25 Best PS2 Hidden Gems

Robot Alchemic Driver is a Big Robot/Monster fight in a modern city with a twist. There is a story and training mode and a 2 player vs. mode. In a nut shell, alien's attack the last city on earth. The big robot comes up, and here is where the twist come in, you have to control the robot from the perspective of the "hero" (three to choose from) and you can switch between the robot/hero mode. This forces you to make sure you have a strategic position to move the hero around in the city to see the battle without getting too close. As the game goes on you have the option to update/customize the mech(s) to improve them. You can end up destroying whole building/terrain as you battle the alien monster.

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System is a third-person shooter action-adventure video game, developed by Swingin' Ape Studios and released in 2003. The game follows a robot named Glitch as he joins forces with the Droids in their fight against General Corrosive and his Milbots.

BUILD your world. INVENT your weapons. CREATE your adventure.

Discover a secret binding the past, present and future. A secret where an innocent inventor, a temporal warrior and an ageless evil hold the key.

Experience an epic action/RPG adventure that relies on your innovation as much as exploration and fighting reflexes.

The story of Chaos Legion is a gothic opera which begins November, 791 A.S. (Anno Satanis): The protagonist, Sieg Wahrheit, is a Knight of the Dark Glyphs who is on a quest under command of the Order of St. Overia to find his former friend, Victor Delacroix, who has stolen the forbidden book Apocrypha of Yzarc, and to stop him from releasing the evil spirit Azrail, who would destroy the three planes of existence: the Nether World, the Middle World, and the Celestial World.

In "Cold Winter", you play the role of Andrew Sterling, a former member of MI6, the British secret intelligence service. Andrew is caught preparing to assassinate someone in China, and is thrown into prison. There he faces torture and imminent execution. But a former friend from his MI6 days arranges to rescue him and offers him a job, having planned in advance to manipulate him so that he is unable to refuse. The first task seems fairly ordinary: to track down a weapons dealer who has been supplying terrorists.

God of War is an action-adventure hack-and-slash video game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). Initially launched for the PlayStation 2, the game stands as the first instalment in the God of War series and the third in chronological order. Loosely inspired by Greek mythology, it unfolds in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central theme. The player takes on the role of Kratos, the protagonist, a Spartan warrior devoted to the Olympian gods. Tasked by the goddess Athena, Kratos is assigned to eliminate Ares, the God of War and Kratos' former mentor. Ares had deceitfully manipulated Kratos into killing his wife and daughter. As Ares attacks Athens fueled by hatred for Athena, Kratos embarks on a quest to locate Pandora's Box, the sole object capable of permanently stopping the vengeful god.

Returning after his mother's murder to the semi-fictional city of Los Santos (based on Los Angeles), Carl Johnson, a former gang banger, must take back the streets for his family and friends by gaining respect and once again gaining control over the streets. However, a story filled with crime, lies and corruption will lead him to trudge the entire state of San Andreas (based on California and Nevada) to rebuild his life.

In Urban Chaos: Riot Response, you play as Nick Mason, a member of a new anti-terrorist team named T-Zero. Terrorists and gang members have destroyed your city, and your goal is to bring order back to the city while destroying any terrorists and gang members you encounter. Since your enemies are armed to the teeth (usually with meat cleavers, molotov cocktails, and sawed-off shotguns), you're equipped with a riot shield that can be used by holding the left trigger. It can absorb an infinite amount of projectiles, but you cannot shoot while you are using it. You can get the assistance of firefighters to put out fires, and medics to replenish your health.

Your weapons can be upgraded by earning medals during your missions. You can earn these medals by scoring headshots, arresting enemies with your taser (as opposed to killing them), collecting gang masks, etc. You can even unlock extra missions and weapons by arresting gang leaders at the end of each level, so that the police can interrogate him and find out the gang's next move.

Originally intended to be the fourth installment in the Resident Evil series, Devil May Cry is an action-adventure game that introduced a host of new elements to the gaming community. Chief among them is the Stylish Rank, which grades the player's performance in combat. The game is split into Missions, which are individually scored according to various factors, such as Orbs gathered and damage taken. Additionally, Devil May Cry did away with the pre-rendered backgrounds of prior Resident Evil games in order to allow for a dynamic camera system.

Tom Hansen is just another guy in the U.S. Coast Guard when his crew receives a mysterious order to undertake a hazardous rescue mission in the teeth of a winter storm. As the waves surge higher, Tom and his crewmates find the vessel, an abandoned Russian whaling ship.

They board it, but discover that the ship has only been abandoned by human life. Something else is on board, something deadly, and soon Hansen is the only one left who can stop it.

Joining forces with the only other survivor, Hansen must battle the inhuman menace and seek out its very heart for a confrontation that could have consequences for all of humanity.

Second Sight is primarily stealth-action, using psychic abilities to stealthily move through levels. Due to it's dark atmosphere, it could be considered a psychological thriller. The game focuses on John Vattic's exploration of his own mind, discovering psychic abilities and a dark history before his amnesia.

It is 1159 AD, and a brutal samurai clan called The Heishi have stepped in to take power after the old nobility fell. With their mystical stones, they rule the land through fear and violence.

Based on the 1979 movie of the same name. A battle on the New York streets. The armies of the night number 60,000 strong, and tonight they're all after The Warriors - a street gang wrongly accused of killing a rival gang leader.

In 1878, the collapse of the Tokugawa Shogun Age and the rise of the Meiji Restoration Era brought an end to the Age of Samurai. Way of the Samurai puts you in the role of a wandering samurai who is drawn into a conflict between the Kurofu family and the Akadama Clan over an iron foundry. As you meet with both sides of the dispute, you can use deception, betrayal, or combat to shape the outcome of the conflict. Pick up dozens of different swords, each representing a different fighting style.

After the dragon rider Rynn returns to her home village, she finds it destroyed, and all its inhabitants massacred. Her dragon, Arokh, tells her that he hears a voice that calls them to the city of Surdana. There, they find out that race of three-faced monsters, called Desert Lords, have been terrorizing the human population recently. In order to fight them, the humans need powerful allies. But the gateway to the world of dragons has been sealed, and only a dragon of the Elder Breed can open it. Rynn and Arokh must now venture to the dragon world, restore the bond between humans and dragons, and defeat the Desert Lords.

Drakan: The Ancients' Gates is an action game with RPG elements. The player will take control of both Rynn and Arokh during the course of the game. Arokh's gameplay involves flying to distant lands and dealing with some of the more powerful foes. Rynn's gameplay has more RPG elements, as she can specialize in the arts of melee fighting, archery, or magic, acquiring experience from defeated enemies.

The Suffering captures the disturbing and terrifying nature of the horror genre in a compelling third-person action/adventure game set in the mature and gritty world of a maximum-security prison. You'll control of the prisoner Torque, a man sentenced to die for a murder he may or may not have actually committed. Enter a nightmarish world where creatures jump out of shadows, fall out of trees, and erupt out of the ground. Battle ghoulish apparitions, hardened criminals and guards, and the demons from your own forgotten past. Will you solve the mystery of Torque's past and survive or fall victim to The Suffering?

I Ninja is a 3D platform title starring an original character created by British developer Argonaut Software. Players control a spirited young ninja as they make their way through a diverse selection of indoor and outdoor locales. The title character is garbed in a blue suit and matching hooded mask, so that only his eyes and his expressive brow are visible to players. The character also wields a pair of katana blades in both hands as he jumps from platform to platform, avoiding hazards and slicing at enemies. The cartoon-style atmosphere is brought to life with the use of cel-shaded graphics, giving the game a distinctive look from many of its platform contemporaries.

I-Ninja is an adrenaline-charged adventure game. An ultra-cool ninja with major attitude meets extreme sports game play, I-Ninja is the consummate warrior who has spent years mastering his weapons and honing his skills. In true gravity defying game play, I-Ninja can scale buildings, "shred" on extreme rails, hover great distances with a "sword copter", ride drifting roller spheres and utilize specialized manga-style ninja moves to navigate through each dynamic environment.

Rogue Galaxy is an action role playing game set in a futuristic fantasy universe, in which the player moves through a continuous environment with no load time between overworld exploration and battles. Battles occur as random encounters, Rogue Galaxy uses a real-time hack and slash combat system in which the player fights with a party of three characters. The player has direct control over only one character, although they can change which character that is at any time. The two NPCs fight independently of the player character, based on a strategy selected prior to the battle. Available strategies include fighting especially aggressively, targeting a specific enemy or not fighting at all. The strategy can also be changed at any time during the battle. Additionally, the player can issue specific orders to the NPCs during combat, such as having them use an item or activate one of their special abilities.

Shadow Hearts is the first official game in the Shadow Hearts series and is the sequel to Koudelka. Shadow Hearts follows the adventures of Yuri Hyuga, a Harmonixer guided by a mysterious voice in his head. He finds himself thrown into the conflicts prior to World War I where he must save the world and the woman he loves from destruction.

The year is 44 B.C. The grandeur of the Republic of Rome has been tarnished by political corruption and society has been overrun by unruliness and violence. Julius Caesar advocates for drastic reform but he is met with opposition and murdered.

The horrific news finds its way to the ears of one soldier, Agrippa, whose father is accused of the murder. Unfortunately, time is running out for Agrippa as his father
is to be publicly executed by the winner of the next gladiatorial event. Venture throughout ancient Rome with the help of Agrippas best friend, Octavius, and a female gladiator named switch between Agrippa and Octavius, each of whom have their own area of expertise, to rescue Agrippas father and uncover the switch
between Agrippa and Octavius, each of truth.

THERE AIN'T NO JUSTICE IN THE
WILD, WEIRD WEST. JUST YOU.
Things can't get any worse after demonic thugs cut your arm off, right? Dead wrong, partner. The lady you saved from them has only gone and given you the legendary GOD HAND as a replacement - the ultimate hand-to-hand weapon. Every undead outlaw in a Stetson, rootin' tootin' demon and circus freak in the prairies is going to want to fight you for it. Welcome to the town of Asskickin... have a nice stay y'all.

BIG HAND - Explosive martial arts and hand-to-hand action get in your face and ugly. No bullets, lots of bruised knuckles.

SLAP STICKS - Totally customisable fight system. Pull off the most outrageous combo moves ever with awesome God Hand powers - punch your opponent into orbit!

FIGHTING FORM - Pugilistic adventure from the makers of RESIDENT EVIL, DEVIL MAY CRY and VIEWTIFUL JOE!

Freedom Fighters is a third-person shooter, in which the player navigates through the streets of New York while fighting the Soviet forces. The game also contains squad-based elements, having a charisma meter. The player gains charisma by performing heroic deeds in the resistance movement against the invading forces, like capturing a base or destroying vital supplies. The more charisma that is gained, the more squad-mates the character can recruit, including leaderless guerrillas and wounded Russian soldiers, up to a maximum of twelve.

Freedom Fighters uses a simple method of controlling recruits in battle. In the game, the player can command recruits by giving them simple orders such as "follow", "attack" and "defend", but in most situations, they take care of themselves. Given the terrain of New York City after the initial invasion, the Resistance usually stations its soldiers in covered positions like craters and buildings.

One of the PS2's first RPGs, Dark Cloud is a title that challenges players to not only strategise, battle and solve puzzles, but also to create geographical landscapes using the new Georama system. Gamers assume the role of a young boy named Toran on an unforgettable journey of rebirth, revival and hope. Unfortunately an evil demon spirit has been released and has left destruction in its wake and Toran must harness the spirit of those destroyed to rebuild the lands in time for an epic confrontation. True to life graphics should mesmerise gamers as they create villages complete with houses, hills, churches, volcanoes, and streams; they'll even be able to control the weather!

Psi-Ops is an action game where players don't rely solely on big weapons and explosions to progress, but also on psychic powers to take down army after army of enemy soldiers.

In the game, players take the role of Nick Scryer, a secret agent who had his face reconstructed and his mind wiped clean to infiltrate a growing psychic organization calling itself The Movement. Nick, however, is captured but manages to free himself and continue his mission to stop The Movement, regaining his psychic abilities along the way.

The game mixes regular weapons with the weapons of the mind. Players have access to a series of mind powers, such as Telekinesis (the ability to fling objects and soldiers around), Pyrokinesis (the ability to set things on fire), Mind Drain (for draining Psi power out of foes' minds), and Remote Viewing (leaving the body behind and exploring the level).

The game is based in the Ghosts'n Goblins universe and features original character designs by Japanese illustrator Susumu Matsushita.

The character is controlled by the player and can move freely within areas by running, jumping, crouching, and performing other various motions. Gameplay revolves around defeating large numbers of enemies, which can be accomplished by attacking with a sword and shield and combos and special moves. Maximo fights wearing armor, if he is hit, he will lose corresponding pieces of armor and eventually be reduced to wearing his boxer shorts, with another hit resulting in him losing a life. If Maximo loses all his lives, he can continue by giving Death Coins to the Grim Reaper. However, every time he loses all his lives, the required cost for a continue increases.