At long last, we've come to the final video gaming installment of my three-sentence reviews. This shouldn't need much of an introduction or explanation. I own more games for the PS2 than I do for any other system and its lifespan has been extremely impressive, lasting the entire 00s decade. I got mine for Christmas in '01 and more or less used it until getting a Wii and Xbox in 2007. Have a look at what I did with it in that span of time.
All-Star Baseball 2003 (2002)
After getting my PS2 for Christmas in '01, I really wanted a baseball game in the spring of '02. Unfortunately, this was the best option on the market. It was very flawed and not so fun.
Culdcept (2003)
The best description I can give of this game is the same one I was originally given. It's "Monopoly" meets "Magic: The Gathering." Several friends and I got very into it one winter in an ironic and game-deprecating fashion, but it was addictive enough to draw me headfirst into the single-player mode.
DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution (2003)
I never really cared for the DDR games. When my sisters came home with this one, I played it just a few times before growing tired of it. I just think that it belongs in the arcade where the dance pad doesn't slip all over the place.
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme (2004)
I can't distinguish between this game and the other DDR game from memory alone. I hope it suffices for me to say that neither game was particularly enjoyable or memorable. That is all.
FIFA Soccer 2004 (2003)
Many of my high school friends were big fans of the FIFA series from EA Sports. I never quite found the right groove in this game but I had fun playing it nonetheless. Especially in the little tournaments we used to set up.
FIFA Soccer 07 (2006)
The second time the video soccer bug bit me, I had just begun my freshman year of college. One friend and I took the New England Revolution through the rigorous MLS season and came away with the championship. Once again though, I really didn't love the game or feel the need to play it more often than I did.
Final Fantasy X (2001)
This was the old and respected RPG franchise's first foray into the high-res world of PS2. I enjoyed the game a whole lot, and in fact, it's the last game in the series I can truly say that about. The all-female direct sequel has been a real chore to get through.
Finding Nemo (2003)
A comedy of errors led to my sister receiving this video game for Christmas instead of the movie itself on DVD. But someone needed to play it and beat it, and that somebody was me. It's brief, simple, and kind of enjoyable.
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001)
I never understood the obsession with the Gran Turismo series, but then, I'm not one who cares all that much for fast cars. Still, playing through this game just felt so monotonous and boring. I struggle to believe that even car people enjoy the extreme repetition associated with some of the several-hour races.
Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
Despite the lack of a multi-player option, my friends and I used to love taking turns dicking around in Liberty City when this game first came out. The game is a classic that speaks for itself. Something about it always felt a bit overrated to me, however.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
Even though this is a better game than GTA3, it doesn't advance the epic scope of the franchise nearly as much as that game did. And I'm not saying this isn't an awesome game in it's own right. You just need to put the two games in their proper perspective when comparing them.
Guitar Hero (2005)
This is the music game that started it all. I don't want to brag or anything, but I was way ahead of the curve on this one, playing and beating it long before the world at large even knew about it. Maybe that's why I was sick of it long before everyone else.
Guitar Hero II (2006)
I didn't even enjoy this game, as the franchise had already gotten too "big" for me by the time this game came out. I couldn't even like it because of how much everyone else loved it. I know that sounds like flawed logic, but perhaps there's a parallel example of an old personal favorite "selling out" to which you can relate.
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s (2007)
This game has my favorite tracklist selection out of any music game to date. Between the hair metal and the new wave synth pop, '80s songs are just so damn fun to play. Of course, this game was met with very little fanfare, what with Guitar Hero III and Rock Band both coming out in the same year.
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (2001)
I never had an N64 (Perfect Dark, Goldeneye) or an Xbox (Halo) during my adolescence, so this was actually the best FPS I owned. It was a pretty good game, too, in spite of its lack of recognition. I fondly recall heated mutli-player games of capture the flag.
James Bond 007: NightFire (2002)
I was looking forward to this follow-up to Agent Under Fire, and all things considered it made for a better game. Still, it was hard to retain interest in the series, and I ultimately put far fewer hours into this one. I'd still recommend it, though.
Madden NFL 2002 (2001)
The Madden franchise was the biggest lure for me to get a PS2 in the first place. This '02 installment didn't disappoint, and I put hours upon hours into creating teams and players (as well as just playing the game). Of course, before long, it was time for me to upgrade to the following year's Madden game.
Madden NFL 2003 (2002)
Of my three Madden games on PS2, this is probably the one I spent the most time playing and customizing. It helped that as a 14-year-old I had very, very little to do in the August dog days of summer vacation. This is probably my favorite football game of all time.
Madden NFL 2004 (2003)
By now, the wheels had fallen off the wagon, so to speak. I still enjoyed the hell out of Madden 2004 but I never played it as much as I played 2003. I blame NCAA Football 2004 for taking up so much of my football attention earlier in the summer.
MVP Baseball 2003 (2003)
Once EA scrapped their awful Triple Play series, I was back on board with them for my baseball games. What I liked most about MVP 2003 was its intuitive and timing-based controls. What I liked least was its limited gameplay modes and bare bones delivery.
MVP Baseball 2004 (2004)
The fatal flaw with this game, which was an improvement over MVP 2003 in almost every conceivable way, was that left-handed hitters just couldn't hit homers. The gamemakers even admitted to the bug, but back then there were no patches and updates to fix console games. It was a real shame, because this game was otherwise absolutely fantastic.
MVP Baseball 2005 (2005)
Here is where it all came together. This was a graphically upgraded MVP Baseball 2004 in which lefties could actually hit homers. It even had all of the minor league baseball teams, allowing you to do call-ups and send-downs in franchise mode.
NBA Live 2003 (2002)
If you couldn't tell, I was pretty into EA Sports games for a while in the early half of the decade. I enjoyed my time with this basketball simulation, but not enough to justify buying any other iterations. Besides, I still find arcade-style hoops to be a little more entertaining to play.
NCAA Football 2004 (2003)
My first and last foray into college football games was entertaining, but it also reminded me that there's virtually no difference between college and the pros in terms of actual gameplay. Except that I've always liked the pro game a whole lot more than the college game. But hey, at least the bands and mascots were cool.
Parappa the Rapper 2 (2002)
I loved Parappa the Rapper and as soon as I discovered the sequel to that obscurity I was on board with no questions asked. Fortunately, this was a decent little game. My friend and I beat it in one night - the final one of summer vacation, no less.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)
This is a bit of a disappointing game. I think what everyone wanted was a fun and witty beat-em-up in the vein of Turtles in Time. Instead, we got this run-of-the-mill beat-em-up with very little character.
TimeSplitters 2 (2002)
I didn't discover this game until after my days of Agent Under Fire and NightFire, but once I did there was no turning back. This fast-paced zany FPS isn't the greatest shooter I've played, but to this day it is the most entertaining one I've ever played. My friend and I spent a summer completing the game 100%.
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (2005)
Sadly, this sequel was a bit of subtraction by addition. I never felt that the game needed a comprehensive story or a cast of characters riddled with personalities that felt more like cliches. It's still a very fun game, sure, but it just isn't what I wanted.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (2001)
The series was still riding high on the success of THPS2, and rightfully so, when this installment came forth. It was no THPS2, but it was by no means the awful game that many of its successors were. The graphical upgrade helped sustain the charm, too.
Vampire Night (2001)
There wasn't a whole lot to this game besides the fact that it came with a gun controller peripheral. It was a rail shooter, but not even the best rail shooter on the PS2. That honor belongs to the Time Crisis series.
WWF SmackDown!: Just Bring It (2001)
It's hard for me to remember the distinctions between all of my PS2 wrestling games, but this was the first one on the new generation of systems. Therefore, it was way smoother looking than anything I'd seen to date. By today's standards, of course, it looks horribly outdated and ugly.
WWE SmackDown!: Shut Your Mouth (2002)
I think this was the SmackDown game on which my friends and I spent the most time dabbling with content creation. Such creations included Bill Clinton, Adolf Hitler, Michael Jackson, and Saddam Hussein (topical!). I just wish you could import creations year in and year out instead of remaking the same basic wrestlers from the same basic parts.
WWE SmackDown!: Here Comes the Pain (2003)
Just because this was the last SmackDown game I owned doesn't mean it was the last one I played. My friend has been buying the annual installments for years and I almost always get to play around with the series every winter. Of course, I also feel no need to buy the games for myself anymore.
And that concludes that. I may be back soon with some book, TV, or movie editions of "Three-Sentence Reviews," but reviewing two-hundred games in the past two weeks has really sapped my energy for the concept. Someday, it'll happen. But not yet. Not yet.
All-Star Baseball 2003 (2002)
After getting my PS2 for Christmas in '01, I really wanted a baseball game in the spring of '02. Unfortunately, this was the best option on the market. It was very flawed and not so fun.
Culdcept (2003)
The best description I can give of this game is the same one I was originally given. It's "Monopoly" meets "Magic: The Gathering." Several friends and I got very into it one winter in an ironic and game-deprecating fashion, but it was addictive enough to draw me headfirst into the single-player mode.
DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution (2003)
I never really cared for the DDR games. When my sisters came home with this one, I played it just a few times before growing tired of it. I just think that it belongs in the arcade where the dance pad doesn't slip all over the place.
Dance Dance Revolution Extreme (2004)
I can't distinguish between this game and the other DDR game from memory alone. I hope it suffices for me to say that neither game was particularly enjoyable or memorable. That is all.
FIFA Soccer 2004 (2003)
Many of my high school friends were big fans of the FIFA series from EA Sports. I never quite found the right groove in this game but I had fun playing it nonetheless. Especially in the little tournaments we used to set up.
FIFA Soccer 07 (2006)
The second time the video soccer bug bit me, I had just begun my freshman year of college. One friend and I took the New England Revolution through the rigorous MLS season and came away with the championship. Once again though, I really didn't love the game or feel the need to play it more often than I did.
Final Fantasy X (2001)
This was the old and respected RPG franchise's first foray into the high-res world of PS2. I enjoyed the game a whole lot, and in fact, it's the last game in the series I can truly say that about. The all-female direct sequel has been a real chore to get through.
Finding Nemo (2003)
A comedy of errors led to my sister receiving this video game for Christmas instead of the movie itself on DVD. But someone needed to play it and beat it, and that somebody was me. It's brief, simple, and kind of enjoyable.
Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec (2001)
I never understood the obsession with the Gran Turismo series, but then, I'm not one who cares all that much for fast cars. Still, playing through this game just felt so monotonous and boring. I struggle to believe that even car people enjoy the extreme repetition associated with some of the several-hour races.
Grand Theft Auto III (2001)
Despite the lack of a multi-player option, my friends and I used to love taking turns dicking around in Liberty City when this game first came out. The game is a classic that speaks for itself. Something about it always felt a bit overrated to me, however.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
Even though this is a better game than GTA3, it doesn't advance the epic scope of the franchise nearly as much as that game did. And I'm not saying this isn't an awesome game in it's own right. You just need to put the two games in their proper perspective when comparing them.
Guitar Hero (2005)
This is the music game that started it all. I don't want to brag or anything, but I was way ahead of the curve on this one, playing and beating it long before the world at large even knew about it. Maybe that's why I was sick of it long before everyone else.
Guitar Hero II (2006)
I didn't even enjoy this game, as the franchise had already gotten too "big" for me by the time this game came out. I couldn't even like it because of how much everyone else loved it. I know that sounds like flawed logic, but perhaps there's a parallel example of an old personal favorite "selling out" to which you can relate.
Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s (2007)
This game has my favorite tracklist selection out of any music game to date. Between the hair metal and the new wave synth pop, '80s songs are just so damn fun to play. Of course, this game was met with very little fanfare, what with Guitar Hero III and Rock Band both coming out in the same year.
James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire (2001)
I never had an N64 (Perfect Dark, Goldeneye) or an Xbox (Halo) during my adolescence, so this was actually the best FPS I owned. It was a pretty good game, too, in spite of its lack of recognition. I fondly recall heated mutli-player games of capture the flag.
James Bond 007: NightFire (2002)
I was looking forward to this follow-up to Agent Under Fire, and all things considered it made for a better game. Still, it was hard to retain interest in the series, and I ultimately put far fewer hours into this one. I'd still recommend it, though.
Madden NFL 2002 (2001)
The Madden franchise was the biggest lure for me to get a PS2 in the first place. This '02 installment didn't disappoint, and I put hours upon hours into creating teams and players (as well as just playing the game). Of course, before long, it was time for me to upgrade to the following year's Madden game.
Madden NFL 2003 (2002)
Of my three Madden games on PS2, this is probably the one I spent the most time playing and customizing. It helped that as a 14-year-old I had very, very little to do in the August dog days of summer vacation. This is probably my favorite football game of all time.
Madden NFL 2004 (2003)
By now, the wheels had fallen off the wagon, so to speak. I still enjoyed the hell out of Madden 2004 but I never played it as much as I played 2003. I blame NCAA Football 2004 for taking up so much of my football attention earlier in the summer.
MVP Baseball 2003 (2003)
Once EA scrapped their awful Triple Play series, I was back on board with them for my baseball games. What I liked most about MVP 2003 was its intuitive and timing-based controls. What I liked least was its limited gameplay modes and bare bones delivery.
MVP Baseball 2004 (2004)
The fatal flaw with this game, which was an improvement over MVP 2003 in almost every conceivable way, was that left-handed hitters just couldn't hit homers. The gamemakers even admitted to the bug, but back then there were no patches and updates to fix console games. It was a real shame, because this game was otherwise absolutely fantastic.
MVP Baseball 2005 (2005)
Here is where it all came together. This was a graphically upgraded MVP Baseball 2004 in which lefties could actually hit homers. It even had all of the minor league baseball teams, allowing you to do call-ups and send-downs in franchise mode.
NBA Live 2003 (2002)
If you couldn't tell, I was pretty into EA Sports games for a while in the early half of the decade. I enjoyed my time with this basketball simulation, but not enough to justify buying any other iterations. Besides, I still find arcade-style hoops to be a little more entertaining to play.
NCAA Football 2004 (2003)
My first and last foray into college football games was entertaining, but it also reminded me that there's virtually no difference between college and the pros in terms of actual gameplay. Except that I've always liked the pro game a whole lot more than the college game. But hey, at least the bands and mascots were cool.
Parappa the Rapper 2 (2002)
I loved Parappa the Rapper and as soon as I discovered the sequel to that obscurity I was on board with no questions asked. Fortunately, this was a decent little game. My friend and I beat it in one night - the final one of summer vacation, no less.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)
This is a bit of a disappointing game. I think what everyone wanted was a fun and witty beat-em-up in the vein of Turtles in Time. Instead, we got this run-of-the-mill beat-em-up with very little character.
TimeSplitters 2 (2002)
I didn't discover this game until after my days of Agent Under Fire and NightFire, but once I did there was no turning back. This fast-paced zany FPS isn't the greatest shooter I've played, but to this day it is the most entertaining one I've ever played. My friend and I spent a summer completing the game 100%.
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect (2005)
Sadly, this sequel was a bit of subtraction by addition. I never felt that the game needed a comprehensive story or a cast of characters riddled with personalities that felt more like cliches. It's still a very fun game, sure, but it just isn't what I wanted.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (2001)
The series was still riding high on the success of THPS2, and rightfully so, when this installment came forth. It was no THPS2, but it was by no means the awful game that many of its successors were. The graphical upgrade helped sustain the charm, too.
Vampire Night (2001)
There wasn't a whole lot to this game besides the fact that it came with a gun controller peripheral. It was a rail shooter, but not even the best rail shooter on the PS2. That honor belongs to the Time Crisis series.
WWF SmackDown!: Just Bring It (2001)
It's hard for me to remember the distinctions between all of my PS2 wrestling games, but this was the first one on the new generation of systems. Therefore, it was way smoother looking than anything I'd seen to date. By today's standards, of course, it looks horribly outdated and ugly.
WWE SmackDown!: Shut Your Mouth (2002)
I think this was the SmackDown game on which my friends and I spent the most time dabbling with content creation. Such creations included Bill Clinton, Adolf Hitler, Michael Jackson, and Saddam Hussein (topical!). I just wish you could import creations year in and year out instead of remaking the same basic wrestlers from the same basic parts.
WWE SmackDown!: Here Comes the Pain (2003)
Just because this was the last SmackDown game I owned doesn't mean it was the last one I played. My friend has been buying the annual installments for years and I almost always get to play around with the series every winter. Of course, I also feel no need to buy the games for myself anymore.
And that concludes that. I may be back soon with some book, TV, or movie editions of "Three-Sentence Reviews," but reviewing two-hundred games in the past two weeks has really sapped my energy for the concept. Someday, it'll happen. But not yet. Not yet.
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