I'm new to gaming and just got a PS2. What games and accessories do you recommend?

I already picked up some games from the TRU $9.98 sale, and a Logitech cordless controller.

I'm looking for some racing and jet fighter games. Heard about NFS Underground 2, Street Racing Syndicate, Burnout 3 and Gran Touriso 4. Which one is the best? Is Ace Combat 5 the best dog fighting game?

If you only get one racing game make it Burnout 3 (or the newer Burnout Revenge, but 3 is great and much cheaper), not sure about jet fighter games.

I've always been a fan of the Gran Turismo games. It's more realistic (so not much skid turns ala arcade style driving) but still fun.

You definately need to get all the GTA games.

It's not racing or flying, but God of War rocks.

Amen, brother. Don't forget the Ratchet & Clank games. I friggin' love them as well especially UYA and Going Commando.

Dont forget:

Resident Evil 4 (Magnificent, just a bit on the difficult side)

Devil May Cry 3 (Same as RE4, incredible game, just hard)

God Of War (This is the best ps2 title ever created, hands down and anyone can finish it!)

And if you enjoy fighting games, Soul Calibur 3! It is awesome!

However, if you do have a tough time with these games, i suggest a Action Replay Max or something of the sort to get some codes to make it easier on you. I suffered enough with Devil May Cry 3 till i just used a code to finish it! Its darn tough. But awesome game!

You must pickup ICO. Walmart has a ton of them sitting out for $14.88 near me. A must have. I second the God of War recommendation.

Couldn't agree more with this statement. I'm in a similar boat as you, in that I'm a casual gamer. In fact my PS2 was in storage for monthes, and I only took it out because I received God of War as a gift. The game simply rocks. Fun to play and not too difficult. After completing I figured I'd give a few other highly rated games a try: Resident Evil 4 and Shadow of the Collasus. Both seem to be decent, but very hard. Their probably geared more towards experienced games with heaps of patience, and not casual "button mashers" like myself.

Thanks for the recommendations so far. I'll look into Burnout 3 and Gran Turismo 3/4.

What is ICO?

Btw, is Tekken 5 the best fighting game for PS2 to day? I saw the Dead or Alive 4 trailer and it's amazing. Too bad the maker didn't plan to release one for PS2 or even PS3.

What is this Action Replay Max? Some kind of cheat code devise that allows you to bypass some levels?

Ico is a gorgeous puzzle/action game. Graceful and elegant. It's kinda hard to find, though. The maker of that game also just released Shadow Of The Colossus, which is also sort of a puzzle/action game, though a very different one.

The DOA series has been an Xbox exclusive since the system launched. I've never been a fan of these games despite their amazing graphics since they lack a lot of the depth of the Namco games (though to be fair, I haven't played DOA 4 yet).

Action Replay Max is a cheat device that can unlock levels, give invincibility, unlimited ammo or lives. That sort of thing. I bought one of the PS2 and NEVER got it to work right. Caveat Emptor.

To name a few here are some great games you should own...

Kingdom Hearts
Tekken 5
Devil May Cry 3
God of War
Katamari Damacy
We Love Katamari
Sly Cooper and the Thevious Racoonus
Ratchet and Clank
Soul Calibur 3
Dragon Quest 8
Capcom Classics Collection
Burnout Revenge
Resident Evil 4

I could go on and on but there are some I could recommend that you'd probably have a hard time finding. Oh and Decker DOA 4 = same as it ever was.

Do not Buy Devil May Cry 3 "WHY" the new Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition coming soon this month (Jan. 24) with extra gameplay & characters plus its only $20)

Another vote for Katamari Damacy. You should also be able to find Twisted Metal Black for very, very cheap.

It's been a while since I had my PS2 but some titles I loved were

Final Fantasy X (amazing game, long but really really good)
GTA3 and Vice City (I didn't care for San Andreas much on the XBox, maybe I just couldn't get into yet another GTA game after playing those two)
Ace Combat 4 (I think Ace Combat 5 came out a while ago)

No love for Jak series?

These are fun games.

Here are some,
Onimusha 3
Beyond Good and Evil
God of War
Soul Calibur 3
if you want to dance get the dance pad and get the Dance Dance Revolution games
Metal Gear 3
Resident Evil 4

Ratchet and Clank 1-3
Final Fantasy X
Gran Turismo 3 or 4
Tekken 5
Virtua Fighter 4

Tons of multi platform games to pick up if you don't have an X-box or GC like the Prince of Persia games, beyond good and evil, Resident Evil 4 etc.

Jak and Daxter was ok, though the Ratchet and Clank Series is much better.

Didn't care for 2 and 3 when they changed and went to Grand Theft Jak.

Yes, Tekken 5 is the best fighter going around atm IMO. I haven't played DOA4 but generally I prefer the tekken series to DOA, although DOA can be fun.

I've played a lot of tekken with friends of mine, and none of us are really hard core fighter players but we have a lot of fun with tekken.

well, Jak 2 was pretty tedious, but Jak 3 was fairly awesome. Did you try it?

All Grand Theft Auto Games
Gran Turismo
Dragon Quest VII
SOCOM 3

Guitar Hero

Ridge Racer V-best racer on the console and very cheap at most stores
Katamari Damacy-Incredibly fun game that you must try
We Love Katamari-sequel to above, just as good
Gradius V-best US shooter on the market

A question about the memory card.

Roughly how many games can you store the game save for on a 8MB card? Sony has the 1 card (black) package for $25 and 2 cards (red/blue) for $40. Just wonder should I pick up the 2 card package, considering that the cards are useless when you upgrade to PS3 in the future.