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.
fs
I’m looking forward to ‘The Last of Us’ but can’t sa the others particularly interest me. It’s only natural for gamers to look ahead at the nex big things. The the next gen will always overshadow the current.
Youles
Despite these exclusives, I’m more looking forward to Dead Space 3, AC3 and Tomb Raider. If we’re talking exclusives, then I can take satisfaction that these will be on just one disc on PS3, a slight advantage :p
Taylor Made
U forgot bioShock infinite shame on you!
Forrest_01
It did get pushed back to next year though, so its likely fallen off a few radars.
It’s still finly on my ‘to buy’ list of course, but i have to say that it isn’t in the forefront of my mind at the moment. Mainly because it doens’t need to be.
Forrest_01
*firmly, not ‘finly’
Not sure what ‘finly’ means.
Taylor Made
Yeh I hear what you saying but isn’t bio coming out before those other 2 games, apart from AC which is out this year
Forrest_01
If the internet is to be believed, they are actually all due out around the same time (Feb 2013 apparently), so you do have a point.
I believe Youles is probably just looking forward to DS3 & TR a bit more than Bioshock though (well, i know he is looking forward to DS3 more, but unsure about TR).
Youles
You are correct Forrest – lost a bit of interest in Bioshock, I think just due to the delays. AC3s locations just feel like the change the series has needed (for me personally), and I can’t get me enough Dead Space, pew!pew!pew!
Forrest_01
Yeah, i know you love a bit of Isaac. :)
The only thing i am kind of concerned about with the new one is that its going to be Isaac ‘plus one’ & that what i have seen so far is less necromorph & more space marine which is a bit disappointing, but i still retain a level of faith.
I’ll need to actually get around to finishing the second one before i start getting invested in it though! :S
Jim Hargreaves
I’ll be snapping up all five of these without even having to think twice.
Between the PS3 and 360, the former has much more in the way of diversity. Out of the five games above, all have tremendous appeal yet not one is a first person shooter.
colmshan1990
The same.
And I’ll even be picking up PS All Stars twice, once for the Vita as well (NITPICKING ALERT: does this still count as exclusive to PS3? :P )!
DixNeuf
This bunch really doesn’t do it for me. I’ll give anything by Naughty Dog a go, but karting, a Smash-Brothers style game, yet another GoW really don’t excite me at all, and I’m not even going near the David Cage game, his stuff really doesn’t deliver the goods for me.
Right now, despite the lack of new games on the horizon, the Vita is definitely suiting my gaming needs much better than the PS3.
Taylor Made
Dude heavy rain is a awesome game, it better than most games u played fact! & it’s an original new ip.
As fit God of war, have it!! The game is kick ass
KeRaSh
I hardly believe YOU know for a FACT what games HE prefers. David Cage is a nut case. THAT is a fact. He took it rather slow with Heavy Rain if you compare it to Fahrenheit. Heavy Rain is a good game, it was something fresh but it sometimes left me wondering if it just did things differently so they could say they did something differently. The controls were awkward to put it lightly. In Fahrenheit you had to play Simon Says during dialogs, which I think is plain stupid. Don’t get me started on the weird second half of the game that didn’t make much sense story wise.
Taylor Made
Dude relax, how do YOU know I ain’t friends with him on psn for me to say that lol.
You must been playing heavy rain with the move cause how can the controls get awkward if all you had to do was press x square triangle circle rotate the analog sticks but each to their own I say ey.
Forrest_01
I actually agree with KeRaSh tbh – Some of the controls weren’t exactly obvious as to what you had to do at that given moment, sometimes leading to having to retry.
I played on a pad too. I gots no moves! :D
Don’t get me wrong – I liked it, it was fresh & innovative, but as he mentioned, some things felt like they were there only to be perceived as innovative & not because they actually served a purpose.
I also felt no urge to return to it once i was done with it. 22 different endings eh? No thanks.
KeRaSh
I played it with a pad. Holding down R2 to walk was really awkward. Opening doors, cupboards and fridges with the left stick is not innovative. It just gets in the way of you using the left stick to walk. I can see why they did that. Opening a door with a rotation of the stick seems more natural in terms of how the character would experience the scene, but as a game, I’m holding a pad and I don’t care if I have to press X, Square, O or Triangle to open a door, as long as I can still move around with the left stick…
Add a mediocre story with a pinch of mediocre graphics to that and you get Heavy Rain. In my opinion this game was massively overhyped. Not a bad game, but definitely didn’t live up to my expectations. Platinumed it and never went back. My worst fear is that David Cage will screw up Beyond by messing with the controls and going ape shit over the top with the story…
Taylor Made
Personally I never had any problems with the controls just like any other game, u get used to the controls & it just becomes neutral like killzone 2 controls they was pain but after a while u get used to them.
I personally also think the story was very good well written & thought out. No one can say they guessed who the killer was & got it right to the end.
22 endings wtf I thought it was 15/16 endings?
Forrest_01
Apparently:
4 for Shelby, 6 for Jayden, 5 for Madison, 7 for Ethan.
4+6+5+7=22
…& that’s why i couldn’t be arsed with it! :)
KeRaSh
The fact that they messed up the controls so much that you had to get used to them was what really bothered me. Without the clunky controls HR wouldn’t even be anything special in my opinion. It’s what sets this game apart from others and not in a good way.
The 22 endings thing is a vast overexaggeration. Actually you only get a few different endings that are composed of 22 short cut scenes that appear in a certain order at the end of the game. I think it took me around 1.5 to 2.5 playthroghs to get them all. Considering the endings were as bad as they we’re I’d say you didn’t miss out on anything.
skibadee
all will be day one buys for me all look great.
Taylor Made
God of war is a day before release but for me lol
Last of us & beyond can’t wait!!!
That all star battle crap should be ashamed
LTG Davey
Not sold on the new GOW (far too many of these games already) and Allstars (shameless cash-in, nothing more), though the other three games you’ve listed look great.
Last of Us in particular looks awesome and its refreshing to see a Naughty Dog game without Nathan Drake showing his stupid, smarmy, punchable face :P
skibadee
being a nintendo fan thought you would love playing the same titles.
LTG Davey
Oh snap ;)
KeRaSh
With you on that one. I’ll probably end up buying the All Star brawler and maybe even GoW, which I then will rant about for at least a year because I don’t really like the franchise…
Nocure-fd
Yes, the last of us is the only game in this particular line up that really interests me as well.
However what really intrigues me as far as playstation goes, is the willingness of Sony to work with other platforms. They blazed a trail way back on the PS2 with Final Fantasy XI, with PC/PS (and eventually 360) users all playing happily together. They kept this up with Portal 2 being multiplatform, which was a real boon to the co-op side of the game. And now with Dust on the horrizon, I have to say I am dripping with anticipation. And not just because I am a fan of the Eve universe.
The idea behind Dust/Eve having a common market and in-game influence has almost limitless potential if someone just has the inspiriation to take the idea a little further. Imagine an IP that has common interaction over PC/Playstastion/Social media. The games on each system being different but having control of a different aspect of the same game world. An exciting prospect.
I have more faith in Sony backing this sort of idea than I do Microsoft, who seem to want to charge users/developers/publishers alike for every single interaction they have with the live system.
So while the next generation may be round the corner. Sony are still managing to make remarkable inovations in the use of their hardware, and I find that just as exciting as any software line ups.
citizeninsane45
Just look at the end of the PS2 cycle. Some of the best games released such as SOTC and Okami etc.
Izorpo
That’s true (regards to Okami – still excited for HD remake) some of the best and innovative titles come at the end of the consoles life when all boundaries of the hardware have been pushed.
I’m not ready for next gen either I still have too many games piled up waiting to be played this gen and discovering some old ps2 games I missed on their initial release piling up in the retro corner
Awayze
I hope to buy at least 4 of them on release day. Not sure about the battle royale game though.