Six PS2 Classics that need to be on PSN (because they won’t get HD remakes)

Burnout 3: Takedown

Criterion made a hell of a splash when they debuted the original Burnout on the PS2, and each game in the series has managed to become more over-the-top than the last. Despite how well-received Burnout Paradise was on the PS3, though, many argue that the series peaked in the last generation of games. Whether or not those people are right, what matters is that Burnout 3: Takedown needs to make it onto the PlayStation Store.

The best thing about Burnout titles is that you don’t even need to like racing games to enjoy them. Sure, there are your typical racing modes, but extravagant destruction is the real star of the show. Many people lament the absence of a “proper” crash mode in 2008’s Paradise, but that formula was perfected in Takedown. Hours could be spent meticulously planning exactly how to throw your car into an unsuspecting intersection, maximizing combos along the way.

And the racing was alright, I guess.

Tourist Trophy

Tourist Trophy is a bit of an odd duck, isn’t it? Polyphony Digital began development on the motorcycle sim near the tail end of Gran Turismo 4’s development, releasing about a year after GT4. It felt like it was more of a pet project for studio head Kazunori Yamauchi than a full-fledged sim, although that didn’t stop racing fans from being intrigued. That didn’t quite translate into sales, though.

But yeah, TT was a pretty weird game. Many Gran Turismo trappings were present — familiar menus, precise physics, impressive graphics, license tests and even GT4’s 1080i HD capability all made it (the only two games to do HD on the PS2, by the way). There were also some weird niggles, though. The number of racers went down from six to four, GT4’s B-Spec mode was gone, and only one original track was made for the game.

But instead of letting Tourist Trophy wallow in obscurity, why not throw that sucker onto the PlayStation Store? Who knows, maybe enough people will care to justify a sequel (read: Please make a sequel).

TimeSplitters 2

Holy crap, TimeSplitters. It’s not hard to believe that this gem was made by many of the same people that made GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark on the Nintendo 64. It is hard to believe that they would eventually go on to make Haze, but here we are.

Anyway, TimeSplitters 2. It was kind of a dumb game, actually, but I mean that in the best possible way. The story was silly and inconsequential, with the focus being on multiplayer — sweet, split-screen, bot-filled multiplayer. Between you and three of your closest friends, you could take on a map full of gun-wielding monkeys, dinosaurs, babies, and zombies. There was no online multiplayer, but up to 10 bots could join you and your buddies. If the included maps didn’t suit you, there was a map editor for you to make something more to your liking. The game was highly customizable, something sorely missing from many of today’s console shooters.

So why TimeSplitters 2, and not the subsequent Future Perfect? Because TimeSplitters 2 had more modes, and I don’t want to be taunted by the Online multiplayer option in the Main Menu.

Readers Comments (13)

  1. lol Bully sucks. I wanna see Magic Pengel come to PSN.

  2. Mark of Kri and Bully I think are a must. Those games were absolutely great. Great list.

  3. Mark of Kri is one of my favorite games…every time I see HD remakes I think of it.

  4. How could you not of picked War of the Monsters? that games screams PSN Hell that should just get a psn remake! lol and Legaia2 one and two where awesome rpgs!

    • There are literally dozens of games that I could easily have written about, but I can only write for so long! These are the ones that I personally want to see the most.

  5. You should have MANHUNT in that list 😉

  6. Oh yeah.. Tourist trophy is a must!

  7. Rogue Galaxy would fit on this list. People missed out on an amazing game if they hadn’t played it. I would defiantly purchase it again if it was on PSN.

  8. VanilaGorila-x- February 8, 2012 @ 16:13

    No SOCOM? Blasphemy…

  9. The pic for the story was from Time Splitters but no mention..? The bait and switch strikes again…

  10. Ok, ok, found the second page. Kudos on the TS props.

  11. I would LOVE to see Bully on the PSN. That’s one of my favorite games. Glad someone out there agrees that Bully should be on PS2 Classics.

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