Gaming on a Budget:Playstation 2

The PlayStation2 was released in the United States Fall of the year 2000 and over the past 9 years has become the greatest selling video game console of all time. Given the the success of the PlayStation2, Sony has official lowered the price of the PlayStation2 to $99, which is a great price for anyone that does not have this console.The main reason why this would be a great purchase for a person just getting into video games is its large catalog of games. Which is much stronger catalog with a wide variety of genres then the current gaming king the Nintendo Wii.Here are some of the best games that should be on the top of the list for anyone who does or does not have a PlayStation2.

Ratchet And Clank series

An action platformer created by Insomniac Games one of the most consistent developers in the video game industry.Stars series heroes Ratchet the rodent that wields a a wrench as a weapon and Clank the sarcastic robot. These games are just plan fun with well written funny dialogue. Ratchet And Clank is a great platformer and shooter with hundreds of well imagined guns to spread destruction around the galaxy.

Sly Cooper Series

I have already expressed Sly Cooper as one of my favorite games of all time. But the whole Sly Cooper series brings back old school platforming with modern gameplay mechanics that led to a great experience.Also Sly Cooper and his friends are great characters and is a game that can be played by people of all ages.

Ico

Simply a work of art and many people think ICO is one of the greatest games of all time. Immersion was one of the big things in ICO with its simplistic gameplay and great presentation.Its hard to describe ICObut, if you can find it ICO is a experience that you will not regret.

Shadow of the Colossus

The spiritual sequel to ICO developed by the same developers of ICO. The protagonist with the help of his horse travel around the world to kill 16 colossi to save the life of a girl. The cool thing about Shadow of the Colossus is the only enemies you have to face are the colossi which plays like a puzzle game were you have to find the weak points to defeat them.Its a great game and like Ico it is a beautiful game and shows that games can be art.

God of War series

God of War puts all the conventions of Greek mythology and turns it on its head. You play Kratos and his attempts to revenge his families death and deals with the consequences of his actions. Its one of the best action games with awesome weapons,characters and epic boss battles. Simply God of War series makes you fell like a bada**.

Grand theft Auto III, Vice City, San Andreas

If you have been living underneath a rock Grand Theft Auto series has been one of the top selling games of the past decade and one of the most controversial.It is the definitive sandbox game. Were you can go anywhere and do what you want,it might have a few flaws here in there but since Grand Theft Auto series has so much variety it can be easily ignored.

Metal Gear Solid 2:Sons of Liberty, Metal Gear Solid 3 :Snake Eater

Developed by Hideo Kojima one of the best developers in the world, Metal Gear Solid is a Stealth Action game that has cooled heroes in gaming Solid Snake.Also is famous for its stealth games play, truly amazing cinematic cut scenes and one of the most complex story lines in gaming. The two things that standout in the Metal Gear solid series is the fell of being in a movie and unique boss fights.If you want to have a game that makes you think and don't mind cut scenes Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3 will be up your alley.

EA Sports and 2K Sports

The two juggernauts of sports gaming from Madden Series, Tiger Woods Golf and NHL series are all great games in the EA catalog.For the 2k series NFL
2K5 is one of the best football games of all time,also great are the NBA 2K,NHL 2K and MLB 2K series.EA sports still releases new sports games on the PlayStation2 so if you don't have a modern console this might be a good way to get your sports fix.


I could go on for awhile so I decided to just list a few other games based on genres. For people who want to start playing video games or just want to checkout games they might have missed.

Role playing game-RPG's
Final Fantasy X,XII
Persona 4

Action
Devil May Cry 1 and 3(avoid two like the plague!)
Zone of the Enders 2
Mercenaries

Shooter
Black
TimeSplitters series
Freedom Fighters
Twisted Metal:Black

Adventure

Okami
Yakuza Series
Bully
Prince of Persia Series
Jak and Dexter Series
Silent Hill 2,3
Resident Evil 4
Psychonauts

Music

Rock Band 1,2
Guitar Hero 2, Metallica
Rez
Amplitude
Frequency


Fighter

Tekken 5
Soul Caliber 2,3
Smackdown vs.Raw 2006
Virtual Fighter 4
RAD
Mortal Kombat Series

Sport And Racing

Gran Turismo 4
Burnout 3,4
SSX tricky
Need For Speed Hot pursuit,Underground Series
Midnight Club 3
NCAA Football
Tony Hawk Pro skater 3,4 and Underground
NBA Street

These are just a few of the games some are easy to find some are not. Games such as REZ and ICO Have a high resell value.