TotalPlayStation Holiday Buyer's Guide 2005
We spent all year cutting through the poo to get to the good stuff, and now we're passing along our knowledge to make sure you make someone's nice list this year.
Published: December 5, 2005
With over five and a half years of games, there are bound to be a couple of absolutely amazing ones that just slip through the cracks or never get the attention that they deserved. We've decided to give some love to our favorite little gems. All of them are from early on in the PlayStation 2 lifecycle, so they'll all look a little rough, with perhaps the exception of just one.
These can be gifts for yourself or others, but by all means make sure someone has them. You can try your luck and find them on eBay -- used, mind -- for fairly cheap, but since they were overlooked, most will go for a fairly hefty price even a few years later. It pales in comparison to the reward that you'll get from playing the games, though, and no library is complete without them.
[a_img="09" float="left"][/a_img]
Diamonds in the Rough
[ All Genres ]
Sky Odyssey
The granddaddy of all overlooked games, Sky Odyssey blends absolutely perfect control of normal biplanes, prop fighters and smallish jets and throws them into the most insane situations known to man. Canyons crumbling, flying into the eye of a tornado, navigating slipstreams to make it an impossible distance on a gas tank that’s leaking, flying through a cave at high speed as it falls apart around you. These are the kinds of situations that make the game so incredibly fun. It’s not a pretty game, but it’s by far the best flight model combined with some of the most insane tasks you’ll ever get in a game.
[a_img="9" float="right"][/a_img]
Our Review Said
“Sky Odyssey is FUN. I don't care if you don't like flying games, there's something about this one that just seems to transcend genres. Sure, it's still a flying game, but it's a white-knuckle, teeth-grinding thrill ride hidden deep down inside a flying game, and when you factor in control that's so fluid and perfect that you never feel your plane's direction is out of your grasp -- along with a hair-raising musical score -- you won't care what kind of game it is, just that you want to play more.”
Also Try:
[Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil | Fantavision | FreQuency | Shadow of Destiny]
These can be gifts for yourself or others, but by all means make sure someone has them. You can try your luck and find them on eBay -- used, mind -- for fairly cheap, but since they were overlooked, most will go for a fairly hefty price even a few years later. It pales in comparison to the reward that you'll get from playing the games, though, and no library is complete without them.
[a_img="09" float="left"][/a_img]
Diamonds in the Rough
[ All Genres ]
Sky Odyssey
The granddaddy of all overlooked games, Sky Odyssey blends absolutely perfect control of normal biplanes, prop fighters and smallish jets and throws them into the most insane situations known to man. Canyons crumbling, flying into the eye of a tornado, navigating slipstreams to make it an impossible distance on a gas tank that’s leaking, flying through a cave at high speed as it falls apart around you. These are the kinds of situations that make the game so incredibly fun. It’s not a pretty game, but it’s by far the best flight model combined with some of the most insane tasks you’ll ever get in a game.
[a_img="9" float="right"][/a_img]
Our Review Said
“Sky Odyssey is FUN. I don't care if you don't like flying games, there's something about this one that just seems to transcend genres. Sure, it's still a flying game, but it's a white-knuckle, teeth-grinding thrill ride hidden deep down inside a flying game, and when you factor in control that's so fluid and perfect that you never feel your plane's direction is out of your grasp -- along with a hair-raising musical score -- you won't care what kind of game it is, just that you want to play more.”
Also Try:
[Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil | Fantavision | FreQuency | Shadow of Destiny]