Screenshots of the best PlayStation 2 games

100 Best PS2 Games

These are the 100 PS2 games players recommend most. We surveyed players: 55,182 recommendations from people asking what to play on the PlayStation 2, with every game they named counted. A pick hundreds of players backed beats one person's favourite.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas takes #1, named more often than any other PS2 game and well clear of Ratchet & Clank at #2. CJ got there without a single cheat code.

The fight for #3 is a photo finish. Final Fantasy X was named a hair more often than God of War, which puts it at #3 and God of War at #4.

The best PlayStation 2 games
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100. TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (2005)

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect gameplay on PlayStation 2TimeSplitters: Future Perfect box art

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect is a first-person shooter video game developed by Free Radical Design and published by EA Games for the PlayStation 2, GameCube and Xbox video game consoles.

It is the third game in the TimeSplitters series, after TimeSplitters 2, which was released in 2002 (itself the sequel to TimeSplitters released in 2000). The game features a single-player mode consisting of levels where the player assumes the role of Sergeant Cortez, a time-traveling marine from the 25th century.

TimeSplitters: Future Perfect screenshot 1TimeSplitters: Future Perfect screenshot 2
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99. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (2001)

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy gameplay on PlayStation 2Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy box art

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a 2001 platform video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation 2 on December 4, 2001, as the first game of the Jak and Daxter series. The game follows the protagonist, a young teenager named Jak, as he tries to help his friend Daxter after he is transformed into an "ottsel", a fictional hybrid of an otter and a weasel.

The game offers a large range of missions, collectables and objectives, often in the form of minigames, which provide a variety of gameplay experiences, as well as puzzles and platforming stages, which are completed by the player to proceed with the story.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy screenshot 1Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy screenshot 2
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98. Jak X: Combat Racing (2005)

Jak X: Combat Racing gameplay on PlayStation 2Jak X: Combat Racing box art

After saving Haven City once again, Jak and Daxter find themselves poisoned forced into competition on the international car-racing circuit by the execution of Krew's will.

Featuring over a dozen customizable vehicles designed with unique handling characteristics, players will race their whip through 20 tracks in eight different terrain arenas. With an assortment of power-ups available, including projectile weapons, mines, ranged weapons, turbo boosts, shields, and smart bombs, players should have the means necessary to ensure they're the first to cross the finish line.

The game supports both offline and online multiplayer. Offline multiplayer is the typical two-player split-screen multiplayer. Online multiplayer is playable with up to five other players. Both modes feature the same game types, which are the same as the single player except that human players are replacing the AI.

Jak X: Combat Racing screenshot 1Jak X: Combat Racing screenshot 2
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97. Manhunt (2003)

Manhunt gameplay on PlayStation 2Manhunt box art

Manhunt is a third-person stealth horror game. The game consists of twenty levels, and four bonus levels that can be unlocked; the levels are referred to as "scenes". Players survive the Scenes by dispatching enemy gang members known as "Hunters", occasionally with firearms but primarily by stealthily executing them in gruesome, over-the-top ways.

The player is rated at the end of each level, primarily dependent on the gruesomeness of the killings and the speed of completion, from one (unimpressive) to five (extremely competent) stars. Executions are preferred in order to gain a higher score, thus encouraging players to play as viscerally as possible. The game's locales are full of "dark spots" and shadows where the player can hide while being chased by the Hunters; hiding in these dark areas makes the player invisible to opponents.

Manhunt screenshot 1Manhunt screenshot 2
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96. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (2002)

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 gameplay on PlayStation 2Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 box art

Drop into the ultimate challenge. In the next chapter in the Tony Hawk series, pros challenge you to make your mark in huge free-roaming levels, taking on 190 progressively harder goals with no time limits to hold you back. Decide when you're ready to take on your Pro Challenge and move into the pro ranks, where it's a whole new game. Build your skills, perform all-new tricks, play up to eight players online, and show that you've got what it takes to go Pro.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 screenshot 1Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 screenshot 2
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95. Darkwatch (2005)

Darkwatch gameplay on PlayStation 2Darkwatch box art

Darkwatch mixes the Western, horror and steampunk genres, telling the story of Jericho Cross, an outlaw gunfighter in the late 19th-century American Frontier who has been turned into a vampire and forcibly recruited by the titular monster-hunting secret organization to fight against supernatural forces.

Darkwatch screenshot 1Darkwatch screenshot 2
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94. Shinobi (2002)

Shinobi gameplay on PlayStation 2Shinobi box art

Shinobi is a third-person action game developed by Overworks and published by Sega for the PlayStation 2. It follows Hotsuma, leader of the Oboro clan, as he investigates the destruction of his clan and battles demonic forces threatening Tokyo.

Hotsuma fights using the soul-consuming sword Akujiki, shurikens, and ninja magic. The combat system rewards defeating groups of enemies in rapid succession, while stages also involve platforming and movement abilities such as wall-running and air dashes.

Shinobi screenshot 1Shinobi screenshot 2
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93. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004)

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal gameplay on PlayStation 2Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal box art

A 3D platform video game and the third installment in the Ratchet & Clank series. The gameplay is similar to previous games in the series but introduces new features such as a new control system and more levels in the upgrade system for weapons. It follows Ratchet and Clank's adventure through a fictional universe to defeat a robotic villain, Dr. Nefarious, who intends to destroy all organic life. Characters such as Dr. Nefarious and Sasha, a Cazar starship captain who helps Ratchet throughout the game, are introduced, and a number of characters return from the original Ratchet & Clank.

Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal screenshot 1Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal screenshot 2
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92. Yakuza 2 (2006)

Yakuza 2 gameplay on PlayStation 2Yakuza 2 box art

Yakuza 2 plunges you once more into the violent Japanese underworld. In intense brutal clashes with rival gangs, the police, and the Korean mafia, you will have opportunities to dole out more brutal punishment. As the heroic Kazuma Kiryu from the original Yakuza, explore Tokyo and now Osaka. Wander through the back alleys of Japan's underworld while trying to prevent an all-out gang war in over 16 complex, cinematic chapters written by Hase Seishu, the famous Japanese author who also wrote the first Yakuza. Endless conflicts and surprise plot twists will immerse you in a dark shadowy world where only the strongest will survive.

Yakuza 2 screenshot 1Yakuza 2 screenshot 2
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91. NBA Street (2001)

NBA Street on PlayStation 2: box art and gameplay

Are you ready for extreme basketball? You'd better be, 'cause it's coming to your PS2 fresh from the developers of SSX! Hit the streets for some 3-on-3 hoop action, where flashy moves are your key to victory. Do tricks and combos to build up your Gamebreaker meter. Hit a Gamebreaker shot and you'll not only advance your own point total, but take away from your opponents'. One well-timed Gamebreaker can turn a match around! Create your own cool characters, and earn great new stuff for them as you unlock new courts and teams while taking on streetball and NBA legends. Beat a team in the tournament mode, and you have the option of adding its players to your roster, which will help as you advance up the ladder. You can also take on a friend in the two-player mode.

Every issue features one game worth playing, plus the latest retro news.

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