As the best-selling console of all time, the PlayStation 2 is filled with great games. While the first-person shooter really started to hit its stride on consoles with the Xbox 360, the PS2 still had plenty of exceptional shooters as developers worked out the kinks to make fast-paced FPS games work on a controller. That said, some of those games are tough to go back to, thanks to improvements developers have made over the years. Fortunately, there are a few solid shooters that are still worth checking out today.
Here are five PS2 shooters that still hold up today.
Black is the perfect game to go back to. It might’ve been dinged at the time for putting so much focus into the single-player campaign, but the complete lack of multiplayer actually works in its favor these days. The team at Criterion Games wanted to make the most realistic-looking and sounding game we’d ever seen, and they knocked it out of the park.
Sure, it’s relatively short, but the level of detail in each gun is second to none. This one is all about pure gameplay. Everything else is relatively forgettable, but it’s hard to find a first-person shooter from the era that feels better than Black. Thankfully, it’s relatively easy to get your hands on because it’s available on Game Pass.
GoldenEye is the game everyone thinks about when they talk about James Bond video games. That’s for good reason, as Rare’s Nintendo 64 masterpiece was one of the first console games to get first-person shooting right. However, Nightfire might actually be the better game.
After several entries, the James Bond series went off the rails, but Nightfire sits in that sweet spot where they hadn’t completely jumped off the track. It’s got a campaign filled with spectacle, a few amazing weapons, and one of the best multiplayer modes on the PS2. Not only is it great playing against friends, but teaming up to take on a super-powered bot was always a blast. It feels like you’re playing a Predator game, fighting with your buddies against a nearly unkillable foe.
The Operative: No One Lives Forever was trying to do so much more than be a straight first-person shooter. Instead, the developers at Monolith Productions tried to cram it full of as many spy-themed mechanics as possible. That means stealth, gadgets, lockpicking, firefights, and so much more.
It also stands out as one of the more vibrant shooters of all time. Plus, it’s one of the first shooters to put players in the shoes of a female lead. It’s a phenomenal game that deserves so much more love, and has a sequel that’s arguably better. Unfortunately, if you weren’t around at the time, it’s almost impossible to find because of confusing rights issues. There is a fan remake project, but it’s a shame it’s not widely available.
Killzone wasn’t quite the “Halo Killer” PlayStation was hoping for, but that doesn’t make it a bad game. After all, we probably wouldn’t have gotten several sequels if players weren’t happy with the first game in the series.
Sure, it’ll take some time to get used to its chunky controls after playing modern games, but once you lock in, this is a good one. Plus, with four different playable characters, each of whom comes with a unique weapon, there is plenty of replay value. The real star of the show is Killzone‘s atmosphere. Between the gritty world design and striking enemy design, you’ll quickly understand why future games in the series took things in an even darker direction.
TimeSplitters has always been a fan-favorite shooter series, but Future Perfect is probably the peak. It is just pure, arcadey fun. There isn’t a shooter that feels like it’s having as much fun as you are while playing it. The developers cooked one of the best-playing games on the PlayStation 2, and obviously had a ball doing so.
Future Perfect is packed to the brim with content. Not only is the robust campaign a time-traveling epic, but the multiplayer action is arguably the best couch shooting since GoldenEye. On top of all that, Future Perfect packs in plenty of jokes. Humor is always tough in video games, but Future Perfect knocks it out of the park. It’s one of the funniest PlayStation 2 games of all time. In fact, hearing all those jokes is worth the price of admission alone. Getting an all-time great first-person shooter is just the icing on the cake. Now, if only Time Splitters 4 could finally happen.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
