The 10 BEST Open World PS2 Games
“Total Overdose: A Gunslinger’s Tale in Mexico” (2005)
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Something many open worlds nowadays take for granted is the “fun” factor of being set loose in a giant sandbox to cause all manner of chaos, and that’s exactly what Total Overdose accomplishes in spades. Not concerned with realism whatsoever, Total Overdose feels like an early playable Robert Rodriguez movie with outlandish gunfights and ridiculously impractical moves that simply look cool. While it might not have had the expansive cityscapes of the GTA series, the fictionalized version of Mexico was well realized, and players had no shortage of environments to explore using any number of vehicles they could get their hands on. Sometimes all a game needs to do is set players loose in a world to make their fun and that’s exactly what Total Overdose set out to do.
“Smuggler’s Run 2” (2001)
The original Smuggler’s Run was a launch title for the PS2, and at the time, featured some of the largest environments many gamers had ever experienced up to that point. With Smuggler’s Run 2, everything was bigger, faster, and more aggressive as players attempted to grab their contraband and escape not only border patrol but also other smugglers as well. Although developed by Rockstar, Smuggler’s Run 2 had more in common with the Twisted Metal series than GTA as players sent one of their numerous vehicles careening around the environment narrowly missing capture and losing their payload. At the time, few games let the player just drive as recklessly as they wanted without serious consequence, and Smuggler’s Run 2 gave players a much bigger and far more varied playground than its predecessor in which to put the pedal to the metal and drive into the sunset as fast as they could.
“The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction” (2005)
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If you’re going to build a game around comics’ biggest lean, green, fighting machine, you better build a world that can handle him and Radical Entertainment created a near fully destructible world and set the Jolly Green Giant loose in a playground all his own. Utilizing all the best attributes of the Hulk’s unparalleled power, players could leap incredible distances, run up the sides of buildings and use the many objects and vehicles in the environment to cause even further destruction. The Incredible Hulk was set loose in a variety of biomes each fully explorable in between missions with various side activities to engage in, all which feed back into increasing the Hulk’s abilities so he can cause even more destruction. Never before had a game allowed The Hulk to be fully unleashed and gamers loved every rage-induced moment of it.
“SSX 3” (2003)
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You wouldn’t normally associate an open world with a sports title, but after the runaway success of SSX Tricky, developers at EA Vancouver needed to up the ante and gave players an entire mountain on which to shred. With three peaks to unlock with increasingly difficult objectives and races, the progression of climbing to the summit managed to perfectly coincide with the player’s own abilities in the game without becoming a grind. Once fully unlocked, players could ride from the top all the way to the bottom in an exhilarating ride that could take them through everything from ice caverns to glistening cities built into the side of the mountain. Although more recent titles have attempted to do the same, none have managed to capture the feeling of the ice-cold wind and the snow beneath your board as you get tricky with it down the slopes and conquer the mountain.
“Shadow of the Colossus” (2005)
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Sometimes an open world doesn't need to be filled with constant activities or objectives to complete to be memorable, sometimes it's the quieter moments that can be the most impactful. Such is the case with Shadow of the Colossus and its vast, empty landscape that’s presented to Wander from the start of the game. While you might not be able to freely take on each Colossus as you choose, it’s the journey to each new enormous beast and the time to reflect on your last encounter that makes those long quiet rides resonate with players in a way that many louder and more over the top open world games fail to recapture. That’s not to say that the world is bland by any means, quite the opposite in fact, and it's those moments when you crest a hill and see a new crumbling structure or the shadow of your next challenge that can easily take your breath away.
“Spider-Man 2” (2004)
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With great power comes a great world to explore. The city of New York is just as much a character as the friendly neighborhood wallcrawler himself and after numerous attempts to fully encapsulate being Spider-Man, Treyarch managed to do the impossible and not only give players a fully realized New York City to explore, but made them feel like they were Spider-Man. Unlike previous outings for the webhead, Spidey had the near entirety of New York fully open to him to swing about to his heart’s content, rescuing civilians and taking on the baddies all the way from the city streets to the rooftops above. Tryearch even expanded on the story from the film, allowing Spidey to cross paths with fan favorite characters like Black Cat and Mysterio and giving players more areas to explore than any other Spider-Man title up to that point.
“Bully” (2006)
Most gamers use video games as an escape from the real world, whether that be work or school, but Rockstar managed to make going to school fun again. While attending Bullworth Academy, you’ll still be expected to attend classes and complete your assignments but it’s the moments in between where the game truly shines. Jimmy has access to any number of ways to explore the grounds of the academy as well as the nearby town and rising through the ranks of the numerous “cliques” and groups through increasingly outlandish pranks and activities brings the world to life just as much as its over-the-top characters. Bully managed to not only be fun and engaging throughout, even while you attended the mandatory classes, but also laid the groundwork for Rockstar’s future games by creating one of their first truly living, breathing worlds players could fully immerse themselves in.
“The Simpsons: Hit & Run” (2003)
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The iconic family of the Simpsons are no strangers to chasing video game trends, having tried their hand at everything from wrestling, to skateboarding, and even taxi services, but it was in combining the Simpsons with the now industry standard GTA formula that the family truly found their place. With a fully open world Springfield to explore, complete with all the series’ beloved characters to interact with and locations to visit, this was every life-long Springfieldian’s dream come true. Along with a hilarious script from the show’s creators as well as the full voice case reprising their roles, every corner hid some piece of trivia or nod for longtime fans to appreciate and relentlessly track down. Say what you will about the quality of The Simpsons series after over 3 decades but there’s no denying this was one of the best ways to experience not only the iconic family but their beloved Springfield as well.
“The Getaway” (2002)
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Although video games today are known for their detailed recreation of real-world locations, back on the PS2, this type of thing was unprecedented. While not a one-to-one recreation of London, the level of detail Team Soho was able to create on Sony’s second console was unmatched at the time. Seeking to give players the most immersive and cinematic feeling ever created in a video game at the time, The Getaway featured no traditional HUD whatsoever, instead giving players direction indicators to their next objective using their vehicles’ turn signals. Also, unlike GTA III only a year earlier, The Getaway featured real world vehicles from well-known manufacturers such as Lexus and Fiat. The Getaway sought to recreate the look and feel of popular British gangster movies such as “Snatch” and although The Getaway wasn’t the runaway success GTA was, there’s no denying the sheer technical achievement Team Soho managed to accomplish in only the PS2’s second year.
“Grand Theft Auto Trilogy” (2001-2004)
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Undeniably the series that changed open world games forever, we couldn’t choose just one from the trilogy that redefined the open world formula so we’re including them all in one entry. Each iteration built on the one before it, and the fact that Rockstar managed to develop and release all 3 expansive games within the span of 3 years makes this feat even more impressive when you consider just how much detail went into each entry and how each one was more ambitious than the last. Honestly, you’d be hard pressed to choose one over the others, from 3’s humble beginnings and memorable world to Vice City’s atmosphere and characters and the sheer scale and customization options available in San Andreas, the series has something for everyone. Everything that today’s gamers love about the iconic series started here and began the deluge of copycat games trying desperately to chase the formula that Rockstar perfected.
