The PlayStation 2 was the last great home for the arcade light gun. Namco launched the GunCon 2 alongside its port of Time Crisis II, and for a few years the arcade cabinets and the living room had the same games. Sega even sent over a game built on The House of the Dead engine, distributed through Namco.
Resident Evil got its own shooting spinoffs, and so did Dino Crisis. There is one catch that has not changed since 2001: these games want an old CRT TV. If you have the gun and the screen, here are the 8 best PS2 light gun games.
8. Resident Evil Survivor 2 Code: Veronica (2001)
Survivor 2 began in arcades. It was developed in conjunction with Namco for the arcade machines and released for Sega NAOMI and the PlayStation 2. It is a remake of Code Veronica in first person style. Claire Redfield teams up with fellow prisoner Steve Burnside and plans to escape while the T-virus spreads across the island.
It is a strange one even by Resident Evil standards. There is no voice acting in the cutscenes, so Claire and Steve talk in subtitles, and the whole adventure turns out to be a dream sequence when you finish it. American players never got it at all, because it came out only in Japan and the PAL territories. If you are in Europe and own a G-Con 2, it is a fun curiosity.
7. Dino Stalker (2002)
Dino Stalker is an offshoot of the Resident Evil light gun shooter games, but its story comes from the Dino Crisis series instead. It is the only game in the Gun Survivor line with no real ties to Resident Evil, apart from two easter eggs in Stage 5: the "woman drawing water" statue and an Umbrella building. You use various weapons to defend against dinosaurs as you work your way through.
Critics were split, and Metacritic lists its reviews as "mixed". IGN's Douglass C. Perry said that after the first mission "your hand is in pain", which is a fair warning for a long session. Players who own a GunCon are kinder to it, and one called it "a really solid guncon game". Shooting raptors out of the air is its own reward.
6. Time Crisis: Crisis Zone (2004)
Crisis Zone was released in arcades in 1999 as a side story to the Time Crisis series. The PlayStation 2 remake arrived in 2004 and put the series name in front, which is why it is Time Crisis: Crisis Zone on the box. It borrows the weapon switching that Time Crisis 3 introduced, with some changes.
Players who already own the two numbered PS2 Time Crisis games point to this one as the next buy for their GunCons. It is the same cover and shoot idea pushed into a spinoff, and it shows how much life Namco still found in the series. If Time Crisis II and 3 left you wanting more, start here.
5. Time Crisis 3 (2002)
Time Crisis 3 is the third entry in Namco's light gun shooting franchise, and it is the first in the series where you can change weapons. You carry a handgun, a machine gun, a shotgun and grenades. Only the handgun has unlimited ammunition, so you shoot the yellow-clad soldiers to refill the rest. The pedal system for hiding and advancing is still here, and two players can still cover each other.
The PS2 port goes past the arcade. It adds a new playable character, a Sniper Combat mode and the original Time Crisis as a bonus. There is also a side mission mode focused on Alicia's view of the story. Reviews were "favorable" according to Metacritic. If you only buy one GunCon game, this one gives you the most to do.
4. Ninja Assault (2000)
Ninja Assault comes from Namco, the company behind Time Crisis, and it was ported from arcades to the PlayStation 2 in 2002. The opening movie sets it in feudal Japan, where a war has ended and a new battle has begun: humans against demons. Players confirm it is a light gun shooter that works with the GunCon 2, and it is one of the most unusual things you can point the gun at.
Finishing the PS2 release unlocked a code you could enter in a contest on Namco's website to win a copy of the game. Famitsu gave it a score of 28 out of 40. It is not as polished as Time Crisis, and it does not try to be. Pull the trigger on a horde of ninjas and you will see why players keep putting it next to Vampire Night.
3. Resident Evil: Dead Aim (2003)
Dead Aim came out only on the PlayStation 2, under the Gun Survivor name, and it followed Dino Stalker. Like Survivor 2, it was not expected to be released in the United States when it was announced. You walk around in third person, and the game switches to first person when you aim and fire. It works with PS2 light guns, so the shooting half is the real thing.
The story begins on a ship whose secret cargo of Bio-Organic Weapons gets released on purpose. You pick up a magnum, a shotgun and an assault rifle, but ammo is scarce, as in any good Resident Evil. It is often called the high point of the Gun Survivor series. It takes some patience at first, and it is still the best way to play Resident Evil with a gun in your hand.
2. Vampire Night (2001)
Vampire Night is a light gun game produced by Sega's Wow Entertainment and distributed through Namco. It hit arcades in 2000 and was ported to the PlayStation 2 in November 2001. Two players team up as vampire hunters. It runs on the engine used in The House of the Dead series.
Players who want The House of the Dead on a PS2 get sent here, and they describe it as the same kind of game. The setting is an alternate 2006 where technology never moved past the 1800s. It is cheesy, it is gory, and it is a joy with a friend.
1. Time Crisis II (1997)
Time Crisis II was ported to the PlayStation 2 in October 2001 in a bundle that launched the GunCon 2 controller, called the G-Con 2 in Europe. It was the first Time Crisis game where two people could play at the same time, each one covering the other. You still release the pedal to duck behind cover and reload, and you still race a timer that refills after each area.
The PS2 version has enhanced graphics and extra cutscenes, plus a Crisis Mission mode with a simulated gun duel against Richard Miller from the first game. You also get a clay pigeon mode, a port of Namco's Shoot Away II, and a virtual version of the mechanical game Quick & Crash. Edge named the arcade original 1998 Coin-Op of the Year. Players recommend it more than any other PS2 light gun game.
Which one to play
There you have it, the 8 best PS2 light gun games. Most of them came from Namco, and all of them still feel like a trip to the arcade.
If you are buying a GunCon 2 today, start with Time Crisis II. If you have a friend to play with, Vampire Night is the most fun with two guns. For Resident Evil fans, Dead Aim is the one to try. If you want the most content for your money, pick Time Crisis 3. And for something nobody else on your street owns, Ninja Assault is waiting.
