This is the highest honor that we bestow upon a PlayStation 2 game, and with it we acknowledge the one game that stands out from all the rest as being the hands-down greatest, most highly recommendable game of them all. The PlayStation 2 continued to enjoy its status as the world's most popular console this year. While some first-party titles didn't quite stack up, plenty of them did, and the PS2's library ends up stronger than ever now.

In considering this category, we weigh all of a game's various accomplishments and consider everything from its technical merits and its story to its lasting value and its impact on the industry, though of course the sheer level of fun and entertainment the game provides is what ends up being the most important consideration. As such, we narrowed down our Best PlayStation 2 Game contenders to the following:

Dark Cloud 2 Publisher: SCEA Developer: Level 5 CHECK LATEST PRICES >> "Dark Cloud 2 could very well be the PlayStation 2's Zelda, and it will appeal to fans of the action RPG genre for a long time to come." - Brad Shoemaker, from GameSpot's Full Review

Jak II Publisher: SCEA Developer: Naughty Dog CHECK LATEST PRICES >> "Everything in Jak II comes together to produce one of the best-looking, best-playing games on the PS2 so far." - Brad Shoemaker, from GameSpot's Full Review

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft CHECK LATEST PRICES >> "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time can be recommended wholeheartedly. It looks fantastic and features responsive controls, some original play mechanics, a good story, and plenty of thrilling adventure." - Greg Kasavin, from GameSpot's Full Review

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Publisher: SCEA Developer: Insomniac Games CHECK LATEST PRICES >> "Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando is a great game that will please both fans of the series and newcomers alike." - Jeff Gerstmann, from GameSpot's Full Review

SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs Publisher: SCEA Developer: Zipper Interactive CHECK LATEST PRICES >> "With its solid single-player mode and numerous online additions and improvements, SOCOM II easily replaces SOCOM as the console's best online action game." - Jeff Gerstmann, from GameSpot's Full Review