It’s Christmas Eve so what better way to relax and prepare for tomorrow’s hectic torrent of gift exchanging, turkey murder and old-person-you-thought-were-dead-hugging than sitting down with a look at ten more great PS3 games of 2010. Actually, we’d rather be finding that elusive missing treasure on the Trespassers Prohibited level in PixelJunk Shooter but, hey, these articles aren’t going to write themselves.

Deadly Premonition – Developer: Access Games | Publisher: Marvelous Interactive (Japan) | Out: TBC

Starting off as Rainy Woods, Deadly Premonition resurfaced this year as a budget priced Silent Hill/Siren dare we say contender. It also sticks in my mind as a game that was an Xbox360 exclusive for all of one day.  In reality, the game simply wasn’t announced with the full associated platforms when brought back from the dead and to our picky attention.

From the new recent footage on offer, it would appear Deadly Premonition is gaming’s equivalent to Snakes On A Plane, hailing from the “So Bad It’s Good” school of schlock. The graphics are muddy, the acting and voice work atrocious, and it appears to heavily “borrow” from a number of more established horror games. So we’re looking forward to it then? Oh yes!

Deus Ex 3 - Developer: Eidos Montréal / SquareEnix | Publisher: SquareEnix | Out: TBC

If you thought people were pissed at Final Fantasy VIII after falling so headlong in love with Final Fantasy VII, you should check out the reaction fans had toward Deus Ex’s 2003 sequel Deus Ex: Invisible War. Personally, I thought the follow-up was a gritty, futuristic jaunt, well executed albeit a little clunky and slow-moving in places. Then again, I never played the original. Die-hard fans of the first game, however, hated it for its dumbed down augmented system and a move away from its RPG origins.  So, we don’t envy the task ahead for the Montréaleans making Deus Ex 3 for they’re sure to piss someone off. Take the backlash from the fans when a cover system was unveiled for the new title as a prime example.

Deus Ex presents a cyberpunk world infested with clandestine government forces and almost cabalistic covert groups hell-bent on making the future more unpleasant than it already is. Throw in bio-modification, fervent religious doctrine and more conspiracy theories than you could shake a grassy knoll at, and you get a dangerous yet intriguing universe to visit. Little is known about the new Deus Ex other than it will be a prequel, and that the augmentations will take the form of four distinct categories: Combat, Stealth, Technology and Social.

Doom 4 – Developer: id Software | Publisher: Bethesda Softworks | Out: TBC

Still regarded as one of the big daddies of the FPS clique, Doom 4 is apparently deep in development with more information promised to be revealed at next year’s QuakeCon. What we do know is that it will use id Software’s new Tech 5 engine, technology that will also drive id’s other FPS RAGE (which we will discuss in Part 8 of this series), and – for the tech-heads – is actually based on DirectX 9 specifications thus does not require DirectX 10 to run.

The chances of Doom 4 raising its beastly head by this time next year are pretty unknown. We place it here on this list more as a placeholder. Who knows, it might make it.

DUST 514 – Developer: CCP Games | Publisher: CCP Games | Out: TBC

PC gamers will likely be all-too familiar with EVE Online. A sci-fi based MMO, the game has over 300,000 active subscriptions and a loyal if not zealous following. Developed by Icelandic gaming house CCP (Crowd Control Productions) Games, the developers revealed at this year’s Eve FanFest that the company were working on a title for the seventh generation of consoles (that’s us). Further details emerged later on in the year at GamesCom where DUST 514 was officially unveiled.

DUST 514 is an intriguing concept for how it plans to integrate with the extant EVE universe. A companion game of sorts, while PC EVE Online gamers will continue to shape the universe from orbit, console gamers will get the opportunity to fight ground battles on the game’s plethora of planets.  Both games are hence intrinsically linked, with conquests and defeats played out on the surface having lasting ramifications to the wider EVE setting.

It’s a novel idea and one that might actually work. What also attracts us to DUST 514 (apart from being an MMOFPS) is just how purty the graphics are. Check out some footage on the interwebs if you need convincing.

EA Sports MMA – Developer: EA Tiburon | Publisher: EA | Out: TBC

Despite UFC über-meathead Dana White threatening to blacklist any fighter who signed up for their likeness to appear in EA’s retort to THQ’s new UFC Undisputed franchise, recent early glimpses of EA Sport’s Mixed Martial Arts title indicate we have nothing to worry about.

Of course, Dana should have known better to tell any man who looks like a shaved bear what to do, as signing up to the rival product is exactly what a whole host of his brawlers went and did. We’re assuming when big names like Fedor Emelianenko and Randy Couture defied White and accepted EA’s cheque, the UFC president probably wished he had kept his mouth shut as there’s no sign of such blackballing actually coming to light.

With THQ releasing a follow-up to their successful inaugural UFC title also next year, we’re seeing a FIFA/PES type schism appearing in the MMA world. The winners are the gamers of course, with those of you out there who like to beat the tar out of your fellow oily man soon to have two new titles to channel your frustration through.

Earth No More – Developer: Recoil Games | Publisher: Radar Group | Out: TBC

We’re going to go out on a limb here and designate Earth No More as “Game Most Likely Not To Happen” on this list. An FPS set in a town experiencing a strange outbreak of red tentacles (happens all the time around these parts), Recoil Games have announced that the title is on hold indefinitely due to financial reasons. Take into account the recent allegations of IP theft by Cinemagraphix Entertainment directed at 3D Realms (now Radar Group) who allegedly (there’s that word again) were pitched the idea of Earth No More back in 2005 by Cinemagraphix, and the omens are not good. And we’re not talking about red tentacles.

Earthworm Jim – Developer: Gameloft | Publisher: Interplay | Out: TBC

The news this year that Gameloft had received permission to develop an Earthworm Jim game for what included next-gen consoles was greeted with jubilant jumping up and down by the game’s (now aging) fan-base. For the uninitiated, Earthworm Jim was a platformer designed by Dave Perry and Doug TenNapel that proved quite popular on the likes of the SNES and Sega Mega Drive/Genesis back in the mid 90s. It even spawned a cartoon.

The attraction of Earthworm Jim, apart from its addictive one-more-go gameplay and colourful art style, was its tongue-in-cheek antics. In what other game can you play a worm capable of pulling himself from his own space-suit and lassoing his head to a hook in order to advance to the next platform? Genius.

Earthworm Jim 4 will likely be a PSN title. If it makes it at all.

Edge of Twlight – Developer: Fuzzy Eyes | Publisher: Southpeak Interactive| Out: TBC

When I first imagined writing this 100 PS3 Games of 2010 list, one of the immediate things that jumped into my head was “Oh, I’m going to have to probably mention Edge of Twilight”, something I was not looking forward to considering the title’s current limbo status.

Nothing to do that that vampiric teenage girl wet-dream snooze-fest, Edge of Twilight features bounty hunter Lex, who, being a halfbreed, is one of the only few people who can cross between two worlds.

This third-person perspective title featuring intricate steampunk imagery and some interesting action sequences hit a wall this year when its Brisbane-based developer Fuzzy Eyes announced the game had run aground due to issues with publisher Southpeak Interactive. A recent press release states, however, “all outsourcing parties [are] still working hard on EOT development.” We didn’t know the project had been outsourced, but we’ll take any good news if it means the title eventually gets a release.

Enslaved - Developer: Ninja Theory | Publisher: Namco Bandai | Out: TBC

Heavenly Sword is a really good game. There, I said it. Not the best game ever created. Nor is it earth-shattering. But it’s also not mediocre or even bad as some may want you to believe. Of course, this is just a personal opinion and we all have them, but what Ninja Theory managed to create with Heavenly Sword was truly spectacular in terms of art. We won’t descend into the “Are games art?” debate here, but the look and presentation of Heavenly Sword was second to none. It was polished to an inch of its life.

It’s because of this attention and care Ninja Theory showed to its PS3 exclusive launch-title that we’re fascinated at what they have in store for their upcoming multiplatform title Enslaved. Similar to some degree to their previous venture, Enslaved offers intense combat and environment traversal on an Earth 150 years in the future. Blasted and now unrecognisable, players take on the role of Monkey and an AI companion, Trip. The game’s title is in reference to how Trip “enslaves” Monkey by hacking into his mind through the use of a fancy headband. The title is also in reference to the game’s setting, as she does this in an effort to keep them both alive and out of the nefarious hands of slavers.

Explodemon! – Developer: Curve Studios | Publisher: Curve Studios | Out: TBC

Looking like a cute, mini version of Iron Man, Explodemon! is a PSN title from developer Curve Studios. The game has an interesting background with designer Jonathan Biddle working on its prototype in his spare time. The main reason we’re so looking forward to Explodemon! is due to the titular hero’s unique approach to defeating enemies. He blows himself up. The game’s official site also has the following (and somewhat baffling) description: “Explodemon! is a 2.5D action platform game with an explosive main character. Mixing classic platforming action – from classics such as Mario and MegaMan – with the refined contemporary gameplay of Halo and Half-Life 2, it brings old-school gameplay bang up to date.” You had us at “explosive main character.”

-

Tomorrow is Christmas Day when you should be spending time with your family and playing those great games you just received. Of course, if you fancy a break from the strategic mistletoe offenses and your sixth mince-pie, check back in for another ten PS3 games of 2010.