3 Classic PlayStation 2 Games That Are Way Worse Than You Remember

Published Sep 21, 2026, 1:00 AM EDT

Austin King is the Senior Editor of Gaming at ScreenRant and has been with the site since 2020 with a focus on RPGs and tabletop games. He previously managed content for Geek to Geek Media, and has served as a writer for sites like Nintendad, Geek Fitness, and more.

In addition to his work at ScreenRant, he also hosts the Dragon Quest FM podcast and is the author of several books, including co-writing Nimbus (a #1 bestseller in 2013). His latest is the nonfiction The Dragon Quest Book, available now.

He's written about pop culture, video games, and genre studies over the course of his career. You can find him on BlueSky, X, and at Dragonquestaustin.com

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Sony's PlayStation 2 has offered up some truly great games since the early 2000s, including the iconic entries in long-running franchises like Final Fantasy, Grand Theft Auto, and Dragon Quest. The PS2 also introduced most of us to series like Guitar Hero, God of War, and Ratchet and Clank. There are still a few 10/10 masterpieces on PS2, but many games simply haven't aged as well as we would've liked.

These are by no means bad games. Rather, they're great games that just aren't quite as fantastic as we remember them. Maybe that's because of clunky controls or fixed camera angles, maybe because of difficulty curves or empty worlds. For whatever reason, these classic PlayStation 2 games just aren't as good as you probably remember.

3 Jak 2

The Jak and Daxter series is one of my all-time favorites from the PS2 era, and the leap from the first game to Jak 2 is truly impressive. This was a day-one purchase for me back in 2003, where I promptly got 100% completion and considered it one of the greatest PS2 games of all time. Jak 2 may not have aged poorly, but it definitely doesn't feel as good playing this game in 2026.

The main issue is that the problems that existed 20+ years ago are even more noticeable now. Driving between quest areas on hovercrafts is still pretty awesome, but it's also a chore — especially between markers that are far away. Many of the timed quests are especially horrendous now, and the controls just aren't as smooth as they once felt. Jak 2 is still a fun game, but it's not nearly as fun as you might remember.

2 Tony Hawk's Underground

Image via Activision

By the time Tony Hawk's Underground came around, it felt like a fresh take on the popular (but dwindling) numbered THPS series. This was also a day-one purchase for me, and I still consider it to be one of my favorite Tony Hawk video games. And while the game felt inventive after the numbered entries back then, it doesn't hold up quite as well today.

One of the biggest detractors is that the dialogue is pretty cringey. What sounded cool in 2003 sounds absolutely dorky now. Not always, but often enough that you'll definitely wince a bit during cutscenes. The gameplay itself is really clunky, especially skitching and hopping on and off your board. And while Tony Hawk's Underground may not be as good as you remember, the game's soundtrack is still pretty awesome. Plus, you can play as Iron Man at a KISS concert by the end.

1 Grand Theft Auto 3

The PS2 era was Grand Theft Auto's heyday, solidifying it as a premier series that laid the groundwork for the cultural phenomenon we all know today. Of all the GTA games on PlayStation 2, though, GTA 3 has aged the worst. It's still perfectly serviceable—don't get me wrong—but most of what made it so cool in 2001 feels outdated and awkward now.

First up, the game's open world of Liberty City was pretty amazing back then, but it feels so empty and repetitive now. Grand Theft Auto 3's story also feels pretty simple compared to what we're used to now, and Claude isn't exactly a compelling protagonist. There are some harsh realities of replaying GTA 3 today, and despite being an iconic PlayStation 2 game, it just doesn't hold up all that well.