Best PS3 Games of 2007

By John Huxley
13th Jan 08

Motorstorm

Everyone probably already knows about Motorstorm’s troubled beginnings thanks to that heavily publicised pre-rendered movie that Sony tried to pass off as genuine in-game footage. While the final product can’t *quite* reach the same heights of graphical fidelity, it’s testament to the quality of the game that it managed to shake off such an infamous reputation and is now better known as one of the PS3's best exclusives.

And don’t let the fact that the PS3 doesn’t have many great exclusives yet put you off here; because in all honesty I’ve not had this much fun with a racing game since Burnout 3 on the PS2. There may not be many of the Monument Valley-based circuits to choose from (although there are a few more available online for a few quid), but they’re all designed impeccably with a variety of jumps and muddy paths to suit whichever vehicle you choose. And it’s the vehicles that really shine here; from the lightweight yet jump-happy motorbikes and ATVs through to the massive big rigs and trucks (which take delight in smashing through said bikes and ATVs), they all feel very different and yet none have a real advantage over the other. And with all of them mixing it up on the track at once, it’s like a big racing free-for-all. With lots of mud and dirt and shit. Bliss.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune

Hmm. I like Tomb Raider and all, but the combat is a bit crappy. Any way we could sort that out? Thankfully Naughty Dog have already come up with a more than excellent solution, Uncharted. Combining the platforming and Indiana Jones inspired adventuring of Tomb Raider with a Kill.Switch/Gears of War duck and cover style combat system may sound like a simple idea on paper, but it’s the execution that really makes Uncharted as good as it is. And it doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the most beautiful games ever to appear on any platform, either.

True, the platforming element might not be quite as taxing as Tomb Raider, but it’s every bit as accessible and equally exciting. Similarly, the combat doesn’t offer quite the same variety of weapons, enemies or scenarios as a game like Gears of War, yet it’s still a significant improvement over the standard adventure fare. Couple these together, throw in some fantastic graphics and a story that wouldn’t shame Indiana Jones (thanks largely to some of the best cut-scenes I’ve seen), and you have Uncharted. Any way you care to look at it, that’s a great game.

LocoRoco Cocoreccho

You won’t see this in many ‘best of 2007' lists. Not because it lacks quality, or it was a disappointing follow-up to the critically acclaimed LocoRoco...no. You won’t see it on many lists because it’s a £1.99 downloadable game from the PSN store. Yes, that’s just under £2, or 199 of your earth pennies. You couldn’t buy a ham sandwich at a train station for that much!

And what do you get for your £1.99? One of the most original, charming and downright enjoyable games I’ve had the pleasure to play on a next generation console. Rendered in flat, colourful and beautiful 1080p, you’re charged with directing the dim-witted yet loveable LocoRoco around the level as the titular Cocoreccho-chan, a butterfly with which they seem infatuated for some unknown reason. The more you press X, the more they want to reach you. As you guide them around the level’s various traps and obstacles you’ll discover more and more LocoRoco until you have an army of the little critters totalling - hopefully - 200. Although there’s only one level it’ll take you ages to uncover all 200 LocoRoco as well as the three minigames and various alternate paths. It’s always a pleasure to play and almost as joyous to watch. And for £1.99 that’s surely worth every penny.

And the rest...

It was perilously close to making the list at LocoRoco’s expense, but the relatively difficult learning curve of the otherwise excellent Warhawk just about kept it out. If you do have the time to persevere with this Battlefield style game, though, you’ll discover one of the best online experiences that Sony’s console has to offer.

Sadly the PS3 was home to more than one or two shoddy 360 ports over the past year, so many of the games that might have been considered were kinda thrown out of the window by default. That doesn’t apply to Call of Duty 4 though, which I’m assured is an equally excellent game on PS3. Shame I haven’t played it, then...

Although I have played quite a lot of Heavenly Sword, which misses out on this list because it’s really a victim of its own hype. Beautiful graphics, a solid story and stunning cut-scenes featuring the talents of Andy Serkis (AKA Gollum/King Kong) all helped to create a fair heap of expectation. And while the final product is still a decent amount of fun to play, it will always suffer in comparison to the likes of God of War and Devil May Cry. Hopefully the almost inevitable sequel can do something about that.

Heavenly Sword also earns a special mention for proving that the Sixaxis motion control features aren’t, as everyone had assumed, rubbish. They’re just badly used and under developed. Play the Kai sections with the motion control turned on and you’ll see what I mean. It’ll take a while to get used to, but it’s worth it.

And finally Ratchet & Clank didn’t really do much to improve on their PS2 outings - in fact they removed all traces of any online features - yet somehow Tools of Destruction manages to be one of their finest adventures yet. This is thanks in part to some unbelievably high quality production values. Really, mentioning early Pixar films in the same paragraph wouldn’t be totally unfair.

PS3 year one: an appraisal

So...not a bad debut year for the PS3, then. Although choosing the top three was made a lot easier due to the relative dearth of truly great games available for the PS3 in the past 12 months, this is nothing unusual for a newly released console. In fact, as much as Microsoft would like to deny it, the 360 was similarly short on games during its initial gestation period. Until some time last year you could honestly count the number of must-have 360 exclusives on one hand. Even the PS2 struggled to impress during its first year, and many people considered it inferior to the Dreamcast in almost every way. So before you condemn the PS3 for its weak catalogue and poor sales, at least give it a chance.

The situation wasn’t helped, of course, by Sony’s ill-judged price point. Sure, they could always sell a boat load of units to blind fanboys and rich kids, but the more level-headed amongst us at least waited until they dropped the price to a more sensible sub £300 mark. And even at that price, the PS3 actually seems like a bit of a bargain. Unless you can afford to pay silly prices, you’re not going to get a much better, more feature-laden piece of kit than the PS3. Almost everything you ask of it the PS3 delivers admirably; mostly thanks to Sony’s continual efforts to improve the firmware.

PSN, Sony’s attempt to mimic the success of Microsoft’s Live service, is perhaps the one area in which Sony really needs to improve. They’re hopefully going to address a lot of these issues with the release of Home at some point during this year...although truth be told PSN really isn’t all that bad anyway. First of all: it’s free. Sony aren’t asking you for a penny and giving you plenty in return, so it’s kinda difficult to complain much here. And as Warhawk has proven, when implemented correctly PSN can be every bit the equal of Live. Sadly Motorstorm’s under-developed and sorely lacking online mode is proof of the opposite, so it’s really hanging in the balance at this point in time. And did I mention that it’s free?

Of course it’s the games that will make or break the PS3, and here we’ve had mixed results at best. First party developers are trying their hardest to prove otherwise, but looking at some of the multi-platform titles from the past 12 months you’d be forgiven for thinking that the PS3 was lacking in the technical department. This hasn’t really been proven either way yet, because most of these games are simply piss-poor ports derived from 360 code. This is kinda understandable from the developer’s viewpoint because the PS3 was a new console with a relatively small userbase, so they may as well concentrate on the version that’s going to get them the most money and best results with the least effort.

However, as Codemasters, Sega and several other developers have now proven, there’s no reason sacrifice quality with multiplatform development, and this is a trend I fully expect to continue as the PS3 approaches its second birthday. With shoddy ports hopefully a thing of the past and the first party titles continuing to impress (lets just forget Lair for now...), I’m expecting big things this time next year. If not? At least I’ll have a good Blu-ray player...

-- John Huxley 13th Jan 08