young

well, i just got baldur's gate dark alliance for the PS2 thinking it would be a RPG like the PC games, but it turned out to be a diablo-type game. and it is good! (yes, i've been living under a rock if everyone knew this already...)

i also got b/c they were cheap but haven't played or tested yet:
shadow hearts
eternal something (rings?)
evergrace
okage - i like the way it looks - kinda modern menu system, quirky

haven't gotten or waiting for:
FFX (waiting for the PS2 best seller version )
grandia 2
skies of arcadia

any others?

Draven

I picked up BG: Dark Alliance during Blockbuster's Buy 2 Get One Free sale. So far, I've really enjoyed it. Some of the water and fire effects are the best I've seen in this type of game. I haven't gotten very far, but it looks a lot prettier than Diablo II and the ability to rotate the camera is extremely helpful.

I also picked up Maximo and State of Emergency. I can see where all the criticism came for SoE, I haven't played it much. Maximo is a good time, though it showed me how spoiled I've become from the "save anywhere" mentality on most of my games. Very old-school feel to the game.

I'd also suggest Twisted Metal Black. I picked that up a while back at BB for $20 used, and that's what it costs brand new now. To me, that's a good purchase.

Edit: Went back and read your original post. You were looking for RPG's right? Sorry...I meant to just say "Baldur's Gate is cool" and leave it at that

DVD Otaku

BG: DA was alright. Be prepared to be let down at the end. Why can't PS2 games have good endings?

-DVD Otaku

Mattalos

Yeah, the ending thing is a PS2 problem. Talk to developers. They forget to include this line in the code: game.ending = good. Good thing the Xbox and GC support "good endings" right outta the box.

Grimfarrow

Ugh....okay. I thought FFX's ending was excellent. None of that Hollywoodish happy ending crap.

darkside

I've been picking up stuff from Blockbuster during the sale. I've been pretty happy with the games I've gotten, but most averaged out to about $15 a game.

State of Emergency is a lot of fun. Its no GTA3, but it was worth getting. Some of the missions are tough as hell and its a great stress reliever.

Balder's Gate is very good. We haven't finished it yet, but its a great Diablo style game.

Shawn Palmer is a good snowboarding game. I like Tony Hawk 3 though.

Ico is very underrated. I paid $10 for this game used and I would have spent $50 for it.

They only games I picked up that I hated were Driving Emotion S and Smackdown. I returned those and got DVDs instead.

With PS2 games so cheap at Blockbuster I am having a hard time even thinking of paying retail again.

I'm considering picking up Maximo, NFL2K2, and NBA2K2 before the buy 2 get 1 free ends.

MrKen

I loved Baldur's Gate on the PS2. Best aspect of it is the two player cooperative mode. No split screen, which is pretty nice.

Some of those RPG's you listed were not so great IMHO, but worth playing overall. Also try Dark Cloud, which is action/non-menu combat, like Zelda and Baldur's Gate. It is also a PS2GH, so it should be like 20-25 new.

young

yeah, i read some reviews and some were rated poor... but they were like $7 so i got them anyway. yeah, i picked up dark cloud too. i pretty much got all the rpgs, i think.

now i just need time to play

young

ok, i just played as the archer... and it is short! i thought it was going to be much longer... it was fun but i got greedy w/ all the items and it wasn't necessary. time to try a different character... are the storylines different at all?

Cardiff Giant11

Drakan the Ancient's Gates is pretty cool. Definitely worth checking out.

MrKen

The storyline doesn't change at all. Whether you do it with two characters, or different ones in single player mode- its all the same. It is even the same when you play extreme mode (with your original character) and everything is just much harder. When you finish that, by the way, you can then play as Drizzt the dark elf.

young

thanks for the info. being able to play as a dark elf sounds good to me. i thought it would have some random side quests or something. (i never figured out what the sleepy guy in the tavern was there for...)