So hey, first time posting in a lot of years. Recently rediscovered Giant Bomb for the first time since launch and got myself a membership, so I'm catching myself up on a lot that I've missed.

Anyway, I currently have a PS3, Xbox 360 and a gaming PC. I've been missing a lot of the older games I played years ago on PS2, and there's a few games I never got the chance to play. Such as Final Fantasy XII, Onimusha series, Dark Cloud 1&2, and loads more.

Games roughly cost about £10-15, or more depending on rarity, and a new console costs about £100.

So does anyone still have and play their PS2's? Never get the same feeling playing most current-gen games that I did with older games.

Sure.

I bought a second hand one for £20 a few months ago. Very good value, it's definitely worth having one.

I still have mine, although I feel faaaaar more attracted to going back to the N64 generation and re-playing all of the awesome platformers. Man... if I didn't have so much uni, I would be all over banjo Kazooie

@GloriousDinosaur: I think Banjo Kazooie is still on Xbox Live, if you're interested

yes, ps2's are amazing. so so many great games. just... stay away from FFXII.

@ElNeebre: PS2s are dirt cheap now, so I would say go for it. Ignore @killacam:, my friends loved FFXII. Well not all of them, but it's worth trying if you're into them!

@ElNeebre: PS2s are dirt cheap now, so I would say go for it. Ignore @killacam:, my friends loved FFXII. Well not all of them, but it's worth trying if you're into them!

For the first time since launch, you say?

Then yes, and buy persona 4, and stay the fuck away from watching the endurance run. It's a brilliant game, well worth the price of the heavily discounted system and game at this point. That alone is worth it, gives up to a hundred excellent hours.

If you've seen the endurance run, then my personal knowledge on PS2 games you need to play runs out, but overall, it's a great console. Lots to like.

I still have and play my ps2, every once in a while i pop in Persona 3, reset my save and play the first hour pretending im going to actually finish it this time.

just be aware it looks SHIT on a big LCD TV.

just be aware it looks SHIT on a big LCD TV.

@killacam: Wii games look better than PS2, and I shall always be defying.

@Tylea002: No personal knowledge of PS2 games? I feel obliged to make you play more PS2 games.

@Baillie: Never owned a PS2. I got an xbox, and with the game selection between the consoles, have no regrets. I'm aware of the few I played at others houses. I know the shit out of crash bandicoot.

I did see a PS2 for £30 and I was sorely tempted, but there's no time for all these current gen games I want to play, let alone PS2 time.

Yeah get one, but don't pay more than 30 pounds for it, jesus. I thought I overpayed when I got one for $50.

I use my PS3 to play them, but ya I got many a PS2 game. I just bought two more a few weeks back as a matter of fact. The PS2 had a huge library of great games, and assuming you can find them you can usually get them pretty cheap. Just be careful not to go too deep down that hole of old PS2 games though, because a lot of the really good games cost as much as a new game does these days if you are not careful with whom you buy from.

Totally! Bought one super cheap about 6 months ago during that drought period, and got God of War II, Devil May Cry 3, Persona 4 and Okami for dirt cheap. Those games hold up really well, and there's plenty more I could go out and get. Plus, once you've looked at worse graphics for a while, you end up not caring.

Word of warning if you plan on getting P4: don't dive straight into P3 afterwards. That game is way more obtuse and has some frustrating elements that makes P4 look better in hindsight.

@killacam said:

@doobie said:

just be aware it looks SHIT on a big LCD TV.

wouldn't this depend on the tv's upscaler and/or general quality? but yeah i guess the bigger, the lesser. i only ask because i'm wondering whether to hook my wii up to my 32" CRT or my 22" LED (high-end) for xenoblade.

It depends on the TV yes. PS2 looks much better on my 32" SONY LCD than on a 28" SONY CRT.

@killacam: Xenoblade- definitely the LED with component cables. If not for the overall visual fidelity, just because this is a game world that needs to be seen in 16:9. Also games like Galaxy or Skyword Sword really benefit from the widescreen, even if it is only displayed in 480.

I have been mulling over picking up a PS2 again. I sold off a slim one a few years ago, but the urge to play Capcom vs. SNK 2 has been gnawing at me. A number of the platform's best games have been brought to other consoles, but there are still some gems in the library that you can get at a good price.

Yeah! And I'm with you, jaggies all the way. It's just a reality that with older hardware like a Wii, some games will have some pretty nasty looking jags and textures. So a higher resolution tv will bring out the nastiness of some of those textures. Luckily, there are a whole lot of Wii games that are really clever with their art design, so the old hardware is less of an issue and it will look beautiful on your LED, Xenoblade being one of them!

Mine is about to die so I would like to know where I should get one online. Thank you in advance to anyone that can help me out!

Should you buy the best console ever made? Well...Yes.

They sell for a 100$ now, which is a steal. The PS2 library is pretty incredible and huge.

Also, considering the amount of revisions they made to the system over the years of it's production (internally, not just fat to slim), a brand new one is probably ultra reliable and energy efficient.

Use your gaming PC to run PCSX2 to run your games at high resolutions.

Definitely going to buy one, I found out from the sellers on Amazon (all new copies, would really prefer splashing for a new model rather than buying a used model) that they're the new 90000 models, so should be built to last!

Any amazing games to recommend that I might not have heard of?

I still have my launch PS2 with FMCB on it so I can play English patched Japanese exclusive titles. PCSX2 is hit or miss, there are some games that just don't work, work poorly, or are inaccurate. I'd say go for it, but you may want to invest in a scaler/line-doubler as well. Don't forget to pick up some component cables for it, or if you have the option RGB Scart (Preferred, especially since I assume you're British.)

I actually just found out my younger sister has a PS2 Slim she doesn't use, so I've adopted it. Only problem is the casing is a bit scratched up... is it still possible to get replacement casing? I'm a bit fuckin' OCD with my gaming.

@killacam said:

@Baillie said:

@ElNeebre: PS2s are dirt cheap now, so I would say go for it. Ignore @killacam:, my friends loved FFXII. Well not all of them, but it's worth trying if you're into them!

you dare defy me?!

I dare defy you. I enjoyed FF12. Vidja' games!

No get a PS2 emulator and play your PS2 games that you own on PC. Ive played FFXII on PC with max AA and fast loading plus save anywhere.

just do it. i concur though, try to avoid playing on an HDTV.

I would say no way its worth the time and money.  I still have mine that I bought used in 2005 and mostly played madden on it.

Not too sure. You can probably get the important stuff on PS3, either on PSN or in HD rereleases. Okami and Persona 4 aren't on there I think, but those are the only ones that stick out to me.

Missed the part where you said you decided toi get one, sorry. I bought a PS2 a couple of years after the PS3 launched. Okami, Shadow of the Colossus and Persona 4 were pretty great experiences. DMC1 and 3 are nice, but really overshadowed by Bayonetta. I was recommended Nightshade, Killer 7 and Odin Sphere, but wouldn't reccomend either of them on account of never bothering to play them all the way through. The Ratchet and Clank games are nice too, but terribly similar.

I have a PS2, and I say it is worth it. I also loved FFXII, and games like Xenoblade are inspired on it. It's a great and lengthy game. 
 
Other games I suggest are: 

• Persona 3 FES
• Persona 4
• FFX and FFX-2
• Haunting Ground
• Silent Hill 2, 3 and 4
• Cold Fear

God, I can't decide. The 90000 (latest model) is £99, and there's so many games that I missed out on like the Castlevania's, Project Zero, Onimusha, Final Fantasy, Persona and loads more... but I'm not sure if it's a little too late to be buying a PS2.

Best system ever. Get Dragon Quest VIII

I made sure to get a 60gb launch PS3 so it would be backwards compatible. Now I keep my PS2 in the guest room but yeah, incredible back catalog. Arguably the best system ever.

@Lunar_Aura said:

Use your gaming PC to run PCSX2 to run your games at high resolutions.

I definitely wouldn't suggest anyone DO THIS. It totally doesn't look like it RUNS GREAT on midrange hardware. It also wouldn't be TOTALLY AWESOME with the Steam overlay.

@christ0phe said:

Best system ever. Get Dragon Quest VIII

Never played any of the Dragon Quest games, are they comparable to some of the older FF games?

@EisforExtinction said:

I made sure to get a 60gb launch PS3 so it would be backwards compatible. Now I keep my PS2 in the guest room but yeah, incredible back catalog. Arguably the best system ever.

Lucky, I couldn't get my PS3 until 2008, and my first PS2 (was a launch model) died around 2005, so I sold all of my games... deep regret!

@Lunar_Aura said:

Use your gaming PC to run PCSX2 to run your games at high resolutions.

If you have a gaming PC then you should be able to use PCSX2 to play your PS2 games right off the disc. Although I suspect most of the big PS2 games will come out as HD versions or be available on the PSN eventually.

@runcrash said:

@Lunar_Aura said:

Use your gaming PC to run PCSX2 to run your games at high resolutions.

If you have a gaming PC then you should be able to use PCSX2 to play your PS2 games right off the disc. Although I suspect most of the big PS2 games will come out as HD versions or be available on the PSN eventually.

Yeah my PC could probably run the games very well, but nothing beats playing the games on an actual console. PSN is horrible in the EU, Sony's support is pretty embarrassing compared to the US.

@ElNeebre: I've never played any of the olddd FF games, but I put more than 150 hours into Dragon Quest VIII. I'm not usually into old school RPGs, but man, it was incredible. The art style was awesome, and the world was so fun to explore. I would repurchase that game for $60 in a heartbeat

@christ0phe said:

@ElNeebre: I've never played any of the olddd FF games, but I put more than 150 hours into Dragon Quest VIII. I'm not usually into old school RPGs, but man, it was incredible. The art style was awesome, and the world was so fun to explore. I would repurchase that game for $60 in a heartbeat

Wow, just had a look at some gameplay and it looks pretty great. Art style for some of the human characters looks very much like DBZ, and the game itself is actually quite cheap on Amazon.

Also, would the official component cable end up having a better quality picture than 3rd party component cables? or is it like HDMI cables - they all do the same thing.