Recommendations for adventure games on the PS2?

[metalprof]

We finally joined the almost-modern era and invested in a Playstation 2 earlier this summer. This is the first game platform I've had, and I wanted to try the now cheaper PS2 (that still has lots of games available) before diving into the more expensive PS3. That can wait until we have an HDTV.

Anyway, when gaming on the PC, my favorite games were always the adventure games like the Myst series, Riddle of the Sphinx, Shivers, etc.

Can anyone recommend similar games for the PS2? I can easily find an infinite supply of shoot-em-up games and sports games, but I can't find so many adventure games. I have Shadow of the Colossus, and I do really like the solo wander-the-empty-realm nature of the game, but I'd rather have something tipped more towards thinking / riddle and puzzle solving.

I'm also interested in any general recommendations about games that you consider to be super-duper. The first thing I did was go retro and get the arcade game packs, so I'm ready to move beyond them

Thanks in advance for any recommendations!

Ken

 

[Jibrille]

Two franchises you might enjoy are Rachet & Clank and Jak & Daxter. They're more along the lines of adventure platformer games but pretty fun.

Ico will maybe be more up your alley.
Shadow of Destiny seems like it might be a game you'd enjoy. I personally never played it and have no idea the quality though.
Beyond Good & Evil is a good game that's a little less puzzle and more photojournalism.
Any Resident Evil game is usually pretty puzzle heavy if you've never played them. RE4 has been considered by many to be one of the best games ever made.
Also, Okami is a game you should probably play.

Also, if you aren't up on the latest Myth games, they have been released on the PS2 but I have no clue the quality vs a PC.

 

[Cheiron]

Okami (or so I hear. I haven't played it yet)
Kingdom Hearts (supposed to be great)
.Hack (haven't played... another supposed to be great)

and the Final Fantasy games.

 

[jaimek]

Try Tomb Raider Anniversary - they reworked the original game to accommodate the new moves available in later versions, and they kept a lot of the original spirit of the game, which involves more of thinking your way through the level than it does killing crap. (God Mode is great when you get bored with the killing bits and you just want to move on.) There isn't a great deal of actual *puzzles*, but there are some. (I will confess, though, that the very last level just got a little too Nintendo-ish for me and I never went back. I loved it til that point, though.)

I played that on the PC, though. On the PS2, I've been playing Kingdom Hearts II - it's actually a good bit of fun, once you get past the first twenty minutes of animated explanations. Plus your kids would probably enjoy it, too. I also have a few Spyro the Dragon games, but I really only liked the first two; Enter the Dragonfly has turned out to be a lot less fun.


Orrr... the original Resident Evil! And when I mean original, I mean the ORIGINAL, not that weird remade edition that changed everything around. Yes, there's lots of shooting. Yes, the voice acting is notoriously but hilariously bad. But it's got a fair amount of puzzles, and it made me jump out of my skin at one point, which is pretty difficult to do.

 

[Meedleyx10]

Get the Megaman anniversary collections

 

[The_Q]

One adventure game I always go back to because it was so fun and so unique was Shadow Of Collossus

 

[SharkBlack]

Try Tomb Raider Anniversary - they reworked the original game to accommodate the new moves available in later versions, and they kept a lot of the original spirit of the game, which involves more of thinking your way through the level than it does killing crap. (God Mode is great when you get bored with the killing bits and you just want to move on.) There isn't a great deal of actual *puzzles*, but there are some. (I will confess, though, that the very last level just got a little too Nintendo-ish for me and I never went back. I loved it til that point, though.)

I played that on the PC, though. On the PS2, I've been playing Kingdom Hearts II - it's actually a good bit of fun, once you get past the first twenty minutes of animated explanations. Plus your kids would probably enjoy it, too. I also have a few Spyro the Dragon games, but I really only liked the first two; Enter the Dragonfly has turned out to be a lot less fun.


Orrr... the original Resident Evil! And when I mean original, I mean the ORIGINAL, not that weird remade edition that changed everything around. Yes, there's lots of shooting. Yes, the voice acting is notoriously but hilariously bad. But it's got a fair amount of puzzles, and it made me jump out of my skin at one point, which is pretty difficult to do.

I love Tomb Raider Anniversary. I dig games that you have to work your way through the environment, it's a puzzle all by itself. I also enjoyed the Prince of Persia games. He had a more acrobatic moves, and the fighting was challenging but not incessant. It only comes after lots of exploring and the battles for the most part don't last forever and of course you can rewind with the sands of time if you start dying...

 

[jaimek]

I also enjoyed the Prince of Persia games. He had a more acrobatic moves, and the fighting was challenging but not incessant. It only comes after lots of exploring and the battles for the most part don't last forever and of course you can rewind with the sands of time if you start dying...

One of these days I will play PoP - people have been recommending it to me for years.

 

[booB]

One of these days I will play PoP - people have been recommending it to me for years.

As a fellow Tomb Raider fan, I can pretty much guarantee that you would enjoy PoP. The puzzles aren't *quite* as involved as TR ones, but the action and storytelling more than make up for that. In truth, the PoP: Sands of Time series has the best told story of any games (non-RPGs) I've ever played. They play extremely well on PC, but you might get more enjoyment out of them if you have an analog game controller. (I've only ever played them with a 4-axis gamepad, and I still loved them.)

The original (2D) Prince of Persia was one of the best games of its time, and is still worth checking out as well, if you haven't already. It's more puzzle, less story and fighting.

 

[booB]

Ico will maybe be more up your alley.

I always wanted to try Ico. I'm not interested in buying a PS2 just for that, though.

Beyond Good & Evil is a good game that's a little less puzzle and more photojournalism.

I have this game on PC, and I've never played it. I want to, very much so; it appears to be very Pop/TR-like in its gameplay. But it doesn't have widescreen support, and I *hate* playing games horizontally stretched, so until I find a monitor that allows both 4:3 and 16:10 aspects (like my TV does), I don't want to play it.

Apparently, it's also available for GameCube, so I could play it on my Wii, but I hesitate to buy a second copy of it, purely on principle. I'd rather spend 50x the cash and get the monitor I spoke of, because then I could also play Diablo II.

Any Resident Evil game is usually pretty puzzle heavy if you've never played them. RE4 has been considered by many to be one of the best games ever made.

I haven't played them, but I was always under the impression that the first couple RE games were puzzle-heavy, and the later ones were basically glorified shooters. I've never seen anyone mention the puzzle aspects of the later games.

 

[Jibrille]

I have this game on PC, and I've never played it. I want to, very much so; it appears to be very Pop/TR-like in its gameplay. But it doesn't have widescreen support, and I *hate* playing games horizontally stretched, so until I find a monitor that allows both 4:3 and 16:10 aspects (like my TV does), I don't want to play it.

Apparently, it's also available for GameCube, so I could play it on my Wii, but I hesitate to buy a second copy of it, purely on principle. I'd rather spend 50x the cash and get the monitor I spoke of, because then I could also play Diablo II.

If you play the PC one, there's a program you need to download if you want to map the controls to a controller since there's no controller support. Kind of lame since it's not really a type of game where a M+K gives you any advantage.
In regard the the GC version idea, it's also the hardest version of the game to find and thus not always the cheapest. Unfortunately a friend lent it to me so I don't even own a copy and I've really wanted to replay the game lately. The PC version is the easiest because you can buy it through steam. There's a sequel coming but not much info has been announced. If you buy it for the Gamecube, you could probably turn around and resell it to me

I haven't played them, but I was always under the impression that the first couple RE games were puzzle-heavy, and the later ones were basically glorified shooters. I've never seen anyone mention the puzzle aspects of the later games.

I haven't had a chance to play RE4 yet. Lent the Wii remake to my friend and still haven't been able to get it back. The puzzle heavy stuff is from my experience of the earlier ones. I just assumed that gameplay style stayed with it. Oh well

 

[AngraRULES]

God of War rules, and so does the Devil May Cry series.

I have to agree on the Shadows of Colossus, excellent game! Great graphics too!!!

 

[Kenso]

final fantasy series by far

 

[No-Mercy]

yes, Kenso is right about final fantasy.
but not X-2 it sucks.

FFX is good- but if your looking for depth, or more solo play, (rather than "follow the path" rpg), dont buy FFX. it gives little to no freedom in that regard. but it does have thing to solve.

however, FFXII is awesome for that, its very very open. it is also equipped with many sidequests to do, but like i said, is much more of a real life styled rpg. also has alot of thinking like FFX.

i dont know if they make this for PS2, (i know ps3 does), but Oblivion: Edler scrolls IV. its by far the most in depth and open game ive ever played. its definitly the closest a game has gotten to simulate the freedom and openess someone would actually have if the game was real.
it does have amny things you have to figure out and go about on your own. i dont know if id say puzzles, but its so indepth everything does require thinking and problem solving type mindset.

 

[jaimek]

No thanks to you people (and the fact that I now have a new 32" LCD TV instead of a ten year old 19" CRT) I went out and bought used copies of Sands of Time and Resident Evil 4.

 

[AngraRULES]

i dont know if they make this for PS2, (i know ps3 does), but Oblivion: Edler scrolls IV. its by far the most in depth and open game ive ever played. its definitly the closest a game has gotten to simulate the freedom and openess someone would actually have if the game was real.
it does have amny things you have to figure out and go about on your own. i dont know if id say puzzles, but its so indepth everything does require thinking and problem solving type mindset.

Oblivion came out for the 360 and the PS3. It's one of my favorite games, I'm actually playing it right now. Wonderful sequel to Morrowind (just as great), definitely agree with you on that one.

 

[booB]

No thanks to you people (and the fact that I now have a new 32" LCD TV instead of a ten year old 19" CRT) I went out and bought used copies of Sands of Time and Resident Evil 4.

FINALLY... someone else who doesn't feel the need to drop thousands of dollars on a huge, oversized TV. I thought I was the only one out there who still had ONLY a 32" widescreen.

Let me know what you think of PoP. It's my favorite game franchise, ever. I even love PoP: Warrior Within, which many die-hards seemed to hate.

I think I might go out and comb through the GameStop used bins for a copy of Beyond Good and Evil for GameCube. There are something like 10 GameStop stores within a short drive from my apartment, and all of them have pretty big used GameCube sections.

 

[jaimek]

FINALLY... someone else who doesn't feel the need to drop thousands of dollars on a huge, oversized TV. I thought I was the only one out there who still had ONLY a 32" widescreen.

I have neither the room nor the money for anything bigger - nor the desire, really. I was actually considering a 26" until I saw that there was a decent 32" for fifty bucks more. Since I will probably have this for *another* ten years, I figured it was worth the extra money.

Understand that my first impulse when there's $500 in my pocket is ALWAYS to buy a plane ticket somewhere far far away, which is why I had an old CRT for so long. But Wilmington is the test market for the all-digital TV signal and they're shutting off analog here in about two weeks, so with that and some birthday money, it seemed an auspicious time to upgrade.


I played a bit of Sands of Time on the PC yesterday, but quickly realized that the console was going to be a lot easier to handle, so I got a used copy of the game at Gamestop this afternoon for ten bucks.

 

[Jibrille]

I think I might go out and comb through the GameStop used bins for a copy of Beyond Good and Evil for GameCube. There are something like 10 GameStop stores within a short drive from my apartment, and all of them have pretty big used GameCube sections.

If you happen to find Pikmin 2 for a decent price, pick it up for me The local ones in my area have mostly junky games like 10 copies of all the movie based kids games.

 

[RiffDaemon]

Vagrant Story. It's an RPG, but it's adventure/exploration heavy. There are a few puzzles here and there - most are push-the-block kinda stuff, but a few others creep up to surprise you now and then. The main puzzle of the game is figuring out what weapons to build up against different types of creatures, body-types, armor-types, and element-types. Keeps you on your toes

Sorry if it's not Myst-like or anything of that nature. I highly recommend Resident Evil 1 and 2, also. I hated RE4 ... yuck ... if you're going to force me to aim precisely with my weapon, then let me look down the GO**AMNED barrel!!!!! That over-the-shoulder, off-to-the-side bullsh*t chapped my ass rawer than anything I've ever played. Not to mention the ridiculous non-native-sounding Spanish outbursts .... ok, stopping