctant scoundrel-hero, coupled with a narrator who spends as much time mocking our hero as telling his story.

Bombastic - high-speed, exploding dice game.

I'll second the Star Wars Lego games, the two Katamari games, Metal Gear Solid, and Spy Hunter. There are a number of good PS1 games to be had as well.

[vt-andros.livejournal.com]

Must concur that you get Ratchet and Clank, Katamari, Metal Gear Solid, Soul Calibur 2 and 3, GTA3 (regular and Vice City), and The Bard's Tale.

Robotech: Battlecry is merely OK, but it's cheap, so get it anyway.

If you want Gauntlet: Dark Legacy, get it for the Cube. 4-player without a multitap FTW.

Also, the MGS storyline isn't horrible -- it just got a bad rap after the WTF-ness that was MGS2. My advice is to play 3, then 1, then 2 -- it'll make more sense. Also, get the special editions of them if you can -- MGS3: Subsistence has the bonus of including the first two Metal Gear games ported from the MSX.

There's a MGS 20th Anniversary pack that has all the Metal Gear games in one package, and they're thinking of bringing it to the States. You may wanna hold out for this.

Anyway, what has not been suggested:

-Armored Core series. Build mechs. Pilot them in missions. Kill things. Fun.
-Midway Arcade Collection (1 and 2). Lots of good old-school arcade games on a disk. Pretty cheap, and the emulations are the best I've seen.
-Star Wars Battlefront. Good strategic FPSes.
-Zone of the Enders series. More mech battling goodness. Made by the same guy who made MGS.
-Worms:Armageddon (PS1). Best Worms game ever, IMO.