PS3 newbie - some questions...

[ender4]

I've just bought a PS3 having not been into gaming for about 10 years.

Not owned any other console before.

 

What are the best games that i should buy?

I like games with a bit of story, single player rather than multiplayer, and not mindless shoot-em-ups.

 

Also, looking at buying the PS Eye and motion controllers.

Is it any good?

Best games to use the Eye/motion controllers with?

 

Any other useful things i should know for the PS3?

 

 

I'm looking forward to getting back into gaming after so long away.

Edited January 26, 2013 by ender4

[The_Rev]

Am I right in suggesting it is well worth subscribing to Playstation Plus if you are a new owner?  Sony make a load of games available to Playstation Plus members for free, you can only play those games while you have an active subscription but it is fairly cheap and you get a lot of stuff for your money. 

 

I wouldn't touch the motion stuff myself. It's just not of interest to me. 

 

The PS3 is a kick ass Blu Ray player.  

 

Best games that arent mindless shoot em ups?  The PS3 is six years old now so there are more fantastic games on the system than you will ever have time to play.  I'll particularly recommend:

 

Red Dead Redemption. 

 

Portal 2. 

 

Braid. (downloadable only, from the Playstation Store) 

 

The Walking Dead. (downloadable only, from the Playstation Store)

 

Uncharted 2.  Might be a bit "shooty" but it is basically Indiana Jones the game. 

[Ginko]

I'm the same, I'm more into single player games with good stories. I recommend:

 

Batman: Arkham Asylum - One of my favourite games of the last decade. If you're into the comics then it's even more special, but even if you're not it's a good story and great fun to play. The combat system is particularly fantastic. Who doesn't like Batman?

 

Batman: Arkham City - Sequel to Arkham Asylum (surprisingly) and probably my favourite game of the last decade, just pipping Asylum to the post.

 

You really should buy those two games.

 

Then there's:

The Orange Box - Great value for money as it includes 3 fantastic games, but honestly it's worth the price for the first Portal game alone. Half-Life 2 is a First Person Shooter but about as far from "mindless" as you can get.

 

Portal 2 - Sequel to Portal but a bigger game, hence why it is sold in it's own right as opposed to being in a compilation like the first Portal was. You really should play the first Portal game since Portal 2 is a continuation of the story, that and it's just fantastic anyway.

 

The Uncharted Series - All 3 games are great in my opinion, though as Rev alludes to above, 2 is considered the best. You should be able to get the first one on the cheap now.

 

Red Dead Redemption - Rev covered this one. Starts off a bit slow but stick with it through the first hour or so, it's an absolute gem, promise.

 

Infamous 1 & 2 - Open world play with a couple of decent storylines with dichotomy thrown in which adds to replayability. Fun superhero/villain games.

 

Ico & Shadow of the Colossus HD - A couple of PS2 game remakes but they're widely considered as two of the best games for the console. Both games come together as a compilation and have updated HD graphics and some tweaks to the controls. The games are different in terms of gameplay style, but both have original and interesting stories and are set in the same universe (Shadow of the Colossus is a prequel, but you should play it after Ico anyway, and besides, Ico came out before SOTC).

 

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection - If you've never played these games, you should definitely give them a go. They're not for everyone but the HD collection is great value for money. The collection doesn't include the first Metal Gear Solid which came out on the original playstation, but you can buy that from the Playstation Store online and download it.

 

Demon's Souls & Dark Souls - You might want to read up on these games before you get them. A lot of people describe them as very difficult, I think punishing or unforgiving is more accurate. They're certainly not easy, but dying means a lot of backtracking and whatever killed you last time is waiting for you when you return. But you learn from your mistakes, which is invaluable. Either way, they're great games and probably the most rewarding games I've ever played when you finally figure out where you went wrong. I'm not sure they're the ideal games to jump into when you've been out of the loop for ten years but when you get more into the swing of things, they're some of the best around today.

 

Honourable mentions should go to  Grand Theft Auto 4 , Bioshock 1 & 2 (shooters, but again, not mindless), Borderlands 1  & 2 (again, shooters but with RPG elements), Tales of Graces f (not sure if you're into JRPG's like the Final Fantasy series, but if you are I would get this over Final Fantasy XIII, personally).

 

There's plenty of others you can find if you look online. Playstation Plus is also a very worthwhile service as Rev says, but it depends how deep into games you're planning on getting.

 

I also agree to leave the PS Eye and Move (the motion control stuff) well alone. If you really want to look into it though, look online to see what people who are into it are saying. I've never played it, though I did work on the Xbox equivalent and let's just say, I never bought one.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Ginko

[Ginko]

Oh, and if it turns out you ARE into JRPG's, there's a new one coming out next week which looks fantastic and is getting superb reviews called Ni No Kuni. There's a separate thread for that in the Gaming section if you're interested.

[The_Rev]

Isn't the PS3 version of The Orange Box a total piece of shit? 

[Ginko]

Honestly don't know, I have it on Xbox 360 but not for that reason.

 

Just had a quick google and IGN said it got patched back in 2008 but most of the issues players complained about were to do with Team Fortress 2, which ender4 probably wouldn't be playing if he's not into FPS's or multiplayer games.

[Ginko]

Daft, Valve took care of the Xbox and PC versions and outsourced the PS3 port to EA who screwed it up apparently.

 

From Wiki:

 

On January 3, 2008, IGN reported that Valve employees had created a thread on Valve's website forums for players to list the problems they had encountered and to suggest fixes,^[51] which caused speculation that a patch was being planned to address the issues in the PlayStation 3 version, such as the frame rate issues, the connection problems in Team Fortress 2, and the slow loading times in Portal.

A patch for the PlayStation 3 version was later released in North America on March 19, 2008 and Europe a short while after that; however, it made no mention of fixing frame rate issues or slow loading times.

 

The PS3 version still gets good reviews, either way.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Ginko

[hogso]

All above recs are good, with the exception of borderlands, which is pretty mindless.

I will be predictable and rec valkyria chronicles and super sonic acrobatic rocket powered battle cars. Other things you would've missed out on over the last gen worth mentioning are the new fallout games, dead space, and mass effect.

In regard to PS+, the current freebies are bioshock 2, guardians of middle earth, mortal kombat, big sky infinity, vanquish, limbo, a ratchet and clank game, little big planet 2, motor storm apocalypse, and infamous 2. It's £40 for the year, so you'll recoup that money pretty quick - as long as you have a large hard drive. If you don't, then I would say it is not worth it.

Oh, also, there's some decent discounts at the mo too, GTA IV complete edition is £14, for example

Edited January 26, 2013 by hogso

[ender4]

Thanks for your advice so far.

 

What about an arcade-style car racing game?

 

Also, are these Elder Scrolls games too advanced as one of my first games to play?

If not, which one?  or Fallout or GTA 4 instead?  

[AVFC_Hitz]

I'd highly recommend FarCry3.

[darrenm]

Gran Turismo is really the only car racing game you need.

[Ginko]

Far Cry 3 is a shooter and Gran Turismo isn't very arcadey so I don't think that's what he's looking for, though both games are incredible.

 

I'm not hugely into arcade racers, though I thought the motor storm games were supposed to be pretty good. Need For Speed Most Wanted is quite a recent game and was made by the same guys who did Burnout, that's pretty arcadey.

 

I'd say that you'd pick up Skyrim quickly enough, and there's plenty of help to be found online if you did get stuck. Highly recommend getting it at some stage though.

 

Fallout 3 seems to divide people on here. I absolutely loved it, and it's a bit different to your normal shooters. You should be able to get it dirt cheap so if you buy it and find out you don't like it, you shoudn't have wasted too much money.

 

GTA IV is another game I really liked. I think it's pretty much universally loved, as all GTA as a series seems to be, so I'd recommend that too.

 

You can always watch plenty of gameplay videos on youtube, or gametrailers.com to get a good idea on whether you like the look of a game before you buy it.

Edited January 26, 2013 by Ginko

[villa4europe]

agree about PSN+, its brilliant, it also lets you set a time when you wont be playing (mines 2am) when it switches itself on and searches for updates etc and then switches itself off, they give you about 2/3 games every 10 days with at least 1 of them being very good, they are meant to give you 65 games over the year, theyve changed it to game of the month now i think though, batman AC isnt on there anymore, you also get better demos

 

havent seen dead space or max payne 3 suggested, MP's gameplay is a bit on the mindless shooter side but its very cinematic with a good story, give motorstorm a try for an arcade racer you should be able to get one of them for a tenner

[Chindie]

The PS3 version of Skyrim borders on broken, does it not? Bethesda just do not get on with that console - Fallout 3 was ropey too on it IIRC.

 

Arcade racers - I'd second the call to look at the Criterion boys work. Need for Speed Hot Pursuit can be picked up for no money these days and is great cops and robbers themed racing fun, and NFS Most Wanted is well held.

 

Do not go near the motion stuff - its rubbish and theres **** all available for it, and of that very little is good.

[Rainer]

Do not purchase the Playstation Move.. I have it and it is a waste of money..

[AVFCforever1991]

Deus Ex and Dishonoured are both great games with a good story line, you won't regret buying,  

Edited January 26, 2013 by AVFCforever1991

[The_Rev]

For arcade style racers, I dont think Burnout Paradise has been bettered yet.  The PS3 version is the one to get too as it was the lead platform during development. 

[Rino8]

Assassins Creed 2 should be a worth a look at, and I imagine it's pretty cheap these days.

 

As for racers, the best ones would be ones that were mentioned, Burnout Paradise, and the Need For Speed games made by Criterion.

[Junxs]

My personal favourites over the years have been

Metal Gear 4, Batman (both of them), Fallout 3, Infamous & Red Dead

 

All of these should be very cheap now too and all are amazing.

[HolteEndRob]

No "Heavy Rain" recommendations? I thought it was quality. He said he likes games with a bit of a story and single player rather than multiplayer. Heavy Rain fits the bill and is probably cheap now too.