15 Greatest Late-Generation PlayStation 2 Games

Can you remember what your PS2's final spin was?

It may be dusty, it may not even be in your house any more, but we challenge anyone to not remember almost every single day they spent with their beloved PS2 over the years. Finding the expansion slot and wondering just what it was actually for (a network adapter nobody bought, it turns out), assembling a collection of 'purple discs' that always seemed to make more noise than the regular ones - and the day it started making funny noises and eventually died - the PS2 is rightfully the best selling console of all time for all of the above reasons and more. As developers gradually got used to the system and knew where and how to push its limits, it was far easier for hardware-maestros like Rockstar and Naughty Dog to create titles like San Andreas and Jak 3 respectively, both of them being perfect iterations on already-winning formulas. Sony's showed huge faith in the system too, as it wasn't actually put to bed and discontinued until 2012 (some six years after the PS3 landed), and in the run-up to the newer system finding its feet we got our hands on some of the finest titles that would make up this illustrious back-catalogue. From genre-defining landmark instalments the world would take influence from, to forgotten classics that deserve a sequel alongside what else is coming, when Playstation Now gets up and running the need to revisit these games will be overwhelming.
 
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Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.