Explain the PS3 Library

[Eltargrim]

I have recently become the owner of a PS3. This happened suddenly and without warning. I don't know anything about the PS3's library.

Knowing that I have a (frankly kick-ass) gaming PC, what kind of games would you recommend I borrow/buy? I'm not looking for FPS in general, but if you know a game that is just too good to deny, let me know.

I'm especially interested in RPGs, potentially of the j variety.

Chip in, and I may refine my criteria depending on the selections I get (to make your lives easier!)

Also what is a Playstation Network, and how can I not get my info stolen?

[Seil]

Here's what I've got in my CD Book thing:

Dragon Age: Origins (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iFrHRaH0Os)
A fun RPG - totally worth your time, if you haven't gotten it. (I don't know if everything on this list is for PC, but I'll assume not.)
Dragon Age: Awakening (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0yh6DX8pZ8)
An expansion to DA:O - new story, still fun, just all right.
Dragon Age II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlACgYHtWCI)
Despite my complaints, a solid action game with some RPG elements thrown in. Okay if you shut off your brain.
The Saboteur (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2gClnlzo4o)
Not the best game out there. It's pretty cheap now, so it's worth a look/rental at least. There are better FPS' out there.
God Of War III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs5rLbu3GDY)
If you liked the first three God of War games, get this. More of the same, but it looks prettier.
Oblivion (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXWYWfFqlSw)
Morrowind stuff - a fun little FP-RPG.
Fallout III (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYZpR51XgW0)
Oblivion with a slap of paint - still fun, but set in the futuristic era of the 1950's. Or 2050's. Whatever.
Bioshock (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmw78t8NgIE)
If you haven't played it yet, there's something wrong with you.
Assassin's Creed (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dChVn3yVpEA)
The first one - a little repetitive, but fun as ever.
Assassin's Creed II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R20-MOOZPpY)
Improved on the original - pretty great stuff.
Legendary (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laeve1saADo)
It's not the best looking game, but it's a half-decent FPS where you can shoot griffons and Minotaur in downtown New York.
Heavenly Sword (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djY3_E2Z41M)
A really awesome game. Plays like a kung fu movie and has been described as a six hour long cinematic.
Grand Theft Auto 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=US9ue4_YHvI)
More GTA - more realistic.
Uncharted (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4fahAdNHpM)
A fun shoot-'em-up.
Dark Sector (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnsjVO3Y6Rw)
A fun Third person shoother, worth the price it is now. (Should be pretty cheap.)
Killzone II (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy6cxaCosJE)
Killzone - better than the original, very fun FPS.
Mirrors Edge (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N1TJP1cxmo)
Parkour game. It's... neat. You run away from people.
Silent Hill V (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sQnBIizW6E)
Even if your a fan of the series, the only thing I can recommend is the music.
Infamous (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-NBsSfxH30)
It's pretty fun. Third-person-"superhero" action.
Metal Gear Solid 4 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6V0JDyHoAU)
Don't buy it if you're not a fan of the previous games. It's a fantastic game if you like the series and know what's going on, but it's way too much to get into too fast.
Saint's Row 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g7F7Pq-lh0)
A GTA clone without shame, but a very fun one.
The Orange Box (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8pWUXBxZNA)
TF2 and Portal.

[Ecks]

I'll second the MGS4 and GTAIV. BUT FUCKING SHAME ON YOU FOR FORGETTING RED DEAD REDEMPTION, SEIL!

[Azisien]

I'm especially interested in RPGs, potentially of the j variety.

Demon's Souls and Valkyria Chronicles are excellent games you can't get on the PC.

I can't as solidly endorse others myself, though I know there's a few other exclusives to the PS3/consoles like Record of Agarest War 1/2, a Disgaea game, and one or two Atellier Iris games.

[Seil]

Demon's Souls

What? I mean, I'm lobbying for Demon's Souls title to be changed to "Game Where You Wander Around A Castle For Three Or Four Hours, Ignorant Of Your Objective Or Even A Basic Sense Of Direction Before You Get Frustrated And Curse The Disc Back The Hellforge It Was Born From."

[Kim]

What? I mean, I'm lobbying for Demon's Souls title to be changed to "Game Where You Wander Around A Castle For Three Or Four Hours, Ignorant Of Your Objective Or Even A Basic Sense Of Direction Before You Get Frustrated And Curse The Disc Back The Hellforge It Was Born From."

Seil is bad at video games.

Demon's Souls rocks. I beat it yesterday.

[EVILNess]

I am gonna limit this to 10 games, because fuck it 10 is a nice round number. Hell, let's throw in two more lists of 5 each for PSN games and PS0ne Classics!

Basically take my list and go on youtube to find some gameplay to see if you would enjoy it.

Demon's Souls - RPG/HackNslash
InFamous - Action/Super Hero
Uncharted 2 - 3rd Person Shooter/Platformer
3D Dot Game Heroes - Zelda Ripoff (In a good way)
Heavy Rain - Adventure Game
Metal Gear Solid 4 - Tactical Espionage Action Movie
Disgaea 3 - SRPG
Valkyria Chronicles - Action SRPG
L.A. Noire - Detective Noir/Action
Final Fantasy XIII - Why the fuck not it's a FF game.

On the PSN I would pick up:
Scott Pilgrim Versus the World - Sidescrolling beat-em up
Bionic Commando Rearmed - Platformer
Castle Crashers - Sidescrolling beat-em up
Costume Quest - RPG
Marvel vs. Capcom 2- Fighting

For PS1 Classics I would get:
Final Fantasy Tactics
Wild Arms
Suikoden
Parasite Eve
Vagrant Story

As for the PSN, if you are paranoid about it then just buy the PSN giftcards so you don't have any credit card information to steal.

[greed]

Demon's Souls is the best RPG of the generation if not the best game full stop. Don't listen to Seil on this. Seriously I can understand being frustrated by the enemies but how in the fuck can you get lost? In Boletaria castle of all places. It's basically one path with short quickly terminating side paths and a few shortcuts. Really Seil. This is a review I agree with (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/demons-souls-review). Some of the complaints (like the no shadows one) don't even apply anymore as they fixed it for the American and PAL releases.

Also be wary of FFXIII some people find it okay, a lot of people hate it, me included. As far as I'm concerned it's to FF as the CDi games are to Zelda. But some people like it for some reason so maybe rent to see if you're one of them.

Anyway other recommendations, Just Cause 2 and Saints Row 2 are the best sandbox games around (GTA4's kinda just shitty, Red Dead I've just started yesterday, so can't say much about that). Both have fairly shitty PC ports (SR2 in particular was a complete failure) so getting them for the PS3 is a good idea.

Alpha Protocol's pretty fun, very well written but kinda crappy on the actual gameplay side, but it's like $12 now so I'd say it's worth that. It too had a fairly lame PC version. Katamari Forever is another decent cheap game (I've seen it going for under $5).

Disgaea 3, Heavy Rain, Uncharted 2, Assassin's Creed 2 and 3D Dot Game Heroes are all pretty good too, but might be rent before you buy, (Heroes and Disgaea 3 especially as they're kinda niche).

I'd recommend Mass Effect 2 as well as I've heard differing accounts of the PC version's quality. I mean it's no New Vegas(which I'm not recommending because the PC version is better) or Demon's Souls but it's still the 3rd best RPG of the generation.


Also for the love of god avoid Star Ocean 4. It is just terrible in every fashion and the writing is in the so bad it's painful category not the so bad it's funny.


Edit: If for some reason you want to a Fallout for the PS3, get New Vegas it's superior to 3 in every way. The only reason to get 3 is if you want to enjoy it before playing New Vegas. The improvements in balance, gameplay, writing, and worldbuilding kinda make 3 hard to play after NV (and I love 3 when I got it).

Edit2: Sorta forgot to mention the PS3 has a number of decent budget JRPGs, Atelier Rorona is fun if you like addictive collection fests and it's very cheap(it's also obviously made on a shoestring budget). Ar Tonelico I would avoid as it's just kinda shitty, but if you like to MST3K games it can be fun for that. Me and a few friends sat around playing and making jokes and that was pretty fun (it is like everything stupid and weird about Japan they could put into a PG rated game, it's hilarious). I've also heard good things about Resonance of Fate. NieR is also really good, probably the best JRPG on the system if you don't count Demons Souls (it's more sorta in it's own category between west and east). Sadly the best truly traditional JRPG of the generation (Tales of Vesperia) isn't available in English on the PS3.

[Krylo]

Demon's Souls is the best RPG of the generation if not the best game full stop.

I liked the game, but I'm going to disagree with this on the basis that accessibility is also a thing games should/can be rated on, and Demon's Souls was basically as inaccessible to a large portion of the gaming populace as it possibly could be.

I'd say that if you think you've got the third person action chops it's a very very good game, but I would never recommend it to someone without mentioning that it will not be fun for you if you don't like being punished repeatedly and are quite skilled at that type of game play.

[A Zarkin' Frood]

Demon's Souls: Don't play this if you like games that eliminate any kind of challenge through bullshit like omnipresent checkpoints. This game will fuck you in the ass if you think it is. I wouldn't even call it hard, just really unforgiving. But you'll make sure not to make the same mistake twice. This really contributes to the already dense atmosphere of the game, though. Which is what the game does best anyway.

Bayonetta: A fun over the top action game in the vein of Devil May Cry. The game is more accessible, I'd claim, though. Simply because of the fair checkpoints. So if you like games that eliminate any kind of challenge through checkpoints, go for this. Well, not quite. If you want to get a good rank you should try to make it through the levels without dying, which feels so much better anyway. I did hear the X360 version was better though. But I didn't encounter any problems with the PS3 port.

Bulletstorm: Gameplay-wise, and I really mean just the gameplay, this is the best damn FPS I've ever played. However, the levels are strictly linear and the story tacked on bullshit. However, if you want to kill things in fun ways with innovative weapons, this is a thing you'll like. It was made by the team that made Painkiller after all. Only with a budget.

Just Cause 2: A sandbox game in which you are a government employed terrorist sent to another country to do terrorist things. Like blowing everything that belongs to the government up. The game world is a whole island nation and there's plenty of shit to do even after you finish the story missions. And the other missions. The best thing about the game is it doesn't take itself very seriously.

BlazBlue Continuum Shift: Really niche 2D Beat 'em up, I guess. Personally, I love it. It has a really good story for a Fighting game. By which I mean it actually has a story. I Believe to have heard that it was originally supposed to be an RPG, so that explains that. Mostly told in visual novel style, or what the kids call it. Sometimes there are little animated sequences. If you can dig the anime artwork, great music and are a fan of fighting games I'd really recommend this.

[Nikose Tyris]

The only must-buys I have on the PS3 are inFamous 1, probably inFamous 2, and I prefer Red Dead Redemption on PS3 as compared to 360.

I find FPS's are more fun on 360 or on PC.

PS3 has some fantastic platformers. It makes Force Unleashed 2 not feel like a waste of $60.

[Eltargrim]

First off, thank you for all the work you put into your posts; it's really appreciated :)

Here's some feedback:

I have these on my PC:

Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Awakening
Dragon Age II
Oblivion (So excited for Skyrim it's not even funny)
Fallout III
Bioshock
Assassin's Creed
Assassin's Creed II
Mirrors Edge
The Orange Box
Mass Effect 2 (Haven't had a single quality issue here)
New Vegas

I don't have these on my PC, but I'd be inclined to use the PC (unless there's an egregious quality difference):

Bulletstorm
When it comes out, Battlefield 3 (I upgraded my PC in anticipation for this)

Things I can rent/borrow:

FFXIII
Demon's Souls

Things I will likely buy (barring bad feedback)[and when I have money]:
Eternal Sonata
InFamous
InFamous 2 (If I like 1)
L.A. Noire
Valkyria Chronicles
Just Cause 2
Katamari Forever
3D Dot Game Heroes

I'll likely be doing the borrowing thing for a while, as I don't have a bunch of PS3-available time at the moment, and I don't want to sink a bunch of money into something I won't have the opportunity to play.

[Kim]

Eternal Sonata

I still loved the time I spent with this game, but just as a heads up the voice acting can be painful at times and the plot doesn't make complete sense.

L.A. Noire

Played that for a little bit. It felt like you really have to appreciate sandbox worlds, to the point that you don't mind spending a decent amount of driving everywhere. You don't *have* to drive everywhere, but you miss sidequests if you don't.

Valkyria Chronicles

I've only played Valkyria Chronicles 2, for the PSP, and that was balls-fantastic, so I will support those who've recommended this to you.

Demon's Souls isn't the best game of this generation, but if you can borrow it certainly do. What I will recommend, either way, is that you check out Dark Souls when it comes out in April, since it looks to be better and somewhat more accessible while still being hella hard.

[Eltargrim]

I still loved the time I spent with this game, but just as a heads up the voice acting can be painful at times and the plot doesn't make complete sense.

FFX, FFX-2, Tales of Symphonia. I'll live, but thanks for the heads-up :)

Played that for a little bit. It felt like you really have to appreciate sandbox worlds, to the point that you don't mind spending a decent amount of driving everywhere. You don't *have* to drive everywhere, but you miss sidequests if you don't.

Duly noted. I might rent before I buy.

I've only played Valkyria Chronicles 2, for the PSP, and that was balls-fantastic, so I will support those who've recommended this to you.

It's probably first on my list of to-buy.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Why is there no Uncharted on your list? Seriously that's like 1 of the primary reasons to own a PS3.

Also because it hasn't been said yet (in fact it almost always gets left out of these kinds of threads), Wipeout Fury.

[Solid Snake]

Played that for a little bit. It felt like you really have to appreciate sandbox worlds, to the point that you don't mind spending a decent amount of driving everywhere. You don't *have* to drive everywhere, but you miss sidequests if you don't.

Completely disagree with this sentiment; for me LA Noire included the least intrusive open-world sandbox mechanics, as you could basically have your partner drive you everywhere and the main storyline stuff was infinitely more interesting than any one of the side missions. There really is absolutely no reason to even experience the open-world driving stuff unless you really want to.

[rpgdemon]

...But driving in LA Noire is a blast!

[Solid Snake]

...But driving in LA Noire is a blast!

I enjoyed it, too.

But if you don't enjoy sandbox games, it's actually far easier to skip sandbox elements in LA Noire than any other Rockstar title, most notably Red Dead Redemption and GTA anything.

[Ecks]

A whole bunch of people omitting Red Dead Redemption from their lists

FUCK YOU GUYS.

That said, I'll add some more to my recommendations.

DMC IV (only if you haven't played it yet, I know there were complaints about the backtracking, but it's still freaking awesome)
MGS IV (already said this earlier, but if you've played Solid up to Snake Eater, you owe it to yourself to see how it plays out. IV wraps up all the weirdo plot points.)
God of War Collection (I have yet to actually play through any of the God of War games, but I can't NOT recommend them, because I DO want to play them)
Final Fantasy XIII (It's definitely different, but I think it's different in a good way. A little change never hurt nobody, and they're making a sequel that's definitely NOT FFX-2 territory)
Star Wars TFU I and II (okay, one was good... two was AMAZING. I'm not shitting you, I played it on a non-HD TV and was BLOWN THE FUCK AWAY by the visuals. Gameplay is all there, and wound up tighter than TFU was)
Oblivion (if you're an Elder Scrolls fan, haven't already played it, and are looking forward to Skyrim, obligatory)
LEGO Pirates (fuck what everyone else says about how it's "not as good as LEGO Star Wars" because they're stupid. LEGO Jack Sparrow, er, I mean Pirates, is awesome)
LEGO Harry Potter (because Year 5-7 is on the way, man)
Killzone II and III (Haven't played them, but I liked the original, and it spawned two sequels. They must have done SOMETHING right)
RED DEAD REDEMPTION (fuck you guys, it's awesome)
Call of Duty: Black Ops (Zombies, just Zombies)

[EVILNess]

You do know that Gears of War is an Xbox exclusive right?

Right?

[Jagos]

Maybe there's a PC version he "found"?

[Ecks]

You do know that Gears of War is an Xbox exclusive right?

Right?

OHSHIT!

HEY GUISE GUESS WHAT I'M SUPER RETARDO!

Seriously, I own a PS3 and XBox360, so it's sometimes hard for me to think about one platforms exclusives by itself.