Recent Games In Memory: Playstation 3

My PS3 has served me well, and I hope it will continue to do so until much, much later. Bought this back in 2009, on the second day I arrived in US (haha). PS3 had a rocky start on the first few years after its release, but now it is one of the must-own console, with so many great exclusives games, free online service, and very rewarding paid service (PS Plus). PS4 is already in the stores, but I will stick with my PS3 since there are many great games still waiting to be released. There are so many great games for PS3 that it is hard to choose the best, so I just list the recent ones. Here we go.

Persona 4 ARENA

As a big fan of Persona 4, I wouldn't just let this one go. This game is a fighting game (think about Street Fighter, Tekken, and such), so it won't cater to many fans. Still, it is a fun game. I learned to use Kanji and Yukiko and played online on multiple occasions. But since it is a bit hard for non-fan, there aren't many of my friends who played this game (or any fighting games, to be exact). So I haven't booted up this game for a long time now.

Far Cry 3

I was surprised by how amazing this game is. It is an open world first-person shooter, with a setting on an island filled with pirates. You control this dude (Jason Brody) who wants to save his friends who are captured by the pirates. But in doing so, your character turned from a normal average city dude to a killing machine who is capable of assassinating pirates from the air with knife and machine guns. The island is also alive, and by alive, I mean that it is not just a beautiful island with pirates. You can hunt animals for their skin and meat to upgrade your arsenal. Sometimes, when you are fighting the pirates, wild animals will come out to attack you and the pirates, either making it harder or making it easier for you. These wild animals include bears, komodo dragons, tigers, and.. you just have to see for yourself.

Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity? -Vaas-

DmC: Devil May Cry

DmC is the reboot from the original Devil May Cry, after the developer couldn't decide what to do with this franchise after the 4th game. Yes, fans were angry with the redesign of Dante, the main character, and for good reasons. Nevertheless, the game itself doesn't disappoint. Fast-paced actions, variety of combinations of enemies, easy swapping between multiple weapons, clever use of weapons in platforming.. It is a well-done game. But some fans still couldn't get over with the new Dante, ended up making this game get low sales.

Tomb Raider

Another franchise that is rebooted. Lara Croft, one of the most iconic female in industry of gaming, received her new look and fresh start with this game. The game shows how Lara Croft learned how to survive and how she felt when she first had to kill people to survive. As for the game, it is enjoyable, but nothing that I would say revolutionary or ground-breaking. Everything seems to come together, but it is all so familiar (as compared to the Uncharted series). I enjoyed the game, but that's it. Not really a game that I would be too eager to play again. I could, but I wouldn't. The bow is awesome though.

Bioshock Infinite

One of the most hyped game in 2013, created by Ken Levine, the creator of the original critically-acclaimed Bioshock. The story is about Booker DeWitt, who got a job to go to Columbia, a fictional floating city in the sky, to find a girl named Elizabeth to settle his debts. Then, it will get more complicated and not really what it seems. Its ending is one of the most discussed ending in gaming community, with so many interpretations and theories born from the curious gamers all over the world. But how about the gameplay? It is a first person shooter game. Sadly, the shooting mechanics aren't that much different or something that I haven't seen, especially if you have played previous Bioshock (or 2). Yup, still fun, but just that. The addition of sky-line opens up the combat and exploration though. Overall, when seen as an overall packages, it is a great game that you should try to play.

Sleeping Dogs

This is also an unexpected enjoyment. Got this game for free from PS Plus, so I downloaded it and I just couldn't let go of the game. It is an open world game, set in Hong Kong, and tells the story about Wei Shen, an undercover agent trying to take down a Triad. It is easy to compare this game with the giant in open-world game, Grand Theft Auto, but this game still managed to be unique and has it own style. Sleeping Dogs focuses more on hand-to-hand combat, but the shooting mechanic is still there. There are sidequests to do besides the main story, and they are still fun to do. It may not be as big as GTA, but it still managed to hold up on its own, and the developers should strive to achieve more with this game. A sequel is announced, so I'm looking forward to it.

Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag

I haven't played Assassin's Creed since the first one featured Ezio (AC2), so I couldn't compare between all the games. Besides, I only played for like 3-4 hours of this game, so not that much to comment. But from what I played, it is incredible. It doesn't bother you with a lot of words and conspiracies, as it lets you jump straight to the action from the beginning, with much more to offer later on. Roaming the sea really makes you feel like a pirate. When in city, there are tons of things to collect and do, so there are plenty of worthwhile moments with this game. A friend of mine said that this game tends to get repetitive, but it is still addictive.

Tales of Xillia

The only JRPG that I played this year on PS3, it is somewhat cliche and voice acting can be cringe-worthy at times (on minimal occasion though). Nevertheless, I still enjoyed it and almost finished with the game. I have this bad habit of stop playing whenever it is before the final showdown. It is sad when you know that the game is going to end. Graphically, this game is a bit behind compared to other games, but that doesn't make it any less playable. The combat and the dialogue is the main focus here. Combat are fast-paced and easily customizable. You can control any of the six character, and each character has their own specialty and depths. To learn to use new character is like playing a very different game, and that is a plus. Or you can just stick with the same character until the end of the game, and you will still won't get bored. Dialogues can be very funny, and it is interesting to see the characters talk about themselves. They can give you their backgrounds, some side stories, and just to poke fun at others. Probably not the best JRPG out there, but definitely one that JRPG fans would love to play.

Two Games That You Really Need To Play

Grand Theft Auto V

I opened up Metacritic.com, and saw that this game received a metascore of 97 out of 100. Not easily an easy feat to do nowadays (or even back then). I'm not too fond of GTA, because at times I just couldn't understand what is going on (especially the case with GTAs back in PS2 era). But after I picked up the game and started playing, every negative mindset that I have about this game just disappeared.

There are many things to talk about this game, from the characters, the world, the missions (especially the heists), the gameplay mechanics, the vehicles, the story.. and that still doesn't include many aspect of the games. You can see that the developer is very detailed when making this game, they won't let past any chances to put small details in the game that will make the player delightful. But the first thing that you will see, is how beautiful the game is. It is just so unreal that you'd think you are playing on a next gen console. Just try and compare with GTA IV, it makes so much differences.

The narrative in this game is also greatly improve. You control three characters that you can switch with ease. Each character has their own specialties and unique missions, and at times the three come together in a mission that you can even switch between the three of them to tackle the mission in a different way. I want to include examples but that would make this post very, very long. Besides the main mission, there are a tons of things to do like skydiving, rampage, playing tennis, golf, darts, or you can just take a plane and fly around. Seriously, this game is a big playground for you to do a lot of things. Much more than any open-world games out there. No other open world game is as massive as GTAV.

The Last of Us

Ah, Naughty Dog. Why do you have to go out of your way to make a very awesome game? If GTA V is an open-world, do-anything-in-order-to-get-capitalized game, The Last of Us the opposite of that: a linear and do-anything-in-order-to-survive game. Instead of giving you a world to explore, TLoU tells a story about Joel and Ellie, and how they are trying to survive in a world where humanity is doomed. People got affected by parasites that turns people into zombie (well, the term 'zombie' never used here. Instead, they are 'infected'), government and military try to quarantine people, and the some people rose to rebellion.

I won't spoil the story, but the story is not an happy one. Everyone out there is trying to survive, from either being turned into an infected or from being killed by other people. It is a dog-eat-dog world, where resources are limited, food aren't always available, and everyone just couldn't trust each other. It is a depressed world, where there is no hope for humanity. Joel finds it hard to be too attached to other people, and he just doesn't want to talk about the past, whether it is his or others because he had lost so many people that he cared about. He is an expert in surviving, but as he said, it is only because he is lucky, and one day the luck will runs out. Ellie was born after the infected outbreak started, and she also had a hard time surviving on her own. She is adapting on how to survive, with Joel besides her to guide and protect her. The whole story is about the relationship between Joel and Ellie. It is a very emotional one.

What about the gameplay, then? The bleakness of the world is also smartly integrated into the gameplay. Ammo, health, and resources are very scarce, so you really need to choose how to spend everything wisely. Throughout the games, you will encounter infected and humans, which both will do everything to kill you. Among the infected, there are runners, clickers and bloaters. Bloaters are a bit rare, but they are the most dangerous among the three. Clickers are blind, and they only react to sound. But that what makes them truly dangerous, as they will come straight to you once they detect you with their ultra-sensitive hearing. Once they caught you, you'll die. Staying away is a good idea. Runners, as the name suggests, run straights toward you once they spotted you but you can still get away if they caught you. The threat is in their number, as they always in group. The infected are fast and mindless, but the human are more clever in their tactics to kill you. They can go around you and catch you by surprise from behind. They also have weapons like guns, pipe bars and Molotov cocktail, which makes them hard to deal with. With your limited supplies, you are constantly in tension, and you really need to be careful with your approach. The game let you stealth kill as well, and it is the best way to conserve your ammo until when you really need it. But stealth kill is never easy, as you need to approach them slowly without any of the enemies detecting you.

Two words to describe the game are "stressful" and "emotional". But that's what makes it so special. This is one game that you really need to play, even if you are not a gamer.