Hope you all had a productive weekend filled with plenty of gaming retro or current based.
Leading on from the last piece on our part 1 of PS2 titles it won't come as a surprise that we are doing part 2 today. The titles in part 1 may not have been to everyone's tastes and that's cool, we all have entirety different opinions and more importantly memories of past titles.
GTA Vice City - Rockstar 2002
Swiftly on to the main content. I want to start the piece with a bang, a 1980's shoulder pad wearing bang. Rockstar GTA Vice City. Rockstar had to bring something special to the party following the huge success of GTA III and for me boy did they deliver. Vice city to this day is probably pound for pound Rockstars best GTA title, why you ask, they took what they learned and developed in III and turbo charged it 80's style.
The game had a stellar host of Hollywood names carrying out voice over work to this day I don't think has been rivalled in a game, Ray Liotta was our main protagonist, Dennis Hopper, the late Burt Reynolds, even our very own cockney wide boy Danny dyer as Kent Paul. Now I don't want to turn this into a review of the game as it's a top 10 but this game was epic.
The Bouncer - Square/dreamfactory 2000
I don't expect many will have had this on a top ten list, probably an acquired taste. I chalk this one up to one of my finds in my local Game store when buying a more well known title and having some money left and though what the hell.
My curiosity was heightened when I read the back of the box to find that this title was not that dissimilar to some of the beat em ups of old that I had once enjoyed (streets of rage, double dragon, final fight) and I thought lets see if they make them like they used to, not half bad if im being honest. playing as one of 3 selectable characters (ironically bouncers) make your way from start point to end point cracking skulls and breaking backs along the way beating level bosses as you do in a beat em up, simplistic button bashing fun with improved graphics form the old days.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2 - Konami 2002
Football/Soccer Titles
The annual football/soccer titles seem on the surface to be one of the easier games to release, I would assume the makers can get away with using the same game engine from the year before it, but now and again things are tweaked and finely tuned for that extra bit of enjoyment. In current gen 'there can be only one' and that is Fifa, but I would say Pro Evo has a stead fast following still, but it wasn't always the case, in years gone by I like a lot of gamers switched from franchise to franchise and I have to admit through the ps2 and 3 I easily owned Pro Evo 3/4 of the time, what swung it for me was the control system for Pro Evo, (I can distinctly remember being at a house party one Saturday night and Fifa was set up in the corner and I can always remember how easy the game was to score, EA at that point were putting all their eggs in the licensing basket, proper club names, players names, facial distinction etc) the game play was awful.
The addition of the Master league was genius at the time, taking a club and moulding it by buying players and working your way through the leagues of clubs from all continents was great, even better was playing your friends master league teams. In fact this yea marks my first year in a long time that I am making the switch back to Pro Evo (being a supporter of the blue half of Glasgow I was delighted to hear that Ibrox would feature as a playable stadium in later updates of the game as well has the fully licenced squad, I just hope the game play dynamic is back to where it was.
Pro Evo has been around for enough years to know it will continue for the foreseeable I for one hope that they get to a point that they can match Fifa in sales again making it a more competitive market for the gamers.
Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas, Rockstar
Just when we thought Rockstar had outdone them selves with the 80s themed classic of Vice City we were introduced to San Andreas, Playing as CJ our protagonist picks up getting of the plane from Liberty City to come home following the death of his Mother.
GTA San andreas was huge in every way, map was the biggest we had ever seen in a GTA title, more vehicles to choose from, gang wars, car meets, dating and hitting the gym or getting fat, and the radio stations featured a who's who of 90's hip hop which was in arguably the greatest era for it. We even got to meet Claude our protagonist from GTA III (still doesn't speak) our end game being to bust the chops of all who wronged CJ's family most notably officer ten penny voiced by Samuel l Jackson.
At this point you find it a bit of a cop out to have all 3 GTA releases in the list but they were such innovative and strong titles and finally announced Rockstar on the stage for good.
Before we get to the last game we have to give a shout to some damn solid titles that just didn't get in.
Resident evil code Veronica X
Devil's may cry
Medal of Honour front line
Bully
Ssx
Grand Turismo 4
Max Payne
All excellent titles that may well make anyone elses top ten and no one would argue.
Our final shout in the my list is, drum roll...............
Medal of Honor, Rising Sun - Ea 2003
I played and very much enjoyed both Front Line and Rising Sun, both titles were equally strong but Rising Sun took it for me, being the follow up to Frontline there was some improvements in the game and frankly I just enjoyed the story. Now some who have read some of my content will see I have repeatedly bashed games like Call of Duty, ill be clear I do not dislike COD I just don't appreciate the way they pump out games for fun and rarely change the game engine, on the whole the story mode to most COD games is quite good, but games like Rising Sun gave they guys at Treyarch etc the key to the city so to speak. You have probably guessed by the games theme its set at the time of the attack on pearl harbour. The game is a first person shooter but also gave us a few multiplayer elements usch as deathmatch. If you have not played a medal of Honor...again SHAME.
Well there you have it my own person ten from the PS2, I highly doubt everyone would agree with it, im sure some games would be in most top ten lists but as I said before you cant please everyone, but these games for me are ones that invoke great memories of gaming in my very early 20's a time with just booze, clubbing and gaming with zero responsibility, a great time indeed.
Happy Gaming.
Leading on from the last piece on our part 1 of PS2 titles it won't come as a surprise that we are doing part 2 today. The titles in part 1 may not have been to everyone's tastes and that's cool, we all have entirety different opinions and more importantly memories of past titles.
GTA Vice City - Rockstar 2002
Swiftly on to the main content. I want to start the piece with a bang, a 1980's shoulder pad wearing bang. Rockstar GTA Vice City. Rockstar had to bring something special to the party following the huge success of GTA III and for me boy did they deliver. Vice city to this day is probably pound for pound Rockstars best GTA title, why you ask, they took what they learned and developed in III and turbo charged it 80's style.
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| Main cover art work |
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| Very colourful strip |
The game had a stellar host of Hollywood names carrying out voice over work to this day I don't think has been rivalled in a game, Ray Liotta was our main protagonist, Dennis Hopper, the late Burt Reynolds, even our very own cockney wide boy Danny dyer as Kent Paul. Now I don't want to turn this into a review of the game as it's a top 10 but this game was epic.
The Bouncer - Square/dreamfactory 2000
I don't expect many will have had this on a top ten list, probably an acquired taste. I chalk this one up to one of my finds in my local Game store when buying a more well known title and having some money left and though what the hell.
My curiosity was heightened when I read the back of the box to find that this title was not that dissimilar to some of the beat em ups of old that I had once enjoyed (streets of rage, double dragon, final fight) and I thought lets see if they make them like they used to, not half bad if im being honest. playing as one of 3 selectable characters (ironically bouncers) make your way from start point to end point cracking skulls and breaking backs along the way beating level bosses as you do in a beat em up, simplistic button bashing fun with improved graphics form the old days.
Pro Evolution Soccer 2 - Konami 2002
Football/Soccer Titles
 |
| Ahh good old Gigsi |
The annual football/soccer titles seem on the surface to be one of the easier games to release, I would assume the makers can get away with using the same game engine from the year before it, but now and again things are tweaked and finely tuned for that extra bit of enjoyment. In current gen 'there can be only one' and that is Fifa, but I would say Pro Evo has a stead fast following still, but it wasn't always the case, in years gone by I like a lot of gamers switched from franchise to franchise and I have to admit through the ps2 and 3 I easily owned Pro Evo 3/4 of the time, what swung it for me was the control system for Pro Evo, (I can distinctly remember being at a house party one Saturday night and Fifa was set up in the corner and I can always remember how easy the game was to score, EA at that point were putting all their eggs in the licensing basket, proper club names, players names, facial distinction etc) the game play was awful.
The addition of the Master league was genius at the time, taking a club and moulding it by buying players and working your way through the leagues of clubs from all continents was great, even better was playing your friends master league teams. In fact this yea marks my first year in a long time that I am making the switch back to Pro Evo (being a supporter of the blue half of Glasgow I was delighted to hear that Ibrox would feature as a playable stadium in later updates of the game as well has the fully licenced squad, I just hope the game play dynamic is back to where it was.
Pro Evo has been around for enough years to know it will continue for the foreseeable I for one hope that they get to a point that they can match Fifa in sales again making it a more competitive market for the gamers.
Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas, Rockstar
 |
| Damn Cj you been bulking |
GTA San andreas was huge in every way, map was the biggest we had ever seen in a GTA title, more vehicles to choose from, gang wars, car meets, dating and hitting the gym or getting fat, and the radio stations featured a who's who of 90's hip hop which was in arguably the greatest era for it. We even got to meet Claude our protagonist from GTA III (still doesn't speak) our end game being to bust the chops of all who wronged CJ's family most notably officer ten penny voiced by Samuel l Jackson.
At this point you find it a bit of a cop out to have all 3 GTA releases in the list but they were such innovative and strong titles and finally announced Rockstar on the stage for good.
Before we get to the last game we have to give a shout to some damn solid titles that just didn't get in.
Resident evil code Veronica X
Devil's may cry
Medal of Honour front line
Bully
Ssx
Grand Turismo 4
Max Payne
All excellent titles that may well make anyone elses top ten and no one would argue.
Our final shout in the my list is, drum roll...............
Medal of Honor, Rising Sun - Ea 2003
I played and very much enjoyed both Front Line and Rising Sun, both titles were equally strong but Rising Sun took it for me, being the follow up to Frontline there was some improvements in the game and frankly I just enjoyed the story. Now some who have read some of my content will see I have repeatedly bashed games like Call of Duty, ill be clear I do not dislike COD I just don't appreciate the way they pump out games for fun and rarely change the game engine, on the whole the story mode to most COD games is quite good, but games like Rising Sun gave they guys at Treyarch etc the key to the city so to speak. You have probably guessed by the games theme its set at the time of the attack on pearl harbour. The game is a first person shooter but also gave us a few multiplayer elements usch as deathmatch. If you have not played a medal of Honor...again SHAME.
Well there you have it my own person ten from the PS2, I highly doubt everyone would agree with it, im sure some games would be in most top ten lists but as I said before you cant please everyone, but these games for me are ones that invoke great memories of gaming in my very early 20's a time with just booze, clubbing and gaming with zero responsibility, a great time indeed.
Happy Gaming.
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