You've heard it countless times by now, but allow us to reiterate the obvious: It's a recession, er'body's broke! But that doesn't mean you still can't have fun on budget. And we're not just talking about cashing in those Burger King coupons for Six Flags. It was announced on Monday that Sony is slashing the price of their game changing Playstation 2 console to $99.99! That's less than the price of two next gen console games.
We know what you're thinking—with rumors swirling about Sony and Microsoft already working on their next system, why would want to cop a PS2? The games, my dude, the games. The Playstation 2 has one of the strongest libraries of games of any console in history. We could list you 50 dope games, but we'll save you (and ourselves) some time and just give you the five games we'd cop a PS2 just to play...
MARVEL vs. CAPCOM 2: NEW AGE OF HEROES
Released: 2002
Why It's Worth It: For the fourth and final installation in the Marvel vs Capcom fighting series, Capcom aimed to let everyone in on the fun and simplified the game controls, making it easily one of the most fun fighting games to play. Shortly after it was ported over the PS2 and Xbox, Capcom lost the rights to the Marvel characters and the run was cut short. The limited run made the remaining copies of the game skyrocket in price, making it almost as expensive as the PS2 itself.
PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER SERIES
Released: Series started in 2001
Why It's Worth It: Unlike other sports genres, soccer games didn't dramatically improve after the next-gen transition. Sure, Fifa and Pro Evolution look better than ever, but at the end of the day, futbol heads want beautiful gameplay, not graphics. Back when Fifa was still a total joke, Pro Evo was the gold standard for futbol gaming, with controls that perfectly fit the PS2. It's worth nothing that Konami has essentially kept the same Pro Evo physics engine since the PSOne era.
TWISTED METAL BLACK
Released: 2001
Why It's Worth It: Twisted Metal was always a favorite of ours since it debuted on the original PlayStation—we still rock with it on the PSP—but when they updated the game for PS2 everything changed. Not only was the physics engine and the graphics dramatically enhanced, the environments were much richer and packed to the brim with hidden treasures proving for hours of metal gore. This will definitely be a game you'll be playing even when PS4 hits the shelves.
FINAL FANTASY X
Released: 2001
Why It's Worth It: With animation better than most Disney flicks at the time, FFX was one of the first games that proved just how powerful the PS2 was. It elevated the RPG to a console defining game, making it a must buy for every PS2 owner.
GOD OF WAR 1 & 2
Released: 2005 & 2007
Why It's Worth It: The God of War series had everything a great action game needed: outstanding gameplay, crazy action scenes (more blood than a season worth of Dexter) and an epic narrative that had the main character—the iconic Spartan warrior, Kratos—fighting in highly detailed environments against well thought out villains. It was all there in a package that pushed the boundaries of what anyone thought the PS2 was capable of.
