And the DualShocking Conclusion: ILX TOP PS2 GAMES POLL RESULTS (20-1)

not that surprised, i've heard good things generally, and it was the backdrop of all the Ivalice games (FFTA and so on). but since it was near the end of the system, i guess it doesn't have as much lingering hype for it - FFX is still a more highly valued game

honestly i dropped out after VII so i should prob keep my uninformed opinions to myself

http://i.imgur.com/2iWuj.jpg
# 8 - Resident Evil 4 - 87 Points - 10 Votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oXx0qwe0wc

Resident Evil 4 - ILE edition
Resident Evil 4 - ILG edition

i'm almost sure RE4 is the most perfectly balanced game ever. - Ste

I think this is one of the only titles that I've played on three or four different platforms. This speaks volumes about its quality as a great video-game incarnation of the action B-movie formula. - Matt D

http://i.imgur.com/AcN2D.jpg
# 7 - Psychonauts - 103 Points - 12 Votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2hrMqu38I0

This is the thread for LucasArts alumni/DoubleFine/Telltale games: Psychonauts, Costume Quest, Brutal Legend, Deathspank, Sam and Max, etc.
ILG Player's Club plays PSYCHONAUTS

Easily one of the best platform games ever. The inside-the-brain level so much better than when Max Payne tried to do the trippy psyche missions. - Craig G

It's a game where the gameplay is the least attractive part. Sure, it's a reasonably solid platformer, but the other trappings are the real draw. The score's great, the voice acting never hits a wrong note, the world / stage design is brilliant and it's genuinely hilarious, which is a real rarity in an age where most games are serious business. - Matt D

nooooooooo too low

http://i.imgur.com/QVkrG.jpg
# 6 - Ico - 124 Points - 14 Votes - 1 #1 Vote

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuQW-xYUelw

ICO great game? or greatest game?
^ (apparently 6th greatest)

Atmosphere! - if

Escort quests are the absolute worst in games, but Ico really made it work. I played a demo that was on a coverdisc and was blown away, so just had to get this when it came out. Such beautiful scenery, and although the game was frustrating at times, it was just a great little adventure. - Craig G

I feel like I remember Ico the way I remember travel, rather than they way I rememeber games. Barely recall the gameplay at all, but it was such a nice and unique place to be in. - JimD

ONLY 5 LEFT! TOMORROW!

Results are great! Psychonauts! Gradius V!
Should I play Final Fantasy 12? I haven't paid any attention to that series since 8 but everybody talks up 12 as being a high-water mark. (I was living with a guy who finished 10 and what I saw and heard of it didn't interest me)

only played psychonauts when it arrived on xbla, but it's one of the greatest games i've ever played.

major fist bump for posting the Mega64 WHAT'REYABUYIN? video

Yeah, I kind of know what you mean Jim, RE4 fits in my head with RE remake / RE0 as stunningly good looking and playable Capcom games on the GC.

There's a bit in here actually about how RE4 ended up on gc and not Xbox: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-12-13-why-xbox-failed-in-japan

psychonauts is overrated, it was obv very cool in terms of ideas and visuals but the controls were frustrating

would say exactly the same thing about Shadow Of The Colossus

me too. and ico.

has anyone written an article about control systems that have dated? i found my PS1 copy of Quake 2 recently and hoo boy

Controls in quake 2 sucked. Quake 1 and 3 were awesome.

wait til you see the # of points between these ones

http://i.imgur.com/u4CMd.jpg
# 5 - We Love Katamari - 125 Points - 11 Votes - 2 #1 Votes

We Love Katamari: the best game ever made?
^ 5th best apparently

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3vc-n9Gx68

Might be in danger of splitting the vote here, I never played the original game. But this was perfect anyway, most memeorable was the giddy sense of escalation, as you went from paperclips to dogs to houses to mountains to planets - it seemed to take in every category of *thing* in the world, and then encouraged you to try to roll up every last one. Great! - JimD

http://i.imgur.com/4X62o.jpg
# 4 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City - 126 Points - 13 Votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYR8SnZ76EE

Vice City!
POO: GTA Vice City Soundtrack

Still my favourite GTA (and I love all the GTAs). Partly I think because the world map was just the right size and contained just the right amount of stuff to do, with things to find around every corner (and no big open expanses of nothing as there are in too many open worlds these days). But mostly because of the soundtrack and the setting and the sense of place and time. - JimD

Challops time: The best GTA, imho. I know people like SA more, but I just thought the size, scope, and - most of all - the music in GTA:VC was the peak for the series. - CraigG

http://i.imgur.com/VuJ7Q.jpg
# 3 - Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - 142 Points - 12 Votes - 4 #1 Votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfb8wmWLxkw

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Announced
The new San Andreas thread
Best San Andreas radio station

More GTA! Not quite as good as Vice City, but pretty close. It was the start of there being too much to do in the GTA games, and the start of me losing interest a little. - CraigG

http://i.imgur.com/9rDwU.jpg
# 2 - Katamari Damacy - 169 Points - 17 Votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwhFH75OCDs

is katamari damacy the new super mario brothers?
KATAMARI DAMACY, YOU ARE A TREAT!!!!1!

A central mechanic so ingenious and fun that the whole experience seems to roll naturally out from there. - if

Such a simple idea, so satisfying and weird and kooky too. A really therapeutic game too. - CraigG

http://i.imgur.com/KDslQ.jpg
# 1 - Shadow of the Colossus - 179 Points - 17 Votes - 5 #1 Votes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81gCxvUo-dg

Ico / Shadow of the Colossus

A sense of scale and achievement like little else and a totally awesome twist that turned an inobtrusive and minimal story on its head. - if

A strong argument for the idea that a huge world with a massive cast and a large population isn't required for depth or engagement. Sparse, empty landscapes and slow, plodding beasts make you feel worse about jumping on something's head then you ever have before. Sparse, meaningful murder. - Angus

Shadow of the Colossus is one of my all time favourite games, and one of only a handful of games where I find myself wandering around humming the music (even in the years and years between when I completed it a couple of times on PS2 and buying this on PS3). I nommed this in the C&P, so I'm doing so again for the dedicated PS2 poll. - CraigG

Why slog through hordes of lesser minions when every encounter can be an epic, vast in scope conflict? Beautiful world design and dripping with atmosphere. Can't wait to see what this team delivers next. Also, this is a minor detail, but most horse-like horse in a game ever? - Matt D

Wau at Shadow of the Colossus beating Ico - I thought the single character thing held it back a lot more.

I never got too far in it but I would hardly say the game has only one character!

Jeez, so many of these have been on my to-do list for quite some time and this thread just makes me want to play them even more.

Word. I'm still ashamed of having never played Ico or Katamari.

Better now than ten years from now when we all have 48fps REAL-D MEGA TVS that are inexplicably not compatible with PS2s anymore :/

err thats an xp to stevie

Has anyone had much success w/ PCSX2?

You need a pretty good computer (which I don't have). I hadn't fooled with it for a while until the other week when I couldn't sleep and installed the latest build and fooled around with it for a while. Only tried a few games (after ripping them from my discs with image burn) - a couple ran slow (for me), PES and Gran Turismo (unplayable), but Gradius V worked perfectly (solid 60 FPS etc). When I have time I'm definitely going to rip some more of my discs and see which games work. Perhaps someday I'll have a better computer.

I was playing Persona 4 on PCSX2 and I would say that it has been working "good enough" but not "perfect." But that game doesn't really have "action" per se so I'm not like missing any key frames/button presses/etc. I am playing on a computer that was pretty good when i built it 3-4 years ago.

i got a new pc last month and i was happy to finally be able to play policenauts on a ps1 emulator. i just tried zone of the enders with pcsx2 and it seemed to run just fine, now I just need a controller with analog sticks.

I am getting an XB360 controller bcz I have read they're p much the perfect PC emu controller, and I just bought a v solid laptop in July so I'm hoping I will be able to emulate some good shit.

This poll was fucking great btw. Thanks Will!

Yeah, I've been using pcsx2 recently to play through some of these. Some games have some glitches (e.g. in Jak and Daxter they have no eyes, just black craters). I get a bit of periodic slowdown on some games, but mostly they've been playable (high 40/50fps, and 2d games like Disgea get a solid 60fps). For reference, I have a Phenom 2 X6 2.7GHz and a Radeon 5770.

I'm using my PS3 controller through MotionJoy, which seems to work pretty great after a little bit of setup.