A few patient games I believe are some of the greatest of all time, that I also very rarely see mentioned on this subreddit, if mentioned at all.

Here are NINE GAMES that I love dearly. I will provide a short write-up for each, and hope that you can find at least one here to give a proper try. Six of them are games I've experience on a Playstation 2, so if you're willing to emulate then it shouldn't be too hard to get them working on your system. Here we go:

Urban Reign:

If you've played Sifu, God Hand, or the Batman Arkham series, and love the feeling of that fast pace melee combat with a good mix of crowd control, I cannot recommend Urban Reign enough. Urban Reign might just be the greatest example of a fighting game designed entirely around single player content. You can mash the dodge and punch buttons and mostly power your way through the experience, but if you want combo depth and a lengthy pursuit of getting perfect scores for every mission, Urban Reign has it all. I've played many games with dodges and parry timings, and I don't think any of them have reached the dopamine levels I get from Urban Reign when I deflect an enemy punch into another enemy, causing both to enter hitstun, right before I combo them into a wall for half their healthbar. Its fast, its unforgiving, and once it clicks its one of the best melee focused games of all time. I also want to mention that I've beaten this game all the way to the credits at least fifteen times in the last four months. Its pretty short, but very replayable.

Excitebots Trick Racing:

I debated putting this one on here since the only way to play it is with a proper Wii remote setup, but if you can get your hands on this one, you will experience the best take on the item focused arcade racer formula. Items, fast paced boosting, big jumps and high speed. This game feels like you took the speed and chaos of Wipeout and smashed it together with the items and goofiness of Mario Kart. Out of all the games on this list, this is the one I recommend you lookup gameplay for on youtube the most. No words can properly describe the chaotic fun on offer here, and the heavy use of the wii remote gimmicks has a physicality that is fun in ways I would have never expected.

Blade of Agony:

Blade of Agony is somewhat painful to bring up because it should have been a huge deal at the release of its third and final episode, but was instead covered with controversy, and has since been left to obscurity. I won't talk about the strange things that happened with this game back then, I just want to say its a great first person shooter and the best Wolfenstien game, and my favorite for when it comes to killing Nazis. Thats right, Blade of Agony is a fan made Wolfenstien game running on the Doom 2 engine, and damn is it impressive. They push this ancient engine to its absolute limit here, resulting in a great looking retro shooter with shockingly satisfying gunplay. Lots of content on offer here and more and more variety on offer as you get deeper into the episodes. This one deserved better...

Fire Emblem Vision Quest:

You might be wondering how a franchise as big as Fire Emblem has an obscure entry, but thats because, like Blade of Agony, Vision Quest is a fanmade game. But don't run away at the thought of that if you are considering it, Vision Quest is the best Fire Emblem game in my eyes, better than any official entry ever made. Strategic offerings that really force you to consider unit positioning, a serious but entertaining story, and a cast strong in diverse gameplay offerings. Vision Quest is one of the few FE games that gives you a huge cast right out the gate, letting every playthrough differ depending on which units you give XP priority. A ton of fun, especially if you give it the XCOM treatment and let defeated units stay dead instead of reloading a save.

Sky Odyssey:

I bring this game up as often as I can, Sky Odyssey is THE underrated PS2 game of underrated PS2 games. Imagine you're Indiana Jones, then imagine you do all of your adventuring in a plane. Thats Sky Odyssey, and if that doesn't sound like a total blast to you then I'm not sure I can say anything else to convince you to play it. Flying through collapsing caves, running out of fuel in the middle of a snowstorm while flying over deadly mountains, evil forest witches cursing you midflight. Thats what this game is, and I LOVE it. Sky Odyssey is pure, Sky Odyssey is fun, Sky Odyssey is the type of game we will probably never see made again. Play it.

Tokyo Extreme Racer Drift 2:

Gran Turismo 3 and 4 are the two racing games on the PS2 that are often praised as the best sim racing games every made, and I truly believe that if TERD2 (lol) had better AI then it would topple those two and be considered the king. You're an underdog with no money living in Japan and you've got to become the best illegal racing king in the country. This game is the best simulation of that Japanese night racing experience, the best Initial D game, and just a fun time all around. Lots of depth to the handling model, the car tuning, and ability to bounce between day and night life in Japan. Like I said, the AI is sorta bad and does this game and injustice, but on the tracks they do manage to put up a good, clean fight, you can get some of the best races in all of gaming.

Splashdown:

I've always been surprised by the amount of solid jetski games there have been produced over the last 3 decades, but Splashdown seems to be left behind in the discourse surrounding this genre. Even when brought up, it is often the more arcade focused sequel, Rides Gone Wild, that people tend to talk about. I heavily prefer the original, and think people who like non-conventional handling models for racing games are obligated to give it a try. The water is both an enemy and a friend, tossing you up and out of control but also allowing you to dive under and get huge air around obstacles. Theres very few racing games I'd compare to Splashdown, but the gimmick aside, it is still a very solid racing game. Like Urban Reign, you could probably beat this in an evening if you really dumped time into it.

Hulk Ultimate Destruction:

This is the game on this list that I think most people will have already heard of, mostly due to the fact that is hands down the best Hulk game ever made. I played through it for the first time recently and I did not expect the combo depth, the chaos, the challenge, the everything...its just a damn good game. I'd make an argument that its in the top 3 superhero games of all time. Do you like the Prototype series? Or the power fantasy of Saints Row 4? Then this is the game for you. High speed chaos where you are a wrecking ball and everything else you come across is a brick wall.

Downhill Domination:

I'll keep it simple, Downhill Domination is just mountain bike SSX Tricky/3 with weaker style and tricks, but much better combat and track design. In fact, I think the track design here is so good that it might just be the most interesting track design I've played out of any racing game, and I'm not joking. So much verticality, alternate routes, hazards to watch out for. I am obsessed with the tracks in this game, there truly isn't a single bad one. This is a great racing game that doesn't play like many others, if you like high speed racing games with danger on nearly every turn, this is a solid recommendation.

THATS ALL FOLKS. I hope you find something. Let me know if you do touch any of these games and end up loving them. Thanks for reading.