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"If you go down to the shops today..."

If you go down to the shops today... your sure of a big surprise, for Playstation 2 is having a picnic. The recent price drop has been discussed, and can only be interpreted as a good thing. The number of sales for the last few months has shot through the roof, confirming Sony's extremely strong position. Accompanying the price drop is the next wave of top quality titles for the Playstation 2, which is yet another incentive to go for Sony's sleek black tower.

However, this topic is not designed to look to the future, instead I intend to look back at the first year of the PS2's life, and give any new PS2 owners a taste of the best titles that have arrived already. If you were t buy a PS2 today, what would be the best five games to buy? Imagining you have enough money for the console, any necessary accessories, and 5 games, which games do you go for?

I have put together the top five titles that are not necessarily the five games that scored highest in their reviews, but instead the five that give the widest range of genres, whilst maintaining a high level of quality:

1) Gran Turismo 3 - It seems the most obvious I guess, especially as most PS2s these days are bundled with this game anyway, but the main reason this game is included is that it is quite possibly the best game on PS2. No other game has the same level of realism when it comes to graphics, and handling of the cars. The gameplay is solid, and the lastability huge. This is a game that all PS2 owners should buy.

2) Snowboard Supercross - One of the earliest PS2 games, arriving on launch day, and providing the most exhilarating experience on the playstation. This game has the most addictive gamplay around, and though it does have a tough beginning, once you get going, you'll enjoy every moment of it. The feeling you get when you finally beat the scores on pipedream, or the first time you beat half a million points is unbeatable, making this the best launch title, and a game that is still worth every penny today.

3) Grand Theft Auto 3 - Just managing to arrive on PS2 before the year is up is Rockstar's lethal drive`em, beat`em, shoot`em, kiss`em up... and more ups that shouldn't really be mentioned. This game might not have the graphical detail of Gran Turismo, but it does have the interesting detail in the form of hidden things to find, and unusual experiences to take part in. Packed with things to do, this is really multiple games put together, and should definitely be in the shopping bag if you buy a PS2 today.

4) TimeSplitters - Who needs a plot? This game lost marks because of its poor story and short one player interest, but it really doesn't matter when the multiplayer game is so much fun. Who cares about Half-life, Red Faction, Unreal Tournament and Quake 3, when you have one of the best multiplayer experiences of all time? The fun really is undescribable! If you're looking for something addictive, then forget drugs, try TimeSplitters.

5) Fur Fighters - Huh? Why? Seems like an odd choice really, seeing as there are other close contenders like Starfighter, Zone of the Enders and Onimusha, but Fur Fighters is one of those games that just seems to fit nicely into a game collection. It compliments the others in this selection perfectly. The game itself is actually very good, and brims with detail. The lastability is enormous, as the game will take a while to complete, as well as having a large amount of replay incentive. You might not laugh out loud during the game, but you'll come pretty close.

So there it is. The five games I would recommend to anybody who has missed out on the magic of PS2's first year. As I mentioned in the paragraph above, there were many games that came very close - I was very tempted to put Capcom's Onimusha in at 5, but the titles above give you the best range of things to do, and a high level of gaming quality at the same time.

If you go down to the shops today... then those are the titles to buy.

>head hunter will be on PS2

?

someone said abut headhunter being a dreamcast game and i said it would be on PS2

Already have :-)

go on to the I WON Topic

Kid Rock wrote:
ok then the controls arent bad ( red faction but
> opposite)

Both the controls in Red Faction and in TimeSplitters are customisable, so there isn`t a great deal of difference.

the game is nt good because the graphics seem to be trying to do jet
> set radio but failing and i dont like it

Fair enough, if thats your opinion. Personally I quite like the visuals, as they are bright, happy and full of life, which makes a change from the more realistic games on PS2.

>head hunter will be on PS2

?

I also want tricky now that i can claim SH2 as my GAD (cheers sr!) prize and that allows me to get Tricky for xmas :-)

yep so is SSX Tricky but im getting it for christmas

Kid Rock wrote:
> Code: 144 Complete wrote:
> I went down to my local game shop and I found
> Pal cases of these coming soon
> games:

Simpson's Road Rage
SSX
> Tricky
Devil May Cry
Pro Evolution Soccer

is that EB

Well, in way yeah coz Ive been to both shops in my area and they have almost the same games only that I saw Simpsons Road Rage at EB only and Pro Evo Soccer in Game only as for the rest they were in both shops.

pro evo's out this friday isn't it

Code: 144 Complete wrote:
> I went down to my local game shop and I found Pal cases of these coming soon
> games:

Simpson's Road Rage
SSX Tricky
Devil May Cry
Pro Evolution Soccer

is that EB

I went down to my local game shop and I found Pal cases of these coming soon games:

Simpson's Road Rage
SSX Tricky
Devil May Cry
Pro Evolution Soccer