PS3- what did I miss?

I've essentially been a PC only gamer for 10+ years. Recently I picked up a used PS 3, mostly to finally play demon souls ( I'm a big fan of the souls games on PC). I also, picked up the remaster of Shadows of the Colossus, which I had also never played.

Are there any other PS3 only games that I should try out? Any recommendations? Mostly looking for single player games.

The Last of Us, Uncharted 1-3, Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls.

Wipeout HD/Fury was high on my list when I picked up a PS3 late in the cycle.

Sports a fantastic presentation and the 60fps sense of speed is amazing.

Metal Gear Solid 4

Flower, Journey, God of War (2 was my favorite, but any of them really)

TV's Frank wrote:

I've essentially been a PC only gamer for 10+ years. Recently I picked up a used PS 3, mostly to finally play demon souls ( I'm a big fan of the souls games on PC). I also, picked up the remaster of Shadows of the Colossus, which I had also never played.

Are there any other PS3 only games that I should try out? Any recommendations? Mostly looking for single player games.

What kind of games do you usually like? Here are a selection of console-exclusive games across multiple genres, with all the caveats (listed alphabetically, not by preference):

Bayonetta - Ultra-stylish action/hack-and-slash. The wonderfully broad difficulty levels mean you can button mash your way through it, or challenge yourself to learn combos and timing. This is a pretty solid choice for most people, as long as you don't mind a bizarre story.

Deadly Premonition: The Director's Cut - This "love it or hate it" retro-styled game is really weird and probably will have you hitting a FAQ at some point, but if the idea of a weird hybrid of Twin Peaks and an early Resident Evil appeals to you, you might dig it. Recommended only with significant caveats.

Heavy Rain - Sort of a visual novel with "QTE"'s and occasional exploration sequences where you switch between multiple characters in a thriller-style movie about a kidnapper and serial killer. Gumbie also recommended Beyond: Two Souls, which was made by the same people, but I think this would be the stronger first choice.

The Last Of Us - One of the most widely loved games of the generation for both story and gameplay, this "stealth killer" set in a "realistic" zombie apocalypse is more about not being seen than shootouts. If you are used to PC shooters, the precision required on most difficulty levels might make this a frustrating choice as your first console shooter; but it's one of the easiest to recommend getting to eventually, and there is a more forgiving Easy difficulty. It has been remastered for the PS4, if you think you might ever make the jump to that.

Uncharted series - Although difficult, setting these to Easy difficulty might be a good way to learn console-based shooters, which can be frustrating to those used to the precision of PC aiming. Lots of enemies, ammo isn't too scarce, and very linear. Loved (or hated) for their very cinematic on-rails approach to storytelling and setpieces, inspired by pulp adventures like Indiana Jones. You'll die a lot but never lose too much progress. They have been remastered for the PS4, if you think you might ever make the jump to that.

If you are interested in console RPGs, you have a few choices. Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD will give you a more traditional, very Japanese, almost turn-based take on the genre. Ni No Kuni is a charming, almost childlike, Pokemon-influenced take on the genre. Resonance Of Fate is a hip steampunk-styled game with dense, difficult systems that are only for those who enjoy the struggle and reward of investing in mastering complex systems. Tales Of Vesperia is a solid action JRPG in the tradition of the consistent "Tales" series. (There are other Tales games available, but I think Vesperia is the best first choice.) All four have people who really love them-- and people who really dislike them-- depending on their tastes.

I have problems with the psnow service as it will remove games without warning and you may not be done with them before they do. Saying that though for trying out a wide swath of games it would be great just to see what you like.

A lot of the games mention here appear on the service and Sony exclusive games tend to stay on without you having to fear them being removed midway through a game.

Great list Beeporama, Tales of Vesperia was a xbox360 exclusive title in the states, so I would recommend ether Tales of Graces or Tales of Xillia 1/2 instead.

Also:
Dragons Crown- side scrooler beat em up
Gran Turismo 6 - great sim racer
Disgaea games - super deep SRPGs
Legend of Heroes Trails of Cold Steel 1&2 - An amazing more traditional JRPG
Little Big Planet - platformer
Nier - action jrpg with an amazing soundtrack
Ratchet and Clank games- 3d action platformers with whacky weapons

I'm surprised that no one has instructed you to head straight for Red Dead Redemption, which is arguably the best GTA that Rockstar have ever made.

Of Naughty Dog's games, I'd recommend Uncharted 2 only and The Last of Us. Uncharted 3 suffered badly by comparison to its predecessor.

Heavy Rain is an interesting, though deeply flawed, experiment in cinematic gaming. But worth playing given that it can be picked up for buttons.

In terms of shooters, I'd go for Killzone 2, but it may be better value for money to simply pick up the collection of all three PS3 Killzones if you can find it. (I really didn't get along with the other exclusive shooter - Resistance: Fall of Man - bouncing off it before completing the first level.)

EDIT: Finally, I'd also endorse Gran Turismo 6 (together with a cheap second hand, force feedback wheel like the Logitec Driving Force GT) and Metal Gear Solid 4.

If you've got the cash then I'd dive on pretty much everyone's suggestions a.s.a.p. while new copies of many of these games are still around and still cheap.

detroit20 wrote:

If you've got the cash then I'd dive on pretty much everyone's suggestions a.s.a.p. while new copies of many of these games are still around and still cheap.

This was part of why I ended up picking up a PS3 now, before they become hard to find.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm not super interested in console shooters, especially not FPSs. I'm on the fence about uncharted. I've played like 15 mins of one of them. I'm just super bad at aiming with a controller.

I'm more interested in Arcady racing games ( really liked burnout 3 back in the day, blur)

Are people still playing Journey? It requires MP right? I've heard a little about it and am interested, but is it still viable on PS3?

I'll probably pick up Red Dead, Heavy Rain ( I remember being interested when this came out) and Bayonetta initially.

Here are a few favorites that don't have PS4 remasters or PC versions: NieR, Resonance of Fate, Ni No Kuni, Drakengard 3, Echochrome, Demon's Souls, Rain

I would wait to play the remastered on PS4 versions if they exist (Last of Us, Journey, etc.) vs playing the old versions on the PS3.

TV's Frank wrote:

I'm more interested in Arcady racing games ( really liked burnout 3 back in the day, blur)

I think the big ones are Driver San Francisco and Burnout Paradise. Those are both available on PC, however. I looked it up, and Motorstorm was well-regarded and PS3 exclusive. That might be a good one to get. I haven't played that or Burnout Paradise.

You may have missed Binary Domain which would have been a colossal error.

IMAGE(http://the-sun.on.cc/cnt/lifestyle/20120212/photo/0212-00487-001b5.jpg)

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
TV's Frank wrote:

I'm more interested in Arcady racing games ( really liked burnout 3 back in the day, blur)

I think the big ones are Driver San Francisco and Burnout Paradise. Those are both available on PC, however. I looked it up, and Motorstorm was well-regarded and PS3 exclusive. That might be a good one to get. I haven't played that or Burnout Paradise.

I have Burnout Paradise already on PC. I wasn't super into Driver 1 & 2 on the original PS. I'll take a look at Motorstorm.

xyralothep wrote:

You may have missed Binary Domain which would have been a colossal error.

IMAGE(http://the-sun.on.cc/cnt/lifestyle/20120212/photo/0212-00487-001b5.jpg)

Never heard of it, but looks like it's on steam. I'll check it out.

It's directed by this chap, who I hope you have heard of. Or you'll have heard of some of his stuff (!)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosh...

Binary Domain is a ball bouncing shooter with some outstanding characters. Wouldn't bother with the voice recognition, it's well sketchy, but it's one of the finest games of last gen for me.

xyralothep wrote:

You may have missed Binary Domain which would have been a colossal error.

IMAGE(http://the-sun.on.cc/cnt/lifestyle/20120212/photo/0212-00487-001b5.jpg)

BIG BO.

TV's Frank wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:
TV's Frank wrote:

I'm more interested in Arcady racing games ( really liked burnout 3 back in the day, blur)

I think the big ones are Driver San Francisco and Burnout Paradise. Those are both available on PC, however. I looked it up, and Motorstorm was well-regarded and PS3 exclusive. That might be a good one to get. I haven't played that or Burnout Paradise.

I have Burnout Paradise already on PC. I wasn't super into Driver 1 & 2 on the original PS. I'll take a look at Motorstorm.

Burnout Paradise on PC never got the Big Surf Island addon, which is fantastic. Worth checking out the game again for that alone.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Here are a few favorites that don't have PS4 remasters or PC versions: NieR, Resonance of Fate, Ni No Kuni, Drakengard 3, Echochrome, Demon's Souls, Rain

Yes! All of these!

There are just a ton of jrpg masterpieces that came out on PS3 and aren't ever likely to come out anywhere else.

Motorstorm: Pacific Rift was a lot of fun.

MrMetonymy wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Here are a few favorites that don't have PS4 remasters or PC versions: NieR, Resonance of Fate, Ni No Kuni, Drakengard 3, Echochrome, Demon's Souls, Rain

Yes! All of these!

There are just a ton of jrpg masterpieces that came out on PS3 and aren't ever likely to come out anywhere else.

And a few of them have PS4 sequels coming soon.

No love for Catherine? A bizarre action-puzzle game. With sheep.

There's also Little Big Planet, which is a cutesy platformer with level building and really floaty controls. Probably not a required purchase.

If you like Suda51's style of games, Shadows of the Damned has its fair share of fans.

Totally forgot about Catherine! I guess that was on both consoles like NieR. I went with PS3.

Do not miss The Last of Us. It was probably the best game of its generation, and I'm strongly inclined to leave off the 'probably'. One downside from your perspective is that shooting is definitely involved, which you say you don't like, but that's only one element of the overall game. A lot of the time, it's more about stealth, exploration, or the extremely well-written and well-acted story.

Red Dead Redemption, btw, is much more shooter-focused than TLoU. If you're definitely doing RDR, play that first. If you like it, you should find TLoU's shooting segments entirely acceptable.

Midnight Club: Los Angeles is one of the best open world racing games I've ever played, and it's the game I still primarily play on the system. So great.

xyralothep wrote:

It's directed by this chap, who I hope you have heard of. Or you'll have heard of some of his stuff (!)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosh...

I seem to remember spending a lot of time looking for sailors on the dreamcast.

MrMetonymy wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Here are a few favorites that don't have PS4 remasters or PC versions: NieR, Resonance of Fate, Ni No Kuni, Drakengard 3, Echochrome, Demon's Souls, Rain

Yes! All of these!

There are just a ton of jrpg masterpieces that came out on PS3 and aren't ever likely to come out anywhere else.

I already picked up Demon Souls (it was basically my reason for getting a PS3). I also got RoF. I was interested in NieR, but can't find it for a reasonable price (out of print, not available for digital download). I'll take a deeper look at the rest in the near future.

Malor wrote:

Do not miss The Last of Us. It was probably the best game of its generation, and I'm strongly inclined to leave off the 'probably'. One downside from your perspective is that shooting is definitely involved, which you say you don't like, but that's only one element of the overall game. A lot of the time, it's more about stealth, exploration, or the extremely well-written and well-acted story.

I've actually already watched the entire story for The Last of Us (I watched like a 4 hour youtube video which had all cutscenes and all gameplay relevant to the story). The story and acting were indeed very good, and I really enjoyed watching it, it just didn't seem like my cup of tea, gameplay-wise.

As much as I hate to say it check out gamestop, its listed for 25 bucks on there and the game so so worth it.

I finished up Shadow of the Colossus, which was really cool (after I got used to the controls and occasionally frustrating camera). The flying colossi were probably my favorite.

Started up Demon's Souls. Died a bunch, but having fun. I was thrilled to find it had a blighttown like level

Just a heads-up regarding Bayonetta: the PS3-version is rough with a capital R. Framerate and tearing are both so bad, some might not consider it playable. It's a shame, because it's an absolutely incredible game otherwise (some might say the best of its generation).

You technically didn't miss it because it's listed as coming out this April, but another Sony exclusive you need at least a PS3 to play: Persona 5 is still listed as coming out for the PS4 *and* the PS3.

TV's Frank wrote:

I finished up Shadow of the Colossus, which was really cool (after I got used to the controls and occasionally frustrating camera). The flying colossi were probably my favorite.

Dang dude, you're fast! Clearly you're good at action games.

nako wrote:

Just a heads-up regarding Bayonetta: the PS3-version is rough with a capital R. Framerate and tearing are both so bad, some might not consider it playable. It's a shame, because it's an absolutely incredible game otherwise (some might say the best of its generation).

I rescind my recommendation then. I suggested stuff that I'd played on either PS3 or Xbox 360 that were console exclusives. I'd played Bayonetta on the 360.