Playstation2 - One year on

[Minardi fan]

So the monstrosity that is the PS2 has been available for a year now, and finally there's a few decent games slipping onto the shelves (hurrah!) So I ask you, what are the five best games to be released so far, and why?



(And don't forget to answer the poll!)

[Damon]

Blimey MF, that's a tough question! I've voted GTA3 at the moment but I would put GT3 an extemely close second with Red Faction an even closer third.

However I am going to be getting Half life on the 16th of this month and that will rock and of cause MGS2 next year.

P.s. what do you mean by 'the monstrosity that is PS2'

[Minardi fan]

By 'monstrosity' I mean that it's not exactly pretty to look at, although the funky little green and purple lights do look great in the dark. (I'm working on my top 5...)

[Herminator]

Hello guys, I've been looking at the PS2 since before it came out, thinking I must have one, yet I couldn't justify the cost, especially since there was a lack of good games. Now finaly GT3, GTA3 and soon MGS2 will be out. Plus it has come down in price, woohoo, it looks like I will be buying one very soon. I was wondering what other games are worthwhile, I also like the look of Tony Hawks 3 and the new TOCA game I've read about. It's just the cost of games is a little high, I'm used to paying a max of £30 for my PC and when I used to have a PSX. KNow any cheap places to buy games in the UK?

P.S. My favourite game without playing GTA3 would have to be GT3, I just loved the forst two, I played the secind one solidly for months after buying it, something I've only ever done with one other game, Counter Strike. The TOCA series was also great, I've owned all three titles for the PSX.

[kuchi]

I totally agree with Herminator, GTA3 is the best, eventhough I haven't played it yet. The first two were awsome, great control great graphics. I'm still saving money to buy me a PS2, but it's to much for me, and is not like I need it. I have the PS1, plus my Pc is great for games, so I still don't know.

[Aysedasi]

I haven't got a PS2, so (obviously) I haven't voted. Haven't got a PS1 either. I'm sitting here typing this on my PC, and as a "platform", I still think the graphics are superior (with a halfway decent machine and graphics card). So I'm happy to stick with what I've got.

[Herminator]

I love my PC, thats why I have a GF3 newly installed, but the ease of a console and the style of games makes me want both. When I first got my PC last year I stopped playing on my PSX so much that I eventually sold it. I only regret this for not being able to play a couple of games, such as GT2, as the graphics looked more dated than I realised, against my PC, and there were fewer good games being released that I was interested in. The X-Box looks awsome but from the looks of things it will cost £500 and have very few good games. Ok there is Halo, which still may make it to PC, Munch looks as dull as the other oddworld titles, even though the graphics are amazing, and I don't know of any other X-Box specific titles that are anything special. And game cube, huh what a laugh, it's a kiddies console from what I've seen.

[Damon]

@Aysedasi: The thing is that to get the sort of graphics you see in GT3 to run at the sort of pace they do on the PS2, you have spend over £1000 , the PS2 is only £199. Also when you get home with a new game all you do is slap it in the disc drive and away you go, you never get problems with setting up graphics to get it running at a half decent frame rate.

@Kuchi: Do you mean GTA3 or GT3? Having played both GTA3 is the superior game, while GT3 is superb (and in itself the one reason to buy a PS2) it does have minor flaws which you simply can't find in GTA3.

@Herminator: DOn't touch the Xbox with a 50 foot barge pole!! It will have a few good games through its life and although it is more 'powerful', from what I've seen the graphics are not quite up to the same high standard of the PS2 (Judging from F12001 screens).

Everyone should join the PS2 revolution!!!

[f2001]

MotoGP but X-Box version is better !

[Aysedasi]

Damon, I don't disagree with you at all. I can't - I have never (really) played on the PS (although my lad did have one for a few months before he ditched it). It doesn't really bother me that I have to install games on the PC. Fiddling with the PC is second nature to me and even though I have a PC set-up which most would considered positively archaic these days, I rarely struggle with processor power or frame rates and such like, even with other programs running in the background which I can't be bothered to turn off first. In fact, if you know what you're doing, have people who can get the bits for you reasonably cheaply and are handy with a screwdriver, you can put together a very decent system for an awful lot less than £1000. (My last upgrade - processor, motherboard, graphics card, and a few other bits and bobs cost me less than £200 - money well spent (even though I would now like to upgrade again)).

Once again, it's a case of horses for courses!!

[Herminator]

Damon, do you really think I would bother spending £500 on a console with no games, when I can get some awsome upgrades for my PC which won't be far off the power the X-Box if I do upgrade. My PC at the moment is probably about the same power as a PS2, but only because I spent £285 on an Asus V8200 Duluxe. Yet with all the power PC's have I have yet to find a driving game as solid as and Gran Turismo, By solid I mean the way you get a feeling for the grip of a car and the physics, although this does seeem to be a bit of a coment on the lack of driving games for the PC. With all the problems of driver compatibility and thousands of system congiurations, games makers will never produce more games for the PC than a popular console. The only draw back with a console is he lack of control options, with a keyboard and mouse, games like Half Life can have much more control and options.

[Damon]

The only thing I have a PC for is this, Championship Manager and Grand Prix 3. The PS2 is the first console I have owned since the Sega Mega Drive and I have been very pleased with it. If you don't mind my asking how old are you (Herminator and Aysedasi)? I'm 18 so pretty smack bang in the key demographic that the console is aiming at, that's probably why I am more enthusiastic about it than yourselves as most of the games available appeal to my tastes.

Half life is being realesed on the 16th for PS2 which is very exciting as I could never get it to work satisfactorily (spelling!!) on my PC and I beleive it supports a usb keyboard and mouse so I will be able to play the game as it is supposed to be played

Herminator you are absolutely right about GT3, there is no game quite like it on the PC and I have to admit that the existance of that game is the sole reason why I bought the console.

[Herminator]

I'm 19, so just a little older than you. I don't believe you couldn't get HL to work well, especially if you have GP3 running it should be no problem. Even laptops have the power to run it. If you were getting bad fps you need to try switching video modes, between opengl, direct and defualt. I have a usb mouse but my keyboard is PS2, thats the connection type. I will stick to HL on my PC, as it tops out at the max 60fps at max rez. Plus I can get all the updates for free down my cable modem. Which I'm hoping is compatible with a PS2 since it has a usb connection, aswell as a network type connection. I always wanted a mega drive when I was younger but had very little money at that age, and I finaly got a PSX when it was at around £100.

[Damon]

Half life on my PC confused me very much because, as you say, I can run GP3 no trouble. A mate lent it too me and I just could not get it to work, either because of error messages or unexplained crashes soon after starting, then when it did start it would be really slow :confused:.

I did play it on my mates machine though and thats what is making me want to get it now!!

[Minardi fan]

5. THEME PARK WORLD - very tough choice for the 5th place game, but TPW gets it because it's very impressive, involving and fun.
4. F1 2001 - EA triumph over Sony's pile of tat with the best F1 game in absolutely aaaaaaaaages.
3. GRAN TURISMO 3 A-SPEC - Over-rated, over-hyped and somewhat tedious, but still a great game.
2. LE MANS 24 HOURS - looks great, handles great, sounds great, plays great. This game is an essential purchase. Why does it beat GT3? Because it's so much more fun to play.

But streets ahead of the rest of the competition is...

1. GRAND THEFT AUTO 3 - the best game I have played in a long long time, and without doubt the PS2's crowning glory. Brilliant.

[Damon]

GT3's major downfall is the AI, it is laughable at times and does make the gameplay somewhat repetitive after a while, although I have got back into it recently just to have a blast in my fully tuned Lotus Elise 190 Sport (the most fun car in the game ).

I do thoughly agree with you about GTA3 though, its scale alone makes it an incredible game but add to that the superb graphics, fantastic car handling and being able to blow police choppers out of the sky with a rocket launcher , it is the stuff that dreams are made of. Or is that just me...