And why is it Mister Mosquito?
[Update: This article was originally published on March 4, the PS2’s actual birthday – but has been republished for the weekend as its a great point of community conversation.]
PlayStation 2 is 20 years old today. Can you believe it? Two whole decades since Sony knocked it out of the park with the iconic black box, which came smashing into a new millennium went on to become the best-selling video game console of all time… And it played DVDs!
No doubt many of you have a backlog of memories wound up in the PS2. For many video game fans, the PS2 was the console that sold them into gaming in the first place, thanks to a massive library of varied and unique titles covering a whole variety of genres. Whether you liked fighters, RPGs, sports games, shooters, third-person adventures, racing sims, brawlers, or atrocious movie adaptations, the PS2 had you covered.
Which gets me wondering: What is your definitive PS2 release? I’m not asking for the best PS2 game – or the game that is most closely associated with the console by the industry at large – but the game that defines the console’s everlasting legacy for you personally.
I have to go with Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. From the first day of release, I played it to death every night, well into the late morning, before going to work on just an hour’s sleep then repeating ad nauseam. The day-glo sequel improved upon the genre-breaking Grand Theft Auto III in every way, adding an all-star cast and a lurid ’80s aesthetic. Vice City truly felt like a “happening” in gaming. It was exciting, challenging, colourful, addictive, and funny… And that’s without even mentioning its stellar soundtrack.
But what about you? Which game will forever go down in history as your most fondly remembered PS2 release? Whatever your choice, we’d love to hear about it, so share your memories with us below.
Here’s to the PlayStation 2. May your pointless $20 vertical stand live on in infamy
