It's tough to rank them. I like each of them for their unique qualities.
PS2 had the games, at least the selection. Lots of great RPGs and low-budget "hidden gems"
Gamecube had the exclusives, and was the most visually appealing (in regards to said exclusives). Not to mention that controller... mmmm that's some tasty butter.
xBox had the best graphics of the generation, it isn't even close. Also, Halo.
Back then, I would have ranked it PS2, GCN, Xbox. Now I'd rank it GCN, PS2, Xbox.
PS2 was the only one I had when it was new and I played the shit out of it. However, many of the games I once loved don't hold up well. They've received remakes, upgrades, and better sequels the following generation. There's still some good stuff on it, like the Silent Hill series, Shin Megami Tensei, Fatal Frame, etc. But I'm pretty selective when it comes to PS2 these days.
I never had a Gamecube when it was new and I'm quite fond of it now. Some great titles in there that I still enjoy. It's also the most collectible of the three consoles, because it's Nintendo.
I never was a big Xbox fan. I finally bought on earlier this year, but I've barely touched it. A few neat titles, but overall, not my thing.
For 95% of multi-platform games Xbox destroys the other two consoles with regards to performance.
Whatever your thoughts on the quality of the library, you have to admit that as a console the Xbox was far ahead of it's time. Online play, HD output, breakaway controller cables, built in Hard Drive, etc.
All three had their strengths, and by way of pure bias and speculation, I'm putting Xbox first as we were an Xbox household; it just had what we wanted(we being myself, and 2 roommates). It had the FPS games we wanted, it had custom soundtracks, and had the best graphics. Yeah, we were Halo fanboys, and had weekly LAN parties in our apartment with a bunch of friends. I spent a solid 2 years just playing Morrowind. By the end of the consoles lifespan, we were playing the hell out of the Rainbow 6 games, Crimson Skies, Fable, etc.
PS2 had and INSANELY large library of games, but here's the thing; 99% of those games didn't interest me in the slightest. Outside of the heavy hitter titles like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Metal gear Solid, etc, everything else I literally glossed over on my way to the Xbox/GC section of the game store. I don't care if your game system has 2 million games, if 99% of them look like crap, I'm not buying. Most of the games that looked interesting were multiplatform, so of course we went with the Xbox version of those games(better graphics, etc). I realize how retroactively ignorant this sounds, but that is where my mind was back in 2001-ish. I actually bought my first PS2 back in May of THIS year.
GC: The oddball of the bunch for sure. Amazing first-party titles, Star Wars Rogue Squadron games were just the best, but outside of that, it felt like a system for little kids. In all of my newly minted "21-year-old-ness" back then, I was not into a system geared more towards kids. I wanted cuss words, blood, and insinuated boobs. GC wasn't giving me what my angsty, "mature adult" self wanted back then.
Objectively, I always broke it down like this:
Xbox: Better graphics, more "horsepower"(even if it rarely used it). Library was overwhelmingly western(US, UK, etc)-focused, though.
PS2: Insanely large library of games. Backwards compatibility with PS1 made that library even bigger. THE system for japanese titles.
GC: Terrific household-name first party titles, and odd gimmicky stuff.
I think I've figured out the hidden gems for ps2 and gcn just by research and experience but what would you guys say are the ones for Xbox? I don't think there are any sleeper RPG's that are "unknown" but if there are id love to know about it. I'm not a fighter, strategy, mech fan so if y'all know of any good unknowns let us know
I think I've figured out the hidden gems for ps2 and gcn just by research and experience but what would you guys say are the ones for Xbox? I don't think there are any sleeper RPG's that are "unknown" but if there are id love to know about it. I'm not a fighter, strategy, mech fan so if y'all know of any good unknowns let us know
Comments
PS2 had the games, at least the selection. Lots of great RPGs and low-budget "hidden gems"
Gamecube had the exclusives, and was the most visually appealing (in regards to said exclusives). Not to mention that controller... mmmm that's some tasty butter.
xBox had the best graphics of the generation, it isn't even close. Also, Halo.
PS2 was the only one I had when it was new and I played the shit out of it. However, many of the games I once loved don't hold up well. They've received remakes, upgrades, and better sequels the following generation. There's still some good stuff on it, like the Silent Hill series, Shin Megami Tensei, Fatal Frame, etc. But I'm pretty selective when it comes to PS2 these days.
I never had a Gamecube when it was new and I'm quite fond of it now. Some great titles in there that I still enjoy. It's also the most collectible of the three consoles, because it's Nintendo.
I never was a big Xbox fan. I finally bought on earlier this year, but I've barely touched it. A few neat titles, but overall, not my thing.
Whatever your thoughts on the quality of the library, you have to admit that as a console the Xbox was far ahead of it's time. Online play, HD output, breakaway controller cables, built in Hard Drive, etc.
The PS2 really dusted the competition.
I just enjoyed ripping music and putting it on the harddrive... listening to Dr. Dre's theChronic while on the chronic.
That album was everywhere!!!
Playing GTA San Andreas, Listening to the chronic while smoking a fat blunt. Thank you Xbox. Lol
PS2 had and INSANELY large library of games, but here's the thing; 99% of those games didn't interest me in the slightest. Outside of the heavy hitter titles like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Metal gear Solid, etc, everything else I literally glossed over on my way to the Xbox/GC section of the game store. I don't care if your game system has 2 million games, if 99% of them look like crap, I'm not buying. Most of the games that looked interesting were multiplatform, so of course we went with the Xbox version of those games(better graphics, etc). I realize how retroactively ignorant this sounds, but that is where my mind was back in 2001-ish. I actually bought my first PS2 back in May of THIS year.
GC: The oddball of the bunch for sure. Amazing first-party titles, Star Wars Rogue Squadron games were just the best, but outside of that, it felt like a system for little kids. In all of my newly minted "21-year-old-ness" back then, I was not into a system geared more towards kids. I wanted cuss words, blood, and insinuated boobs. GC wasn't giving me what my angsty, "mature adult" self wanted back then.
Objectively, I always broke it down like this:
Xbox: Better graphics, more "horsepower"(even if it rarely used it). Library was overwhelmingly western(US, UK, etc)-focused, though.
PS2: Insanely large library of games. Backwards compatibility with PS1 made that library even bigger. THE system for japanese titles.
GC: Terrific household-name first party titles, and odd gimmicky stuff.
I think I've figured out the hidden gems for ps2 and gcn just by research and experience but what would you guys say are the ones for Xbox? I don't think there are any sleeper RPG's that are "unknown" but if there are id love to know about it. I'm not a fighter, strategy, mech fan so if y'all know of any good unknowns let us know
This link covers that better than I could.
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/microsoft/xbox/the-best-undiscovered-xbox-games