10 best PlayStation 2 games, ranked

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In the 1990s Sony was already riding high on the success of the PlayStation, but at the turn of the millennium, they went stratospheric with the all-conquering PlayStation 2. This powerful and elegantly designed console is, as of writing, still the highest-selling games console of all time, with an incredible 155 million units sold over its lifetime.

The Nintendo Switch may yet snatch that crown over the next few years, but however you slice it the PlayStation 2 is a truly historic platform in video-gaming history. And with that success came an avalanche of incredible games.

Between 2000 and 2015 there were 3421 titles released on PlayStation 2 in all territories. Here are the 10 best (according to me anyway).

10. Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution (2005)

Sorry Namco fans, but my pick for the fighting game genre on PS2 is Sega’s hugely underrated Virtua Fighter 4: Evolution. This was a polished and updated version of the 2002’s Virtua Fighter 4, rebalancing the game, adding a tonne of new content, new characters, and updated graphics.

One of the most novel features was a single-player “Tournament Quest” mode that saw you visiting arcades in which you fight CPU characters based on the playstyles of top real-life players. This was alarmingly addictive stuff, and Tekken would go on to add a suspiciously similar feature in its fifth entry.

9. Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 (2001)

Neversoft had already nailed the skating game formula with THPS2 on PlayStation, but refined the formula once again with the impeccable third entry in the series. The most notable gameplay addition is the revert, which lets you link together vertical tricks. That, in combination with complex and detailed levels, a buttery smooth frame-rate, some very cool bonus characters, and an amazing score makes this a must-play

Now, how about that remaster for modern consoles?

8. Amplitude (2003)

Gonna raise some eyebrows with this one, but Harmonix’ Amplitude really is that good. This sequel to Frequency takes that