PS2 Games Advice

[Andrew]

Okay, we are finally getting a PS2 (I've been saving up stuff for this).  Yes, I know it is the "yesterday" game system.  Doesn't really matter to me, because I do not play that often and cannot justify shelling out the $ needed for one of the current flagships.

I want to know some suggested games for the console.  I am looking at the following:

Godzilla:  Save the Earth
Final Fantasy X
War of the Monsters

I need to find a racing game that little Andy would like (meaning, very simple, because he is 3 and loves cars/trucks/etc).  Also, any decent kids' games would be appreciated.  The children will not be playing hours of games, but an hour of whatever - that works on problem solving or creativity, is good.  Variety and moderation are two things I believe in.

[HappyGilmore]

As far as the three you're looking at, I'm not certain of entirely.  Final Fantasy should be worth the buy.  I've played one of the previous games and it was decent. 

As far as car games, I believe the NASCAR games are rated E for everybody, so your son should be okay with it.  I'd assume it'd be somewhat easy on an easy mode.  Only racing game I have is The Simpsons Road Rage, but that's a little bit for older kids.  Not much language, but the way the game works is you drive around as a Simpsons character and your character works as a cab driver picking people up and dropping them off.  You have a time limit though.

Wheel of Fortune is decent enough, especially if you have any kids in elementary school as it could help with problem solving, spelling, etc.

I'd like to be of more help, but I don't know much for kid games anymore.  I saw some Muppet games at the store but didn't pick them up.

I could probably suggest some for you though, pending what you're into.

[AnubisVonMojo]

For yourself, I support your three current picks, and suggest the God of War games for adventure brawling fun, Resident Evil 4 (definitely need to get the chainsaw controller to go with it) for all your zombie killing needs, pick up a Burnout title if you're into racing (and more importantly crashing), and if you're looking for a good RPG go for Dragon Quest VIII. If you want to relive gaming days gone by, there's a literal half-ton of anthology discs out there that collect classics from the last 20+ years. I'd resist the urge to play the newest Godzilla title, Godzilla: Unleashed. It's an okay title on the Wii, but I've heard tell that its PS2 counterpart is rancid.

Not sure about educational titles, but for younger racing games, PS2 has a number of Micro Machines and Hot Wheels titles to choose from, as well as some cartoony racers like ChoroQ and a few Mario Kart knock-offs, including one starring Crash Bandicoot.

[HappyGilmore]

For yourself, I support your three current picks, and suggest the God of War games for adventure brawling fun, Resident Evil 4 (definitely need to get the chainsaw controller to go with it) for all your zombie killing needs, pick up a Burnout title if you're into racing (and more importantly crashing), and if you're looking for a good RPG go for Dragon Quest VIII. If you want to relive gaming days gone by, there's a literal half-ton of anthology discs out there that collect classics from the last 20+ years. I'd resist the urge to play the newest Godzilla title, Godzilla: Unleashed. It's an okay title on the Wii, but I've heard tell that its PS2 counterpart is rancid.

Not sure about educational titles, but for younger racing games, PS2 has a number of Micro Machines and Hot Wheels titles to choose from, as well as some cartoony racers like ChoroQ and a few Mario Kart knock-offs, including one starring Crash Bandicoot.

Wasnt' that Crash game called Crash Team Racing or something similar?

I forgot all about it.  Used to love Crash.

[Torgo]

Here are some games that I would consider "must buys" after purchasing a PS2:

Final Fantasy XII
God of War 1 & 2
Silent Hill 2, 3 and 4
Resident Evil 4
Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
Ratchet and Clank 1, 2 and 3
Jak and Daxter 1, 2 and 3

[Patient7]

DEFINITLEY get God of War it recieves my award of BEST GAME EVER!!!.  Your son will probably like the first Jak and Daxter game, however the next two involve shooting which could be complicated for a 3 year old.  And keep God of War away from the little ones, it has an M rating.

[AnubisVonMojo]

Wasnt' that Crash game called Crash Team Racing or something similar?
I forgot all about it.  Used to love Crash.

I think that was the original PSOne game. I think the PS2 sequel was called Crash and Burn... not to be confused with the Full Moon movie of the same name... which both crashed and burned...

EDIT: scratch that, reverse it, Crash and Burn was a mediocre street racing title. The Bandicoot Kart title for PS2 was Crash Nitro Racing.

[AnubisVonMojo]

Oh, and if you're up for a challenge, give the two Maximo games a try. Some always fun modernization of the Ghosts/Ghouls & Goblins franchise. 

Other suggestions that popped to mind: Rygar, Katamari Damacy, Twisted Metal: Black, Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, any Guitar Hero installments, and the Onimusha games. Viewtiful Joe was fun too, and deceptively hard.

[Jack]

Check out IGN:  http://ps2.ign.com/  and Gamespot:  http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/index.html?tag=nav-top;ps2&navclk=ps2  They have tons of reviews.  They tend to shy away from children's games, but it's fun to browse around and check out their top picks and watch the video reviews and stuff.

[Andrew]

Thanks for the suggestions.  I'm going to look for the Hot Wheels and Micro Machines games for Andy.  I loved Resident Evil 2 on the PS1, so I'll look for 4.  God of War also looks like one that could work for me.

I'd heard that the newest Godzilla game was one to avoid on the PS2.

[Mr. DS]

The good news Andrew you can buy several awesome games for dirt cheap.  Some of my favs;

1st Person Shooters:
Time Splitters (I own part 2)
Unreal Tournament

Action/Adventure:
The Warriors
Grand Theft Auto series
State Of Emergency
Max Payne

Interactive:
Guitar Hero

Retro Compliations:
Midway Arcade Classics (note that I think they have an old school racing compliation)

If you're into Final Fantasy, you may want to look into Kingdom Hearts.  Its Disney meets FF and its a good time killer. 

[Mofo Rising]

God of War 1 and 2 are great games, but definitely not family-friendly. I also highly recommend Shadow of the Colossus. If you're looking for giant monsters, how about an entire game that involves climbing around on top of the monsters themselves while trying to find a way to kill them?

I just started playing Kingdom Hearts, the Disney/Square game. It's pretty fun, but probably too complicated for the extremely young. Katamari Damacy is fairly intuitive.

As far as games for kids, I still remember watching my cousin, who was three or four, play all the way through the Resident Evil 2 demo. When he managed to kill the "licker" creature with the shotgun the entire family cheered. Now, he probably shouldn't have been playing zombie-killing games, but that boy was a natural born video gamer.

[HappyGilmore]

Marvel: Ultimate Alliance- A game similar in vein to Final Fantasy, only with Marvel comics characters.  You have about 20/25 superheroes, and over 30 villians in the game.  Over 140 characters total, but not all are selectable.

Guitar Hero- Fun game, totally addictive.

Tony Hawk Series- Any game in the series is pretty good, and anyone can play, especially the earlier games, as there isn't a story as opposed to later games.

[Mr. DS]

I just started playing Kingdom Hearts, the Disney/Square game. It's pretty fun, but probably too complicated for the extremely young.

It is meant for more of an adult crowd.  Like I said, more towards fans of Final Fantasy.  I have part 2 but its not nearly as good as part 1.  Although you get to use the Tron bikes.   

[CheezeFlixz]

Did I miss it or did no one recommend the B-Movie game DESTROY ALL HUMANS?