The PlayStation 2 set a new standard for players and developers alike when it first launched on March 4, 2000, introducing some of the features that still define the PlayStation experience today.
Since its launch, the PlayStation 2 sold over 155 million consoles worldwide and had almost 4,000 games released up to late 2013.
While the original Xbox certainly captured the hearts of many people, the PS2 came in like a storm and introduced millions of people to then cutting-edge graphics in video games.
From the bizarre GTA-like Simpson's Hit & Run to the exquisitely hilarious shooter Timesplitters 2, PS2 has been home to some of the most impressive and influential games ever.
In no specific order, here's our definitive list of the best PS2 games of all time.
Persona 4
Persona 4 is perhaps the happiest game about murder ever made.
You'll work with your new best friends for life to solve a string of murders in the small and charming Japanese town of Inaba.
The characters and overall tone are instantly loveable and endearing, despite the heavy subjects it broaches throughout the game. Let's not even get into how emotionally devastating and catchy the unparalleled soundtrack is.
Finishing the game will leave you with a hole in your heart where the characters used to be. It stands as a testament to the expert writing of the game as it legitimately creates the impressions that the characters are real people to you.
When the game is over and all is said and done, this bittersweet feeling will stay with you long after the credits roll and you'll find yourself wishing to return to those days in Inaba.
Timesplitters 2
Timesplitters took the world by storm when it was released in 2000. Blending super fun and satisfying gunplay with absolutely on-point comedic timing and writing, this first-person shooter hit all the right notes.
The story mode was a blast, but the game's main appeal was the multiplayer modes.
With untold levels of setting customisation for each multiplayer map, a killer 'Zombie' mode and one of the most eclectic casts of characters ever, Timesplitters 2 is one of the best FPS games of all time.
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria
Overlooked by too many, Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria is nothing short of a true masterpiece among RPGs.
Set in a gorgeously medieval fantasy world, it follows the story of Princess Alicia who, lead by the Valkyrie living inside her, is put on a grand quest to thwart that pesky Odin from enacting his typically nefarious attempts to control mankind.
With its phenomenally nuanced and engaging battle system to the breathtaking world, story, Norse mythology and presentation, Silmeria did so many great things with the limited capabilities of the PS2.
Serving as a prequel to the first Valkyrie Profile game, Silmeria was first released in 2006 in Japan and eventually came to Europe a year later.
Final Fantasy X
This was a Final Fantasy of firsts; the first on PS2 and the first Final Fantasy to be fully voice-acted.
The setting, story and world of X were magnificent as prior to this, Final Fantasy games had always relied on nothing but text boxes and glorious music to keep you entertained.
From the iconic laughing scene to the most unbelievable underwater make-out scene, Final Fantasy X holds a special place in the hearts of fans everywhere.
Not to mention it has the best turn-based battle system of any Final Fantasy game ever.
Shadow of the Colossus
Breathtaking and hauntingly desolate, Shadow of the Colossus is easily one of the most standout games ever made.
With nothing but a loyal horse and a stolen sword, you set out on a quest to revive Mono, a girl who was sacrificed because of her 'cursed fate'.
The scope of the game is enthralling, with gargantuan mountains, valleys and expansive fields stretching out in all directions for miles.
Bidden by a mysterious voice promising you it has the power to save Mono, you're tasked with hunting down 16 hulking, stone-like behemoths known as Colossi.
The jaw-dropping atmosphere and the battles with the Colossi alone will leave you speechless
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The Simpsons: Hit & Run
Based on the sitcom, Hit & Run is the Grand Theft Auto Simpsons mashup we never knew we wanted.
Being able to recklessly drive around a fully explorable and interactable Springfield was an utter joy, especially when you're given the freedom to literally cause chaos.
Performing certain acts of violence, attacking pedestrians, blowing up vehicles and destroying the environment should not have been as fun as it was in the Simpsons universe.
Stuntman: Ignition
Part actor simulator, part driving game Stuntman: Ignition was a wonderfully fresh take on the quickly saturating racing game genre.
It had six fictional films with a number of scenes you had to complete and you were the titular Stuntman who had to act out these scenes at the behest of a director.
Clearly derivative of real-world films, they were all gloriously over-the-top and hilariously bad.
The best mission by far was 'A Whoopin' and a Hollerin' II' which is a comedy/adventure film parodying The Dukes of Hazzard to excellent effect.
Beyond Good and Evil
Tragically snubbed as a flop when it first released in 2003, Beyond Good and Evil did gather a supportive cult in the following years.
With some detailed storytelling and overall design of the world, the game was truly on another level when it was first released.
Complete with a gorgeous soundtrack, it's a shame the controls and gameplay didn't impress too many people.
Tony Hawk’s Underground
This is the undisputed best skating game in the world, period.
Underground changed the entire Tony Hawk franchise when it allowed you to not only create your own character but also to get off your skateboard and walk around.
It was almost similar to a Sims game, as you were able to explore neighbourhoods and interact with people around you.
Also, perhaps most importantly, you could design your character as a skeleton. What more could you possibly need from a game when you're playing as a skeletal skating sensation?
Okami
With its stunning Sumi-e ink and cel-shaded art style, Okami released to critical acclaim just before the PlayStation 3 released.
The story relies heavily on Japanese folklore to masterfully tell the story of how the land was saved by Amaterasu, the Shinto sun goddess, who has taken the form of a majestic white wolf.
With its presentation, world-building and clear Zelda inspirations, Okami is a masterpiece of storytelling which will leave its mark on you as you're taken on this emotionally-charged journey.
Burnout 3: Takedown
Burnout as a series has always been more appealing in the racing game genre as it goes beyond just the racing aspect.
You're encouraged to blast other drivers with explosives or shunt them into hard shoulders just to get ahead, and boy was it satisfying to do.
Causing untold destruction to the plethora of radio stations playing real-world songs (which must've been a nightmare to sort rights-wise), the game helped make racing fun again and ruin friendships in equal measures.
Devil May Cry 3
Hacking and slashing its way into our hearts, Dante in Devil May Cry 3 is an absolutely punk. Not in a cool way, but in a lame, angry-teenager-with-a-big-sword way, and it works so well.
From the classic campy dialogue we were getting used to from Capcom's games, Devil May Cry 3 cranked up the violence, cheesy lines and the style up to 11 in this hit entry.
With more weapons, style and sass than the other games, and with a hidden co-op mode to boot, DMC 3 blended all aspects of the series into a gloriously fun game.
Offering untold hours of gameplay, 3 was by far the best Devil May Cry at the time in terms of its gameplay. Add in some terrible soap-opera drama between brothers and big swords, what you're left with is one hell of a demon-slaying romp.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas
San Andreas marked real change to the GTA series. Bringing with it a massive explorable sandbox and gorgeous graphics (of the time), the game was bursting at the seams with things to do.
Fun events and collectables to find and new parts of the map to explore helped open the game up massively.
Need we mention the addition of different unarmed fighting styles you got to learn at dojos across the map?
Not that anyone would dare play a GTA game for the story, San Andreas did an excellent job of keeping the gameplay and activities fresh. Memorable for it's increased freedom, characters and sweet betrayals, San Andreas propelled the GTA franchise forward to greater, loftier heights.
Resident Evil 4
This entry marked terrific change for the Resident Evil series, some of it was good while most of it eventually evolved into something terrible (we're looking at you, Resident Evil 6).
Resident Evil 4 brought with it a new perspective, literally, with the introduction of the over-the-shoulder third-person camera angle.
It put you closer to the action and made for a more claustrophobic feeling while playing and created an unsettlingly immersive environment.
Love it or hate it, Resident Evil 4 was the game that fully turned the series more towards action, but the game itself was a good balance of action and horror for the most part.
Nothing will ever beat rookie-cop-turned-government-agent Leon Kennedy missile drop-kicking robed cultists into oblivion.
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
With the living-meme Raiden as the main character and some truly unforgettable lines of dialogue, Sons of Liberty was unlike anything at the time.
The classic stealth systems from the first Metal Gear returned, and while the story and writing were even more ridiculous than its predecessor, everything blended together to create a thoroughly enjoyable game.
Sons of Liberty went off the tracks in true Hideo Kojima fashion towards the end half and never quite recovered, but there were a lot of good ideas implemented before that happened.
While a lot of people prefer Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Sons of Liberty is the one which came before and brought the Metal Gear series into a new era.
Let's be clear about one thing, the only good part of Metal Gear Solid 3 is the opening soundtrack.
Silent Hill 2
Monstrously unsettling and, frankly, bitterly depressing, Silent Hill 2 rocked the world of survival horror when it released in 2001.
Adding on the systems from the first game, 2 delivered a harrowing, enjoyable experience with its grim tones and setting, while still maintaining a solid story narrative.
Without ruining anything for those who haven't played it, protagonist James Sunder arrives in the titular town at the behest of his wife in the form of a letter.
Not long after, spooky and unsettling hijinx ensue, and with a setup as juicy as this how could you ever resist the game's allure?
Even with its graphical limitations, Silent Hill 2 was, is and will always remain utterly terrifying to this day.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Hit RPG Dragon's Quest blasted onto the PS2 to critical acclaim.
With its glorious cel-shaded art and the abundantly charming world of Dragon Quest, this entry offered so much to players than previous games.
It used the same faultless turn-based battle system the series is known for and it worked so well on the PS2.
Spurred on by the inspirational music of Koichi Sugiyama, this RPG is one of the greats that you'll find yourself yearning to return to for years to come.
Kingdom Hearts 2
The mixture of Disney and Square Enix's Final Fantasy characters should never have worked as well as it did in Kingdom Hearts 2.
Fighting in battles alongside 3D models of Cloud and Squall, from Final Fantasy VII and VIII respectively, was fan service hitting new levels.
Greatly expanding on the systems of the first game, all of which were improved without sacrificing anything, the gameplay was more action-heavy which suited this new entry much more.
Kingdom Hearts 2 is responsible for giving us one of the greatest moments in gaming, which is, of course, the battle of 1,000 heartless.
Soulcalibur 2
Weapon-based fighter Soulcalibur 2 has, in our opinion, always been better than the Tekken series.
The characters are all super engaging and the combat is extraordinarily fun.
While Soulcalibur 2 was best enjoyed on the GameCube (thanks to the addition of Link from the Legend of Zelda as a fighter), the PS2 version of the game looked amazing.
The side-story mode known as Weapon Master was one of the best and most challenging modes in a fighting game at that time and could even be to this day.
With a huge roster of characters and multiple weapons to unlock, Soulcalibur 2 delivered an unforgettable performance for a fighting game.
Dynasty Warriors 3
When the game wasn't teaching an exceptionally exaggerated version of the Three Kingdom's era of Chinese history, Dynasty Warriors 3 offered the best co-op experience of all time.
Hacking and slashing your way through thousands of enemies was made all the more fun when done with a friend, and being able to play through the main story of the game together was a blast.
The simple yet effective objective of the game rewarded harder difficulties and pushed players to challenge themselves in order to unlock secret weapons and items.
The story, characters and excellent Chinese setting blended perfectly, giving this game about mercilessly killing countless armies a surprisingly amount of heart.
