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15 Amazing PS3 Games You Need to Experience [2023 Edition]

Usaid — Mon, 18 Sep 2023 10:15:07 +0000

Sony fumbled out the gates with the PS3 with its pricing and a hardware architecture that was notoriously difficult to develop for, but it was able to turn its fates around for the better with a steady stream of first and third-party games – some of which would go down to become the greatest hits of all time. With this feature, we are taking a look back at Sony’s seventh-generation offerings – and counting down 15 of the best games that are available on the platform.

A quick note! Don’t be surprised if you don’t find some of your favorites on this list. And while you’re here, why not check the previous list for added context?

With that out of the way, let’s begin.

Mass Effect 2

BioWare’s Mass Effect 2 continues to be held in high regard even after all these years, and a lot of it can be attributed to the best-in-class narrative that twists and twists based on the choices you make and of course, the spectacular action that takes you through it all. Mass Effect 2 might just be the best action rpg out there, thanks to a well-rounded narrative that features memorable characters like Illusive Man and bombastic moments like the Suicide Mission. It’s also one of the best-looking games on the now-dated console platform, but one of the best nevertheless.

15 Serial Killer Conspiracies In Video Games

Usaid — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 09:25:43 +0000

We all have heard stories of notorious serial killers such as the likes of Ted Bundy and Jack The Ripper, and even hearing about these horrendous acts of violence can send a chill down anyone’s spine – let alone imagining what exactly caused them to choose such routes of violence. That said, serial killers can serve as fantastic antagonists for any piece of fiction – which includes video games. To that end, here are 15 serial killer conspiracies in games.

Red Dead Redemption 2 – American Dreams Quest

While Red Dead Redemption 2 features a rapidly changing America where the law and civilization are making their way into society, acts of heinous criminal activity are still running rampant that still show the signs of the Wild West that this place once was. During their travels, players will come across some brutally murdered people with deformed corpses lying around. Upon closer inspection though, Arthur Morgan comes to the conclusion that all these are acts of a serial killer. If you use Arthur’s detective mode around here, the trails will lead you to pieces of a map. Once all map segments are collected, an American Dreams side quest is triggered which entails bringing the serial killer to justice.

15 Times Games Felt Like They Were Just Too Damn Long

Shubhankar Parijat — Thu, 26 Dec 2019 13:55:48 +0000

We all want the game we play to give us plenty of bang for buck, and often, that boils down to length and the amount of content they have on offer- which is why so often developers these days tend to favour live service models, or open worlds, and in many cases even both. But sometimes, these long games can feel like they’re a bit too long, like they’re stretching on for longer than they needed to. Often, games that aren’t even terribly long can feel this way because of uneven pacing.

In this feature, we’ll be talking about fifteen such games, which started feeling – to us, at least – like they were a bit too long. Before we get started, it bears mentioning that all fifteen games that we talk about are games that we like (and in many cases, absolutely love), and them being on this list isn’t supposed to be a slight on their quality as much as it is a observation about one very particular thing.

With all that said, let’s jump right in.

PERSONA 5

Persona 5 was a game that we all waited for for a long time, which also included a couple of heartbreaking delays, but boy was it worth the wait. Not only one of the best RPGs of this generation, but probably of all time, Persona 5 still isn’t a game without its flaws. For instance, its 90 hour-runtime is perhaps a tad too much. One arc in particular – looking at you, Haru – feels like it’s padding the game out more than anything else. The upcoming Persona 5 Royal is supposed to be even longer, but hopefully, with all that extra content, it’ll manage to accomplish better pacing than the base game did.

15 Horrific PC Ports That Ruined Good Games

Shubhankar Parijat — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 19:42:12 +0000

More often than not, if you’re looking for the best possible experience with any game, its PC version is the way to go by far, and if you’ve got a powerful rig that can deliver a game with stunning visuals and silky performance, choosing that over a game’s console version seems almost like a no-brainer. But consoles are by far the more popular product, and thanks to that, developers often end up paying less attention to PC as a result- which, in turn, has resulted in quite a few lacklustre PC ports or versions over the years, often even for otherwise excellent games. This is a feature about fifteen such games.

BATMAN: ARKHAM KNIGHT

It seems fitting to kick off with one of the most maligned PC launches for a major game in recent memory. Batman: Arkham Knight – the game itself – has a few issues of its own that don’t sit well with a large number of people, but the game’s PC version in particular has become an infamous example of a poorly handled PC launch for a game. WB Games are no strangers to bad PC releases, but Arkham Knight in particular drew all the negative attention in the world for pretty much every reason possible.

Top 15 Best-Looking VR Games

Shubhankar Parijat — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 10:16:31 +0000

Virtual reality might still be at the fringes of the industry as far as widespread popularity is concerned, but there’s no doubting its potential. Multiple games in the last few years have showed us that VR – if handled correctly – can be absolutely incredible. The key selling point is immersion, of course, and one of the most important factors contributing to that is how a game looks. And in that area, there have been several VR games that have exceeded expectations. In this feature, we’ll be taking a look at a few such games.

BLOOD AND TRUTH

SIE London Studio’s Blood and Truth was an unexpected surprise earlier this years. Promising and delivering on the allure of high-octane action and a story you could actually invest in, it was a better game than most expected. Another area where it impressed quite a bit was the visuals, with crisp technical work across the board, excellent animations, and truly impressive facial and performance capture.

The 50 Biggest Maps In Video Games of All Time

Shubhankar Parijat — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 17:43:43 +0000

As technology has evolved and allowed developers to do more impressive stuff in their games, video games in general have gotten larger and larger and expanded in scope. That’s not to say that we didn’t have large game worlds until recently, but we certainly have had a lot more of then in the last decade or so. In this feature, we’re going to talk about the biggest maps ever used in video games, and we’ll be counting down, beginning with #50, and ending with what is to this day the biggest video game map of all time.

Do keep in mind, that though it’s natural to assume that when we talk about big game maps, we might be talking about open world games only- but that’s not the case. Whether its an open world game, or an open ended game that’s not particularly open world, or a huge map that we’ve seen in multiplayer play- it’s all fair game for this list. Also, do keep in mind that randomly generated maps were not considered for this feature.

A final note before we begin- there’s every possibility that we might have missed out on some game you were expecting to see on this list, and if we did, it’s either because the exact sizes of their maps aren’t known to us, or because we simply forgot! If it’s the former, and you know what the sizes are, please tell us! If it’s the latter, please remind us.

So without further ado, let’s jump into it.

#50. ASSASSIN’S CREED UNITY

The open world action by developers Ubisoft has its fair share of issues, sure, but its world is one aspect that can’t be faulted. It’s a joy to explore, and it’s also pretty big. At about 2.4 km2, there’s more than enough space in this virtual world to explore and lose yourself in.

15 Times You Made Life Difficult For Video Game NPCs For Absolutely No Reason

Shubhankar Parijat — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 07:03:56 +0000

NPCs have the worst job in all of gaming. Their very existence revolves around you, the player. They move, they go abut their routines, they give out quests, they live out their lives, but ultimately, everything they’re doing, they’re doing it for the player. Talk about an identity crisis, eh? What’s even worse is that players don’t seem to care about that- because as sacrosanct and crucial as the player is to an NPC and its very existence, almost every single player treats them with just as much disdain. They’re our punching bags, victims of horrible atrocities committed by us without the fear of judgement or consequences. And so, oftentimes, we really screw over NPCs in the most spectacular ways possible, never even giving a thought to how their artificial, coded, and limited brains might feel about what’s being done to them. Here in this feature, we’re going to take a look at fifteen such instances, some of which are scripted, while some happen during the course of gameplay.

There are a few spoilers ahead, a few of them major, others not so much, while there are also none at all in some cases. In any case, if you see us beginning to talk about a game you don’t want spoiled, go away.

ORCS- (MIDDLE-EARTH: SHADOW OF WAR)

Shadow of War is centred around one concept- the domination of orcs. Whether it’s through disintegration of their forces by killing their captains, or by recruiting them to make them fight for you instead, that’s the central theme of the game. One other way to do that is by using a mechanic called “Shaming”, which essentially allows your character to break an orc mentally to lower its level. If you do it enough, though, it can have truly horrific consequences. An orc can go from vowing vengeance against you for shaming it, to eventually begging you to stop the constant torture by just killing it once and for all, to ultimately literally losing its mind completely, and not being able to speak. No one deserves this- not even the Uruk-Hai.

GTA Publisher Is Happy With Sales of its Switch Games So Far

Pramath — Wed, 25 Jul 2018 00:04:30 +0000

Nintendo has managed to get some surprising third parties on board with the Switch, but the most surprising of these are probably The Elder Scrolls publishers Bethesda, and GTA parent company Take Two. Take Two has actually been a surprising proponent of the platform, putting out NBA 2K18 and WWE 2K18 on it last year, and also putting out LA Noire, plus NBA 2K19 being announced for it too (and Carnival Games…).

But it is entirely possible that future support for the Switch might not be as rosy, depending on how those games did. Nintendo fans are all too familiar, after all, with third parties bailing on their platform after citing less than satisfactory sales, right?

However, they don’t need to worry about that. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Take-Two CEO Straus Zelnick said, “What we’ve put out so far [on the Switch] has been successful”, also explicitly promising that more games from the publishing giant are coming to Nintendo’s hybrid.

You know what would be great, Take Two? No, I’m not going to ask for GTA 5 like everyone else does, I don’t actually care as much for that. But put out XCOM on Switch. Or Civilization. One or the other. Or both. I’d really like that. They’re already on iPad, so it can’t be that hard.

10 Best Video Game Remasters of 2017

Pramath — Fri, 29 Dec 2017 03:59:18 +0000

There is never a bad time to take an existing, beloved classic and revamp it for a modern age—which is exactly what remasters do. Taking older games and cleaning them up fo modern sensibilities, these often introduce new players to the wonders of some of the best games of all time. This year had some great remasters—here are our nominees for the best of them (this list also includes remakes and ports).

NOMINEES

Crash Bandicoot N’Sane Trilogy:

Naughty Dog’s bandicoot returned in a big way with this lovingly rendered remaster of the original three Crash Bandicoot games. As quality of remasters go, this one is probably indisputably at the top of the pack, taking as it did three PS1 era games, and making them look remarkable to behold in 2017. Oh, and it helps that the games are great to play through, too.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Switch):

Skyrim is one of the greatest and most beloved games ever- and now you can play it on the go on the Nintendo Switch. In and of itself, that is a revelation- Skyrim in bed? On the bus? In the bathroom? But Bethesda went the whole nine yards, and also decided to take full advantage of other features the Switch offers, including motion controls, some fantastic implementation of HD rumble, and for some reason, even Amiibos.

DOOM For (Switch):

The fact that DOOM runs on the Switch at all is a revelation—it is the full 2016 game, as is, ported to a 6.2 inch tablet. Yes, there are concessions that have been made—the resolution and frame rate are dramatically reduced for example. But the revelation that is playing DOOM on the bus or in bed more than makes up for those cutbacks.

Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age:

One of the best and most underrated Final Fantasy games of all time was reborn this year with The Zodiac Age, and we got to see just how far ahead of its time it was when it first came out in 2006. With its hugely satisfying gameplay, and a politically charged story that is unlike any other in the series, as well as its great soundtrack and beautiful world, The Zodiac Age is an incredible remaster of an incredible game.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe:

If Mario kart 8 Deluxe had been how Mario Kart 8 had released to begin with, it would have been a 10/10 game. Taking the original title, and all its updates and DLC, and adding new items, new characters, and a staggering five new Battle Modes, with six new Battle Maps to boot, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is the definitive version of the best Mario Kart game of all time, and one of the best games on the Nintendo Switch.

Metroid: Samus Returns:

To call Samus Returns a remaster or even a remake feels like a disservice to it- it is almost an entirely new game made within the framework of Metroid 2. And that’s what makes it so great- a brand new traditional Metroid with just the right mix of structure and predicability with something new around the corner.

L.A. Noire:

LA Noire was a flawed game, but a good one that deserved more success than it got- and it got the chance for that success with the remaster this year, that lets you experience it either in 4K (on PS4 and Xbox One), or VR (on HTC Vive) or on the go (on Nintendo Switch). Rockstar went all out with each individual new version of this game- they deserve mad credit for it.

Okami HD:

Okami is one of the all time classics, so the chance to play it again, on the PS4 an Xbox One, with remastered and cleaned up graphics that make its gorgeous art pop, isn’t one we are willing to pass up on. Throw in its incredible take on the Zelsa formula, and Okami HD is another great rendition of a fantastic game.

Full Throttle Remastered:

Taking the classic LucasArts adventure game, and remastering it for a new age, Double Fine’s Full Throttle Remastered brings one of the all time cult classics of the graphic adventure with all its charm and wit, and pixel hunting gameplay, intact to a new age.

StarCraft: Remastered:

Starcraft is one of the best and most influential games ever—and now, you can play it, exactly as it was, with modernized graphics and servers. Engage with the heyday of the RTS genre and the game that was an eSport before eSports were a thing, and weep at the fact that we are likely never to get as ground breaking a big budget RTS as Starcraft ever again- there is no longer any market for it. At least we will always have Starcraft Remastered.

And the winner is

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy

Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy is actually a technical achievement. It is, functionally, a 1:1 remake of the original games with modern assets and modern code. In terms of sheer effort, this one should take the cake- but the fact that it gives you three beloved games, for less than the price of one brand new one, really seals the deal. Whether or not you are a fan of Crash, you owe it to yourself to give N.Sane Trilogy a try.

Note: GamingBolt’s Game of the Year categories, nominations and awards are selected via an internal nomination, voting and debate process. You can check the rest of categories and the respective winners here.

LA Noire Is Now Available on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One

Pramath — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 19:16:50 +0000

Rockstar’s enhanced remaster for LA Noire is now out on Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One- it is a notable release, because it is the first Rockstar game to launch on a Nintendo platform in eight years (ever since the release of GTA Chinatown Wars on DS).

The Switch version of the game includes the original title, and all DLC for it, in addition to a Joy-Con mode with gyroscopic, gesture-based controls, HD rumble and new wide and over-the-shoulder camera angles, plus contextual touch screen controls for portable detective work. The PS4 and Xbox One versions include 4K graphics support, enhanced lighting and clouds, new cinematic camera angles, and higher resolution textures. No matter what version you pick up, it is clear that you’ll be getting a good, tailored game for your platform.

LA Noire originally launched on Xbox 360 and PS3; there will also be a version for HTC Vive launching next week, so no matter what platform you play on, you’ll get to engage with the game.