http://blog.us.playstation.com/2010/10/ ... ps2-games/
Several of those I rolled my eyes at while reading, but some of them felt poignant and interesting. We don't always consider the developer's view of games, so it's good to see their side from time to time, especially when they have a very broad perspective of the titles being released in their given medium.
As to be expected there's plenty of love for ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus. IMO not only the PS2's best games but perhaps two of the best all-time.
Here's what Warren Spector (he's developed games like System Shock and Deus Ex) had to say with regard to ICO:
I don’t typically like puzzle-oriented adventure games. You know – games where your primary goal is to read the designer’s mind and solve his or her fiendishly complicated environmental puzzles just so you can see the next screen, the next amazing vista, maybe a bit of combat. And Ico is very much that sort of game. Yet I love it. LOVE it. For one thing, the vistas and screens it offers are gorgeous. Not PS2 gorgeous – just plain, unqualifiedly gorgeous. And all that gorgeousness offers a window into a world that feels more real than almost any other in gaming history. You can FEEL the history, the depth of this world in a way no other game can match. But pretty pictures and puzzles do not a great game make. Story helps in that regard. But, really, the story Ico tells is nearly incomprehensible. It’s good enough not to detract from the experience but that’s about it.
So what is it that makes Ico great? It’s the characters, and, more importantly, their relationship to one another. And even MORE important than that is the relationship the PLAYER has with those characters – the boy in the horned helm you play and the girl that boy has to protect. The first time your character holds hands with that girl who needs protecting, you feel something never before felt in a game. It’s an almost indescribable feeling born of the power of touching, even virtually, another person. The fact that the girl is weak and slow, the fact that you have to wait for her, putting yourself in peril?… That’s design genius, friends. And then, toward the end when there’s a magic moment of role reversal? That’s when I knew I’d played one of the best games I would ever play. If you haven’t played it do so. Now. It takes, like six hours to get through, so no excuses. Beg, borrow or steal a copy and get ready to FEEL something as you play – and that’s a statement that can’t be made about many games, sadly.
BTW, 2010 marks the 10th year anniversary since the Playstation 2 was released to market. Although understandably not as in the quantity of previous years, new games are still being made for the PS2 even up to today! Wow that's a helluva long stretch. Can you say l-o-n-g-w-i-n-d-e-d?
