Summary
The PC platform was the king ofthe shooter genre,as bothDOOMandWolfenstein 3Dwere hits there first. It was also a more open platform where players could mod their games and add extra content themselves. The mouse and keyboard also lent the system popularity because it was a lot easier to control a first-person shooter that way. By the time of the PS2 era, developers were finally starting to make good shooters on consoles.
The era of the PC’s shooter dominance was coming to an end thanks to the ganre’s support on PS2 and other consoles from first and third-party companies. There were tons of great first-person shooters on PS2, but there were also a lot of fun third-person shooters as well. All of the greats seemed to be rated M for Mature, so let’s explore those titles.
Gunis something of a predecessor toRed Dead Redemptionas it was also anopen-world Wild West game. It was a lot more limited as it was released on the PS2 and a handful of other platforms, but it was still a mighty Western hootenanny.
Players could ride around in the Old West, shooting bandits, rescuing carriage riders, hunting animals for sport, and so on. It’s kind of one of those games that’s forgotten now as it was released at the end of its console generation, plus the name is a bit generic, on top ofRed Dead Redemptioneating its lunch. Still, fans that played it back in 2005 know what a fun ride it was.
Killzonewas toutedas theHalokiller or the PS2’s answer to it at least. It wasn’t that by a long shot, as it was hard to topple Bungie at this time, butKillzonewas still a solid shooter.
It had unique things that helped it stand out besides the gunplay too. The foreign enemy, the Helghast, looked very cool thanks to their gear and glowing orange eyes. Also, multiple protagonists helped the pacing and kept things fresh. For example, there were stealth portions in levels that slowed things down following the intense action of previous levels.
Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracywas a shooter that gave players psychic powers like telekinesis. Players took on the role of Nick, an agent within a secret organization that infiltrates another secret organization to stop a terrorist plot.
This shouldn’t be confused with another psychic shooter of this era,Second Sight, which is also solid on the PS2. Both games never got sequels along with Nintendo’s counterpart,Geist, which had more of a ghostly angle. The early 2000s were not ready for psychic shooters unlessJedi were involved.
Darkwatchwas a rad shooterthat was also a Western, akin toGunexcept with a dark twist. This one was filled with vampires, skeleton warriors, and other creatures of the night. The main character, Jericho, was a vampire as well who turned into a gun for hire to get revenge and to make a little extra coin too.
It had the benefit of co-op in the campaign as well, which used to be a more prominent feature in shooters. There was almost a sequel, but it was canceled, although fans of this game may want to check out the more recentEvil Westgame, which bears a lot of similarities to this PS2 shooter.
Red Factionwas an influential shooter on the PS2 as it had destructible environments. The game began in a mining facility on Mars before a revolution broke out and players had to escape. Their weaponry, from pistols to futuristic blasters, could blow open certain walls in levels.
There were limits to the game’s tech, as it was a PS2 game, but it was still a big deal. The promise of having a completely destructible game in this series would be met withRed Faction: Guerrilla, the third entry, when it was released in 2001 during the HD era.
TimeSplittersis one of those series that burned hot for a few short years before sizzling out. Among the few games in the series, fans tend to gravitate towardTimeSplitters: Future Perfecta lot. It’s hard not to like, from the shooting mechanics to the level design to the oddball characters.
Variety is what gave this series life, andTimeSplitters: Future Perfectdid not disappoint, as there wasplenty of time traveling actionin-between all the shooting of dudes. A remake, or remaster, of this title almost happened along with a new entry, but sadly, there was news that the studio in charge of the property, the Embracer Group, shut all future plans down, which is an imperfect reality.
Hideo Kojima is best known for his work on theMetal Gearfranchise, and he helped put out two great entries from that series for the PS2. He also had a hand in makingZone of the Enders, a mech-based shooter that was heavily influenced by 80s anime.
The first game was kind of like a proof of concept, one that would get perfected inZone of the Enders: The Second Runner.The art style was a lot cleaner, the shooting elements and gliding felt more natural, and the music was invigorating. Years later there was even a VR edition for the PSVR, which was a trippy way to play the game, but it is worth experiencing at least once.
While not their first game,Max Paynewas the game that put Remedy Entertainment on the map. Thanks to the success of bothControlandAlan Wake 2, it seems like the studio is ready to go back and remake this game as well, which has been a long time coming.
The firstMax Paynewas framed as an old detective noir story narrated by the hero, Max, who’d lost his wife and kid to goons. Bullets and bottles upon bottles of painkillers were his therapy as players blasted their way through the criminal underground. It’s a sleazycrime thriller with a bullet-time mechanicwhich was making its way through games afterThe Matrixblew up theaters in 1999.Max Payneis a definitive experience on the PS2 that is one hell of a ride.
