I still love the aesthetic a lot of PS2 games have, with smooth, bright textures instead of a lot of detail that gets stretched and blurry at low resolutions. The way metal surfaces look in MGS2 and Zone of the Enders is really nice.

But then there were games like Silent Hill 2 & 3 that used a lot of detail in the low resolution textures to create a grimy or rusted look. Those games really benefited from working within the limitations of the system, like the fog to reduce draw distance.