PS3 Informer

The 5 Most Important Exclusives for the PS3 in 2009

How do we know that these games are important to the success of the Playstation brand in 2009? Because Sony told us so. In a recent press release for Killzone 2, Sony Computer Entertainment of America stated that these 5 titles would represent an "unprecedented year of blockbuster releases" for 2009 in our territory. We definitely agree with their assessment, because each of these titles is unique, exclusive to the Sony platform and highly anticipated by fans and the gaming press alike.

God of War III - This game is going to be a tremendously important event on the PS3. In reality, Steve Caterson and the team at SCE Santa Monica could probably dial in a mediocre sequel and fans would still buy it. But of course, they won't. Early previews are suggesting that God of War III takes the third-person action game further than we can imagine. We've grown wary of press hyperbole in the past, but with the recently released Killzone 2 and Metal Gear Solid 4 both living up to the hype, we think there could be something great here. Playstation fans who still haven't made the leap from the PS2 will be plenty tempted when this game hits.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves - The first Uncharted title was a breath of fresh air and a welcome surprise early in the life of the PS3. It featured stunning graphics, over-the-top cinematic gameplay and highly tuned pacing. It was everything that Sony said they would deliver this generation. We've seen some early screenshots of Uncharted 2 and they look amazing. If Among Thieves manages to achieve the same level of success as its predecessor, then it can be considered a success. We think that it will do even better.

inFamous – This game was originally slated to arrive in 2008, but the developers pushed its release back by one year to allow more time to polish it up. inFamous is a sandbox-style superhero game starring a bicycle courier that can control electricity. Part of the reason for the delay undoubtedly has something to do with the fact that the game takes place in a massive open-world city. The developers at Sucker Punch Studios probably took one look at last year’s GTA IV and thought the game needed more time. If the developers spend their extra time coming up with cool things we can use our superpowers for in the game world, then inFamous could set new standards for open-world gaming on the PS3.

Heavy Rain - There is a lot of media hype for the latest cinematic adventure game from Quantic Dream. We aren't impressed with what we've seen of Heavy Rain so far -- the game seems to rely a bit too much on Quick Time events for our taste. However as we get closer to the game's release we will be looking for more reasons to get excited about Heavy Rain. At the very least, it promises something original and a bit more mature than the usual aliens-and-guns storyline.

MAG - If you asked a 10 year old boy to design his ideal game, this is probably what he would come up with. MAG (which stands for Massive Action Game) is a truly massive shooter which will allow and unprecedented 256 players to join in battle. Its size has required designers at Zipper interactive to come up with a new kind of server architecture that will allow so many players to go online simultaneously. The title was shown at E3 in 2008, but since then we haven’t heard much about the progress of the game. It might be that Zipper will miss its 2009 release target, but we hope to be able to play it by the end of the year.

early screenshots of M.A.G. look promising.