What is the best PS2 launch title?

[Warmsignal]

I thought this might be an interesting point of discussion that perhaps could become a running subject if anyone wants to make additional posts regarding other platforms. What is your pick for the best (or favorite) launch tittle on the PS2?

I didn't personally pay much attention to the launch of the PS2, as I was busy with my Dreamcast at the time. In fact, I didn't get my PS2 until around March of 2001, so many of these games were already becoming lost in the sauce by then. As such, my perspective will be somewhat skewed. I'd say there are a number of good/interesting launch games here. List below provided by IGN.

       
    Armored Core 2 (Agetec, Action)
    DOA2: Hardcore (Tecmo, Fighting)
    Dynasty Warriors 2 (Koei, Action)
    ESPN International Track and Field (Konami, Sports)
    ESPN X-Games Snowboarding (Konami, Sports)
    Eternal Ring (Agetec, RPG)
    Evergrace (Agetec, RPG)
    FantaVision (SCEI, Puzzle)
    Gun Griffon Blaze (Working Designs, Action)
    Kessen (EA, Adventure)
    Madden NFL 2001 (EA, Sports)
    Midnight Club (Rockstar, Racing)
    Moto GP (Namco, Racing)
    NHL 2001 (EA, Sports)
    Orphen (Activision, RPG)
    Q-Ball Billiards Master (Take-Two Interactive, Simulation)
    Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 (Midway, Sports)
    Ridge Racer V (Namco, Racing)
    Silent Scope (Konami, Shooter)
    Smuggler's Run (Rockstar, Racing-Adventure)
    SSX (EA, Sports)
    Street Fighter EX3 (Capcom, Fighting)
    Summoner (THQ, RPG)
    Swing Away (Paradise Golf in Japan) (EA, Sports)
    Tekken Tag Tournament (Namco, fighting)
    TimeSplitters (Eidos, First-Person Shooter)
    Unreal Tournament (Infogrames, First-Person Shooter)
    Wild Wild Racing (Interplay, Racing)
    X-Squad (EA, Action)

My pick would be SSX, as it's one of the best all-time snowboarding games. I was a big fan of Midnight Club back in the day, but as a whole OG Midnight Club just isn't as fleshed out as SSX. Definitely some other games on the list that I think are also solid launch titles. Some consider this a bit of a weak launch, not sure how as there's plenty of good stuff to play here.

[kamikazekeeg]

I didn't play right at launch, so I'm not sure any of them would be the "best" for me, but of that list, Armored Core 2, Smuggler's Run, and Timesplitters were games I dug.  I'd maybe say Armored Core 2, because that was a cool game.  Smuggler's Run is fun if just wanting like a free roam racer, and Timesplitters is good, but I think it was the sequel that was like THE Timesplitters to get into.

[bikingjahuty]

I got Tekken Tag and NHL 2001 with my PS2 back when the PS2 first came out. I liked NHL 2001, but Tekken stole the show for me. Played that game extensively extensively along with DOA Hardcore which I bought a few weeks after XMAS.

[tripredacus]

I don't think I've actually played any of those. I'm not even sure about the sports games which is a coinflip whether I may have played on at a friend's house. I had played NHL 2001 on PC so that doesn't count.

[brothertuc]

For me, it's a very close draw between Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 and TimeSplitters. I used countless hours on both of them.
When I got my PS2 on launch, I couldn't afford a game, so I was stuck with the demo disc for a month. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 and TimeSplitters were the first two games I bought for the system. I loved having Michael Jackson fight Bill Clinton

[leonefamily]

Definetly Midnight Club: Street Racing.

[bizzgeburt]

I own my fat PS2 since the release date of Final Fantasy X (actually bought the console just to play this game), so I kind of missed most of the launch titles. Nowadays as collector I own some of them:

    Dynasty Warriors 2 (Koei, Action)
    Kessen (EA, Adventure)
    Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 (Midway, Sports)
    Summoner (THQ, RPG)
    TimeSplitters (Eidos, First-Person Shooter)

I rank Kessen among the tops bc it's just a fun strategic game that brings a lot of history behind the japanese unification wars. For it's time, this game was awesome in presentation of huge armies battles. I just loved the sequences of charging cavalry being thinned out by Arkebuse-fire

I actually played the game Summoner just a few months ago. I knew it as a kind of name in RPG's so I gave it a shot. For being this old, naturally gameplay speed is a bit of annoying to say the least, but the all-in-all background story, plot and setting of the game are really worked out well and I kind of got sucked into it. So that's also a title I'd consider one of the better launch titles of PS2.

I really ain't into sports games but Ready 2 Rumble Boxing can be fun even for non-sport-related gamers.

[telekill]

My vote would be either Unreal Tournament (favorite FPS series of all time) or Midnight Club (loved the first two).

[undertakerprime]

I basically bought a PS2 for Tekken Tag Tournament. I spent almost as much time playing Tekken Bowl mode as the regular game, it was so flippin’ addictive. Also had Timesplitters, which was fun.
Surprisingly, never played any other games on that launch title list, other than Summoner which was a birthday present and I played it for like 5 minutes. Now, SSX Tricky, that game was amazing.

[98dgreen]

Timesplitters

[vivigamer]

Tekken Tag Torunament by a LARGE margin! It's mechanically Tekken 3 (My favourite entry!) but with top ter PS2 graphics! - Really, despite being a launch title the graphics for the character models were already comeptitive to games near the end of the systems life-cycle. The new Tag mechanic was engaging and eboydn that it still had Survival Mode - Which sounds obvious but Tekken 7 was so bare bones it barely had any offline content. It's the first game I played on PS2 around a friends houser and I remember how jaw dropping it was to this day!

Beyond it's launch I think it was 2001 when the system really shot for the stars and delievered hit after hit - Final Fantasy X, Metal Gear Solid 2, Grand Theft Auto 3, Silent Hill 2, ICO, Jax & Daxter, Max Payne, Onimusha, Shadow Hearts, Shadow of Memories, Xone of the Enders, The Bouncer, Gran Turismo 3, Devil May Cry and more! What a year!

[shadowzero]

I was there....three thousand years ago...at a Best Buy.  I loved (and actually thought about playing again) Kessen.  Summoner was okay, but my friends and I sung hundreds of hours into Tekken.

[wartoy]

I was addicted to kessen for a bit even though it's not a great game it was decent. I guess that one

[jipsy]

I think pretty much all of the Tony Hawk games on PS2 had pretty amazing launches