These days, it might be a little too easy to take for granted how accessible multiplayer gaming has become. Not everyone had the ability to force their little brother to play with that cursed Mad Catz controller with the broken triggers and awful turbo button, after all. Still, for those who were able to make use of those features, the PS2 library boasted plenty of excellent games that allowed players to test their mettle against each other. While there are plenty of co-op games available on the PS2, these are the best competitive PS2 multiplayer games ever made.
10. SSX Tricky
Okay, we’ll give you a little bit of time out of the gate to get Run DMC’s “It’s Tricky” out of your head before we carry on. Sounds good?
Anyway, EA knocked it out of the park with the SSX series. With four games on the PS2, each one is a special take on the sport of snowboarding in its own right, though trying to choose which one is the best out of all of them is pretty difficult. Trust us, we gave it a go. While the later games in the series, like SSX 3 and SSX On Tour, were perfect for the single player gamer, or Billy-No-Mates if you prefer, thanks to their more involved career modes and focus on free roaming gameplay, SSX Tricky’s almost straight-forwardness makes it perfect for a spot of multiplayer gaming.
Ostensibly an upgraded version of the first SSX game, SSX Tricky featured 12 characters and a number of tracks, with the gameplay and aesthetic being ramped up to 11. The first game featured racing and tricks, but SSX Tricky finally introduced Uber Tricks, the gravity and logic defying super moves that saw characters break dancing on a board while it’s flying through the air. SSX Tricky might only support 2 player multiplayer, but it still ranks among the best multiplayer games that the PS2 has to offer, especially if you’re trying to rock a rhyme that’s right on time.
Goddamnit.
9. SOCOM 2
While the Xbox might have truly driven online console gaming forward with Xbox Live and Halo 2 specifically, the PS2 was no slouch with its online capabilities, even if the amount of people who took advantage of that was relatively low. Did you? A number of PS2 games had online functionality in some form, allowing players to prove their superiority with players across the world instead of the next branch over on the family tree, or whoever was in your class at school. From Tony Hawk’s to the WWE games, there’s plenty to choose from, but one series that helped sell the online aspect of console gaming for PS2 owners was the SOCOM 2. Hell, you know that the online for this game must be iconic when a dedicated team of modders and emulators are keeping a version of every SOCOM PS2 game running to this day.
While SOCOM 3 and Combined Assault might have offered new features and mechanics, with CA even including the ability to play through the Story Mode in online co-op, SOCOM 2 gets the nod from us for being the perfect blend of improvements over the first game while avoiding all the map pack nonsense that plagued later SOCOM titles. And, you know, online gaming as a whole in the mid to late 2000s. Players would be divided into two teams of 8, each trying to pursue their objective while eliminating the other team, and SOCOM 2 even included features like voice chat and friends lists to help people play together, something that we take for granted now that we have overarching online networks like Xbox Live (or whatever it’s called now), PlayStation Network and Steam.
Anyway, if you disagree, 1v1 us on Sandstorm right now, coward. You won’t.
8. Pro Evolution Soccer 6
We’re just as much aware as anyone that making a list of the best PS2 multiplayer games ever made isn’t the most original idea in the world, but what some other, lesser lists would have you believe is that FIFA was always better than Pro Evolution Soccer. That’s a flat out lie, of course, as while FIFA had the licenses, Pro Evo’s gameplay was unmatched.
FIFA’s gameplay was filled with canned animations and predictable reactions, while Pro Evo’s gameplay physics were much more dynamic and fun to mess around with, rewarding more skillful play and positioning. Between PES 4, 5 and 6 (the PS2 version specifically), Konami were on a massive run of critical dominance, until they moved to the next console generation and EA finally caught up.
For local players, PES 6 included the ability to edit teams and dress them up as various animals, making it both more fun and funnier football game to play than most arcade football games of the time, while modes like Random Select allowed players to form Frankenstein-like teams from various regions or leagues for that added bit of spice. PES 6 even included online play, with a group feature that allowed players to join together and play against other clubs. In a way, PES 6’s Groups feature is almost like a precursor to the Pro Clubs feature that was added in FIFA 09, showing how ahead of the curve Konami were with the PES series. It’s a shame then that the Xbox 360 version of PES 6 really fumbled out of the gate, and the series never really recovered.
eFootball? More like “eeeeee, get away from me”, am I right lads?
7. Micro Machines V4
Games like Mario Kart have proved that racing games are a great foundation for multiplayer gaming fun, and while there was a good number of racing games on the PS2, one of the best multiplayer gaming was Micro Machines V4.
Instead of splitting four players into separate screens, Micro Machines V4 saw players competing to stay on the same screen, with the slowest players or the ones who decided not to brake on the sharp turn with no barriers being eliminated. Play continues until someone wins a set amount of points or the PS2 has to be turned off because someone threatened to throw their controller out of the window. Ain’t no party like a Micro Machines V4 party because a Micro Machines V4 party ends in a domestic disturbance call.
Much like Mario Kart and other arcade style racing game experiences, Micro Machines V4 made sure to throw items in the mix to ensure that someone, somewhere will be crying bullpoop by the end of a session. While Micro Machines V4 didn’t include online play, its local multiplayer vibes are hard to beat, making it a real gem of the PS2 console. Meanwhile, there’s indie games like Make Way which are taking the formula shown in Micro Machines V4 and exposing them to a modern audience. Hell, if you’re a big fan of Make Way, Micro Machines V4 even allows players to create their own tracks, allowing you to commit the ultimate act of shithousery by challenging your friends to play tracks only you have built. A win is still a win, guys.
6. Tekken Tag Tournament
We’d be remiss to not include a fighting game on the list of the best PS2 multiplayer games, but the problem with doing that is that there’s so many to choose from. Between Soulcalibur 2 and 3, Street Fighter EX 3, Capcom Vs SNK 2 and others, there’s a plethora of excellent fighting games available on the PS2, but if you want the best to play with your friends, Tekken Tag Tournament is the best bet. Tekken 5 might be the better game in terms of mechanics and playability, but for casual enjoyers, TTT’s huge roster, the ability to play with four people via a multitap and its pure pick up and play potential makes it the perfect pick for any local multiplayer sessions. Who could ever get tired of a Mexican wrestler suplexing a kangaroo, after all?
The original Tekken Tag Tournament was a fun, non-canon spin-off for a series that already is pretty silly in general. Again, wrestlers vs kangaroos. Given how Tekken 3 is one of the highest selling games in the PS1’s library, Tekken Tag Tournament was a great way of celebrating the franchise’s already stellar history despite its relative infancy. Pretty much everyone who’d been playable at one point in the series already made a return here, making for a roster that’s only really been rivaled by the follow-up, Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Throw in the silly Tekken Bowl bonus mode, which has returned to the series every now and again, and you’ve got a genuine multiplayer classic on your hands here.
5. Def Jam: Fight For New York
Fighting games might have been great for multiplayer, but you know what’s even more fun? Wrestling games. The controls are almost always simple, and the large rosters and various match types ensure there’s an almost endless amount of fun to be had. The WWE games on PS2, like the Smackdown series or Smackdown Vs Raw, are all incredible takes on sports entertainment, while Fire Pro Wrestling Returns is one for the wrestling sickos who love their technical masterpieces, but if you want the best experience for your buck, Def Jam: Fight For New York is the game for you. It’s an AKI engine game after all, and if you want the best wrestling action out there on the PS2, Def Jam: FFNY is it.
Instead of being based on a wrestling company, the Def Jam series had the brilliant idea of having hip-hop artists wrestle each other, except everyone’s moves and finishers feel like a cross between anime and Mortal Kombat. While DJ: Vendetta was a more straight-laced wrestling game, Fight For New York is scrappier, grimier and infinitely more fun, combining a brawling edge with that core wrestling gameplay that made it such a success in the first place. With plenty of recognizable artists, along with a few that’ll make you go “huh?”, and a decent selection of match types, Def Jam: Fight For New York is the definitive version of a series that we wish would come back someday. Mostly just to stop people from teasing a comeback then doing nothing with it.
4. Burnout 3: Takedown
Most people generally consider Burnout 3: Takedown to not only be the pinnacle of the series, but one of the best games the PS2 has ever produced, but that success has largely been attributed to its extensive single player campaign and stellar gameplay. Don’t get us wrong, those are incredible, but one aspect of Burnout 3: Takedown’s success that doesn’t get celebrated as much as it should is its multiplayer capabilities. Not only does it include some classic split-screen racing for anyone who feels like burning rubber against their friends and family, but there was even a slew of online modes available that allowed for racing against the entire world. Much like SOCOM earlier in this list, it speaks volumes to how good the online for Burnout 3 was when people are still trying to play it today.
Both the online and offline multiplayer featured a number of modes, with single race being the standard “get to the finish first” action, while Online Road Rage functions a little bit differently. Instead of trying to wreck every car in sight, Online Road Rage splits the players into teams of three, with one team trying to survive for a certain amount of time while the other team guns for them. Still, if the racing is a bit too much for some people, Burnout 3: Takedown also allowed players to experience the amazing Crash Mode in multiplayer too. Team Crush and Double Impact are co-op and competitive takes on the mode respectively, while Party Crash was an 8-player mode where players took turns trying to earn the highest score on a level. If you wanted to prove you were the best at driving, Burnout 3 was the place to do it.
3. Twisted Metal: Black
For a long time there, it felt like Twisted Metal would always be a core part of Sony’s portfolio, but after an ill-received reboot on the PS3, the brand disappeared for about 10 years until the release of the pretty decent TV show. Still, we haven’t had a new game in over a decade, which is a shame as smash cars together in a post-apocalypse is some of the most fun you could have on the PlayStation. Twisted Metal saw a whopping four games released on the PS1, though a lot of players and even critics would consider the first PS2 release, Twisted Metal: Black, to be the apex of the entire franchise. If you wanted the best multiplayer experience during the first year of the PS2, TM: Black was the game to buy.
Both new and returning characters have come with vehicles armed to the teeth and ready for war, with 15 selectable characters that boast their own unique abilities. While each character has a story mode complete with cutscenes and ending, the real meat and potatoes of Twisted Metal: Black was its multiplayer mode. Players pick their vehicle and arena, and battle until there’s only one player left standing. It’s simple, yet effective and manages to be incredibly fun even today. While the original release of Twisted Metal: Black only offered split-screen multiplayer, there was a free Online disc that players could receive by mailing a card that came with the PS2 online adapter, though the Greatest Hits reissue of Black also came bundled with the Online disc. Maybe with the success of the TV show, we’ll see Samoa Joe playing Sweet Tooth on PS5 in the future.
2. Star Wars Battlefront 2
What can we say about the classic Star Wars Battlefront games that haven’t already been said in the past? Pandemic’s work on these incredible shooters has gone down in history among the best in both the Star Wars franchise and across shooters in general. They’re so great, in fact, that both EA and DICE couldn’t even match up with their rebooted series, and even Aspyr’s remastered collection of both Battlefront games failed to capture the magic of the originals. While the first Battlefront is certainly an accomplished and brilliant shooter/multiplayer game, the improvements and additions that Pandemic made to the Battlefront sequel made this a nigh-on essential multiplayer purchase, regardless of whether or not you’re a Star Wars fan.
Like the original game, Battlefront 2 included a mix of infantry and vehicle-based multiplayer combat across a range of planets from the Star Wars universe, along with a wide variety of classes with different weapons and abilities. However, it was the new additions to formula that really helped distinguish Battlefront 2 from its predecessor, including Heroes as playable characters for the first time. Weird to think about Heroes not being playable in Battlefront but that just shows you how much the sequel improved on things. Also included was online multiplayer along with the Galactic Conquest mode, which was like Risk but with way more capture the flag, which could be played competitively via splitscreen. Battlefront is among the best shooters on PS2, but there’s one that’s just that little bit better.
1. TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
How could the best PS2 multiplayer game be anything other than TimeSplitters, honestly? Free Radical set their stall out from the get-go with the original TimeSplitters, leveraging their experience from working on GoldenEye and Perfect Dark to produce an amazing spiritual successor to those N64 classics. TimeSplitters 2 improved on things by adding more maps, modes and weapons, along with System Link on the PS2 which allowed for up to 16 players to play together in a LAN setting, which is great if you had four PS2, four multitaps and four copies of TimeSplitters 2. Oh, and 15 other friends as well. That’d probably be the most important part. However, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect added even more content to the multiplayer, including that even important online play, making it the best multiplayer game on PS2.
The game’s online mode allowed up to 8 players from across the world to do battle across Future Perfect’s 15 maps, with around 150 characters to choose from. Sure, most people ended up choosing one of the monkeys because they’re adorable and definitely not because they’re smaller than the rest of the cast, but there’s something for everyone here. Like other games on this list though, if you got sick of the same multiplayer maps over and over again, the MapMaker tools allowed players to create their own, whether it be recreations of old GoldenEye maps or some complex, labyrinthine series of tunnels that only you can navigate.
The replay value here is nigh on limitless, and the fact that we can’t have another TimeSplitters game in 2024 is awful. At least we’ll always have the memories.
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