Published Aug 22, 2026, 5:41 PM EDT
Writing from the Chicagoland area in Illinois, Robert is an avid movie watcher and will take just about any excuse to find time to go to his local movie theaters. Robert graduated from Bradley University with degrees in Journalism and Game Design with a minor in Film Studies. Robert tries his best to keep up with all the latest movie releases, from those released in theaters to those released on streaming. While he doesn't always keep up with the latest TV shows, he makes it a goal to watch nearly every major new release possible. He has been honing his craft and following any and all movie news all his life, leading up to now, where he has a vast knowledge of film and film history. He also logs every movie that he watches on his Letterboxd page, and has hosted a weekly online movie night with his closest friends for over 6 years.
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The current best-selling video game console of all time, it's impossible to overstate just how much of a phenomenon and impact that Sony's PlayStation 2 had in the world of gaming. Between its groundbreaking hardware improvements, built-in DVD player, and wide array of great games, it quickly became the must-own video game console of the 21st century and a massive leap forward for the industry. It's a console that proved to be so successful that it almost directly removed a competitor from the market in SEGA.
While many different attributes have led to the massive success and staying power of the PS2 as a titan of the industry, at the end of the day, the games are what make a console, with the PS2 having one of the greatest catalogs in gaming history. From continued entries in beloved franchises to the starting points of icons of gaming, the best of the PS2 manage to be some of the very best video games of the 2000s, if not of all time.
10 'God of War II' (2007)
Image via Sony Computer EntertainmentBefore the franchise became an icon of cinematic video games and emotional storytelling, the original God of War games on PS2 were some of the very best 3D hack-and-slash games ever made, with God of War II amplifying the strengths of the original game to new heights. With combo-based combat and a larger sense of scale than the previous game, God of War II sees Kratos continuing his path of revenge against the rest of Olympus following his betrayal by Zeus.
While the original game was an effective proof of concept for the franchise, God of War II further hones in on the strengths of its predecessor to create an even greater, more engaging experience for the player. Between the massive boss fights, immaculate setpieces, and highly satisfying combat, God of War II is one of the most cathartic action experiences that the PS2 has to offer, fully embracing the bloodshed and chaos that made the original game such an icon.
9 'Katamari Damacy' (2004)
One of the greatest examples of pure creative bliss and absurdism within the medium of video games, Katamari Damacy completely reshaped how many people perceived video games as an art form, with a distinct charm and weirdness that makes it iconic to this very day. The mixture of wild colors and a jam-packed soundtrack with addictive arcade gameplay made it one of the most distinctive video game experiences ever made, embracing its most abstract elements to create a one-of-a-kind gem of the era.
Even as the Katamari franchise continued to thrive and hone the distinct elements and creativity that make it so fun, there is something so charming and joyous about the first entry that still makes it a fan favorite over 20 years later. The joy of rolling up objects and growing from inches tall to large enough to pick up skyscrapers is an experience that cannot be replicated in any other game or medium, a joy that Katamari perfects in its execution.
8 'Persona 3 FES' (2007)
The PS2 saw the release of many exceptionally well-made RPGs, although one specific JRPG franchise that came into its own on PS2 was the Shin Megami Tensei spinoff series Persona, with Persona 3 FES still being considered one of the best in the franchise. This enhanced version of Persona 3 was released only a year after the original game, featuring all the greatness of the original game with the addition of quality-of-life changes and a playable epilogue that adds more depth to the story.
The distinct mixture of polished visuals, dynamic character writing, and approachable yet layered JRPG gameplay that makes the Persona series so enthralling largely hit its stride in this entry, where everything aligned to create one of the best original narratives in JRPG history. Even today, after multiple sequels and growth for the series, many people still consider Persona 3 to be one of the greatest turn-based RPGs ever made.
7 'Ōkami' (2006)
Image via CapcomOne of the very few fantasy action-adventure games that could live up to the stature and strengths of The Legend of Zelda, Ōkami is a beautiful story of Japanese mythology and folklore that, while initially a commercial failure, grew to be one of the most celebrated cult classic video games of all time. The game features a timeless watercolor style that allows its visuals to still feel enthralling 20 years later, complete with an exceptional story and compelling use of its central brush mechanic for both puzzles and combat.
The adventure game masterpiece has only grown in prominence and appreciation in the years following its release and with subsequent ports and HD remakes to other consoles. However, its original release as one of the last major PS2 exclusives before the PS3 is a continued part of its identity to this day, with its universal critical acclaim acting like a powerful swan song for the PS2 as a whole.
6 'Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' (2004)
While the series existed before the PS2, Grand Theft Auto truly came into its own and became the absolute juggernaut of the video game industry with its entries on PS2, with the final game in the PS2 trilogy, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, still being considered by fans a highlight of the GTA franchise. Having grown and refined the GTA formula on PS2, San Andreas is still endlessly replayable and has such impactful quality-of-life improvements that still make it a blast to play, unlike its more poorly aged predecessors.
Everything that makes GTA such a compelling gaming experience is available in San Andreas, yet what makes this game truly special, even compared to modern entries, is its compelling narrative and characters. With a cast full of personality and a topical story based on real-life LA gang violence, the game has a real passion and strength to its narrative beyond the carnage and controversy the series is known for. This has helped catapult the game to being the highest-selling PS2 game and one of the best-selling games of all time.
Collider Exclusive · Sci-Fi Personality Quiz Which Sci-Fi Hero Are You Most Like? Paul Atreides · Captain Kirk · Princess Leia · Ellen Ripley · Max Rockatansky
Five iconic heroes. Five completely different ways of facing an impossible universe. One of them shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of refusing to back down. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🏜️Paul Atreides
🖖Capt. Kirk
✊Princess Leia
🔦Ellen Ripley
🔥Max Rockatansky
FIND YOUR HERO →
01
How do you lead when the stakes couldn't be higher? The way you lead under pressure is the most honest thing about you.
AI absorb everything — every variable, every pattern — and move only when I know the path forward. BI read the room, make the call, and own the consequences. Hesitation costs more than mistakes. CI rally people. A cause needs a voice, and I refuse to let fear be louder than conviction. DI assess the threat, establish what needs doing, and get it done without waiting for permission. EI don't lead. I act. Others can follow or not — I'm already moving.
NEXT QUESTION →
02
What is your greatest strength in a crisis? The quality that keeps you alive when everything else fails.
APrescience — the ability to see further ahead than anyone else and plan accordingly. BImprovisation — I'm at my best when the plan falls apart and I have to invent a new one. CConviction — I know what I'm fighting for, and that certainty doesn't waver under fire. DComposure — I stay functional when everyone around me is falling apart. Panic is a luxury. EEndurance — I outlast things. I take the hit and keep moving long after others have stopped.
NEXT QUESTION →
03
What is the thing you'd sacrifice everything else for? Your deepest motivation is your truest compass.
AThe survival and dignity of my people — even if I have to become something frightening to ensure it. BThe safety of my crew — every single one of them. No one gets left behind. CFreedom — for my people, for every world still crushed under the weight of an empire. DThe truth — what actually happened, what's actually out there, whether anyone believes me or not. EThe one person — or the one memory — that still makes any of this worth surviving for.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
How do you relate to the people around you? Who you are to others under pressure is who you really are.
AWith intensity and distance — I care deeply, but the weight I carry makes closeness complicated. BWith warmth and irreverence — I take the mission seriously, not myself. CWith directness and trust — I say what I mean, and I expect the people I work with to rise to it. DWith professional care but clear limits — I'll protect you, but I won't pretend we're family. EWith wariness that slowly becomes loyalty — I don't trust easily, but when I do, it holds.
NEXT QUESTION →
05
You're facing a threat that no one else believes is real. What do you do? How you respond when you're the only one who sees it defines everything.
APrepare in silence. If they won't listen, I'll be ready when they finally have to. BKeep pushing until someone listens — and if no one does, handle it myself. CBuild the case, find the allies, and make the threat impossible to ignore. DDocument everything. The truth matters even if no one believes it yet. EStop trying to convince anyone. Survive it. That's the only argument that counts.
NEXT QUESTION →
06
What has your heroism cost you personally? Every hero pays. The question is what — and whether they'd pay it again.
AMy innocence — I've seen what I'm capable of, and I can't unsee it. BPeople I loved — the command chair has a view, but it's a lonely one. CA normal life — I gave up everything ordinary the moment I chose the cause. DMy sense of safety — I know exactly what's out there now, and I can't pretend otherwise. EAlmost everything — and I'm still not sure what I'm carrying it all for. But I keep going.
NEXT QUESTION →
07
How do you feel about the rules of the world you're in? Every hero has a relationship with the system. What's yours?
AI understand them deeply — and I know exactly which ones must be broken, and why. BI respect the spirit of them and bend the letter when the situation demands it. CThe system is the problem. I'm not here to work within it — I'm here to dismantle it. DI follow protocol until protocol stops being useful. Then I make the call myself. EThe rules collapsed a long time ago. What's left is instinct, and mine are reliable.
NEXT QUESTION →
08
When everything is on the line, what keeps you going? The answer is the most honest thing about you.
ADestiny — or something that feels so much like it that the difference no longer matters. BThe people on my ship — their faces, their trust, the fact that they're counting on me. CThe belief that what we're fighting for is worth every sacrifice, including this one. DSheer refusal to let it win — whatever it is. I don't stop. That's just who I am. EI'm not sure anymore. But the road is still there, and I'm still on it.
REVEAL MY HERO →
Your Hero Has Been Identified Your Sci-Fi Hero Is…
Your answers point to the iconic sci-fi hero who shares your instincts, your values, and your particular way of facing the impossible.
Paul Atreides
You carry a weight most people would crumble under — the knowledge of what you're capable of, and the burden of what you might have to become.
- You see further ahead than others and you plan accordingly, even when the vision frightens you.
- You are driven by loyalty to your people and a sense of destiny you didn't ask for but can't escape.
- Paul Atreides is not simply a hero — he is someone who understands the cost of power and chooses to bear it anyway.
- That gravity, that willingness to carry what others won't, is exactly you.
Captain Kirk
You lead with instinct, warmth, and an absolute refusal to accept a no-win scenario — because you've always believed there's a third option nobody else has thought of yet.
- You take the mission seriously without ever taking yourself too seriously.
- Your crew would follow you anywhere, not because you demand it, but because you've earned it.
- Kirk's genius isn't tactical — it's human. He reads people, bends rules with purpose, and wills outcomes into existence through sheer conviction.
- That combination of warmth, audacity, and relentless optimism is unmistakably yours.
Princess Leia
You are the kind of person who holds the line when everyone else is losing faith — not because you're fearless, but because giving up simply isn't something you're capable of.
- You lead through conviction. Your voice carries because your belief is unshakeable.
- You gave up everything ordinary the moment you chose the cause, and you've never looked back.
- Leia is not a supporting character in her own story — she is the moral centre of the entire rebellion.
- That same fierce, principled, unbreakable core is what defines you.
Ellen Ripley
You are not reckless, not grandiose, and not particularly interested in being anyone's hero — you just refuse to stop when it matters.
- You see threats clearly, you document the truth even when no one listens, and when the time comes you handle it yourself.
- Ripley's heroism is earned, not performed. She doesn't have a speech — she has a flamethrower and a plan.
- You share her composure under the worst possible pressure, and her refusal to pretend the monster isn't there.
- When it counts, you don't flinch. That's everything.
Max Rockatansky
You have been through fire that would break most people — and what came out the other side is something the world underestimates at its peril.
- You don't ask for help, don't need validation, and don't wait for anyone to tell you the rules no longer apply.
- Your loyalty, when it finally arrives, is absolute — but it's earned in silence and tested in action, not in words.
- Max is not a nihilist. He is someone who lost everything and found, against his will, that he still has something worth protecting.
- That bruised, stubborn, ultimately human core is exactly yours.
↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ
Image via KonamiOften considered one of the greatest video game prequels and a high point in one of the most celebrated video game franchises of all time, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is an absolute icon of action video gaming. It tells a brilliant standalone story of deception and espionage taking place decades before even the NES titles, seeing Naked Snake fighting in the Soviet jungles to rescue a Russian rocket scientist, put a stop to a super weapon, and assassinate his defected former mentor, The Boss.
Finding inspiration from war movies of the past and with an exceptional polish and attention to detail in every aspect of its graphics and gameplay, Metal Gear Solid 3 does what Metal Gear does best in terms of exceptional moment-to-moment gameplay and one of the best narratives in gaming history. Many people even consider the game to be the magnum opus of director Hideo Kojima and one of the greatest video games of all time.
4 'Silent Hill 2' (2001)
Image via KonamiA massively influential horror game that completely reshaped the genre for 21st-century gaming, Silent Hill 2's mixture of genuine scares with psychological dread continues to have people celebrate it as one of the greatest horror video games ever made. The game expertly exudes a sense of bleakness and dread that is simply unmatched by any other horror game of the era, completely revolutionizing the horror game genre with its elusive style and brilliant execution.
The game is drenched from top to bottom with powerful symbolism and psychological elements that amplify both the scary entities hunting down the player as well as the somber, painful story being told at the center of it all. As the layers are peeled back and reveal the despicable truth behind these creatures and the town of Silent Hill's connection to the lead character, the emotional depth reaches levels that were simply unheard of in video games in 2001.
3 'Kingdom Hearts II' (2005)
Image via Square EnixThe original Kingdom Hearts was this beautiful combination of the joyous whimsy of Disney characters and worlds with the style, flair, and intricate gameplay of Square Enix's Final Fantasy series. While the debut game was massively celebrated in its own right, Kingdom Hearts II improved upon the concept considerably to create what is still considered to be the absolute highlight of this iconic franchise. With more memorable worlds, a darker and more compelling story, and more engaging gameplay, Kingdom Hearts II is the absolute apex of the franchise.
The game does an exceptional job of balancing the more wholesome, joyous attributes of the various Disney worlds and characters with the growing tension and darkness in the main villains, Organization XIII. Every aspect of the game feels like an upgrade from the original without losing the distinct sense of charm and joy that made the original such an undeniable classic.
2 'Shadow of the Colossus' (2005)
Image via Sony Computer EntertainmentA beautiful work of art that pushes the medium of video games to its absolute limits in terms of visuals, immersive gameplay, and an emotional weight to the journey as a whole, Shadow of the Colossus is an undeniable highlight of PlayStation history. The game seems deceptively simple in its premise, seeing the player traveling across the world to defeat 16 massive Colossus creatures with the hopes of resurrecting a girl in the process, traveling on horseback and on foot to find and destroy these creatures.
Shadow of the Colossus finds this absolute perfect balance between engaging, heightened gameplay in taking down and fighting these massive, bombastic boss fights, as well as the sorrow and emotional pain of ending the lives of these magical creatures. It creates an experience that could only be possible in the realms of video games and interactive experiences, allowing the player to feel both the ecstasy of taking down a giant and the sobering pain of realizing what they've done.
Image via KonamiIt may seem a little jarring to have Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty at the top of this list, considering that Metal Gear Solid 3 was a previous entry and is often in argument as the better game. However, Sons of Liberty has two distinct elements that give it a slight edge over its numerical sequel, as well as its stature as the greatest video game in the PS2 library. The game was an undeniable technical upgrade compared to the original game, still having some of the best visuals on the entire console, and its story and gameplay have aged exceptionally well in the 25 years since its release.
The gameplay itself is the same stealth perfection as the other entries in the Metal Gear Solid series, leaving one of the major differences in quality in the form of its story, which may just be the most well-aged narrative in video game history. The way that the game taps into themes of artificial intelligence, social engineering, and the constant struggles for freedom of thought in a technologically advanced society was already powerful in 2001, but feels as important as ever in this ever-shifting world we find ourselves in today. In this way, standing as a groundbreaking work of art that has aged exceptionally well, it parallels the PS2 as a whole in a beautiful way.
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