Ten Must Own Games for Playstation 2

Copyright (c) 2007 JJ Hendricks

Hundreds of games were released for Playstation 2 during the console's lifetime. There are so many, that it can be hard to choose which you want to buy for your collection. Below is a list of the ten must own games for the PS2 and why they should be in your collection.

10. Final Fantasy X - The first Final Fantasy game on Playstation 2 successfully evolves the best selling RPG franchise. FFX has a very deep battle system with even more complex stat upgrades. Your characters can literally take on hundreds of combinations of skills and abilities.

9. Guitar Hero - Live your rock and roll dreams in Guitar Hero. Use a real guitar controller to play all your favorite rock ballads and guitar solos. Hours of songs to play, multiple difficulty levels for even master players, and a song list with tons of classics. This game is great for casual players because it is so easy to pick up, but will keep you coming back with the steady increase in difficulty.

8. Katamari Damacy - A very strange premise, but very fun game. Roll a ball around a level. Smaller objects get stuck to the ball making it bigger, then you can roll over bigger objects. You have to grow your ball to a certain size to clear every level. Tons of replayability, random and funny cut-scenes, and solid game play make this a very unique but great game for the Playstation 2.

7. Ico - The game didn't sell very well, but has great story, good puzzle design, and environments that make you forget you are playing a game sometimes. You play as a boy who is destined to be sacrificed to appease the Gods. He must make his way through the world and solve puzzles or face his grim fate.

6. Kingdom Hearts - Square Enix combines the Final Fantasy and Disney characters into one role playing adventure. You play as Sora but fight along side Donald and Goofy and meet Ariel, Aladdin, and other great Disney characters along the way. Kingdom Hearts is great for RPG fans and fun for Disney fans too. You will love all the cameos from the Disney movies and cartoons.

5. Metal Gear Solid 2 - The sequel to Metal Gear Solid for the original Playstation. Play as Solid Snake as tries to stop a resistance group from gaining control of a high-tech weapon. Unlike other action games, you have to use stealth and planning to get through the game. You can just kill everything. In-depth story and great cinematics help solidify its place in the top ten.

4. Grand Theft Auto III - The smash hit that went on to create it's own genre. In GTA 3, you can do almost anything you want. Want to follow the story, go ahead. Just want to steal cars and get into police chases, you can do that too. It led to multiple sequels and countless copycat games and helped spark the massive success of the Playstation 2 during its first year.

3. Resident Evil 4 - Originally released as a Gamecube game, Resident Evil 4 for Playstation 2 has all the same features plus more levels. Its an action packed, heart pounding horror game as Leon tries to save the President's daughter. With a 95% review score from gamerankings.com it is the best reviewed PS2 game of all time.

2. Gran Turismo 3 - Hands down the best racing simulator. Gran Turismo 3 is a realistic racing game with real cars, real tracks, and real life attributes for all of them. Racing a VW Bug will feel different than racing a Corvette. Different accelleration, speed, and handling for each car and track. And I didn't even mention the impressive graphics yet. If you love cars, this is the best racing game you can get.

1. God of War - Great graphics, epic story, nearly perfect controls. This is the best game on Playstation 2 and one of the better games released the past generation. Play as Kratos as he makes his way through ancient Greece fighting mythological creatures and using his fallen foes powers to vanquish future enemies. A best seller, highly reviewed, and all around great game.

If any of these games aren't in your Playstation 2 collection you should buy them. All ten games of these games are great gaming experiences that every gamer should experience.