Why the PS3 Offers a Unique Gaming Experience

Many people buy a PS3 for the big-name games. Our previous article about how to show off your PS3 gives some ideas of exclusive titles to do exactly that, but the PS3 is also a smart choice for those who want something just that little big different. Here’s our pick of those games that make the PS3 the console of choice for people after something more unique.

As ever, if we’ve missed something (which is easy to do with the massive diversity available on the PS3) then let us know in the comments!

MAG
When Sony announced MAG with its 256 player online battles, people shrugged and grunted with a “never gonna happen” pessimism. And yet, that’s exactly what Sony delivered, and after a series of game improvements and updates (including support for Move) the community who have stuck with the game are getting an experience the likes of which just aren’t possible on other games. The scale of the battle is an area where MAG can’t be touched, and with added teamwork emphasis this is most definitely a game where you can avoid the COD crowd.

Noby Noby Boy
It’s almost impossible to explain Noby Noby Boy without sounding totally absurd, but where else can a multicoloured worm thing wriggle about the place on randomly generated levels, eat various things and expel something entirely new out of it’s backside? Eat a goat, eat a man, then poo out a strange goat-with-a-man’s-head hybrid – that’s not something you can do in your average game. As the worldwide gaming community built their collective score, new planets and moons have been made available too. Madder than a box of frogs, but truly, truly individual.

The Last Guy
Using HD aerial images from the world’s big cities such as London and Tokyo, The Last Guy has you saving people trapped by Zombies and leading them back in a long snaking trail back to a rescue point. With zombies roaming the streets looking for survivors to munch on, it’s a big challenge but a fantastic experience. With a heat sensitive camera available, and survivors gathering together to spell out cries of help, the game looks like nothing else around. While rescuing people from zombies isn’t a new idea (and let’s face it, zombies are getting everywhere nowadays) the way TLG works is a one-of-a-kind.

LittleBigPlanet
Sackboy has become a popular figure on the Playstation 3, and there’s no shortage of reasons for this. LittleBigPlanet, despite appearing at first to be nothing more than a sidewise scrolling 2.5D platformer, flexed its creativity muscle in stunning fashion with a level editor with such depth that the community went to town and created levels and items that will blow most people’s minds. A combination of this and great continued support from Media Molecule has given an almost infinite level of variety including Mario clones, Metal Gear levels and stunt courses. LittleBigPlanet2 looks set to trump this ten times over, which is a mind bending prospect.

Modnation Racers
LittleBigPlanet + Kart racing = Modnation. Sony took the premise of LittleBigPlanet and gave it a racing spin. Endlessly customisable racers and karts and a track editor which allowed you to easily recreate any track you’ve ever seen as well as knocking up something from scratch – again gamers worldwide went barmy and created massive numbers of tracks and karts, all shareable and playable online. You’d be hard pushed to find anything like this elsewhere.

Demon’s Souls
RPGs are quite common, but there’s something that sets Demon’s Souls aside from the rest. Online play integrates seemlessly into the single player campaign, and as you approach and area with a blood stain on the ground, things kick into life. These blood stains show you that another player has been killed at that spot, and you see a ghostly repeat of their final moments. This sort of non-intrusive yet massive level of co-op is most certainly not a common thing to see.

Flower
When you talk about relaxing games, you can’t help but mention Flower. Gaming involves tilting the controller while using whichever button you like to blow the wind, nothing complicated but massively compelling. Music plays as you open up more flowers, building up dynamically depending on your movements. It’s a beautiful game, and something to pick up if you want to unwind after a rough day at work.