I was looking over Ren's wish list and just wanted to toss out my opinions on some of the game. For those of you looking at this list and wondering if you should invest in list as grand as this or not.
Now this is a pretty ambitious list to start out with, and unfortunately Ren's missed out on some good stuff in 2008. Hopefully he’ll be able to start joining in on some of the awesome that was 2008 on the PS3. Even as much money I dump into my gaming, I don’t have all the games on this list, but I have a number of them or some experience with them. So here’s my take on some of his selections!
Bioshock – A really great game that I’m glad made its way to the PS3. Great mix of FPS and RPG with a story that slowly eats at you along the way. DLC is exclusive to the PS3 but I haven’t tried any of it out yet due to how heavy October was with game releases.
Burnout Paradise – A year later this game still calls to me. Legendary car pack was released last night offering tributes to the Back to the Future Delorean, Ghost Busters’ Ecto-1, Knight Rider’s K.I.T.T., and Dukes of Hazards General Lee giving players even more toys to play with. Flawless offline and online integration, absolutely no lag in any online play, and continued support from Criterion/EA for a game released over a year ago now.
Cuboid – For those who love puzzle games, Cuboid is the game for you. Simple game play with great challenges and Trophies. Background graphics and textures in the puzzles are nice, but the transitions from puzzle to puzzle looks like an old PS2 game. All around a very enjoyable puzzle game for $9.99. Great use of a 10 spot if you ask me.
Gran Theft Auto IV - I own this game and sadly I still haven’t opened it. I bought this when I bought GT5:P and just went from that to other games. With the addition of Trophies I really should go back and rake some in, but at the same time I haven’t touched GTA III: San Andreas either.
GT5: Prologue – Referred to by many as a $40 demo, but there is still a lot of fun in this game. Still has a huge online community, lots of features, and let’s not forget that it looks amazing. Play back of races are routinely mistaken for actual video footage. Yes, this game looks that good!
Killzone 2 – Having played the demo since I pre-ordered the game, I went and bought the original game. I wanted the story behind why you’re suddenly invading this planet, what the motivation was, why so much hatred for the Helghast. Only to find out why the first game was reviewed so poorly and didn’t sell very well. But there is a hint of a story there. I am now excited for Killzone 2 because of the continuation of the story and for the amazing visuals in the game. This game pushes the visual feel of games, and I’m excited to see what it inspires.
LittleBigPlanet – Can’t be praised enough. It just won 8 AIAA awards last night, keeps releasing new fun each Thursday in the way of levels, stickers, and costumes. The hugely successful MGS pack reiterated that there’s pretty much nothing this game can’t do or be. Levels based off movies or other games have been awesome, new levels with their own stories and follow up stories are amazing. Many gaming sights still do a weekly creator list or favorite level list. This game is going to be relevant and awesome for a very long time. This is the title that sells and sells over time.
Lumines Supernova – If you loved any of the first 2 PSP games as much as I did, you will really enjoy this. Music selection isn’t as great, but the visuals and the challenge are still there. It’s just as addicting as ever, and now you can collect Trophies for doing so. Those score a double win in my book!
PixelJunk Eden – PJE as I’ve taken to referring to, is an odd platform game that is immensely enjoyable. As you progress through the different gardens – each level is called a garden – the difficulty ramps up. It challenges you all while encouraging you to get the 100% completion. As you get to the higher gardens getting the 100% Trophy for that garden becomes more and more difficult but it just looks and sounds so good that you keep coming back for more.
PixelJunk Monster – Continuing on in the glory that is PixelJunk, PJM is another beautiful game with enough of a challenge to appeal to a wide range of people but is still simple enough to draw in even the most casual players. It’s a basic Tower Defense game that simplifies the usual game play, but it still stays deep enough to challenge some of the more experienced Tower Defense gurus.
Resistance 2 – In my eyes this is the best FPS I’ve ever played. Greater than the original Unreal Tournament, better than the original Half-Life, looks awesome and no online lag. Flawless 64 player battles, 8 player co-op, your standard FPS game modes, great visuals, HUGE battles, voice chat with no lag, and a hint of more to come in a likely Resistance 3. Controls for this game are amazing and it’s the first console FPS I haven’t wished I had a mouse and keyboard for. I have convinced 5 friends to buy this game and they are all glad they did. Our weekend co-op sessions are challenging, intense, fun and hilarious. Even if you feel the story from the campaign mode is lacking in the least bit, the online play more than makes up for it.
Super Stardust HD – SSHD was the first Trophy enabled game, and it took a game that was already fun for the random pick up, and turned it into an obsession. I created a silent war between two of my PSN friends as I tried to beat their high score or their Trophy count, and I think they did the same thing with me. I’d randomly sign on and see they beat my score or got another Trophy and I immediately rushed into to take the lead again. Great for a casual 15 minute gaming session, great for an obsession 2 hour stint as you try and claim the Stock & Awe Trophy that I hate so much. (Even my damn sister has this Trophy and it continues to elude me!)
Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix – Is a great homage to the old arcade days. Plunk down your quarter and call next. Get in bang away at the sticks and hope you were still standing at the end. Often running into that one kid who we all knew never went to school and spent all day practicing on the same damn quarter for hours; God I hated that kid! Now you can enjoy the classic in HD and truly see the racist backgrounds we all ignored when we played this game in the early 90s. (Pay attention to the T. Hawk level. Apparently kids in Mexico can’t afford clothes.)
Street Fighter IV – I hate Seth. I hate that they named the final boss Seth, I hate that they named him after a pretty cool guy over at Capcom, and I hate that he’s the most cheating boss in cheating boss history. But I love this game. I was never a huge fighting game player, because I suck at almost all of them. I’ve only ever been good at 3 fighting games in history. Marvel Vs. Capcom (Spidey was just too fast for most people, and Wolverine was just brutal.), Killer Instinct
Warhawk – It’s difficult to describe the awesome that flows through Warhawk. Another PSN game with zero lag, good community, tons of people still play, and some continued developer support. The enhancements were welcomed in all but one instance, even going as so far as adding new game play mods. My only complaint with this game is the addition of the jetpack. It breaks some of the most enjoyable maps and set ups because you can completely avoid where all the fun used to happen. When I play I avoid levels with the jetpack, but that’s just a personal preference and I know a few who love the jetpacks. But every time I jump in there’s always somebody around to play, the Trophies are well named and challenging enough to make you fight for them. A great 3rd Person Shooter with a lot for everybody. Planes? Got 'em. Tanks? Got those too. Jeeps? Yessir you can run people over in Jeeps! Anti-air Turrets? Oh yeah! Available in Blu-Ray and direct download from the PSN. Get your Warhawk anyway you can!
