Over its long life span, with unprecedented sales and developer support, it’s not surprising the PS2 has seen its share of innovative and exciting accessories. From the standard to the outlandish and back, you could get lost in the sea of optional gadgets to buy for your PS2 console.

One of the major PS2 accessories to hit the market was the long awaited arrival of the network adapter, allowing online play between gamers across the globe. It eventually came built-in on newer models of the console, and though there was some grumbling about the general lack of support, was an extremely popular addition.

Along with the network adapter came the release of other accessories suited to playing online, such as headsets and microphones, as well as USB keyboards and mouses, allowing greater control and communication between players during online games.

Many PS2 accessories proved extremely popular and paved the way for many similar accessories on current generation consoles. The guitar controller for use with Guitar Hero is one of the most notable, with the music rhythm genre since taking off and seeing the continued development of many unique controllers and play devices for use with them. Other unique control devices on the PS2 include the Resident Evil 4 Chainsaw Controller and the Onimusha 3 Katana Controller.

One of the failed PS2 accessories was the HDD. As we’ve seen with most similar add-ons in the past, most notably the Sega CD and 32X add-ons, these devices tend to fail at retail for a variety of reasons, namely increased cost and limited functionality or developer support.

The HDD was most notably required for use with Final Fantasy XI, and in fact came bundled with the game upon its initial release, though it did provide added benefits to a small selection of other games as well, including SOCOM 2 and 3.

HDD support was quickly dropped by Sony, with the newer PS2 slim models not even supporting connectivity of the unit, meaning anyone who wants to play the PS2 version of FFXI must do so on an older model.

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Lets face it, the PS2 is dead. Well not exactly dead, but it will be soon. Sure there will probably be used games sold at the major game chains for a while yet, but as far as new games. Nope, not for much longer. It makes sense though. After all, Sony does want to sell Playstation 3’s and the only way to get some of us off the PS2 is to stop putting out games for it.

Anyway this thought dawned on me the other day, that soon, all the games for the PS2 that will ever be made will be made. While that is sad in its own special way it actually makes a unique opportunity. If you are thinking we can start destroying the PS2’s out there with wild abandon, then you are way off.

The unique opportunity I am talking about is the fact that someone, probably someone with almost no life, will now be able to compile a complete list of all PS2 games.

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Now me personally, I don’t know if this is really necessary, or even really all that useful. I am sure that maybe someday some historian might want to know this information, but really, I know I don’t. The main reason I don’t really care if this is ever done is because, to be frank, there are several games I would actually be totally happy to forget ever existed. If you don’t believe me, then you have been a much luckier person than me.

If you want proof go to any store that sells used games and look at the bargain rack, you know the one, the one where every game there is on sale for under five dollars. You can not expect me to believe you actually enjoyed playing any of those games.

I am kind of ashamed to admit this, but the last time I thumbed through one of those bargain racks, I saw some titles I had actually bought. However I was not in the slightest bit surprised that they wound up there. So yeah, I know someone either will, or probably has, taken the time to make the list. I have to admit that I admire their will power. However in the end, I don’t know if this is something I will ever look for.

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I know I am behind the time by about a hundred years with this review but considering A, there are still PS2 games coming out and B, I have never done a top Five review for Sony Playstation 2 games, then I have just as much right to do it now that the volume of work is almost complete as anyone ever had!

Now I didn’t just want to put a list together of the games I really thought were worth playing, but at the same time I didn’t want this article to go on forever. So the way this is going to work is that I am going to list the games in no particular order state what I liked and go on to the next. I know its quick and dirty, but hey, that’s the best way to get it done sometimes.

God of War: I am not sure if this game broke any graphical boundary’s, or if it’s game play was all that unique and really I don’t care. This game kicked some serious butt from beginning to finish. Not only that it actually offered some replay, something a lot of games have forgotten lately.

Guitar Hero: I always wanted to be a rock star and this game let me do it. Admitted the later release of Rock Band blew this game away to a degree, but I didn’t buy Rock Band for the PS2 so take that! But really this game was one of the best party games of all times. May this game continue to inspire other great games such as Rock Band.

Madden NFL (Any year): Okay so yeah I am a guy, and yeah I dig football, but honestly this game in all of its incarnations on the PS2 seemed to improve on its predecessor and while they are long way from “real” football, I don’t care, its fun to have a quarter back throw for seven thousand yards in a season.

Gran Turismo IV: Again this is probably another guy pick, and again I don’t think I care. After all the purpose of this top five review is to tell you what I think. Yeah this game kicked butt, it never made me feel closer to being an actual race car driver than that time I got nailed for going 110 on the freeway, the best part is you can’t get a ticket for playing Gran Turismo!

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Final Fantasy X: I actually had a bit of self argument on this one. On one hand I thought Final Fantasy XII was the better game, but I have to tip my hat to the game that helped break out the PS2. Phenomenal graphics (specially for then), great story line, awesome combat system, great music. The only thing this game didn’t have is a way to make it real life.

So there you have it, some crazy dudes Top five review of the PS2 universe. I know almost everyone will disagree, but that’s the point of these things.

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Why is it that anytime Sony introduces a new platform the old platform eventually only starts to offer games based off of movies? I remember when the PS2 was first released by the gamer gods over in Japan. I was psyched, but poor, so while I knew I wanted one, I was still stuck playing my old Playstation.

However this wasn’t the curse I feared it would be as Sony continued to release games for their first gen platform. However within just months it seemed all the games I wanted to play had disappeared and now all I could find where re releases of popular games (which was okay if you hadn’t already owned them!) and games based off of movies.

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Well it looks like we are back to that again. Take a look at the new releases for the last couple months and the only titles that seem to be coming out are Iron Man, Prince Caspian, SNK arcade classics volume 1, and a bad soccer game.

Now I so get that the idea is to make me want to buy a PS3, and I plan to, as soon as I can afford one. However I can’t afford one right now, and I would love to buy new PS2 games. But the offerings are slim at best. So I have two options. I can buy a game I am not that interested in. Or I can buy a game for another platform I want to play.

Sony sometimes I wonder how you guys think. I mean it seems pretty obvious to me that if sales of your newest platform are a bit sluggish, the last thing you want to do is start phasing out the revenue you receive from the purchases of games on the PS2. Oh well, guess I will just have to make saving for my PS3 a bit more of a priority.

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With the phasing out of PS2 games slowly coming to a close, I felt a nostalgic need to look back on the PS2 and all the great games, memories, and hours spent enhancing my thumb mobility, my eye to button coordination, and just plain having fun.

I suppose in a way this is my last salute to a great system that soon will no longer have its honored place among my other gaming platforms. It is true, the time for the PS3 is at hand, and sadly I will wrap up the cables to the PS2, place it reverently in a box, and then with a sadness only a gamer can know I will take the box out to the garage, and slowly, forget about it.

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I remember when the PS2 first came out. How you had to be on a waiting list to even have a chance at getting one. I remember thinking I would be smart and put myself on the list for the expected second wave only to be bumped by all the first wave people.

However eventually I had my PS2 and while at first there were not many games for it, they did come. I remember the marvel of Final Fantasy X, the sheer craziness of Ratchet and Clank. I remember one week I was sick and how even though I was sick, having a PS2 made being sick a little less hard to handle.

How many times did I stay up far to late with the promise to myself I would turn the game off after I completed this final level? How many days at work did I float in a zombie like haze, yet the instant I got home and turned on the console found a new burst of energy make its way through my body?

Finally how many times did I witness my wonderful wife roll her eyes as I held the baby in my lap and played a game telling the baby about all the secrets and easter eggs to be found.

To tell the truth, I almost don’t ever want to put away my PS2, I know that eventually no new games will come out for it. I know that sooner or later I will need to make room for the PS3. Yet I can’t help but feel my time with my PS2 is still not quite done…

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