Should I buy a PS3?

[nameless023]

So it's the end of the year and the beginning of a new console generation, and the Xbone, PS4 and Wii U are taking the spotlight on this shopping season leaving the other consoles left behind. And that only means one thing: Discounts *Everywhere*. So me, being the financially irresponsible impulsive buyer that I am, decided its time to buy a console to play them vidyagames that the console peasants enjoy so much and after debating (flipping a coin) over which console I should get I've settled for the PS3.

The question I always reach at the end is: Why should I buy a PS3?

Obvious answer is the one that comes first: the console exclusive games. With a PS3 I'd be able to play games like The Last of Us, the mandatory Journey playthrough experience, Catherine (I find it to be a fascinating concept for a puzzle game), Dark Souls (since I refuse to play it on PC because of GFWL) and I even managed to find an remastered collection of ICO and Shadow of the Colossus. Maybe even GTA V if I can't wait for the PC release. As you can see, I have a small game library already planned, but then what else? What else can I add to this list that I can't get on Steam/Origin/GOG/etc (all hail the glorious PC master race)? I'd even consider double dipping some games that I already own just to enhance the library and to get physical copies of collectors editions, but what else?!

And what happens after I play the handful of games that I wanted to play? What do I do with this PS3 after I got nothing else to play on it? Yes, future game releases might still get a PS3 version and there might be a game or two that I'd be interested to play, but that hardly seems to be enough.

-

I guess what I'm asking is would it be worth it to buy a PS3? And if it is worth it, what other games can I add to this list of games I should get?

Spoiler

And before you mention any of them, I will not play Call of Duty, Battlefield or any kind of sports game.

 

[alphamalet]

I think it is worth it.

And here are some games to add to the list:

Valkyria Chronicles - an absolutely amazing SRPG
Ni no Kuni - Great JRPG
Metal Gear Solid 4
Flower
Uncharted 2 for some good stupid fun

 

[BrotherRool]

That's actually a pretty interesting question. I take it you don't own a console at all, so games that aren't released on the PC are also up for grabs?

...either way I would say it depends if you're happy with the games you're currently receiving and playing on the PC, if having a second gaming machine would be useful to you (for example if you're PC is shared with another person) and if it would save you minor inconveniences like not being able to easily play games in your living room otherwise.

Finally it comes down to how much you're okay with spending money for extra benefit. There are some people who will buy a console for one game, but other people wouldn't pay full price for the best game in the world. I can't help you on that. For me personally, it wouldn't feel worthwhile unless I knew there was at least a years worth of games there that I wanted to play.

Now for the list of potentially good PS3 games (if you don't have a PS2 I'm including some of the HD rereleases)

* Uncharted (franchise) - fun light-hearted cinematic action. If you don't like the word cinematic, don't play these games. Uncharted 2 is undoubtedly the best of them.

* Valkyria Chronicles - a really unusual tactical RPG strategy hybrid. It's story is fractured but fun, it's art style gorgeous and the gameplay does an impressive job of capturing the idea of battles. You'll find yourself moving snipers up to clear areas for scouts to run across before you bring your heavies in... Also very light-hearted

* inFamous 2- It's just an all round fantastic sandbox superhero game and absolutely worth playing. The gameplay is great, the story is fantastic and they do some things at the end which are legitimately brave.

* Heavy Rain - Only if you're interested in interactive storytelling. The plot isn't even that great but the button presses it uses are pretty amazing. It's weird but it really will feel like climbing over barbed wire or drinking orange juice. Pretty unique

* Metal Gear Solid HD (franchise) - This is a hate it or love it series, but they do some crazy things. Everything is full of a level of detail and easter-egg goodyness that you'll never see elsewhere. There's a boss fight against a sniper where you can stalk through the jungle hiding in lookout points and try to sneak up on him before he sneaks up on you, but you can choose to shoot down the parrot he uses to spot (and then eat it) or hold him up so he gives you special camouflage or snipe him at an early point in the game when he's just talking to another person or you can not play the game for a few weeks and he'll die of old age. And then everyone yells at you for being a coward. The game takes itself super seriously but at the same time you can have long conversations about how the badass protagonist loves to sit in cardboard boxes and how great they are. You can distract guards by placing guys mags on the floor... The game is made by a madman and it's both it's greatest strength and it's weakness

* Kingdom Hearts 1.5 - Disney mixed with Final Fantasy

* Final Fantasy X HD - Also controversial, but loved by many

 

[Jusey1]

Eh. I prefer the Xbox 360 myself and will never get a PS3... Just me though. Idk about you. Could be. Depends on what you wanna do and such.

 

[Fijiman]

I don't see why not. Hell, my brother and I are planning on getting one at some point soon once we can get a decent amount of money together. Sure I'm only interested in the Ratchet & Clank games and maybe the Killzone series, but that doesn't mean that there are tons of other great games for it. I say that if there are a couple of game that you know you want that are only on it then just go for it.

 

[Savagezion]

PS3 is a great console to have in counter to a PC IMO.

-Valkeria Chronicles
-Ni No Kuni
-Resonance of Fate
-Folklore
-Tales of _________ (There are like 5-6. I havent played any myself yet but they are worth a look)
-Little Big Planet
-Demon Souls (You like Dark Souls right)
-Uncharted (If the writing and not the zombies interests you in The Last of Us, I would check this series out in order. It isn't a "drama" like TLoU, but rather a light hearted action-adventure tale. It is every bit as good as The Last of Us but it just isn't as serious. If not, Uncharted 2 is still worth a look.)

Then lets hope to hell The Last Guardian sees a release date. Not sure if you are against shooters or not but if you aren't against them you may check out Resistance also. I really like the first one but I got bored of the second one halfway through.

 

[Mihai Alexandru Cuzmov]

1. Resonance Of Fate (known as End Of Eternity in Japan)

It is a very unique RPG with a lot of depth and complexity. The combat system is a mix of turn based and real time, the weapon crafting/upgrade system is a kind of puzzle game in itself and even exploring the map requires puzzle solving. It is very hard to explain without writting a full 2 page article, just be sure to look it up. Also, it's extremely challenging, but the fair kind, where you might be stuck on a boss for 2 hours not because you didn't grind enough, but because there is a trick there that HAS been explained, you just didn't consider it until now.

2. Diablo 3

I know this will be kind of controversial, but I rather liked the PS3 version of Diablo 3 a lot more than the PC version. I'm a social person that enjoys speding time with friends (as I know a lot of gamers are) and D3's local one-console one-copy-of-the-game 4-player co-op is LOADS of fun with friends. Also, NO auction house and NO DRM. You should at least try the demo.

3. Demon's Souls

This is easy to recommend: if you like Dark Souls, you will most likely like Demon's Souls. Same developer, same concept, different world and mostly the same mechanics with some minor differences.

4. Splatterhouse

This game got low scores all around, but I loved it. It's brutal dumb fun at it's best. Also, it comes packed with the original Splatterhouse trilogy including the unaltered Arcade Version of Splatterhouse 1.

5. Red Dead Redemption

Ever wanted GTA set in the Wild West? This is your game then.

6. Majin and the Forsaken Kingdom

It's a game very similar to ICO and since you said you are interested in that, you should check this out as well. The demo is available on PSN.

7. Yakuza (the series)

Open-world, fun combat and a interesting storyline.

8. Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale

Very fun fighting game to play if you have 3 friends around.

9. Twisted Metal

I know it looks like a racing game, but it's actually more like Quake with cars. The objective is not racing, but rather blowing up your opponents. It's EXACTLY like an Old School FPS but with cars.

 

[SweetShark]

Well, if you like persona series, I suggest you to buy PS3.
Persona 5 will come in PS3 after all.
Also Okami HD, Catherine and Dragon Crown are a "must to play" games for me.

 

[Quellist]

Tales of Graces F, Tales of Xillia, plus incoming Tales of Symphonia HD, Tales of Xillia 2 and Tales of Zestiria.

If you like or even want to try JRPG's that's 5 massive reasons to buy the ps3!

 

[Tom_green_day]

The Last of Us, Uncharted and InFamous says HI. If you're a PC gamer, GTA V and Red Dead Redemptions also says 'wassup'
EDIT: Oh the point about what happens when you have played all the games? As someone who can't buy new games much- or old games for that matter, play the games again! I have countless playthroughs on my favourite games and quite a few on less-favourite ones. A game isn't a thing that you play once and need a new one.

 

[jackpipsam]

If you have a 360, don't bother.
If you don't have a 360, then sure.

 

[EHKOS]

I want to really press God of War a bit just because I haven't seen it mentioned yet...I don't think.

Get the Sly Cooper HD pack on PSN, then get Thieves in Time.

Uncharted 2 & 3, 1 is really bad comparatively. I'd go so far as to say just read the wiki to get caught up on the story.

inFamous, but you have to play 1 first, because the second one improves the overall experience enough that you won't want to go back.

Jak and Daxter HD pack off PSN.

If you didn't play Resident Evil 4 on PC then get the HD remaster.

Ratchet and Clank have an HD collection, then get the future series if you liked it, then get Into the Nexus which is brand new, but short due to the studio taking time to work on the movie. Oh, but All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault don't count because they're spin-offs and, bluntly, suck.

The God of War collection is another good exclusive with great set-pieces and fun gameplay mixed with a bit of puzzle.

DO NOT get PSASBR.

Aaaannnd I think that's it, unless you've never played Prince of Persia, in which case, get the HD pack. And I mean the SoT, WW, and TT series, not that 2008 abomination.

EDIT: Oh yeah, Revengece should be cheap, and despite it's PC release date getting close, I'd rather pay $30 over $60 for it. It's short but fun.

 

[PoolCleaningRobot]

And what happens after I play the handful of games that I wanted to play? What do I do with this PS3 after I got nothing else to play on it? Yes, future game releases might still get a PS3 version and there might be a game or two that I'd be interested to play, but that hardly seems to be enough.

One of the things I like about the ps3 is that you can also use it as a media hub. In addition to the blue ray player with great DVD upscaling, you can swap that hard drive for a 2 terabyte hard disk and put some movies on it. You can rip them yourself and convert to mp4 which should be easy if you already have a pc gaming master race computer. Or you could buy from psn if you're made of money. Honestly, psn has a huge selection of shows and movies and some shows can be bought as soon as they air. I'd probably use it if I had cash and could work an PVR to play the content on other devices. There's also streaming apps like Netflix and the ability to use the ps3 for DLNA streaming.

And if all that fails, you can take the blue ray disk reader out and make it into a laser that can burn wood, pop balloons, and cause blindness. Can't do that with an Xbox pee-shitty (well it could probably still cause blindness)

And if it is worth it, what other games can I add to this list of games I should get?

Did you own a ps1? In addition to ps1 classics the ps3 has back-compat for all ps1 games. There's also a few ps2 games on psn like Persona 3. And I second all the games people have mentioned. Definitely play Red Dead Redemption. Its a fucking fantastic game

 

[Googenstien]

and in the end it can stream Netflix and other movie sites and is also a pretty good BluRay player that happens to be 3d.

 

[Idlemessiah]

I'm gonna get one after new year. The price point is hovering around £200 - £220 for a 500GB slim and second hand games are dirt cheap. That means I'll be able to get the console and an arm full of games for less than the price of a PS4. Plus I only know 2 people with new consoles and they went for the xbone.

 

[Oly J]

YES! get one! they are worth it, also if you feel like giving PS+ a go the free games are nice

some games I recommend

Ni No Kuni (my game of the year)

Yakuza 3, or 4, these are so much fun, Dead Souls is good too, though not so much

Valkyria Chronicles (I cannot tell you the hours I lost to this)

Metal Gear Solid 4: (a must-have for any Metal Gear fan)

God of War (any of them really they're all fun)

Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix (if you liked Kingdom Hearts enough)

Playstation All-Stars Battle Royale (nothing substantial, but there's lots of mindless fun to be had)

Uncharted (say what you will about the characters, but it's a fun series)

also Dust 514 is an interesting Free-to-Play shooter that's worth a look,

 

[Seracen]

Considering all the Black Friday Bundles that are still lying around...YES!

Unless you already have one, $200 is a steal for these systems, esp with the game bundles they are still shipping with. If I wasn't buying a next gen system, I'd be tempted to simply buy another copy of the current gen, just for when the old systems eventually fry.

 

[balladbird]

Depends on your reasons, really. For me, the reason I always go with Sony, even with this being the golden year of the glorious PC gaming etcetera etcetera, is because the Sony console is pretty much always guaranteed to get the highest amount of support from japanese developers, since PC gaming just refuses to take off in that country.

Thus, if you are a fan of japanese games, JRPGS, strategy rpgs and the like, then PS3 is a must buy console, for the titles already expressed above.

Heck, even if I didn't already own a PS3, I'd pick one up just for Persona 5.



If you're not a fan of japanese games, then it becomes a little less cut and dry. there are plenty of western-based exclusives on the PS3, but chances are you can find some simulacrum of them on the PC. (it sounds like you already own a gaming rig, is why I keep mentioning PC, by the by) As a result, you'd have to take the individual titles by how they appeal ot you personally, and see if they would justify the purchase.

PS3s are relatively cheap now, but if you don't think there are enough games to get enjoyment out of it, it'd still be a silly purchase.