I remember being excited for Jak and Daxter before the game was ever revealed. I don't remember which magazine I read the interview in, probably PSM or Gamepro, but I remember Jason Rubin saying they were developing a second generation game with third generation graphics. I was excited to see what ways Naughty Dog was going to push Sony's shiny new console after seeing the amazing things they were able to pull off on the PS1. Plus, I was also excited to see what their next project would be post Crash Bandicoot. The Crash Bandicoot brand was owned by Universal Interactive Studios, and not Naughty Dog, so moving forward from Crash, Naughty Dog would have to create a new IP. On the same note, Spyro the Dragon was also owned by Universal Interactive Studios, which is why Insomniac, moving forward, created the Ratchet and Clank series, because they didn't own the rights to Spyro either.
Jak and Daxter released in North America on December 4th, 2001 as one of the last hugely anticipated PS2 games released that year. 2001 was in insane year for gaming. It was in insane year for other reasons, but I want to cover it from a purely gaming perspective, ignoring the other terrible events that took place the year. I want to take you back to how insane a year for gaming 2001 was by going over 55 PS2 releases of that year from a North American perspective, with the North American release dates. Some of these games are my own guilty pleasures, games I like, but aren't for everyone.
But first, I want to build the scene with a basic overview of that period of time. The Playstation 2 released on October 26th, 2000 with a reported 500,000 units at launch. Suffice it to say that supply did not meet the demand for the system as it's predecessor, the PS1 had already reached around 100 million units sold, worldwide, by the time the PS2 launched. If you think Ebay scalpers are a new phenomenon in gaming, they go back to at least the year 2000, as people were paying thousands of dollars on ebay to get their hands on a PS2 after launch.
The early drama of the PS2 from developers was how difficult the system was to develop games for. It has such a difficult architecture that caused so many headaches for early developers that the most famous example of a developer calling it quits is Oddworld Inhabitants canceling the PS2 version of Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee and moving development entirely over the the Xbox which was an easier system to develop for with a more traditional architecture that had hardware features built in to save time and money. From what I've come to understand in my limited tech knowledge is that PS2 was, essentially a blank slate. For example, in this IGN interview that has lived rent free in my head for 24 years as of making this video, titled Gamecube Versus PlayStation 2 which features Jason Rubin talking some trash on developers who complained about the difficulty of PS2 Development, one example they use is the Gamecube's hardware-based texture compression. The hardware already had this feature built in, whereas the PS2 had no hardware texture compression, meaning developers would have to code things like the eight texture layers per pass, the Gamecube did by default in hardware, by hand.
As the CEO of Bioware at the time put it: "With PS2 you have to write the code to do a lot of that stuff. But that's the trick behind it. On the one hand the downside is that it's not done for you. On the upside, if it's not done for you then you can do it yourself, and potentially better -- more specialized to what your specific application is. So it's really a double-edged sword. That's the mystery of the system."
Even before we ever knew what the PS2 was going to look like, the Sony hype machine about it's graphical capabilities had started. I remember hearing about the system's specs and capabilities throughout a large portion of 1999. 70 million flat shaded polygons a second. That's up to the quality of the cgi sequences in The Phantom Menace, according to lucasarts. The hype train for the system's graphical capabilites was going off the rails.
It was going to take years for PC's to even catch up. The emotion engine was a super computer CPU, faster than a Pentuim 3 even. It was 128 bits. That's literally four times the bits of the original Playstation. FOUR TIMES THE BITS!!!!!! The whole hype for the system's graphical capabilities is really silly in hindsight, but it worked for them at the time. What can't be denied is that the jump from PS1 and N64 graphics to PS2 graphics was massive. However, the jump from the already released Dreamcast to the PS2 was, well, not quite as dramatic as the PS2 wins in some areas, but the Dreamcast wins in other areas.
The launch crop of PS2 games hit, and most of them didn't look better than Dreamcast games. They mostly looked like prettier PS1 games, as most of them were sequels to PS1 games. The exceptions being games like Tekken Tag, Madden, and SSX and a few others that were noticeably or arguably to DC fans, better looking than what was available on the Dreamcast. With even games like DOA2 looking better on the Dreamcast then PS2.
By this time, the magnum opus of Dreamcast graphics Shenmue was out, and it's detailed textures and world still look good to this day. What the Dreamcast lacked in Poly pushing power, particle effects, physics, and large open-environments like those seen in Smuggler's run, it made up for with a bright, color pallet, incredibly detailed textures that I would argue were some the best looking textures out of any console in the 6th generation, and progressive scan output in most games through the VGA box making for a high definition experience for those who owned the VGA box and a PC monitor.
I remember epic fanboy arguments on the gamefaqs Dreamcast board between a user named Fozzyfan the PS2 fanboy and Drsmoo the Dreamcast defender. I would read through these incredibly long argument posts between the two of them. They would link to screenshots (the internet wasn't video friendly, so screenshots it was at the time), and argue about the Dreamcast's 8mb of V-ram vs the PS2's measly 4 megabytes. I remember reading things like high bandwith, small bus and nodding my head like I even knew what that meant. I still don't know what that means. Either way, the fanboy arguments at the time were epic, and pretty tame overall compared to the fanboy flame wars of the seventh gen till today. They would go back an forth arguing about things like, according to Drsmoo, Test Drive Lemans on the Dreamcast has better graphics than Gran Turismo 3 because it has 24 cars in screen. They were pointless arguments, but they were entertaining.
So this brings us to 2001. The PS2 launch had happened in October 2000 and the first generation of software with it. 2001 was to bring the second generation of offerings to the system, where developers, who had now had more time to figure out how to push the system further, would start to showcase the system's true capabilities. The time for hype was over, it was now time to see if the PS2 could live up to the hype. Yes, it was shallow, and about graphics, but as someone who spent most of 2001 playing and enjoying my PS1 and Dreamcast collections, I wanted to see how powerful the PS2 really was. I was younger, and I bought into the graphics hype, hook, line and sinker at the time, a lot of us did, so now, past that launch window, and onto the second generation of software it was time to see what the PS2 was really capable of when pushed by the right developers.
2001 was one of the most insane years for gaming. In January, Sega Pulled the plug on the Dreamcast, announcing their departure from the console market. I got my Dreamcast sometime around this time myself, picking up the model that came with Sega Smash Pack. Even though Sega Called it quits, the Dreamcast still had quite a few high profile releases in 2001 including: Sonic Adventure 2, Crazy Taxi 2, Phantasy Star Online and Version 2, Unreal Tournament, Daytona USA, Record of Lodoss War, and more. By the end of the year releases started to slow down having games like NBA 2k2 and NFK 2k2 hit. The Dreamcast was a dying system, but still had a ton great games released that year.
The N64 had a really strong year 2000 as far as releases went, seeing some great releases like Perfect Dark, The World is Not Enough, Major's mask, Turok 3, Banjo Tooie, and WWF No Mercy. However, by the end of 2001 the system was already in it's death throes. It saw it's biggest release in March 2001 which was Conker's bad Fur day. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 would be another big release in August. However, after Tony Hawk 2, releases slowed to a trickle at best. Checking the new releases in issue 104 of Game Informer Magazine, I didn't see any upcoming N64 games. There was a few months of not much to talk about when it came to releases between Conker and Tony Hawk 2, and even less to talk about outside of Madden, Blitz, razor freestyle scooter, and a power-puff girls game. Eight months after even Japanese publishers stopped supporting the system, Activision would publish Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 in August 2002 for no conceivable reason, making it the last officially published game for the system.
The PS1 was still going incredibly strong in the year 2001. It was lingering around the 100 million units sold mark. The system would continue to see releases in North America until October 2004. Some of the big releases in 2001 include games like: Tales of Destiny 2, Tomb Raider Chronicles, Final Fantasy Chronicles, Spiderman 2: Enter Electro, Castlevania Chronicles, Metal Slug X, and so many more, topping the year off with Syphon Filter 3 which was the last big AAA title hurrah of the PS1. Later in 2002, the US would get some other great Pal conversions of games like The Italian Job and C-12 Final Resistance. This was also the era of the $10 generic budget title seeing games like Racing, Bowling, Boxing, and even great budget kings like Board Game: Top Shop and Battle hunter.
The game boy color was still alive an kicking with the Game Boy Advance right around the corner, ready to be released on June 11th of that year.
Some high profile PC games released that year were- Command and Conquer: Yuri's Revenge, Civilization 3, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, Black and White, Fallout Tactics: Brotherhood of Steel, Red Faction, Serious Sam, and many, many more.
By the end of 2001, according to the same December issue of Game Informer I referenced earlier, the PS2 had an Installed base of 20 million units sold. To further paint the picture of the incredibly competitive season the Jak and Daxter released in, I'm now going to go over 56 PS2 releases alone, and this isn't even every release on the system. Technically, Final Fantasy 10 capped off the year as the last hugely anticipated PS2 game to release in North America, making it Just in time for Christmas on December 17th, but Jak and Daxter was the second-to-last triple AAA title if you will (even though the term tripple A wasn't widely used at this point in gaming history) to end the PS2's year on an incredibly high note in one of the most incredibly competitive years in gaming history.
Starting 2001 out, on January 3rd, Kengo: Master of Bushido was released. Kengo has always been a niche title that I've always really enjoyed. It came to us from the same people behind the Bushido Blade series, but lacks the flash and story telling of the previous series. It also did away with the one-hit deaths. I've always liked the fighting system, and there is a quest mode to it where you challenge other schools and do mini-games to improve your stats. Graphically, I remember thinking the reflections on the wooden floors looked great, but the rest was average. It's definitely not a game for everyone, but if you can get into it, you'll find it to be enjoying and engaging in it's own right.
On January 29th Oni was released. Oni was the one and only game Bungie released for the PS2. It got a lot of coverage and hype before it released, but got completely panned in the review scores. It had a unique art direction for the time, that mixture of anime looking characters, but from a gameplay standpoint, I've only ever found it to be average at best. I own it on the PC and the PS2. I've played into it, but never beaten it but I've played far enough into it to to say, it's OK. It's definitely not great, and definitely didn't live up to the hype. I would say the 4's and 5's it received were way too low for the time. I know this game has it's fans, but I would say it's a C-tier game, not an F-tier game.
Ending January, on the 30th, Rayman 2: Revolution was released. Rayman 2 was one of those games that was ported to every available system under the sun at the time, but Revolution was a remake of sorts. It has the same levels as the previous versions, but adds a hub world design to the game and unlockable mini games with brand new graphics, and the english voice overs from the PS1 port of Rayman 2. Revolution reviewed well and was the biggest January release. As you can see, the PS2 started the year out pretty slow. You had the excitement of launch and thereafter, and then quietness with a few notable games trickling out.
On February 5th, Rainbow studios released ATV Offroad Fury which was the first game in the popular franchise. This footage is from a demo disk as I don't own the original. After the second game, development of the franchise would be handed over to Climax studios, and Rainbow Studios would focus on the MX vs ATV series. There's something about the voxelly landscape look of ATV Offroad fury, and Smugglers run that just screams PS2 to me. I know that other consoles and PC games also have this look, but the wavy, hilly, open landscape look will always be a PS2 visual aesthetic to me. The Offroad Fury brand is owned by Sony. It was popular on the PS2 and PSP, but is now a dead IP.
Speaking of that Voxelly-landscpe look, Star Wars: Starfighter was released on February 19th. I've owned the Xbox version for years, and have still yet to play through it. It's no Rogue Leader or Rogue Squadron, but it's still a solid flight combat game based on the Star Wars franchise. The missions are challenging, and yet, also rewarding once you beat them. It's definitely worth playing if you're a fan of Star Wars space-combat games.
On March 5th, Squarsoft and Dreamfactory released The Bouncer. The Bouncer got a lot of hype before it released, because it was seen as a game that would finally show off the PS2's graphical capabilities. The character models and overall graphics looked great for the time. The character models were fleshed out with all those polygons the PS2 could reportedly push, and there were small details like flowing hair, and even Scion's hoodie that would sway as he attacked. However, this was one of the first big flops for the PS2, coming out to low review scores. Early tech demos showed tons of environmental interactivity. I remember reading about breaking tables and using pieces as weapons or pulling picture frames off the wall to use in combat. There was none of that in the Bouncer. Instead, gamers got a story-driven beat 'em up that could be beaten in 2-4 hours depending on if you watched the story sequences or not. The game also caused a split between Dreamfactory and Squaresoft. To be fair, despite it's short length, I've always really liked The Bouncer. It has an RPG stat leveling system where you can buy stats based on points you earn during the fight sequences, a campaign that was designed to be played through multiple times to finally fight the final form of the last boss, and a fun 4-player battle mode. It's short, but it's not as bad as it was made out to be.
On March 6th, Konami released Shadow of Destiny which I don't own, but always wanted to play, because it looked interesting to me. I just thought it was worthy of mentioning. The PS2 version is still lingering around $30 on Ebay at the moment. I'll pick it up someday. It did, eventually, get a port to the Xbox in Europe, but not North America as Shadow of Memories, and also had ports to the PC and PSP.
On March 13th, Capcom Released Onimusha Warlords which had the distinct honor of being the first PS2 game to sell 1 million copies. Onimusha was a cool mixture of previous generation graphical techniqes, prerendered backgrounds, with next gen character sprites, and felt incredibly smooth to play. I've never played all the way through it, despite meaning to for decades, but it definitely falls into the same category of action game that Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, and even God of War would eventually define as well. It's controls feel buttery smooth compared to all PS1 games with similar tank controls and prerendered backgrounds, games like Soul of the Samurai on the PS1 for example. I own Onimush 1-3 on the PS2, and I really need to just sit down and play them all. I've played into all of them, but never beaten them. I even own Genma Onimusha on the Xbox, so I really have no excuse, especially since I know this is a great series.
On March 26th, MDK 2: Armageddon, Quake III Revolution, and Zone of the Enders released.
-MDK 2: Armageddon was a port of either the Dreamcast or PC version of MDK 2. The PS2 version adds a difficulty setting to make it easier or just as difficult as the Dreamcast port, and has worse textures, but better particle effects than the DC version (A common theme with DC to PS2 ports), and a lot of different control schemes to experiment with to get the unruly controls as close to a modern control setup as possible. Early PS2 control schemes were still experimental at the time, and the modern dual stick movement and aiming setup wasn't set in stone just yet. Solid shooter with some cool atmosphere and a sniper helmet. I own it on both the PS2 and Dreamcast but have beaten it on neither system, especially not the Dreamcast version which is so difficult, it's actually a badge of honor among Dreamcast fans to beat it.
-Quake III Revolution may have lacked the Online play of it's PC and Dreamcast counterparts, but it's still a fun arena shooter if you're interested in couch coop. It's the same setup as the other versions, the single player mode is just a series of bot matches. It's lack of online play, keyboard and mouse support, and any kind of networking (like using the I-link port on the PS2 for a local area network like Unreal Tournament did) make it a game squarely aimed at split-screen couch coop. I like Quake III Revolution. One cool part about the game is you can now earn stat upgrades by completing the single player mode, and you can then load your upgraded character into multiplayer. It's default control scheme isn't good, but you can change the control setting in the options to find the modern left-stick move right-stick aim settings. Really the biggest flaw of the game is the insanely long load times. I mean, it loads faster than Soldier of Fortune on the Dreamcast, but that's not saying much.
Zone of the Enders is a game I only recently picked up, so I haven't played through it, but I enjoyed the demo disk gameplay back in the day. Generally people complained that the game was too short, and between the mainstream outlets and fans it got mixed reviews. However, Zone of the Enders is incredibly significant to the PS2 in 2001 because it came with a demo of Metal Gear Solid 2 on a separate disk. A lot of people at the time said the MGS2 demo was the only reason to buy Zone of the Enders. I jokingly say Konami released a $50 demo disk of Metal Gear Solid 2 with a free mech game on the side. It goes without saying that the hype for Metal Gear Solid 2 at the time was at a fever pitch. It was easily the most anticipated PS2 game at the time, and gamers were excited enough to buy Zone of the Enders just to play the demo. The demo's inclusion, no doubt, helped the sales of Zone of the Enders. This wouldn't be the last time a publisher released a demo of a hotly anticipated game with the release of another game even in the same year. This was a wise strategy that worked. I mean look at how well Crackdown on the Xbox 360 sold because it came with the Halo 3 online Open Beta. The sad fact is, Zone of the Enders is best known for including the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo.
On March 27th, Winback: Covert Operations was released. This was a port of the N64 game with improved graphics and some extra multiplayer modes. Winback was the grandaddy of duck and cover shooters, taking the wall leaning mechanic of Metal Gear Solid, and allowing players to shoot around corners. It's controls definitely feel a little awkward to go back and play, but overall, it's a solid title.
On April 23rd, EA Released Rumble Racing which was the non-NASCAR-licensed sequel to Nascar Rumble. On top of keeping the same Mario-Kart-inspired powerup gameplay, it also borrowed the air-trick system from San Francisco Rush 2049, but gives a twist to it where successfully landing tricks gives you a turbo boost. This is easily, one of my favorite alternative racing games on the PS2. I loved Nascar Rumble on the PS1, and Rumble Racing improved upon the formula. It's worth playing if you've never played it.
On April 30th, The Adventures of Cookie and Cream was released, and it's still one of my favorite Underrated Gems for the system. It's a combination Puzzle Platformer game that can be played with one player, but is most enjoyable with a friend. I used to describe this as crash bandicoot meets a puzzle game. Cookie and Cream are always on opposite sides of the screen and the levels play out like a platofrmer. There is a time limit on each level and taking hits or falling down pits deducts time from the timer. The puzzle elements come into play where either character has to do things like hit switches, move logs, launch watermelons to attract a hippo, and etc in order to open up the path for the character on the other side of the screen. This game can be played single player where each analog stick controls each character from the same controller, which is a really cool idea, however, it's most enjoyable with a friend. I have great memories of playing this game over a decade ago with a close friend of mine who passed in 2020. I love this game, and I miss you bro.
On May 1st, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy hit the PS2. It's essentially an expanded version of Gauntlet Legends. It came out of low to medium review scores because, by that time, outlets were already fatigued of Gauntlet Legends which outside of the arcade was ported to the PS1, N64, and Dreamcast. Dark Legacy was an expended version of Legends. However, don't listen to the review scores of this game. Dark Legacy is an exceptionally fun game that's best enjoyed with friends, but is still fun playing by youself. I've always called it diet Diablo as it's essentially an arcade take on a hack 'n slash RPG. It's a simplified hack 'n slash RPG which is way more accessible to everyone. It's easy to jump into the game, start killing things, gain levels, and have a blast doing it. What it lacks in deep RPG depth, it makes up for in pure, addictive fun. I love Gauntlet Legends, and I love Dark Legacy. It's best with friends, but still incredibly fun by yourself nonetheless.
On May 17th, reality finally sunk in for Sega fans when Crazy Taxi was released on the PS2. The PS2 port was handled by Acclaim, and if you ask Dreamcast fanoys, was inferior to the Dreamcast version in every way. However, I think that's more than a little overblown because unless you go into a Digital Foundry style analytical review of the graphics, you won't notice much differences between the two versions. I've literally played both versions at the same time on two different TV's in the past, and I didn't notice much differences between them. When it comes to gameplay, the PS2 version still plays great. Crazy Taxi is a beloved classic, and it's fun no matter the version you play, except maybe the Game Boy Advance version which I haven't played and can't vouch for as being good or bad, personally.
On May 22nd, Red Faction released. For me, this was my first introduction to Half-Life as I played Red Faction before Half-Life, not realizing that, from a level design standpoint, Red Faction Borrows a lot from Valve's masterpiece. That being said, Red Faction is still one of my favorite first person shooters on the PS2. The Geomod engine was an amazing piece of engine design. For those who don't know, geomod stand for geometric modification. What this translates to is real-time enviromental destruction. Certain walls, tunnels, and other solid objects could be hit with explosives, and they would deform in real-time. There was no scripted ways for the envronment to deform, it depended on what angle the player either placed the explosives, or shot the wall with a rocket. You could spend hours creating your own tunnels and bridges in the game. It was such an amazing engine. Top off the insane awesomeness of the geomod engine with a really well-made half-life style romp, and some fun 2-player split screen bot deathmatches, and you had a great shooter with a lot of features to keep you coming back. Red Faction is a series where each iteration was a completely different game from the last, Half-Life, Squad Shooter, Red Theft Auto, and whatever Armageddon is supposed to be. However, in my opinion, the original game is still the best game in the series by far, yes, even better than Guerrilla if you ask me.
On May 28th, Dark Cloud released to mixed reivews. At first, the game was hyped by magazines like PSM as a Zelda Killer, but in reality, it was a combination dungeon crawler, with city building elements shades of actraiser, with a combat system that was similar to Zelda. The point of the game is to grind in the dungeon, kill enemies, and find spheres containing alta which is what you use to rebuild the cities in the game. A lot of people found the game to be tedious, and the weapon durability system in the game to be frustrating. Dark Cloud was a bit of a disappointment overall when it hit. It's sequel, Dark Cloud 2 would make up for it later.
On June 18th, both Escape From Monkey Island, and Twisted Metal Black released.
-Escape From Monkey Island is the fourth monkey island game in the series, and it ditched the point-and-click gameplay for a more controller friendly interface. The Monkey island games were point-and-click Adventure games, well Puzzle Adventure games to be more accurate, that depended on storytelling with a ton of humorous dialog, and heavy puzzle solving elements. Escape From Monkey Island takes the format and shifts it to a controller friendly format to the chagrin of a some Monkey Island fans. Overall, it may not be the fan favorite game in the series, but I've always enjoyed the goofy humor and puzzle solving elements in the game. It reviewed well in the mainstream outlets, sold well on the PC, but the PS2 sales were said to be abysmal.
-I remember being incredibly excited to play Twisted Metal Black, especially after hearing that Incognito, the development team behind it, was comprised of members who worked on the first two Twisted Metal games. Twisted Metal 3 and 4 were developed by 989 studios, and not Singletrac, the original developers. Twisted Metal Black was revamping the series and taking it into a dark direction. The original developers were back, and they made the best Twisted Metal game of all time, even if my personal slant is still to say that Twisted Metal 2 is my favorite. Twisted Metal Black was one of the first hugely anticipated heavy hitters to release on the PS2 in 2001, and man did it deliver. This game is still awesome to this day. It's Dark, it's twisted, it's twisted Metal.
On July 9th, it hit. It hit hard. To Sum up the three most anticipated killer apps for the PS2 (before GTA3 hit and became THE killer app), I would say the three most salivated over games on the PS2 in 2001 were Gran Turismo 3, Metal Gear Solid 2, and Final Fantasy X. Other games were anticipated, but these three towered over all the rest in hype and anticipation. There's a good chance that most early PS2 adopters, bought the system waiting for one of those three games. Gran Turismo 3 was the pack-in game for the PS2 I received on Christmas 2001, and was the last GT game I personally played hours upon hours into. The graphics were amazing, and finally showed us what the PS2 was capable of. Yes, I had already seen screenshots of the game, but screenshots aren't the same as seeing this game in motion. The visuals looked photo-realistic to me at the time. Everyone talks about Gran Trusimo 2 and Gran Turismo 4, but for me, my GT experiences were GT1, and GT3. I don't play racing sims anymore, I'm way out of practice as you can see from this footage, but seeing and playing this game for the first time was an experience. I never 100 percent-ed the game, but I put countless hours into to it. This game was amazing, and not just because of the beautiful graphics. It had so many features, and so many different races, I mean, it's Gran Turismo, I don't have to describe it to you.
Twisted Metal Black in June, and the Gran Turismo 3 in July, Sony was starting to throw haymakers at the competition half-way through 2001, ramping up for the holiday season, and the release of two competitor's systems. The first six months of 2001 may have been slow for the PS2, but the last six months of the year, the PS2 was about to start throwing bombs at all their competitors, and it started here with Gran Truismo 3.
On July 23rd, Extermination released. Extermination is another game I've played into, but never beaten. I remember playing it off the demo disk and enjoying it. It's a survival horror with more of an action focus, and that had way better aiming controls than any other game in the genre up to this point. The game borrowed ideas from The Thing, the movie not the later released game where enemies don't just damage your health, they also infect you with an alien infection, so you have to deal with both a health meter and infection meter. It's been years since I've played into this game, but I remember my first impression when playing the demo being how much better the combat aspects felt in this game than any other game in the genre up to this point. The aiming and movement alone felt a thousand times more freeing in Extermination than any Resident Evil or Silent Hill . Basically, the controls feel like Resident Evil 4 minus the over-the shoulder view. One day I'll have to sit down and play all the way through this one. I know it got mixed reviews, but based on what I have played of the game, I've always liked it.
On July 25th, Klonoa 2 was released. Luckily, this game has been re-released in recent years, because, at one time, this game was lingering around the $200 mark. Klonoa 2 is the sequel to the PS1 original Klonoa: Door to Phantomile. It's a super addictive, and fun 2.5D platformer that, while it didn't do anything particularity new , was as refined as games of this type get. Klonoa 2 is an excellent platformer that, unfortunately, sold terribly on the PS2. I am happy to see they have re-released both Klonoa games in the Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series so more people can enjoy it. Like Robot Alchemic Drive, the only copy of Klonoa 2 I ever saw on the shelf was the one I bought.
On August 21st, Resident Evil Code Veronica X hit the PS2. It was a port of the Dreamcast exclusive Code Veronica, minus the really cool health meter screen that showed on the VMU screen on the controller. Personally, I stopped caring about Resident Evil after Resident Evil 2, so I have started Code Veronica on the PS2 and Dreamcast about a dozen times, but never saw it all the way through. However, the initial release of Code Veronica X came with a playable demo of Devil May Cry. I remember a friend of mine coming over with his PS2 and Code Veronica X, and we played the Devil May Cry demo. I was so blown away by the game, Devil May Cry was the first PS2 game I bought, and the third game I ever owned for the system. Some day I may play through Code Veronica X, but I do appreciate it for introducing me to Devil May cry.
On September 9th, Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2 released, and I loved the Dave Mirra series. Dave Mirra 2 is excellent. For most people, Tony Hawk was their game on the PS1, and while I enjoyed the Tony Hawk Demo on the Summer '99 Jampack, it was Dave Mirra, Freestyle BMX that I ended up playing as much as everyone else played Tony Hawk. Dave Mirra 2 expanded on the ideas of the genre, and had design elements that would later be perfected in Agressive Inline and Tony Hawk 4. Dave Mirra 2 showcased why Z-Axis was the only serious competitor to Neversoft. Too bad BMX XXX was crap, but all the rest of Z-Axis' Extreme sports games were excellent. Activision liked their games so much, they eventually bought Z-Axis and then disbanded them in EA fashion.
On September 24th, Ico, Silent Hill 2, and Spy Hunter released.
-Ico came out and slipped under the radar at the time. Everyone knows how brilliant the game is now, but it took many years of word of mouth and even EGM Hidden Gem Articles to get the word out about Ico. I remember enjoying the demo of the game, and really enjoying the game itself when I finally acquired it years later. The game is as much a piece of artwork as it was an intelligently designed puzzle-heavy action adventure game. The game is relatively short, but, as we all know, is still a PS2 classic.
-Like Code Veronica X, Silent Hill 2 is a game I have started a dozen times over the years, but never got around to actually playing all the way through it. I did watch a friend play through large portions of the game back in the day, I really liked the improved combat, and, like the original which I did play all the way through and enjoy, that amazing atmosphere. I know the remake recently hit, but I'll stick with the PS2 version for my first playthough of the game. The remake really doesn't interest me, but the original still does. I remember this game getting mixed reivew scores when it hit. PSM gave it a 7 out of 10 citing the convoluted story that is like “reading a poorly written novel”, the sometimes cryptic puzzle solutions, and the fact that it didn't really raise the bar for the genre as reasons it was slightly disappointing.
-Spy Hunter is a game I enjoyed playing the demo of years ago, but have yet to get around to playing it since I've owned it. I've never even beaten the required training mission, and I always say, I'll play something else instead after I fail the mission. However, Midway was on a roll in the PS2 era, remaking their arcade classic franchises and publishing some of the most criminally underrated games of that generation. Spy Hunter sold well enough to become a greatest hit, and is fondly remembered among it's fans. Some day I'll beat that pesky training mission and play the full game.
Ending September, on the 30th, Guilty Gear X released. For the longest time, the only two names worth caring about in in 2D fighters were Capcom, and SNK, then Arc System Works released Guilty Gear on the PS1 in 1998, and a new contender was born. In 2000, the released the followup Guilty Gear X to the arcades and the Dreamcast with the PS2 port of the game coming in 2001. I've never delved particularly deep into the Guilty Gear games, but I've always had fun whenever I boot X or X2 up in my PS2. The 2D sprite work is animation quality. It really puts the low-rez, pixelated sprites in Capcom and SNK fighting games to shame. The gameplay is excellent as well. As someone who's only ever been a novice at this series, it's easy to pick up and play, and feels incredibly smooth. This is definitely a series I want to explore more in the future, and get better at, because I can tell by the quality of the gameplay that it's a series that is just as worth to be mentioned in the same sentence as Street fighter, and the King of Fighters.
On October 14th, Sony Santa Monica release Kinetica which is one of my favorite futuristic style racers on the system featuring human characters racing in Kinetic suits which allows them to race up the sides of walls, and on ceilings. Players could earn boost by completing tricks either on the ground or mid-air. It was a really fun mixture of Wipeout and SSX. The game is really challenging, but really fun. The graphics engine used in the game would later go on to be used in God of War. Kinetica got promoted well through advertisements and demo disks, but I'm not sure how well it sold. Regardless, I've always really liked this game, and it also has an awesome soundtrack to boot.
On October 16th, the hotly anticipated Devil May Cry hit. As I mentioned earlier, this was the thrid game I ever owned for the PS2 because I was super impressed by the demo that came with Code Veronica. Before it hit, this game got tons of coverage, making the cover of every major gaming magazine in the states. It wasn't until I played the demo that I finally realized what all the hype was about. Devil May Cry was a great game, and it not only kicked off one of gaming's most popular franchises, but also the, I guess the modern term used is, Character Action Genre. That's a term I've never heard until five minutes ago as of writing this. Either way, that God of War, Devil May Cry, Ninja Gaiden, Dante's Inferno, Bayonetta, Rygar, Bujingai, and etc action genre. We all know that Rising Zan actually did it first, but Devil May cry was the start of a new generation of action game. I guess Onimusha also beat it to the punch in many ways, but DMC still had the largest impact on the genre. Great game. I was completely blown away by the graphics at the time, and the gameplay was exhilarating and frustrating at the same time. DMC was another huge release for the PS2 in 2001.
And a quick note: Gamefaqs says GTA3 was released on October 22nd, while Wikipedia says the game was released on the 23rd. I scoured the magazine archives to find a preview of the game that had the official release date, and couldn't find one, but since I have been using the Gamefaqs release dates for this video, because I trust them more, just know the release date could be a day off.
Once in a while a game so important to the rest of gaming history comes along that everything around it comes to a complete halt, pausing in awe of what that game accomplished. OK, that's a little over-dramatic, but on October 22nd, the most important PS2 game released in 2001 hit, that game was Grand Theft Auto III. GTA 3 came out of nowhere, surprising both gamers, and mainstream outlets to become the biggest killer app for the PS2 going forward. I've had arguments with people who said, “Nah man, the game didn't surprise anyone. Everyone knew about it before it hit.” to which I responded, the only major US gaming magazine to so much as give GTA 3 a cover story, and a nine-page special feature was The Official Playstation Magazine. Maybe there was one other I missed, but that's the only cover story on the game. Prior to release, there was little interest in this game from the mainstream outlets. It's hard to blame them, as, in a year as crazy as 2001, with three systems launching, and tons of hugely hyped games, it would be hard to predict GTA3's success. In the issue of Gamepro Magazine they reviewed it in, Jak and Daxter got a full page review, Parappa the Rappa 2 got a full page review, and GTA3 got a half-page review, which wasn't published until their February 2002 issue which came out in January 2002. That's not only a testament to how stacked the end of 2001 was with game and console releases, but to also how little significance the game was given by the majority of gaming outlets at the time. Like I said, it snuck up on most of us. I did pour and exorbitant amount of hours into this game back in the day, but I put the most GTA hours into Vice City, which is still my favorite game in the series. GTA3 was the most important release for the PS2 in 2001. It was the game we didn't know we needed until we played it, and it was a massive system-selling killer app.
Project Eden was also released on, October 22nd, and is still my favorite Core Design release on the PS2. Project Eden is an up-to four player action/puzzle game hybrid with a unique Blade-Runner style atmosphere, and some technical glitches that can sometimes stop progression. Every player in the squad has different abilities that are used in solving the puzzles in the game, and switching between them on the fly when playing by yourself is as simple as hitting the D-pad. It's always found this game to be incredibly engaging. Flawed, yes, but I've always really liked this game despite it's quirks.
On Ocotober 30th, Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 hit.
-Smuggler's Run 2 featured more of the same intense mission-based driving gameplay as the original Smuggler's run with graphical improvements. I still haven't really played much of this game. I played quite a bit of the original with a friend back in the day, but Smuggler's 2 has that same addictive and infuriating gameplay that keep you coming back for just One more try no matter how many times you fail a mission. I own it on the Gamecube and PS2, and it's still fun.
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 was the next generation Tony Hawk game that fan were salivating to have. I, personally, really haven't played Tony Hawk 3. I played the original on the Dreamcast, somehow skipped the next two, and played the crap out of Tony Hawk 4 on the Gamecube, and haven't touched much of the series since. Tony Hawk 3 had beautiful next gen graphics, and the coolest feature, online play before Sony even released the network adapter for the PS2. If you had a USB ethernet adapter, or 56K modem, you could play this game online through gamespy servers. The PS2's official Network Adapter wouldn't be released until mid August of 2002, so it was pretty awesome that Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 had online play around nine and a half months before the network adapter was released.
On October 31'st, Soul Reaver 2 hit, and while I was definitely excited to play it, because I loved the original, when I finally got around to playing it years after it's release, I wasn't exactly enthralled with the game. I never beat it, but I played a number of hours into it, and, while I still adore the original Soul Reaver, the second one just felt like it had a lot less, well, soul to me. The combat didn't feel as rewarding, and while the graphics were good and a step up, it lacked that same dark feeling atmosphere of the original. I really need to come back and give this game another chance and a full playthrough, because I really love the original, and maybe I didn't give it a fair chance when I played it.
Coming into November, the Christmas shopping season was upon us, and the competition was going to hit a fever pitch with the launch of the Xbox on the 15th, and the Gamecube on the 18th. Before I get tot he PS2 releases, I'll briefly cover the Xbox and Gamecube launch lineups. The Xbox came out swinging with one of the best launch lineups in gaming history. I still say the Dreamcast had the best launch lineup ever, but I wouldn't fault anyone who give the nod to the Xbox. Standouts were Dead or Alive 3, Project Gotham Racing, Oddworld Munch's Oddysee, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X which was a remake that combined the levels of the first two Tony hawk games with next gen graphics, and of course, without exaggeration the game that single-handedly launched the entire Xbox brand off it's back, Halo: Combat Evolved. No Halo, no Xbox brand to this day. The game was that important. The Xbox came out swinging, with an exceptional launch lineup of games, and the first game in, outside of Grand Theft Auto I would argue, the biggest franchise of the sixth generation. The PS2 may have obliterated the Xbox in sales, but that in no way diminishes the popularity of Halo. It was THE game to get for the Xbox.
The Gamecube launch lineup, which is hard to look up on the internet nowadays, even going to magazine archives to figure out the exact launch lineup is hard, because magazines had space requirements so most of them separated the launch games between issues. I remember the big games like Rogue Leader, Luigi's Mansion, Super Monkey Ball, and Wave Race: Blue Storm, but the other launch titles like Crazy Taxi, Madden, Tony Hawk 3, Dave Mirra 2, just kind of blend in my mind. I mostly remember Rogue Leader, because, when I picked up my Gamecube in summer 2002 using my high school graduation money, I made sure Rogue Leader was the first game I bought. Off topic, does anyone else remember that new Gamecube smell? I can't describe it, but it's a heavy plastic smell, but a clean plastic smell. I'm pretty sure it made my room smell like my gamecube for months, and even today, sometimes I open a box with plastic packing materials and the materials sometimes hit my smell memory, and reminds me of the Gamecube. I might be crazy here, but I know I'm not the only one who remembers the Gamecube smell.
Overall, the Gamecube launch lineup in North America was a little weak. Luigi's mansion was fun, Wave Race was fun, Rogue Leader was great, but it was the December release of games like Super Smash Brothers: Melee, and Pikmin where some better games would hit. The Gamecube was a slow starter, kind of like the PS2, it was a system Nintendo fans bought with the promise of those great Nintendo titles later down the line, even if Nintendo had already revealed the Wind Waker version of Link to much groaning by fans at the time. Spaceworld showed an awesome deul between link and gannon, but they later revealed Hermy the Misfit elf version of Link. Oddly enough, Wind Waker would win me over after playing it, and it's still my favorite 3D Zelda of all time...that I've played so far.
And now back to the PS2 in November. On November 1st, Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies was released. The last time I tried playing this game, the laser lens in the PS2 I was using had a big chunk break off of it, so I have still yet to play through it. However, what I have played of the game is excellent. It would have been really exciting for fans to see this next-gen version of Ace combat in action with brand new graphics with all the stunning visual effects the PS2 was capable of, and now with a story narrative woven into the game. The game reviewed well, and fans loved it. Some day I'll play more of this game, hoping it doesn't break another PS2 on me.
The Original Burnout was also released on November 1st. I actually don't own the original game in the series, but it's worth mentioning, because it's sequels would become some of the best and most beloved racing games on the PS2.
On November 5th, Splashdown and SSX Tricky were released.
-I can't find my copy of Splashdown at the moment, so here's footage of the trailer. Looking back, I actually played this game a lot and really enjoyed it. It's Rainbow Studio' take on the Wave race formula, but the tracks are full of shortcuts, or routes I would make a shortcut. The graphics were beautiful for the time, the water effects weren't as good as say Wave Race Blue Storm, but they were still good. I really liked the soundtrack in the game too, and I remember the first time I figured out how to submerge underwater and them pop up to do a backflip in the game. Something that's technically not even an available trick, but I would do it. I also love the hilarity of the giant octopus that grabs you and launches you across the map if you travel too far from the course which is a rainbow studios trademark. I still need to get Rides gone wild, because I really loved the original Splashdown, and had tons of fun playing it.
-SSX Tricky, I own on the Gamecube because a friend gave it to me for free, but I had tons of fun playing it. It's really actually the last SSX game I played. I spent a ton of time playing the original with a friend, so I was incredibly excited to play tricky as well, and it did not disappoint. It features a lot of the same tracks at the original SSX, but modified, and added uber tricks where filling up your boos meter allowed you to pull off super special tricks. The original SSX was nearly perfect, being the best game at launch, but Tricky's improvements over the original make it hard to go back and play the original unless you have nostalgia for it. I spent so many hour on this game, such a great game. I really need to play the newer games in the series.
On November 6th, Capcom vs. SNK 2: Mark of the Millennium 2001 was released. The original Capcom vs SNK was a fanboy dream come true after years of fanboy arguments of who would win in a fight, Terry Bogard, or Ryu? While it lacks the flash of other verses fighters, the combination of SNK and Capcom fighting characters, surprisingly, blended together amazingly well. I've become more of an SNK fanboy because The King of Fighter 99 on the PS1 of all systems got me back in to 2D fighters after years of playing 3D fighters, but Capcom did an excellent job of combining these characters in an excellent 2D fighting game. I'm not sure about balancing issues or any of that to a hardcore depth, all I know is, 2D fighting game fun. This game would later get released on the Gamcube and Xbox as Capcom vs. SNK 2 EO which added one-touch special moves to make them easier to pull off. No doubt to make of for the dismal D-pads on both system's controllers.
On November 11th, 11-11, your wish was granted as Gearbox and Valve released Half-Life on the PS2. This is the first version of Half-Life I ever played, so I have a soft spot for the PS2 port. Even when going back and comparing it to the modern PC version of the game, this is still a great port of Half-Life, and one of the best PC-to console ports ever, possibly the best of that era. The PS2 vastly improved the graphics over the stock PC version from 1998. The HD pack would release with Blue shift, and make the graphical improvements of the PS2 version seem null and void, but it was impressive for the time. Very rarely if ever had console ports actually improved over the PC version's graphics. It was a big deal at the time, for two seconds. On top of being a great port of one of the best games ever made with tons of control options for controller or USB keyboard and mouse, and some fun split screen deathmatch, it also added the Decay campaign which was designed to be played coop with a friend, but is just as playable by yourself. Another cool feature is, if you had the demo disk from issue 57 of the Official Playstation magazine, you could play the Half-Life Uplink demo on the PS2 with the PS2 graphical improvements. The uplink demo was one of the earliest PC demos for Half-Life that was almost impossible to play on modern PC hardware until a recent update of Half-life on Steam made it available to play again. Overall, the PS2 port of Half Life was an excellent port for the time, and I still love this version of the game. I guess that's why I still love the PS2 version of Deus Ex as well because that was the first version of the game I played before getting the PC version later.
Three days before the Xbox released, and November 12th, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty hit. As PSM Put it, this was “THE game of 2001.” The hype and excitement for this game was massive. It's not an exaggeration to say that most people who owned a PS2 by this time in 2001, bought it specifically for this game. As Blake Fisher in the January 2002 issue of Next Gen Magazine put it “No other game in history has received the kind of overwhelming hype as Metal Gear Solid 2.” It was that big of a deal, and the game's November release date meant that it was reviewed in the same issues as the entire Xbox Launch Lineup, and Gamecube launch games as well. Most of the reviews, and all the previews leading up to the game's release tactfully avoided what would become the biggest controversy of the game, one that would split fans and eventually have a lot of them against the game.
Spoiler alert, granted this game is rapidly coming up on a quarter century old, and has been re-released in ever subsequent console generation since the PS2, so if you haven't played it yet, you probably were never going to- Snake is only the main character for the beginning of the game which takes place on the tanker. After that, Snake is replace by Raiden, who is the actual main character of the game. He only bumps into Snake along the way here and there, but Raiden replaces Snake for the majority of the game. Me, personally, I did think it was lame, but, I still love this game. It is probably my second favorite Metal Gear Solid game, granted, I've only really played the first three. I've been meaning to play MGS4 for years, but the words 90 minute cutscene have stopped me from doing so. I gotta be in the mood for that, and owning the game for over 15 years, I still haven't been in the mood for that.
Either way, the Raiden replacing snake aspect of Metal Gear Solid 2 is still polarizing among fans to this day. I have a friend who is a massive Metal Gear Solid fan, he literally bought every version of Metal Gear Solid he could including the Pal version, the International version, and the Document of Metal Gear Solid 2 just to name a few. He was so mad about the change, he hated Raiden so much that after beating the game all the way through a couple of times, he absolutely refused to play the Raiden parts of he game. He would play the tanker portion only and say, I beat it after completing the snake scene. People have warmed up to Metal gear Solid 2 more in recent years, but replacing Snake with Raiden was and always will be seen as a controversial move.
On November 13th, James Bond 007: Agent Under Fire released. I really couldn't care less about this game when it hit. Watching friends play it didn't do much for me either. I was in the, if it's not made by Rare, who cares. I looked at it as a less-good imitation of the Goldeneye. However, playing games like The World is Not enough on the N64, and later Bond games help me come around tot he fact that there were good Bond Games released after Goldeneye. Coming back to play Agent Under Fire, I've realized that it's a good game in it's own right. It's not the best shooter ever, or even the best Bond shooter, it's fun for what it offers. This isn't a bad game at all. If you're like me, and turned your nose up to the game back in the day because it wasn't made by Rare, it's worth giving it another chance. The gunplay is solid, the level designs during the first person shooter elements mirror the mission-based designs of Goldeneye and the addition of the Bond moves for scoring is a nice touch. Solid game overall.
November 18th saw the release of the Gamecube, and WWF Smackdown: Just Bring It. I have fond memories of playing this game with my fellow teammates on my High School Wrestling team my senior year. One of my coaches had this game, and after an extra long practice, we all went to his house and played four-player Tekken tag Tournament matches, and I watched as they also played Just Bring it. Graphically, the game wasn't a huge step up from PS1 graphics, but I was incredibly impressed by features like being able to play the Hell in a Cell match. I played more here Comes the Pain, but I have good memories of Just Bring it.
On November 19th, Harmonix released Frequency, which combined with it's sequel Amplitude were the precursors to the Guitar Hero games. Frequency plays like playing guitar hero with a controller, but instead of just playing the guitar portions of a song, you rebuild the song one instrument track at a time. Frequency is still incredibly fun, and it gives you a weird tunnel vision after hours of play where even after playing, you see movement, even if you are staring at a wall.
One the same day, November 19th, Sega and 2K released NFL 2k2 on the PS2. This would be the start of the last great football rivalry in gaming between Madden and 2K. NFL Gameday was previously in a cut-throat rivalry with Madden, but the abysmal showing of NFL Gameday 2001 on the PS2, and the next couple of years trying to rebuild that franchises' reputation meant that Madden would have been completely unopposed on the PS2. I don't normally play sports games, because I don't watch sports, but even I loved the NFK 2K games. It was sad for Dreamcast fans to see this port, but it was also exciting for Sega fans to know that, no matter which next gen console they ended up buying, they would still be able to play the best football franchise around.
On November 24th, EA published The Simpson's Road Rage which is essentially just Crazy Taxi in the Simpsons universe. In fact, Sega agreed that it was essentially Crazy Taxi to the point that Sega eventually sued Vivendi/Fox and EA for patent infringement over this game and won, forcing EA to stop the sales of the game which had already sold over a million copies. My take on it is, at the time, Sega blatantly stated their goal of wanting to be the number one third party developer in the world, a spot taken by EA. This is just my opinion, but I think Sega was being a bit petty, and decided to sue EA to take them down a peg. It sets a bad precedent to sue over a game that clones another game, because the whole industry would be in trouble. As it stands though, even if you were a huge fan of this game, there's almost no chance it will ever be remade or remastered. At least, not without Sega's permission. Luckily, the game did sell over a million copies, so it's not like it's ultra rare to find out in the wild. You can still find Xbox and PS2 copies for under $20. The Gamecube version is a lot more expensive, because the Gamecube market is stupidly overpriced because it became the trendy console to collect for.
On November 26th, Dynasty Warriors 3 was released, and even though Dynasty Warriors 2 was a great launch game, I would say that the third game is where the series really kicked off the franchise. Would Koei milk this franchise to death? Absolutely, but that never stopped diehard fans of the franchise from buying every game. I'm a fan of the series, but more of a casual fan, and I really enjoyed Dynasty warriors 3. My brother ended up giving me almost the entire series on the PS2 later, because he was a diehard fan of these games.
Starting December out Strong, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was released. PC Baldur's gate fans would scoff as the watering down, or consoling up of the franchise for console gamers, but it was still an excellent hack 'n slash RPG in it's own right. It is also geared toward two-player coop play, if a game like Gauntlet: Dark Legacy was too shallow for your tastes, Dark Alliance would be the perfect bland of depth, and playability. Graphically, the game looked amazing for the time. The Snowblind engine was a beautiful engine for it's time, and who can forget those awesome rippling water effects. The Snowblind engine would be used in eight more games over the next decade, running games like The Bards tale and Champions of Norrath. You can always tell the engine by the water effects.
On December 4th, Jak and Daxter was released. My review of the game is still coming. However, as you can see, this game was released in an insane season of gaming. As I said, 2001, was an obscenely competitive year that really laid the groundwork for the PS2 for the rest of it's life. While not on the level of anticipation as Metal Gear Solid 2, Jak still managed to be a hotly anticipated game in it's own right. Some reviews panned it for being a kids game, a collect-a-thon, and so on, but the game sold well, and is still beloved by fans.
On December 11th, Shadow Hearts released. I don't own any of the Shadow Hearts games, but I remember hearing about how good the game were by avid fans of the series. Physically, all three games in the series will run you over a hundred dollars to get them in good condition. The series hit under the radar, and has gone up in price as more people have discovered it. The series has yet to be re-released anywhere as of this video. It's definitely a noteworthy release worth mentioning.
As I mentioned earlier, on December 17th, Final Fantasy 10 was released. It was the last of the most anticipated PS2 games in 2001, and it capped off one of the best years for releases the PS2 ever saw. There were still plenty of great years of releases for the PS2 to come, but Final Fantasy X was the last big haymaker thrown at the Gamecube and Xbox by the PS2 in 2001. With such a strong lineup of hotly anticipated games, GTA3's release, and overall sales thanks to system availability, the Gamecube and Xbox had no chance. The Gamecube would sell a little over 21 million systems worldwide over it's lifetime, while the Xbox would sell over 24 million. If the PS2 was at 20 million sold by the end of 2001, there was no catching it. As for Final Fantasy X, I enjoyed the game quite a bit, but I didn't end up playing through it finally until 2011. I had owned it for almost 10 years at that point, but my RPG backlog and RPG burnout by that time was strong. I'm not quite done with 2001, there is still 2 more games on my list.
On December 19th, 2001, Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land was released. Wizardry is an incredibly long running series that's a turn-based first-person dungeon crawling RPG. I've never played very far into this game, but I do enjoy what I have played of it. I appreciate the fans of the game who brought it to my attention years ago so I was able to pick it up cheaply as it's sitting around $70 on Ebay as of this video.
And the Last game on this list came out on December 20th, 2001, and that game is Giants: Citizen Kabuto. This is a PC to PS2 port, and while I'm not sure what cuts were made from the PC version in this port, I do know that I've always really enjoyed this goofy-humor filled squad shooter. This is from the same team that would go on to make Armed and Dangerous on the Xbox and PC which was also a humor-filled shooter, underrated shooter gems. Both are available on Steam and Gog for the PC, and I highly recommend them. Fun gameplay, and some so many charming humor-filled moments. Giants doen't take itself too seriously, despite being seriously fun.
Alright, if you're still with me, that sums up notable, to me, releases for the PS2 in 2001. If I missed a few releases that were worth remembering, forgive me for that. This list was getting long enough. I do know I missed a couple even I wanted to put on the list, but I removed some games so I could get on to the review of Jak and Daxter. For the review, most of the footage will be from the PS3 HD collection of the Jak and Daxter Games.
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Sources for this video:
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