Best PS3 games?

[Brian G Turner]

I've not been much of a gamer - the kids and the wife use the PS3 more than me.

Aside from a little Wipeout, Tekken, Skyrim, and Oblivion, that's pretty much my play list.

However, I keep hearing about other games I should probably have tried - Mass Effect, Fallout, etc.

So - which are the best PS3 games, in the opinions of chronners? I'm looking out for something with a focus on single player...

 

[Overread]

Valkyria Chronicles is a good game if you like anime style animation coupled with turn based battles in a sort of just post steam punk setting. It's gotten good reviews and was good enough that they've well ported it to PC recently as well.

There are also some HD remakes from the PS2 era - Zone of the Enders series - 3rd person anime style action based mech combat (in a very zippy fast mech); ICO and Shadow of the Colossus which are both outstanding games (ICO kinda didn't get marketed that well and was abit different so it never gained huge popularity in its time but now its a very firm top grade classic). The Last Guardian is the 3rd in the "ico" style series but has been trapped in the doldrums for a while now - being worked on for the ps3, but very slow progress (I hope it makes it out - its got a huge griffen in it!).

Dragons Dogma is also a very popular title - akin to Skyrim, but with a stronger story narrative and drive and the combat VS beasts is some of the best there is. Mostly because (like Shadow of the Colossus) its not just about spamming an attack button or finding the elemental/weapon type weakness and exploiting it. Creatures have dynamic parts you can grab onto - hack and slash at them and whilst there is (like all games) some formula; this one has enough for each beast that it feels much more "real" (in a fantasy style of course).

After that I'm not sure; we kinda waited on a PS3 in the family and now we have one my little TV won't run it so I've not jumped all that far into it as I might otherwise have done.

 

[Phyrebrat]

I am a little bit (okay, a lot) obsessive about the Assassin's Creed franchise (although I wasn't so hooked on ACIII), to the point that when I heard the PS4 was coming I stopped buying the new AC games so I could 'save' them for PS4.

However I can't recommend AC2, Brotherhood and Revelations enough. I loved the first one, too, but it is very very repetitive.

I am also a huge fan of the SSX snowboarding game. It's a great social game to have when friends are over and 2 years later I still play it. Same goes for the badly-received Sid Meier's Civilisation Revolution, and the fabulously simple parkour game (sheerly for its beauty) Mirror's Edge.

I'd also recommend Dead Space, and a lovely little game called Journey...I can't go into details about Journey without spoiling it, but it is the most soulful, existential, heartbreaking and heartwarming game I've ever seen. I'd like to see what Next Gen could do with the Resistance franchise which I also liked, but it seems a bit dated.

Lastly, I loved learning the Lightsabre combos for The Force Unleashed but I'm not too big a fan of on-rails gaming.

Those are my notables, anyway.

pH

 

[Boaz]

Enslaved: Odyssey to the West.

I loved it even though I hate fighting games. (I mean games where you learn a dozen combos, where you must learn to always be dodging and blocking, and where you have to learn the exact pattern and timing for defeating a boss.) For a twenty hour combat game, it had a ton of story.

The story revolves around Monkey, a veritable super hero (super strength, agility, leaping, and melee skills) armed with a massive magical staff that also shoots energy, and Trip, a mistake prone woman with a talent for hacking anything electric or electronic. Their relationship is not the traditional one of comrade in arms or of a knight and damsel. I can't tell you more, 'cuz I don't wanna ruin the story. I will say that a friend recommended it to me... he thought Trip was a very sympathetic character and he viewed Monkey as her protector. As for me, I never forgot nor forgave her for what she did.

The plot is driven by a choice that Trip makes... and this affects the lives of Monkey and Piggy, especially Monkey.

The game features violence... but Monkey, Trip, and Piggy only ever fight against machines. All violence against humans is perpetrated by machines.

There isn't any nudity or sex.

Most of the action is done by Monkey. He jumps, climbs, and fights. But sometimes, you have to use Trip and Piggy to get around obstacles or flank enemies. This switching heightens the tension.

If you like combo moves, melee, shooting, and skateboarding in a post apocalyptic world, then you'll like Enslaved.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Makes me want to write a blogpost about this... [these aren't in any order other than the order in which they've emerged from my sleepy mind]:

Valkyria Chronicles - a weird mix of Japanese anime/cartoon [no idea of the technical difference] artstyle, slightly too cute except for when you're, er, in a very thin allegory of a Nazi concentration camp, and an interesting mix of strategic and first person shooter, it flew under the radar but was very highly rated. I picked up my copy for about £12, which was a bargain.

Dragon's Dogma - action RPG. Weirdly for an RPG, the story goes missing (it's good at the start and end but just goes walkies for the middle). Voice-acting is very variable. The world's generic. So why buy? The gameplay is ****ing outstanding. Seriously, best RPG combat at least since Vagrant Story, and probably best ever. The character classes genuinely play differently, you create not only your player-character but also your main pawn [think magic slave], and have 2 more, which can be borrowed from other players (and if others borrow your main pawn then you get 'paid' in rift crystals which can be used to buy rare, mostly character customisation items).

XCOM: Enemy Unknown - a near perfect mix of third person tactics/strategy as you control a squad of 4-6 on battlefield maps, and base commander as you make your underground lair just so, XCOM's all about defending Earth from illegal immigrants. Who also kidnap and torture people and are psychotic aliens. Since release there's been a new version with some extra bits/DLC included [I haven't played that version].

Dragon Age: Origins - one of the best RPGs I've ever played. It's got an outstanding cast, a well-realised world and I don't want to write much more because you should play it yourself. And it'll be knock-down cheap by now, probably.

Mass Effect - I came late to this and had some technical issues with the first game [I bought the trilogy version], when it froze right after the final fight (I did discover a way to stop it, decreasing difficulty, removing the automatically implemented graphical filters and not using special abilities in the last fight). However, that glitch aside, the three games, perhaps especially the second, are fantastic. Jennifer Hale is brilliant as Commander Shepard [you can play as a chap, but when I tried that after being Femshep for 3 games it didn't seem to fit for me].

 

[Boaz]

thad, I forgot that I also found a bug at the finale of ME2. I was unable to shoot the last joint of the last arm... I literally fought for thirty minutes before reloading the entire final mission! And it worked like a charm.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Oh, now I feel silly.

I missed off The Last Of Us, which could be a contender for best game ever made. Even if you're not into zombies (I'm not that taken with them generally), it's very, very good. However, it has been remade for PS4, so if you're getting that one day you may well prefer to get that version.

Also, there's a swankier version of Dragon's Dogma called Dark Arisen, which basically has some more high end stuff and character customisation options (and I think it's under £20).

Edited extra bit: Boaz, I hate it when weird stuff like that happens. Still, at least it worked the second time.

 

[Overread]

Oh I forgot a great game - Journey!

It's a fantastic experience of silent story telling as you wander through the mystical sandy world and build up a picture of the history of the world. A very neat feature is if you play online you'll see other players also doing their journey through the land. They can't harm you nor you them, but you can talk to each other through limited musical notes. A neat feature in a world oft dominated with online interactions where its mostly trying to beat the other player or such.

 

[Michael Colton]

Mass Effect 2/3, Fallout 3 (if you like it, then try New Vegas - but I have to recommend Fallout 3 first), BioShock 2 (I have yet to play BioShock Infinity, the most recent, but I have heard good things), Tomb Raider (the reboot of the series - cannot recommend it enough if you are alright with adventure games), and Red Dead Redemption. As far as games I know are on PS3, that is the top of my list.

Edit: Oh, and Dead Space 3. Nearly forgot about it. It is a genre game though, meaning that it seems to be the case that if it is not someone's 'type' of game they really will not care for it. But if it is, they will love it.

 

[Chris Guillory]

A lot of these have been said. Oblivion remains one of my all time favorites. The Mass Effect Trilogy is not too expensive and will provide plenty of entertainment (one of the few RPGs I've played multiple times). Dragon's Dogma is great and was definitely a sleeper. I was a big fan of Shenmue on the Dreamcast, so I love the Yakuza series. Metal Gear Solid 4 is what made me finally purchase a PS3 in the first place.

I think I'm the only person, ever, who did not get into The Last of Us.

And, yes, Fallout.