Just in Case you Missed Em

So, by now we?ve all heard that after you drop $599!!!! on a PS3, you might not be able to continue enjoying some of your previous-gen faves after all. My take? Quit whinin? and just hang on to your PS2. Indeed, it might not be such a gripeworthy issue if Sony hadn?t sniped Microsoft on its own backwards-compatibility shortcomings on the Xbox 360, and if the console wars weren?t shaping up to be such a tight contest, wherein the slightest edge is wildly touted on boards, blogs and in fervent flamewars as evidence of a chosen console?s ultimate superiority.

Fortunately, Sony yesterday made available its online support tool (http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/CompatibleStatus) by which you can check your PS2 titles individually for any compatibility issues. Previous-gen games can be confounded primarily by issues like buggy background music, data loss for save states, and more severely, total arrest of gameplay at the title screens. These issues affect, to varying degrees of severity, titles like Xenosaga II (oh man, what a loss there, snicker), Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams, Devil May Cry and Suikoden III- be sure to double-check your library?s must-haves before pitching (or reselling) the old hardware.

Some titles, though, are most definitely worth holding on to the PS2 for, and may make a case for deferring an upgrade where compatibility issues are present if you still get a lot of play out of them. In that vein, I offer you the Just in Case You Missed ?Em: PS2 Roundup, in which we?ll be revisiting worthy titles by genre to be sure you?ve maxed out your experience before you crest the next hill on the horizon of modern gaming.

Let?s get the ball rolling with Survival/Horror, at the forefront of my mind since my recent playthrough of Rule of Rose. I?ve been craving me a little Resident Evil too, since we?ve gotta get ready to wait a bit for the next installment. This genre in particular has a lot of universal appeal, combining the combat and weaponry elements that action gamers love with the cerebral puzzle gaming and often rich atmospheric settings that RPG gamers need.

Resident Evil Series: Unless you?ve been living under a rock, you?ve probably played at least one title in the saga of Raccoon City and the bevy of viral zombies unleashed on its defense forces by evil megacorp Umbrella. Resident Evil 4, the most recent installment, made a big splash with its early 2005 release on the GameCube and its Premium Edition for PS2 later that year. IGN called it ?the greatest survival-horror game ever made,? and with a nice palette of environmental elements, some pleasingly graphic violence, and all the interactive FMV you can eat, I admit (though I hate the big sites? whorish hyperbole) that it?s definitely up there, and that certainly no horror junkie?s dance card is full without it. Nonetheless, my selection for must-play RE title is 2001?s Code Veronica (also released for both GC and PS2). If you play only one RE title, make it this one. It introduces you to the largest cross-section of Raccoon City?s standby cast, possesses the most solid story, and as far as gameplay goes is just ambitious enough for its britches- it maximizes the capability of the controls it?s got without over-complexifying or hyperextending. It manages to succeed where RE4 fails- the latter can be too repetitive and tedious, and certain areas seem endless at times- not to mention the setting and story elements take a deviation from the tried-and-true, tech conspiracy-fueled classic RE formula- and I?m not sure it really works. Whose idea was Salazar, anyway? Ugh.

Silent Hill Series: Personally, I?m not a real heavy-weapons kind of gamer, and I find a bloody hospital a lot scarier than a lab. Maybe it?s a chick thing, but there?s something about the scrawls of the damned that just unnerves me way more than a corporate dossier could. It?s not surprising, then, that for my tastes nothing can touch Silent Hill. Sure, it?s got its weak points- plot elements are often disparate and convoluted, and certain objectives aren?t always relevant to the larger story. But the series? fans go crazy for the madness-addled, white fog purgatory of Silent Hill, and break cold sweats over the faceless, grotesque monsters- representations, perhaps, of the protagonists? inner beasts. The most recent installment, Silent Hill 4: The Room hit shelves in 2004, and appeared in both PS2 and Xbox versions. I?d certainly aver that the newest title in the series shouldn?t be missed- a tighter sequential storyline and some very captivating game elements really make it worthwhile. The necessity of returning to one?s own home in each chapter, incidentally, provides some fantastic thriller elements as your ?safe place? steadily becomes corrupted by signs of sinister invasion. It?s quite hard to choose which among the four Silent Hill games is the must-play. SH1 and SH3 deal with the same characters and story elements, while SH2 and SH4 have disparate sets.

General opinion seems to hold SH2 as the fan favorite, with its truly gruesome psychosexual plotline as lead character James Sunderland, a widower, must visit Silent Hill to face the truth about his ostensibly late wife. I?d agree that SH2 has the most arresting imagery and the most stomach-churning symbolism, but as a whole package, my vote is for Silent Hill 3 as the best game overall. An empathetic protagonist- wow, a female heroine who?s actually cool- in Heather Morris and a commendable, very listenable soundtrack help its case. Still in doubt? Play all four of ?em, and don?t get the ubiquitous Water ending.

It should be noted that while no problems are noted on the Playstation site with Silent Hill 2 and 3, IGN reported on the 12th of this month issues with SH2 freezing between the demo and the title screen, citing the initial, Japanese version of the compatibility research site here (http://www.jp.playstation.com/ps3/status/).

Fatal Frame Series:

The Japanese do horror with a clean elegance and haunting grace that we haven?t yet matched here in the States. The success of Japanese film remakes like The Ring and The Grudge indicate, though, that we?re feelin? what the East is puttin? down. Pallid, bloodless death, grotesque, somnambulant ghosts and inexorable, unbreakable curses of rage seem to be trademarks of the Japanese horror model, and nowhere is this better showcased in gaming than in the Fatal Frame series, which, though they inspired no huge commercial frenzy, have a well-deserved and loyal fan following. The first installment, also called Fatal Frame: Project Zero (in its UK release) was, like Silent Hill, released first for PS2 in 2002 and then for Xbox. Spoiled these days by detailed graphics and complicated gameplay, it?s tempting to be disappointed on first blush, but don?t be such a brat. The first installment of Fatal Frame, however simplistic it appears by comparison to more modern titles, scared me more than anything I?d played on the PS2 prior. And it?s based on a true story.

The use of an antique camera to break a chilling ancient curse by photographing tormented souls is a cool twist on survival horror that you?ve got to give a shot. The series has you creeping with baited breath through haunted, dilapidated Japanese mansions in period architecture to discover the secrets behind multiple-victim religious rituals that?ll make your blood run cold. And playing as an adorable (but unintrusive) Japanese schoolgirl doesn?t hurt, either.

As a matter of fact, in Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly, my choice for must-play, you play as not one, but two Japanese schoolgirls racing to unravel the mysterious curse before fate leads them to certain death- possibly even at one another?s hands. Oh, and they?re twins. Yeah. Just go buy it.

Are these all the scary titles worth playing for PS2? Probably not. But it?s safe to say U R not Red E (wow, that?s a blast from the past, right?) to upgrade until you?ve at least played these. Agree? Disagree? Got another recommendation for a must-play? Post it on the discussion board! Our next installment will round up the RPG genre, and we?d love to get your input.