Action, adventure, horror and puzzling await PS3 owners after Christmas with the games of January 2011. 2010 was a great year for the PS3 with top titles like Heavy Rain and God of War 3 and 2011 is shaping up to be even better with the games below starting the year with a bang.
LittleBigPlanet 2 (Sony Computer Entertainment)
Sackboy returns in another PS3-exclusive that's being called a 'platform for games' and takes the idea of user-generated content light years beyond anything before it. The original LittleBigPlanet was a breath of fresh air when it launched at the end of 2008 by giving players a powerful set of tools for creating their own platform levels and sharing them online. So far over two million user-generated levels have been created and the game has won many critical awards as well as scoring 95% overall on Metacritic.
LittleBigPlanet 2 gives players even more tools and user-generated levels aren't now limited to platform games as puzzle, racing and even role playing games can be created as well. Characters can be added and customised, entire game worlds created and it's even possible for players to compose their own music and create cinematics using different camera angles combined with pans, sweeps and more.
The game features greatly enhanced graphics and is compatible with PlayStation Move and, as before, it also features a story mode, which this time sees players trying to stop an inter-dimensional vacuum cleaner from destroying the cosmos
But it's the creating and sharing of user-generated levels that are the big selling point of LittleBigPlanet 2 and could make this a contender for game of the year.
Dead Space 2 (Electronic Arts)
The first Dead Space game from Electronic Arts arrived at the end of 2008 and became a critical smash, receiving 88% overall on Metacritic. A survival horror game, a genre made famous by Resident Evil, it took place in the 26th century and put the player in the role of engineer Isaac Clarke who is investigating a distress signal sent from the interstellar mining ship USG Ishimura. Once onboard, he must battle against a virus that has turned the crew into terrifying monsters called 'Necromorphs'.
Dead Space 2 looks to be even more impressive when it's released in January by moving the action to a space station, called the Sprawl, where the Necromorph virus has just started to appear. Players will again take the role of Isaac and have access to a greater range of weapons - which is just as well as there are are new enemies to fight, too. Multiplayer has also been added to the game, with players taking part as either humans or Necromorphs.
The PS3 version of the game also includes Dead Space: Extraction, previously only available for the Nintendo Wii. This is a shoot-em-up which takes place before the first game and has support for PlayStation Move.
Mass Effect 2 (Electronic Arts)
Already a massive hit on the PC and Xbox 360, the Mass Effect series finally arrives on the PS3 in January, although players won't be getting the first game. Mass Effect 2 is a treat for science fiction fans and takes place in the late 22nd century when mankind has spread to the stars, thanks to technology discovered on Mars from a long dead alien civilisation. Many other alien races exist, most of them more advanced than the human race.
The PS3 version of Mass Effect 2 includes hours of bonus material, including DLC and an introduction to the back story from the first game.
Taking the role of Commander Shephard, the player must put together a team and journey across the galaxy in a starship to stop an alien race known as the Collectors who are abducting entire human colonies. Billed as an action role-playing game, Mass Effect 2 is a huge, sprawling title with dozens of worlds and characters. A rich plot, together with fantastic graphics and sound, give the game a true cinematic quality. So cinematic in fact that a Mass Effect movie is currently in development at Legendary Pictures.
More PS3 Games Coming Soon
January kicks off a brilliant year for the PS3 and there's more to come with games like Crysis 2, Killzone 3 and Motorstorm: Apocalypse out before the end of March. And for those who may have missed them, don't forget all the great PS3 games that came out before Christmas 2010.
Playable demos of all the PS3 games above can be downloaded from the PlayStation Network and find out how Mass Effect compares to Halo.
Jason Glover - Jason Glover has worked in the marketing teams of major companies for over twenty years, including over ten years in online marketing ...
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