PS 2 is 20 years old - GOAT?

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,022]

9 minutes ago, Gloves said:

What kind of crazy person uses a dpad for a fighting game? 

They don't call em fight pads for nothin

[CMR | 526]

PS2 is super easy to mod also.  Just get yourself a free mcboot memory card off ebay and you're ready to go.

[Gloves | 12,002]

6 minutes ago, RegularGuyGamer said:

They don't call em fight pads for nothin

More like LOSER PADS! Come back when you have a MAN'S stick. 

[Estil | 1,282]

24 minutes ago, CMR said:

PS2 is super easy to mod also.  Just get yourself a free mcboot memory card off ebay and you're ready to go.

And all I gotta do is put the PS2 isos in a plug in drive and that's all there is to it?  I do also have a spare hard drive from an old laptop...could that be used at all?

[Sumez | 3,041]

8 hours ago, CasualCart said:

Wait, Playstation is a powerhouse for space-shooters?

There's some great ones on PS2, and some decent ones that got shitty ports (mostly psikyo stuff).

In general Saturn or Xbox 360 (or even PS1) would be the most obvious go-to platforms for shooters, but PS2 at least has some very good games in Gradius V, Espgaluda, DOJ, Ibara, and.... Shikigami and R-Type Final? And a bunch of smaller titles too.

[Sumez | 3,041]

...On the subject of PS2 being a goat, which I assume is a good thing.

To be honest, that console (or that entire generation, actually) is the platform I've been returning to the least since it wore out its "current" status. I don't know what it is about it, but it feels like the awkward middle child between the early 3D and the more established HD platforms that came after it. A lot of the games are still awkward to play, and a lot of what it did well was done better after it.

But that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of good games on it, a ton of them in fact. It's still the modern console platform that I own most games for, topping even the X360, and at least a 100 of them were bought during its own era, or at least the tail end of it while stores were still selling out stock. It was just dominating the market massively.

I disagree there aren't a lot of shovelware on PS2, hell, one might even argue that the PS2 invented shovelware. But there's a ton of interesting stuff to dig into on the platform too, and I also realise I've barely scratched the surface of it is.

People might dig its GTAs or Final Fantasies, Gods of War or whatever, but what really puts PS2 on the map for me is fantastic games like Contra Shattered Soldier, Ico, Gitaroo Man, Katamari Damashii, Soul Reaver 2, King's Field 4, Gradius 5, Project Zero, Dragon Quest 8 or Shin Megami Tensei 3. It's just all there, on the same platform.

[Daniel_Doyce | 478]

I've never had a Playstation of any type before, so I'm curious about a few things about the PS2:

1) Are the PS2 consoles holding up well? It looks like the earlier Fat type are the way to go for modding and hard drive use.

2) Are the CDs nearing their end life (bit rot, decay, etc.)?

3) Can you play PS1 games on a HDD, or do you need to use the CD drive?

4) If one goes the emulation route, are any of those aftermarket PS2 controllers with USB like the real thing, or is using OEM controllers and one of those adapter to USB things the way to go?

I think I've played a PS2 maybe once it my life but maybe it's time to try some modern games I never got around to like Final Fantasy X and XII

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

12 hours ago, Gloves said:

Yeah but you have a long history of being wrong.

You're just too young to know what good games are.

[Californication | 1,490]

Anyone played Red Ninja? I picked it up last year and I know it is going to be good, but the controls take some learning. Looks like it's doubled in price.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

5 hours ago, Sumez said:

...On the subject of PS2 being a goat, which I assume is a good thing.

To be honest, that console (or that entire generation, actually) is the platform I've been returning to the least since it wore out its "current" status. I don't know what it is about it, but it feels like the awkward middle child between the early 3D and the more established HD platforms that came after it. A lot of the games are still awkward to play, and a lot of what it did well was done better after it.

But that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of good games on it, a ton of them in fact. It's still the modern console platform that I own most games for, topping even the X360, and at least a 100 of them were bought during its own era, or at least the tail end of it while stores were still selling out stock. It was just dominating the market massively.

I disagree there aren't a lot of shovelware on PS2, hell, one might even argue that the PS2 invented shovelware. But there's a ton of interesting stuff to dig into on the platform too, and I also realise I've barely scratched the surface of it is.

People might dig its GTAs or Final Fantasies, Gods of War or whatever, but what really puts PS2 on the map for me is fantastic games like Contra Shattered Soldier, Ico, Gitaroo Man, Katamari Damashii, Soul Reaver 2, King's Field 4, Gradius 5, Project Zero, Dragon Quest 8 or Shin Megami Tensei 3. It's just all there, on the same platform.

I agree. I just don't think the PS2 /Xbox/Gamecube generation holds up as well as the generations before and after. It just felt like a minimal evolution with the same type of games as PS1. Of course there are some outliers that were truly revolutionary (i.e. GTA), but I feel like the PS3/360 generation brought more new ideas to gaming.

Edited October 28, 2020 by DoctorEncore

[Bearcat-Doug | 5,105]

1 minute ago, DoctorEncore said:

I agree. I just don't think the PS2 /Xbox/Gamecube generation holds up as well as the generations before and after. It just felt like a minimal evolution with the same type of games as PS1. Of course there are some outliers that were truly revolutionary (i.e. GTA), but I feel like the PS3/360 generation brought more new ideas to gaming.

At least I'm not the only one thinking that way. I still think the PS1 has the better library. 

[Deadeye | 1,600]

11 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

I agree. I just don't think the PS2 /Xbox/Gamecube generation holds up as well as the generations before and after. It just felt like a minimal evolution with the same type of games as PS1. Of course there are some outliers that were truly revolutionary (i.e. GTA), but I feel like the PS3/360 generation brought more new ideas to gaming.

 

8 minutes ago, Bearcat-Doug said:

At least I'm not the only one thinking that way. I still think the PS1 has the better library. 

You two are not alone.  I also agree.

[Californication | 1,490]

42 minutes ago, DoctorEncore said:

 It just felt like a minimal evolution with the same type of games as PS1. Of course there are some outliers that were truly revolutionary (i.e. GTA), but I feel like the PS3/360 generation brought more new ideas to gaming.

The PS2 brought quick time events, bullet time/slow down, firing from cover, and open world/sand box games. Ps1 developed dual analog controls but the Ps2 had the first real library of dual analog games, also the PS2 might be golden age for survival horror.

Edited October 28, 2020 by Californication

[GPX | 1,376]

If you’re simply talking about the sheer number of quality titles, then the PS2 library would probably rank right up there as the greatest of all time.

However, if we’re talking the level of impact it had on the gaming industry, then I personally believe the NES, SNES, Megadrive, PS1 or N64 has the bigger impact overall. At least that’s my personal take anyway. Even prior to the PS2, you already have the Dreamcast pumping out high quality graphics for its time, and the PS2 didn’t really advance on the graphics department but merely to solidify its stance as a new gen console with a solid foundation of gaming franchises from the PS1 era. 

Arcade conversions were already near perfect on the PS1. RPGs also came to Western prominence on the PS1 (Final Fantasy, Alundra). The main differences on the PS2 from recollection (compared with PS1) are:

- 3D action games clearly the main point of difference (eg. GTA, God of War, Ratchet and Clank)

- extra peripherals/social gaming eg. Eyetoy, Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, Singstar.   Great console for family gaming or party session!

 

 

[BreaKBeatZ | 136]

Maybe you have not heard of a console called the "Nintendo Entertainment System".

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

6 minutes ago, Californication said:

The PS2 brought quick time events, bullet time/slow down, firing from cover, and open world/sand box games. Ps1 developed dual analog controls but the Ps2 had the first real library of dual analog games, also the PS2 might be golden age for survival horror.

My only gripe with your argument is that these things are mostly just refinements of gameplay concepts that were introduced in the previous generation. And if we're just talking about refinements to gameplay, then the 360/PS3 refined things even further than the PS2 while also introducing more new types of games thanks to the big bump in GPU power, online services, and indie game development. The PS4/Xbox One years were another refinement generation due to the terrible CPUs which prevented truly revolutionary advances in gameplay. Now we're approaching a new generation which, thanks to SSDs, could be another period of true innovation.

So for me, it remains NES, SNES, and PS1 as the top 3. I think the Xbox 360 deserves serious consideration as well for the reasons mentioned in the previous paragraph. It gets very fuzzy after that because there are a bunch of systems with great libraries, but few of them have truly revolutionized games like those discussed above. Perhaps the Wii should be in the conversation too since it brought gaming to the masses.

Is the PS2 software library bigger and better than the PS1 library? Absolutely. Is it as revolutionary? I don't believe it is. And in my opinion, that is what defines the greatest consoles.

[Sumer | 221]

57 minutes ago, Deadeye said:

 

You two are not alone.  I also agree.

Count me in as well.  Of the four generations of PSes (all Slims for me, by the way), the PS2 has gotten the least amount of play...even compared to the PS3.  I got the PS2 Slim late, though, as I was into GameCube and the Original XBox back then and got a Slim pretty much when the PS3 was already going on sale...so my library of PS2 games is small.  Of the cross console games of that generation, I mostly played them on Xbox since I had that first (due to Halo and Halo 2), and occasionally on GameCube.

My PS2 Slim does look purrrrty on its special stand...being all vertical and collecting dust.  

Edited October 28, 2020 by Sumer

[RH | 5,058]

Well, I figured I'd drop in here and just say that I was a HUGE fan of the PS2.  I was so in love with the PS1, I actually bought an import off of eBay before it was released in the US, along with Ridge Racer and Street Fighter.  I was young and stupid, but I have no regrets.  Plus, I sold it a few weeks before the US release and managed to recoup all but about $100 of my initial investment so, again, I have no regrets.

Regardless, I spent countless hours on the launch titles.  In order to get a US system on launch day, I even took my friends all to Wal-Mart to get a ticket in line (there were four of us) and I bought them breakfast.  Of the four of us, just one of us managed to get a winning ticket to buy one, and that was in a very rural area of Georgia.  It was a good time.

Anyway, here are a couple of scanned photos I found of my launch day unit and me holding it in my dorm.  Man, I was such a dork.  I still am.

 

[Littlemacstrainer | 34]

1 hour ago, RH said:

Well, I figured I'd drop in here and just say that I was a HUGE fan of the PS2.  I was so in love with the PS1, I actually bought an import off of eBay before it was released in the US, along with Ridge Racer and Street Fighter.  I was young and stupid, but I have no regrets.  Plus, I sold it a few weeks before the US release and managed to recoup all but about $100 of my initial investment so, again, I have no regrets.

Regardless, I spent countless hours on the launch titles.  In order to get a US system on launch day, I even took my friends all to Wal-Mart to get a ticket in line (there were four of us) and I bought them breakfast.  Of the four of us, just one of us managed to get a winning ticket to buy one, and that was in a very rural area of Georgia.  It was a good time.

Anyway, here are a couple of scanned photos I found of my launch day unit and me holding it in my dorm.  Man, I was such a dork.  I still am.

 

Let alone getting a PS2 console on launch is amazing enough, the background story of what you described makes it more tangible and memorable. Thanks for sharing.

 

I had to wait a bit to get mine, but the wait made it so much sweeter. If not for the SNES, it would be my favourite console. 

Edited October 28, 2020 by Littlemacstrainer

[Reed Rothchild | 9,683]

6 hours ago, Daniel_Doyce said:

I've never had a Playstation of any type before, so I'm curious about a few things about the PS2:

1) Are the PS2 consoles holding up well? It looks like the earlier Fat type are the way to go for modding and hard drive use.

2) Are the CDs nearing their end life (bit rot, decay, etc.)?

3) Can you play PS1 games on a HDD, or do you need to use the CD drive?

4) If one goes the emulation route, are any of those aftermarket PS2 controllers with USB like the real thing, or is using OEM controllers and one of those adapter to USB things the way to go?

I think I've played a PS2 maybe once it my life but maybe it's time to try some modern games I never got around to like Final Fantasy X and XII

You can play those on handheld stuff like Switch or Vita.  Just throwing that out there.

[Strange | 1,706]

17 hours ago, Gloves said:

More like LOSER PADS! Come back when you have a MAN'S stick. 

Hit me up on Grindr bb and we’ll talk

 

5 hours ago, BreaKBeatZ said:

Maybe you have not heard of a console called the "Nintendo Entertainment System".

You mean the old doorstop my older brother played with back in the day?

(Totally kidding, I love the NES. The Wii U is the actual doorstop.)

11 hours ago, Sumez said:

In general Saturn or Xbox 360 (or even PS1) would be the most obvious go-to platforms for shooters

Sorry to get off-topic, but as far as the Japanese-exclusive shooters, I know some are iffy about working on a North American Xbox 360. Does the backwards compatibility of the Xbox One and the Series X (damn whoever named these) remedy this at all? Might be a dumb question but I’m not in the Xbox ecosystem so I don’t know.

[Gloves | 12,002]

2 minutes ago, The Strangest said:

Hit me up on Grindr bb and we’ll talk

 

Why do people keep saying this to me!?!?

[DefaultGen | 5,570]

One of my main GOAT criteria would basically be if you ask 10 different people for their top 10 games, how many of them would pick the same games. For N64, you'd get 10 nearly identical lists. For NES, my favorite console, you'd get variety with likely a few overlapping platformers. For PS2 you could potentially get 10 lists with zero overlap. A shooter fan could have a list of shooters, a rhythm fan could have a list of rhythm games, an action fan could have a list of action games, a platformer fan could have a list of platformers.

While PS2 isn't my personal favorite console, the library is just too deeeeeep. It's really good. @Archon 1981 should buy every PS2 game as a testament to its greatness.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,683]

He gave up fullsets.  They were too easy to acquire 

[DefaultGen | 5,570]

37 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

He gave up fullsets.  They were too easy to acquire 

Nintendo Power original art seems really easy to acquire. He gets a few covers evert month. How many PS2 sets does he get every month? Exactly.