PS2 recomendations

I just got a PS2. This is my first play station and I'm not sure what to play. Does anyone have recommendations?

Update: When I got the PS2 I forgot to get a memory card so I ordered it from amazon and got it today. I've started playing god of war and I also picked up Spyro the dragon as well as Max Payne.

These are good PS2 games you should consider:

- Shadow of the Colossus
- Okami
- Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
- God of War
- God of War II
- Ico
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell

I'm sure others will come up with more games...

Black
Burnout Revenge
Fatal Frame
God Hand
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Primal
The Getaway
TimeSplitters
Urban Chaos: Riot Response

That's only the tip of the iceberg that is the PS2 library. It even has its own Half-Life and Quake III Arena ports!

I'm of the personal opinion that Playstation 2 is one of the best consoles in terms of game library ever. The sheer amount of quality titles is outstanding. Although many of those titles have been ported or have had sequels, so it may not be as great as it once was.

My first recommendation would be Shadow of the Collosus. One of the best games on PS2 IMO. It is an experience by itself and it is not particularly long.
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is also a great game, and since chronologically it is really early in the story, it is a good game to jump into the franchise if you haven't played any.
Silent Hill 2 is also great, if you are into the horror genre. My personal favorite in the series, and it is a good point to start on. For SH3 you'd need to play the first one to get the full impact. Not the case with SH2.
If you are into RPGs, Persona 3: FES and Persona 4 are one of my favorites of the genre.
If you like Rockstar style of games, Bully is a great game to play. It is different enough from the GTAs to deserve a chance on its own. And well, if you want GTA, San Andreas won't steer you wrong. Many people loved it on PS2.
Devil May Cry 3 if you want to play some action. Also very early chronologically so it's a good game to jump into the series, and it is just a fun Hack n' Slash.
It has been ported to death, but if you haven't played Resident Evil 4, it is also a masterpiece of a game.

I can probably keep going and going. There is so much variety for the PS2. You are bound to find something amazing for your taste

There's honestly too many games to recommend on PS2. Maybe this will be a bit overwhelming, but it's a pretty damn good chart for choosing what to pick. Personally I think you should start off with Shadow of the Colossus, because that certainly is one of the system's best.

The PS2 doesn't have as good of a catalog as the Xbox did, but it does have Deus Ex: The Conspiracy.

Besides that, there's:

God of War 1 & 2
Hunter: The Reckoning – Wayward
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 1 & 2
Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel
The Bard's Tale
Killzone
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect

Final Fantasy X

A lot of people here already named some of my favorites, but here are some others:

Platforners
Ratchet and Clank
Sly Cooper

JRPGS
Kingdom Hearts
Xenosaga

Horror
Silent Hill (I still think pt. 4 is the scariest)

Action/Adventure
Devil May Cry (Don’t forget the first one!)
Beyond Good and Evil

Some of these have Xbox ports but as far as I know they were on PS first.

Dragon Quest 8, Disgaea, Onimusha, Viewtful Joe.

There's honestly too many games to recommend on PS2. Maybe this will be a bit overwhelming, but it's a pretty damn good chart for choosing what to pick. Personally I think you should start off with Shadow of the Colossus, because that certainly is one of the system's best.

I'm with this. Pick a genre.

Shooter: Timesplitters 2
Action Adventure (?): Ace Combat 5
Platformer: Ratchet and Clank
Stealth: Metal Gear Solid 2
Horror: Silent Hill 2
Fighting: Dead or Alive 2
Sports: SSX Tricky
RPG: Persona 3
Racing: Gran Turismo 4

Honestly, there's tons of games for any genre your interested in.

GTA SA/VC
Tony Hawk's Underground 1/2
Black
Shinobi
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Duelists of the Roses
Burnout Takedown 3
Metal Gear Solid 2

Ape Escape!

God of War games
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
Fatal Frame series
Drakan Ancients Gates
Sly Cooper (at least 1st one)
Jak and Daxter
Ratchet and Clank just to know where it began
Kya: Dark Lineage (I'm playing it right now and it's really fun action/adventure/platformer)
Primal is pretty nice exclusive
Klonoa 2 was fine too

A lot of people have recommended some really good games but here's a lesser well known gem 'Haunting Ground'.

A lot of people have recommended some really good games but here's a lesser well known gem 'Haunting Ground'.

That's a good one, I'd like to add Rule of Rose, Extermination and Clock Tower 3 to the list of hidden horror-themed gems every genre fan should look into.

The PS2 has so many great games so I am excited for you. Here are some of my favorites:

Burnout 3: Takedown and Burnout Revenge (phenomenal destructive racing games)
Culdcept (a really overlooked CCG/board game hybrid)
Disgaea 1 and 2 (wonderful strategy RPG)
Final Fantasy X and XII (Blitzball in FFX is one of my favorite in-game past-times)
God of War 1 and 2 (see where the series came from!)
Katamari Damacy (roll up things, so weird and fun)
Manhunt (cult classic murder simulation)
Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3
Mister Mosquito (super weird game where you play as a mosquito harassing a family)
All the Prince of Persia games
There are a bunch of other strategy RPGs that Atlus published that are worth playing if you like the genre, such as La Pucelle and Makai Kingdom.
Psychonauts
Rogue Galaxy (great JRPG)
Shadow Hearts games (RPGs with really neat "ring" systems)
Shadow of the Colossus
All the Shin Megami Tensei RPGs (Nocturne, Digital Devil Saga, Persona)
Silent Hill 2 and 3
Twisted Metal 2
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (great RPG)
Viewtiful Joe
The Xenosaga trilogy (one of my favorite RPG series of all time, so much so that I actually replayed the whole thing)

Enjoy!

I found Shadow of the Colossus to be mediocre at best, but your mileage may vary.

From my completed list:

Brave: The Search for Spirit Dancer
Jak 3
Mashed
The Matrix: Path of Neo
Ratchet & Clank (1, 2, 3, Gladiator)
Spartan: Total Warrior
Stuntman: Ignition
Transformers (2004)

I forgot about Odin Sphere. Beautiful game. It lags at times, which was fixed in the PS3/4 remaster along with some other added features.

There are seriously a lot of good titles to choose from, I’m actually rather curious as to which ones you’ll try first!

I forgot about Odin Sphere. Beautiful game. It lags at times, which was fixed in the PS3/4 remaster along with some other added features.

There are seriously a lot of good titles to choose from, I’m actually rather curious as to which ones you’ll try first!

You've forgotten about the Okami.

You've forgotten about the Okami.

Only because Tiamat named it first. 😅

There has been a lot of great suggestions.

Here are a few that come to mind:
Dark cloud 2
Fatal Frames series
The Lord of the Ring games

Ribbit King
Zapper
Fatal Frame 2

Those are a few I really enjoy off the top of my head.

That's a good one, I'd like to add Rule of Rose, Extermination and Clock Tower 3 to the list of hidden horror-themed gems every genre fan should look into.

Ah yes, Rule of Rose, the used price for which is currently... *checks*... 600 whole dollars.

I'm never gonna play this game. :S