Well, I can't really vote because I'm half way through God of War 2, just received Odin Sphere for Christmas, and never played Persona 3. Too bad.

I've never played any of these, sadly. :(

No vote from me

Even though God of War II was good it was more or less just more of the same. And while I loved Odin Sphere I just think Persona 3 was great. It was one of the most unique games I had played in awhile and it lasted for more then 100hrs for me and it still has replay value. So Persona 3 has my vote.

Persona 3 was absolutely and utterly fantastic in every way. From it's unique art direction, to the addition of a social aspect to your standard JRPG fare, to the soundtrack to the character design, to the story itself, it was head a shoulders above anything else on the platform, if not ANY platform.

I have played all three, I can't believe there are so many votes for God of War II. What exactly is special about it? Other than the breasts and blood?

The problem probably lies in the fact that Odin Sphere wasn't widely available and Persona 3...Persona and the entire Megaten series hasn't been well received (or promoted) in the US despite being quality games. How many weren't released here again?

No Okami? Tragedy. Especially when Persona's gameplay was really repetitive and dull.

@multimoog: Okami was 06

I vote GoW, with Persona a close second.

@Ajh: In the main series I think only the alternate version of Persona 2 was never released stateside.

But I don't think we ever got any of the handheld titles and some of the other spin offs.

I'm actually surprised at how many we did get considering its niche market here.

@Lackshmana: Duh. I got it in '07, for some reason I thought it was released later. My bad. On a related topic, I gets me brain medicine from the Nartional 'Ealth! I still feel the same about Persona. Like, Lumines Plus should have been there instead.

@Lackshmana: Yeah, one of the persona series not released...but there's other lines in the series. Then there's the ones that were released that you count yourself lucky to even own a copy of..*coughdigitaldevilsaga*

Missing out on Odin (which is ironic for all 3 of you that get it)

GoW was amazing, and IMHO, Sony game of the year on any on their systems.

@Ajh: The story, the gameplay, the graphics, and yes, the breasts and blood too... mostly the breasts though. That's what's special about GoWII. In fact that's what's 'great!' about GoWII.

I've played Odin Sphere, but in my opinion, it wasn't as immersive as GoW. And for Persona 3... not my cup of tea. And I'm sure there's a bunch of people that feel the same.

God of War 2 does not deserve GOTY. I can't remember when I've ever been so frustrated with platforming or missed so many needlessly difficult jumps in a game, but it was probably the mid-nineties. It really hearkens back to that era when the FPS genre was in its infancy and developers hadn't yet figured out that jumping puzzles in a game where you can't see your feet are a bad idea.

Do I really need to flawlessly execute a series of twenty double jumps between each fight sequence?

Heavenly sword ate a lot of shit, but I bought that game and thoroughly enjoyed playing it start to finish purely because it had no jump button. It was the only way I could cleanse my pallet of GOW2.

So, for this reason, Odin Sphere for GOTY. No pitfalls in that game. mmmhmm
Now make a sequel for the PS3 with no slowdown plz guys.

Gooo Persona 3!

@KurtSubvert: Seriously, the jumps were challenging but not all that hard. And there wasn't a stiff penalty for dying so it wasn't that bad.

As for Heavenly Sword, the lack of a jump button and overly simplistic puzzles is what stopped it from being an epic game like GOWII. I loved HS however, but it could have been much deeper.

God of War II was a great send off to a great system.

Sony, let it die already. You're not going to do any better than that.

P3 P3 P3, such a awesome game, I NOW APPROVE OF ATLUS!

GoW is going to win this one. Funny how the commenting community is completely different from that of the rest of the readers.

Anyway, Persona 3 got my vote, though I see that it's number 3. >.>

Persona 3 won Best RPG from Gamespot! I think it's the best game on PS2.

Persona 3 for me.

God of War 2 was an awesome game, and an improvement on the original to be sure, but it was not something that was so NEW or so DIFFERENT that warrants game of the year for me. The first one? Amazing. The second one? Also very amazing, but with the cookie-cutter way these games are going nowadays I think innovation and a bit of outside-the-box should be rewarded more.

However, GoW2 will probably win anyways, being the game with the largest audience. What made it great was that it appeals to more gamers than the niche games like P3 or Odin Sphere. Indeed, most of the people voting have probably only played one, max two, of the games on the list.

I think there should be a category for best RPG. That would make me happy!

Persona losing? No surprise, it's not Portal, Mario or Zelda.

Persona 3 was the best RPG in years. Awesome game.

I've played all three -- and Persona was by far the best of them. That's saying a lot, because Odin Sphere and GOW 2 were both excellent.

For the people putting down gow2 for being more of the same, how is that any different than ratchet & clank on the ps3 besides the graphics upgrade? Yet r&c gets none of the same criticism...

Persona 3 was my favorite game of the year on any platform. An absolutely fantastic experience all around, and one of the few games that's compelled me to play for well over 100 hours without taking a break with a different game.

@Fierfaerie: The irony here is that the one game I didn't play is the one winning. I really want to experience the storyline of GoW 1 before going to GoW 2, though.

Didn't want to bandwagon, but I enjoyed GOW2 immensely. It's a well crafted action adventure film turned game, and I can't wait to see what's in store for #3. Innovative? Nope. Really fun? You betcha!

GOW II wins by default IMO. Odin Sphere, while pretty to look at, became horribly repetitious before long- especially the item system...ughh. Persona 3 bored me as well. In fact, I got the most taboo feeling of all while playing P3: I became conscious that I was wasting time. The social aspect seemed empty and tacked on while the story was underproduced and, as far as I got, didn't go anywhere.

GOWII (while not DMC or Ninja Gaiden) was still an incredibly tight action game with excellent production values.

@Lyner: Heh, that's the same reason I haven't played Persona 3 yet. I purchased the first two about a year and a half ago, and currently own all three, but I won't allow myself to play them unless I play them in order! I keep hearing how awesome it is, but with work, school, and boyfriend there's just not a lot of time to play games, and I have a huge backlog I need to work through.

I've played all three and .. aside from the graphical achievement (which is truly amazing), I don't see anything 'that' special in GoW2.

Odin Sphere is fantastic, interesting story telling method, but after starting book 4 or 5, it becomes a rush to the finish as by then everything became tedious and repettitive.

Persona is.. great, I love the art direction though I hate the graphic. Personally I'm not a fan of games that requires relationship management between characters, so I can't say I'm a fan of P3, but other than that, everything is just superb.

those were just my opinion though.

Odin Sphere is the beautifulest game I've played and it's 2d! God of War II was ok but I expected more from it. Odin Sphere and Persona 3 were both great games.

I go for God of War II but Okami was insane. :(

its sad a lot of people probably didnt get a chance to play persona and odin sphere

Oh come on! Persona 3 is awesome!
Maybe its not getting that many votes because its kind of hard to find and not that many people have played it? O_o...

It's been a great year for the ps2.
I voted Persona 3, but they're all great games.

Very tough choice, but I went with Odin Sphere... something about those huge sprites on my big tv just made me incredibly giddy. But all three are my exact picks for best PS2 games of the year, so any one of the above makes me smile.

I feel dirty voting without having yet played Odin Sphere, but regardless, Persona 3 needs more love, even if it has some of the weirdest plot angles ive yet come across. Actually, that's pretty much why i'm voting for it. If we could retro Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne up there, id click that one too.

I haven't played P3, (I'm a sinner, I know).
Odin Sphere, I couln't get past the friggin Queen of the Damned (so much fcking slowdown).
So I'm going to have to vote God of War, sorry guys.

God of War 2 by far. I was so impressed by that damn game.

God of War 2! My copy is broked and I need a new one :(

It's a shame. God Of War is the least original of the three, though still a great game. Odin Sphere should win.

Persona 3 gave me a gaming experience i will never forget! And it inspired me to get my first game related tattoo. Persona 3 is my game of the year.

As much as I like good spritework, I had to vote for God of War II. Odin Sphere just didn't do it for me.

Hmm, I'll choose Odin Sphere since I haven't played the other two. I still even haven't played GoW1. Damn, I'm slacking.

Gotta make some last PS2 purchases soon, it seems.

P3 was awesome. God of War II was good, but not great, and definitely not original. Odin Sphere was interesting, but the gameplay was repetitive. 'Nuff said.

for me it's a tie between gow2 and odin sphere, but what tips the scale in gow2s favour are the huge slowdowns affecting odin sphere, especially in the boss battles. that's the reason why i haven't finished the game yet. it is just annoying to watch helplessly as your character dies a slow death.

man, i read someone's complaint of GOW2 on here.. and i've got to say... i don't think i'd like an easier version of god of war.

you only get good at a game if its hard enough that you have to get good at it.

i LOVE platforming challenges.. double jumps, etc.

if i wanted just an action game... then i would go for a different game, theres plenty of games with only fighting and no platforming and puzzles.

its the combination of all those elements that makes GOW sooooo fantastic.

it gets my vote ALL THE WAYYYY. it was really good, with the only possible downside being that it really just felt a lot like the original... although... isn't that technically a good thing?

Really happy to see Persona 3 on here. I think it's just about the only PS2 release from this year that I've bought (which was an excellent package, to boot).

Is it bad that I voted for Odin Sphere because it looks cool and shiny?

Odin Sphere ftw!

God of War II is the best game ever played on my PS2, let alone during the year 2007.

actually GoW2 and Shadow of the Colossus both take the cake for best PS2 games ever.

I am saddened that God of War II is winning.

At least I got to vote for Persona 3!