Five Exclusive Reasons To Still Be Excited About PS3

Many expected Sony to show the PlayStation 4 at last month’s E3 Expo.

They didn’t, citing a lack of reason and a continued focus on this current generation, at least in terms of games. I’d suspect Microsoft keeping mum also had a small part to play in that decision, but the outcome is what counts: the next generation of PlayStation console is still top secret, and will remain so for now.

Is this a bad thing? No, it’s not. I’ve already written about how I’m not looking forward to next gen and little has changed since that blog – the industry’s gearing up for more microtransactions, streaming, day one DLC and all manner of niggles that I’m not fond of, so I’m happy enough sticking with what we’ve got for now.

And besides, there’s still a good few games to come in the next year.

Here are five of them, all exclusive to PlayStation:

The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog, 2013

Uncharted developers Naughty Dog can do no wrong of late, and their bombastic bullet popping E3 trailer showed that they don’t plan on holding back for this third person adventure.

Set at the outset of a deadly plague, The Last Of Us shows a world falling to its feet, with survivors battling against each other just as much as they will against the infected.

The game met with universal praise after its E3 showing, despite a clearly linear route through the section shown, and looks to be much more grounded than Nathan Drake’s recent high drama.

All Star Battle Royale, Superbot, 2012

For someone who never really got into Nintendo’s Smash Bros, Superbot’s Battle Royale is something of a mystery. It’s thematically very similar, but the fact that it’s filled full of Sony characters gives it a slightly different appeal.

Without a single true mascot, the PlayStation brand finds itself instead with a huge fighting roster full of them. From Fat Princess through to Kratos, from the esoteric to the obvious, Battle Royale could – barring a huge disaster in the mechanics – be brilliant.

Of course, now that Seth Killian is involved down at Santa Monica there should be a considerable boost to the game’s authenticity amongst fighting fans, a notoriously exacting and demanding (for the right reasons) bunch of hardcore gamers.

LittleBigPlanet Karting, UFG, 2012

I loved ModNation Racers perhaps more than I thought I did. Looking back, the game’s immense ability to let users create everything about the game themselves (including that ridiculous level editor) meant that – in theory – there was no limitation to how long the game could last.

Loading times spoiled the party somewhat, but I do remember having a blast in multiplayer. United Front Games might be getting some help from Media Molecule as MNR is rebranding to fit in Sackboy and friends, but as long as they don’t change too much and fix the few issues the original had I’ll be more than happy.

And of course, the whole ‘create’ thing fits in perfectly with the LittleBigPlanet ethos.

Beyond, Quantic Dream, 2013

Fahrenheit really started David Cage’s love affair with cinematic cameras and story telling, and Heavy Rain brought the sub-genre to the masses with plenty of style and flair, even if the gameplay didn’t always quite match up to the concept.

We got a first hand look at Beyond last month, with Isaac really impressed with what he saw, saying the game left him “blown away”. “I wasn’t even playing the game but I felt completely engaged to the action at all times. I wanted to see what happened next. I wanted to know why Jodie was in this predicament. I wanted to see her succeed,” he said.

It looks like everything about the game is a huge step up from Heavy Rain – the graphics richer, the action more intense and yet more free, and Sony are really courting some top tier acting talent.

God of War Ascension, Santa Monica, 2013

And so to Kratos, perhaps one of PlayStation’s key IPs. The fact that there’s a new God of War isn’t really a surprise, more that it’s not a regular numbered sequel and that it’s set before everything else – two things that should hopefully give it a bit of a refresh.

The single player demonstration above doesn’t show a huge amount of variation, of course, but Sony wouldn’t want to change the formula that’s been successful over the years; more a case of refinement and making sure that – this time around – the multiplayer angle works out well.

If 2013 is the last year of the this particular console (and that’s still up to the platform holder, of course, as to when a successor is announced and dated) it’s perhaps fitting that Kratos is one of the PS3’s final games.

Making lots of noise and demonstrating visuals beyond what many think such an aged piece of kit is capable of seems like being the God of War’s trump card.