It's no secret that the PlayStation 2 remains one of the most popular and beloved video game consoles of all time. Heck, it's a huge factor in why PlayStation is officially the most popular home console brand in history. With over 159 million units sold worldwide since launching back in 2000, the little black rectangle remains the most successful console ever released by far.
If you can grab your old PS2 from the loft/spare bedroom/shelf/wherever you've stored it for a weekend playing some of the console's very best games, that's a weekend well spent. But what if you sold your PS2 years ago like a damn fool? What if your mum gave it to your little cousin Brad because she assumed you didn't use it anymore, just because it was under your bed covered in dust? What then?
Most gamers would turn to emulation, although it's important to note that the emulation scene remains what can only be described as a legally gray area. At present the only morally and legally accepted way to use ROMs is by owning a physical copy of the game you're running on an emulator. Sharing those ROMs is considered a serious party foul.
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Anyway, now that I've said the thing I kind of had to say, allow me to direct your attention to PCSX2, a PS2 emulator that has made some seriously impressive strides of late. As reported by Kotaku, PCSX2 has now been updated to allow those using the emulator on a PC to swap textures in games.
Other emulators such as Dolphin (GameCube, Wii), have long supported this kind of feature, and it allows for some gorgeous updates. Games like The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess are given a whole new lease on life with upscaled visuals and polished textures. With the right mods installed, the GameCube version of Twilight Princess will look better on your PC than the Wii U HD remaster does on your TV.
At last, we're going to start seeing the same kind of results from PS2 classics, and modders are already showing off what's possible. Take a look at the video above in which someother1ne demonstrates how much better these older games can look with a just few tweaks. The most exciting part is that this update has only just come out, so we're going to start to see some seriously impressive visual upgrades and texture packs in the coming months.
Featured Image Credit: SonyTopics: GAMING, News, Playstation 2