PlayStation 2: It Came, It Saw, It Kicked Ass Ц Part 2

Written by Adam Woolcott  on October 26, 2005

Specials: Of Yunies and Snake Eaters and Katamari's, oh my!

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2005 Ц It Ain't Dead Yet

Back in 2003, many games shipped in the earliest months in order to avoid the Grand Theft Auto juggernaut. The same could be said for 2005, though it seemed far less obvious this time around. Namco and Sony had the largest hand, with Namco shipping Xenosaga Episode II and Tekken 5, for starters. Xenosaga II was not quite as well-received as its predecessor, though the game was still pretty good and contained the same strong story that the series is known for. Tekken 5 improved on the disappointing Tekken 4, with the back-to-basics gameplay the series was known for on PlayStation, though a lack of online play hurt even if no other fighters seem to want to jump on the bandwagon unless it's on Xbox. Sony on the other hand, unleashed one sequel and one original title that became a huge hit. The oft-delayed Gran Turismo 4 finally saw release, and left many wondering what caused all these postponements considering how little the difference is between it and GT3. The removal of online play caused a stir as well. The game was still great, but not the step forward the franchise was known for. A month later, Sony unleashed God of War Ц and brought new life to the action-adventure genre. Controlling anti-hero Kratos, GoW put you into a Greek epic, as you are tasked with the taking down of Ares, the God of War. Thanks to intense combat and adventure aspects, God of War became a critically and commercially successful title. It's only real competition was the brutal hardcore action game Devil May Cry 3, which carved its niche thanks to ultra-challenging gameplay and a more engaging main character in badass demon slayer Dante, before he became the badass demon slayer.

After God of War shipped in late March, the PS2 practically fell off the map for a while. The day after GoW shipped, the PS2 immediately became Sony's oldest piece of hardware, thanks to the release of the PlayStation Portable. With all the attention diverted to that, PS2 was left out of the limelight while Sony pushed PSP with all their might. In May at E3, Sony unveiled the PlayStation 3, which made PS2 seem even less relevant suddenly, it seemed that PS2 was finally going to be phased out soon. Throughout this time, there was hardly anything released. The few notable titles included Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, the latest Atlus RPG, Digital Devil Saga, Makai Kingdom, and NCAA Football 06. Otherwise, it was the deadest time for PS2 since those sad days in 2001. The only big news came from a game released in 2004, when GTA San Andreas was pulled off the shelves and slapped with an AO rating after some keen hackers found Hot Coffee inside, letting you have virtual, clothed sex with equally clothed females in some strange fully dressed act. There was light at the end of the tunnel though, and starting with the first Madden to release since EA and the NFL became blood brothers, things began to pick up again.

It started with Square Enix's Radiata Stories, almost in the same fashion that Star Ocean 3 led off the charge of 2004. The following week, Burnout Revenge found its way to stores, with its altered gameplay and intense sense of speed. A new Mortal Kombat shipped Ц but not the MK you'd expect. Instead, Midway LA created Shaolin Monks, a beat 'em up style fighter taking place in the Mortal Kombat II universe, which turned out to be a very good brawler. Katamari Damacy got a sequel in the even more bizarre We Love Katamari, which shook up the core gameplay with numerous different goals and the ability to roll up the sun. Shifting into October, all of the mascot franchises returned again Ц with Sly Cooper 3 being the only 'normal' one of the three now. Jak X turned into a racing game based on the buggies from Jak 3, and Ratchet: Deadlocked became SOCOM, cartoon style. Speaking of, SOCOM 3 also found its way to stores, with an improved single-player campaign and 32 player online games. The ICO team returned with Shadow of the Colossus, creating a huge, beautiful world with merely 16 enemies in the whole thing Ц and all of them were giant, hulking bosses, known as Colossi. Each one is a puzzle, as you must climb them in order to take them out, and none are as easy as it seems. Rockstar's heavily-delayed Warriors beat 'em up shipped Ц based on the movie of 1979, it puts you in the shoes of The Warriors prior to the events of that cult hit. And of course, there was a new Tony Hawk game, and a Hot Coffee-removed version of San Andreas shipped, in Special Edition form.

This leads us up to today, October 26, 2005. Even today, the hits keep coming, as you'll be able to find Resident Evil 4 and Soul Calibur III on shelves right now. While SCIII is a PS2-exclusive, RE4 is a port from the GameCube hit, a very well-received, GOTY quality hit at that, but with numerous features not found in the GCN version, such as the Separate Ways game which puts you in Ada's high heels for some 8 hours. And that's not even it for 2005. RPG fans will be busy in November, as Atlus will be releasing the Korean RPG hit Magna Carta, which takes traditional RPG-style battles and twists them into a semi real-time system. Square Enix will be releasing Japan's biggest game of last year, Dragon Quest VIII, not long after that. Finally able to keep the DQ name instead of Dragon Warrior, DQVIII hopes to win over new fans in addition to those who have played since the first Dragon Warrior on NES...even the altered freebie included with a Nintendo Power subscription. In an attempt to get this added fanbase, Square is taking a very smart route, including a playable demo of Final Fantasy XII in the package, though its unknown how long it will be packed in. In addition, Prince of Persia 3 will release, as will the latest console entry in the Castlevania series, in the 3D adventure Curse of Darkness.

Though 2005 will not go down as one of the best years for PS2, it was still very good and there was plenty to play, even with PSP and PS3 taking the spotlight and the Xbox 360 releasing soon. The writing is on the wall and PlayStation 2 is almost shut down. However...

2006 & Beyond Ц Going Out With a Bang

This leads us to the end of our history lesson. Next year, the PlayStation 3 will be here, and PS2 will fall out of the limelight Ц though it looks like its last real year will be great Ц especially if you're an RPG fan. 2006 looks to parallel 2000 a whole lot, when the PlayStation was bombarded with role-players as PS2 neared launch. Thinking about how many RPGs will be shipping in 2006 and beyond is insane. Wild Arms 4, Shadow Hearts 3, Kingdom Hearts II, Grandia III, Rogue Galaxy, Xenosaga III, and of course, Final Fantasy XII Ц what a horde of titles, and that's just the start! There are a few others Ц Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition should be here, and letting you play through the game from Vergil's point of view. Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence, once thought to be a 2005 release (though it is...in Japan), will find its way here, and will hopefully sell well thanks to online play and the new camera mode. Criterion's FPS Black will be here in February, and Rockstar's soon-to-be controversial Bully eventually will hit stores. Hopefully Polyphony's Tourist Trophy, better known as GT4 with motorycles, will come here. And that's based on what we actually know Ц who knows what else will ship. But if nothing else comes out for PS2, it's had a long, healthy life full of quality content Ц one could probably skip a generation and still have plenty to play on PS2 until PlayStation 4 comes out. At least PS3 is backwards compatible, eh?