We can admit that the PlayStation 2 has been a console that has marked an era. After the success of the PS1, this successor marked a before and after in the world of video games. And, although it had to face tough rivals, such as the first Xbox, Sony was able to create, and maintain, a legacy that, to this day, continues to be one of the best catalogs ever seen on a video console.
In its 18 (yes, 18) years that it has been on sale, and with support, this game console has brought us excellent titles and legendary sagas such as the following:
- burnout saga
- SoulCalibur Saga
- tekken saga
- Jack & Daxter Saga
- Ratchet and Clank series
- Final Fantasy X, X-2 and XII
- Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City and San Andreas.
- God of War 1 and 2
- Metal Gear Solid 2 and 3
- Shadow of the Colossus
- ICO
- Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec
- Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and 4
- resident evil 4
In addition to these authentic jewels, PlayStation 2 has also left us a legacy of the most diverse peripherals. For example, surely we remember the Sony webcam, the EyeToy, to play with our movements, the Sing Star microphones, or the instruments to assemble our rock band with Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
Today it is impossible to get a new PS2, since it has not been manufactured for a long time, the stores have sold it out, and the new units that are second hand are prohibitively expensive. The second hand is an option for those who have never owned a Sony console, although the truth is that many games are overpriced, and some titles are hard to find. For this reason, the only way out that we have left to be able to play these great titles again (and many others that we have left in the dark) is to resort to emulation. And this is where PCXS2 makes it (relatively) easy for us. The issue of getting the ROMs of the games we want to play is something else that has a very simple solution using Google.
PCSX2: the best PS2 emulator
PCSX2 began its development in 2002, although it wasn’t until 2007 when it began to be more or less playable. Nowadays, this emulator still has active support and its developers keep updating the emulator core and optimizing its operation for all the games that exist for this emulator.
This emulator is characterized by being programmed to work through plugins. In addition to the official plugins, any developer can create their own plugins to improve their functionality or simplify the options. In any case, the most complete and the ones that offer the best performance are the official ones, so we do not recommend changing them for others.
In order to work, this emulator must load the BIOS of the PS2, and after it load the game in question. Although for legal reasons this emulator does not include any BIOS (we must look for it and download it ourselves), it allows us to load the BIOS we want, being able to use different versions and BIOSes from different regions.
Configuring PCSX2 without headaches
Emulating a PS2 smoothly and without problems, the truth is that it is not easy at all. If we have a high-end computer we can do it, but if our computer isn’t exactly new, the truth is that we could have serious problems when running this emulator. Above all, if we do not know how to configure it well.
Within the PCSX2 options we will find an infinity of parameters that we can customize. With them we can adjust the operation of the CPU, the graphics, the sound, customize the plugins and a large number of other options. Very complicated options that, honestly, we should not modify.
Without going into the infinite configuration options that this emulator offers us, we can find a switch called “Preset”. Thanks to it we will be able to quickly switch between 6 different emulator configurations, giving more or less priority to fidelity over quality.
If we hover the mouse over the preset bar we can see a description of what each of these settings does.
In this way we can choose the level that best suits the gaming experience we want to have and adjust the emulator’s performance based on the hardware of our PC.
If we want to be able to manually modify the PCSX2 settings, then we must uncheck the “Preset” box to unlock all the options and configure the PS2 emulator to our liking.
configure controller
As we have seen, we do not have to configure much at the emulation level, but we would be interested in configuring the controller with which we are going to play. If we connect a PS4 controller to Windows, the controls will be set by default. But if we connect another controller, or we want to play with the keyboard, then we must go to the Settings> Controllers section, and from there customize it as we want.
As we can see, the same as in the rest of the emulator configuration, even to configure the controller we can find an infinite number of options and parameters.
We must bear in mind that in the market we have the possibility of acquiring a multitude of controls to play on PC, both wireless and wired. In addition, their format can be similar to that of some of the most popular consoles, or be of their own design. However, in all of them it is extremely important that we configure it properly in order to get the most out of the games that we load here. At first we use, as we have said before, the PS4 controller, the configuration will be carried out automatically.
On the contrary, if we use any other format of this hardware, we will have to take into account many other factors that are presented in the emulator interface for all this. Here it is worth noting that we will have a huge number of parameters and configurations to adapt the operation of this device to what we really need. We have three tabs at our fingertips, one of them for the general configuration of the controller, plus another two to customize the use of these hardware elements if we are going to connect two of them independently.
We recommend that you configure each of the available buttons and sticks and leave them that way by default to save time and effort in the future.
Download PCSX2
This emulator is totally free and open source for all users. We can find the latest available version of it in the .
The emulator is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS, so we can easily use it on any operating system we want. Also, being open source, if we want we can adapt it ourselves to other platforms.
Of course, in order to load the games we must have the BIOS in our possession. And since the distribution of these is not legal, we will have to look for them ourselves on our own.
What do I need to emulate the PS2
The emulator developers ensure that in order to use this emulator we must meet the following simple requirements:
- Processor with SSE2 support (Pentium 4, Athlon64).
- Graphics with Pixel Shader model 3.0 support and 2 GB of video memory.
- 2 GB of RAM.
- Windows XP SP3.
However, with this hardware the truth is that many games are not going to work well at all. Therefore, if we really want to make the most of this emulator, we have to meet, at least, the recommended requirements:
- Intel Core i3/5/7 4th Gen or AMD FX-8350 processor.
- Graphics with support for DirectX 11 and 2 GB of video memory.
- More than 2 GB of RAM.
- Windows 8.1 x64
Thus, if we meet the recommended requirements indicated by the developers, we can play at a speed of between 45 and 50 FPS, totally suitable for gaming.
The best and the worst
Of course, we cannot deny that PCSX2 is one of the emulators that has advanced the most to allow us to play the great Play 2 titles again. Many of them, unfortunately, forgotten by developers such as the Burnout saga, who have never arrived. to receive a remaster. It is rare to find a game that does not work with this program, so its compatibility It is one of its strongest points. As for the requirementsIn its day, the PS2 was a complicated console to emulate, but given the power of today’s computers we won’t have any problem playing its games on any relatively modern computer. We must also count as positive the great amount of options, functions and plugins What can we find in the program? Thanks to them we will be able to have fine control over the emulation, and adjust it according to our desires.
However, not all are virtues. This emulator also has some negative points that may put some users off. For example, we must take into account that, to use it, we need to have the BIOS copied, since it is not an emulator that works without it. In addition, it has many options, and many plugins, which, just as it can be an advantage, can also become a drawback.
In summary:
Pros:
- Great compatibility.
- Good performance without requiring top of the range hardware.
- Highly customizable through plugins.
Cons:
- It needs the BIOS to work.
- Somewhat complicated to configure.
supported games
As usual, emulators are not as perfect as a console, so loading certain games can give us a lot of headaches as they require special configurations or simply because they are not compatible.
In the case of PCSX2, the compatibility list is quite good, since it will allow us to play at 97.92% of the entire catalog without problems and serious errors that may affect the experience. However, out of the entire list of games, only 1.23% emulate perfectly. Among these perfect games we can highlight some known as:
- Alone in the Dark 4
- Call of Duty – Finest Hour
- Dead or Alive 2 – Hardcore
- devil may cry 2
- Dragon Ball Z – Budokai 1, 2 and 3
- Guitar Hero II
- half-life
- Resident Evil – Dead Aim
We also find 0.63% of the catalog that, although the game starts, due to serious errors we cannot play it completely. Among others, some such as DRIV3R stand out for not being compatible, in addition to all the games released that had online functionalities (luckily, not many). And others, like DJ Hero, or Final Fantasy XI, crash when trying to start a new game.
If we want to know the list of games compatible with PCSX2 today, we just have to take a look at the website of this emulator and look for the title we want to play. Of all the games that have been released for this console, there is none that cannot be emulated in a decent way.
Will he use a PS2 emulator?
The question about the legality of classic console emulators is always the order of the day. If we abide by the terms of use to the letter, any reproduction of unofficial media (i.e., a copy) on unofficial media (i.e., outside of a legal console) would be illegal. Now, between black and white there is a huge scale of gray.
Broadly speaking, we must know that as long as we are not profiting from it, we will not be committing any crime. That is to say, if in its day we buy the console,…
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