I finally got a PS3 at a price I found acceptable, and it’s arriving tomorrow. I have no games for it, and no real reason to own the machine apart from the fact that it is a cheap, backwards compatible PS3. Yay!
I’m planning to pick up LittleBigPlanet, Siren: New Translation and WipeOut HD, plus I’m smelling Valkyria Chronicles and I’m all over fl0wer once that hits PSN. But what else should I be paying attention to?
I know all the big-league games like Resistance, Killzone, Ratchet & Clank and Uncharted, and I’m not particularly interested in them. Are there any interesting, less well-publicized games on the PS3 that I should know about?
Pixeljunk Eden is very good, but it’s not for everyone. I personally didn’t like it when I initially tried the demo. But I kept coming back to the demo and getting better, until finally something about the game clicked, and I’ve loved it since then.
It’s the only game on the PS3 so far that I’ve really enjoyed my time with. That includes retail titles like LittleBigPlanet.
And if you like baseball games, I’ve heard from a lot of sources that MLB: The Show on PS3 is the best baseball game around.
I would recommend against Echodrome, and here’s why: You know how Braid never really repeats itself just for the sake of padding? Echodrome is the opposite of that. I liked the demo for Echodrome, but the full game so completely floods you with levels where you’re doing the same thing over and over and over again, that you’ll stop caring about the game after a while.
All of these are on my list, even Echochrome. It’s a pretty sad state of things when the only games worth recommending are download-only indie titles and remakes. I was thinking mostly about retail, since I’ve got a fairly decent idea of what’s moving and shaking on the digital distribution services.
I like hardcore fighting titles like God Hand, Devil May Cry 3-4 and Ninja Gaiden, I like untraditional JRPGs (by “untraditional”, I mean “nothing like fucking Blue Dragon and that other game about the emo cunt who can’t die”), and … uh … more or less everything that isn’t a realistic racing game or a sports title. I’ve grown fond of tactical and military shooters, but I play those on PC. As for multiplatform titles, I’ve already got an Xbox and a couple of Wiis in addition to a computer that runs anything currently on the market.
Well, and the fact that you mentioned and dismissed several other good games for the thing. And you bought the PS3 last, so anything good multiplatform you probably already got for PC or 360. That’s just a consequence of timing.
That being said, you might like Folklore. It’s sort of an action RPG. Motostorm 2 is also great fun, fixing just about all the problems with Motostorm 1 (it’s not a realistic or simmy racing game at all).
You might check out Folklore (oops, Hugin beat me to it), which is an action game with a nifty premise wherein you make attacks by summoning mythical creatures. Not that easy to find these days, but shouldn’t be impossible.
If you like card-based games, have a look at the threads on Eye of Judgment.
If you like light gun games, you might look for Time Crisis 4. The game didn’t get great reviews, but the price has dropped on it recently and you can get it new for about half the original price (think it’s 40 bucks at work).
Hot Shots Golf is quite good, albeit pretty much a retread of the old games. The online play is well done, though, and I hear they finally patched in voice support.
I had forgotten all about Disgaea 3 and I’ll pick that up ASAP. Great!
Hugin: I played Resistance and found it completely uninteresting, I didn’t like any of the Ratchet & Clank games on PS2, I’ve played Killzone 2 and it’s not my bag at all (at least not on console) and Uncharted struck me as a poorly paced and visually insignificant bastard child of Gears of War and Tomb Raider Legends. I’ll most likely give the demos a whirl just to make sure I wasn’t wrong in my initial assessment, of course. What else am I gonna put on the HDD? Folklore is definitely on the list, though. I think that’s my kind of game, as I did like Genji.
Misguided: Ninja Gaiden Sigma, mos def. I’ve held off purchasing Ninja Gaiden Black from XBLM in case I got a PS3.
Jfletch: Hot Shots Golf was awesome on PSP, so I might give that a whirl as well if I find it at the right price.
Thanks for the suggestions! Things are certainly looking a bit brighter now.
I know it sounds like a gimmick, but the Eye camera is actually pretty useful. My brother and some friends use it as their mic or for video chat. I only have the Bluetooth headset myself, which works fine but having a video feed of yourself has endless possibilities for grossing out your friends.
If you play with friends, Buzz Quiz TV is a blast. If you’ve ever harbored secret dreams of being on Jeopardy, it comes with 4 game-show-style controllers. You can also play with friends at your house online against other groups of friends at another house.
The MLB: The Show series is easily the best video game baseball since MVP and High Heat. The 09 version will have custom online leagues with a fantasy draft (finally!).
Not sure what else … my brothers and I love playing Age of Booty (PSN) – simple multiplayer strategy. Flow (PSN) is simple and fun, especially if you have kids playing or watching. Bionic Commando Re-Armed multiplayer is hilarious.
If you have a PSP, be sure to set up Remote Play on your PS3. You can use the PSP to play PS1 games, either saved on the HDD or a disc sitting in the machine, anywhere with an Internet connection
I’ve actually played it, and it’s just not to my taste. To my eye, it’s an unfocused, mediocre mishmash of game mechanics and play styles that have been presented and executed better elsewhere, and the lazy Saturday morning cartoon plot and characters just don’t cut it for me.
It looks entirely okay, although to my eye devoid of character. It plays ok, with shooting bits that struck me as an uneconomic shooting gallery-version of Gears of War and platforming bits that remind me of Tomb Raider Legends, which wasn’t really to my taste either.
I’m sure it’s a great value proposition, but I couldn’t really find anything in there that hooked me. But I’ll definitely get the demo and give it another go tomorrow.
Anyway, the PS3 doesn’t seem to have enough games to really have hidden gems per se. Most of the good games are well known, aren’t they? I don’t own a PS3, but if I did, the first game I would get would be Valkyria Chronicles.
