Despite the console’s age, the PS2 remains fun to play around with even to this very day. One of the, shall we say, “fringe benefits” of continual technological progress in the video game sector is that with each successive release, the next machine taking on “retro” status is also more “advanced” in its features. By the time you arrive at the PS2, things have progressed to a point where there’s now completely fluid and graphically-enhanced media available on a very large scale. For instance, compare something like “Shadow of the Colossus” to another notable title like say, “Goldeneye” on the N64…there’s quite a gap there, no? Yeah, the PlayStation 2 is arguably the first console to enter the Retro ranks that actually wants to break the technologically backward stereotype associated with the emergent trend, if you will.
Immediately, there are two big things that might cause many retro enthusiasts to tend toward the PS2 - cost and supply. Simply put, the games (and hardware) are really cheap, easy to come by, and also in bountiful supply as well. At any time you can a site like Ebay or Amazon and find thousands upon thousands of affordable listings for PS2 games. We’re not just talking about some of the big hits here either, but tons of relatively obscure titles and weirdly awesome games that hardly anyone even knows exist. At the same time, you can usually pick up an entire console at very little cost, making it very easy to enjoy, budget-wise.
Better still, if you’ve never actually played most of the titles available for the PS2, you’ll most certainly have a blast tearing through dozens of titles at a time. Even though there are plans to bring the entire PlayStation library to gamers via the PlayStation Now streaming service, there’s something extremely visceral and satisfying about utilizing the actual console(s). Think of it as a sort of consumerist time machine or something, the ability to fire up a machine that’s essentially frozen in a different age, ready to transport you away. Moreover, in lieu of having ultra HD technology amidst impressively large 3D environments, many of the game developers for PS2 titles found other creative ways to entertain us. Nevertheless, the console eventually gave us more expansive games like “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” too, which provides you with a fairly large map to explore.
When you really try to boil the reasons why the PS2 is great, you’ll no doubt keep coming back to its library. Games like Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Dragon Quest VIII, God of War I & II, Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, as well as many others will keep you spellbound if you give them a chance. Additionally, there’s plenty of good old fashioned FPS gunplay and platforming to be had. Medal of Honor, Call of Duty, and the Battlefield series all essentially got their start (on consoles) with the PS2, for instance. Likewise, there are more quality platformers available for the PlayStation 2 than many will know what to do with. There really are so many amazing titles to discover, so what are you waiting for? Jump in, as they say.
