The Pit of Pat

I bought my PS2 quite “late” in life, the PS2’s life that is - Spring 2006 to be precise. It came with some games, I bought some games, and then I bought some more, and felt guilty about my disappearing pay cheque. Then I bought a Slide-Tool and Swap Magic Disks, and now I’m don’t feel guilty about spending my savings on video games I never get a chance to play. I’m not all rotten, though, as games like Okami deserve to be supported and thus will be bought when released. I may even splurge on Final Fantasy XII when it comes out, just cause I love Ivarice so much.

Here are the games I physically own - all either came with my system or were bought secondhand/off eBay.

Shadow of the Colossus
Well, this is the game I bought my PS2 for. I don’t even know where to begin. The game has so much scope - the scale is massive, the music is phenomenal and the fantasy world this game takes you to is one of the best I’ve ever visited. Easily one of the best games I’ve ever played, and by far one of the most intriguing in terms of the story presented. Can’t say enough good things about SotC - a must for fans of epic fantasy.

ICO
This spiritual predecessor to Shadows of the Colossus was a must-buy. It’s every bit the puzzle adventure that SotC was an action adventure. I’m not very far into this one yet, but it captures so much of the grand, sweeping vision of SotC that I’m sure it will become one of my fast favourites.

Final Fantasy X
When I got my PS2, this game came along for the ride. On the memory card was a save game for a high-level party. I loaded it up for shits and grins and was completely blown away. I expected something far inferior to the graphics and gameplay of XI, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Can’t wait to play this one properly.

Final Fantasy X-2
This sequel came with my PS2 as well, and if anything it looks prettier than the original. Looking forward to giving it a go after completing X.

Oni
I was all excited that my PS2 came with this one; I had mistaken it for ICO! In any event, it’s decidedly different from what I had expected, but I think it may be worth a more thorough examination on some rainy afternoon.

Beyond Good & Evil
This game came with my PS2 as well and seems very intriguing - mostly because the protagonist is a reporter. I’ve heard good things from the K-Man about this title, so I think its one of those ’second-shelf’ games, like Oni, which will provide some unexpected joy when I get around to playing them.

Virtua Fighter 4
Well this also came with my PS2, and I was kind of excited at first. The original Virtua Fighter was a game I spent a fair amount of time with in the arcade - even though Dad had an uncanny ability to kick my ass. VF4 is nice and shiny, and a lot more user friendly than previous VFs, but meh. If I want a 3D fighting game, I play Soul Caliber. I’m sure it’ll get some use when there’s a couple friends around.

Xenosaga 1
The Xenosaga games always looked pretty and shiny, and the Nietzsche quote is a turn-on. I’ve read good stuff online concerning this series, so I’m thinking it’ll be my top second-run RPG after FF and Kingdom Hearts get their time.

Half-Life
Gotta represent. I think I played the original Half-Life on PC for about ten minutes, but by now my love for the sequel should be bordering-on-ridiculous. I figured I needed to rexamine my roots, and check out the original HL. So far so great, I was expecting crappy graphics and uninspired sound, but so far it’s a solid game. Definitely something I’ll be getting into more seriously in the coming weeks.

Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
A lot of hype surrounding the MGS series. I never played the original for PC or PS1, but I mistakenly lumped the sequels in the whole Ghost Recon-clone collection of uninspired games. MGS2 is a lot of fun, it’s also quite frustrating at times but there’s a sense of style and sly humour in the game that I definitely appreciate. Depending on how I get through this title I will most likely want to grab MGS3.

Soul Caliber III
What can I say? I haven’t even scratched the surface on this one - mostly because I’m saving a lot of it for the K-Man and I’s chokefest. There’s going to be a lot of hours poured into this one, and most em’ will be spent smiling. I’ve loved everything so far, my only beef is that it’d be nice to have more than three custom characters per memory card, but that’s sort of like complaining about property taxes on your own private tropical island.

Siren
I saw this game for sale at a store locally, and it looked kinda neat. The sequel is apparently even better, having fixed some of the frustratingly repetitive gameplay. I was hmming and hawing over it, then I found it in mint condition at a yard sale for $10 so I picked it up. I love me some Japanese horror, so we’ll see how this plays out - if I can work up the courage to play it after dark.