20 PS2 Games You Forgot Were AWESOME

Primal (2003)

On paper, Primal had all the makings of a bona fide classic: a confident, charismatic, and sexy leading lady who can transform and use various supernatural abilities while hopping between dimensions, a well-rounded and funny but not useless sidekick, and art design and architecture that hold up remarkably well today. Yet, for whatever reason, Primal has mostly been forgotten by time. Admittedly, the combat isnt especially deep, but the game more than compensates for this oversight with engaging characters, a well-crafted and detailed narrative and world, and graphics that were mind-blowing on the PS2. In all likelihood, Primal couldnt step out of Raziels shadow, as the latest Legacy of Kain sequel also unfortunately released the same year. Given the name recognition and similar tone, Primal was destined to be a retrospectively appreciated gem.

Darkwatch (2005)

The PS2 era was when console first-person shooters really started finding their groove, and, likewise, there were quite a lot to choose from. One of the best that got overlooked in the deluge was undoubtedly Darkwatch. A dark western FPS full of vampires and other creatures of the night, with a protagonist fighting against his own vampiric bloodlust impulseseverything about the game just oozes early 2000s cool. Featuring vampire powers, a handful of powerful and creative weapons, a gothic steampunk aesthetic, and some sexy vampire ladies, Darkwatch managed to separate itself from the typical militaristic shooters of the time with an inventive and consistently engaging premise, balancing the fine line between traditional horror while avoiding the pitfalls of taking itself too seriously. Darkwatch wants nothing more than to immerse you in its world and show you a good time, and thats all we really needed.

Killer 7 (2005)

Suda51 is without a doubt one of the most eccentrically creative game designers, rivaling even Hideo Kojima. But whereas Kojimas creations tend to lean more cinematic and realistic, Suda51 fully embraces the chaos and creative freedom afforded by video game development. Killer 7 was the creator's first game to be released outside of Japan and introduced a whole new region of players to his sense of over-the-top weirdness. Following a group of assassins, each more bizarre than the last, the game sets players down numerous on-rails sections where they can choose their path, solving puzzles along the way with random combat encounters in between. During combat, the player needs to scan the environment to reveal the enemies before engaging. The off-the-wall presentation and characters remain unlike anything else in the genre, and the more you uncover about the in-game conspiracy, the deeper the rabbit hole goes.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant (2004)

The PS2 is home to some of the greatest JRPGs of all time, and more than a few never truly got the mainstream recognition they deserved. Set in an alternate WWI, Shadow Hearts: Covenant drops players into a war-torn supernatural conflict full of Lovecraftian horrors to contend with. While the setting is already intriguing for a turn-based RPG, Covenant keeps the player engaged during these encounters with the Judgement Ring, in which carefully timed button presses can add additional effects and damage to each attack by building combos after each successful use of the Ring. The Rings uses vary from combat to abilities and even item usage, giving players more strategic depth and opportunities than a traditional RPG. Each location is wonderfully detailed and varied, and the cast of characters are likable and interesting, with the games central plot evolving in meaningful and surprising ways. It keeps the player engaged all the way to the games conclusion.

Oni (2001)

Just before they would revolutionize first-person shooters on consoles forever, Bungie had one final release before donning the Chiefs helmet for the next decade. Heavily inspired by Ghost in the Shell, Oni focused primarily on third-person hand-to-hand combat, utilizing unique upgradeable combos to deal with the games increasingly powerful and varied enemies. While there were naturally firearms available, the core focus of Oni was on its melee combat. The game offered a wide array of fighting moves and large environments in which to engage in combat, and the cyberpunk aesthetic was incredibly realized even if the games conspiracy-laden plot didnt match the games tight and solid combat mechanics. Oni was largely criticized for its difficulty spikes, but once you come to grips with the games combat mechanics, any seasoned Souls player will have no trouble wiping the floor with the games many augmented enemies and bosses.

Ghosthunter (2003)

Who you gonna call? Well, apparently not Lazarus Jones, as Ghosthunter was mostly overlooked by the horror game fanbase upon release. Much like the beloved Ghostbusters franchise, players have access to a number of ghost-catching tools and must wear down a ghosts health to capture them. Some of the ghost designs are truly horrific, and the games use of Resident Evil-style puzzles works well within the ghost dimension. Players also take control of a spectral sidekick with their own unique abilities, such as luring ghosts for Lazarus to capture. Ghosthunter remains one of the most graphically impressive games on the PS2, with highly detailed environments and character designs, alongside the aforementioned terrifying ghostly apparitions. In a time when survival horror was becoming increasingly more action-focused, Ghosthunter managed to walk the line between action horror and outright horror better than most others within the genre.

Downhill Domination (2003)

There was no shortage of extreme sports games on the PS2, but one managed to stand out more than most with its unique blend of Mat Hoffman-style BMX tricks and kart racer-style takedowns and power-ups. With the overall goal to make it to the bottom, the way in which you do that is mostly up to you. Nailing tricks and simply surviving the course is only half the battle, as the other racers will resort to all manner of dirty tricks to send you crashing or flying off the track. Luckily, you have access to the same playbook. With multiple pathways to the bottom and rewards for taking out other racers while nailing the sickest tricks possible, even surviving your trip downhill will reward only the most determined racers with ultimate domination.

Eternal Ring (2000)

Long before they were battling Elden Rings, FromSoftware was asking players to hunt for the Eternal Ring. Taking cues from both FromSofts own Kings Field series and Elder Scrolls, players are set on an epic quest through a magical world full of creatures, dragons, and other mythical beasts. While traditional sword and shield combat is available, the games truly innovative mechanic is in its use of rings. Players can craft their own magical rings, imbuing them with different spells and properties, allowing players to customize their combat experience. Naturally, as a launch title for the PS2, the game has been widely forgotten and overlooked in favor of the studios later Souls efforts. However, Eternal Ring is still a solid, albeit limited traditional sword and magic RPG that offers enough player freedom to keep combat engaging.

The Suffering (2004)

The PS2 was an incredible time for survival horror games, but with so many on offer, and routinely unfairly compared to the heavy hitters Resident Evil and Silent Hill, quite a few solid horror offerings were overlooked for big-name recognition. The Suffering unfortunately suffered such a fate. Dropping players into a prison slowly becoming overrun by the minions of hell, each representing horrors of the prisons dark and violent past, The Suffering managed to put players at unease while also giving them the tools and arsenal for their survival. With the ability to play the game in first or third person, players guide the games protagonist and unreliable narrator, Torque, through the games increasingly unsettling environment and can even unlock different endings depending on their morality choices. The Suffering offered players something new in the overcrowded genre and is well worth the trip to death row for the experience.

The Mark of Kri (2002)

The PS2 offered developers the chance to get creative with their ideas and craft some truly unique experiences that would be considered too risky today. The Mark of Kri takes its Polynesian influences to heart in everything from its narrative to its art style, and the game is all the better for it. Besides a highly engaging narrative that still holds up remarkably well today, the game offered players one of the most creative combat systems on the PS2. By swinging the right analog stick, each foe is assigned to one of the face buttons and can only be damaged by the corresponding button, offering more strategic depth than your traditional hack-and-slasher. The cartoony art style is offset by the games bloody violence and a myriad of creative and gruesome finishers. The Mark of Kri earned itself an equally solid sequel, Rise of the Kasai, both of which are more than worth your time.

Rygar: The Legendary Adventure (2002)

Years before Kratos was whipping the Blades of Chaos about with reckless abandon, Rygar was using his shield-swinging abilities to take on the mythical beasts of the Roman Empire. Rygars Diskarmor had numerous uses alongside combat and stacking combos, including environmental traversal, and was fully upgradeable with different unlockable Diskarmors earned throughout the course of the game. For the time, Rygar was one of the PS2s visual showcases, with incredibly detailed environments, creature, and level design. With solid, impactful combat, environmental puzzles, and destruction, Kratos and God of War clearly took inspiration from Rygars exploits, albeit with a much darker and more violent representation. However, any fan who longs for the old-school fixed camera days of Kratos early Greek adventures owes it to themselves to join Rygar for one more adventure.

Rumble Racing (2001)

The PS2 had a great lineup of arcade-style racers alongside the more traditional simulation car enthusiast experiences, but Rumble Racing took the tried-and-true arcade racing experience and added kart racer elements alongside a Tony Hawk-style trick system to great effect. Throughout the games many courses, players could perform increasingly risky stunts to earn boosts while making use of ridiculous power-ups to maintain their lead. With a wealth of progressively ridiculous cars to unlock, Rumble Racing gave both kart fans and arcade fans something to love and an announcer who would routinely mock or encourage the player during their many ups and downs throughout the race. With racing games becoming ever more realistic, Rumble Racing represents a time when racing was all about the pure adrenaline experience that was focused solely on players having a great time.

Shadow of Rome (2005)

Rome was really going through it in video games back on the PS2, but Shadow of Rome managed to almost perfectly recapture the magic and glory of the ring from Ridley Scotts Gladiator in a way no other game has since. While there are stealth sections in which you need to sneak your way around cleverly designed environmental puzzles Assassin's Creed-style, only without all the stabbing, the bulk of the game was within the coliseum. Players partake in several different events from outright clashes to chariot races with the overall goal of not only surviving but winning over the crowd with gory and splashy finishers and combos, utilizing all manner of weapons all in the name of glory in the ring. The battles within the arena more than made up for the stealth section shortcomings and make you wonder why they werent the sole focus for the entire game.

Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy (2004)

While the equally impressive other telepathic title Second Sight would also fit nicely on this list, we have to give the nod to Psi-Ops for the sheer amount of chaos that can be unleashed using your new telekinetic abilities. Setting players loose with not only an arsenal of firearms, but players also get the most out of their mind using abilities such as telekinesis, mind control, pyrokinesis, and best of all, Mind Drain, in which you can replenish your psi-energy meter by draining enemies until they literally pop. The use of these powers offered players a lot of freedom in not only combat encounters but also how they solved the games environmental puzzles. The games story might be nothing more than a traditional conspiracy-laden checklist, but it does finally start ramping up towards the end, only to end on one of the most frustratingly unresolved cliffhangers in all of gaming.

Metal Arms: Glitch in the System (2003)

Ratchet and Clank might have been the de facto choice when it came to third-person shooter platformers, but Metal Arms: Glitch in the System didnt deserve to be relegated to the garbage heap. Full of quirky, funny characters and solid shooting and platforming mechanics, Metal Arms took all the best bits of Insomniacs platformer and gave them a new spin, setting players on a quest to liberate the other droids from the tyrannical rule of General Corrosive through an enormous number of varied levels. Not only was the game fun on its own, but it also boasted a solid multiplayer suite full of inventive levels and unlockable characters. In a genre of gaming that is rapidly disappearing outside of Mario and Astro Bot, Metal Arms is still just as fun today as when it was released, without a single ounce of rust to be found.

The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction (2005)

With all the advancements in technology, specifically when it comes to environmental destruction, its insane that the definitive Hulk experience peaked on the PS2. Allowing players to unleash their inner Hulk is something fans of the big green machine have been wanting, and Ultimate Destruction more than lives up to its title. Hulk can destroy almost everything in his path and even pick up cars to use not only as projectiles but also as boxing gloves for additional damage. Giving players an open world to explore and destroy, the game offers players side missions to complete or just unleash their rage to their hearts content before the military is deployed to deal with the Hulk, which offers up even more destructive possibilities. Ultimate Destruction is the ultimate Hulk simulator, and its a shame we havent gotten a new entry for the Hulkster worthy of his powers in two decades.

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner (2003)

Mech games are prime video game material, but too many of them dont capture the sensation of whipping around the battlefield in a mech standing almost a hundred feet tall. Thankfully, Hideo Kojima understands this desire for mechanized combat. After a good trial run with the original Zone of the Enders, The 2nd Runner offered players some of the best mech combat in the genre. Sure, the story was there mostly just to move the game forward, but the games combat was undeniably its strongest mechanic and offered a sense of speed other mech games of the time were missing. Improvements across the board from its predecessor, The 2nd Runner was bigger, flashier, and more confident than the original, and the addition of taking on multiple enemies at once and even using objects from the environment as weapons made the entire experience even more immersive.

Ultimate Spider-Man (2005)

Spider-Man is one of the most popular comic book characters of all time, so naturally hes had no shortage of video game outings, but one of his best was overshadowed by the tie-in game to Sam Raimis blockbuster sequel. Adapting the wildly popular Ultimate Spider-Man run, the games use of cel-shaded graphics and comic book panels made the game feel like an interactive issue and perfectly brought the comic book to life. Not only do players get to step into the spandex of the Webhead, they also get to unleash the beast as Venom within his own separate storyline alongside a laundry list of cameos from other Marvel superheroes. Ultimate Spider-Man improved the Spidey formula with better combat, exploration, and a more detailed New York to explore, as well as a faithful adaptation of the beloved series that more than did its source material justice.

Transformers (2004)

Another property we dont see enough of these days, Transformers on the PS2 set the benchmark for the robots in disguise that only a couple of later games would manage to improve upon. Able to transform and roll out with the push of a button, Transformers also allowed players to augment their abilities with Mini-Cons, giving them more options to customize their combat experience, even bolstering some attacks by stacking multiple Mini-Cons of the same type. With fan-favorite Autobots Optimus, Hot Shot, and Red Alert available for players to take on the Decepticons, theres no shortage of fan service within the game. While the game tells its own standalone story, there are more than enough easter eggs and nods for longtime fans to uncover. The games combat is solid, and transforming back and forth from vehicle to Autobot is always immensely satisfying. Too bad they dont make them like this anymore.

Viewtful Joe (2003)

Clover Studios' time creating games might have been extremely short-lived, but theres no denying they crafted some of the most creative experiences on the PS2. While Okami still continues to receive ports and positive reception today, and God Hand is retrospectively considered one of the PS2s best, Viewtiful Joe never seems to share the same spotlight as the rest of the studios catalog. A pitch-perfect 2D side scroller, Viewtiful Joe gave players a handful of powers to manipulate the movie-verse around them by speeding up or slowing down time, and even the ability to zoom in to unlock additional attacks and abilities. The games gorgeous art style pops off the screen and manages to balance the right amount of challenge without ever becoming frustrating or robbing players of the games power fantasy. It's truly a shame this series hasnt received its deserved recognition alongside its peers.

Which PS2 game do you think still holds up better than anything in modern gaming? Share your favorites in the comments.