Rediscovering Playstation 2

[Lookingglassman]

I was given a PS2 as a gift, more like a joke. I used to own one years ago, but got rid of it in favor of the XBOX 360 and PS3. Now that I got another PS2 I bought games I never played/knew about when I had my old PS2 and I must admit I am having more fun playing them then playing 360 and PS3 games.

These PS2 games have more levels, more in depth story line and are just plain fun. A couple of the games I got are the Naval Ops series of games and I am having blast designing my own warships and shelling the heck out of enemy installations and ships.

Why can't modern games be more like the PS2 games? I get 360/PS3 games and the single player campaign lasts just a few hours or the story is so convoluted that I don't have a clue what is going on.

What initially turned out to be a joke from a buddy actually brightened my day!

 

[C.E. Evans]

I never advanced beyond a PS2--real life got in the way and the time I used to play video games pretty much vanished (I probably only turn it on a few times each year now, and each time for only a few minutes). But back when I was playing a lot, I totally loved my PS2 and could spend several days just on one game.

 

[Kelthaz]

Why would receiving a PS2 be a joke? I don't get it.

 

[clint g]

Well, the real reason why they don't make games like they used to is because of $$$. The cost to develop games has increased dramatically so instead of getting more niche and quirky games we just get Call of Duty clones. The indie games on PSN and Xbox Live Arcade have sort of filled in that space.

 

[Kemaiku]

My main console is still a PS2, still love playing it.

 

[The Dominion]

I'm of the opinion the the PS2 was the epitome of all console gaming. Today's consoles still don't do the same thing for me, and PS2 had one of the best libraries ever.

Shame I don't have one.

 

[Kelthaz]

The cost to develop games has increased dramatically so instead of getting more niche and quirky games we just get Call of Duty clones.

Yup. That's why I mostly stick to the 8-bit and 16-bit era. Back then games cost $200,000 - $300,000 while today games are $20 to $30 million. Developers can't afford to take risks, so we get the same game rehashed over and over again. Was there any game at E3 this year that wasn't a sequel or a clone or another game?

The PS2 was probably the last console that was cheap enough to develop for to allow for original titles. You didn't always get quality, but you almost always got a new experience.

 

[backstept]

the biggest reason games are getting shorter is the time and money needed to just create the game's assets, and the space needed to store them
writing games' stories is nothing compared to the time needed to design and build high resolution artwork, scripting and coding in the engine and getting the bugs out.
with older games you just had a few pixels and sprites and whatnot, now we've got games that look nigh on photorealistic
and all that high res stuff takes up tons of room, so now instead of fitting 10 levels on a cartridge we get 5 on a disk with a substantial installation and the rest of the game comes out months later as DLC

 

[trekkiebaggio]

I'm not a massive gamer but like to play occasionally. I bought a PS2 with some games off my friend last year. Its good for the occasional blast. There's still a good few games I haven't played and it suits my casual needs.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

I don't own a PS2, but I was considering buying one just for Metal Gear Solid 3 and possibly some Final Fantasy games. I do agree though, it's a sad and terrible thing that games are getting shorter for supposedly providing $50-$60 worth of entertainment.

Splinter Cell: Conviction and Warhammer 40k: Space Marine only lasted about 12 and 9 hours, respectively. I'm glad I got them on sale, because I would have been pissed if I'd paid full retail for them. The older Harry Potter games on the PC (Sorcerer's Stone to Prisoner of Azkaban), despite being licensed tie-ins, kept me busy for vastly longer than that, not to mention Metal Gear Solid and it's sequel, Sons of Liberty.

 

[Kelthaz]

I actually think games are way too long these days. You're right that games are too short for $60, but I'd prefer that games remained 8-10 hours long and reduced their price to $30. There's too much padding and filler to force games over that magic 20 hour mark.

Also, I don't have time to play a 30-50 hour game. I'd much rather play several shorter games than spend several months on a single game -- a single experience.

 

[BillJ]

Been playing the first Mercenaries on my PS2 I dragged out of the closet. Having a blast.

 

[backstept]

I've spent over 300 hours in Skyrim, so not all games are short these days


my favorite PS2 games are:
some of the Armored Core games,
some of the Ace Combat games
Gran Turismo 4
GTA Vice City
Zone of the Enders (and ZOE 2)
Final Fantasy X
Shadow of the Colossus
God of War

 

[Stone_Cold_Sisko]

The PS2 was a great console.

But the games look HORRIBLE scaled up on a nice large HDTV. That's pretty much the death knell for it, sadly.

 

[Garrovick]

The PS2 was a great console.

But the games look HORRIBLE scaled up on a nice large HDTV. That's pretty much the death knell for it, sadly.

That's why I keep my PS3 hooked up to our HDTV and I keep my PS2 (and my N64, and my son's Wii) hooked up to our older 2001-era TV in the den - that way I can enjoy playing some classics when the wife wants to watch America's Next Top Model

I've owned my PS2 since 2001 and have about 60 games for it, and there are still dozens of games for it that I want to play. It really had a massive library of great stuff. Plus it still plays the old PS1 stuff, some great classics there too.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

I'd go further back with the preferences thing. I'm a big JRPG fan -- or rather, I used to be. The vast majority of today's paltry offerings have transformed into the sorts of things the cliches are built around. I don't like many of the more recent titles at all.

But in the SNES and especially PSX eras, I was in heaven.

I do own all of the current-gen consoles, and barring one or more of them looking absolutely awful, I will likely do the same going forward. But there are fewer titles now that I'll actually purchase, yeah.

Thank god for BioWare. They've taken many of the elements of old JRPGs I enjoyed and done good things with them. I wasn't a shooter fan before Mass Effect, and really, I'm still not, but surround that style of gameplay with rich characterization and a beautiful space opera universe, and I'll take three, please.