Top 100 Single Player PS3 Games: Part 1 (100-91)

Ok, so it’s been a bit of an undertaking but with the Playstation 4 on the horizon I thought it would be a good time to re-evaluate my single player games list and extend it out to a Top 100. Games will be coming in batches of 10 to begin with and I look forward to seeing everyone’s thoughts on the games included on the list.

This list doesn’t take into account multiplayer aspects of games, it’s based solely on single player experience.

So let’s get going!

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100. Payday: The Heist

We open our list with Payday: The Heist. This is a cracking downloadable game from developers Overkill, in which you take part in a series of thefts/heists involving guns, helicopters and cash.

Made to be played in 4 players in online co-op, Payday can also be played solo with three AI controlled characters. While it’s not half as much fun on your own, Payday is still a solid shooter with some interesting mechanics when playing solo.

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99. Rage

Rage is probably closest in scope to Borderlands but rather than the cell shaded look Gearbox’s title went for, it really goes to town on the graphics front. Sure it’s also a stylised cartoon look but it’s much more realistic looking.

The shooting is solid and some great weapon design means things don’t feel too stale when choosing your armoury. Shots pop nicely, the weapons have a decent weight to them and the recoil is well balanced so that each shot counts.

Rage is an above average shooter that fizzes when at its best, unfortunately there is too much filler in the first half of the game. This means it doesn’t quite hit the lofty expectations most people had for it.

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98. Enslaved: Odyssey To The West

Enslaved tells the story of Monkey and Trip as they make their way across a devastated World. After managing to escape from a ‘slaver’ ship Monkey awakes to find Trip has attached a ‘slave headband’ to him and he must do as she commands. If he doesn’t do as she says, goes too far away from Trip or Trip herself dies then the headband will inflict pain or even kill Monkey.

Enslaved is a really good game and definitely an enjoyable third person action adventure. It’s not quite up there with the Uncharted series or Red Dead Redemption but it can hold its own among the others in the genre.

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97. Joe Danger

Joe Danger is a wonderfully charming PSN title that sees you take on the role of bike stuntman Joe Danger. Out of retirement and looking to recapture his glory days, Joe needs you to guide him through jumps, flips and other obstacles.

Easy to play and great fun. This is also a top title for younger kids who can play with only a few button presses.

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96. God Of War: Ascension

The latest instalment of God Of War was a prequel rather than a continuation of the Kratos story. Control wise it’s business as usual and you’ll be dismembering figures from Greek myth all over the place.

Unfortunately, while the combat was good it meant that the story didn’t really impress and it felt a bit like filler. Not to mention the utter frustration of the Trial Of Archimedes. An enjoyable game but not Kratos at his best.

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95. Dead Space 3

Set some time after the events of the second game, Dead Space 3 brings together the usual necromorph threat with a much higher Unitologist presence than before. And they’re armed, military units. Hell at one stage some of the necromorphs have guns!

Taking out the necromorphs still feels satisfying but the human enemies didn’t quite have that quality. I liked the story but I am a sucker for this universe.

Make no mistake, Dead Space 3 is an action game with horror parts added. The balance between horror and action had teetered with the second game but has now tilted fully in favour of run ‘n’ gun action. It isn’t a bad game at all. It’s just not what I really want from a Dead Space game.

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94. Alien V Predator

Alien V Predator gives you three separate campaigns to play through; Alien, Predator and Marine. Unfortunately the Marine campaign is the best of the bunch, which feels a bit like an opportunity wasted.

The balancing of the species is handled really well, each feeling suitably powerful but having their vulnerabilities. The times when it worked with Alien or Predator it was very satisfying but more often than not the controls/mechanic let it down.

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93. 50 Cent: Blood On The Sand

Despite appearances to the contrary, Blood On The Sand is actually very playable. It’s not too taxing a game, more of a run and gun than a tactical shooter. There are a few frustrating parts but overall the game is fairly well balanced.

A surprise then, one of those rare occasions where a game is actually quite a bit better than you thought it would be. It might not be a world beater but it caters to its audience and is accessible for everyone who plays it.

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92. Crysis 3

Crysis 3 is a sci-fi first person shooter that delivers big on graphics but is slightly lacking in terms of story.

You wear a ‘nanosuit’ which delivers different abilities. You can either try to just blast your way through trouble using the armor ability to soak up more damage, use your suit’s super jump ability to get yourself out of a situation or avoid the situation altogether by activating your cloaking ability and sneaking past the enemies.

I liked some of the characterisation and graphically it looked great. It’s just that the rest of it was, well… average. This is a title that would be best suited to a rental as opposed to a purchase.

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91. Dante’s Inferno

Taking it’s cue from the novel of the same name, but making it clear it’s inspired by rather than true to it, Dante’s Inferno see you play as Dante who upon returning from the Crusades finds an unsavoury fate has befallen his loved one.

The gameplay is very similar to other third person action brawlers, with a light attack, heavy attack and ‘magic’ in the form of Dante’s Holy Cross – which can be used to smite enemies and tortured souls.

Sadly while there are some great ideas in here a lot of the gameplay is lifted almost directly from God Of War. Worth a play through then but if you fancy some hack and slash you’d be better off sticking to God Of War III.

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There we have it then, the opening selection of games – have you played any of these? Let me know what you thought of them in the comments below.

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Dead Space 3 – Review (PS3)

I really enjoyed the previous two Dead Space games – the original was a return to the very best of survival horror and while the sequel did get bogged down with enemy encounters I thought it was excellent. So hopes were high for this latest installment, despite some of the negative buzz floating around online.

Set some time after the events of Dead Space 2 – at least long enough for Isaac and Ellie to get together and break up – the game actually opens some 200 years in the past with a nice prologue section. Nice that is, until the shooting started. The first thing I noticed was how different it felt to previous games. Granted you’re using a rifle rather than the plasma cutter that the series is famous for but still I just couldn’t shake the feeling that the handling had changed dramatically.

And it was a feeling I couldn’t quite dismiss throughout the game. As you come back to (Issac’s) present day you regain control of everyone’s favourite space engineer. Forced into helping track down Ellie you’re soon attacked on the way off the planet.

Dead Space 3 brings together the usual necromorph threat with a much higher Unitologist presence than before. And they’re armed, military units. Hell at one stage some of the necromorphs have guns!

Taking out the necromorphs still feels satisfying but the human enemies didn’t quite have that quality – whether that’s a game design issue (in terms of how the weapons control and the way shots affect enemies) or just because these games haven’t previously been about mowing down other humans, I couldn’t tell you.

I liked the story but I am a sucker for this universe (I’ve watched both animated movies and read the first spin off novel – will be reading the next one soon 🙂 ) so if you’re not invested you might not find it as enjoyable. I didn’t even mind the OTT end part of the game as much as lot of people seemed to.

I did, however, encounter a save problem that almost made me walk away from the game completely. About 4 hrs in I made it to the beginning of a new chapter, let the tram journey (yes trams are back!) finish and then quit to the main menu and out of the game. However next time I loaded the game I was back at the end of the previous chapter about to enter a room where I needed to hold off enemies until the tram showed up to escape on.

Problem No.1? It was also a chase, so there was an invincible enemy hounding me from the back as well. Problem No.2? It started me with no ammo and a quarter health 😦 There were 7 bullets in the room and I tried for almost an hour to get through it to no avail. I dropped it to ‘easy’ and after another 20 minutes I finally escaped to the tram. The game maintains your save for you and allows only one save per slot.

It was one of the more frustrating things I’ve experienced recently – I mean surely the end of a chapter/beginning of the next one (especially in the haven of a tram) is the *ideal* place to trigger a save? Come on Visceral, that is ridiculous. If you can’t be bothered to organise a proper save system, at least let me choose when to save!

The much maligned ‘micro-transactions’ didn’t effect me at all. They are there is you want to use them but it’s not essential to use them to get through the game.

There are still snatches of the original survival horror roots of Dead Space here but they end up overplayed and you can tell when (and even worse, where) the scares are coming. There are still space exploration parts and that sound drop out still makes for a fantastic experience. But it’s not really about that stuff any more.

Make no mistake, Dead Space 3 is an action game with these parts added. The balance between horror and action had teetered with the second game but has now tilted fully in favour of run ‘n’ gun action. It isn’t a bad game at all. It’s just not what I want from a Dead Space game.

Rating: 7/10

Most Wanted 2012

Following on from a fairly muted E3, that only held a few unknown announcements, I thought it’d be worth updated the games I’m keeping an eye on.

The list is pretty large so I’ll start with the ones I’m most excited for:

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1) WATCH DOGS – Release Date TBC

This one blew me away at E3 and was easily the most impressive thing I saw. Just watch the video and this one will explain for itself. Hopefully it’ll look that good and deliver that immersive an experience when the game arrives.

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2) BORDERLANDS 2 – September 2012

The first Borderlands was a great game, which delivered so much more than was expected of it. (Seriously it’s cheap now so check it out!) The sequel looks set to live up to and maybe even exceed what came before – guns galore and exquisite cell shaded graphics combine for a brilliant experience. And it’s 4 player co-op! 🙂

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3) BEYOND – TBC

Heavy Rain was one of my favourite games this generation, so anything new from developer Quantic Dream is always welcome. After showing us a tech demo called ‘Kara‘ earlier this year, Quantic blew the lid off Beyond at E3 – revealing the casting of Ellen Page and showing off the above trailer. Definitely one to watch.

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4) GRAND THEFT AUTO V – TBC

It’s a new Grand Theft Auto – what more do I need to say? 😆 Looks amazing and you can always count on Rockstar to deliver something special. Expect the hype train to begin very shortly.

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5) BIOSHOCK INFINITE – February 2013

This made the last list I did and has now, unfortunately, been pushed back to 2013 so here it is again. The prequel to the original Bioshock title sees you out of the water and up in the sky – check out the footage above to refresh your memory.

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6) THE LAST OF US – 2013

The Last Of Us is the next game from developer Naughty Dog, whose Uncharted franchise has gone from strength to strength. Telling the story of Joel and Ellie, two survivors of global pandemic that have teamed up, this looks like it could be something totally different. A game with a change of pace is always nice and this one looks gritty to boot.

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7) RETRO CITY RAMPAGE (VITA) – Imminent!

Oh yes! 🙂 Can you feel the force of a new title based around all your old favourite 8 Bit titles? There are even nods to newer games thrown in. This looks so good and a perfect fit to the Vita’s pick up and play type gaming. Believe it or not this is the work of ONE MAN! Brian Provinciano take a bow… and then get straight back to work on finishing the game 😆

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8) HITMAN ABSOLUTION – November 2012

I still can’t believe we haven’t had any sort of Hitman title on the PS3 so far! This looks like it could be fantastic. IO have been shaky in the last few years with the Kane and Lynch franchise but hopefully this will be a return to form.

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9) KILLZONE (VITA) – TBC

I love the Killzone universe and having seen the initial potential of a FPS on the Vita with Resistance Burning Skies, I’m hopeful we’ll get a great handheld version of the franchise. We’ve barely seen anything (see above) but I still can’t wait for this. And this time we play as the Helghast… right Studio Cambridge? RIGHT? 😉

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10) ASSASSIN’S CREED III – October 2012

Ezio Auditore has finally taken a bow and Assassin’s Creed heads to a new time period in the third fully fledged game in the series. This time you’re slap bang in the middle of the War of Independence between the US and England. This looks absolutely stunning and the change in main character/setting adds to the excitement.

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11) DISHONORED – October 2012

Steampunk is on the agenda for Dishonored – set in an alternative universe in which steam powered machinery is the norm, the game sees you fighting to clear your name by taking on (and killing) various powerful political figures. It’s all in the first person and the time manipulation mechanic (among others) looks really interesting.

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12) DEAD SPACE 3 – February 2013

I’m still a touch concerned that co-op play may ruin the atmosphere that the Dead Space series has crafted but I’m willing to give it a chance based on how good the last two games were. This time Isaac is tackling the frozen planet Tau Volantis, I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do with some more open environments.

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13) SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST – 2013

The last few Splinter Cell games have skipped the PS3 so it’s nice to see Sam Fisher returning to our screens. 3rd Echelon have been disbanded by order of the President. Never fear though, Sam’s set up 4th Echelon in secret 😆 so the adventures can continue. Looks really cool and will be interested to see more on this one.

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14) RESIDENT EVIL 6 – OCTOBER 2012

A lot of people didn’t but I actually enjoyed Resident Evil 5. Sure it wasn’t the best game in the series but it was still decent enough to play through and I liked the different setting. 6 goes back to Resi’s roots a bit and features several stories that cross over. This could be a dark horse for Game Of The Year if they get it right.

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15) ASSASSIN’S CREED: LIBERATION (VITA) – October 2012

Yes it’s *another* Assassin’s Creed game but but there are some differences here – firstly a female lead character (and a realistic, non sexualised one at that 😯 ), secondly a new time period to mess around in and finally the game looks like it’s taking full advantage of the Vita’s power to provide an open world experience on the go. Great stuff.

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So those are my ‘most’ Most Wanted 🙂 But there are still a whole host of other games on the horizon that are worth checking out – here are some more that it’s worth looking out for this year and next:

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16) METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGANCE – 2013

Dropping the ‘Solid’ from it’s title and shifting developers to Platinum Games (who made the totally insane and great Bayonetta) might be the smartest move this title made. Raiden is the star here as you control a CYBORG NINJA with a SAMURAI SWORD. That is all.

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17) SLEEPING DOGS – August 2012

Rescued from the dumpster of Activision, Sleeping Dogs is in fact True Crime Hong Kong – except with a new title and more development time. Influenced by Hong Kong cinema, this looks like a lot of fun.

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18) RAINBOW SIX: PATRIOTS – 2013

For goodness sake Ubisoft give me my Rainbow Six! It’s been 4 years! The two Vegas games were great and I expect this to be just as good – don’t let me down!

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19) TOMB RAIDER – 2013

Finally XBox 360 owners will get to play Uncharted… Oh sorry I meant, look it’s a new Tomb Raider game! 😉 Eidos are giving Lara Croft a reboot ‘Dark Knight’ style and this looks like it could be really good. And it’s some climbing, treasure based action to tide us over until Uncharted 4.

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20) NEED FOR SPEED: MOST WANTED (VITA) – November 2012

The Vita really needs a top draw driving game in my opinion. As it appears there are no plans for a Gran Turismo on the handheld the mantle falls to Criterion (of Burnout fame) who will be bringing Need For Speed to Vita alongside it’s PS3 brother. Should be great.

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21) FAR CRY 3 – September 2012

Unfortunately Far Cry 2 was one of those games that I started but ended up getting lost in a deluge of other great titles. The third instalment certainly looks great, hopefully the gameplay will be smooth as well.

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22) ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES – 2013

Another game that’s been pushed back to next year is Gearbox’s love letter to the film ‘Aliens’. This one could go either way I feel, I’m hoping it veers towards the action based set pieces of the film and does the universe justice.

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23) DUST 514 – TBC

Dust 514 is a free to play FPS that will hit the PSN later this year. It ties in with a PC title called Eve Online – some missions in Dust will be given by people playing the PC game. Interesting idea, will be keeping an eye on how this one does.

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24) CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS: DECLASSIFIED (VITA) – November 2012

Rumour has it this will be the missions that were made for Black Ops but that didn’t make it into the final game. Sounds cool to me – I enjoyed Black Ops but please Treyach, no poorly implemented exploding barrel sequences this time ok?

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25) PREY 2 – 2013

I don’t know much about the first Prey as I never played it but the trailer for the second game (which you can see here) looks pretty sweet. I’m looking forward to hearing more about this one in the upcoming months.

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So there you go – 25 games to keep on your radar. Anything I’ve missed? What games are you guys most excited about?

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