Help me choose among these PS2 games (edited)

[Johnny Novgorod]

Every now and then we get these "recommend me some games for the PS2" threads. Actually I've already narrowed down a list of games that interest me for one reason or another. If you've played any of these, could you please tell me if it's any good? I can only afford a few of these, so the object is to narrow down the list to the very best two or three.

[HEADING=1]Round #1[/HEADING]

Wild Arms 3 / 4 / 5 ✓
I'm not sure which one to get. I've heard a lot of good things about 3 or 5. 4 is kind of a cypher to me. I'm leaning towards 5 so that the graphics gap isn't too wide. Bear in mind I've never played any of these games (or the early PS ones). I'm just interested because I like a good RPG and a Western setting.

XIII ✓
Looks like a pretty straightforward FPS with a cel shading thing going on. I dunno, looks nice, there aren't a lot of good FPSs on the PS2. Is it any good?

Way of the Samurai ✓
This is purely out of curiosity. They look OK and I like the time period. Never heard of this series, apparently there're three games of these on the PS2: the original, one Way of the Samurai 2 and Samurai Western. Are they any good?

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time ✓
I've heard a lot of gripes against this but like I said I like classy RPGs. Thoughts?

Echo Night: Beyond ✓✗
I think it's something like a survival horror game in first person, spawned off an obscure series for the PS. Anyone played it, is it good, is it scary and is it worth it?

Baroque ✗
The game intrigues me because everybody goes on about how cryptic and weird it is, regarding both the story and gameplay (apparently you're supposed to die to progress?). Most reviews are scathing though. And it's aged very poorly, from what I've seen.

Vexx ✓
Some weird Crash/Ratchet anthro dude platformer knock-off I never heard of until today. Doesn't look very good but I dunno, might as well ask.


[HEADING=1]Round #2[/HEADING]

Rogue Galaxy
Level 5 + RPG + Cel shading sounds like an awesome combination.

Dark Cloud 1 & 2
Similar to the above, I'm just wondering how well have the games held up in the face of time. I saw some gameplay from the first game and it doesn't look very interesting... but I always give devs I like a chance.

Radiata Stories
This is another one of those RPGs I was about to buy at some point for some reason and then for some reason I didn't. I can't figure out what attracted this to me in the first place. Anybody play it?

I would appreciate any thoughts on these games. If there's something else you'd like to recommend as well I'll be much obliged, though I probably already played it or own it.

 

[Foolery]

Wild Arms! They're all decent. Though the best one is Alter Code F in my opinion. It's a remake of the original. I'd go with 3.

 

[omegaweopon]

SO:TET will keep you busy for a very, very, very long time. Seriously, a mind bogglingly long time if you decide to go for extra stuffs. The gameplay on it isn't too bad either.

Baroque is a mystery dungeon type game. I've only played a small amount of it honestly, and the dying to progress thing isn't actually as interesting as it promised to be. But if you like the tried and true Mystery Dungeon formula, complete with random items, and throwing things for various effects, then this game would be right up your alley. (I personally LOVE mystery dungeon games )

Haven't played the other ones. Won't give you falsified info.

 

[krazykidd]

Wild arms is amazing . Especially 3 . I definately recommend them ( especially that one ).

Star ocean is great too. The combat is fun. The story starts off strong, but goes full on bonkers 3/4 through . They litterally wrote themselves into a corner.

Baroque is terrible. I own it on the wii , and i would suggest the avoid it at all costs .

The others i haven't payed so i can't comment.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Wild Arms! They're all decent. Though the best one is Alter Code F in my opinion. It's a remake of the original. I'd go with 3.

That remake's on the PS2 though. Would you say it's better than 3?

 

[Foolery]

Wild Arms! They're all decent. Though the best one is Alter Code F in my opinion. It's a remake of the original. I'd go with 3.

That remake's on the PS2 though. Would you say it's better than 3?

Yup, I'd say so. But you really can't go wrong with any of them. The only Wild Arms game I didn't care for much was 4.
Alter Code F might be a tad difficult to find at a reasonable price.

 

[Frezzato]

I actually have XIII for the original Xbox and I never bothered finishing it. You're right, the cel shading is cool, and it's earned some good reviews, but for the money, I would go with No One Lives Forever.

XIII starts you back at the beginning of a level if you die. 'Nuff said.

No One Lives Forever doesn't have a 'save anywhere' option on PS2, but in terms of game play, it's got a great sense of humor with some very decent action. I only have the PC version (GotY), but I've been checking out PS2 game play on YouTube and it looks comparable.

Spoiler: No One Lives Forever - PS2

 

[Rebel_Raven]

I like the Way of the Samurai series. I don't think Samurai Wastern is part of the series, though.

It's a samurai simulator, more or less when samurai were starting to die out. You, as a samurai wander into town, and end up deciding it's fate.

There's progression in fighting styles, and sword power. Swords are collected as you go, created, improved.

It's not purely fighting either. There's talking, and such.

I believe even back then you get rated on how samurai-like you are.
http://youtu.be/ZW7REHPV_EU

 

[King of Asgaard]

I like the Way of the Samurai series. I don't think Samurai Wastern is part of the series, though.

It's a samurai simulator, more or less when samurai were starting to die out. You, as a samurai wander into town, and end up deciding it's fate.

There's progression in fighting styles, and sword power. Swords are collected as you go, created, improved.

It's not purely fighting either. There's talking, and such.

I believe even back then you get rated on how samurai-like you are.

Seconding this, I spent hundreds of hours on it back in the day.
Imagine the AC combat done right, if you will, as they share similarities, such as the 1v1 between combatants despite them having an armada of backup thugs and the tempo of blocking, dodging and countering, only without AC's insta-kills.
It's rather short, but it's meant to be replayed several times to get all the endings and to find all the weapons.
In fact, it does difficulty well, because in bumping the difficulty up to the highest, you die quickly, but the chances of finding new weapons, such as a battle axe, scythe, naginata, morning star, and dozens of different swords is dramatically increased.

 

[wintercoat]

Wild Arms! They're all decent. Though the best one is Alter Code F in my opinion. It's a remake of the original. I'd go with 3.

That remake's on the PS2 though. Would you say it's better than 3?

Yup, I'd say so. But you really can't go wrong with any of them. The only Wild Arms game I didn't care for much was 4.
Alter Code F might be a tad difficult to find at a reasonable price.

What'd they do different with 4 that made so many people not like it? I've played some of 1 and 2(keep meaning to go back and finish them, but...ehh...), and I have three, but haven't played it yet(it's on my list shaddap!). I was thinking of picking up 4 and 5, but now I'm rethinking 4 because whenever it's mentioned, it's only to say that the person didn't like it.

 

[DudeistBelieve]

Vexx

It's a basic super mario 64 platformer.

I recommend it because once upon a time I knew a very young scottish canadian girl online. She loved the game with all her heart. She'd be miffed if I didn't.

 

[nymz]

Vexx is really underrated. It is sort of like Mario 64 with levels and a hub and stuff you have to collect to unlock new ones. The world is cool and unique, and at the same time dark and bleak in a way. You should at least give it a look. It's not like Ratchet at all unless you count platforming as a similarity. Levels are very distinct too. The cool part is that instead of saying how to collect every heart, it is actually a 4 sentences long riddle that you have to interpret and solve to guess where the heart is, although help is given by arrow signs to point you in the general direction if you're stumped. It can even be very hard sometimes, I have never beaten the final boss myself, though I was younger when I played it. Do not pass it up by just looking at it, decide by either trying it out or looking at gameplay.

Edit: Oh, and the combat is cool too, like Mario 64 there are not a huge amount of moves, but it is faster paced. You have your charge, flip kick, uppercut, long jump, high jump, and normal claw strikes. If you get a good hit you can keep tapping and do like a machinegun claw series of strikes, for like 15-20 hits, which is quite cool.

Edit2: And also! It has a day and night system which is actually real-time, and all levels have a sundial which you can spin around to fastforward or reverse time. Some hearts can only be claimed during certain times of the day, and enemies are stronger during the night. And you can see the actual skybox fastforward while spinning the sundial, which is very cool for an older game.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

First off, avoid Baroque like the plague. It is the most godawful bit of garbage I've ever played. If you want a good Roguelike I'd suggest Azure Dreams, or really any other game than Baroque. The gameplay is terrible, the story MIGHT be interesting to you but it involves FAR more of you just pretending you understand anything that happens on screen than their being an actual plot.

Its like a connect the dots picture, with missing dots and no numbers. Which COULD be done well. It wasn't, and since seeing more bits of the plot involves actually playing the game, which I REALLY can't stress how terrible it is, I'd pass.

The only other of those games I have played is Wild ARMs 3. I didn't finish it as it was a rental, but I got a long way in and I thought it was great.

I'm a huge fan of the original, though I barely played #2, and I barely played #5 even though I own it. It was one of the last PS2 games I bought before I got a PS3 and Oblivion kinda stole my will to play WA5.

I didn't really care for Alter Code F at all and never bothered to finish it. So if you are into Wild ARMs, the fact that I wish I *had* finished #3 should come as some endorsement lol

 

[Foolery]

Wild Arms! They're all decent. Though the best one is Alter Code F in my opinion. It's a remake of the original. I'd go with 3.

That remake's on the PS2 though. Would you say it's better than 3?

Yup, I'd say so. But you really can't go wrong with any of them. The only Wild Arms game I didn't care for much was 4.
Alter Code F might be a tad difficult to find at a reasonable price.

What'd they do different with 4 that made so many people not like it? I've played some of 1 and 2(keep meaning to go back and finish them, but...ehh...), and I have three, but haven't played it yet(it's on my list shaddap!). I was thinking of picking up 4 and 5, but now I'm rethinking 4 because whenever it's mentioned, it's only to say that the person didn't like it.

Oh 4 is by no means a bad game. Just different. They use a hex grid movement as part of the combat. Felt clunky to me, and didn't add much to battles. The style is also more futuristic than western, which comes down to personal preference. The characters were ok. Nothing special.

 

[go-10]

Wild Arms 3 / 4 / 5 - I would say all 3 but since you only want one I'll say 3 because female protagonist are always cool. Otherwise I'd say 5, which is my personal favorite... but that's because I'm a huge Gurren Lagann fanatic

XIII -why haven't you played this yet? GO play it NOW!

Way of the Samurai - slow game is slow, and dumb. I don't like this series but some people love it

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - it's not traditional, this is more like the Tales of games, which by the way, Tales of the Abyss is a much better game

Echo Night: Beyond - I thought it was shit and confused the hell out of me

Baroque - Random: The Game

Vexx - oh god no. Don't play this, it's bad, bad, bad. Go take a dump that's more enjoyable than this game

 

[Poetic Nova]

XIII is highly recommended, it has no exploration but it's awesome nonentheless. It's graphics style makes it stand out.

 

[piinyouri]

Star Ocean TtEoT is fun. The story may throw you but you won;t know until you try and you'd miss out on a pretty big game world with lots of secrets ad a pretty cool battle system.

Vexx is more a Mario 64 clone, and I do mean clone in this case quite fully.

You go to a world, you do very similar challenges (find this item, beat this boss to get this item, make these really tricky jumps to get this item ect)

Thing is, I really liked Vexx a lot. I dug the slightly darker take on everything, and if you're looking for a challenge, Vexx has got you covered. Both in combat difficulty and platforming the game can be pretty relentless and unforgiving.

 

[b.w.irenicus]

Wild Arms 3 / 4 / 5 - I only played WA1 on the good old PSX, but that was awseome. I'm intruiged, there actually is a remake for the PS2. Gotta check it out.


XIII - Its a fun game, but you could play it on a PC as well, should run on pretty much everything today. But as I said, its cool, even on the PS2.

Way of the Samurai - A underrated gem, but not for everyone. The game is extremely short (2-3 hours). The fun comes froms ist choices & consequences system. Almost everything you do (or don't do) affects how the story progresses, with whom you can allie yourself and so on. So its ment to be replayed again and again. I recommend it. Strangly enogh, I didn't enjoy WotS 2 nearly as much.

Star Ocean: Till the End of Time - From what I've heard, the story and characters are meh, the combat is supposed to be pretty cool. I'm a bit torn on this. I loved Star Ocean - The Second Story, but I hated Start Ocens - Whatever (the one for PS360).

Can't comment on the rest, but heard, that Vexx is actually quite good.

 

[ninjaRiv]

I'd go for XIII. Mostly because I';ve never heard of the others, but also because I have a thing for David Duchovny's voice. It's also a lot of fun to play and has nice comic book style graphics (cel shading and panels, etc)

 

[Deadagent]

XIII has some neat things going for it, the cel shading is not just for show, some of the mechanics are tied to it. On the otherhand the AI a bit ehh, the enemies will mostly stand still and occasionally move. Not sure if its just because the game is old but is very noticable. I'd go for the PC version if possible (its on GOG), but if not then I guess the PS2 version is fine, Personally I prefer mouse and keyboard for fps games.

Echo Night: Beyond is an oddball of a game. It's classified as horror but it isn't really scary, It's more of an athmospheric experience, and not really unsetteling or disturbing athmosphere but rather sad and somber. It's a game worth experiencing in one way or another. The puzzels are insanely hard tough, lots of red herrings.