The 100 Playstation Games You Must Play Before You Die

[Revan]

PS1, PS2 and PSP

No list is ever perfect. But perfection was never our goal. In the end, we hope this list is one that, if you were to play all the games in it (and you conceivably can since many are still available at retail or on eBay), will make you a supremely well-rounded gamer.

we consciously avoided "best of," "editors' choice," or any myriad cliché countdowns and rankings. What we knew was that we needed a list that would encompass all the most important games in PlayStation history.


Ridge Racer
Right Place At The Right Time.
PUB: Namco DEV: Namco
Back in an era when arcades still had relevance to gaming, Ridge Racer and other games like it ruled the roost. But no game served as a better-albeit early-demonstration of the original PlayStation's power than a respectable port of Namco's very popular arcade racing game. The fact that the arcade version looked better than anything we'd seen before (except maybe Daytona USA from Sega) made it seem like a home console version of the game simply couldn't be done. "[Ridge Racer was] the first thing I ever saw running on the [PlayStation]," says Alex Ward, creative director at Criterion (the Burnout series, Black). "My friends still chide me, as I told them all at the time, 'Nothing will beat this ever, it's virtual reality!' Hmm, not easy to live with."
The game's extra features showed Namco's dedication to the console market-some of which were way ahead of their time, such as the alternate soundtrack feature that lets you put an audio CD into the PlayStation after the game loads so you can listen to your own music while zipping around the track. This cool feature, however, is matched by the fact that you can play Galaga while the game loads-and if you're at all familiar with the load times of early PlayStation games, you know this is a great feature.


Wipeout
Futuristic 3D Racer Was Ahead Of Its Time.
PUB: Psygnosis DEV: Psygnosis
"Ten years from now, when most other games have been long forgotten, Wipeout will be viewed as a classic." These words were said in November 1995 in a website review of the game and, well, look where we are. Wipeout is a futuristic racing game in which you pilot speedy hovercraft on tracks that loop and swirl through huge 3D environments. The fun combat and techno soundtrack are just icing on the cake for thrill-seeking race fans. Wipeout remains popular, with several excellent follow-ups, including Wipeout Pure for the PSP.


Raiden Project
The Ultimate Vertical Shooter.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Seibu Kaihatsu
Capcom's Atsushi Inaba (Viewtiful Joe, Okami) considers Raiden Project the "ultimate vertical shooter." Strong praise 10 years after the game's release; after all, the more recent Radiant Silvergun and Mars Matrix have set the genre's bar incredibly high. But don't be put off by the vintage graphics or comparatively sedate gameplay: Raiden Project contains a pair of classics that set a new standard for arcade-to-home conversions and helped spark the retro-compilation trend. Raiden Project still challenges the ol' twitch reflexes.


Jumping Flash!
Leaping Tall Buildings.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Exact
Most people would probably claim that Super Mario 64 was the first 3D platformer- those people would be wrong. Though it features a first-person perspective, Jumping Flash is a 3D platformer in every sense of the phrase, and it's a good one, too. It charges you with taking control of a mechanical rabbit capable of making huge leaps from platform to platform. Jumping Flash! is a top pick for Bungie's Jason Jones (Halo, Halo 2), who says, "By the time you're practically jumping into the atmosphere, the feeling of vertigo gives way to a feeling of elation."


Twisted Metal 2
WWF Racing.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: SingleTrac
Sony's David Jaffe (God of War) didn't shy away from including his own creations on his list. He notes that Twisted Metal 2 (which was done while he worked at development studio SingleTrac) features "some of the best multiplayer I've ever experienced." We'll add to that by noting that Twisted Metal 2, follow-up to the legendary car-combat donnybrook, was a groundbreaker in many ways. With drivers like Mr. Grimm (motorcycle), Warthog (army tank), Sweet Tooth (ice cream truck), and newcomers Grasshopper (dune buggy) and Mr. Slamm (backhoe), Twisted Metal 2 sends you into massive arenas where you smash, bash, and thrash your way to last-man-standing victory. Computer Gaming World's Ryan Scott calls Twisted Metal 2 "the best car-combat [game] since Super Mario Kart. It's a game that started something big."
Big is right. Twisted Metal spawned several sequels and spin-offs, including 2001's superb Twisted Metal: Black, the kid-targeted Twisted Metal: Small Brawl, and most recently, the not-so-superb Twisted Metal: Head-On for the PSP.


Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo
A Puzzling Addiction.
PUB: Capcom DEV: Capcom
What happens when you combine two genres-fighting and puzzle-that normally have absolutely nothing to do with each other? You get Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo, a combination of Tetris and Columns with some Street Fighter thrown in. It's one of the most addictive games we've played, and still one of the best puzzle games to date. David Jaffe (God of War) gives Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo especially high praise: "[It's the] only game my wife will play, so you KNOW it's good!"


Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain
The PlayStation Goes Dark.
PUB: Crystal Dynamics DEV: Silicon Knights
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain may have been Sony's attempt at a Legend of Zelda-style game with darker overtones, but we know and love it as a snazzy top-down action-adventure RPG in which you play as a ****ed-off vampire. This is the game that introduced the awesome mechanic of sucking the blood of townsfolk for health and the character Kain (basically a fusion of Hannibal Lecter and Vlad the Impaler), who would later become the anchor for the Legacy of Kain franchise from Eidos.


Final Fantasy VII
The Death Heard Around The PlayStation World.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Squaresoft
Boy-nerds were shocked and girl-nerds cried at one specific moment in Final Fantasy VII, a moment that turned out to be pivotal not just within the game, but within the entire game industry. FFVII snared gamers with its lavish production values and accessible gameplay that lets total RPG newbies get into the game. Evan Wells, copresident of Naughty Dog, comments, "FFVII was the first mega-RPG to find success in every territory. It stunned the world with gorgeously rendered cut-scenes and over-the-top spells that took RPGs to the next level." Insomniac CEO Ted Price elaborates, "It's always been hard for me to keep track of which Final Fantasy is which. Except for one. FFVII stood head and shoulders above any others in the series."
Besides the grandness of the overall game, there was one extra element that sealed FFVII's place in history: the emotional story. While RPGs have had elaborate plots before, none connected with gamers as much as FFVII's, especially its momentous death scene. OPM columnist Zoe Flower waxes on about FFVII: "Pass the tissues, please. I can't even write about this without getting emotional.... No game has ever made me feel so very shaken up from a story line as Final Fantasy VII. Nobody warned me that I might possibly become extremely attached to my little party, and nobody warned me that somebody might actually die in a videogame and that it would matter. Well, someone did die and it does matter. It still matters. I'm still very sad. Videogames can deal with deeper topics like love and loss. Every romantic out there should have this on their shelf. And also anyone who likes spiky hair and big swords."


Bushido Blade
The Most Realistic Fighting Game Ever.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Squaresoft
We've seen plenty of fighters come and go over the years, but few have been as unusual and realistic as Bushido Blade. It throws the arcade fighting- game formula out the window, creating a weapon-based fighter in which your first strike can be your last. Scoring a direct hit on an enemy's vitals can end a match in seconds, but if you merely hit your opponent's leg, you get to watch him hobble around for the rest of the fight. Bungie's Jason Jones agrees: "It's still the most realistic fighting game ever made. Turns out that being hit in the face with a razorsharp samurai sword can be deadly."


Rage Racer
The One To Beat.
PUB: Namco DEV: Namco
It may not be as well known as Namco's Ridge Racer games, but Rage Racer is one of Namco's best arcade racing games, and it's probably one of the best ports of an arcade game Namco has ever done, considering how much more complex it is than the original Ridge Racer. Nearly all of the excellent track details and designs from the arcade game made it into the home version, along with some cool new extra modes, such as a decal edit mode. It also adds some depth to the Ridge Racer formula by offering tuning options for your car.


Raider II
Lara Croft Broke Ground... And Our Hearts.
PUB: Eidos DEV: Core Interactive
She was unlike anyone ever seen before in gaming. Strong, savvy, and sexy, the pistolpackin', dinosaur-killin' adventurer Lara Croft stormed onto the PlayStation in an actionpacked third-person platformer that made everyone forget Indiana Jones. Lara reached the level of icon, appearing on the covers of Time, Newsweek, and Entertainment Weekly, catching the eye of rockers U2, and spawning two feature films starring Oscar winner Angelina Jolie. Tomb Raider was a top pick for Lionhead Studios' Peter Molyneux (Black & White, Fable), who praises the game's groundbreaking character design: "The iconic nature of Lara Croft meant that for the first time, we could play games with a believable heroine rather than cute, nonhuman characters." Naughty Dog's Evan Wells adds, "Lara Croft is the only videogame character to have achieved international-cultural-icon status...[she] helped elevate gaming out of being a geeky pursuit." OPM columnist Zoe Flower brings a more personal reflection: "It was the first experience of playing an empowered and sexy action heroine who I was proud to accompany on many gun-wielding archeological adventures." While the original Tomb Raider introduced the world to Lara, we think Tomb Raider II is the series' best.


Parappa The Rapper
The Hip-Hop Oddity That Changed Gaming Forever.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Nana On-Sha
"I gotta believe!" The battle cry of PaRappa's hapless title character won us over instantly upon first seeing this utterly bizarre game, a mash-up of hip-hop, children's storybooks, and the electronic game Simon. A collaborative effort between New York artist Rodney Greenblat and Japanese musician Masaya Matsuura, PaRappa is a unique game. Its surreal characters (e.g., Chop Chop Master Onion, a karate instructor with an onion head) resemble paper cutouts, but they move freely in a 3D world. Its music features lyrics about baking cakes and selling trash, but the melodies become instantly and indelibly imprinted in your cortex. And the gameplay, though just a simple timing affair, turns out to be surprisingly addictive.
More importantly, though, PaRappa showed that the PS1 was the platform of experimentation and innovation. Don't believe us? Read what Capcom's Atsushi Inaba, designer of Viewtiful Joe and Okami, tells us: "This game created a brand-new genre and breathed new life into the world of videogames. The appeal has stood the test of time, even to this day." Games like Rez and Katamari Damacy (not to mention just about anything worth owning on the Nintendo DS) owe their very existence to PaRappa's oddball example. Believe it.


Resident Evil 2Survival-Horror Perfected.
PUB: Capcom DEV: Capcom
While Resident Evil has grown by leaps and bounds with the release of the fourth game in the series, the older titles still have significance. For one thing, the very first Resident Evil pretty much defined the formula that would make up the survival-horror genre, in so much that any game bearing a resemblance would be judged against Capcom's scary zombie adventure. But if anything, Resident Evil 2 perfects that original formula, making it the must-play game of the older Resident Evil titles. It expanded upon the two-character concept introduced in the first game by letting you take control of Claire Redfield or Leon S. Kennedy, each with his or her own story line and branching paths. The story was so well done and the two adventures felt different enough that as soon as you completed one, you wanted to jump right into the other. Alex Ward, creative director at Criterion (the Burnout series), shares his experience with RE2: "I started playing this at 10 a.m. one Saturday morning. With curtains drawn and sound turned up, I finished it at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. I had no idea what time it was. I paused only for tea and chocolate biscuits."


Soul Blade
The First Stage Of History.
PUB: Namco DEV: Namco
Soul Blade is not just the first truly great 3D weapons-based fighter (sorry, Toshinden), it's still a great fighting game, period. Plus, Soul Blade had one of the most amazing CG intros for the time and also laid the foundation for the Soul Calibur games with its excellent mechanics and in-depth modes, including Weapon Master, which would spawn similar modes in Soul Calibur II and III. It's worth noting that Soul Blade also has one very cool feature that the Soul Calibur games are lacking: the ability to break weapons and fight with your fists.


Colony Wars
An Epic Space-Combat Actionfest.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Psygnosis
It took former OPM EIC John Davison including Colony Wars as one of his all-time greats to jog Joe's memory: "Of course! Colony Wars-it has to be on the list!" It was Joe who scored the game an impressive five out of five, and with that kind of endorsement, how could we not include it? Colony Wars is a true sci-fi epic, putting players in the ****pits of various spacecraft. With outstanding cinematics and downright gorgeous graphics, Colony Wars featured colossal 3D space battles in what is still considered one of the best flight-action games ever made.


Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night
The Power Of Two Dimensions.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
Symphony of the Night is arguably the best Castlevania game on any system-that's saying quite a bit considering the number of excellent games that have been released in the series. Hardcore fans would say that it's only the best of the "Metroidvania" series- a term used to describe Castlevania's change from an action and platforming game to an adventure game with exploration elements similar to those found in Nintendo's Metroid games. At any rate, it's an amazing game with an equally amazing soundtrack.


Metal Gear Solid
A True Essential Adventure.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
Only one game has been unanimously heralded by the industry as a fundamental part of the PlayStation experience, and that's Hideo Kojima's epic, Metal Gear Solid. It pioneered the tactical stealth-action genre on the PlayStation, it demonstrated a good mix of cinematic storytelling and pure action gameplay, and it pushed the limits of how games and their players can interact (breaking the fourth wall by reading your memory card and requiring you to switch controllers). No other game (not even FFVII) is spoken about with such reverence from all gamers as the original MGS.


Hot Shots Golf
Golf - Frustration = FUN!
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Camelot
You may not like golf. It doesn't matter. Once you get sucked in by Hot Shots' seductive playability, you will not get out. This game, the first in a still-running series, turned the sometimes soporific sport into quick-fix gaming gold, most especially with its excellent multiplayer competition (notable for allowing idle players to razz the active golfer with simple button presses). What's more impressive is that the gameplay is surprisingly realistic, even in the minigolf mode-a feature the series has yet to properly revive, meaning the first game is still the best.


Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped
Graphically Gorgeous.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Naughty Dog
The original Crash Bandicoot is debatably one of the most significant games on the PS1. Not only is it fun, it's drop-dead gorgeous. "[Crash] was one of the most beautiful games created for that platform and dominated the PS1 market for good reason," says Ted Price, head of Insomniac.

Even Evan Wells, copresident of Naughty Dog, couldn't resist talking up Crash's visual appeal. "The first Crash game looked so much better and more detailed than any other 3D game available at the time that it didn't seem possible that it was running on the same hardware."

The series unequivocally and justifiably cemented Naughty Dog's reputation as a company at the vanguard of technology - especially in the realm of graphics- and Crash served Sony well as an unofficial mascot, helping propel the PS1 to its unmatched prominence. Few other PlayStation games even approach the series in terms of impact. wWarped-the third in the franchise- because it's the best of the bunch. It hits all the right notes: The satisfyingly varied gameplay ranges from straight platforming to flying in freeroaming levels; the opportunity for Crash to earn new skills adds a rare degree of depth.


Tenchu: Stealth Assassins
The Birth Of A Genre.
PUB: Activision DEV: Acquire
There are some who argue that Tenchu kicked off the whole stealth-action craze, beating MGS to store shelves by a month. True or not, we like it because of the ninjas. Unlike myriad in-your-face action games, Tenchu treats the ubiquitous ninja archetype with real care by emphasizing patience and subterfuge over reckless abandon and rewarding crafty players with numerous one-shot "stealth kill" animations.


Suikoden II
Virtually Unmatched In Scale.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
Leaving Suikoden II off our essential RPG list of a few issues back was a grievous oversight. Its cast of 108 characters makes for an astonishingly deep and varied combo combat system, and its varied gameplay offers a real sense of scope, with battles ranging from 1-on-1 duels to large-scale tactical troop skirmishes. But the epic story of politics, rebellion, and intrigue is what really sets the game apart from the save-theworld RPG norm. That, and the absolutely unmatched orchestral score. If you don't buy the game, at least buy the soundtrack.


Klonoa: Door To Phantomile
An Underappreciated Platforming Masterpiece.
PUB: Namco DEV: Namco
In the glory days of the PS1, we saw a spate of platform games dubbed "2.5D" after the practice of rendering a 3D environment but restraining characters' movement to two dimensions. Klonoa is easily one of the best-if not the best-of the 2.5D platformers. The cute, cartoony visuals disguise a subtly deep game, in which every enemy is a potential weapon and every door offers passage into a beautifully illustrated wonderland. Platforming fans would do well to seek out this groundbreaking game.


Tomba!
Strange And Wonderful And Very, Very Pink.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Whoopee Camp
Is it an RPG? A platformer? An adventure game? Yes! This quirky little number is as hard to pin down as it is to put down. By melding elements of wildly different game types and infusing them with a healthy sense of the bizarre, Whoopee Camp created one of the most charmingly odd games seen on the PS1. Tomba! features a pink-haired caveman who attacks porcine enemies by biting them on the ass. It may not surprise you that Whoopee Camp's founder went on to produce Ico.


Gran Turismo
The Drive Of Your Life.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Polyphony Digital
Racing simulations weren't anything new to consoles by the time Gran Turismo came around, but it was certainly the first great racing simulation, and it still holds up well today. First and foremost, it offers an almost outrageous number of cars to choose from, ranging from standard sedans to slightly more exotic vehicles-all of which perform much like their real-life counterparts. "A very accurate simulation which took the driving game to a new level and brought it to a new audience," says Peter Molyneux, founder of Lionhead Studios. And that's what makes Gran Turismo so special. You feel you're learning not only how to drive, but how to drive highperformance cars in a series of tests. It's these tests that really showcase how much of a simulator Gran Turismo actually is-if you play them as you would an arcade racing game's tracks, then you're going nowhere fast, but if you take the time to learn the mechanics of real driving (which entails understanding terms like driving line and torque), then you'll be zipping along the track in no time. Also, for its time, Gran Turismo offered the most visually realistic racing experience, which complemented its realistic gameplay-it was the first real inkling at how technologically advanced games were going to get, that they someday might reach real-world territory.


Spyro The Dragon
Reminds Us That Games Are Fun.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Insomniac
Spyro the Dragon wasn't the first successful platformer for the PlayStation, and it may not be the best, but it did manage to fix many of the quirks that had plagued platformers. Beautiful, bright cartoonlike graphics build the perfect frame, and intuitive controls and a well-tuned camera make the experience enjoyable. But Spyro is more than the sum of its parts: In streamlining the 3D platformer formula, it became one of the few Sony games to capture the Nintendo spirit of the perfect platformer and provide a fun, effortless, and accessible experience.


Xenogears
Ambitious And Religious.
PUB: Squaresoft DEV: Squaresoft
Square made its fortune on the back of the Final Fantasy series. Xenogears, however, proved the company had far more up its RPG sleeve than moogles and chocobos. Featuring a millennia-spanning story (so massive that the second half had to be presented as a summary), Xenogears is perhaps the most popular original creation to result from Square's 32-bit renaissance. And the most controversial: Its religious content nearly prevented the game from seeing a U.S. release. Yet for sheer ambition, few games could ever hope to compare.


Final Fantasy Tactics
The First And Best Tactical RPG.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Squaresoft
The rest of the gaming world, including us, will tell you that FFVII is the most essential RPG on the PlayStation. But we actually like Final Fantasy Tactics a little more. Sure, it being a tactical RPG gives it a significantly steeper learning curve than FFVII has, and its graphics don't wow as much as that game's. But Tactics' turn-based formula and incredibly rigorous gameplay set the standard for all tactical RPGs to follow. With an even crazier story than FFVII's, and fun occupations for your characters like calculator, ninja, and dancer, this one's a true classic.


Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus
Gives New Meaning To The Term "Game World."
PUB: GT Interactive DEV: Oddworld
Pop in an Oddworld game and one of the first things you'll notice is that its world is a rich one, fully fleshed out with characters that are diverse and entertaining. And there's a reason for that: Oddworld was fully imagined by the creator, Lorne Lanning, before a single game was even begun. Abe's Exoddus is the peak of the series' PlayStation entries, complete with a neat control setup that has you use keys to talk with and issue commands to NPCs.


Silent Hill
Using The Power Of the PS1 To Make You Squirm.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
Silent Hill deserves respect for taking the campy zombie-flick horror formula of Resident Evil and turning it into a genuinely disturbing experience. Using unsettling camera angles, pervasive fog, and cunning manipulation of light and darkness, this game was one of the first to cross the line from horror to terror. Sure, it trots out some of the tired adventure-game puzzle clichés, and in its basic structure it doesn't deviate far from the path that Resident Evil and Alone in the Dark struck.

What's significant is that the game slathered atmosphere and emotional (rather than just visceral) involvement onto the survivalhorror frame, making this one of the first games to really use the 32-bit power of the PS1 to mess with players' heads. (A good example is the almost-invisible, walking, giggling baby in the school, which was inserted for no purpose other than to creep the hell out of players.)

While later games in the series refined the formula, it's hard to recapture the initial "what the hell is that?" horror of your first-ever visit to Silent Hill. "To this day I am afraid of fog and radio static," says Zoe Flower. "This is the Jaws of the PlayStation."


Street Fighter Alpha 3
2D Fighting At Its Finest.
PUB: Capcom DEV: Capcom
Of 2D fighters on the PlayStation, few match the superb quality of Street Fighter Alpha 3. Technically the game is a big achievement: The PlayStation's low amount of system memory makes it difficult to do fluid sprite animation, or at least the animation found in most of Capcom's 2D arcade fighters. But this is a nearly arcade-perfect port of the best 2D fighter on the original PlayStation, or on any platform for that matter-its refined Street Fighter mechanics combined with the excellent alpha counter system brought the series to a whole new level.


Ape Escape
Dual Analog Required.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: SCEI
It may look like a typical 3D platformer, but Ape Escape was actually a risky endeavor for Sony: It was the first PlayStation game to require the innovative dual analog controller. As with so many games designed to be showcases for new technology, its gameplay is a little basic; as with so many 32-bit platformers, its interface is a little clumsy. But the clever innovations built around Sony's brilliant controller more than make up for the flaws. The great graphics and goofy theme don't hurt either. Who could hate 100 monkeys wearing police sirens as hats?


R-Type Delta
A Great 2D Shooter.
PUB: Irem DEV: Irem
The 32-bit era was a challenge for developers who had cut their teeth on older systems. The experience netted in 20 years of 2D games was rendered obsolete by the new intricacies of 3D, and many former creative powerhouses found themselves scrambling to adjust. With R-Type Delta, Irem made the best of both worlds. Everything is rendered in the gorgeous 3D the PlayStation is so good at pushing. Everything, that is, except the gameplay, which sticks to the tried-and-true model that made the R-Type series a classic to begin with.


Medal Of Honor
Introduced PlayStation Gaming To World War II.
PUB: EA Games DEV: DreamWorks
This celebrated World War II shooter carries two distinctions that propelled it into gaming history and onto this list. First, when originally released, it was largely regarded as the best console FPS since GoldenEye 007 for the N64. Second, with its painstaking realism and attention to historical detail, it marked the start of what would become a hugely successful series for EA, as well as spawned an entire gaming subgenre of World War II shooters (the fine Call of Duty and other copycats would soon follow).

Developed by Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Interactive and inspired by his 1998 film classic Saving Private Ryan, Medal of Honor is an FPS for the ages, featuring big, epic levels, smart enemy AI, and authentic WWII details down to the newsreel mission briefings and weaponry that covers everything from the Thompson SMG and the Stielhandgranate (potato masher) to the M1 Garand, Browning automatic rifle, Colt 45, and the Mark II frag grenade. Reviewers particularly praised the brilliant, you-are-there sound design, as heard in the soldiers' frenetic yelling and the ricochets of bullets off walls and helmets. This realism rang true for Resident Evil Director Shinji Mikami: "[Medal of Honor] superbly conveyed the chaotic nature of war."


Syphon Filter
The Game That Bega T Sam Fisher.
PUB: 989 Studios DEV: Eidetic
You have to give developer Eidetic credit: It made Bubsy 3D, widely reviled as one of the worst PlayStation games ever, and then turned around and made the third-person action-thriller Syphon Filter, a critical and financial hit that helped usher in the whole stealth style of gameplay.

In a story straight out of 24, you play Gabe Logan, an operative for the covert government entity known only as "The Agency." Your task is to stop the spread of a deadly virus in the Third World, and nab those responsible. Heady stuff.

While Syphon Filter draws inevitable comparisons to Metal Gear Solid (with a little Golden- Eye and Tomb Raider thrown in), it's much more than a wannabe. The missions that have you sneak around walls, duck behind crates, and take out bad guys in sniperlike fashion provide great variety; the level design is "brilliant" according to Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus); and the enemy AI sets new standards in gameplay mechanics (they actually run for cover when they spot you!). Plus, the game's arsenal includes a taser that, when used effectively, can light an enemy on fire. Cool.

It's not a stretch to say that Syphon Filter is big reason why stealth-type games are so popular today.


Crash Team Racing
Multiplayer Perfection.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Naughty Dog
If you were to look at Crash Team Racing in terms of impact, you might be disappointed. It didn't really break new ground. It didn't really sell systems. It didn't really match the previous three Crash games in terms of substance. So why does Steve Chiang, general manager of EA Tiburon, call it an "amazing accomplishment"? Probably because it took the Mario Kart formula and tweaked it to perfection, and did it with some of the most impressive graphics on the PS1. It's still one of the all-time best multiplayer games on the system.


Smuggler's Run
The Event Horizon Of Graphics.
PUB: Rockstar DEV: Rockstar San Diego
When the PS2 was first announced, lots of promises were made about the power of its Emotion Engine, how it would revolutionize gaming with this and usher in a new age of that. But when the PS2 games started trickling in, few of them really knocked us off our feet. And then Smuggler's Run came along.

In terms of gameplay, it's nothing special: a reasonably simple free-roaming checkpoint race across varied terrain. It's plenty entertaining but not terribly earthshaking. For that you have to look to the graphics. With Smuggler's Run, you're racing through these gigantic levels-virtually miles to a side-and you can see everything. If you see a mountain way off on the horizon, drive toward it and eventually you'll be there. This had an enormously powerful effect on gamers accustomed to the nasty pop-up and limited draw distance of PS1 games. It's almost irrelevant that the game is so entertaining. It's simple and shallow, to be sure, but it gets the feel of off-road vehicles just right, making this one of the PS2's first pure sugar highs.


Vagrant Story
Near Perfect.
PUB: Squaresoft DEV: Squaresoft
"It was a near-perfect title in all regards," says Keiji Inafune (Mega Man, Onimusha) in praise of Vagrant Story, an RPG that expertly mixed action-adventure elements with RPG gameplay (it was developed by the same team that made Final Fantasy Tactics). Vagrant Story's allure could be found in the way it "left the gameplay and story up to the player," according to Inafune. For its time, Vagrant Story also boasted some of the best character designs and cinematics ever seen in a game. "The character modeling is superb," notes Shinji Mikami (Resident Evil).


Chrono Cross
And You Thought You Threw A Good Party.
PUB: Squaresoft DEV: Squaresoft
It's rare for an RPG to allow you much choice in deciding whom to bring along on whatever epic quest you're pursuing. What makes Chrono Cross so innovative is that it gives you up to 40 different party members to choose from, a standard topped only by the Suikoden series. In addition to the rich replay value (different party members dictate the paths available to you), the game introduced a then-innovative combat system that let you combine both physical and magical attacks in a single turn.


Spider-Man
Gasp, A Great Superhero Game Before 2004!
PUB: Activision DEV: Neversoft
Back in 2000, a little company called Neversoft developed a Spider-Man game after embarking on its Tony Hawk cash cow, and the result was perhaps the best Spider-Man game a Spidey fan could ask for. It is 3D, it has both swinging and brawling action, and it boasts a colorful cast of cool baddies. It even made the worst villain of the '90s, Carnage, cool by fusing him with Doctor Octopus. If you think great comic games started with X-Men Legends or The Incredible Hulk, then you need to hunt down this gem.


Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
Pokemon For The Mature.
PUB: Atlus DEV: Atlus
Pokémon who? Long before Nintendo turned the world on to the pleasures of "catchin' 'em all," Atlus created an RPG series called Megami Tensei. But Jack Frost aside, it has no cuddly mascots to capture, just powerful demons that have to be persuaded to join your side. One of the best MegaTen titles (as fans call the series) is Persona. The even better Persona 2, set in the modern day, is hardly RPG fantasy fluff-it's packed with the challenging, strategic gameplay that genre addicts live for.


Rayman 2: The Great Escape
Ooh, Innovative Concept: Games Can Be Fun.
PUB: Ubisoft DEV: Ubisoft
Michel Ancel's (Beyond Good & Evil, King Kong) Rayman, the titular hero with phantom limbs, was a perfect fit for a platforming game; the sense of humor and charm that pervaded the character were almost instantly endearing. Rayman 2 took the series forward, moving from 2D side-scrolling gameplay into full-on 3D platform jumping, leaping, and bounding (all the more enjoyable thanks to the invisible arms and legs), and the huge variety of worlds let you learn and then utilize a wide variety of skills.


Grand Theft Auto III
The Most Controversial Videogame Ever?
PUB: Rockstar Games DEV: Rockstar North
The original Grand Theft Auto threw everybody for a loop, yes, but GTA3 was the big one. Rockstar North's contentious crime adventure dropped gamers into a rich 3D world of unparalleled possibilities, offering options that ranged from story-based mission objectives to depraved, violent, and gratifying fun in the seedy streets of Liberty City. "When I first played this game, I wasn't prepared for just how different it would be," says OPM contributor Greg Ford. "The freedom it offered was incredible. I remember playing this at night, then going into work the next day and having World's Scariest Police Chases.esque stories to tell my coworkers."

The open-ended gameplay, however, wasn't what U.S. senators, congressmen, and right-wing activist groups picked up on. Rather, GTA3 soon found itself in the hot seat for its mature themes, including graphic violence, explicit dialogue, and glorification of criminal behavior- making it a favorite scapegoat in lawsuits and juvenile court hearings. Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price muses on the controversy that GTA3 inspired, commenting, "For better or for worse, GTA made the rest of the world take notice of what used to be considered simple toys for kids." But Price is also quick to sing the game's praises: "Below GTA3's controversial wrapping was a 'go anywhere, do anything' design philosophy that completely redefined the action-adventure genre, [giving] players a refreshing alternative to what had become standard linear design...and millions responded to its call."

As did an insane number of competing developers, who soon blanketed the market with less-than-stellar GTA3 pretenders. Few if any of these knockoffs lived up to the success (or the quality) of their inspiration, yet Rockstar itself still continues to soar higher with every subsequent GTA installment. While GTA3 now rests out of the limelight proper, it just might go down in history as the most controversial videogame ever made.


ICO
The Videogame As Art.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Sony CEI
Ico seems to be one of those games where you either get it or...you don't. If you do get it, you really get it-Joe, for example, considers it one of the greatest games ever made. The critical praise for this beautiful, moving puzzle-adventure is almost immeasurable. And that goes for game designers, too: For example, Evan Wells of Naughty Dog says that for many, Ico was "the first videogame to be considered 'art.'" And Prince of Persia creator Jordan Mechner says, "I was deeply drawn into Ico, which impressed me as a real work of art."

Unfortunately, consumers of the day didn't seem to see what all the fuss was about, and the game was a commercial flop. Ted Price of Insomniac laments, "I can't think of any game that was more lauded by critics but did so poorly at retail." A too-simple battle system, frustrating puzzles, and disappointing length (about six or eight hours) have all been cited as turnoffs for Ico haters. But we say quality is more important than quantity, and if you have not at least tried this game, you are missing out on one of the most moving experiences in videogames.


NBA Street
Taking B-ball To New Heights.
PUB: EA Sports Big DEV: EA Sports Big
Midway was on to something with the original NBA Jam, an arcade-style basketball game featuring over-the-top dunks and action. Unfortunately, the company dipped into that well a few too many times, and the subgenre seemingly died out. Then NBA Street arrived on the scene and reminded us why arcade basketball is so much fun. It's enjoyable by fans and nonfans alike, thanks to its slick controls, graphics that showcase some of the best player models ever seen in a basketball game (at the time of its release), and flat-out addictive gameplay.


Metal Gear Solid 2 Sons Of Liberty
Creator Controversy.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
It'd be easy to explain why, as a game, Metal Gear Solid 2 is pretty damn good. It builds on the gameplay of the pioneering MGS, while adding things like first-person shooting and the option to tranquilize every enemy (for those who don't like killing). What really makes MGS2 noteworthy, though, is its controversial casting choice. You play as Solid Snake, who has now grown from being just a PS2 icon into one for the whole gaming industry, for only a brief hour or two. Then the rest of the game has you playing as Raiden, who many consider to be an impostor. Kojima and the press kept this secret from everyone, and there was quite a bit of mewling over the character switch. Insomniac CEO Ted Price is circumspect: "I think a lot of people either loved or hated this game. I belong in the former camp. The storytelling was fantastic, the stealth gameplay set the standard for third-person action-adventures, and the visuals were awesome." We still think the game is great despite the character switch, and we applaud Kojima for being daring enough to pull off such a drastic gameplay mechanic and not break the game in the process. To date, no one else has pulled off such a crazy stunt.


ATV Offroad Fury
Big Air Is Still A Big Deal.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Rainbow
Only when you find yourself at the end of its game world do you understand the full scope of ATV Offroad Fury. When you reach that invisible wall, you crash in dramatic and spectacular fashion: The camera zooms out, and you see yourself and your ATV thrown for what seems like miles. Then you fall like a rag doll-bump, bump, splat.

But great crashing is hardly the reason Offroad Fury made this list. Try big air, massive open areas, awesome hill-filled tracks, ATVs that can be tweaked down to the details, and a repertoire of dozens of tricks.


Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
A Technological Bio.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Naughty Dog
We may not be as fond of the edgier route taken by later games in the Jak series, but we can't deny the series' impact on the PS2. Jak and Daxter shows us what a driven, talented development team can do with the PS2-namely, create a huge platforming world with unbelievable graphics and zero load times. Later Jak games placed greater emphasis on story (and guns!), darkening the first game's lighthearted focus and costing the series some of its charm. But the original game still has us hooked.


Red Faction
Cemented The Importance Of Story In Shooters.
PUB: THQ DEV: Volition
While Half-Life on PC made the idea of a story-based first-person shooter a reality, Red Faction went a step further by upping the ante technologically. Its so-called Geo- Mod engine lets you deform the environment in real time, carving out your own niche in the game world. Add in a bunch of player-driven vehicles (very unusual for the time), and you have an FPS that gave Half-Life a run for its money. The interesting and occasionally amusing story of a miner's revolution on Mars sweetened the deal.


Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Neversoft Makes The Great Even Greater.
PUB: Activision DEV: Neversoft
By the time most game series hit their third installment, they begin to get stale, deteriorating in the quality that made them great in the first place.

Developer Neversoft pulled a perfect 180 on this trend with Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3. Shattering all myths about what sequels generally are, Tony Hawk 3 showed us what sequels could and should be. Bigger and better levels, a hugely expanded and balanced trick system, and highly addictive gameplay prompted most reviewers to declare the previous Tony Hawk games obsolete. Plus, Tony Hawk 3 has the distinction of being the first PS2 game people could play online-even before Sony released its online adapter.

Evan Wells of Naughty Dog lauds the Tony Hawk series for "pioneering an entire new extreme-sports genre."

Speaking specifically of the equally stellar Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Ted Price wonders, "Who knew that skateboarding could be so mainstream? From the very beginning, Tony Hawk simply owned the extreme-sports genre and continues to do so today. The first Tony Hawk gave players the thrill of catching huge air and pulling insane tricks without the risk of broken ankles or jail time. It also satisfied players' desires to experience the .fantasy of the familiar' versus playing the role of more traditional mascot characters. (Not that there's anything wrong with purple dragons or orange bandicoots...)"

The Tony Hawk series remains one of the few game franchises to become a cultural phenomenon. It's still going strong with the recent release of Tony Hawk's American Wasteland.


Final Fantasy X
Finding Your Voice.
PUB: Square Enix DEV: Square Enix
The first Final Fantasy game to appear on the PS2-and for that alone it deserves some attention- FFX's significance may not be all that noteworthy in the grand scheme of things, but it's the first Final Fantasy to feature voice acting. This is a pretty big deal since most fans thought the idea of putting voice in a Final Fantasy game wouldn't work out so well. But the actors and actresses pulled it off, which, along with a new leveling and skills system, helped create one of the more memorable Final Fantasy games, the first to spawn a direct sequel.


SSX Tricky
Pulls Off The "Perfect Snowboarding Game" Trick.
PUB: EA Sports Big DEV: EA Canada
Yeah, SSX is the launch title and SSX 3 has the mountain, but SSX Tricky is the one that has a freakin' Run DMC song in it! Seriously, we give the nod to Tricky because of its colorful cast of characters, our preference for the levels, its oodles of personality, and its spot-on controls. While SSX 3 and SSX on Tour bring some legitimate enhancements to the formula, they feel more like good addons, while SSX Tricky is the one that melds everything into a pure, flawless snowboarding game.


Devil May Cry
The Birth Of The 3D Action Game.
PUB: Capcom DEV: Capcom
With their doubts beginning with the arrival of the original Play Station, the gaming community thought that polygonal-based games simply couldn't re-create the frantic and chaotic nature of 2D action games. Consoles specializing in 3D games just couldn't handle the number of enemies or the fast-paced action to deliver that sort of experience- that is, until Devil May Cry arrived. Developed originally as a Resident Evil game, Devil May Cry's development shifted over to an action focus because of a bug that caused enemies to float in the air after they were shot; thus, Dante's first aerial attack was born.

Devil May Cry features an excellent combination of adventure elements derived from Resident Evil and action that you might see in a John Woo film. It all blends seamlessly to create an unforgettable experience and an equally unforgettable main character. "This title brought a new atmosphere and life to the world of action games," says Atsushi Inaba, creator of Viewtiful Joe and Okami. "You rarely see a game that has this much pure action and such a cool game setting."


Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
In Which Console Gamers Learn To Love Bashing Orcs.
PUB: Vivendi DEV: Snowblind
PlayStation 2 gamers might be more familiar with the developer's Champions of Norrath franchise, but Snowblind got its action- RPG start with this multiplatform version of the classic PC franchise (its previous development work was restricted to the Top Gear racing games). Dark Alliance established the classic D&D franchise as a hit in its own right on consoles, proving that it was possible to build a good hack-n-slash, Diablo-style game for a system other than the PC.


Dance Dance Revolution
Showed Us That Games Don't Have To Make You Fat.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
Games get a bad rap for turning kids into lazy couch potatoes, but Dance Dance Revolution, which requires you to drag your butt off the floor and move your feet in time to the sequence of arrows, helped people actually get in shape, and was even used as a weight-loss program in some gyms. A fantastic range of music and difficulty levels make the game accessible to just about everyone. We salute DDR for letting us be healthy while still having a great time.


Rez
Dancing To Its Own Beat.
PUB: Sega DEV: Sega
Let's put it this way: You've never experienced anything quite like Rez. Sure, on the surface it seems to be a regular 3D rail shooter, similar to games like Nintendo's Star Fox or Sega's Panzer Dragoon games, but it's much more than that. The music's thumping beats combine with the game's stylish vector graphics to create a very different gaming environment than what you're probably used to-and you'll want to keep playing, not necessarily because the gameplay is all that unique or even interesting, but because it evokes something. Maybe it's emotion, maybe it's just a superfun rhythm game in disguise, or maybe it's something else, but there still aren't many other games out there that make you feel the groove like Rez does. Plus, it's the only game to make use of the trance vibrator, a peripheral you can buy to literally feel the beats in Rez. As you can imagine, many jokes have been made as to the specific use of the trance vibrator, but we can guarantee you that the intentions of Tetsuya Mizuguchi, the game's creator, are completely innocent.


Medal Of Honor: Frontline
The Greatest Opening Sequence In Gaming History.
PUB: EA Games DEV: DreamWorks
It's a scene right out of the history books: Medal of Honor: Frontline's opening sequence, one of the most memorable in all of gaming, starts with the D-Day assault of Normandy in 1944 and explodes with nonstop action from there. Keiji Inafune (Mega Man, Onimusha) loves Frontline: "[It does] a great job of fusing the FPS genre with the realism of actual historical battlegrounds. I played this after having watched Saving Private Ryan and felt like I was actually out on the battlefield."


Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
The Ultimate Drive.
PUB: EA Games DEV: Black Box
Electronic Arts' storied Need for Speed racing franchise traces its origins to 1994's Road & Track Presents: The Need for Speed for the 3DO. For this list we chose our favorite, Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2, which puts you in control of Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and Porsches in contests against Crown Vic.driving law enforcement. HP2 might be more arcade than simulation, but so what? You'll have a blast outrunning the red-andblues on your tail and evading barricades, spike strips, and barrel-hurling helicopters.


The Mark Of Kri
The Innovative Fighting System Leaves Its Mark.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Sony CEA
The Mark of Kri's innovative combat system that let you fight more than one enemy at a time was probably reason enough for this to become a PS2 classic. Add to this a stealth mode, a strong story, and animation inspired by cartoonist Don Bluth and you have the game EA Tiburon's Steve Chiang scores a perfect "cool."


Fatal Frame
Simply Terrifying.
PUB: Tecmo DEV: Tecmo
Resident Evil has the zombie angle. Silent Hill has the creepy, Jacob's Ladder.esque angle. What does that leave for the survivalhorror genre but the haunted-house angle? That's just what Fatal Frame went for, and its excellent tactic of fighting ghosts with only a camera makes for one of the most terrifying games ever made. Like Silent Hill, it doesn't stray far from the survival-horror formula, but through virtuoso manipulation of the different types of fear, the game delivers an astonishingly intense, viscerally frightening experience.


Kingdom Hearts
Gummis And Moogles Can Learn To Love And Love To Learn.
PUB: Square EA DEV: Squaresoft
The notion of putting the saccharine-sweet Disney catalog into the world of Square games seemed strange, yet they totally fit together like sweet 'n' sour. Kingdom Hearts is a fusion of two disparate companies that actually works, and like Final Fantasy VII, Kingdom Hearts introduced mainstream gamers to the PlayStation 2 (the idea of a polygonal Donald Duck running around Halloween Town was irresistible). It's also the best demonstration of a company effectively using the rich history of a classic license without being crippled by that license.


Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies
The Real Top Gun.
PUB: Namco DEV: Namco
If you're still waiting for that proper movieto- videogame adaptation of Top Gun, you're going to have to wait a little longer. While you're doing that, you need to check out Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies. It may not have all the characters you know and love from Top Gun, but it's about as close as you're going to get to a flight-sim epic. Ace Combat 04 has an excellent story line, which, when combined with the best flight-sim mechanics for any console game-well, you know where we're going with that.


GTA Vice City
Digitally Re-Created An Era.
PUB: Rockstar Games DEV: Rockstar North
While its gameplay was still built around the same basic structure that Rockstar pioneered in Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City went its predecessor one better by re-creating an entire era. GTA3 depends primarily on the wit of radio announcers and songs from prior games in the series to entertain listeners, which is fun but does little to flesh out the game's somewhat generic gangster East Coast setting. Vice City, however, went wholehog, re-creating a digital version of 1980s Miami. There are sockless loafers to wear, gold chains to sport in glorious open-neck shirts. Even the game's look is brighter and more garish than the gritty GTA3's.

The most significant factor in accomplishing the blast back into the mid-'80s, however, is a soundtrack that evokes every pastel suit that ever strolled along Miami Beach. "Africa," "Billie Jean," "Sister Christian"-any cheesy awesome song from your childhood that you secretly dreamed about breaking out at a karaoke party is present and accounted for. Which means that in addition to wreaking havoc among the pedestrians who happen to be in your way, you are also able to sing along with the car radio-and wreak havoc upon any eardrums that happen to be in range.


Prince Of Persia: The Sands Of Time
How To Revive A Franchise.
PUB: Ubisoft DEV: Ubisoft
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time "one of the best adventures ever," and we wholeheartedly agree. Here's the rare game that a game sports "the whole package." Think of anything that's important to you in a game, and you'll find it in Sands of Time. Controls? Unbelievably fluid and intuitive. Graphics? Almost unmatched on the PS2. Story? Funny, occasionally touching, with a fantastic twist ending. Challenge? Yep-both mental and physical. Combat? Er&well, OK, maybe you can't have it all.

In truth, The Sands of Time's rather simplistic combat is pretty much the only substantial reason for complaint in this excellent game. Personally, we think it's fine; while undeniably shallow, it allows the Prince to show off his fancy acrobatics, providing even more eye candy. But apparently enough people had issues with its simplicity to prompt the developers to craft a tougher, edgier, more complex Prince for the sequel, Warrior Within-which prompted us to reply with a resounding "Meh." That's what you get for focus-grouping a game to death.

Perhaps the most impressive characteristic of The Sands of Time is the fact that it's a modern update of a classic game that was also hailed as revolutionary for its time. In fact, Sands turned out so well that it wouldn't be far-fetched to suggest that it started the recent craze of updating classic franchises. The fact that so few of these other updates have been any good is a further testament to this game's quality.

Bottom line: Sands of Time was our favorite game in a very, very strong year for the PS2. For platform adventures, there's precious little that can even touch it.


Zone Of The Enders: The 2nd Runner
What Every Anime Game Should Aspire To Be.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
If the original Devil May Cry showed it was possible to do hardcore 2D action in 3D, then Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner reaffirmed that idea while also acting as the model by which all other anime-style games should be judged. The action is fast and often crazy (there's a particularly amazing battle near the end of the game), and the semi-cel-shaded style is complemented by well-done animated cut-scenes that help push the story along. Fans of Robotech or other mech-oriented anime would probably be driven to tears at the sight of ZOE2.


Soul Calibur II
Sharpened Skills.
PUB: Namco DEV: Namco
While 3D fighting games may be prolific on the PS2, few are better than Soul Calibur II. From the character and environment design to the fighting mechanics, just about everything in Soul Calibur II screams perfection. But what's always been the hallmark of the game is the fact that novices can enjoy it just as much as experienced players, thanks to its straightforward controls and easy-to-understand moves. Experienced players will almost always have the upper hand, especially with soul impact moves (counters), but anyone can have a blast playing this fighter.


Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution
The True King Of Fighters.
PUB: Sega DEV: Sega
To this day, no game matches Sega's Virtua Fighter series in terms of depth. In fact, it is responsible for spawning the 3D fighter phenomenon and opening the door for games like Tekken, Dead or Alive, and Soul Calibur, although none of these other fighting games, nor their sequels, really comes close to portraying fighting on a technical level the way VF4 does. The game features robust training modes, which take you through the ins and outs of punches, kicks, grapples, counters, and even complex combinations.


.hack
Snazzy Sequential Story.
PUB: Bandai DEV: CyberConnect 2
Leave it to an anime to spawn one of the most unique RPGs to hit the PS2. .hack features a crazy metastory, wherein you take control of a kid who likes playing a certain massively multiplayer online RPG, which results in a game within a game. When you aren't "playing" the game proper, you are checking e-mail or browsing message boards. Additionally, .hack's story is so big that it is told over four games, each introducing new gameplay and plot changes. A serial RPG folded in an RPG? Count us in.


World Soccer Winning Eleven 7
Fever Pitch.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
With its FIFA series, EA Sports had some comfort in knowing that it had the best soccer game on our shores in the PS2's early years-that is, so long as Konami's Winning Eleven soccer series stayed in territories outside of the United States. Fortunately for all the soccer fans over here, Konami saw EA sitting pretty and decided to challenge the company head-on with Winning Eleven 7. Never before had a soccer game done such an excellent job of re-creating the look, feel, and flow of the sport.


High Heat Major League Baseball 2004
A Hall-Of-Fame Performance.
PUB: 3DO DEV: 3DO
In his five-out-of-five review of High Heat 2004, OPM editorial alum Todd Zuniga could hardly contain his hyperboles: "This is a defining experience," he glowed. What made Todd so giddy? Was it the attention to detail so painstaking that it could take up to 90 hours to play through a 162-game season? Or maybe it was the franchise mode that included an entire minor-league system? Or perhaps it was the unbelievably realistic gameplay and animations? High Heat 2004 delivers all that and more.


Beyond Good & Evil
An Atypical Heroine, An Excellent Game.
PUB: Ubisoft DEV: Ubisoft
With green lips and a slight build, she's an unlikely candidate for stardom in a world of big-breasted videogame vixens. But Jade, along with her trusty camera and companion Pey'j (who is a pig), breaks through a lot of gaming stereotypes. She's at the center of a story that has true emotional heft, and she makes use of both action and stealth as she tries to figure out what the government is up to. (BG&E inspired filmmaker Peter Jackson to seek out designer Michel Ancel for the game version of King Kong.)


Dark Cloud 2
Everything, Including A Kitchen-Sink Robot.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Level-5
OK, you're going to pick up this game, and you're going to be puzzled by this whole weird story of a boy being chased by this evil clown and all that. Stick with it. Seriously. If you love the look of Dragon Quest VIII, you need to check out this game: While DQ8 features only graphics made by the talented team at Level-5, the developer created all of Dark Cloud 2. With DC2, Level-5 proves it can fit tons of disparate content that could be at the heart of many individual games into one massive übergame.


Madden NFL 2004
BOOM!
PUB: EA Sports DEV: EA Sports
Madden Football had to be on this list, but since there are so many games in the series (and so many with varying levels of significance), we had trouble choosing one. So we decided to go with the one that took the series in a slightly different direction-Madden NFL 2004. The game's biggest innovation is the Owner mode, which takes console football to new heights of stat tracking and into the realm of old PC-style football simulations. Steve Chiang, general manager of EA Tiburon agrees: "Madden NFL 2004 is the perfect storm for Madden gamers."


Amplitude
Music-Making PS2.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Harmonix Music
The rhythm-music genre was nothing new when Amplitude came along, so another icon-scrolling, buttontiming game wasn't enough to exactly rock the world. So it's not Amplitude's basic gameplay that earns it a spot on this list but rather the remix mode that lets you manipulate and rearrange songs in real time-and then share your compositions online. (The fact that these songs are licensed popular tunes that just about everyone in America has heard at one point or another makes the remix function even more significant.) Amplitude turns your PS2 into a musical instrument, and that is a very big deal.


Freedom Fighters
Tactical Before Tactical Was Cool.
PUB: EA Games DEV: l0 Games
Well before squadbased shooters were all the rage, there was Freedom Fighters. This frequently overlooked game tells the tale of an alternate-history America, where the Cold War escalated into a very heated contest- and the Russians won. Putting players in the role of a member of an oppressed group was a daring move, and the hybrid gameplay was equally unorthodox for the time, requiring a mix of quick reflexes and clever personnel management. Had the spectacular tactical multiplayer mode been playable online, you probably would have heard much more from this game. As it is, we just keep hoping for a sequel.


Katamari Damacy
Why Simple Innovation Can Change Everything.
PUB: Namco DEV: Namco
If you had told us a year before Katamari Damacy's release that the next big innovative game would consist solely of rolling things up into a ball, we would have laughed. And then we would have showered ridicule upon you. By the end of 2004, though, none of us was laughing, mostly because we were all too busy trying to master the dual-analog controls necessary to roll up thumbtacks and beach balls and penguins and judo masters and toolsheds and anything else that got in our way.

The more you roll in Katamari, the more fun it gets- the satisfaction of getting big enough to roll up cats that had been knocking you over a few minutes earlier is very fulfilling, and getting big enough to roll up skyscrapers could make you feel like the king of the world-that is, if that title hadn't already been claimed by the King of All Cosmos. Clad in tight purple pants and sporting an awesome medallion and a royal ruff, the king is the cherry on top of the sundae. Whether he's burying you in insults for failing or being disdainfully surprised that you actually did something right, he makes you happy to be condescended to. Among the game's fans, Katamari can count Fumito Ueda (Ico, Shadow of the Colossus): "[It's a] very simple and easy-to-understand game, and at the same time, it has an awesome dynamic level-upgrade system."


Grand Theft Auto San Andreas
The Last Game You'll Ever Need.
PUB: Rockstar Games DEV: Rockstar North
OPM SCORE: 5 PLATFORM: PS2
Hype is a hard thing to live up to: Just look at parts two and three of The Matrix. GTA3 and Vice City sold more copies than any other games, um, ever, so given that, we feel it's no exaggeration to say that no game was more widely anticipated than Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.

Happily, San Andreas did not follow the path of poor, sad Neo and his increasingly pathetic rabbit hole. Instead, it introduced a game that is perhaps deeper and more complex than any other game before or since. It felt like Rockstar, having mastered the sandbox style of environment and game structure, decided to take the concept of the sandbox one step further by incorporating all types of play into the game. You can play arcade games, try your hand at blackjack, shoot a few hoops, parachute out of an airplane-and none of that has anything to do with the main story of the game, which sends you traveling across three huge cities (and encountering characters from the previous two games along the way). Sure, there are other good titles out there, but with a game this comprehensive in your library, do you really need them?


Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
A Current-Gen Challenge To The Next Gen.
PUB: Konami DEV: Konami
After taking a whole lot of heat for Metal Gear Solid 2, Hideo Kojima followed that up with a third installment that almost surpasses the original MGS at times. In a George Lucas.esque move, Kojima decided to make the newest game a prequel by having you play Snake in 1964. While the setting is retro, the gameplay isn't, as Kojima introduced hunting, camouflage, and healing systems into the core MGS gameplay. Additionally, MGS3, under Kojima's capable team, pushes the PS2's graphical capabilities to the point where we wonder whether we even need the next generation. The cinema scenes look fantastic, the jungle is immersive, and, in particular, a battle in a field of flowers with petals everywhere is an actual gameplay level and no longer a mere tech demo. On top of the graphical and gameplay enhancements, MGS3 also hits upon the same emotional chords Final Fantasy VII did, with memorable characters and dialogue that all lead into the delivery of a powerful, emotional ending. God of War director David Jaffe succinctly describes his experience in MGS3: "Amazing story, amazing gameplay...I got lost in its world."


Burnout 3: Takedown
Everyone Harbors Rage And Loves It.
PUB: EA Games DEV: Criterion
The third entry in Criterion's spectacular arcade racing series hit the OPM office like a tidal wave. One day, editors were being productive little worker bees putting out a magazine, and the next, they were crowded around a PS2, passing around a controller, trash-talking-and then calling home to tell significant others that work was definitely going to be running late that night. It's amazing that you saw a September 2004 issue at all, because we were a bit like drug addicts, always sticking around for just one more go.

The Burnout series has been going strong since it's 2001 debut, but it wasn't until #3 that we stood up and took notice. The quick chunks of gameplay Burnout 3 provides are perfect for 10 minutes or 10 hours; but perhaps the most beautiful aspect of the game is how accessible it is to all levels of gamer. People who play games for a living can't get enough of it, but neither can pregnant women who had never picked up a game controller before that first Burnout crash junction. Sure, you can show off your excellent driving skills in a good racing simulation like Gran Turismo 4, but Burnout 3 offers visceral excitement that has yet to be matched.


Final Fantasy XI

A New Frontier In Gaming.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Square Enix
Though crippled by its need for the expensive (and soon abandoned) PS2 hard drive, Final Fantasy XI is still a landmark game. It not only takes a beloved franchise into a massively multiplayer environment-chocobos, moogles, and all-but manages to bring a real story along for the ride, a first for MMORPGs. The failure of the HDD should not diminish the significance or quality of this game, which is still going strong on the PC and in the small HDD-owning PS2 community. It's an expensive investment, what with the HDD and the monthly fee, but for online-RPG fans, there's none better.


Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
Importance Of The Fun Factor.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Insomniac
The Ratchet series is one of the most entertaining franchises on any PlayStation platform. And with its endearing mix of platforming, humor, and big freakin' guns, Up Your Arsenal is the most flat-out entertaining Ratchet game of all of them. So you see how we got here. "While it may be taboo to put games one has worked on in this list," says Insomniac's Ted Price, "the Ratchet & Clank series was arguably the first real attempt to break the platforming genre out of the rut in which it had become mired after the advent of 32-bit machines." We say it succeeded.


Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne
Paradise Regained.
PUB: Atlus DEV: Atlus
Despite how brutally difficult and unforgiving it is, Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne also happens to be one of the most creative RPGs in the history of the PlayStation. Its gameplay mechanics, such as how you recruit enemies and then fuse them together to create new party members, make it a standout. Add the gorgeous and unique art style, the large dungeons, and the daring ties to theology (every enemy is based on a mythical god or monster from somewhere in the world, and the story prominently features Lucifer as a character), and you now have one of the most essential RPGs for the PlayStation, ever.


Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005
Rethinking The Game.
PUB: EA Sports DEV: EA Sports
When Tiger Woods 2002 introduced the analog swing, it flew in the face of years of expectations for golf games; having to actually manipulate the joystick-even as intuitive as it was-came as a shock. But it made for such a sensible, fluid, and visceral experience that EA started looking at the control schemes of all its games, a process that continues today. While subsequent editions of Tiger Woods didn't add much, enough improvements were made to make Tiger Woods 2005 the highlight of the series.


Onimusha 3: Demon Siege
Resident Evil...With Samurai.
PUB: Capcom DEV: Capcom
The Onimusha franchise proved that Capcom could do more than Resident Evil and Street Fighter games. OK, it could be argued that the first Onimusha really was Resident Evil, just set in medieval Japan. But the solid action, the period setting (where Nobunaga not only is a badass Japanese warlord in life, but becomes a demon warlord in death!), and the slick graphics make the first Onimusha a perfectly capable game. We're giving the nod to Onimusha 3 because it completes the trilogy and is the first game in the series to have 3D backgrounds.


James Bond 007: Everything Or Nothing
Everything Bond.
PUB: EA Games DEV: EA Redwood Shores
James Bond has had a decent run of firstperson shooters, but with the exception of the N64's GoldenEye, they've all been missing that special something that elevates a game from good to great. Enter Everything or Nothing, with its controversial choice of going third person. Not only does this pay off, but the game also packs in pretty much everything expected of Bond. The star talent (Pierce Brosnan modeled and voiced Bond in the game) helps wrap the overall package into quintessential James Bondage.


God Of War
The Perfect Action Game.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Sony CEA
A lot of the games here made it onto the list by virtue of their groundbreaking elements. God of War is not one of them. You've beaten up monsters, you've solved puzzles, and you've upgraded abilities since you started playing videogames. In fact, everything that is in God of War has shown up somewhere else before-the only difference is that none of those things has ever been executed quite as perfectly as they are right here.

Instead of jumping on the innovation bandwagon, designer David Jaffe focused on perfecting all the elements into one cohesive, bang-up action game. The very first level-which we would nominate in a heartbeat for best first level ever-plunges you into the thick of things, sending you to do battle against the multiheaded Hydra. And when you're standing on the deck beneath the mother Hydra head with baby Hydra heads flanking you, and the mother head roars and the screen shakes, and you can feel the gusts of her scream roaring through the wind, it's so freaking awesome that it escapes any academic commentary we could provide on the subject. Says Capcom's Keiji Inafune: "I think this was one of the top cinematic action games, a culmination of the genre. They took a genre that Japanese game creators do best, took all the great things about them, added their own American spin to it, and came up with this great actionadventure game"

God of War is the quintessential action game. There is no fat here. You don't retread levels to pad out the game time; you don't chase back for that one item you failed to discover on your first pass; you don't battle waves of the same type of enemy. Instead, you simply kick ass as the amazingly cool Kratos. And you feel pretty damn exhilarated doing it. Zoe Flower puts it best: "God of War is the purest form of a good time on the PlayStation 2 and will remind you why you liked consoles in the first place. I actually start to salivate just thinking about it. Really."


Shadow Of The Colossus
The Videogame As Art, Part II.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Sony CEI
When the team that created Ico comes out with a new game, those of us in the business stand up and take serious notice. In spite of some odd design choices and some niggling control complaints, Shadow of the Colossus does not disappoint. The story has a sense of subtlety similar to Ico's: A mysterious hero sets out on a morally ambiguous quest to destroy 16 enormous creatures scattered across an expansive, deserted land-all for the love of a woman.

While a series of boss battles is a rare setup for a game, it's not unprecedented. No, what's unusual about Shadow is its sense of scale. During encounters with the colossi, the scale is obvious: A tiny human must work his way up the back of an enormous beast, with each creature serving as the equivalent of a "level" in a traditional adventure-platformer. But also significant is the game's use of empty space; vast chunks of the beautifully detailed world are there for absolutely no reason but to look good.

Like Ico, Shadow raises the bar on videogame beauty, artistry, and storytelling, and we applaud this effort.


Gran Turismo 4
Racing Perfection.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Polyphony Digital
While most fans would probably argue that Gran Turismo 4 is the biggest disappointment in the series due to its lack of online play-and any huge additions that are more than cosmetic-it still solidifies the series' position as not only the leader of racing simulators, but also an important part of car culture. Car manufacturers are now fighting to get some kind of representation in the Gran Turismo games, making Polyphony's job of selecting an adequate number of desirable cars all the more difficult. Even up to the release of Gran Turismo 4, car enthusiast magazines hyped it just as much as any videogame magazine did, giving the series even more mainstream attention than it had gotten before.

But at its core, Gran Turismo 4 is still about driving, and it's still the best driving simulator on the PlayStation and perhaps on any console. No other game gives as accurate a representation of what it would be like to drive a Mercedes SLR on the worldfamous N?rburgring track in Germany-or any other exotic car on a faraway track-and it's that very thing that causes so many driving fans to come back to the series.


Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
A Revolution In Multiplayer.
PUB: Ubisoft DEV: Ubisoft
When the success of Metal Gear Solid made spy games the Next Big Thing, copycat titles became a virtual certainty. But Splinter Cell is not one of these. Based in a much more realistic world than MGS, Splinter Cell takes the day-after-tomorrow, political-techno thriller style that made Tom Clancy such a significant presence on your dad's bookshelf and makes a very, very good game out of it.

It's not the realistic gameplay that makes Chaos Theory (the third Splinter Cell game) so significant. It's not the interesting story, or the amazing graphics, or the spectacular voice work by Michael Ironside. It's the multiplayer: Pandora Tomorrow, the second game in the series, introduced the unbelievably addictive spy-versus-mercenary competitive play that really raised the bar on multiplayer features. By equipping each side with vastly different gear and abilities, Pandora's developers abandoned the traditional deathmatch and capture-the-flag formulas and created an utterly unique multiplayer experience-one that is carried over intact (with the addition of a few new levels) in Chaos Theory.

That fact, combined with Chaos Theory's more coherent story and superior graphics, makes this our pick for Splinter Cell games. All are good...but this one's the best.


SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy Seals
Bringing The PS2 Online.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Zipper Interactive
You don't have to agree with us about SOCOM 3 being the best SOCOM game. We think it is, what with its vastly larger levels, support for 32 players online, and addition of vehicles and checkpoints and such. But you can take your pick of any of the SOCOM games, really. They all have their strengths and flaws, and they all have one major thing in common: They're online in a big way.

The first SOCOM, in fact, was the game that launched the PS2's online initiative, and with tens of thousands of people still playing this 3-year-old game online-in addition to its two sequels-it's clear the series has carried the bulk of the PS2's online play. Sure, the games have performance issues, as well as issues with players using cheats and exploits to get an artificial leg up. But that shouldn't diminish the fact that the games are extraordinarily addictive, and a real powerhouse online.

One other element prompts us to choose SOCOM 3 as the pinnacle of the series: Its single-player campaign is actually entertaining, backing off from the exhausting realism of the first two games. So if you're not online, this is definitely the SOCOM for you.


Dynasty Warriors 5
Everyone's Favorite Comparison.
PUB: Koei DEV: Koei
No other game is used as a comparison more than Dynasty Warriors. It's a sure sign of a classic when such associations are made. One former OPM editor called Dynasty Warriors 2 "secretly revolutionary" because it was the first game to feature "one guy on a battlefield of thousands"-gameplay that defines the series. We chose Dynasty Warriors 5 because if you've never played any of the games, this is the one that covers them all.


Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition
Tuning Culture.
PUB: Rockstar DEV: Rockstar San Diego
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition has a lot going for it. Its gameplay strikes a nice balance between driving simulation and arcade racing thanks to the way it blends car handling with over-the-top speed and special features that let you slow down time or literally blow cars out of your path. But the most important aspect of Midnight Club 3 is its absolutely ridiculous level of customization. The garage portion of the game is so robust and so involved that it often requires more time and dedication than the actual racing.


Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
The Return Of The King.
PUB: Capcom DEV: Capcom
This may seem dramatic, but if Devil May Cry 3 didn't turn out as well as it did, the series probably would have died, and that would have been a huge shame. Instead, Capcom rose to the challenge of bringing Dante back to his old wise-cracking, gunblazing self with some of the most challenging action in any game for the PlayStation 2. "[The original Devil May Cry] gave birth to Dante, a character loved around the world," says Hiroyuki Kobayashi, the game's producer at Capcom.


Timesplitters: Future Perfect
Right Game, Right Time.
PUB: EA Games DEV: Free Radical
"Great twitchy FPS action. All about speed, reactions, adrenaline, and packed levels thanks to tons of bots,". Throw in terrific online play that allows up to 16 players and you have an FPS to rival the Quakes of the world. The game's quirky, often funny story line that has players jumping through time and the bonus utility that lets players create and trade maps contribute to Future Perfect's well-deserved status as a PS2 classic.


Eyetoy: Kinetic
The Future Of Home Workouts.
PUB: Sony CEA DEV: Sony CEE
DDR became an accidental workout, but EyeToy: Kinetic represents Sony's stab at an intentional one. While exercise programs have been developed for consoles before, this is the first game that uses the EyeToy to supplement a program. The camera not only lets you watch yourself on the TV screen and make sure you're doing the moves correctly, but also evaluates you, which means you can no longer delude yourself into believing a slacker performance is cutting it. Throw out your Jane Fonda tapes-this "game" is the next revolution in home fitness.


Star Wars Battlefront II
It Might Be Battlefield Star Wars But It's Stellar.
PUB: LucasArts DEV: Pandemic
LucasArts is fond of touting Star Wars Battlefront as the "best-selling Star Wars game of all time." The company may want to stop focusing on numbers and modify that to read "the best Star Wars game of all time"- at least on consoles. Battlefront lets you live out your Star Wars fantasies in squad-based combat using military forces from both trilogies in all the most memorable battles in single-player and online multiplayer. Battlefront II introduce "heroes," which include the likes of Luke and Darth.


Tekken 5
Ruling With An Iron Fist.
PUB: Namco DEV: Namco
Tekken 5 includes the original arcade Tekken as well as the arcade versions of Tekken 2 and Tekken 3. For your fix of any of the older Tekken games, you needn't look any further. Plus, it gives you a look at the evolution of the popular fighting series and why it's able to draw in as many mainstream fans as hardcore ones. "By Tekken 3, the programmers and artists at Namco had created one of the best fighters ever released on any platform," says Insomniac's Ted Price. "The animations and graphics were superb, but more importantly, it was perfectly tuned."


Resident Evil 4
Survival-Horror Redefined.
PUB: Capcom DEV: Capcom
If Resident Evil 2 is the very embodiment of classic, tense survival-horror, then Resident Evil 4 is what happens when you punch that body in the face and force its slothful self to adapt to faster and smarter enemies. RE4 is perhaps the best example of what a sequel can do, in that it changes the core gameplay to stay fresh and relevant while still maintaining the better aspects of the previous game and jettisoning the bad parts. The camera, controls, enemy variety, and boss battles all combine to make a superb action game that turns the series from "survivalhorror" into "adrenaline horror."


Lumines
Because Sometimes Simple Is Fun.
PUB: Ubisoft DEV: Q Entertainment
The PSP's launch lineup may have been a little lackluster, but Lumines quickly proved itself to be one of the standouts with its simple and addictive play. (In fact, it proved so cracklike that an editor was even heard referring to his PSP as a "Lumines machine.") Designer Tetsuya Mizuguchi took a basic puzzle game and enhanced it with a great soundtrack, dazzling graphics, and some excellent head-to-head play. It's a magic combination-one that went a long way toward helping us forget that we didn't have as many games to play as we might have liked.


Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
Taking The PSP Seriously.
PUB: Rockstar DEV: Rockstar North
Oh, GTA. Is there anything you can't do? First you turned a hoary crime drama with subpar graphics into a compelling, openended virtual experience. You've consistently raised the bar for writing, acting, freedom, and game design with each sequel. Now you're offering us the chance to revisit the world of GTA3 on a portable system? With a game every bit as large and involving as its console counterparts, with enhanced graphics, new features, and cool minigames? Plus a fully acted story and customizable soundtrack? Thanks!


Lego Star Wars
For Being The Best Star Wars Movie Game.
PUB: Eidos DEV: Traveller's Tales
Lego Star Wars is much more than a cute kids' game. By being the perfect Star Wars movie game, it actually accomplishes what LucasArts was never able to do. The problem with the official games based on Star Wars movies is that they're usually incredibly faithful to their source material, which means they often have some dull parts. The beauty of Lego Star Wars is that it takes out all the boring stuff, giving you a few hours of compact lightsaber fun. Of course, it also doesn't hurt that the little Lego Hayden Christensen is a lot cuter than real Hayden Christensen.

[Mankind]

I'd slash about 20-30 duds off there, but a good list. Forgot how many great games have come out over the years.

[Wedgy]

Impressive list!

Proof of why playstation in no 1 in my heart.

[zaammk]

Only played about 26 of those :/ And I only own about 10. Never even heard of a few of them.

[X-Buster!]

Rez *shudders* that game is more likely to give you epileptic spasms than fun, one of the biggest pieces of **** i've ever played.

[Grantus]

Parappa The Rapper lmao. What a game that is. I was just looking on ebay for it

[notsosilentbob]

How could MICRO MACHINES have been missed of that list? especially multiplayer & what is probably the best puzzle game since tetris the very hard to get hold of KULA WORLD is also missing unless of course i went blind and didnt spot them.

[DeathKitten]

quite a few crap games on there though i mean, rayman 2? spiderman? o.o

<3 burnout

[Revan]

No list is ever perfect. But perfection was never our goal.

Originally Posted by DeathKitten

quite a few crap games on there though i mean, rayman 2? spiderman? o.o

<3 burnout

That Spiderman game was amazing, Much better than the film versions and even better than the Sega Megadrive one.

[SlaveBoy]

PAH! ...i was trying to catch you out by skimming through some of my classics and checking if you missed any....you pretty much got it spot on. Few of those are naff though...Blood Omen?!...Baldurs Gate DA?! ..Midnight Club 3!?...Horridness...

[WrinklyNinja]

parapper the rapper! lol I remember that. Thin people for the win!

[Revan]

Originally Posted by SlaveBoy

PAH! ...i was trying to catch you out by skimming through some of my classics and checking if you missed any....you pretty much got it spot on. Few of those are naff though...Blood Omen?!...Baldurs Gate DA?! ..Midnight Club 3!?...Horridness...

Baldurs Gate DA was great I much prefered the previous one though.

[LoGaN]

Reading this list makes me wanna dig out a few games from the back of my cupboard and start playing them again, especially suikoden 2 if i could find it.
Completely forgot about that jumping flash game, i used to love that when it was first out.

[Fallen-Angel]

snake...
snake..
SNAKEEE