PS2 Advice
 

I have inherited a PS2 from some freinds because they wanted it out of the house. It was report card time for their son and he didnt make the grades he needed in order to keep it so It will be living at my house till the school year is over. I got it last year for a couple of months as well and at that time I played and completed SoCom 3 which I quite enjoyed.

So, basically I am looking for a new game. I'm looking for something that is mission based like SoCom 3 was and is mission based. However, I really need a game that will teach me how to use it. The way that SoCom 3 starts off with easy missions showing you the different controls and whatnot is exactly what I require. I'm not the type to read a manual, or even remember intricate manoevers of the joysticks and buttons.

What can you folks recommend for me?

Hmm... God of War isn't really "mission based." But there are different levels and they do a pretty good job of teaching you how to play. The game is almost like watching a movie where you control the main character :)

i'll check it out, thanks

the last game i finished was Shadow Of The Colossus. it's a great game! and they do explain what to do.
ign gave it a 97% just to give you some idea... http://ps2.ign.com/articles/658/658991p1.html

edit: and god of war is really good but frustrating at some parts. i still enjoyed what i've seen of teh game(my brother owns it).
ign gave it a 98%...
http://ps2.ign.com/articles/596/596778p1.html those are 2 games that you should own.

I give GoW another 2 thumbs up along with everyone else, it is an AMAZING game, and I cannot wait until 2 comes out.

As far as Shadow of the Colossus, I got a demo for it, but never played it, after looking around a bit I may need to give it a shot, looks awesome.

oh ya! it's now in the GREATEST hits collection so you can find it for about 20$
or even less as a used copy. they took all the crap from most games and kept only the good. so ya, it's good. just dont look at too many reviews or it might ruin it for you.

I totally agree with both recommendations. God of War is a fantastic game.

If you're into platformers...Ratchet and Clank. Any of them. Seriously.

this is my game collection and how i rate it.

Shadow of the colossus: 9.7/10
for the storyline and the originality of the game. and the soundtrack is pro. this is a must own title.

god of war: 9.5/10
if you're a fan of action and violence. or mythology, or just good gameplay, then this is the game to get.

katamari damacy: 9/10
this is more like a nintendo title. i loved this game from start to finish. it's very cool.

ssx3: 9/10
well this is like a tonyhawk game but it's better for the controls in my opinion. and xtreme games are great.

amplitude: 8.5/10
i didnt try guitar hero yet but this is the 2nd best thing.

tekken5: 8.5/10
for a fighting game, this is the one to get as far as i know.

burnout3 or 4: 8.5/10
arcade racing at it's best. the grandturismo games arent as fun as this game with a huge amount of cars/tracks gamestyles.

super monkey ball deluxe:
if you have some ppl over, then 9/10 for the party games.. alone, it's a 7.5. the gameplay for the regular game is not as fun as teh party games.

Ratchet and clank: up your arsenal: 8/10
fun little game. i did not beat this game yet since it's pretty long and Shadow of the colossus took most of my time but i still recommend it for an arcade experience.

edit:
i'm also considering the RESIDENT EVIL 4 game. maybe someone who played it can let me know if it's great or not.

The Prince of Persia games are similar to God of War in that it's like watching a movie where you control the main character.

The game is also very very lenient with mistakes, and if I remember correctly, they do teach you how to do everything.

Gran Turismo 4. The real driving simulator, The drive of your life. The best reason to own a PS2. coming in a close second, Gran Turismo 3. I could almost think GT3 would be a better first choice only because GT4 has way more to it then 3. way more cars way more tracks.... of course thats also what makes it way better too! In GT3 I got all of my drivers licenses in one night in GT4 it took me several weeks. That Mercedes on the Nürburgring is a killer.

i dont own a ps2, but if i did i would pick up Final Fantasy.

if you're into rpg's, the ff series is like... next to godliness.

And another vote for a gamer above who mentioned GT4.

Now here is the fun part, I took part in the online GT4 beta test, the test disk we got starts you off with EVERY car in the game in your garage, and 10,000,000 to spend :)

No licenses though :(

I have to recommend the Jak & Daxter games. Jak & Daxter and Jak II are very good. I haven't played the third one yet. But those are easy to pick up and play and are very fun.

Bully is solid, has missions, while being opened ended, and is very fun. The entire first chapter of the game contains missions and tutorials that instruct how to play the game, and the various things your character can do.

Wow!, I'm jealous now. do you still have a save from that? and would it work with the production version? I want all the cars!!

I have the disk, can load it up at anytime, I do not know if it will work with the retail version of the game, since we had the online option on the disk. Don't know I will have to check and let you know, I have GT4 retail as well.

The online beta was pretty cool, since you had every car and could take them online to the various challenges and such.

Back on the topic, I picked up SotC for $20 today at Target and having a ball with it, the world is awesome and the graphics are not too shabby either, I don't have component cables though, just S-vid so the HDTV isn't getting the best signal possible.

The Warriors is a pretty violent, gritty game, perfect to play co-op with a friend while drinking. And it does provide you with explanations and tutorials.

As mentioned above, the Prince of Persia series is good and "user-friendly". I have the latest one (I think), PoP: The Two Thrones, which can be frustrating at an advanced point in the game, but is still very good. (except for the voice acting).

The Metal Gear Solid series is one that I love, with a great story, and stealth/combat gameplay. My favorite game on PS2 is MGS3. You can familiarize yourself with the controls through a mini-game in which you catch monkeys (it also doubles as a kid-friendly game, no violence), and also in the game itself you are taught how to perform basic actions, from which you can evolve at your own pace.
The story of the series, however, might take some getting used to, but I was hooked since I played Metal Gear Solid on the original Playstation, and eventually found a way to play the previous installments on emulators to know more about the story.
Also, the grand theft auto series is mission based, and I know that at least the latest one (San Andreas) shows you how to play (I can't remember if the others do, but they're all pretty simple).

Anyway, good luck finding good games (there are tons out there!) keep up posted, and enjoy the PS2.

If you liked Socom 3, check out Socom: Combined Assault. It's basically Socom 3 1/2 but it's still very fun. If you haven't ever played Socom (1,2,3, Combined Assault) online, it's probably the most fun I've had in one sitting with a game without ever getting too tired or frustrated with it.

God of War is also excellent. The Warriors is fun. Bully is amazing, but I can't help but feel like it's GTA for kids, so if you happen to check that out and like it, GET SAN ANDREAS (best game ever IMO)!!

Socom combined assault is not a standalone game though, right? My understanding was that it is strictly and online / multiplayer game.

I picked up God of War today and started playing it. Holy Hell, I love it! I just finished killing the Medusa on level 2, took me a couple of tries before I realized that dodging would work. I also had a bit of trouble with the Hydra at the end of level one , took me a number of tries, I figured out pretty quickly what needed to be done, but just kept dying :P

You can always try Grand Theft Auto 3. They are all good though San Andreas is probably the most robust with the largest world. You don't get bored playing these games because each mission is different, not just a harder version of the last one.

I don't believe so. Admittedly, I've only played the online version, but when you turn it on there's a selection for "Fast Login" and one for "Main Menu". Just looking at the main menu, there's a "New Campaign" selection, so I believe you could play it standalone as well. Like I said, I haven't tried it because, to me at least, online is so much more fun.

Glad you're having fun with God Of War. It's definitely a fun game!

Does anyone know: are they still going to develop games for the PS2, now that the 3 is out? It seems to me that like they would, since, with it's price tag, the 3 may take some time to gain a fare sized marked share.

yes theres still some ps2 games in the making even some big names like God OF War 2. but some of the bigger games will obviously want to take advantage of the new technology. i expect new games for a year and then it will die down.
although, all ps2 games are compatible with the ps3 so it shouldn't be a problem.

It was the same way with the PS1 to PS2 conversion, back in the day when PS2 was next-gen. :O

Most def. Big games like God of War 2, Rogue Galaxy, Burnout Dominator, MoH: Vanguard, and Test Drive Unlimited are going to come soon.