100 PS3 Games of 2010 – Part 10
This is the end. My beautiful friend. The End.Published 30/12/2009 at 14:26 by Kovacs
100 PS3 Games Of 2010 – Addendum I [22]
100 PS3 Games of 2010 – Part 9 [31]
100 PS3 Games of 2010 – Part 8 [18]
This is it. We’ve finally made it. One hundred titles and thousands of words later, the end of our ten part 100 PS3 Games of 2010 feature finally reaches its dramatic conclusion. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading the series, looking into the days of Gaming Future and mentally calculating how much money will be leaving your bank account in the months to come. If you’ve earmarked as many games as we have, there’s a good chance your kids/pets may actually starve. But screw ‘em. Kids and pets fended for themselves and hunted for their own food back in my day. It’ll toughen the bastards up a little.
I wish I could say that our final ten are a real doozy. Unfortunately, though we managed to avoid the inevitable strife of ranking these 100 games, relying on the alphabet to deliver up a rip-roaring send-off was probably an unwise endeavour.
The last ten are, in my opinion, probably the weakest set in the bunch. Then again, gaming has a wonderful way of throwing up surprises where you least expect them. Who knows? Maybe 2010’s Game of the Year is hidden somewhere below among the ranks of the following …
The Last Rebellion – Developer: Nippon Ichi | Publisher: Nippon Ichi / NIS | Out: TBC
A PS3 exclusive RPG from Nippon Ichi, despite the game launching next month in Japan (and in NA in March, no word on a European release), we actually don’t know much about the title. So we checked out the official site.
It’s all very Japanese with the usual spate of mystical interference as two gods representing life and death meddle with the affairs of us mortals. With the life bringing god imbuing characters with special abilities, and the death-god creating monsters out of people’s souls, it doesn’t take a genius to work out where the characters of Nine and Aisha fit in.
The system allows for free-roaming exploration, though combat will be turn-based. Eh, what else? Nine has really silly hair. But you’ve probably guessed that already.
The Outsider – Developer: Frontier Developments | Publisher: TBC | Out: TBC
When we were culling games from this list – and we culled a fair few – Frontier Developments’ The Outsider must have been in and out of contention on about four separate occasions. The cause of this ambiguity is purely down to just how long this game has been in development. That and the fact that we’ve heard nothing of it in eons. But it’s still coming apparently. Or not.
In researching The Outsider I have read interviews about the game from as far back as early 2007 with little to no information surfacing in more recent times; usually a sign that a game entered production, got stuck there, and will probably remain in Development Hell forever. The fact that it still makes the list at all is due to blind optimism on our behalf based on the game’s potential.
The Outsider throws out traditional, linear game story arcs and, using some proprietary and likely alien technology, tries to simulate the decisions and actions that characters you interact with would likely make based on an insane array of variables.
It’s a bold mandate, literally attempting to make a game based on the strength of artificial intelligence. Of course, you need a start, and the game provides one with your character, Jameson, a CIA operative wrongly accused of a crime and going out on the lamb. Sure, it’s more spies and sounds a little hackneyed, but if they can pull off the tech, this could be a landmark game and a new avenue for gaming in general.
Thief 4- Developer: Eidos Montréal | Publisher: SquareEnix | Out: TBC
Medieval stealth time with Eidos’ return to the popular Thief franchise. Thief has a prestigious legacy and its own diehard following – mostly from the series’ earlier days on the PC.
Fittingly, we know nearly nothing about Thief’s fourth outing other than Eidos’ confirmation – after hinting for a short time – that the game is actually in production. With Deus Ex 3 also in development at Eidos, Thief 4 represents the other side of Eidos’ coin in their attempt to return to glory with trusted properties.
Transformers: The War for Cybertron – Developer: High Moon Studios | Publisher: Activision | Out: TBC
Michael Bay has nothing to do with this game. We repeat: Michael Bay has nothing to do with this game. Taking place on Cybertron, long before the metallic marauders managed to swing by earth and mess the place up thanks to their lust for Energon and comely vending machines, The War for Cybertron is an origins story of epic proportions.
We get to see the Autobots and Decepticons at the dawn of their eternal conflict, not to mention some radical new vehicles. After all, it will be the weapons and cars of Cybertron which the two groups will be transforming into to gain any semblance of combat advantage.
The game depicts the robots as something similar to their War Within interpretation. It also boasts a Gears of War type feel and the promise of on-line co-op and head-to-head multiplayer. Apart from the obligatory Optimus Prime appearance (voiced by Peter Cullen by the way), we’ll also get the chance to unleash Omega Supreme who, for the non-Transformers fans out there, is an Autobot of prodigious size and power. Dude can punch through a mountain.
High Moon Studios made a few ripples with The Bourne Conspiracy, a game that borrowed a lot from the Jason Bourne film trilogy, if not Matt Damon’s likeness. It wasn’t the best game on the PS3 (that month) but it also wasn’t the worst. With a beloved property to build a foundation on, here’s hoping they treat the Transformers franchise a little better than a certain Ferrari driving Hollywood director. Fall! Damn you! FALL! (Extra brownie points if you get the quote.)
Tron Evolution – Developer: Propaganda Games | Publisher: Disney | Out: TBC
Showing our age, Tron was kind of a big deal to us older gamers here at TSA. Before Gamer and other such attempts to depict gaming on the big screen, Tron resonated with those of us who loved videogames from an early age. With its neon etched visuals and geeky overtones, Tron was the coolest thing on the planet, with rumours of a sequel over the years keeping the old Tron fire burning.
With 2010 finally seeing that sequel materialise, it’s no shock that a movie based on a videogame would get a game tie-in itself. There’s little known about Tron Evolution at this time. We’re sure that will change over the coming months.
True Crime – Developer: United Front Games | Publisher: Activision | Out: TBC
Revealed at this year’s VGAs, True Crime is the latest in the popular action series. Despite not having a location specific sub-title likes its predecessors True Crime: Streets of LA and True Crime: New York City, the latest True Crime will take place in the dangerous underworld of Hong Kong.
The trailer depicts little other than the bare bones of the story. You play Wei Shen, a Chinese cop who attempts to infiltrate the organised crime world of the Hong Kong Triads.
The game’s appeal stems from the challenge of trying to balance maintaining cover by performing heinous acts to convince your new buddies of your criminal ways, all the while gathering information and worming your way in to the Triad’s hierarchy.
The first True Crime title not to be developed by Luxoflux (who appear to be focusing on movie tie-ins these days such as Transformers, Shrek and Kung Fu Panda), United Front Games will handle developing duties. Which just goes to show that you should never pigeon-hole a studio into one genre. After all, United Front will also have their highly anticipated ModNation Racers debut on the PlayStation 3 next year.
Twisted Metal - Developer: EatSleepPlay | Publisher: SCE | Out: TBC
Another title from the mystery box, Twisted Metal has been hinted at for as long as we can remember. An update to David Jaffe’s seminal vehicular combat game, many people are intrigued to finally see what the likes of Calypso, Sweet Tooth and Mr. Grimm will look like in full explosive HD glory.
The game is not official. In fact, all we have is a coded message stating Twisted Metal is coming to the PS3 at the end of the last title in the series: Twisted Metal: Head-On. That said, now that Jaffe has headed up his own development house since July of 2007, what else has he been doing? Swearing at people on the Internet? OK, he’s been doing that, too.
UFC Undisputed 2010 - Developer: Yuke’s | Publisher: THQ | Out: May 25th
UFC is one of the fastest growing sports in the world. It was therefore something of a no-brainer that a virtual version of the plug-fest would finally wind up on a console. What was surprising, however, was that EA weren’t behind it. Something they’ve now rectified.
UFC Undisputed 2009 was one of the guilty pleasures of this year. With its myriad of take-downs, kimuras, arm-bars and triangle choke-holds, there was something insanely visceral and enjoyable about inviting a few friends over and then making mince out of them in the game.
With the aforementioned EA rival entering the octagon next year, the UFC gaming competition is about to get real interesting. Hopefully it will just make THQ up their game.
Under Siege - Developer: Seed Studios | Publisher: Seed Studios | Out: Q2 2010
Under Siege (unfortunately) does not feature Steven Segal or Erika Eleniak jumping out of a cake. What it does have is a level editor and controls tailored for consoles. Or console, considering it’s exclusive to the PS3.
The game is an “action strategy” and will be a downloadable title on the PSN.
Yakuza 4 – Developer: Amusement Vision | Publisher: Sega | Out: TBC
Truth be told, we debated putting Yakuza 3 at the end of this list. After all, it is finally getting a Western port, and it’s not like there aren’t fans of the game outside of Japan. But we’ll focus on its newer incarnation instead.
While Yakuza 3 sees Kazuma Kiryu scurrying between the island of Okinawa and Kamurocho, a fictional take on Kabukicho – Tokyo’s red-light district and hive of cool drinking dens (trust us, it’s awesome), Yakuza 4 sees Kiryu-san joined by new characters along with the rooftops and underground of Kamurocho as fresh settings to explore.
Yakuza 4 will be released in Japan in March. If Yakuza 3 sells as well as we hope in the West, we can expect a port toward the end of the year.
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And we’re done. I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who read and enjoyed these articles – especially to those who commented and expressed their thanks and letting us know which titles piqued their interest. The series was a labour of love but, despite the hours required, I thoroughly enjoyed writing each entry.
I would also like to express my thanks to TSA’s djhsecondnature who, on incredibly short notice, created over one hundred images to adorn these inane ramblings.
Finally, will there be a 100 PS3 Games of 2011 feature next year? Perhaps. If there is, you can be assured that I will not start it as late as the 20th of December like I did this year.
-Kovacs-
Comments
Please note that all comments are the opinion of the individual author and not TheSixthAxis.
Amphlett | 30/12/2009 14:34
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Fantastic series of articles! Top marks go to Kovacs and all of the contributors.
colmshan1990 | 30/12/2009 14:37
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Excellent series, Kovacs. You made me realise just how poor I am.
Out of this list, Thief 4 could be the game for me.
Amphlett | 30/12/2009 14:41
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TRON is already on my watchlist for 2010.
Transformers – I just have another bad feeling about this one.
Whilst on the subject of Transformers, if Optimus Prime and the other big robots are so good then, as they’re machines and not organic beings created from natural selection, don’t the Transformers just create more Optimus Primes (and the super big one you mentioned) to defeat the nasty Transformers? Or, just create thousands of really big car crushing machines?
[waiting for a torrent of pro-Transformers abuse...]
hazelam | 30/12/2009 17:15
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because they’re not just machines, they have a life force, in the original comics they were given life by the matrix, no, not that one.
in the beast wars series i think it was they introduced the spark, kind of like the physical manifestation of a transformers soul, without which their bodies were just empty shells.
that idea was carried into the movie but the matrix concept was turned into the allspark.
so there is more to them than just their bodies.
not sure how they’ve got the reproductive cycle working for the movies because they showed little hatchling decepticons, maybe there’s a decepticon queen somewhere.
i do know in some book they’re supposed to have some sort of equivalent of dna, some of the decepticon jets are supposed to be brothers and there were the twin in revenge of the fallen.
then in the original g1 series there was sunstreaker and sideswipe who are supposed to be brothers.
oh yeah, should have said, geek out alert
meaning me, not you, that wasn’t an insult.
hazelam | 30/12/2009 17:19
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and have you noticed they said there would be no size changing in the movies, yet the allspark went from something the size of a small office block to something you can carry under your arm?
weird that :
upselo | 30/12/2009 14:45
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Does anyone know if Thief 4 is planned for consoles (and PS3 to be precise) or if it’s a PC exclusive ?
colmshan1990 | 30/12/2009 14:50
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Read the title of the piece.
upselo | 30/12/2009 14:58
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Oups. Hadn’t read any confirmation on this before, sorry.
Phil_E | 30/12/2009 14:51
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Can’t wait for Yakuza 3 … and 4
legalisemurder | 30/12/2009 14:52
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I buy everything nippon ichi have any involvement with so i’m looking forward to last rebellion.I remember playing a thief game on the xbox that wasn’t too bad.Good job with these articles.
ghost5 | 30/12/2009 15:02
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Just want to say thanks for a great read over these last 10 days. 2010 is going to be an expensive year for gaming!
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 30/12/2009 15:05
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Yakuza 4? Focus on giving us Yakuza 3 first, now the Japanese gamers have played it to death.
UFC was a very pleasant surprise, thus I am excited about more brawling in the octagon coming our way.
DRCD1 | 30/12/2009 15:17
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Yakuza 4 will be released in the same month Yakuza 3 is released here, I think
iNsAnE_gAmInG | 30/12/2009 15:24
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What?!?!?!
That would be stupid, humorous and an epic fail.
Zuler | 30/12/2009 15:43
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Yeah, Yakuza 4 is coming out on March 18th next year to be precise.
Kovacs | 30/12/2009 19:56
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How would it be humourous or a fail? The only thing remarkable here is that Yakuza 4 is coming out so soon after 3 in Japan (and as Zuler correctly states, it’s out in March).
It takes time for a game to be localised. And let’s not forget that Sega took a while deciding whether or not there was even a market for Yakuza 3 outside of Japan. The first two did not sell tremendously well (look it up if you don’t believe me.)
I for one am happy Yakuza 3 is getting a port. I put 4 ahead of it on the list as 3 hitting next year on our shores is old news. And if I included every localised or late port (White Knight Chronicles, Demon’s Souls, etc. etc.) this list would have been *200″ PS3 Games of 2010. And, trust me, it could have been.
Sympozium Gro Mak | 04/01/2010 10:13
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…..in Japan damn, still what happened to yakuza 2??????????????
DRCD1 | 30/12/2009 15:21
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If I were rich, I’d buy every game of this list and from all the previous. But I am not rich, so if I had to choose any title from this list, it’d be Under Siege.
cc_star | 30/12/2009 15:27
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Twisted Metal for me – go Jaffe!
carlosfilippsen | 30/12/2009 16:14
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UFC 2009 was great, so I’m looking forward to 2010.
True Crime was great on the PS2 so I’m hoping it will be even better on the PS3.
Tron? What can I say.. Cannot wait for it.. God, theres too many games to get in 2010!
skibadee | 30/12/2009 16:53
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true crime for me, great series the top 100 thx.
spooner_22 | 30/12/2009 18:33
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Thief and True Crime should be good. Looking forward to checkin out Yakuza 3 before thinking about a 4th
seedaripper1973 | 30/12/2009 18:37
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Please dont fuck up Tron (the movie or the game)…
Kovacs | 30/12/2009 20:00
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Hey, it’s got the Dude. And the Dude …. abides.
Rob92 | 30/12/2009 19:15
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I dont get why everyone bashes the Transformers films. Ok so the gangsta twins were two of the worst things in a film ever, but they were really entertaining. I dont understand how a film about massive robots can be emotional or character focussed. So they did well in my view.
Kovacs | 30/12/2009 20:15
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The first one was OK, the second was terrible, however. Given, bashing Transformers is the latest trend, and you’re right – there are some good things about both movies, but the issue here is the emotional quality you mentioned. I don’t believe it. Not for one second. Making Bumblebee a bumbling idiot trying to impress Sam was cringeworthy. And the fight scenes, though *probably* technically impressive, you can’t tell what the hell is going on. There’s so much metal on the screen – and with Bay’s incessant cuts – it all just flashes across the screen like a ball of tin-foil on fire.
Watch Avatar and you’ll see how action sequences should be done. Cameron slows it down. You can see the action and enjoy the effects for what they are. Visual treats that enhance the story.
Bay’s Transformers is all flashing lights and silly quips. The plots to BOTH movies are incredibly weak. Sure, watching things blow up can be cool for a bit, but the movies are just not good. Not good in the sense of movies in general. And not good in terms of what a true Transformers movie could be.
I actually have time for Bay. I liked The Rock and have a soft spot for Armageddon. They’re both truly get pieces of pop-corn movie eye-candy.
I think he dropped the ball with Transformers though. It could be because I really don’t rate LaBeouf as an actor/star but I could see past his tomfoolery if the robots were anything like they were in the comics/cartoons. They’re not. They’re really not.
hazelam | 31/12/2009 15:54
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what about jazz?
jazz was just like the mildly racist stereotype from the old cartoon.
and guess who gets killed first.
i think bay actually improved on the action sequences from the first film by a very large margin, you could actually tell what was going on most of the time in the sequel.
cc_star | 30/12/2009 20:23
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I’m a huge Transformers fan, had all the G1 transformers, watch the TV series religously owned the wallpaper even the duvet set.
Transformers: The Movie (1986) is one of my fave movies ever, I even enjoyed the first modern Transformers movie, sure the acting was weak and the story simplistic, but what the hell it was a good old Hollywood action flick and I thoroughly enjoyed it
However, RotF I found was not enjoyable at all – the story being practically identical didn’t help, but it was mainly LaBeouf’s absolutely dreadful acting (something which helped spoil Indiana Jones 5 as well) shone through – he couldn’t carry a movie to save his life, also Michael Bay thinks showing Megan Fox bending over is all thats needed to build relationship or chemistry – something that may appeal to 12 year olds, but again not enough for a big movie. Everyone talks about the fight in the forest, but I thought the city fight in the first one was miles better.
The shortcomings I found added up to it not being as good as the first, by quite some way, and although the first was enjoyable enough it wasn’t great, so IMO RotF was piss poor, which as a huge transformers fan made me sad.
*phew* that was longer than I planned it to be