
It conveyed a deep personal connection not through dialogue, but through the simple act of navigating through its labyrinthine castle together. Part of that success is due to the quality of its puzzles, but just as important was how Ico develops the bond between its two main characters. ICO For a game that was designed almost entirely around the escort mission – which were almost universally reviled, even back in 2001 – it ended up being nothing short of amazing. And with some genuinely thrilling stealth at the core of it all, Sly 2 offered an original, trilogy’s-best experience one that was unlike anything else in the Sony first-party pantheon at the time. Its genuinely enjoyable story is serviced by a varied and intriguing set of worlds to explore – along with the ability to play as Sly's whole crew, including the powerhouse Murray and the tech-savvy Bentley.
PS2 GAME SAVES SERIES
Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves The Sly Cooper series is a wonderfully unique blend of family-friendly action, stealth, and genuinely funny writing, and Sly 2: Band of Thieves exemplifies this better than any other entry in the franchise. You had Suicidal Tendencies, Megadeth, Danzig, The Rollling Stones, Iron Maiden, Iggy and the Stooges – you name it, it was in there, and it rocked. Guitar Hero 2 was also the last game in the rhythm-action genre to come out before every music publisher realized how much money there was in it, so Harmonix had its absolute pick of songs.


GH2 was developed at a time when the core concept of the franchise was "bitchin' rock/metal tracks that are fun to play on a plastic guitar" and not "fun karaoke songs that sort of also have guitars in them, maybe". Guitar Hero II Guitar Hero may have changed party games for the next decade, but Guitar Hero 2 was the series at its best. We also hosted a Face-Off where we invited our readers to vote for their own favorite titles.

PS2 GAME SAVES PS2
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the PlayStation 2, we ranked our picks for the best PS2 games of all time.
