The Gamer's Quarter

[Chlazza]

...and walks out with a PSTwo and a copy of Killzone.

Halo killer my pasty white ass.

Hi. I'm Chlazza. I'm new here. (Please be gentle?)
The above scenario is not a work of fiction. I've been a die hard PC gamer my entire life (That second hand Dreamcast doesn't count, it runs Windows! Sorta!), so I need a hand here.
I'm looking for some solid games for the PS2. Everybody I've talked to so far has listed off the old standbys (GTAX, God of War, Guitar Hero, ect.) but I've read Gamers Quarter since its first issue and if there is anybody on the Internet's that can come up with a decent list of lesser-known titles I'm sure it'll be you guys.

For reference, here's what I've played so far and what I thought:
- I dislike Katamari damacy. Sorry. Nice game mechanic, but it really isn't entertaining to me. And the music gets stuck in my head.
- I throughly enjoyed MGS3/MGS2 (and plain old MGS for that matter) although after the first two run throughs the games kind of lost their appeal.
- Guitar Hero was a blast, but I've limited exposure and I'm worried that most of the fun I have with it is due to the novelty of the expensive controller.
- God of War is also a blast. I'm playing through it as a friends house, as that game is a lot more fun with an audience. I am kind of worried about the linearity having an adverse effect on the fun if/when I replay it.
- GTA3 got boring in about 15 minutes. I was impressed by its technical chops in terms of a (mostly) uninterrupted city landscape, but it tried to be both a third person shooter and a driving sim with arcade elements at the same time and (in my opinion) it didn't do either well.
- R-Type Final was fun for a bit, but again it was that 'replay this a bunch to unlock new stuff!' game mechanic that turned me off from it.
- I'm interested in the art and story threading its way through Disgaea, but I really can't bring myself to spend hours just mindlessly leveling. That why I don't play MMORPGs, or most RPGs for that matter. Well, except for Deus Ex, but that was a different can of beans...
- Ace Combat...4? The little I played was okay.

In general I should note that I'm a huge sci-fi/military first person shooter fan. I cut my teeth on Doom, hold the Marathon Trilogy as The Golden Standard, and think Deus Ex was one of the best games ever made.
Sadly, consoles aren't exactly havens for FPS games (except for this upstart Halo franchise...), which is why I've held off for so long in buying one.

[dark steve]

I love Ace Combat games. All of 'em. Even the ones that are especially silly like 5. You've usually got to crank the difficulty at least one notch to make them worth your while, though. Zero has an emphasis on dogfighting over destroying ground targets, which makes it more engaging to play than any of the other PS2 sequels (04 is almost meditative in spots, which is enjoyable in a different way, however. Also it's got a classy story).

For console FPS games on the PS2, Black is hard to beat. Looks gorgeous too, none of the fast and dirty xbox-downport corner cutting you'd expect.
_________________

[ryan]

I always suggest Way of the Samurai. Despite not being your normal cup of tea, it is an exceptional game. It really captures the '60s samurai movies so well. There is also a branching system that can change each play through so much that it feels like a new experience. Your responses impact how others treat you - you can mix up good, bad, and indifferent - allowing you to be your own character. It has a weird save system, and it sucks that you have to sacrifice a sword in order to use it after you lose, but its timed branching system and exceptional combat engine make it a must.

I also got a kick out of the action-platformer I-Ninja.
_________________
Come to me, Mordel. We shall depart.

[simplicio]

Prince of Persia, immediately. All three games really are worth playing, even if Warrior Within gets a bad rap (it's actually better than Sands of Time, mostly).
_________________
"Worlds turn the new machine to thee. To thee. Though, thine the new machine space."
-Kurt Schwitters, 1919

[Dracko]

Yes, you should pick up Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. One of the better titles available for that console. I also recommend Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex video game. It's a well designed third person shooter with ingenious close quarters combat and a plot as smart as you'd expect from the franchise, even managing to, quite easily, justify you taking on an army of people. I'll second the Prince of Persia recommendation, though I haven't played beyond the Sands of Time.

If you've brought Killzone already, you'll find that it does have a few redeeming features all the same. But if you're looking for a good FPS series on the PS2, you can't go wrong with Free Radical's the Timesplitters games. Though to be honest, I much prefer their third person psychic adventure game, Second Sight. One of the best told stories in the last generation of consoles.

The PS2 version of Deus Ex: The Conspiracy is interesting, to say the least. It probably has some of the best controls you could expect of a console FPS, new animations and models, as well as cinematics. It makes the story an easier experience to swallow than the underwhelming and frustrating PC version does.

You might also enjoy Resident Evil 4 or Cold Winter. And Black is over-rated twaddle.
_________________
"This is the most fun I've ever had without being drenched in the blood of my enemies!"

[SuperWes]

If you like FPS games I'm not sure they get better than Black on the PS2. Not to say that it's an unbelieveable must-have or anything, just that the system never had a great FPS presence.

If you like fantasy military stuff though, I'd recommend Psi-Ops. I played it on the Xbox so I can't vouch for the port quality, but assuming they're the same I highly recommend it. It's a game about a telekinetic army dude who can tackle the levels in any way you can dream of. You can set dudes on fire with your mind, you can throw them at each other, or you can just shoot them with your guns. It's great.

Also if you're into Transformers at all, I'd highly recommend the Melbourne House Transformers game. It's oddly Haloesque, but I actually like the single player a lot better than Halo's. Basically you're given an enormous stage with a boss at a pretty obvious location and you've got to run around the stages searching for upgrades then fight a boss and move on. The cool thing about the upgrades is that you can slowly customize the game to play it however you want. There are sticky grenades, sniper rifles, hang gliders, etc. I like to run into enemies at full speed, tranform into a robot while they're still flying through the air, and blast them as they fall to the ground. It's superb.

-Wes
_________________

[ryan]

[dhex]

yeah black is fairly disappointing but it's about as good as it gets on the ps2. i actually thought killzone was better in some ways, or at least more compelling. or perhaps i was more bored. who knows?

hey if you find it maximo: ghosts to glory is actually really fun and incredibly hard. and should be about 50 cents at this point.
_________________

[helicopterp]

Getting the Katamari Damacy music stuck in your head is a favorable side effect, not a detrimental one!


But, yeah, you might get your rocks off on Black. And Resident Evil 4 is really, really, really worth it (but I've only played it on the Gamecube).


And Rez might not be your thing, but it is everything it's cracked up to be. You might try to borrow it from somebody rather than pay the asking price, though, if you're skeptical.
_________________
Like you thought you'd seen copter perverts before. They were nothing compared to this one.

[Chlazza]

Okay, Black, and RE4 are on the list, and I've got a friend I can borrow most of the Ace Combat games and the GitS game from. I'll see if I can find a cheap copy of Psi-Ops as well.

I'll look into Cold Winter as well (one of the few games I've seen with an HK G11 in the weapon lineup), but Black/GitS may fill my mediocre shooter quotient quite well.

Maximo: Ghosts to Glory - Gamespy: "Inspired by Capcom's classic Ghouls 'N Ghosts series..." Erk. I've heard storys about Ghouls 'N Ghosts. I'm not much of a platformer fan to boot, but we'll see.

I've played the Prince of Persia PC demo and honestly I had a rather violent negative reaction. I don't respond well (or at least in a positive manner) to jumping puzzles (anybody remember that spinning cube elevator at the end of Dark Forces 2?), which is what PoP seemed to consist entirely of. I'll give it credit for being original, but I'm not going to spend money on it.

I'll look into that Transformers game; big robots are always awesome. Too bad the MechWarrior license went to Microsoft and the Xbox. (Which reminds me, I still need to play Steel Battalion somehow...)
Speaking of which, what about the Armored Core series? Any good?

I'll also take a look at Way of the Samurai, but it might be a bit to close to fantasy to entice me.

I've played Rez, on the Dreamcast no less. I've gotten to the stage five(?) boss with my character at pretty high levels but I've never managed to get past that point.

[Intentionally Wrong]

I have fond memories of playing Timesplitters on the PS2, but I'm not sure if that's because of quality or because of nostalgia--my friends and I might not have known better at the time.

[Lasa]

The original Timesplitters is quite unforgiving in single-player, the two sequels are the things to buy if you're looking for a fun single-player experience.

[Swimmy]

Forget R-Type and play Gradius V.

The Armored Core games are wickedly hard, but amazing if you're up to it, if my understanding is correct. This should tell you all you need to know.

Having vibration in Rez makes it an entirely new experience.
_________________

"Ayn Rand fans are the old school version of Xenogears fanboys."
-seryogin

[Crazy Bacon Lips]

Hey, unless you're a robot that is unable to understand the concept of love, you should get Gitaroo-Man.

Also, some of the titles we're throwing at you aren't common and might not be found at your local gamestop. Gamequestdirect.com is pretty cool; they have lots of out-of-print stuff.


SKYGUNNER SKYGUNNER SKYGUNNER SKYGUNNER SKYGUNNER

Cute aerial combat with an initially awkward but interesting control scheme. There are five or six levels, and all of them last quite a while. Each of the three fighters plays differently, and depending on which one you choose the level is completely different. A bit hard, a bit flawed, but defnitely one of my favorite games on the PS2.

[boojiboy7]

Black should only be played on the XBOX. Custom soundtracks make the game.

[dessgeega]

[antitype]

[Chlazza]

News: Watching that GTA3 speedrun over on speeddemosarchive.com has rekindled my interest in the game. Thanks to the sheer popularity of the game, discount bins probably have their fair share of the title.
(OT: Has anybody else seen the time on that new Deus Ex speedrun? Holy crap!)

[dessgeega]

anything over half an hour isn't a speedrun.

and! outrun isn't a racing game. it's a driving game. there is a distinction, honest to betsy. you ought to at least try to borrow a copy.
_________________

[Shapermc]

Hey, if you're still around I highly recommend Silent Hill 2. The combat is a bit clunky, but keep with it, the payoff is more than worth it.

Also, I haven't played the PS2 version, but Killer7 is one of my favorites. If you think of it as a lightgun game it might help.
_________________
“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

[Chlazza]

[Shapermc]

[antitype]

Silent Hill isn't about "jumps", though. It'll scare you shitless through sheer atmosphere alone.
_________________
antitype.livejournal.com | last.fm

[helicopterp]

[Swimmy]

RE4 is mostly about crowd control. Learn to shoot people in the head and then kick them while they're stunned; it's wide enough tha it'll stun large crowds. Don't be afraid to waste your incindiary grenades, do be afraid to waste your real grenades, save the flashes for those special monsters they take out instantly--play around if you don't know what I'm talking about.

If you're having trouble with ammo, remember you have a knife that's usually good enough to kill a solitary villager.

Don't experiment with weapons the first time through, just live by this guide. (Except for the shotgun thing. I hate the striker.)

That's pretty much it.
_________________

"Ayn Rand fans are the old school version of Xenogears fanboys."
-seryogin