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By Courtney Brown // ´óÏó´«Ã½ The Social contributor // 27 January 2022

The console of my childhood and many others, the PlayStation 2 has stood the test of time and still remains the world’s best-selling video game console ever, with over 155 millions units sold across the globe.

Growing up, everyone is guaranteed to have “their games”. The games from your childhood that hold ever-lasting memories within your heart. The love you have for these games never dwindles or burns out, no matter how cruddy the graphics or gameplay mechanics may seem in 2022.

Sit back and enjoy this nostalgia trip as I introduce you to some of the PlayStation 2 games that defined my childhood!

Before there was Red Dead Redemption there was…well, there was Red Dead Revolver. Whatever though, we all know that Gun was better.

Developed by Neversoft Entertainment and released in 2005, Gun is an action-adventure game based in Wild West of America. You play as Colton White, who upon surviving a mysterious boat explosion, embarks on a journey across America to search for answers and seek revenge.

Gun was a game that I put a lot of hours into playing as a kid; not making a whole lot of progress but starting a lot of showdowns in the town for sure. Except for GTA: Vice City, Gun was the first open-world game I ever played. I spent hours exploring the landscape, shooting enemies, and crying of laughter at how downright stupid some of the animations were.

Gun’s gameplay was engaging, entertaining and surprisingly gory for its time. Enemies’ heads regularly exploded and the details the developers put into making this as realistic as it truly could be in 2005? Impressive!

I initially only purchased this game because my friend had it, I saw it had horses in it, and from that point forward I NEEDED this game. I ended up really enjoying it and played through the majority of the story. To me personally, Gun is the true predecessor to Red Dead Redemption. It was a great open-world game that really set the bar for all Western games that followed in its wake - a great title, even today.

This was the second game in the Sims franchise to make the jump to consoles. It had some similarities to the main Sims franchise, with the biggest difference being the “Bust Out” mode, with your Sims being able to visit other Sims in the area.

Like all previous Sims games, you create a character, move them into a home, and have the creative freedom to decorate and let your Sim live however you want. Want to make your Sim spend 48 hours doing nothing but levelling up their charisma skills? You got it. Want to deprive your Sim of the simple pleasure of going for a shower? Well...yeah you can also do that I guess.

The Sims Bustin’ Out ticked all the boxes of what made the series great, whilst adding in a refreshing new take on it. Bust Out Mode allowed you to follow a storyline with objectives and missions - complete an objective, you get a reward. It was a nice addition and one I’d actually love to see return to a future Sims game with a similar format.

Despite some of the game’s storyline being a bit, bizarre...this game was wonderfully charming. I restarted the game constantly because I loved it so much and the feeling of starting fresh with a new Sim once again. I genuinely don’t think I ever once followed the objectives, but it was fun, and is that not what matters most?

If you asked me to pick one game - one game that I could only play for the rest of my life? I would choose Dog’s Life.

It was first game I ever completed so will always have a special, reserved spot in my heart. Everyone remembers the first game they ever completed, it’s an achievement and something that either fuels your love of gaming to continue or extinguishes it. I had such a good experience from start to finish and it inspired me to go on and play more games (even if I was six).

Developed by Frontier Developments and released in 2003, in Dog’s Life you play as Jake - who has just witnessed the dognapping of the love of his life, Daisy. Jake must travel across the country to rescue her, whilst finding clues along the way. The ‘Bones’ in Dog’s Life work as in-game currency which help you unlock different towns and cities. As Jake travels from area to area, other dogs you meet on your travels will help you complete certain puzzles, which in turn, are always rewarded with a bone.

The landscapes in this game were actually pretty big for a 3+ rated game. I could easily spend hours travelling and exploring the different areas, the only downside being that once a mission is completed you cannot redo it. There were still the collectible “smells” in each section of the game, so you had the option to go back and collect anything you might have missed, which was a nice addition.

Now, as much as I loved this game, the final area before the big boss fight downright terrified me as a six-year-old. You go from settings like a snowy mountain range, to farmlands with rolling hills, to a full-blown horror movie. A red sky rolls in, and an eerie, Silent Hill-esque, almost operatic soundtrack pops in to say “hey”. It’s a curveball ending that shocked me to my core as a kid, and even replaying as an adult...it still makes me feel slightly uneasy.

Now, I truly can’t count how many times I’ve replayed this game. From herding sheep to catching burglars - as a kid, the amount of sheer, entertaining content in this game never left me bored once. It may have had one too many fart jokes, and it’s the sad reminder that, at 24, I am no longer the target demographic for this game. However, has this or will this stop me from adoring this game and replaying it again in the future? Absolutely not.

Scooby-Doo is a character that most of us will have some connection to. Whether that be from watching the classic cartoons, or the live action movies.

Games featuring the character go all the way back to the Commodore 64 and these games have proven popular time and time again. Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights is one of the many games released in this franchise.

Developed by Heavy Iron Studios and released in 2002, Scooby Doo! Night of 100 Frights is a wonderful video game that encapsulates everything we all love about Scooby-Doo. The game features a laugh track in the background, which as a kid was one of my favourite features. I would purposely jump around, swing from ropes and run on ice, in an attempt to get the “audience” to laugh.

The game is focused on the mysteries of a haunted mansion. After the rest of the gang disappear, Scooby is left alone and must go on himself to investigate. The game is a standard platformer that really holds up well, even today. The soundtrack is beautifully done and has just the right amount of spookiness and the perfect amount of joy from the classic cartoons. Alongside the laugh track, the game gives little nods to the classic show throughout, with even certain villains making reappearances.

Unfortunately, as a kid I found this game too difficult and I never completed it. Scooby-Doo! Night of 100 Frights is a game I would happily see get a remake in 2022, something I don’t imagine will happen anytime soon… but we can dream right?

So, there you have it. These are just a few games from a long list of PlayStation 2 games that made my childhood.

With the amount of realism in today’s video games, I sometimes feel that classic video games like these have been forgotten about. Bring back the days where we got a video game after every new movie release, am I right?

Looking back at nostalgic video games, that essentially defined your gaming journey, show that sometimes the most simple games can be the most fun.