40. Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus/Sly Raccoon
The less-spoken third child of the Sony platforming mascot trifecta is Sly Cooper, a stealth-based take on the 3D platforming genre. You must sneak, crawl, and climb through levels, collecting clue bottles along the way to open and steal from the safe at the end. Sly Cooper also adds some level variety with vehicle shooting, racing and hacking segments that help break up the gameplay of each area. The story here is pretty fun too as you learn about each villain’s origin and motivation before taking them down and sending them to jail whilst reclaiming more abilities for Sly to use later. If you love Ratchet and Clank and/or Jak and Daxter then this is a must-play to experience the full breadth of PS2 platforming. And if you enjoy it there are two sequels available on the PS2, too!
41. Ratchet & Clank 2
I could easily recommend any of the Ratchet and Clank games; they are a perfect trilogy and if you can, I’d suggest playing them all in order. But, the best of the series is easily the sequel as it takes everything from the original, cleans it up and innovates hard. From strafing to the coliseum, most of the series tropes originate here and were done masterfully with the addition that this game has the best mixture of exploration and combat segments. The humour is also one of its strengths, gleefully mocking dystopian capitalism is sadly just as relevant today as it was in 2003 but helps lock in the theme of greed that the galaxy this game takes place in is rife with. In my opinion, this is the best PlayStation mascot platformer entry, but your mileage may vary.
42. SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom
This has been dubbed one of the greatest licensed kids’ games of all time, and it’s easy to see why. It’s packed to the brim with references to the show, most of the voice acting talent reprise their roles and the distribution and variety of collectables and challenges is well above the average for the collectathon genre. While it can spike in annoying difficulty at times, the level themes and colourful characters more than make up for it and it created a great foundation for future games in the series to follow.
43. Disney Pixar Cars
This may be an irregular choice here, as most licensed kids’ games haven’t aged very gracefully. However, in my opinion, you can’t fully experience the PS2’s library without playing some licensed games that bolstered many a child’s library back in the 2000s. Cars features a fully explorable open world, littered with racers, collectables, and challenges to complete as you race towards the main story events, which are, admittedly, drawn out and boring Nascar races in which you drive in a big circle for an extended period. Outside of the monotony, it is a fun world to explore with a great soundtrack that encapsulates the movie’s energy and a fully voiced cast of characters that make the world feel alive.
44. Futurama
Unlike its bigger brother, Futurama only has one video game to its name and that was all the way back on the PS2. If its setting didn’t set it apart enough, being a distinctly different genre altogether sure will as this takes a third-person shooter/action approach to gameplay with a notably higher difficulty than any of the Simpsons games on the same system but it looks and plays very well and holds up to modern graphics with its cell-shaded art style. The story follows a normal Futurama episode three-act structure and is very self-aware of 4th wall breaking. Being written and voiced by the actual Futurama team really cements its authenticity!
45. Crash Twinsanity
Whilst most consider post-Naughty Dog Crash Bandicoot games to be a notable drop in quality, Twinsanity is vastly different to earlier Crash Bandicoot outings, for better and worse. For one, it removes the core gameplay established in earlier titles for a more traditional 3D platforming presentation, which means this game by virtue of its genre roots is a lot more palatable to those that struggled with the high difficulties the original trilogy can achieve. It is very true to the established Crash world though and keeps all of the elements of the past intact, from collectables, boxes and characters, but brings a more cartoony and comedic approach to the games that would fit well on a Saturday morning cartoon.
46. Crash Tag Team Racing
While this entry is far from the height of the genre that Crash Team Racing wrought in the ’90s, Tag Team Racing brings its own flair and unique gameplay style that is reminiscent of (but distinct to) Mario Kart Double Dash. Racing is the typical kart racer affair, but, you can fuse up with another driver and make the most out of their unique elements by having one character drive and the other run a giant gun. This a combined volley of high-impact kart racing and run-and-gun action depending on which seat you decide to take. If that alone wasn’t cool enough, the hub worlds take the platforming gameplay of Crash Twinsanity, add hilarious death scenes to collect by dying in specific places (reminiscent of Taz Wanted) and plenty of additional coins to collect, costumes to find or buy and levels to unlock through exploration, making it a best of both Crash worlds!
47. Burnout 3: Takedown
Burnout is one of the driving games that unfortunately didn’t make it past this generation. Sure, we have Burnout Paradise but that changed the formula to an almost unrecognisable degree. Do you like driving really fast? Do you like driving really fast into things? This is a game that fulfils both of these desires and then some, with a rock-infused soundtrack and the visceral feeling of speed, the Burnout games bring a high-octane thrill to your typical racing experience. From the crash mode, in which you need to make the largest pile-up you can imagine, to the rivals races in which you need to take down as many racers as possible within a time limit, there’s plenty to do to keep you busy outside of racing. This combined with a rating system which is hard but fair, it’s probably the most chaotic and addictive racing experience on the PS2.
48. Madagascar
The unassuming and easy-to-skip-over Madagascar is a bit of a curveball, but this game was brilliant fun as the levels were varied and always had something different compared to the last. I had this game when I was a kid, and I can honestly say that I had some of the best memories playing as Marty, going through the Zoo at night. The penguin levels were also some of my favourites, introducing the idea of timing movements into my gaming brain. Overall, I would definitely give this a try. More so if you’re trying to get your children into video games.
49. The Punisher
This is definitely the most violent entry on this list—one step away from recommending Manhunt itself, some might say. The Punisher is awesome; it combines solid shooting mechanics with completely mental interrogation scenes (which include sharks and drills) so that you can gather information. Depending on your tastes in violence, this might be an awesome game for you to check out. Is it normal to have a taste for bloodshed? Probably best if I left that question unanswered.
50. Max Payne
Did you like The Matrix? Are you a fan of trench coats? Did you wish John Wick and Michael from GTA 5 would combine in a way not so dissimilar to Goku and Vegeta? Then play Max Payne, and live your best life! Bullet time is one of the most fun mechanics ever, allowing you to dive down corridors (and sometimes stairs) while mowing down enemies in style. You are the action star you always dreamed of being.
So that’s our list. Of course, not every “great” PS2 game will make it but this is just our silly democratic perspective. Maybe it brought your attention to some games you might not have expected to show up in a typical top PS2 games article? Are we completely wrong for not putting Hideo Kojima’s magnum opus Metal Gear Solid 3 in here? Let us know about your favourites, why we’re wrong, and who you think added which entry in the comments!
Just a dude that plays games. Ill write stuff on here once in a blue moon
He/Him
A flamboyant ultra nerd, Dave participates in the Underlevelled Tournament both for the thrill of the fight, and to avenge the orphans lost in the climax of the previous tournament.
Born: London
Height: ???
Weight: ???
Nen Type: Manipulator
Classes: Editor, Dancer,
Hobbies: street dance, collecting manga volumes, reading, editing
Likes: short-to-medium walks on the beach, pointing out how things can and will be misconstrued as racism, fighting games, RPGs, anime, Hades, alternative hip hop, conscious hip hop, Mara Wilson, overly long bios, ice-cream
Dislikes: insincere media, his own uncanny resemblance to Richard Ayoade, mayonnaise
Sean Hollyman is an avid fan of action figures, videogames and sometimes other things too. When he's not labourously trying to earn platinum trophies for games that he otherwise probably wouldn't care about, Sean can often be found taking photos of his Transformers in embarrassing situations.
Favorite Food: Roast Dinner
Least Favorite Food: ANYTHING with mayonnaise in it
Hi, I'm Melltith or Melly! I enjoy cosier or slower paced games and like to take my time with things. I'm a very crafty person who will throw my all into a multitude of new projects and skills. I'm a musical nerd and love to drag my family along with me to local theatre shows.
Video game completionist and 3D platformer connoisseur, Riley is a fan of the whimsical frenzy of bright and colourful characters that blessed us in the late 90's. Their favourite game's are Spyro, Persona 5 and Super Mario Sunshine.