10 PS2 Games That Are Fun from the Start

The PS2 era of games came at an interesting crossroads culturally. It was a time of change as we moved from the 20th century into the 21st and headlong into the future. We were getting our first look at what the next generation of gaming was going to look like, and it was looking excellent.

Games that would’ve never had a chance in the past could thrive as the market expanded and gaming became more mainstream. So many amazing new titles and franchises were born around this time. But, there were also a lot of games flying under the radar that would go on to gain cult classic status years later.

While the number of iconic games that found a home on the PS2 is almost uncountable. But some get you going quicker than others. These are just some of the best that the console had to offer that didn’t keep you waiting to start enjoying yourself.

10 SSX Tricky

Shredding Powder

It’s hard to really explain just how ingrained in pop culture snowboarding was back in the 90s, but SSX Tricky can help you get the gist of it. It was brightly colored, the gameplay was fast, arcade-style downhill racing, and you could get shredding on the powder quickly. It also brought in acclaimed MC and world-class beatboxer Rahzel to flavor things up when you hit a nice trick.

I feel like it’s been a while since we’ve had a game like SSX Tricky come out, which to me means we might be due for one. In the meantime, Tricky is just as enjoyable today as it was when it launched.

9 God Hand

Touched by an Angel

Despite being an amazing action game, I feel like not enough people talk about how ridiculously fun God Hand really was. This game had vibes to spare thanks to a very open-ended and customizable combat system that opened up more and more as you collected new moves. It also put off strong JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures vibes with its button-mashing-induced frenzy of punches and head stomps.

God Hand was as close as you could come to playing an anime on the PS2 when it launched and should really get more credit for how amazing it is. A true sleeper hit if there ever was one, and definitely worth a play if you can find an affordable copy.

8 The Simpsons: Hit and Run

Not-so-annoyed Grunt

Piggybacking off the success of The Simpsons: Road Rage, Hit and Run expanded to become more of a GTA-style open-world adventure than its predecessor. Players got to goof off in Springfield as Homer, Marge, Bart, and Lisa while experiencing a unique story that was made with the help of the show’s writers and voice cast.

Beyond the classic Konami beat-em-up arcade game and Road Rage, the Simpsons franchise had mostly felt like quick cash grabs. The Simpsons: Hit and Run ended up being one of the best tie-in games ever made, which is beloved by many fans of the show and gamers alike.

7 Tekken Tag Tournament

You're It

I’ve always been more of a Tekken person than a Street Fighter fan, and Tekken Tag Tournament is hands down my favorite entry in the series. It features a massive 39-character roster of heavy hitters from the series’ entries up until that point and introduced two new ones. The PS2 version of the game allowed players to team up for 2-on-2 battles as well, which made it a great option when company came by.

Tekken Tag Tournament’s large selection of playable characters meant there was a fighter out there for everyone, including brand-new players, making it easy to jump in and play, but harder to fully master. Plus, what other fighting game lets your team of a bear and a raptor take on a robot samurai and disco dancer?

Hell on Wheels

The Twisted Metal series really amped up the horsepower with Black. The arena-based car combat series was in many ways a predecessor to online battle royale games, but at a much smaller scale. It was still the last car standing to get through each level of the most brutal demolition derby ever. At least it was easy to get behind the wheel of Sweet Tooth’s demented ice cream truck and mow down the competition.

Getting into Twisted Metal: Black was easy enough, and every character had their own unique, if not completely messed-up ending to unlock. The series never really got better than Black, unfortunately, but at least you can still grab your PS2 copy and remember the good times.

5 Devil May Cry

A New Type of Combat

Devil May Cry is a game all about twitchy, quick combo-maxing, which meant diving dual-pistols first into the fray as soon as the game began. Dante and his arsenal of weapons were handcrafted to make you feel like a badass from the start. It’s an action game that picked up the pace for a new generation of gamers and focused just as much on style as on substance.

It scratched an itch gamers didn’t know we had until DMC was put in front of us. Today, the style of free-form, combo-focused combat is commonplace for the genre, but it all started here. It remains an influential series to this day.

4 Guitar Hero

Rock and Roll Fantasy

It wasn’t the first rhythm game to have an instrument-shaped controller; it was just the coolest one to do it. Guitar Hero started a new craze that would have a vice-like grip on the video game industry for years to come. The game lets you rock out to a soundtrack of classic tunes made famous by bands like the Ramones and Black Sabbath.

And yes, you do look silly playing a tiny plastic guitar controller, but it was as close as many of us were ever going to get to being rockstars, so who cared? It was a fun and very social game that cranked it up to 11.

3 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3

Do a Kickflip

Many fans of the Tony Hawk series of games feel like it peaked at 3, and while I’m not sure if I personally agree, I get it. The addition of being able to do a revert meant it was way easier to add vertical tricks into combos and really let you make the most of a level’s layout. The levels themselves, like the airport and the foundry, were huge compared to their predecessors since this was the first time the series released a game on the PS2.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 controls had the tightest trucks in the business, thanks to the next-gen console polish as well, making it easy for rookies and veterans to pick up and play. The first four Tony Hawk games are considered the best in the series, and when you play 3, you can really see why.

2 Katamari Damacy

Keep Rollin Rollin Rollin

The only thing you do in Katamari Damacy is roll a ball around and let it pick things up. That’s it. No complex combo systems, no deep storylines, no one gets shot and dies. It’s just a tiny little prince trying to win the approval of his gigantic father, the King of All Cosmos, by getting enough things stuck to his Katamari to make a new star.

Katamari is the best kind of nonsensical fun and one of the quirkiest gaming experiences you can have. If you want to experience pure, unadulterated fun, then Katamari Damacy is a must-play.

1 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

Ah S—, Here We Go Again…

In many ways, GTA 3 walked, so CJ could run and lift weights in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It expanded upon the open-world structure and made the main character more customizable. There were even light RPG elements thrown in, like you could get better at riding bikes and running further the more you did it. There was also the gang system, which had you fighting over territory.

In many ways, GTA: San Andreas was just a peak of what the series would end up offering players in the future, but it remains a remarkable game that’s worth a look. I don’t think most of the games in the series, other than Vice City, have aged as well as San Andreas has.