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Best Arcade games on PlayStation 2

The 32 best Arcade games on PlayStation 2, ranked from 9,078 critic and player ratings.

The best Arcade game on PlayStation 2 right now is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, with a critic score of 94/100 — updated November 2026.

How this ranking is built
  • Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
  • A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
  • Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
  • Release window covered: 1970 to 2026.
  • 32 games are listed on this page, carrying 9,078 ratings between them.
  • Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 13 November 2026.

Top 32

Played them? Give your tier with the + next to each game. No account needed to try — create one to keep your tiers.

01 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City A Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 2002 · 3,191 ratings · 4 Tier votes · finished by 37% · 17 h to beat In the year 1986, Tommy Vercetti is heavily indebted to his mafia superiors after a drug deal gone awry, but his dreams of taking over Vice City (based on Miami) push him down a different path. Featuring a wide variety of vehicles and weapons, radio stations playing hit songs from the era and an intense atmosphere, GTA: Vice City is an open-world sandbox satire of '80's Miami. 94 /100
02 Burnout 3: Takedown S Burnout 3: Takedown 2004 · 225 ratings · 1 Tier vote Take anarchic driving destruction on a world tour and experience the pure arcade adrenaline-rush of Burnout 3: Takedown. Combine aggressive high-speed racing with the ultimate in slamming crash action to boost your way to the top. Takedown the competition across the USA, Europe and the Far East in over 60 Race events, or crush all comers with Burnout 3: Takedown's junction-jamming Crash event pileups. Push it to the next level with five competitive multiplayer models, then move the mayhem online to compete against up to seven players. Reap the rewards of dangerous driving, earning Crash $ and Burnout Points to unlock over 60 hot vehicles, coveted skill trophies, front-page headlines and much more. (Source PS2 Game Manual) 93 /100
03 Rock Band 2 Rock Band 2 2008 · 113 ratings Rock Band 2 is the sequel to the 2007 musical simulation game Rock Band and offers similar gameplay. Directly competing with Guitar Hero: World Tour, the game allows different people to play together as in a band, with the same peripherals as the first game: lead guitar, bass guitar, microphone and a drum set. The new drum and guitar controllers for this version, bundled or sold separately, have been revised and older controllers are also supported. The guitar controller, modelled after the Fender Stratocaster, has five additional fret buttons near the neck, for fast fingertapping sessions. There is also an effect switch to toggle between five different effects. Players use the instruments to match notes on the screen, divided in different portions for different instruments, along with the lyrics for the singer who need to match the pitch. 93 /100
04 Guitar Hero II Guitar Hero II 2006 · 176 ratings Unleash your inner rock star! Unlock new songs and venues to become the ultimate rock star in Career mode, jump right in and play any song you've unlocked in Quickplay, or play with or against friends in Multiplayer, all right from your living room! 92 /100
05 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 2002 · 179 ratings Drop into the ultimate challenge. In the next chapter in the Tony Hawk series, pros challenge you to make your mark in huge free-roaming levels, taking on 190 progressively harder goals with no time limits to hold you back. Decide when you're ready to take on your Pro Challenge and move into the pro ranks, where it's a whole new game. Build your skills, perform all-new tricks, play up to eight players online, and show that you've got what it takes to go Pro. 91 /100
06 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 2001 · 279 ratings Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is a 2001 skateboarding video game and the third installment in the Tony Hawk's series. Skate as the legendary Tony Hawk or choose from a dream team of 12 top pro skaters, including old favorites like Lasek, Thomas, Muska, and Steamer, as well as new talent like Gilfberg, Caballero, Koston, and Mullen. Travel from L.A. to Tokyo, Suburbia to Skater's Island performing challenges and meeting goals with new moves that include the Revert, which allows you to link vert tricks, and flatland tricks such as Caspers, the Primo, and Handstand Manual. 88 /100
07 Katamari Damacy Katamari Damacy 2004 · 138 ratings The King of All Cosmos accidentally destroyed the stars and—having recovered—wants the prince to rebuild them. Unfortunately the prince stands a little less than half a foot tall, so recreating the stars will require some effort. Enter the Katamari, a sphere the prince can push around our world to “roll up” items increasing the Katamari’s size until it’s suitable for the King. Taking place in stylized versions of Japanese houses, cities, and environs, the prince pushes the Katamari around collecting items which adhere to it. At first, the prince can only pick up smaller items, but as the Katamari grows, the more it can collect. Push pins and paper clips cling to the Katamari increasing its size so it can roll over obstacles and pick up bigger items. Over many levels, the Katamari can eventually pick up people, cars, and other bigger items. Players steer the Katamari from a third-person perspective using the analog sticks on the PS2. A tutorial stage takes the player through the controls and sets up the story as well as introducing a side story about a Japanese girl who can feel the cosmos. Wanting to challenge the prince, the King sets requirements on the Katamari’s size and sets time limits on the level. Bonus missions restore constellations and have their own restrictions. The world of Katamari Damacy is brought to life with off-beat animation and a catchy soundtrack. Players can find presents hidden in the levels that contain accessories for the prince. Two players can also battle head-to-head in a Katamari competition. 85 /100
08 Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock S Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock 2007 · 394 ratings · 1 Tier vote Rock out to the third entry in in Red Octane's music series for guitar gods! Songs for Guitar Hero III include Barracuda by Heart, Sabotage by Beastie Boys, Rock And Roll All Nite by Kiss, and much more! In addition, players can experience an incredible number of added features and explosive content including a new multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a bevy of exclusive unlockable content and authentic rock venues. 84 /100
09 FlatOut 2 FlatOut 2 2006 · 311 ratings · finished by 23% · 12 h to beat Experience the drive of your life as you throw yourself around on and off the track causing fences to shatter, tyre walls explode, water tanks and barrels fly across the track into other cars. And if anyone, including you, gets caught up in a big smash sit back and watch as the driver gets catapulted through the windscreen in spectacular effect. With over 5000 destructible objects on each track and 40 deformable pieces on every car sparks are guaranteed to fly increasing the mayhem with every lap! Featuring an enhanced version of the original's lauded physics engine and even faster driving track designs, FlatOut 2 also boasts a plethora of improvements, enhancements and additions to make this the definitive FlatOut experience. Twice as many vehicles, a more sophisticated career mode, additional race environments, double the number of tracks; twice as many mini-games along with many multiplayer modes (via LAN only) are just some of the exhaustive features that are included in FlatOut 2. - 34 vehicles to wreck, 12 rag-doll mini games, 60 track combinations, and thousands and thousands of destructible objects. - Enjoy the mayhem while listening to a slamming soundtrack from artists including Rob Zombie, Papa Roach, Fall Out Boy, Nickelback, Wolfmother and more! - Race hard and collide with up to 6 of your friends online in the souped up car of your dreams. 82 /100
10 Guitar Hero World Tour Guitar Hero World Tour 2008 · 130 ratings Guitar Hero: World Tour is the fourth main game in the series and brings a major change to the concept. Following the release of Rock Band that built on the Guitar Hero concept but added additional instruments, World Tour introduces these as well to allow players to play together simultaneously as a real band. Next to the guitar that was the main peripheral for the previous titles, the bundled edition of the game adds a microphone for the vocal parts and drums for percussion. Just like the previous game, the guitar tracks are split up for the lead and bass. The lyrics and the vocal pitch is shown near the top of the screen, while the bottom part is split up for bass guitar, lead guitar and drums, each with a separate set of notes that need to be hit to correctly play the part. 82 /100
11 Crazy Taxi (1999) Crazy Taxi (1999) 1999 · 244 ratings · finished by 12% 82 /100
12 Tony Hawk's Underground 2 Tony Hawk's Underground 2 2004 · 174 ratings 82 /100
13 Rock Band Rock Band 2007 · 115 ratings 82 /100
14 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 2002 · 284 ratings 81 /100
15 Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes 2000 · 133 ratings 80 /100
16 Lego Star Wars: The Video Game Lego Star Wars: The Video Game 2005 · 259 ratings 80 /100
17 Need for Speed: Underground 2 Need for Speed: Underground 2 2004 · 890 ratings · finished by 75% 78 /100
18 Spider-Man: The Movie Spider-Man: The Movie 2002 · 169 ratings 77 /100
19 Tony Hawk's American Wasteland Tony Hawk's American Wasteland 2005 · 120 ratings 75 /100
20 Mortal Kombat: Armageddon Mortal Kombat: Armageddon 2006 · 128 ratings 73 /100
21 Oni Oni 2001 · 90 ratings 73 /100
22 FlatOut FlatOut 2004 · 198 ratings · finished by 17% 72 /100
23 WWE SmackDown vs RAW 2011 WWE SmackDown vs RAW 2011 2010 · 82 ratings 70 /100
24 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 2009 · 93 ratings 68 /100
25 Sonic Riders Sonic Riders 2006 · 91 ratings 66 /100
26 Madagascar B Madagascar 2005 · 83 ratings · 1 Tier vote 66 /100
27 Metal Slug 4 Metal Slug 4 2002 · 106 ratings 64 /100
28 Crash of the Titans A Crash of the Titans 2007 · 118 ratings · 1 Tier vote 63 /100
29 Sonic Heroes Sonic Heroes 2003 · 233 ratings 62 /100
30 Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters 2007 · 90 ratings 60 /100
31 Crash Tag Team Racing Crash Tag Team Racing 2005 · 86 ratings 60 /100
32 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005 · 156 ratings 57 /100
Browse all the best PlayStation 2 games

Other platforms

Best Arcade games on PCBest Arcade games on PlayStation 3Best Arcade games on Xbox 360Best Arcade games on MacBest Arcade games on PlayStation 4Best Arcade games on Xbox OneBest Arcade games on iOSBest Arcade games on Nintendo SwitchBest Arcade games on AndroidBest Arcade games on LinuxBest Arcade games on ArcadeBest Arcade games on Wii

Same platform, other genres

Best Action games on PlayStation 2Best Adventure games on PlayStation 2Best Fighting games on PlayStation 2Best Music games on PlayStation 2Best Platformer games on PlayStation 2Best Racing games on PlayStation 2Best RPG games on PlayStation 2Best Shooter games on PlayStation 2Best Sports games on PlayStation 2

Nearby rankings

Best Arcade games of 2022Best Arcade games of 2020Best Arcade games of 2019Best Arcade games of 2018

Catalog statistics

Most abandoned gamesMost completed games

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Arcade game on PlayStation 2?

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City currently tops the ranking with a score of 94/100 across 3,191 ratings. Ranking updated November 2026.

How is this ranking built?

Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.