Top 5 PS3 Games You May Have Missed

PlayStationLifeStyle.net writes:

Killzone 2 is coming out next week, so we are pretty sure you PlayStation 3 owners will be quite busy. But if you are looking for that gem of a game, that you may have missed, we are going to list the Top 5 PS3 games that didn't get the attention they deserved. Whether it be because you didn't own a PS3 yet, or because you just didn't pick up the title, doesn't mean you should miss out on these games. Here is our top 5…

[Darkseider]

Out of all of them I am guilty of missing Valkyria Chronicles. The others are owned and played through and replayed quite a few times. Heavenly Sword in particular being one of my favorites.

[Sev]

So I assume you would agree with the list?

If you like RPG's at all, I highly recommend Valkyria Chronicles, I consider it the best PS3 game next to MGS4.

Even though Killzone 2 might take that spot.

[Darkseider]

Yup the list is pretty much spot on. It's amazing how many folks ignored a lot of the big 1st party stuff in lieu of 3rd party hype. R&C, Motorstorm:PR and Heavenly Sword in particular. Valkyria Chronicles missed the success boat because there was little known about it and strictly word of mouth advertising. GT5:P sold well but not as well as it should have as many review sites, while giving it good scores, said it was only a taste of the full game and isn't complete which drove off a lot of potential customers IMO. In any case these games can now be had for a bargain and if you missed any I suggest grabbing them if you have the funds to do so, you won't be disappointed.

[Bob Dole]

Didn't GT5P have over a million Pre-orders in Europe?

[rhood022]

^^^^^
It did have over a million pre-orders and went on to sell over twice as much.

[Chris399]

I'm working through VC now, and it is a real gem. Took a bit to grow on me, as I'm used to more "fantasy" themed SRPGs and JRPGs, but it really has a beautiful feel to it and the combat is quite clever.

Oh, and Heavenly Sword is - in my opinion - the most under-appreciated game this gen. It really brings to light Jaffe's recent criticism that most titles lack a compelling story. Heavenly Sword was brilliantly told and realized and makes other titles I've played feel like B movie action/ horror/ whatever flicks in comparison.

I'm the type of gamer that once I've played through something, it is moved to the "finished" side of the shelf, where it will stay for the rest of it's God given years. I'm not big on DLC or expansions or bonus features unlocked for a second playthrough; I like to finish a title, take a moment to reflect, and then move on.

Over the past year, I've played Heavenly Sword, off and on, for about 6 full play-throughs. I haven't been that captivated by a game, ever. (Except for anything Wild Arms, which is like crack to me.)

Sorry for the ramble :) Anyway, great list Sev.

@Below. You can usually find HS for about $35-40 used at any non-gamestop (EB Games here in Canada) location. Happy hunting! Oh, and the game is really closer to 8-9 hours. Heck, you could even rent it. You really should play the game, it is a masterpiece and will change the way you view games (in my experience). The last boss fight is pure EPIC as well.

[Nineball2112]

And I have to hang my head and admit that I don't have any of those games... but I intend to pick most, if not all, of them at some point.

My problem is lack of time to play the games. I have thought about getting Heavenly Sword more than once, but I've read that it is a pretty short game. I have a hard time spending $60.00 on a 5 - 6 hour game. I've kind of been waiting for that one to drop in price.

I've heard nothing but great things about everyone of those games though. So, I have some good gaming to look forward to!

Edit: @ Chris399 above... Thx for the info. I'll be looking out for HS then. Bubbles to you.

[Sev]

@ rhood,

Very good point... bubbles +

[Jdoki]

@Chris399

I'm with you on this one... Play a game, finish a game, stick it on the 'done' pile, breath a sigh of satisfaction for a job well done and move on!!

There are a few exceptions. The Achievements in Crackdown kept me playing a long time after I finished the main story. And during the quiet months I like to revisit games if there's nothing new and fresh to play (just finished another play through of God of War 2!)

I'm not big on DLC in story driven games, as it often feels like it's just tagged on to make money (like the Mass Effect DLC)

[GWAVE]

I totally agree with Heavenly Sword. That game was fantastic. I played it when I bought my PS3 in Dec 2007 and I had to pop out the disk, check the label, and make sure I was actually playing the game called "Heavenly Sword"...because based on all the hate and overall "meh" reviews it received, I thought it wouldn't be that great. To this day, no game has matched the quality of that game's facial animations. Period. Play the game if you don't believe me.

I'd also throw Uncharted on that list. Most people overlooked it, but it's definitely one of the best games this gen, IMO.

[Anon1974]

Right now I've got a stack of games for my PS3 and simply not enough time to play. I haven't even touched Prince of Persia/Resistance 2 or Dead space which I received for Christmas. Fallout 3 is taking up all of my gaming time. I've got KZ2 ordered and ready to go, but also haven't even scratched the surface of Condemned 2 or GTA4. Problem is last year it was still either Warhawk of COD4 eating up all my spare time. Then LBP got it's hooks into me. I finally took a break to play Gears 2 and Fable 2 but after a couple of weeks those where done and then it was right back at LBP.

I'm not that big into racing games - but I still mean to check out Heavenly Sword...just as soon as I finish those other 6 games....and Killzone 2...and between bouts of COD4/COD-WAW/Warhawk...

I'll get to it eventually.

[callahan09]

I'd put Folklore at the top of my list, personally. I'd probably leave off both Motorstorm Pacific Rift & GT5 Prologue and add on Hot Shots Golf Out of Bounds and Folklore.

[andron]

Heavenly Sword and Valkyria Chronicles are great games.

HS was a bit short, but it has replay value and it's a quality ride. Only thing I didn't like in that game was that annoying Flying Fox boss battles.

VC is great, and I usually don't like RPG's or strategy games. But the anime look and hands on battles really swayed me...

[GrandTheftZamboni]

If "Top" (as in "Top 5 PS3 Games") refers to quality then Folklore maybe. If "Top" refers to quality/sales then it definitely is Folklore.

[Giriath]

I have all of them except Heavenly Sword, I even have Folklore.

[nix]

a game so beautiful to look at and a good story. i never give that game to anyone to play because i never know when i might want to play it.. lol.

[SaiyanFury]

I guess I was one of the few that bought Valkyria Chronicles on day one. Fantastic game for fans of older school RPGs. I also have all of the others save, Motorstorm 2. I'm a HUGE fan of the Ratchet & Clank games.

[thats_just_prime]

GT5P and MS2 were trash the rest were fairly good

[barom]

I really want Valkyria Chronicles but I don't have the time. Thats kinda why I steer away from RPGs (that and the fact that they're kinda slow). I still might check it out though, it looks really good and people say they get emotional attachments to the characters (both anger and love they say) which to me sounds really cool. Crap just talking about it makes me wanna go buy it. Alright I'mma head to Circuit City..... tomorrow.

[Cajun Chicken]

Glad you mentioned R&C:ToD...That game rocks, can't wait for the sequel (hopefully this year), I'm hoping its more like R&C2:GC, hope we get the return of spherical planets and I've never had such cruel cliffhangers in R&C:ToD and Q4B in any other platform game, well, except for Haven: Call of the King.

[LarVanian]

God of War 2 had the most cruel cliff-hanger ever imo.

[StalkingSilence]

I didn't play the Download-only R&C Quest for Booty, but I'm curious if it tied up any loose ends for you? Or was it totally a separate plot-line?

[lordgodalming]

Q4B feels surprisingly different than ToD, mostly because you don't ever have Clank with you. If you go into the game with the idea that it will have terrific platforming and an R&C sensibility, you'll really enjoy it. If you go in with the idea that it's a proper R&C game, only shorter, you'll be disappointed. Also, Insomniac are definitely waiting for a true sequel to tie up the story from ToD. Enjoy.

[StalkingSilence]

Hey! Thanks for the clarification. I still need to play R&C ToD, but I was just curious for future reference.
Take it easy!

[DelbertGrady]

All of the games you mentioned except for Valkyria Chronicles are 1st party exclusives. I don't think anybody with a PS3 would be able to have missed those titles.

Would have liked to see games like Folklore, Everybody's Golf, Disgaea 3, Formula One Championship Edition, Siren: Blood Curse and Ninja Gaiden Sigma being mentioned.

[Sev]

Kick ass user name and avatar Mr. Popinsky. Bubbles + for that.

Ninja Gaiden Sigma I actually considered for the list.
Funny, as all of the games you mention other than Ninja Gaiden Sigma and Disgaea 3, are also SCEA 1st party titles. Yet people surely missed those.

There are now 20 million PS3 owners out there, and I don't think any of those games even broke the 5 mil mark. That means 75% of PS3 owners missed them.

[Darkseider]

Now see the games that Popinsky listed are the ones I have played and are in my PS3 library, well except for Formula One:Championship Edition. Siren is an awesome game as are Disagea 3, Ninja Gaiden:Sigma and Everybody's Golf. Folklore on the other hand is an excellent RPG and for whatever reason ignored by the PS3 community. Whether it was due to bad review scores or lack of advertising Folklore seemed to have suffered from the same fate as Valkyria Chronicles.

[Sev]

I should have mentioned that those are great games Soda listed, just not the top 5.

[Bob Dole]

Bob Dole didn't like the controls for Siren, but he did like the way people dropped when you shot em'.

[kingme71]

>There are now 20 million PS3 owners out there, and I don't think any of those games even broke the 5 mil mark. That means 75% of PS3 owners missed them.

Don't forget rentals, used market and "borrowing from a friend" all account for people playing it without counting towards a purchase. Not alot of games break the 5 mil mark.

[DelbertGrady]

Lol that's true =) So many 1st party exclusives. Anyways, great games most of them. Formula One isn't the best racer ever made, but it's worth checking out for the graphics alone.

+Bubbles back

[Gun_Senshi]

#5 Heavenly Sword.
I have this game, bought it on launch. I passed it with all the combos and "ranks" you can get even on hell mode. Sometimes I play it due to its beautiful music and story.

#4) Gran Turismo 5: Prologue.
I have this game, I bought it on lauch too. I did not play it much due to I suck at playing it :(. I still play it to show my friends the graphics

#3) Motorstorm: Pacific Rift.
I got this game last week. Its what Motorstorm 1 should had been. Though, AI in this game is hard and arsehole. They try to crash you everytime. Thropies are freaking hard to get XD

#2) Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.
I got this too. At 1st I thought its a kiddy game, but I bought R&C on PSP for only 10EUR. I ended a fan of R&C. I bought Tools of Destruction a week after my 1st R&C expierence. I love this game. I passed it like 3 times already :D. Graphics are amazing, its fun and enjoyable!!

#1) Valkyria Chronicles.
One of my favourate games. The Story is just amazing. The unique art direction, gameplay. I love EVERYTHING in this game. I can never get enough of it. I play skirmish alot. But I got only one problem. I AM FREAKIN STUCK IN CHP 13!!! HOW AM I TO PASS MY TROOPS THRU A MIDDLE OF ATILERRAY ZONE! :(

I am a real gamer :D

[Cajun Chicken]

If you haven't yet...thou need to play the past R&C titles for PS2. Gives signs of things that could be put back into future Ratchet titles.

[Sev]

You can beat Chapter 13 in only 3 turns.

ONLY put a scout and a sniper on the left side during deployment. Use them to make sure that they can't steal your base.

Then with the other side use Largo, Rosie, Alicia, and whomever else you please. Preferable, a sniper, and another scout.

You need to hug the right side as much as possible to get behind the first cannon/gatling bunker. Use a scout with the Randgrizer to bomb the fuel cell behind the bunker. One hit blows it up.

Then from there, it's rather easy to finish, just watch out for an ambush at one of the upper most bases. There will be a few stormtroppers waiting there that dont show up on the map.

[Dark_Overlord]

Don't matter someone beat me to it

[Gun_Senshi]

ok ty i wil try later today. I always went left or middle.

[_Q_]

To see Valkyria Chronicles getting some love. That game is truly epic and deserves every bit of praise it receives.

[table]

i thought the game was terrible. i know alot of people who played it liked it but i downloaded the demo and it was like i was playing a crap worms 3D. those sort of games have never appealed to me. I remember when i was young my friend recommended FFVII to me and i hated it so returned it to the shop. jst not my sort of games.

[_Q_]

People have their clocks turned by different things ,it happens. I've never played any other games that even remotely seemed similar,So you can gather that VC is a unique experience in my respect. BTW the demo itself does the game no justice. Again not everyone will like it but the ppl who do, love it as I do. As far as FF goes again, to each his own. FF7 had so many intricacies and advancements at its time that it was truly something to behold but again not for everyone.

[PirateThom]

Bar Motorstorm: Pacific Rift (which I don't have because it's not really my thing), I already own the other games on that list.

[jcgamer]

started 2 days ago...fun game man...awesome weapons :)

[kingme71]

HS - 1.4 mil
R&C - 1.6 mil
GT Prol - 2.91 mil
Motorstorm PR - .76 mil
Val. Chron - .35 mil

I would say out of the 5, the first 3 did respectable numbers and GTP did great. The last 2 especially VC didn't do so well, but Motorstorm has a good tail and is still selling pretty good, so may have good numbers in the end.

[locos85]

Those look like VC Chartz numbers. I wouldn't trust them. For the most part they are under tracked. Specially Motorstorm: PR which has sold over 1 Mil already

[StalkingSilence]

I wish GT5: Prologue would get a trophy patch or home integration.
Maybe that’s coming with the rumored damage patch…

[ActionBastard]

Great list! Now if there was some way to squeeze Folklore in there...

[Saladfax]

Yeah, Folklore was amazing.

[Jdoki]

I really wanted to like Folklore, but I just couldn't get hooked for some reason.

The game had bags of potential and the setting was really unique and interesting. It's a real shame a sequel hasn't been announced. Actually, didn't the devs say there were no plans to do a sequel? :(

[thor]

Where is Wipeout HD? That's the best game with the most disappointing sales IMO.

[Cajun Chicken]

Yeah, they should release that on Blu-Ray or something, you'd never believe how many people haven't actually even heard of it.

"Wipeout's back?!? Why didn't anyone tell me?!?!"
^The usual response.

[Sev]

PSN list coming soon.

[Cajun Chicken]

Calling All Cars, thats one to add to that list, me and the guys at uni love that game, its just so insanely fast paced we have matches and tournaments quite often and just about manage resist to tear each others throats out as nick the criminal from each other.
Dunno why it got such a bad reception, I love Calling all Cars, its simple and brilliant.

[Sangria]

Too bad Valkyria Chronicles has not been translated (in Europe, only available in english). I may have no serious problem with english language, i don't have troubles when an untranslated game don't have many text, but for RPGs like Final Fantasy Tactics or Valkyria Chronicles, that's not so much easy.

There are lot of text and if i mistranslate a word, i may not be able to totally understand the scenario or the game mechanics. There is a case in France which is a reference in terms of mistranslation. In Breath Of Fire III (on PSone), you travel through a desert, and you have to note your position according to the stars. But in french (i don't know for other languages), the instructions to find the good path in the desert have been mistranslated, which means that you cannot pass the desert unless you find a solution in a cheat book or on Internet.

Expected with FF Crisis Core, which has been translated by Ubisoft, no Final Fantasy remake on PSP or DS has been translated. That's why i refuse to pay 70€ (90$) for a RPG that has not been translated (just like i refused to pay 65€ for Left 4 Dead, a game without scenario and almost only multiplayer - i paid it 35€-).

So maybe when the game will benefit of a price drop, but not before.

[redsquad]

I was surprised by the negative comments against HEAVENLY SWORD on that site - I thoroughly enjoyed the game and often revisit it.

[Jdoki]

Out of all those games I would say Valkyria Chronicles is defiitely the one that most people missed. And WHAT a shame!

I dunno about the rest of the world, but in the UK the game was/is extremely hard to find. Definitely had a limited production run.

Other than that I think it's a pretty solid list - but Disgaea 3 would figure on it for me.

And if we were to include Playstation games as a whole, then Persona 3 and 4 seem to have been overlooked by everyone I know (luckily I got a BC PS3).

I think a lot of people who buy a console later in the life cycle assume launch titles suck, and never consider the hidden gems - such as Heavenly Sword; or Kameo on 360.

[remanutd55]

i own all of them but Valkyria chronicles , all of them are must have games in my opinion , cant stop playing motorstorm pacific rift ( got my platinum trophy 2 days ago yay!) , but sev wheres folklore and wipeout hd on that list???

[blind-reaper]

they missed FOLKLORE the must underated game of the PS3, that game is GRRRREAT!

[DJ]

My buddy has it, and it's frickin' great!

[Aclay]

I got both Heavenly Sword and GT5P when they first came out. I'd have to say that Heavenly Sword is one of the most underrated PS3 games thus far... the voice acting, the lip syning is spot on, the action, everything in Heavenly Sword was truly amazing and it's a shame that there wont be a sequel. My only gripe with the game is that it was pretty short.

I plan to get Motorstorm Pacific Rift in March after Killzone 2. I bought the first Motorstorm, and I've always planned to get the sequel. And I'll probably buy Rachet Tools of Destruction once it lowers in price to around $30 or $40 bucks because it's been out so long.

But, Strategy RPG's like Valkyria Chronicles just isn't the type of games that I play, but I might check it out.

[andron]

Everybody should try that game. I only wish it had trophies...

[Obama]

yeah true, but it has medals. I have almost done collecting them all.

[andron]

But that means it probably would have been very easy to make a trophy patch. So it's somewhat of a lost opportunity for Sega...

[ThatCanadianGuy]

I may pick up R&C:FTOD today.I always herd good things about it

Does it have trophies?

[GrandTheftZamboni]

R&C:FTOD is awesome!!! I only played Going Commando from previous installments and I think FTOD lives up to it's predecessor's spirit. It's a lot more polished, it's been described as playable Pixar movie. It could be the closest thing to it currently.

I don't think they added trophies. I played it couple of weeks ago and I wasn't prompted for an update. I recently found out that PS2 Ratchet games had amazing skill points that seem more rewarding than the trophy system. I just looked up skill points for FTOD:

http://faqs.ign.com/article...

I don't think any kind of gamer can go wrong with any Ratchet.

[Chubear]

There are just TOO MANY great PS3 exclusive titles in so many genres and spread through PSN & Blu-ray. Quite honestly, the main reason many of these titles are seemingly looked at as not achieving what they should (which they've done well regardless) is the mindless flood of negativity that the gaming media spew out on the community.

That's just the truth. Gaming sites dictate what the community should like, play and support and weather you're conscious of it or not, they are a massive influence on young gamers.

If so many of these games were on other consoles as exclusives the gaming sites and their respective fanbases would be on FIRE with excitement but for the PS3? meh. It's crazy how gaming sites have the community by the balls and so many people miss out on these great gaming experiences.

[Obama]

VC like Soc, is underrated. It's just sad that many people wouldn't give a new type of game-play a try.

[Shortstop]

Admittedly I liked VC in the demo, but ultimately I just couldn't convince myself to even rent a JRPG type game. Maybe I'll try renting it, but probably not buy it, simply because I don't like buying games that have an ending. I almost never play a game again once I beat it (the exact same reason why I don't buy movies).

And I was also "scared" away from GT5P for two reasons: one, it's called Prologue (which is usually a few pages at the beginning of a book, so why would I want to buy a game called Prologue?) and two, that same criticism seemed to be the same across all review sites. Can't rent this, but I might pick it up... or just wait for the full game, I don't know.

I really can't get past the fact GT5P just seems like an extended demo...

[Obama]

if you like the VC demo then you should really get the full game. The demo is nothing compared to the story rich full game.

[onomix]

My friend borrowed it, and he broke it. He is maybe giving me his Ratchet and Clank: TOD, because he owe me after breaking Heavenly Sword CD. I'm really pissed, Heavenly Sword was a really great game.

[Reshun]

I still can't decide whether or not to buy Valkyria Chronicles even though I didn't really like the demo.

So I wanted to know, did anyone who didn't like the demo buy the full game just out of curiosity and really enjoyed it as a JRPG thirst quencher?

[Figboy]

5) Warhawk - it has a great online community, but it deserves more respect than it got, as it's one of the best online games available on ANY console

4) Ratchet and Clank Future - criminally ignored, despite it's luscious visuals, excellent weapons, spot on controls, and fantastic level design.

3) Valkyria Chronicles - when Sega hits the nail on the head, they do it hard. VC is amazing, and i'm ashamed to admit i've yet to pick it up (money issues *sigh*). it scored excellently, but didn't get the commercial success it deserved

2) Heavenly Sword - the combat, visuals, story, and voice acting are phenomenal. this game was absolutely raped in reviews, and for no reason other than to pick a bone with the PS3. i've replayed this game 6 times or more, because it's just that much fun.

1) Folklore - you can sum it up as "Pokemon for adults," because of it's addictive "gotta catch'em all" gameplay mechanic, but it's the unique use of the sixaxis to wrangle souls, the fantastic art and musical design, and the strategy of trying to figure out which Folks work best to defeat other Folks, that make this game, to me, the most underrated, underappreciated PS3 title released so far. you can find it really cheap nowadays (about $20) if you can find it at all. it's definitely worth the pickup for fans of action rpgs.

overall, your list was very good, Sev, but i think GT5 Prologue and Motorstorm: PR have reached the audiences they will reach, and it continuing to grow, while Folklore was dead in the water due to overly harsh reviews, and Warhawk STILL doesn't get the respect it deserves, despite having a rock-solid community of gamers, and excellent gameplay.

EDIT - Also, to Nineball (i think?): Heavenly Sword IS NOT 5-6 hours long. reviewers review games as fast as possible because they have deadlines, and often more than one game to review before that deadline. a reviewer commenting about game length, unless it is a 10 hour RPG *cough*Fable2*cough* should always be ignored.

my breakdown, is that the first playthrough of Heavenly Sword took me 9 hours. it was awesome, so i started up a new game afterwards to try and unlock all of the extras. that took me about 8 hours. after that, i played through a THIRD time, just for sh*ts and giggles, because it was fun to kick people's asses, and that took me about 5 and a half hours.

i don't think Heavenly Sword is $60 anymore. at least not here in Los Angeles, but i could be wrong. in either case, it's a beautiful, fun game, and the combat is so enjoyable that you will often really take your time with it, or play it multiple times. a good game is a good game, regardless of game length, in my opinion.

[cereal_killa]

Heavenly Sword is still a high price here in Canada I thinK either ($59.99 or $49.99, $5 cheaper if you get it used at EBgames) but I was able to pick it up for $25 on a local Classified website called kajiji.ca. I was told a list of games to get when I got my PS3 about a month ago R1/2, MSG4, Socom, Heavenly Sword (but was told if i can find it for a cheap price and not to pay full price because of the length of the game) among other games only because these are the games I like to play.

[Fatal Blow]

Look's like am picking up Valkyria Chronicles since u guy's are saying it's good plus am gonna buy heavenly sword again don't know why i sold it in the first place lol and i think Uncharted: Drake's Fortune should be added to the list cause most people didnt pick this game up or dont know about it its a game that made me say wow just wow more then mgs4 or anything else i have played the gameplay and visuals are Amazing plus the story is great to cant wait for the 2nd one

[Jaces]

Need to get Heavenly Sword, have yet to pick that one up.

Shame on me I know.

[Lombax]

I just didn't want to pay for a demo(GT5p) and I don't like RPGs. Played all the others. Great games BTW.

[WLPowell]

It's the best looking console game til killzone 2 comes out and every media outlet was parading Gears around like it had the most amazing visuals. (still don't understand it)

[thezuur]

that only 1 game has trophies?

[Narutone66]

GT5P, which I bought together with a G25 steering wheel. I also have Motorstorm. I'm still waiting for HS to become "The Best" before buying it. I'm also considering Folklore and VC. But in my region, the game VC is only in Japanese. I wish it had English subtitles. I also got Eye of Judgment together with the playstation eye and waiting for my son to get older so that we could play together. As for PSN title, I've just purchased Savage Moon and Rub a dub dub. Savage Moon is an awesome game, specially to those who like tower defense like me. I will be getting Flower later on.

[Meryl]

come on uncharted should have been on that list, all though it has sold loads so that's probably why its not on there lol, but seriously its like this as far as i'm concerned:
1. Valkyria Chronicles
2. Uncharted - Drake's Fortune.
3. Ratchet and Clank - Quest for Booty.
4. Wipeout HD
5. Folklore

[squallsoft]

...was an epic masterpiece.

-Squall