On October 26, 2000, the Sony PlayStation 2 was launched, delivering not only one of the single best software libraries to the world, but also cementing a slew of features as commonplace items in every system hence: backwards compatibility, online gaming, multimedia functionality. That none of these was originated by Sony itself is a testament to the console’s legacy.

To commemorate the occasion, TotalPlayStation has gathered some of the best and most influential journalists, from either in-house or outside publications, to discuss one of their most cherished games from the PS2’s long lifecycle.

Ten authors and ten years in ten days. Let the celebration begin.

Author: Aram Lecis [TotalPlayStation Senior Editor]
Game: Twisted Metal: Black
Release date: June 18, 2001

When I brought home my launch-day PSX and popped in the demo disc that came with it, the one that jumped out at me more than anything, by far, was the non-interactive demo for a little game called Twisted Metal. I must have watched that video 50 times and showed it to every one of my friends, swearing it was going to be the best game ever made. When release day came, I picked it up along with Warhawk. My roommate and I got home that night, popped in Twisted Metal, played for about 10 minutes, threw in Warhawk, and became so engrossed that we played it for a month straight. When we finally got tired of the game (how did that take a month!), we remembered TM and gave it another go. For the next 18 months, we played it for two hours every night. We finally stopped when Twisted Metal 2 came out, and we spent another year playing that every night. (It’s also fair to point out that I love demolition derbies, the pen-and-paper RPG Car Wars, and fantasizing that I have a rocket launcher mounted on my hood every time someone cuts me off in traffic – so the TM series is right in my wheelhouse.)

Twisted Metal: Black, the fifth game in the franchise, is a return to roots. The original two entries were developed by SingleTrac before the reins were turned over to Sony’s internal 989 Studios. SingleTrac went on to create two underrated and overlooked vehicle combat games, Critical Depth, which moved the genre out of cars and into submarines, and Rogue Trip: Vacation 2012, which was a refined TM with a few new gameplay elements and excellent level design. Several of the developer’s founding members then left the company to form Incognito, Inc., and Sony turned the new, PS2 iteration of its fading demolition series back over to them.

Firing up the game, you are immediately greeted by a much darker menu than in previous incarnations – reminiscent of David Fincher’s gritty film Se7en – while the haunting intro to “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones plays softly in the background. This theme continues into the character selection screen, where the contestants and vehicles have a decidedly more ominous look. There are 10 vehicles immediately playable, and another five are silhouetted and unlockable. There is the usual mix of returning favorites, including Sweet Tooth, Outlaw, and Mr. Grimm, and some intriguing new faces, like Brimstone, a preacher in an El Camino; and Manslaughter, a mysterious figure driving a very imposing dump truck.

If you have played previous franchise installments, the gameplay isn’t going to hold any surprises. You drive, you shoot your machine guns (not too much – they overheat!), and pick up the usual variety of fire, homing, and power missiles. There are a few new weapons, such as the ricochet mine, which gains power the more walls it bounces off of before hitting its target (careful not to shoot yourself), and a devastating satellite missile strike. Of course, every vehicle has its unique special attack, and these are uniformly awesome in TMB. When you see Sweet Tooth coming at you and he transforms into a robot (while still driving around on wheels) and fires off 20 swarm missiles, you will shit yourself in some combination of terror and joy.

The real strength of the game, though, lies in its level design. Black features some of the most innovative and just plain fun levels ever seen in a vehicular combat game. They all carry the same dark themes that pervade the rest of the title, and to great effect. The levels are far larger than in any previous Twisted Metal (although there are also the classic tiny arenas, as well) and contain much more interactivity in their environments. Some of the locales include a drive-in movie theater, skyscraper rooftops, and an absolutely massive suburbia area, as well as one of the most incredible levels in any game to date: “Prison Passage,” which starts with two combatants in a tiny locked room that soon opens to reveal a large cargo ship with more combatants. After fighting them for a while, the ship docks at the courtyard of an asylum, and more enemies appear. Soon the asylum and surrounding roads open up, as well, revealing still more opponents – now you are fighting nine other cars that are spread all around the institution, the roads, and the ship. Lest you think this would lead to lulls in gameplay, rest assured that the action never stops coming fast and furious.

Another hallmark of the series has always been the over-the-top noir-horror stories surrounding each of the contestants, and TMB improves upon this, as well. While earlier titles told the story through the instruction manual and a few animated images accompanied by scrolling text after the final battle, Black raises the bar with intro, mid-point, and closing cutscenes (some featuring FMV) that provide far more narrative than in the past. Several of the stories would have to be classified as “mature,” and I found quite a few parts to be downright disturbing.

On the downside, however, the controls don’t seem to be quite as streamlined as they could have been. There are varying control layout options, but all of them have their shortcomings; using turbo, for example, is a total crapshoot – if you even have any charges left, since it is very easy to drain it all by mistakenly activating it. And the developers continue to try to shoehorn their awkward “special” system into the gameplay, which consists of pressing combos on the d-pad much like shooting a fireball in Street Fighter II. Although the combos generally do cool things like making you jump straight in the air, firing a missile to the rear, or generating a shield around your car, the system always feels clunky. I guess it’s lucky you can play through the entire game without ever touching it.

If you enjoyed previous Twisted Metals even in the slightest or if you like fast-paced, non-stop, action-packed combat and driving – or videogames and fun at all – then TMB is for you. There are so many little interesting nooks in every level, branching paths, vehicles that play wildly differently, and fascinating stories, that you will come back to this game again and again. It’s impossible to describe the feeling you get when following Roadkill when he is shooting flaming oil cans at Spectre while attempting to line up a kill shot with your homing missile. And just as you are about to hit the switch, Sweet Tooth comes screaming in from one side, firing a spread of missiles right at you, as Outlaw starts machine-gunning you from behind. Your precious life starts draining away – and you realize that health is just a few seconds away, if only you could make it. It’s a blast.

Twisted Metal: Black was released early in the PS2’s life, but it remains one of the system’s very best games to this day, nine long years later.

On October 26, 2000, the Sony PlayStation 2 was launched, delivering not only one of the single best software libraries to the world, but also cementing a slew of features as commonplace items in every system hence: backwards compatibility, online gaming, multimedia functionality. That none of these was originated by Sony itself is a testament to the console’s legacy.

To commemorate the occasion, TotalPlayStation has gathered some of the best and most influential journalists, from either in-house or outside publications, to discuss one of their most cherished games from the PS2’s long lifecycle.

Ten authors and ten years in ten days. Let the celebration begin.

Author: Scott Rodgers [TotalPlayStation Sports Editor]
Game: Kessen II
Release date: September 26, 2001

Kessen II doesn’t make a lick of sense. As someone who has read through every word of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is kind of insulting to think that this is how some people could have been introduced or reintroduced to the source material.

But, holy cow, was it fun.

Most know the RotK lore from the Dynasty Warriors franchise, but the two could not be more different. Whereas DW is based on hacking and slashing, fighting officers, and running from Lu Bu, Kessen II requires that you control an entire army. From its movements to its placement to its officers’ special abilities, you are required to control every detail of the battlefield.

The story would appear, on first blush, to be a form of fan fiction. Liu Bei and Cao Cao are going head to head – great. Makes a lot of sense, right? But what are they fighting for, exactly? Land? Power? Prestige? Well, all three, but the swerve comes in the fact that Diao Chan is Liu Bei’s love interest, and she also protects the Mandate of Heaven. Oh, and Cao Cao’s best officer is Himiko, an obscure Shamanic queen. Xun Yu is also a woman, for whatever reason, and she has feelings for Cao Cao. Because of this, she has it in for Diao Chan, and there is a hilarious – yet awkward – love triangle that bastardizes the history and the lore of RotK.

Cao Cao’s army is obviously much, much larger than Liu Bei’s. Where Liu Bei holds the advantage, however, is that Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhuge Liang, and Zhao Yun are easily the second through the sixth best officers, respectively, in the game, behind Himiko. That lends itself greatly to helping the player, as you have to complete Liu Bei’s story mode before unlocking Cao Cao’s. Without having this imbalance to counter the sheer size of the Wei army, it’d be very easy for the AI to just overwhelm the player (which it still sometimes does).

After scraping by and leveling up your units throughout the story mode, the two groups are roughly even by game’s end. And when the final confrontation takes place, Liu Bei’s army is actually superior to Cao Cao’s. The only difference is that Himiko is basically a one-woman wrecking crew, a la Lu Bu at Hu Lao Gate in the Dynasty Warriors franchise.
When you unlock Cao Cao’s story mode, it’s as though you have turned on cheats. His army is just so massive; you thump Liu Bei over and over. Of course, it’s suicidal to rush any one officer into battle against the “Three Brothers,” but with the Wei army at your fingertips, you can pit three or four officers against one “sibling” and systematically pick them off.

With its twists and turns, fan service appearances, and complete disregard for history, Kessen II provides a fantastic experience. The RPG elements of leveling up your officers give a constant sense of growth (though you’ll curse and throw controllers to see the magician on the other side use spell after spell, killing not only your army, but your morale), and watching the map turn green or red, depending on your affiliation, is satisfying – unless you’re a Wu fanboy. In that case, enjoy your one or two appearances and turn away while the demolition takes place.

Despite all this, though, I have to say that my favorite thing about the game was not necessarily the story, the characters, or the gameplay, but, rather, simply engaging in battle and just observing the results. (It really showcased the power of the PlayStation 2 – and this was in 2001.) Koei’s games are renown for their ability to have hundreds or thousands of combatants on the map, and Kessen II was no different, save for the removal of button mashing, which allowed the player to become a spectator of epic (quasi) historical scenes.

Nothing drove this home more than the dueling mechanic. When challenged to a duel, your warrior’s fate is completely out of your hands. It’s totally up to who is the stronger character, though you never know who the stronger officers are (although you can make an educated guess by the time you experience the game some more). It is suspenseful in a way that wouldn’t be possible if the player had control over the sequences.

Basically, it boils down to this: Kessen II is one of those rare games that get better the more you play. In a day where most gamers are one and done with single-player titles or campaign modes, Koei’s little game invites you to keep playing. As you get better and understand the mechanics more, the experience is unlike anything else out there – so much so that I will still pop it in my PS3 when I get in the mood for some strategy.

Kessen II never gets old, is still a heck of a lot of fun, and, in the end, isn’t that what we want from our games? There are so many great titles that came out for the PS2, but I think this is a hidden gem that still could surprise today’s PS3 audience.

On October 26, 2000, the Sony PlayStation 2 was launched, delivering not only one of the single best software libraries to the world, but also cementing a slew of features as commonplace items in every system hence: backwards compatibility, online gaming, multimedia functionality. That none of these was originated by Sony itself is a testament to the console’s legacy.

To commemorate the occasion, TotalPlayStation has gathered some of the best and most influential journalists, from either in-house or outside publications, to discuss one of their most cherished games from the PS2’s long lifecycle.

Ten authors and ten years in ten days. Let the celebration begin.

Author: Andre Segers [GameXplain Co-founder]
Game: Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2
Release date: October 1, 2002

Somehow, I doubt many people would cite Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 as one of their most memorable PlayStation 2 games. It doesn’t feature the open-world gameplay of Grand Theft Auto, nor an involved storyline like Metal Gear Solid, and it lacks the simulation and graphical detail of the beloved Gran Turismo. Oh, and it was also available on the Xbox and GameCube, too (though the definitive version belonged to PS2). Instead, it’s just an arcade racer that delivers a thrilling experience. And yet it became one of my favorite racing games not just on the the PlayStation 2, but of all time.

At its core, Hot Pursuit 2 seems like your standard arcade racer: high-speed races in exotic cars through a wide array of environments. However, as the name suggests, the game sets itself apart with its focus on evading the law enforcement officers who wish to put an end to your exotic parade. You’ll find their cruisers stationed throughout the race, with their looming presence hinted at by the on-screen radar detector. As soon as you fly by one, he’ll pursue you non-stop, first by trying to run your vehicle off the road, then by attempting more drastic measures, such as setting blockades, spike traps, and even calling in explosive-dropping helicopters.

Much of the game’s thrill factor is a function of its fantastically immersive presentation. While being tailed by the fuzz, you could listen in on their radio chatter as they collaborated to take you down. It was exhilarating to hear the cops actually reference your vehicle by color and manufacture as you blazed by at speeds a good distance north of illegal. Besides just adding that extra special touch of immersion, it also served an important gameplay use, providing a heads-up as to what traps to expect. And while you had no true defense besides evasion, you did have a couple of tools at your disposal. By tapping either of the trigger buttons, you could briefly halt the action and perform either a bullet time-esque 360-degree survey around your car, or perform a quick camera-zoom a few hundred yards up the street to see what the cops may have in store for you. These nifty camera tricks not only looked cool but were extremely useful, helping to level the playing field.

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 is one of the most polished games for the PlayStation 2. Its brilliant take on high-speed thrill rides, combined with fantastic visuals and an eccentric soundtrack (how many games include Rush?) crafted an experience that has yet to be bested. And though the franchise is now in the hands of the beloved creators of Burnout, they have their work cut out for them if they truly wish to take out the pack leader, Hot Pursuit 2.

On October 26, 2000, the Sony PlayStation 2 was launched, delivering not only one of the single best software libraries to the world, but also cementing a slew of features as commonplace items in every system hence: backwards compatibility, online gaming, multimedia functionality. That none of these was originated by Sony itself is a testament to the console’s legacy.

To commemorate the occasion, TotalPlayStation has gathered some of the best and most influential journalists, from either in-house or outside publications, to discuss one of their most cherished games from the PS2’s long lifecycle.

Ten authors and ten years in ten days. Let the celebration begin.

Author: Parjanya Holtz [TotalPlayStation Senior Editor]
Game: Beyond Good & Evil
Release date: November 11, 2003

Have your own style; be willing to take creative risks even if those come with commercial ones – that’s what I would tell anyone asking me for his or her advice on how to make a great videogame. But Michel Ancel never needed me, or anyone else, to tell him anything – Beyond Good & Evil is excellent, and it’s likely because he never listened to anyone but himself.

Ancel is French, and he can’t hide that in his games and their art design. With BG&E, he created a world full of whimsical, almost nightmarish characters, giving them a more realistic, human touch, and placing them in a space opera/sci-fi conspiracy story that obviously has its roots in modern, social real-world issues.

Sadly, the game never stood a fair chance of becoming a commercial success, despite critics flipping over in excitement all around the world – not even they were able save the title from commercial annihilation. Unfortunately, Ancel’s game came out in an especially fruitful year for the industry, which made it all the more difficult for such a sophisticated piece of independent property to find an audience.

The game lives in a sense of immediacy that echoes from “normal,” human issues. For instance, Jade, the game’s heroine and investigative journalist, and Pey’j, a boar-like creature and father figure to Jade, run out of money to be able to keep the forceshield up that helps them protect a bunch of war-orphaned kids they’ve taken in.

It’s a brilliant way to begin a brilliant story. Such biting social commentary is rarely found in videogames, in general, but it’s sprinkled liberally throughout this one, in specific, mirroring today’s society in a cartoony, overdrawn, almost ironic French way and making it incredibly easy for the player to identify him- or herself with the characters and their issues.

Looking back, Ubisoft’s decision to release Ancel’s game in such a packed holiday season might not have been an especially smart one. However, the fact that he is given another chance with the IP confirms that the French publisher recognizes and trusts in the guy’s talents; Beyond Good & Evil 2 is indeed in development, and I couldn’t be happier about that. But that’s not all – just recently, the company announced that it would be releasing a remastered version of the original in the spring of 2011.

I just hope that the world recognizes the quality of the title and the importance of its commercial success this time.

On October 26, 2000, the Sony PlayStation 2 was launched, delivering not only one of the single best software libraries to the world, but also cementing a slew of features as commonplace items in every system hence: backwards compatibility, online gaming, multimedia functionality. That none of these was originated by Sony itself is a testament to the console’s legacy.

To commemorate the occasion, TotalPlayStation has gathered some of the best and most influential journalists, from either in-house or outside publications, to discuss some of their most cherished games from the PS2’s long lifecycle.

Ten authors and ten years in ten days. Let the celebration begin.

Author: Rus McLaughlin [Bitmob.com/EGM Editor]
Game: Shadow of the Colossus
Release date: October 18, 2005

By 2005, I’d heartlessly obliterated millions of pixels. I’d annihilated invaders, torn beating hearts out of kombatants, ran down thousands of pedestrians (most accidentally), and genocided at least a dozen alien races. Not once, not even for an instant, did I ever question why. Games are about objectives. To play a game, you complete tasks set down for you. Simple as that. Sure, I fielded my share of “Why am I still playing this crap?” moments, but that basic precept always held true.

Until Shadow of the Colossus.

Colossus is, by design, a stark experience. A young man named Wander makes a devil’s bargain with a disembodied spirit; to save the life of a young girl, Wander must hunt down and kill sixteen gigantic, magnificent creatures. Essentially, it’s 24/7 boss battles, and that’s the outward appeal.

Midway through this journey, however, you start to realize something’s horribly wrong here. Many of the Colossi ignore you completely until you start picking a fight with them. These aren’t evil, destructive monsters, but here you are, killing them. And you slowly start to wonder if that’s really the right thing to do. As you progress, Wander’s body becomes corrupt, reflecting the true nature of the work he’s doing. Wander is damning himself, and You the Player are helping him.

Where most games reward players for completing missions, every Colossus felled just deepens Wander’s tragedy. But like the best tragedies, you can’t walk away. You are compelled to see how it all plays out.

A lot of games featured compelling stories and interesting twists, but Colossus was the first to make me question what I was doing, and why. It made me realize killing the Colossi was fundamentally wrong without making me stop or hate the game. Quite the opposite. This was the moment I learned a game could be so much more than merely pushing buttons and completing objectives, and that’s still a standard I hold games to.