10 Weirdest North American PS2 Games Ever Released

For as long as they’ve existed, video games have been a dynamic medium, and some developers take full advantage of this to make some strange games that sometimes blur the lines on what a game is. Some of the most prolific entries in this canon of strangeness are Japanese, like Seaman, LSD: Dream Emulator, or Mister Mosquito. However, North American companies have created their fair share of oddities.

The PlayStation 2 was a console full of such oddities, games that not only made players scratch their heads but rethink what’s possible in terms of a game’s gameplay, story, and art direction. This strange collection of games may be aging quickly, but their influence on gamers and developers alike continues to this day, redefining what a “normal” video game looks like.

10 50 Cent: Bulletproof

This game and its sequel 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand are pretty straightforward in terms of their story and gameplay. The strangeness comes from the fact that 50 Cent: Bulletproof is an action game starring rapper 50 Cent voicing a version of himself.

While many musical artists make the leap into the world of gaming through rhythm games, 50 Cent’s approach was to put himself at the center of an action-packed revenge thriller. This unorthodox move created a game that, if nothing else, is memorable for its unexpected branding and an all-star cast featuring 50 Cent himself alongside DJ Whoo Kid, Dr. Dre, and Eminem.

9 Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure

Graffiti is a common element in a number of games and sometimes even has an impact on gameplay. However, in Marc Ecko’s Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure, the central focus is creating street art as a rebellion against the controlling government of a dystopian society.

Named for fashion designer Marc Ecko, the game’s structure is actually fairly typical, featuring a linear story with room for player exploration. What makes Getting Up strange is the fact that it highlights graffiti art and tagging not only as an aesthetic but as a central plot and gameplay element.

8 Stuntman: Ignition

The Stuntman games were notable for the fact that they were focused on driving, but not on racing. Unlike many other games that put players behind the wheel of a car, Stuntman: Ignition was all about pulling off a prescribed set of stunts within a time limit in order to shoot a movie scene.

This look behind the scenes of the movie industry is fascinating in itself, putting gamers in an underrepresented role and asking them to approach stunt gameplay in a new and exciting way. Stuntman: Ignition is almost like a rhythm game in this way, requiring a mastery of movement and timing in players’ driving.

7 Bully

Rockstar is a studio primarily known for the Grand Theft Auto series, but another one of their games has fans clamoring for a sequel all these years later. Bully is an unusual take on open-world gaming, putting players in the shoes of a high schooler named Jimmy navigating life at a new school.

Players gain and lose favor with different cliques, go to class, and get into fights, among other teenaged hijinks. What makes Bully stand out is the familiar open-world model placed in an unexpected setting: school. Sadly, while the game did get a rerelease in 2008, fans still haven’t gotten the sequel they’ve hoped for.

6 Playboy: The Mansion

For any gamers who ever wondered what it was like to visit the Playboy Mansion, Cyberlore Studios has the game for them. Playboy: The Mansion puts players in control of Hugh Hefner himself as he builds the Playboy media empire from the ground up.

Players will plan magazine issues, perform photoshoots, and have parties at the titular mansion throughout this bizarre experience. As expected, the game is very adult in nature, and it’s this pure brazenness of its lurid content that raises eyebrows, especially in hindsight.

5 The Simpsons Game

The PlayStation 2 was home to a number of games based on the adventures of Springfield’s denizens, including Road Rage and Hit & Run. The Simpsons Game, however, has to be the strangest by far of the bunch.

Taking on The Simpsons‘ wacky sense of humor and years and years of inside jokes and pop culture references, the platforming/action game has players controlling all five members of the famous family through many unique levels. From a world of chocolate to a violent Itchy and Scratchy video game to Matt Groening’s house, players will go places and do things they would’ve never guessed, all culminating with a Dance Dance Revolution-esque battle against God.

4 Whiplash

This lesser-known title from Crystal Dynamics is simply bizarre from top to bottom. It follows a weasel and rabbit who have been chained together attempting to escape the animal testing facility at which they are both being kept. Despite this dark premise, the game has a cartoony look and whimsical platforming gameplay.

Players control the weasel (named Redmond) and use the indestructible rabbit he’s chained to (Spanx) primarily in combat or puzzle-solving. The duo must make it out of the lab, and players have to defeat humans, free other animals, and generally cause destruction to do so and to level up their wayward heroes.

3 Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law

So many PlayStation 2 games are weird simply because of the media they’re based on being an odd fit for a video game. Far beyond the strangeness of many movie adaptations, though, is Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law, based on the Adult Swim show of the same name.

The game follows the visual novel/puzzle gameplay of the Ace Attorney games but brings a wacky sense of humor and most of the voice cast from the show. Much like the show, the game stars classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters reframed into comedic situations, like Magilla Gorilla and Secret Squirrel allegedly stealing from Birdman.

2 Destroy All Humans!

Taking its aesthetic inspiration from ’50s and ’60s science fiction, Destroy All Humans! and its sequel both brought something unique to players: the ability to play as an alien invader terrorizing humanity. In this game, filled to the brim with tongue-in-cheek humor, players take on the role of Crypto the alien.

As Crypto, players harvest human brain stems, destroy towns with their UFO, and disguise themselves as humans to blend into Earth’s population. Not only is this a game where players are encouraged to play as the villain, but their objectives and abilities are some of the most ridiculous in gaming, including cow abduction, naturally.

1 Psychonauts

Fans of this cult classic game are still eagerly awaiting its forthcoming sequel, but the original Psychonauts packed in enough strangeness to keep players satisfied for a long time. In this now-iconic platforming game, players control Raz, a child training to become a psychonaut, as he enters other characters’ minds and solves their problems.

Both the training camp itself and the various minds that Raz explores are mind-blowing in their attention to bizarre detail and kooky humor. In these different mental worlds, Raz navigates through a warzone, a massive party, a twisted suburban neighborhood, and other wild locales. The game’s art style, too, is strange and cartoonish, complementing both the humor and the sometimes dark story.

About The Author

Jason Mecchi
(96 Articles Published)

Jason Mecchi is a list writer at Screen Rant. His passions in writing are film and popular culture. He has also written for Midstory. He loves animals, watching movies, reading, and playing video games.

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