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A Playstation 2 emulator for windows that allows you to play most PS2 games on your PC

A Playstation 2 emulator for windows that allows you to play most PS2 games on your PC

Vote: (505 votes)

Program license: Free

Developer: PCSX2 Team LTD

Version: 1.6.0

Works under: Windows

Also available for Mac Android

Vote:

Program license

(505 votes)

Free

Developer

Version

PCSX2 Team LTD

1.6.0

Works under:

Also available for

Windows

Mac Android

The PCSX2 is a program that can turn a PC into a virtual version of a PlayStation 2 gaming platform. This software has been under continuous development by an active community of enthusiasts for almost a decade. Thanks to General Public License publication, the emulator is completely free and open-source. Developers recently moved the source code library to GitHub as a way to make accessing files or managing projects easier.

This program is powerful, reliable and safe to install on a PC or laptop. However, PlayStation 2 games usually require a lot of system resources. Performance may be an issue for users who have slower computers, and games can stutter, lag, freeze or simply fail to work. The latest update to PCSX2 allows users to install and activate more than one video card at a time as a way to boost performance.

Installing the program is easy, but configuring it to work requires a number of steps that are highly technical in nature. You need to copy the BIOS from the game console, install plug-ins and do some tweaking before the emulator will be up and running. Fortunately, you can easily find documentation that explains the installation procedure as clearly and concisely as possible.

Most of the games I try to play on my PC work fine, and I think my system falls within the middle of the performance spectrum. I have no idea why some games don't work at all, but this seems to be an issue that is associated with emulators in general. I find I get better performance when using my PC as opposed to the game console, and the emulator enables me to adjust screen resolution for optimal display quality.

My only complaint with the PCSX2 is that it doesn't come with an automatic installer that would copy and manipulate all of the files without my intervention. Learning how to do the installation was a little frustrating, but the rewards have been worth the struggle. I don't have any issues now that the emulator is installed, and I recently added a second video card without any problems.

Pros:

This is the closest thing to an official emulator for the PlayStation 2.

It is stable and allows most games to be played on a computer.

Excellent help and support resources are available.

More than one video card can be installed for better performance.

Cons:

Installation is very technical and complex.

Automatic installation is not available.