Holiday Gift Guide 2010: PS3 Games @ Gaming Target

Written by Matt Swider on November 29, 2010

Special Feature: Cyber Monday is upon us and there are a lot of great deals for PS3 games. However, make sure you get the most bang for your online buck with our gift guide.

God of War III

Kratos settled the score with Zeus nearly nine months ago, but if you happened to miss the bloody conclusion, then God of War III should be as high as Mount Olympus on your holiday wish list. Fast-paced gameplay and familiar puzzles form the best action game on PS3. The system helps give the series a jump in graphics with god-like lighting effects and a jump in audio with its booming soundtrack and blood-curtailing sound effects. The only jumps we didnя┐╜t enjoy involved the nearly impossible-to-cross gaps that were made more difficult with the seriesя┐╜ notorious jumping controls. Even with that mortal flaw, GoW III remains the best hack-and-slash game this holiday season.

3D Dot Game Heroes

3D Dot Game Heroes looks like a Zelda clone, it plays like a Zelda clone and if video games had a smell, itя┐╜d probably smell like a Zelda clone, too. This PS3-exclusive from Atlus Software delivers an RPG with a retro feel and a unique Lego-like look. This bright-and-blocky game may not have been a God of War-sized blockbuster, but itя┐╜s entertaining for at least 24 hours and stands in stark contrast to everything else that PS3 has to offer this holiday season. Be sure to read our full 3D Dot Game Heroes review for more.

Heavy Rain

When developer Quantic Dream promised a deep psychological thriller that played like no other video game out there, we became extremely skeptical of Heavy Rain and were ready to be let down. To our surprise, we got caught up in the mystery of the Origami Killer thanks to the PS3 gameя┐╜s unusual, story-driven gameplay. The mix of motion and analog controls to execute actions felt very natural. Furthermore, the absence of a я┐╜Game Overя┐╜ screen and the fact it was replaced by taking on the role of another character upon dying was a novelty. Since the patch for PlayStation Move support released in September, this is the perfect season to unravel the Origami Killer mystery. Hit up our Heavy Rain review for additional details.

Red Dead Redemption

We will never look at the Wild West the same again thanks to the two-dozen hours we played as John Marston in Red Dead Redemption. This Rockstar Games-published title is reminiscent of the companyя┐╜s Grand Theft Auto lineup, but its frontier theme provides a fresh backdrop and a much more engaging story. The 1911-set open world brings turn-of-the-century gun technology and transportation (read: horses!) to both single-player and multiplayer modes. On top of that, thereя┐╜s been a bunch of microtransaction-worthy DLC, including the recent zombie-filled я┐╜Undead Nightmare.я┐╜ Mosey on into our Red Dead Redemption review and RDR: Undead Nightmare review for the best opinions this side of the Mississippi.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

You mean, you werenя┐╜t one of the 10 million people who bought Call of Duty: Black Ops in its first five days of availability? Treyarch finally sheds the WWII theme and comes out from the shadows of Infinity Ward to make the best CoD game yet. Its Cold War theme is provocative and the gameplay is adrenaline pumping from the start of the campaign mode to the end. Although the main game isnя┐╜t centered on defeating fascism, Nazi Zombies return and have their very own mode to every survival mode fanя┐╜s delight. Our Mike Gutierrez said it best in his CoD: Black Ops review: я┐╜This game is a steal at $60.я┐╜

Mafia II

With no Grand Theft Auto V this year, 2K Games tried to fill the void with Mafia II, the story-driven game about becoming a я┐╜made manя┐╜ in the 40s and 50s. The sandbox world that it takes place in successfully captures the two decades in which it is set and the twenty-hour story plays out like a really great mob film. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my Mafia II review, it felt like I was punished every time I tried to divert from the linear mission path and explore the я┐╜openя┐╜ world. The game, nevertheless, is an achievement in storytelling and should be played by anyone who enjoys a good mafia flick.

The Sly Collection

The always-sneaky Sly Cooper never seemed to capture as much of the limelight as duos Jak and Daxter and Ratchet & Clank. But thatя┐╜s just how undetectable Sly could be on PS2. Sony is giving the furry raccoon and his friend Bently and Murray their just due with The Sly Collection, a PS3 remake of all three games in the series. Not only have each been remastered in HD, theyя┐╜re all being presented in 3D. Previously, Sly Cooper 3 was the only game to feature screen-popping 3D graphics and that was only for a few specific levels and it made use of the cheap blue-green glasses, not todayя┐╜s high-tech 3D specs. Best of all, the game teases the next addition to the Sly Cooper video game family, Sly 4.

Gran Turismo 5

To wrap-up this "Games We're Looking Forward to in 2011" article, I want to say that GT5 will be a must-have game whenever it releases... Wait... We're not sticking this game in a Preview feature? You mean, it actually released?! Sony kept its revised revision of its revamped word and released the game before the end of 2010, right down to the last couple of weeks, of course. But that just makes Gran Turismo 5 the perfect gift for fans who have been waiting since E3 2005 to get their hands on the realistic racing sim. With over 1,000 cars that handle like their expensive, real-life counterparts, 71 tracks that look like the places they're modeled after and 16-player online gameplay, GT5 couldn't get any better unless they added, I don't know, go karts. Oh, wait, they did. Needless to say, it's one of the most impressive PS3 out there.