After making this thread the other day, I've been revisiting some of my personal PS2 library of games and thinking a lot about the system and the types of games that were being developed during that time. I could go on at length about why that was a uniquely special time in gaming for me (and I already did in the other thread), but I thought I'd take another approach with this thread. I ask you to pick one game that best exemplifies what you personally loved about the PS2 as a games platform.
That doesn't mean it has to be your favorite game, but it should be a game that possesses qualities that convey the particular intersection of culture, budget, and consumer tastes within the gaming landscape on the PS2 at that time.
I'll go first to help demonstrate what I mean.
I nominate SSX 3.
I've decided to pick SSX 3 because it is a great example of a particular kind of game that we used to get during that period in time that we really don't anymore and might not ever get again. While the PS2 era is known for being arguably the last time Japan was a dominant force within the industry from a AAA software point of view, I'm singling out this American-developed and published game because it is very much a product of that particular moment of mainstream industry growth, just the right amount of hardware capability to make visually and aurally pleasing games, and ballooning but still relatively manageable development costs and timelines.
This footage captures the essence of PS2 gaming for me.
Believe it or not, this game came from Electronic Arts. That's right. If you're on the younger side, you might not realize that there was a time when the company wasn't nearly as reviled within enthusiast circles as they are nowadays. In fact, pretty much every game released by the EA BIG division during the PS2 era was a stone-cold classic. EA BIG was known for putting out supremely polished sports games with vibrant, arcade-style gameplay and licensed soundtracks that stood out among their contemporaries at the time. SSX 3 is, in my view, the apex of what that team was doing during the PS2 era.
Cruising down the mountain to these licensed tracks felt truly cutting edge at the time.
I was just playing it for my three-year-old son to see the other day, and the game just hooked us both in right away. The track design, the presentation, the SOUNDTRACK... everything just screams timeless quality and fun. Part of why I chose this game to represent the PS2 library's unique strengths also lies in its technical qualities. The PS2 might not be known for having great image quality due to its mostly 480i output (SSX 3 supports 480p, however), but it did arguably have more 60fps 3D titles than any console that followed it. SSX 3 is no exception in that it was one of the best looking games on the system while still targeting and mostly hitting 60fps. That was a far less rare approach during the PS2 era, where we'd get great visuals without having to drop down to 30fps. It was a nice balance, and it was clear at that time that developers were more inclined to prioritize higher motion resolution while still making great-looking games (for the time).
tl;dr - I'm picking SSX 3 because it was a 60fps, colorful, arcade-style game with a bangin' licensed soundtrack from a large western developer. That's uniquely "PS2" to me.
That doesn't mean it has to be your favorite game, but it should be a game that possesses qualities that convey the particular intersection of culture, budget, and consumer tastes within the gaming landscape on the PS2 at that time.
I'll go first to help demonstrate what I mean.
I nominate SSX 3.
I've decided to pick SSX 3 because it is a great example of a particular kind of game that we used to get during that period in time that we really don't anymore and might not ever get again. While the PS2 era is known for being arguably the last time Japan was a dominant force within the industry from a AAA software point of view, I'm singling out this American-developed and published game because it is very much a product of that particular moment of mainstream industry growth, just the right amount of hardware capability to make visually and aurally pleasing games, and ballooning but still relatively manageable development costs and timelines.
This footage captures the essence of PS2 gaming for me.
Believe it or not, this game came from Electronic Arts. That's right. If you're on the younger side, you might not realize that there was a time when the company wasn't nearly as reviled within enthusiast circles as they are nowadays. In fact, pretty much every game released by the EA BIG division during the PS2 era was a stone-cold classic. EA BIG was known for putting out supremely polished sports games with vibrant, arcade-style gameplay and licensed soundtracks that stood out among their contemporaries at the time. SSX 3 is, in my view, the apex of what that team was doing during the PS2 era.
Cruising down the mountain to these licensed tracks felt truly cutting edge at the time.
I was just playing it for my three-year-old son to see the other day, and the game just hooked us both in right away. The track design, the presentation, the SOUNDTRACK... everything just screams timeless quality and fun. Part of why I chose this game to represent the PS2 library's unique strengths also lies in its technical qualities. The PS2 might not be known for having great image quality due to its mostly 480i output (SSX 3 supports 480p, however), but it did arguably have more 60fps 3D titles than any console that followed it. SSX 3 is no exception in that it was one of the best looking games on the system while still targeting and mostly hitting 60fps. That was a far less rare approach during the PS2 era, where we'd get great visuals without having to drop down to 30fps. It was a nice balance, and it was clear at that time that developers were more inclined to prioritize higher motion resolution while still making great-looking games (for the time).
tl;dr - I'm picking SSX 3 because it was a 60fps, colorful, arcade-style game with a bangin' licensed soundtrack from a large western developer. That's uniquely "PS2" to me.
