411 Games Top 5 12.03.09: Week 40 - Playstation 2 Games

Posted by Todd Vote on 12.03.2009

From God of War to Metal Gear, the game staff drops our favorite PS2 titles. Come in to see what made the lists.

Welcome back after an abbreviated week here in the Top 5. It's odd how we had fewer writers last week than we ever usually do, yet the comments increased amazingly. Were you all just that bored over the Holiday weekend, or what? Let's get into some feedback from our awesome readers.


Comment Time with Toddo!

Dude, comon, seriously this Killer Instinct stuff has got to go.
Posted By: cap (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 02:25 AM

Alright, you win. There will be no Killer Instinct in this weeks column. :) Killer instinct is one of my favorite games, how can I not included it where applicable? It'd be like telling you guys not to include MGS on every list. If it's your favorite, use it.

I think that Tony Hawk Pro Skater, the first one, should have been on somebody's list.
LoZ: Ocarina of Time is my personal number one, though. Best soundtrack ever.
Posted By: Anvil-Eyes Silver Tongue (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 01:18 AM

I thought about adding Tony Hawk, or even the Smackdown series, but I thought it was a bit of cheating, all they had to do for the soundtracks here was pick some songs that were already made by someone else, so I tried to not include any soundtracks that didn't feature original music.

The Chrono series needs much love...I could stay on the overworld map and just listen to the music endlessly.
Posted By: Guest#1702 (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 02:05 AM

Part of me regrets skipping the Chrono series, but then I remember that it is still an RPG.

I'm surprised Super Smash Bros. Brawl didn't make it on a list. Seeing as it had all those great songs from the past and some even got remixed. and you could listen to them whenever you liked. It even had the Tetris theme on there!
Posted By: Guest#7037 (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 03:19 AM

That sounds awesome!!! May have to play this game for that reason alone.

How about Hitman:2 Do people like it?
Posted By: Arnab (Guest) on November 29, 2009 at 04:23 AM

I never enjoyed the stealthy shit from the Hitman games, the music was certainly unique though, and probably worth a mention.

Life Force for my money still has one of the best soundtracks ever.

Also...no Blaster Master? That game had an awesome soundtrack.
Posted By: MissyNEVERWearsSockswithShoes (Guest) on November 29, 2009 at 12:18 AM

Blaster Master!?! I can't believe I have forgotten all about that game. It was on the NES right? With the little guy and the car with the gun?

I can't believe you confuse me with him. We all have a place in our hearts for favorite games. Games that make you smile, and the music that fuels them. Target Terror has the best sound effects of any game I've ever played. PING PING PING CLANG BOOOM
Posted By: NOTsalms (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 09:42 AM

Sure thing, not Mark... wink wink.

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon on N64. If you haven't discovered it, DISCOVER IT NOW.
Posted By: Bubba (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 10:59 AM

Funny you should mention that. I just broke out my 64 because of all this KI talk from me got me wanting to play it. Mystical Ninja? What do the other readers think, is it worth an Ebay search?

LISTS!!!
Leading off our list portion is the man who suggested last weeks topic, The Genocide.

To be honest, the day after I suggested Top 5 soundtracks, I could only list 3 cause all of the other ones I wasn't thinking about were from anime's. But once I looked at my games and ipod I easily got my list.

Honorable Mention

MvC2 - "I wanna take you for a ride". If only cause if this song. And the swamp place has a pretty good one too.

5.Tekken 5 & DR - I don't usually pay attention to fighting game soundtracks cause they're never really good, but it's hard not to love Tekken 5's music. Almost all of the songs are perfect for each stage. And while DR messed up some of them, they did a pretty good job on a few of the remixes.

4.Little Big Planet - Maybe the only game to get the soundtrack fit perfectly with the levels. A unique soundtrack and unique game make it one of the best ever.

3.Bioshock - Adam got it right. It helped add to the game. You can't really picture any other type of music to use in Bioshock. The game made me search for those old tunes and they get played frequently.

2.Metal Gear Solid series - Hard for my to put this at 2 because it's so damn good! "Encounter" is easily my favorite game song ever and there was not one game in this series that had a good soundtrack because they're all great. And they way that MGS4 blended the four best song's at the end was brilliant!

1.The Halo series - Is there a really a greater soundtrack? Not in my opinion. Marty O'Donnell did the game absolute justice with his work. From the chanting of the monks in the first Halo to Steve Vai's MJOLNIR Mix to Halo 3's ending(Tribute), this is my favorite soundtrack(s) of all time.

And To Catch a Super Predator is f'n hilarious!
Posted By: The Genocide (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 12:54 AM

My personal 5 favorite soundtracks ever:
5. GTA Vice City (PS2) - Only game in my top 5 that features real tracks from the music world. I love 80's music and this game featured awesome songs on pretty much every single radio channel.

4. TMNT IV: Turtles in Time (SNES) - I was so psyched to hear that Turtles in Time was coming to Xbox Live. I bought the game as soon as it was put up on the Arcade, and was immediately pissed off that they ruined the stellar music the SNES version had. Still love the Starbase theme.

3. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Genesis) - Nearly every song in the game gets me grooving when I'm speeding through the levels. Although Super Smash Bros Brawl did have the awesome Emerald Hill theme, my personal favorite from the game is the Chemical Plant Zone.

2. Earthworm Jim 2 (SNES) - Mixing in GAAAAAAAROOVY new tracks with classical themes like "Moonlight Sonata" (which was used in two different stages for different parts of the song), "Funiculi, Funicula," and "El Choclo." Personal favorite from the game is the Anything But Tangerines music from the first level.

1. Donkey Kong Country II (SNES) - Not only is this far and away my favorite soundtrack ever, I'm surprised no one placed it anywhere on their "best soundtracks" lists above. So many peaceful and serene songs that replaying levels you keep dying in winds up being alright since you're playing along to great music. There's a wide variety of styles as well, such as the amusement park techno music in Rickety Race, the inspirational orchestra music in Toxic Tower that just pushes you on to try again when you fall into the rising ooze, and the beautiful and peaceful music of Web Woods and Bramble Blast. Not only is this one of my favorite platformers ever, it has my favorite soundtrack of any game ever made. I still listen to playlists of the theme songs online.
Posted By: RavenTazECW (Registered) on November 26, 2009 at 01:42 AM

1. Chrono series
2. Kingdom Hearts series
3. Final Fantasy X
4. Legend of Zelda series
5. Mega Man series
Posted By: Guest#2617 (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 02:07 AM

5) Chrono Trigger
4) Ocarina of Time
3) Mega Man 2
2) Super Mario RPG
1) Donkey Kong Country 2
Posted By: Weston Smith (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 09:25 AM

What is difficult about this list is that you are naming overall music, compared to something easier like best theme song. Here is my personal fav soundtrack (the first two I even bought)

1) Secret of Mana
2) Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time
3) Soul Calibur (cant believe nobody mentioned the great themes in ALL of the games in this series)
4) Super Mario Bros/World (Lets just combine them)
5) Metal Gear Solid 3 (the ending sequence combined with snippets of the theme brought tears to EVERYONES eyes that watched it)
Posted By: AG Awesome (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 11:39 AM

H.M. - Mega Man 2, Sonic 3, (some Castlevania game)
5- Vice City
4- SSX 3 (much in the way Vice City was as if you were driving and listening to the radio, this was like you're just listening to an ipod)
3- Ocarina of Time (lot of great tracks on there, but one that stands out to me is Gerudo valley)
2- MGS (enough has been said in the top 5 lists)
1- FFX (FFXII is more polished, but X's music is a lot more memorable)
Posted By: Guest#3844 (Guest) on November 26, 2009 at 12:32 PM

1. GTA Vice City: From the moment you first get in a car and hear Billie Jean, you just know it's the 80's.
2. Halo: For all the reasons others have mentioned
3. Earthworm Jim 2
4. Super Mario Bros: Just for the theme alone.
5. Metal Gear Solid
Posted By: dAVE. (Registered) on November 26, 2009 at 01:39 PM

Thanks for all the tremendous feedback and lists. If I didn't include you this week I apologize, there were so many (68 comments). Let's shoot for 100. Who's with me?


This column is approved by Christina Hendricks


This week in the Top 5, we have some more of that systems past love that we all enjoy so much. This week, one of the greatest consoles ever to be given to consumers goes under our individual microscopes as the staff tries to narrow our favorite Playstation 2 games down to 5. Should be a tough task, but I think we are up to the challenge. Besides it's not like we can leave off anything that would make you guys want to kill us, right? One last thing before we get into it, please keep in mind that this is in no way shape or form a reflection of the best the PS2 has to offer. What this is, is simply a list of each individual writers favorite games for the system. Each individual writer has listed the games they love.

Starting us off this week is someone widely considered one of the worst writers in 411 internet history. But I told him we'd give him a shot, so be gentle.

Your local Director of Fun: The SalmsHONORABLE MENTIONS

London Cab Challenge - This game is amazing. It's so amazingly bad that it's awesome. I don't think I've ever seen a game run so poorly, and I make a habit out of playing Wii games such as Gingerbread man and Kawasaki Snowmobiles. If you would have told me this was an unrealized alpha version of an upcoming game I wouldn't have believed you because it's so bad. If you took all of the talents, skills, and work ethic of Todd Vote and put it into a game I'd imagine you'd come up with something like this.
(Toddo's note: Funny you mention work ethic, when was your last column?)



Ico - Yes, I actually own a legit copy of Ico, and yes, I've actually beaten it. I love the atmosphere of Ico, and it's getting an honorable mention for a reason, but it's missing the top 5 due to the combat. It makes sense that a little boy knows nothing more than swinging a sword wildly and having that be your only means of attack, but it doesn't make it a good game. Not to mention the girl is a pain in the butt to take care of. She hardly ever follows your actions if you're not holding her hand.

5.) Shadow of the Colossus - The follow up game by Team Ico, Shadow of the Colossus is yet another atmospheric game on the PS2 with a distinct art style. The only difference between this and Ico is that the basic mechanics actually work, and they work well. Each Colossus is a site to behold and it's even more incredible when you defeat one. Very few games have made me think about whether or not I want to kill something, and this is one of them. Oh, and the airport scene in Modern Warfare 2 was not one of those games. I simply imagined each civilian was a member of Greg Bruno's family. Even the terrorists told me I was cold blooded.

4.) Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal - It was hard to choose between this and Going Commando, as both games were pretty awesome. But Up Your Arsenal had much better villains. Instead of hitting furry testicles (something Ramon is very good at) you fight awesome villains such as Courtney Gears and Dr. Nefarious. Courtney Gears was an insane pop star years before Britney Spears had her breakdown. I'm still with you Courtney. You and I will kill all the squishies, just as long as you let me put my squishy into you.

3.) God of War 1 and 2 - Kratos is a badass. Period, end of statement. The man will rip your head off, put it on the bedpost, and make your decapitated head watch him screw your wife. I think that part was loosely based off something I did to the Robbins family (Drew and Derek, say hello to Daddy). There are so many tits in God of War that Chris Lansdell contemplated turning straight. Anyways Devil May Cry may be awesome, and Ninja Gaiden may be awesome, but personally I prefer the God of War.

2.) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - I will kill…. Everybody. Vice City is still the best in the series in my opinion. It doesn't have the graphics and polish of GTA4, but what GTA4 lacks in pure mayhem and fun Vice City accomplishes in spades. And unlike San Andreas, you don't have to do stupid things such as lifting weights and eating healthy. You know, things Jacob Lopez doesn't like to do. You're out to kill everyone, and you might even hear some racial slurs along the way.

1.) Metal Gear Solid 3 - One of Kojima's best stories, most people don't even know you don't play as Solid Snake. Instead you're playing as the man whom Solid was cloned from, Naked Snake. I can see where Snake learned to kick so much ass, because Naked Snake will violate you, and in a Russian jungle to boot. The final battle alone against your mentor The Boss is almost enough by itself to make MGS3 the best game on the PS2. But add in awesome stealth elements, and a whole crew of other awesome boss battles and MGS3 is an easy pick from yours truly to be the best game on the PS2.

Up next is Adam Larck. Once you are done here, be sure to check out Adams latest 10th Hour where the RPG lovefest continues as he looks at the top 10 things about Oblivion.

Adam LarckHONORABLE MENTIONS

Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition - The special edition allowed you the choice of either Dante or Virgil, both of which had a decent amount of variety. Good Greatest Hits entry for the game.

Disgaea - I've always liked this turn based system. The court system was interesting and the battles were great.

Metal Gear Solid 3 - I liked this game quite a bit more than MGS 2. Going back to the beginning of the series and wandering the jungle were fun for me.

Kingdom Hearts - This collaboration game is still a lot of fun to play today. Loved the mix of Disney and Final Fantasy

5.Jak & Daxter series - While this game hit a low point for me with the second game in the series, I really liked the first and third game. The platforming was fun and flowed great. Plus, the personalities in the game really added to it.

4.GTA: San Andreas - While I do like some of the other entries in the series better, there's no denying the fun I had with this game. Finding some of the hidden secrets and exploring the lands really made the game for me. Forget the missions; I enjoyed wandering and the occasional wanton violence.

3.Final Fantasy X - The first FF on the PS2 really had some high points. The voice acting was good, and so was the story and battles. Plus, it had some fairly memorable characters, and even had a spin-off game.


Ratchet and Clanks opening

2.Ratchet & Clank series - Another great platformer from Naughty Dog, Ratchet & Clank was a fun series for me. The variety of guns that kept getting added and changed were good to try out, and it even had a good story as well. I'm looking forward to finally trying the PS3 games when I finally get a system in a few weeks.

1.God of War series - These games are the main reason I still play my PS2 from time to time. I liked to see Sony's take on Greek mythology and learn more about Kratos' history. The gameplay was great, and the puzzles in the game actually required some thought and skill to do. The third entry on consoles should be one of the top games next year the way it's shaping up.

Alright, that brings us to Lee Price. Lee has all but gave up on the Ask 411 Games column. Apparently you readers know all you need to know about games. But that hasn't stopped Lee from bringing us Retronomicon each week. This week he looks back at Shinobi III.

Lee PriceHONORABLE MENTIONS

Persona 4 - A relatively recent purchase for me and one of the best RPGs I have played in ages.

Ico - One of the first really compelling cases for games as art. Why don't the Jack Thompsons of this world play this game?

5.Shadow of the Colossus - Hands down the most beautiful game I have ever played. I adore this title, from its heart wrenching though minimalist story through to its gripping battles with the mountain sized colossi. Everything about this game feels perfect and it just edges out Ico into the main list.

4.Silent Hill 2 - No series does nerve grinding tension like Silent Hill, and no game does it better than Silent Hill 2. This whole game is designed to keep you on alert at all times, no matter how relaxed the surrounding environment may seem to be. Add into that mix one of the most iconic "villains" of all time and a plot of the sort of complexity that lends credence to the games as art argument and you have one of the best achievements on the PS2.

3.Metal Gear Solid 3 - The pinnacle of the MGS series on the PS2, this game is streets ahead of Metal Gear Solid 2. I personally loved the back to basics approach of the game, with no high tech radar and the like to guide you through. The creature eating bits were also well pulled off I feel, and the ending is one of the most emotionally engaging yet designed for a game. Couple that with the usual great gameplay and fourth wall breaking of the Metal Gear series and you have a class game.


Warning... this video is the end of FFX!

2.Final Fantasy X - This was the game that I bought my PS2 for and I wasn't disappointed in any way, shape or form. I adored the sphere grid system, the constant little level ups of various stats and moves felt more engaging to me than the grinding endlessly for a collective reward like in previous Final Fantasy games. I loved the music too, the piano piece for Zanarkand being a particular highlight. The best Final Fantasy game on the PS2 for my money, and probably the best RPG, though there are a bunch that could take that title.

1.GTA: San Andreas - I have sunk more hours into this game than any other GTA, and I love it to bits. For my money it has the best story of any GTA on the PS2, Vercetti may be more likeable but I'm a sucker for the gritty world that CJ inhabits. Couple that with am absolutely huge gaming world and the closest any game had come up to that point of achieving true freedom and you have the best title on the PS2 for my money.

Finally every Monday you can find him here on the site bringing you the Ultra Combo News Reports, though we haven't seen that for a while. Most Thursdays you can find him here in the top 5. I know I appreciate his contributions each week.

Armando RodriguezHONORABLE MENTIONS

Fire Pro Returns: Perhaps the greatest wrestling game ever made, not in quality of graphics or match types, but in the sheer amount of create-a-wrestler possibilities, complete with the ability to design their A.I. patterns and behaviors. I became obsessed with creating perfect renditions of my favorite brawlers.

5.Need for Speed: Most Wanted - I enjoyed the entire series on the PS2, but Most Wanted remains at the top of the list. The cars felt just right, the story was cheesy and campy in a good way, the cop chases where a thrill and everything worked fine. Too bad the series went downhill from here until being remade with NFS: Shift.

4.Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy - A third-person action game that gave you psychic powers, Psi-Ops is one of my favorite games of all time. You could lift people with your mind, shoot them to death while they are in mid-air and then toss the corpse on top of his buddies. You could lift said corpse, light it on fire and toss it, using it like a long-range fuse to light up some explosive barrels. You could lift a big box and drop it on top of people to squish them like frogs on the road. Overall, this game was a ton of fun and I am begging for a sequel.

3.Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - I liked the first one in the series because it retained the light-hearted fantasy world and the cute and cuddly graphics and colors. The rest of the series was good, but it had too much attitude for my platforming tastes.


Montage of the boss finishers

2.God of War Series: - Kratos is my favorite "new" video game character. He has attitude in spades, talks and feels like a God (Or what every man wants to be) and rips the limbs off mythological creatures. Both PS2 games had amazing graphics, excellent combat mechanics and one of the best stories I have seen in a game.

1.GTA: San Andreas - this one is the only GTA game that hooked me enough to make me want to beat it. Actually, I finished it four times. C.J. is a great protagonist in a "Fresh Prince gone bad" kind of way and some of the side missions are among the most entertaining in the entire series.

Todd Vote HONORABLE MENTION

Matrix: The Path of Neo - Yeah, I loved all three movies. Don't get the hate that some have for the games. I didn't think Enter the Matrix was horrible... was it great? No, but it wasn't as bad as some would have you believe. But I feel they fixed most things with the second Matrix game, The Path of Neo. Just the ability play through the Burly Brawl of the second movie was enough for me.

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy - See Armando's list for a reason this game was awesome. To bad Midway apparently stole the idea for this game.

5.Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks - The game that turned MK on it's ear. Why does it make the list? Because it is a complete blast to play through this game with a friend. Don't believe me? Give it a shot. The way you could seamlessly juggle enemies between yourself and your partner was always fun.

4.NFL 2K5 - In my opinion, this is THEE FOOTBALL GAME. I don't think any game has gotten it as good as 2k5 did, and especially for the price they asked. Is it weird that this is the last year that 2K was allowed to produce NFL games, due to EA signing the exclusive deal with the NFL? I wonder if there is some connection between the two things... Nah, probably just coincidence like everything EA does.

3.Manhunt - Gritty, realistic. This game managed to shock me with the realism of the death sequences. And this is a guy who thought he had seen it all after all the MK games played. The first death in this game where you strangle a guy with a plastic bag sucked me right into Cash's world.


John Cena's rap at the end of S:HCTP

2.Smackdown: Here Comes The Pain - If No Mercy was the be all end all of wrestling games for the N64, This version of Smackdown should easily take that award for the PS2. I never got a chance with Fire Pro, so this game became the default favorite of mine when it came to wrestling games.

1.God of War Series - The reason I regret going with the 360 over the PS3. The reason I have been telling any family and friend that will listen that I need a PS3 before March... God of War is easily my favorite series on the PS2. I will find a way to play God of War 3... Even if I don't manage to snag a PS3, I will find a way. Mark my words. If you want me to choose one game over the other I'll give the nod to the first title. The Boss fights just had a certain epic feel that I think the second title narrowly missed.


Bonus Video:
Grand Theft....Mario?



That wraps us this week. We hope you enjoyed this look at our favorite games from the PS2. Keep in mind that these are our favorites, and I encourage you to use the comments section to tell us about any of your favorites that we may have never even played. Enjoy your weekend, and we'll see you back here in seven.

Join my squad:
My Brutes. It's a fun website where you can create a brute to fight every day. Check it out, become a pupil of Lord Smashimus, click here to create your own brute to take into battle.