A trip back to 2002 in gaming history (Part 2)

Remembered the moustachy guy from "Gangs of New York"? If you do - it is probably from 2002, or not... That's actually not too important for what I'm going to talk about now. Games from 2002 - if you haven't seen the first part, feel free to do so, as there is a good few games that you just have to play before you die (sidenote, your backdoor is unlocked). I am pretty sure that there will be a few must-haves in this list too!

Before I carry on with this I'd like to note that it'd be really cool if you reading this would share your thoughts and opinions on the games I highlighted below as I (and probably most other people) am not well familiar with all of them and might have totally missed the awesomeness of some or even generally missed to mention some cool games released that year.

Some other years I already covered, be sure to open them up in a new tab while reading this one.

Having that out of the way, let's open the vault!

Tekken 4

Tekken 4 was first released as an arcade game in 2001 and got to PS2 only in 2002. Tekken 4 introduced some significant gameplay changes allowing players to interact with the environment using walls and other obstacles to deal extra damage. The game also received some graphics advancements.
Introducing new environmental interaction caused the game's pace to slow down, when I first gave it a go it seemed to be about as intense as sleepy marshmallow fighting, but when you get used to it it's all good. What do you think about Tekken 4 opposed to the previous parts?

Medieval: Total War

The second game in the series, the game was highly praised for its realistic real-time battles and historical accuracy. Upon release the game took the top position of the British video game chart. I really only played the "Shogun" one, have you had a go with this one?

The Thing

A third person shooter horror game based on John Carpenter's 1982 movie of the same name. The game is actually set as a sequel to the movie. It received generally positive reviews and was a commercial success - selling over a million copies worldwide. A sequel to the game was in development however was never actually released.

Icewind Dale II

Same as its 2000 predecessor the game uses a real-time adaptation of the D&D rule set. The game's engine was modified to support the "Third Edition" of D&D rules. Icewind Dale in general is an awesome series and somehow reminds me of the recent Pillars of Eternity, don't you think so?

Sudden Strike 2

A real time tactics game released by a Russian Studio "Fireglow".

Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven

Oh, I bet everyone knows Mafia - the game was in development since way back in 1998 and was originally intended a something similar to "Driver". The game was originally supposed to be out in 2000 but the studio (Illusion Softworks) decided to replace the game's engine for a more technically advanced one, causing the release to be delayed by 2 years - still totally worth it!
Probably anyone who played it as a kid or a teen can relate to the criminally difficult racing mission. There was this one kid in my class who was a pro at this race and went around our houses to complete the racing thing.

Battlefield 1942

I don't really have to go into detail of what BF is all about, but it's worth to mention that the game was developed by a team of just 14 people and was inspired by a less-known game called "Codename Eagle".

Sly Raccoon

A platform game with stealth elements created by Sucker Punch Productions for the PS2.
The game was quite successful with 3 sequels following. I personally have never even seen it, can you share your thoughts about it if you used to play it?

Medal of Honor: Frontline

(Almost read it "Fortnite" haven't you?)
Second game in the MOH series, takes place during the same time as the first game. The game was a big commercial success selling over 2.5 million copies and is ranked as the eight highest selling PS2 game between 2001 and 2006.

Unreal Championship

This is essentially the Xbox version of the 2003 "Unreal Tournament".

Socom: U.S. Navy Seals

A third-person shooter developed by Zipper Interactive - it is one of the earlier titles for the PS2's online service. This was the first PS2 game to use a headset in a multiplayer mode.

Iron Storm

An FPS developed by 4X Studios. An updated version was released slightly later for and was called "World War Zero". So many WWII games released in 2002, easy to get lost in all of them, eh?

Burnout 2: Point of Impact

The second entry in the Burnout series and the last one to be published by Acclaim.
To promote the game, Acclaim offered to reimburse any driver in the United Kingdom who received a speeding ticket. Following a negative reaction to this from the UK government, the plan was canceled.
Me and my friends had loads of fun playing it back in the day, and a quote from Gamespy would summarize it perfectly - "If "Gran Turismo 3" is Dom Perignon, Burnout 2 is Jack Daniels. While Dom may be a great guy, personally I'd rather hang out with Jack." Do you find that to be accurate?

Unreal Tournament 2003

A sequel to Unreal Tournament (UT99) - designed as a mainly multiplayer game.
The game set a record of downloads when the demo was released - 1.2 million!
The game's engine was after widely used for games such as Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell and many more.

NHL 2003

Are you an ice hockey person?

No One Lives Forever 2: A Spy in H.A.R.M.'s Way

A sequel to the 2000 The Operative: No One Lives Forever. A spin-off prequel to the game was released in 2003 called Contract J.A.C.K.

Hitman 2: Silent Assassin

A huge commercial success - selling over 3.7 million copies by mid 2009 and to date is the best-selling Hitman game.
This is also the point where I got into the Hitman story (never played the first one) and was completely blown away by it, although "Blood Money" is still my favorite one. Should I give the first one a try? And what's your favorite "Bald Assassin" installment?

Timesplitters 2

An FPS developed by “Free Radical Design” and a sequel to the original 2000 Timesplitters. The game was fairly successful and gave birth to a third part in 2005 - TimeSplitters: Future Perfect.
The next installment was planned for 2007 however that never happened, ever since then there have been various rumors of Timesplitter 4 being under development, however those were never actually confirmed.

Stronghold Crusader

If you read my 2001 post - then you probably know of my affection for the Stronghold game.
The game perfectly utilizes everything that the first installment has done so well, the general concept is the same apart from the fact that the game is now set in the Middle East.
You just have to love Stronghold, don't you?

Bloodrayne

A hack and slash kind of action game - the first one to start the series. Developed by Terminal Reality under a strong influence from his older 1999 game "Nocturne".

Red Faction II

Commercially less successful than the original game, however still a very nice one to play from what I can tell. The game is often criticized for having a short campaing and not fully revealing the potential of their Geo-Mod concept. Also Jason Statham took part in voicing the game. I kind of think both Red Factions were far more than just "Ok", what do you think?

Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2

I'm not a very big NFS fan, so if there is an NFS lover out there - please let us know what you think about this game!

Europa 1400: The Guild

A simulation game where you have to guide a dynasty to wealth and power having multiple routs to take – that may be business, crime, politics etc. "The Electric Playground" nominated the game to be the "2002 Best Simulation for PC", however the title was eventually taken by MechWarrior 4: Mercenaries. By the looks of it an awesome game, I've never played it, but I will sure give it a go now! Will you?

FIFA 2003

Another year - another FIFA.

That is about all I have for the second part of 2002 and as we creep into the more recent years - more and more games are being released, making 2002 in the first year that will also have a third part. As usual it would be amazing to read what you have to say about these titles, what would you recommend to try and most of all what will you want to try yourself! And also I would hugely appreciate it if you could let me know what layout you like more, the old one with bigger pictures or the one in this post with smaller pictures on the side?

Thanks for your time, peace out!