The 51 best PlayStation 2 games

Ranked by the scores that magazines gave these games when they came out. The list draws on 5,585 review scores of 1,879 PlayStation 2 games; 1,331 of them have enough reviews to be ranked.

#	Game	Platform	Year	Score
1	Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas	PS2	2004	98.2
2	Grand Theft Auto: Vice City	PS2	2002	97.1
3	Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec	PS2	2001	96.9
4	God of War	PS2	2005	96.7
5	Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence	PS2	2006	96.6
6	Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty	PS2	2001	96.4
7	Final Fantasy XII	PS2	2006	95
8	Resident Evil 4	PS2	2005	95
9	Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal	PS2	2004	94.7
10	God of War II	PS2	2007	94.7
11	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3	PS2	2001	94.6
12	Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater	PS2	2005	94.5
13	Pro Evolution Soccer	PS2	2001	94.3
14	Shadow of the Colossus	PS2	2005	94.2
15	Virtua Fighter 4	PS2	2002	94.1
16	Madden NFL 2004	PS2	2003	94
17	NCAA Football 2004	PS2	2003	94
18	Grand Theft Auto III	PS2	2001	93.9
19	SoulCalibur II	PS2	2003	93.9
20	SSX	PS2	2000	93.9
21	Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time	PS2	2003	93.6
22	Final Fantasy X	PS2	2001	93.4
23	Ōkami	PS2	2006	93.2
24	Pro Evolution Soccer 3	PS2	2003	93.2
25	Tony Hawk's Underground	PS2	2003	93
26	Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution	PS2	2003	93
27	Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4	PS2	2002	92.5
28	Devil May Cry	PS2	2001	92.4
29	Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey of the Cursed King	PS2	2004	92.2
30	Pro Evolution Soccer 2	PS2	2002	92.2
31	Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando	PS2	2003	91.8
32	SSX Tricky	PS2	2001	91.8
33	Madden Football 2002	PS2	2001	91.7
34	Madden NFL 2001	PS2	2000	91.7
35	SSX 3	PS2	2003	91.5
36	Madden NFL 2005	PS2	2004	91
37	NCAA Football 2003	PS2	2002	91
38	Final Fantasy X-2	PS2	2003	90.9
39	Madden NFL 2003	PS2	2002	90.8
40	Half-Life	PS2	2001	90.8
41	Pro Evolution Soccer 4	PS2	2004	90.8
42	Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell	PS2	2003	90.8
43	Jak II	PS2	2003	90.6
44	Burnout 3: Takedown	PS2	2004	90.5
45	Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore	PS2	2000	90.4
46	Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004	PS2	2003	90.4
47	Metal Gear Solid 2: Substance	PS2	2002	90
48	Red Faction	PS2	2001	90
49	MVP Baseball 2004	PS2	2004	90
50	NCAA Football 2002	PS2	2001	90
51	Persona 4	PS2	2008	90

Highly rated, with fewer than 3 reviews

12 PlayStation 2 games have a score of 90 or more, but from only one or two reviews, and no Metacritic score.

Game	Platform	Year	Score
J.League Winning Eleven 5	PS2	2001	96
Colin McRae Rally 04	PS2	2003	95
Onimusha	PS2	2001	95
Persona 3: FES	PS2	2007	95
World Soccer Winning Eleven 6 Final Evolution	PS2	2002	95
Naruto: Narutimett Hero	PS2	2003	94
World Soccer Winning Eleven 7	PS2	2003	91
Castleween	PS2	2002	91
Energy Airforce aimStrike!	PS2	2005	91
Gran Turismo Concept 2002: Tokyo-Geneva	PS2	2002	90
Dream Audition	PS2	2000	90
High Heat Major League Baseball 2004	PS2	2003	90

How the ranking works

The scores are the ones magazines gave when the games came out, all converted to a 0–100 scale. Only one review per magazine counts for a game: the most recent.
A game's score is half the average, half the median of its magazine reviews. A title opens the game's page on uvlist.net; a score opens the report with every review behind it.
A game needs at least 3 magazine reviews to be ranked. With equal scores, the game with more reviews comes first.
Metacritic already sums up many reviews, so it is never mixed with the magazines: it is used only for games with fewer than 3 magazine reviews, as their only score.
Each list shows every game with a score of 90 or more. Games with fewer than 3 reviews and no Metacritic score are shown apart: their score is promising, but rests on one or two opinions.

The lists are rebuilt each time reviews are added. To filter by genre, year, magazine or publisher, explore all the scores in the report.

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