I went to get a haircut recently, and when I walked in the barber, who runs a one-man haircut shop, had one of the Grand Theft Auto games up on his TV. Turns out that he has a PS2, and when I heard that he’d gone all the way through both God of War games, I realized that he was more than a casual gamer of the type that only plays Madden and GTA.

I started giving him recommendations, because the PS2 has a lot of really great games, and was fairly surprised to hear that although he’d played PsiOps and Destroy All Humans, he really hadn’t heard of most of the games I’d mentioned.

So I’ve sorted through mentally, and while I’ve avoided making this a top ten list, the anal overanalytical organizer in me has categorized the games into four groups of four: four Playstation two games I’ve always wanted to try but never got around to, four good games, four great games, and four that if you’ve never played you absolutely need to try. This article has turned out far larger than I’d originally intended, so I’m bolding the game titles should you want to skim what I’ve written.

So to start things out, let me hit the four Playstation 2 games that I’ve always wanted to try but never have. I won’t be able to give you too much on any of these, having not played them, but I hope to get a chance someday.

First up is Ico. The game is near-legendary, and I have yet to give it a shot. Currently, I’ve just got way more games than I can play, and I’m limiting myself to one Playstation 2 game at a time. Right now, it’s Final Fantasy XII, so I’ll have to finish that behemoth before I move on to something like Ico. I’m wanting to play this game primarily due to its reputation, as I have very little clue as to what the game’s about.

Fatal Frame is another series about which I know little. I know that Fatal Frame 2 and 3 are the titles in the series that made it to the PS2, and I know that it involves killing ghosts by taking their pictures before they can kill you. I’m hoping that it’s got more Resident Evil in it than Silent Hill.

Odin Sphere is a JRPG that sounds a lot like Dragon Warrior 4, an old game which I loved. I don’t know much about it other than it got good reviews. But I really like the idea of individual character stories which overlap and eventually intersect.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is a game I’d always wanted to play, but at this point I likely won’t. If I want to play a Dragon Quest game, I’ll probably get the Nintendo Wii one: Dragon Quest X. Release date still to be announced.

With those out of the way, let my talk about some PS2 games that I have played: my “good games” category. Firstly, Katamari Damacy. I do have to admit that Katamari Damacy is a totally bizarre game. The premise is that the King of All The Cosmos, who by the way looks absolutely ridiculous, got drunk or something and knocked all the stars out of the sky. Yeah, he’s a big guy. As his diminutive son, it’s your job to put the stars back. The way you go about this is by pushing your magical sticky ball – a “Katamari” – around the Earth. As you roll it, things stick to it, and it snowballs. You start collecting small things: paper clips, dice, pencils, and as you grow you’ll find yourself collecting flower pots, road cones, and cats. While I never managed to finish the game, (stupid time limits!) I do have to admit that it’s a lot of fun to push a big ball of stuff around, slowly growing it larger and larger, eventually picking up people, cars, and skyscrapers.

The next game is Hitman 2. I actually didn’t play this game on the PS2 – I played the PC version. And I never finished it. When I got to this one level where everything was covered in snow, a sniper in a tower kept taking me out before I could get anywhere near the place I needed to be. But there were enough fun levels leading up to this part that I’ll still recommend the game. It’s a stealth game, which as anyone who knows my game-playing predilections will know is a huge plus for me. I remember well sneaking into a mansion and poisoning some guy’s sushi, sneaking into a skyscraper to be properly positioned to snipe a general who was in a neighboring penthouse, and infiltrating an underground lair. The game in some ways feels a bit like the Thief series, but with guns. Fun.

Another Playstation 2 game that I actually played on the PC is Metal Gear Solid 2. It’s the only game in the series that I played, and I really enjoyed it. I own copies of Metal Gear Solid 1 for the Playstation and MGS3 for the PS2, but haven’t gotten into either. To make it even worse, the PC port of MGS2 that I played was one of the worst ports I’ve ever played. The fact that I was able to get as far into the game as I did despite the bad port speaks to how good the game is. Odd then that I could never get into MGS1 or MGS 3. I’ll have to go back to them some day.

The last game in my “good games” list is Resident Evil: Code Veronica X. It’s the last title in the series to adhere to the original formula. After this game Resident Evil 4, which might as well have been part of a different series. But if you loved Resident Evil 2 like I did, you’re likely to get a kick out of Code Veronica. They made some minor modifications to the original engine to utilize the PS2’s 3D capabilities, but it definitely has the feel of the original games, which is why I enjoyed it so much. Unfortunately, the game is also very hard. After I’d gotten about halfway into the game, I found myself in a situation where I was gravely wounded without enough ammo or healing supplies to go on. I had to restart the entire game. The next time through, I got a good bit further, but found myself in the same predicament. This time, I quit rather than restarting the whole game. There’s only so much I can take.

Next up, my four “great” games. The one I’ll hit first is God of War. If you haven’t heard much about this game, you probably don’t play games very much. Kraatos is a badass Spartan who could kick the crap out of most of the characters in 300. Kraatos has the attitude of Jack Burton, the skill of Darth Maul, and the luck of Bruce Campbell’s Ash. He spends most of the game telling the gods to piss off, and decides to kill Ares and become the god of war. A great movie quote comes to mind: “Crom, I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if we were good men or bad. Why we fought, or why we died. All that matters is that two stood against many. That’s what’s important! Valor pleases you, Crom… so grant me one request. Grant me revenge! And if you do not listen, then to HELL with you!”

I’m currently playing Final Fantasy XII on and off when I’m not in the mood for Far Cry 2 or Thief Deadly Shadows, and when the big TV isn’t available for me to play Resident Evil 5. It’s a JRPG, and I guess I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with JRPGs. I can only take so much of them, but at the same time, they tend to be very very long games. That’s probably why I’ve taken a few month-long breaks from the game before going back to it. I do like the Final Fantasy games, but I’ve only ever played IX to completion. Final Fantasy XII is a great game – complex story, interesting skill and level advancement system, and certainly lots to find. I’m actually amazed that they could fit everything they did on one disc. If you’re into JRPGs, there’s no reason not to recommend it.

Indigo Prophecy has its plusses and minuses, but for me the fantastic gameplay outweighs the mindbendingly bizarre plotline that emerges in the latter portions of the game. It’s an adventure game in the vein of Syberia or Still Life, but in addition to the staple puzzles, the game incorporates certain real-time elements. In conversations, if you fail to pick a response within the allowed time, your character will mumble something stupid or incriminating. Essentially, something bad for you. There are quicktime-type events that control action sequences, stealth sequences, and split-screen action segments that build tension by showing you how close that cop is to opening the door while you frantically try to hide the evidence. You play as Marcus, an everyman who wakes up in the bathroom of a diner with a dead body and blood on his hands. He’s got no memory of what happened, but there’s a cop on the way. The plot picks up from there, and he struggles to find out what’s going on. Then the game switches and you find yourself playing the cops investigating the murder. It’s pretty wild playing both angles, but it makes for some great storytelling.

Shadow of the Colossus is designed by the same team that worked on Ico. You may remember me having written about it in my “Keepers” segment. I’m willing to bet that most of the PS2 games in this column will show up in “Keepers” eventually if they haven’t already. Shadow of the Colossus is a beautiful game distilled down to its core elements. There are no hit points, you can’t buy new equipment, and nothing to unlock. Just a boy finding and defeating colossi – a giant series of boss battles. And it’s awesome. Read the Keepers article for more info.

With those dozen games out of the way, it’s time to hit the four games I think are absolutely must-play titles for the Playstation 2. Firstly, Beyond Good and Evil. I’m hoping that the good people of Lungfishopolis aren’t staging a coup over my incessant raves about this title, but what can I say? I love the game. It’s available on the Playstation 2, so of course I had to include it. It’s got action, stealth gameplay, intrigue, mini-games, stuff to collect, and talking anthropomorphic animals. What more could you ask?

Okami is another seriously overlooked game. Although I never played the PS2 version, I’m roughly 80% finished with the Wii version of the game, and it’s fantastic. Definitely of the Zelda ilk, Okami puts you in the role of a Japanese god who takes the form of a white dog. You spend the game running around, battling increasingly powerful demons, and turning the blighted land into a beautifully colored landscape, which ends up being surprisingly satisfying. The graphics in this game, while not photorealistic, are just incredible.

Next up is Resident Evil 4. While it’s a big departure from the previous titles in the series, Resident Evil 4 is just a great game. Although I’ve always preferred using a mouse and keyboard for shooters, the laser sights made the joypad usable. And the game had some seriously awesome moments. Battling insane villagers while riding in a runaway minecart has to be my favorite, but the jetski chase and the part where you need to protect a girl with a sniper rifle were also fun. There are some portions of the game that are maddeningly difficult, but nothing impossible. Plus, you get to make the president’s daughter spend time in a dumpster.

Lastly, the game from which I got the title for this site: Psychonauts. Psychonauts has got to be one of my favorite games ever, and with good reason. It’s fun, and it’s incredibly funny. I even got my wife to play through the game as far as Lungfishopolis, which is at least halfway. The premise here is that a psychic kid named Rasputin has broken into a summer camp for psychic kids, and is being sent home. He’s only got a couple days in which to train before he’s got to leave. In the meantime, he uncovers a diabolical conspiracy.