We started life as a PlayStation 3 blog and even though we’re constantly expanding and diversifying, the majority of our staff are primarily PlayStation 3 gamers. So this vote was close to the hearts of many of our staff as we’re sure it will be for many of our readers.
This year saw a strong schedule for Sony’s machine. We saw God of War III and Heavy Rain lead the pack at the start of the year and Gran Turismo 5 screech into view at the tail end of the year.
So it is perhaps surprising that one game stood out so prominently above all others. Even with such quality competition as MAG, 3D Dot Game Heroes and ModNation Racers there was one very clear winner.
Our PlayStation 3 Exclusive Game of the Year is Quantic Dream’s narrative-heavy, near-future detective thriller, Heavy Rain.
Charmed_Fanatic
shocked. was not expecting that, GOW3 maybe, but not Heavy Rain! Much love deserved
Erroneus
I’m proud of my fellow TSA’s for an excellent choice! Heavy Rain was simply stunning and something unique, I loved it! :)
Tuffcub
Absoloutely the right outcome. It may be flawed but there has never been anything like Heavy Rain.
jikomanzoku
Apart from Fahrenheit?
Heavy Rain was very good, but didn’t learn enough lessons from Fahrenheit for me to elevate it to “Great” status. I and a number of friends who played it found that the controls kept leading to interruptions in your suspension of disbelief (ie – quarter circles to duck police tape etc) Thoroughly enjoyed the scrapping mind :D
Be interesting to see what could happen with a future title, benefitting from better script writing and acting in particular.
But then my top 2 would have been MAG & Demon’s Souls so I’m in the minority :)
jikomanzoku
imo it would have benefitted massively from an Assassins Creed/Brink style movement system interpreting the likely intentions of the player and animating accordingly. Keep the player focused on the action not the controller like.
TSBonyman
Heavy Rain and God of War 3 would be my top 2 also. I didn’t get on well with MNR myself but obviously plenty others liked it :)
Grey_Ghost13
Now thats a better list of exclusive games!
Good to see some love for Demons Souls and GT5 sneeking in there!
I’m yet to play heavy rain, was supposed to pick it up now I’ve got a move controller but haven’t got round to it yet, maybe I should!
Burgess_101
yes,yes you should :P
ericzap
Very well deserved. It should receive awards based alone on the enormous risk the developers took when they strayed from any existing formula and practically created their own genre of game. Truly a sublime gaming experience.
cc_star
I only encountered problems when I tried to play Heavy Rain so I just gave up, the awful acting didn’t help especially as that’s what the game is half supposed to be about. Also I felt choice was little more than an illusion or plain & simple smoke & mirrors, where (often) whatever you choose the outcome ends up being the same anyway. For people Heavy Rain did click with though, I can see why they loved it and its rated so highly.
Adored 3D Dot Game Heroes & Yakuza3 through… found God Of War 3 to be an awesome game and enthralling right to the end (and especially after the end) but it was easily my least favourite of the series.
kjkg
Did you just steal my opinion of HR? haha. Basically what you said is what I thought.
I can understand why the game is so greatly loved. But for me, it was far too flawed. That and the fact ppl kept going on about how it was like a movie and was unreal. When really it was a B-movie at best with hammy acting and a truley unbelievable story with more plot holes than the Lion King!
tonycawley
What are the plot holes in the lion king?
Loxstokk
Have to admit the terrible voice acting was a big obstacle for me. They used mostly European actors, I don’t know why they felt that they needed to set the story in the states. God knows Britain gets enough rain to fulfil the title. Maybe they were concerned that the game would be quirky enough without alienating our American cousins and risk losing sales over there. I say either hire voice actors who can do the right accent or simply hire the locals. Otherwise I’d say Heavy Rain was interesting. A lot of good and cricially new ideas that really set it apart from the crowd, but also seemingly an equal amount of bad ideas which held it back. I’m really looking forward to what comes next for the developer!
project84music
I wasn’t expecting it to go to Heavy Rain, but very pleased! A top choice, and a fantastic game.
It’s great to see something fresh and original taking the top spot, but equally warming to see so many fantastic titles beneath it! This year was pretty damn good, though I still can’t wait for next years line up – if you do this list next December the PS3 category could be toughy.
Kronik76
Can’t help but think that if GT5 had been out for longer it would have had a far better showing.
I thought Heavy Rain was ok, but I’m glad I didn’t buy it.
bunimomike
Wow, quite the surprise (to me) but I feel nothing truly stood out this year. However, as a gathering of diverse exclusives for the PS3, it was a belter of a year. All great but nothing phenomenal (in my eyes).