Summary
- PS2's power allowed developers to create bigger, more detailed, and stunningly beautiful game environments.
- The Big Shell and Mallet Island are examples of some of the PS2's best-looking and most iconic in-game locations.
- Zanarkand and Vice City showcase visually striking and memorable landscapes that captivate players.
Though the original PlayStation opened the eyes of players to the promise of 3D games, it was only with the graphical leap granted by the PlayStation 2's superior hardware that players began grasping the kind of beauty that had been unleashed for everyone to see.
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With the PS2, developers earned the power to make everything bigger, more detailed, and shinier. None of that would've worked, however, had they not put all the artistry they had to work, but luckily for everyone who cares about games, they sure did. It's time to look at the very best-looking areas from the good old times of the PlayStation 2.
8 Big Shell (Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty)
Not Your Average Shadow Moses
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- Released
- November 13, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- A classic Kojima gamble.
The original Metal Gear Solid puts Solid Snake in one of the most inhospitable environments known to man. Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, a game whose plot greatly parallels that of the first game, initially puts players in a tanker in the midst of heavy rain.
It seems like Snake just can't get a mission on a good day, but then the game pulls a full 180º and brings players to The Big Shell, a beautifully sun-lit complex in the middle of the ocean. The colors are warm, and players can almost smell the sea breeze, but none of that detracts from any of the dangers in play. The Big Shell is one of the most interestingly mischievous places in gaming — and the second most iconic location in the whole series.
7 Rabanastre (Final Fantasy 12)
The Grandest City (Players Get to Explore) in Final Fantasy
Final Fantasy 12
- Released
- October 31, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- Now that's how you flex your game's scope.
There are many big cities players get to experience in the Final Fantasy series, but none as well as they get to experience Rabanastre in Final Fantasy XII. This is the first time players get to free roam in a city — and in the true sense of the word, meaning they can use the main character's 3D view to look at whatever detail they might want to focus on. And details are aplenty.
Rabanastre doesn't just look like a real city in a fantasy city; it feels like a real city, with a huge number of NPCs going about their business and permeating the place with life. Rabanastre is an excellent mixture of graphical and artistic prowess.
6 Mallet Island (Devil May Cry)
A Fantasy Villain's Dream Lair
Devil May Cry
- Released
- October 16, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Capcom Production Studio 4
- Publisher(s)
- Capcom
- Genre(s)
- Hack and Slash
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- Too nice for an evil monster.
Most of Mallet Island, the place where the entirety of Devil May Cry takes place, is described as being based on Gothic architecture, with Gaudi's Sagrada Familia seeming like an obvious inspiration. Mallet Island is one of the most beautiful villain lairs in gaming — possibly even too pretty for something as evil as Mundus to live in.
Both its interior and exterior areas are incredibly breathtaking and still manage to feel original, despite their popular inspirations. Though arguably a superior game in most other senses, Devil May Cry 2 fails to deliver any area half as memorable as the lair of Mundus from the original game.
5 Zanarkand (Final Fantasy 10)
Past and Present
Final Fantasy 10
- Released
- December 17, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Square Enix
- Publisher(s)
- Square Enix
- Genre(s)
- JRPG
- Platform(s)
- PS2
- OpenCritic Rating
- Strong
- Beautiful even after its destruction.
Zanarkand is the most important place in Final Fantasy X, but ironically, a place players only visit seconds after its obliteration, and then long after it. Still, both through the game's stellar first FMV cutscene and the little gameplay players get to experience in it right at the start of the game, it leaves quite a mark.
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Then, players visit it again later in the game, when it has been long enough that they'll feel a sense of nostalgia for a home they never really had in the first place. That's only possible because the original version of Zanarkand was so beautiful that it's just crushing to see it lying in ruins, with players realizing they'll never get to experience it again as it was meant to — and yet, even those ruins are quite a sight.
4 Bolivia (Tomb Raider Legend)
A Beautiful Return to Form
Tomb Raider: Legend
- Released
- April 11, 2006
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Crystal Dynamics, Nixxes, Buzz Monkey Software
- Publisher(s)
- Eidos Interactive
- Genre(s)
- Action-Adventure
- Platform(s)
- Android, iOS, Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, GameCube, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP, Xbox (Original), Xbox 360
- Open world tomb raiding never looked this good.
The previous game in the series, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, sadly failed in creating both compelling gameplay and great-looking new environments — a disappointment, especially for a game taking place in Paris, of all places.
Still, Legend came back with a vengeance and put all cards on the table in Bolivia, the game's first level, which shows a myriad of both beautifully realized exterior and interior areas that immediately convinced players that the series was in good hands. Bolivia remains very pleasing to the eyes, whether in its graphically enhanced Xbox 360 version or the "regular" PS2 one.
3 Vice City (Grand Theft Auto: Vice City)
It's All About Those Neon Lights
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- Released
- October 29, 2002
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
- Platform(s)
- PS2, Xbox (Original), PC, iOS, Android, macOS
- GTA 6 had better be able to recapture this.
On a technical level, there's not all that much separating the visuals of Grand Theft Auto 3 — an already fantastic-looking game for its time — from those of Vice City. The huge difference here is the beautiful glowing neon lights that permeate the entire city and make this one of the most visually unique and striking games of all time.
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Picking one specific location would be unfair, because these lights are everywhere, at least during the night, and they make everything so gorgeous. The game is no slouch during the day, either, as the beaches and the beachside feel make players feel like they're on permanent vacation.
2 Shrine of Worship (Shadow of the Colossus)
One of the Best Headquarters in Gaming
Shadow of the Colossus
- Released
- October 18, 2005
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Team Ico
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 2
- Cozy even without any doors.
The protagonist's base of operations is an important and often underestimated part of video games. Before there was the legendary Firelink Shrine from Dark Souls, the Normandy from Mass Effect, or Destiny 2's Last City, there was the Shrine of Worship, aka the huge tower that serves as the home for Wander in Shadow Of The Colossus.
While the game is full of incredibly beautiful areas, the Shrine is beautiful from the outside and is one of the few structures in the game that players actually get to visit on the inside. This amazing structure is made all the more beautiful because of all the then-revolutionary rays of light coming in.
1 Pretty Much Anywhere (ICO)
Absolute Visual Feast
Ico
- Released
- September 24, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- JapanStudio, Team Ico
- Publisher(s)
- Sony Computer Entertainment
- Platform(s)
- PS2
- Will always hold up.
Many players in the United States who judge a game by its cover will sadly pass on one of the best-looking games in history, as an ironic twist of fate caused it to have one of the worst-looking pieces of official game art ever made right there on the box that's supposed to entice players into buying the game.
Though not the most technically advanced title at first glance, ICO, a game that came out relatively early in the PlayStation 2's lifecycle, remains one of the best to look at. There's not a single area in this game that couldn't work as a beautiful painting, courtesy of Team ICO's unwavering commitment to just making the most evocative imagery in gaming.
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