Who loved the PlayStation 2 ?

[MaximumRD]

Obviously, I loved many of the 8 and 16 bit consoles but eventually the time of disc based 32bit consoles arrived and while disc based media increased loading times it still brought us CD based audio quality and storage capabilities we could only dream of previously. Being a HUGE fan of the original PlayStation and as much as I hated the fact it had a hand in sealing the fate of the Dreamcast I too could not resist buying into the PS2 hype and early releases proved poor to mediocre but once it found it's stride man there was a great library and just about every genre to please gamers. 

 

 

 

[RickR]

It was a great system then, and it's great to collect now.  The games these days are plentiful and cheap.  Just an awesome system.  And I have to say, I think the PS2 controller is the pinnacle of gaming controllers. 

 

The XBOX is technically a superior machine  It has a lot of the same games and a lot of them look better than the PS2 versions.  But for whatever reason, the PS2 is the system I keep out and play all the time.  I'm not sure why that is.  Maybe it's the controller.  Maybe it's the tiny size of the slim PS2.  Who knows?

 

Here's a fat model I got last week with a cool skin courtesy of an AtariAge member.  It was broken, but it's fixed now, and I've been playing a lot with it.

 

 

[RickR]

Oh, and I also disassembled that silver controller and lived to tell about it!  My God was it difficult to get it back together. 

[MaximumRD]

It was a great system then, and it's great to collect now.  The games these days are plentiful and cheap.  Just an awesome system.  And I have to say, I think the PS2 controller is the pinnacle of gaming controllers. 

 

The XBOX is technically a superior machine  It has a lot of the same games and a lot of them look better than the PS2 versions.  But for whatever reason, the PS2 is the system I keep out and play all the time.  I'm not sure why that is.  Maybe it's the controller.  Maybe it's the tiny size of the slim PS2.  Who knows?

 

Here's a fat model I got last week with a cool skin courtesy of an AtariAge member.  It was broken, but it's fixed now, and I've been playing a lot with it.

Hey that is awesome and a cool looking PS2! I would have loved one that was not the stock BLACK. Particularly a SLIM SILVER was something I really wanted but never got back when I still had the extra cash but I got an incredible deal on a modchipped PS2 SLIM that I simply could not pass up and since it plays everything I throw at it including PS1 games I do not regret it for sure but man I really wanted a colored PS2. I also LOVE the PS2 controller.  Of course there were also some good retro compilations as well. 

[StormSurge]

I picked up my PS2 when my daughter was only a few months old. I logged many hours playing games with her sleeping on my chest. Because of that, it holds a special place in my heart.

 

That said, the PS2, to me, is just another system. I liked the Dreamcast before it more & my next system after, the 360, launched my gaming into a whole other level.

However, it did kick off the wonder of online gaming. Playing SOCOM 2 with my buddies is one of my favorite gaming memories ever & those same friends are still playing online with the Xbox One. So it's not all bad. 

 

Don't get me wrong, I loved it & I realize it's place in gaming history, but it was personally overshadowed by what came before it & after it.

[TrekMD]

I only got a PS2 recently.  I got the slim model as it occupies very little space and that is what I need right now.  It is a cool system and I love the backwards compatibility to the PSOne. 

[greenween]

PS2 is easily my favorite system of all time! I bought when it first came out, along with "Summoner" and "Moto GP". Very unimpressed. It went on to have the greatest line-up of games, best controller ever, my first ever online gaming( Everquest and FFXI) and I still use it for all my emulators. I have RickR to thanks for the perfectly working fatboy PS2 I have now.  I also use my PS2 controller for games on my PC. So yeah, I give it an A+.

[RickR]

And I owe Mayor Greenween a world of thanks for my favorite 5200 game:  Berzerk. 

I was just now playing PS2 Star Trek:  Encounter.  So many great games on PS2. 

[greenween]

Berzerk! is pretty awesome on the 5200! Have you ever played "Dark Cloud" on the PS2? Someone gave me a copy years ago because he said it was the worst game he's ever played. I love it and think it was a missed classic. Give it a shot.

[RickR]

Berzerk! is pretty awesome on the 5200! Have you ever played "Dark Cloud" on the PS2? Someone gave me a copy years ago because he said it was the worst game he's ever played. I love it and think it was a missed classic. Give it a shot.

I'll be looking for it at the Portland Retro Gaming show next month.  Thank you.

[TrekMD]

And I owe Mayor Greenween a world of thanks for my favorite 5200 game:  Berzerk. 

 

I was just now playing PS2 Star Trek:  Encounter.  So many great games on PS2. 

How's that game?  There aren't many good console Trek games.

[RickR]

How's that game?  There aren't many good console Trek games.

Keep looking.  It looks good, and it's fun to see all the ships rendered so nicely.  But the controls are needlessly difficult.  If you find it for less than $5, I'd say it's worth it for Star Trek fans with low expectations.  But otherwise, not too great. 

[TrekMD]

LOL, OK, so your experience is consistent with some stuff I read.  

[Sabertooth]

I bought a Dreamcast at launch on 9/9/99 and sat out the rest of that generation after Sega ended its support of that console. I know that the PS2 was wildly sucessful but after being burned by Jaguar, Saturn and Dreamcast, I was done with console gaming for awhile. That said, I'm sure it's a fine system and has a ton of great games.

[RickR]

Can't blame you there.  Dreamcast was the console I had back then too, and I loved it.  I didn't get a PS2 until much later.  The absolute beauty of the PS2 is that the systems right now are dirt cheap as are the games. 

 

I think that generation of systems was the last in which they all really had a different feel to them.  Dreamcast had the beautiful bright graphics that none of the other systems had.  Very cartoony or arcade-like.  PS2 was kind of a jack-of-all trades with the most games.  XBOX had the best graphics.  Gamecube was a little weaker, but had some great Nintendo exclusives.  For me personally, these are kind of the end-of-the-line systems for my gamie collecting. 

[DegasElite]

I liked the PS2 because I liked to play "Capcom Classics Collection" on it. It had the entire "Ghost 'N Goblins" series, including the SNES game "Super Ghouls 'N Ghosts," a home video game sequel to the classic "Ghouls 'N Ghosts." I thought that "Forgotten Worlds" was the best game, including its Japanese counterpart "Lost Worlds" (basically the same arcade game, but in Japanese). Sure, it was emulated, but it played well. I also liked "Final Fight" on there. I think it also had "Street Fighter II" in there (the Championship Edition, I believe). There were eighteen games on that disc. It had game trivia and original artwork concerning those arcade games. Great series, for sure. I gave the disc to a friend of mine, and I believe that he still has it somewhere. He still has his PS2, by the way. I long to play it again. Oh, the memories…

 

Thanks for letting me share.

Edited September 28, 2017 by DegasElite

[Atari 5200 Guy]

The PS2 was an in-between system for me. I had a Dreamcast from pre-order so I stuck with it until the end. The only reason why I picked up a PS2 was when Gran Turismo A-Spec came out. I am a huge fan of the game having played the first two installments on the original PS. That is also the only reason why I got a PS3. It does have lots of good games and I am currently playing Xenosaga Episode 1 when I can.

 

I have to agree with a few others here. While I enjoyed the system and prefer the larger model over the slim model, I enjoy Dreamcast more. And the original XBOX still holds its own against the PS2 even in retro gaming. Then there is the Game Cube...but I only found a few games I liked on that console (Metroid Prime remains my top favorite on GC followed by Harvey Moon Magical Melodies).

 

That era was the game changing era for sure. PS2 is good but I stood by Sega as long as possible and when I tried out an XBOX...that was it for me. I went with XBOX and have been an XBOX fan ever since. The controllers are more comfortable including the Duke.

And I don't need a memory card. The original XBOX still gives me more entertainment value than PS2...although Xbox games cost more than their PS2 twins. I don't know how many PS2s I had to fix that wouldn't read discs.

[LeeJ07]

I got my PS2 at a charity auction for $30. Best 30 bucks ever spent. Great games, great controller, I love being to play movies on it, but the best thing I love about it is the backwards compatibility. Awesome stuff.

[nosweargamer]

I wanted a PS2 when it came out, but ended up going with the Gamecube when it was marked down to $99. To this day I like the GC more, but I did eventually get a PS2 phat, sold it when I got a Slim, then got a Phat again when the Slim was having trouble reading some discs. Great system. Really dig the backwards compatibility and ability to play DVDS. Has some cool titles, but my favorite aspect is all of the compilations that came out for it.

[greenween]

I just pulled out 2 boxes of PS2 games. Resident Evil : Code Veronica X is first.