To finish of Henning’s “list of 5” posts, which started with 5 ways to connect your PS3 followed by 5 must have PS3 games then 5 reasons to buy a PS3 and finally 5 must have PS3 peripherals, I’ve made the difficult choice of choosing 5 PS2 games that would not look out of place in your PS3.

So you’ve got Resistance & THP8 with your PS3 and maybe a couple of other games to go with it, and now you may be wondering why you’d want to play old PS2 games on your shiny new PS3?

Well the PS2 isn’t dead yet and it is home to some absolute gems, so here are my top 5 PS2 games to play on your PS3:

1. Devil May Cry
   I was torn between this and DMC3: Special Edition but the original just has something about it that DMC3 lacks. The game is set on Mallet Island and you played the role of Dante, a half demon half human P.I. who runs a devil hunting agency named Devil May Cry.

   The main reason why I’ve chosen this over it’s prequel is the attitude and persona of Dante and the bosses he fights in the game, especially Phantom. The dialogue between Dante and his enemies is a joy to behold with some great one liners between both parties.

   The combat was also absolutely fantastic and I’m not exaggerating when I say I lived, ate and breathed DMC for two whole weeks only putting the game down due to the demands of sleep & work. 😡

   The combat has since been bettered in DMC3 but the atmosphere and style of DMC is still superior than it’s prequel.

   I’ll be playing DMC on PS3 until DMC4 is released. I recommend you do the same if you like this particular genre.

2. Ico
   Never before had I felt so emotionally involved in a character’s well being. You control a young boy who is imprisoned in a mysterious castle armed with a puny stick who encounters a girl also imprisoned in a giant birdcage. Once you free her you have to find a way to leave the castle while being attacked by mysterious shadow creatures.

   You can make her follow you by calling to her or by holding her hand and dragging her with you. There was just something so sweet and innocent about the pair of them and I actually cared about Yorda’s safety even yelling at the Shadows to leave her alone at certain points of the game. 😳 My girlfriend thought I was mad. 😐

   The game’s graphical style is still magnificent today and the visual art is always a joy to behold. The puzzles are not too difficult to work out although one or two can be very cunning and the gameplay is incredibly involving but it doesn’t rely on too much combat or too many puzzles.

   If anybody missed this game’s original release & subsequent re-release alongside Shadow of the Colossus, I urge you to get it and enjoy what can only be described as a masterpiece of gaming excellence.

3. GTA
   OK indulge me for just a minute while I explain. There are 4 GTA games on PS2 (GTA 3, GTA: Vice City, GTA: San Andreas and GTA: Liberty City Stories) but I couldn’t decide which one to choose so I decided to recommend them all.

   GTA 3 was an incredible experience for me and holds a special place in my heart more than the other 3 as it was the first to give me the GTA experience in 3D. I’ll never forget the night I put it in my PS2 and with my DS2 in my hand, watched the first intro as you were on the bridge from Staunton Island to Portland and you were inadvertently set free. I didn’t realise the cut-scene had ended as I stared open mouthed in wonder and realised that I was in control and had better hop in the van & get out of there!

   Then came GTA:VC with the introduction of Motorbikes and a fantastic array of music from the 80s on the various radio stations. A great game but not quite topping GTA 3.

   Next came GTA: SA which introduced the ability to swim, cycle, climb stuff, parachute off the top of skyscrapers and fly planes and other crazy stuff. Add in a Gangsta Rap driven story with some of my favourite Hip Hop artists and I was in gaming heaven. On top of that the game was HUGE even featuring a Mountain that you could ride up and jump of (parachute highly recommended 😀 ).

   Since GTA: VC & GTA: SA had Motorbikes in, I always wondered what it would be like to ride around Liberty City on a Motorbike and when they decided to port GTA: LCS to PS2 I was very happy to pay £15 for the experience. So until GTA IV is released on PS3, why don’t you give one of the four GTA games on PS2 a shot to tide you over. You won’t be dissapointed unless you hate those types of games of course.

4. Shadow of the Colossus
   From the same devs who created Ico, this achieved the impossible for me and topped Ico for sheer beauty. It is an incredibly good looking game to feast your eyes upon which pushed the PS2 to it’s limits. It’s also said to be a prequel of Ico with the game set before Ico’s timeline but set in the same area with both games featuring the same shadow creatures, although they are less prevalent in SotC.

   You play the role of Wander who is armed with a magical sword and the greatest horse ever to grace video-games: Agro. You use your sword to track where the Colossi are located by holding it up to the sky and following the beam of light that reflects from your sword.

   Each Colossi has certain weak-points that you need to locate and promptly stab with your sword. The reason why you’re slaying these giants are because of a dead girl. It’s always because of a girl. Why can’t you slay these giants based on a maniacal desire to rule the Universe? 😡

   My personal favourite is Colossi no.13 which was both incredibly beautiful and a joy to battle, with Agro playing a vital role in what is an hectic and edge of the seats battle like no other.

   Play either game by ‘Team Ico’ and dream of what they may produce on the PS3. 😯

5. Jak & Daxter
   So many great games to choose from but I had to go with the games that made the biggest impact on me at the time & Jak & Daxter is one of the greatest 3D platformers ever made and the best in the series for me.

   It’s set in a magnificently realised world with night turning to day and day turning to night with the inhabitants homes and the various areas reflecting these changes, with torches appearing lit and fires burning brightly as the sun sets. Even more impressively at the time was the lack of any loading screens as the game world was loaded seamlessly.

   It’s a joy to play and the one sided conversation and wisecracks from Daxter add a lot of humour to the proceedings.

   No 3D platformer has been able to surpass Jak & Daxter on the PS2 and I rate it just as highly as Super Mario Sunshine if not more so.

What’s your top 5 PS2 games that you would play on the PS3?