Top 10 upcoming PlayStation 3 exclusives

With the recent release of the PS3 slim at a competitive price, sales of PlayStation 3s have increased significantly. There’s an impressive array of PS3 exclusives available already that includes the Uncharted series, Little Big Planet, Killzone 2, InFamous and Wipeout HD to name but a few.

Here are 10 upcoming exclusives for PS3 owners to look forward to. And if you’re not a PS3 owner: 10 reasons to go out and purchase one.

10. Agent

Currently being developed by Rockstar North, in Edinburgh, and being touted as the ultimate action game. Few details are known apart from Agent will take players into the shadowy world of 1970s espionage and assassination during the cold war. Scheduled for release in 2010, Rockstar are hoping that Agent will achieve similar levels of success enjoyed by their flagship franchise, Grand Theft Auto. 9. The Last Guardian

From Team ICO, who brought you the highly acclaimed ICO and Shadow Of The Colossus, comes The Last Guardian. The game is a third person action adventure and will focus on a young boy and his friendship with a creature called Trico. The player will take control of the unarmed boy and is responsible for guiding the creature that’s driven by animal instincts. 8. ModNation Racers

This kart racing game will focus heavily on user-created content with customisable racetracks that players will be able to share online and fully customisable characters and vehicles using Urban Vinyl stylings. It’s similar to Little Big Planet with the level of customisation available (a beta demo of ModNation Racers is included in the Little Big Planet game of the year edition in the US) and the emphasis on user-created content. The single player mode will, apparently, boast 30 tracks designed by the development team using the tools that will be available to players of the game. Gameplay will be similar to that of other Kart racing games as power ups and weapons will be available to collect to give racers an advantage.

7. Gran Turismo 5

The highly anticipated and much delayed racer will, apparently, according to Polyphony Digital’s Kazunori Yamuchi, look “better than reality”. The game will support online racing, which is a first for the series. Another first is that some of the vehicles will suffer damage. The game will feature over 900 cars and 20 courses with 70 course variations. At the time of writing, the game is set for release on the 31st March in Japan, but no solid release date is set for Europe or the US, despite the developers annoyingly stating that they can release it any time they want.

6. Eight Days

Up until recently, it appeared that development of Eight Days was cancelled, along with The Getaway 3. However, it appears that it was merely on hold and it will finally get a release. Footage of Eight Days was shown as far back as 2005, in the form of a scene showing a petrol station exploding, to show the PS3’s capabilities of handling visual effects and physics. The following year, at E3, another video was released showcasing stunning graphics, but in 2008, Sony Computer Entertainment London announced that they cancelled the development of the game.

Since then they have worked on Eye Pet, which is scheduled for release at the end of October in the UK and 2010 in the US. Eight Days will be set, as the title suggests, over the course of eight days and will include a real life clock so if you’re playing during the day this will be reflected in the game. The game is also set in eight different US states, one of which is Arizona, so the potential size of the game map is rather large. Players will be able to choose between a good and an evil character, both of which are going after an organised crime syndicate for different reasons.5. White Knight Chronicles

This fantasy RPG about two rival kingdoms at war has already enjoyed considerable success and acclaim in Japan. So much so that Sony has already got a sequel in development despite not being available in the US or Europe. European and US PS3 owners can expect to be able to get their hands on WKC in April 2010. Players will be able to customise their avatar and enjoy an immersive single player campaign as well as a real-time online multiplayer quest mode with up to four other players.4. Demon’s Souls

Here’s another intriguing RPG prospect that’s been available elsewhere for sometime. It has been released in the US recently, but it’s unclear when it will be available in Europe. The game offers severe punishment if their character dies in combat, as all of their experience and equipment up to that point will be lost. No problem, just load your last save game, right? Afraid not! The game autosaves frequently, meaning that you can’t just reload an old game save if something bad happens to your character. Oh, and the more your character dies, the more powerful the enemies get. Rather than detracting from the game, reviews indicate that this aspect of the game makes it an incredibly rewarding experience. With still no European date yet, if you want to play this any time in the near future you’ll have to import it. 3. God Of War III

Ex-Spartan warrior Kratos finally makes his appearance on the PS3 next year, in what will be the final chapter of the God Of War series. This chapter will take advantage of a new purpose built game engine adding levels of realism and interaction to Kratos’ adventure. God Of War 3 is scheduled for release at the end of March next year, so there’s still a bit of a wait for this. For those of you who can’t wait, a God Of War collection containing parts 1 and 2 will be released on PS3 in time for Christmas and will include a demo of God Of War 3. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, this is only scheduled for a US release. 2. MAG (Massive Action Game)

Set for release in January 2010, this massive multiplayer online shooter is set to be something quite special as it will support battles of up to 256 players! Players will be divided into squads of 8. Four squads will form a platoon and 4 platoons will form a company. Players can advance through the game’s ranking system and the player with the highest rank will lead their squad and, potentially, an army. The game is set in 2025 amidst a global crisis where natural resources have diminished. Three private military companies recruited members aggressively to battle for control of what resources are available in a shadow war. Players will have three PMC’s to choose from: S.V.E.R ,a faction of war torn countries, Raven, who utilise high tech armor and weaponry and Valor company, who use standard equipment. Players will be able to customise a number of aspects of their character including facial features, voice, armor and equipment.  1. Heavy Rain

The game I’m looking forward to the most by some considerable margin. Renowned games designer David Cage is directing the game that’s being developed by Quantic Dream studios. Having directed acclaimed titles Farenheit and Omrikon: The Nomad Soul previously, it’s unsurprising that there’s a high level of anticipation around Heavy Rain. This dark thriller in a film noir style carries the tagline: “How far are you willing to go to save someone you love?”Players will control one of four playable characters that are all said to be on the hunt for The Origami Killer. The game will adopt a unique control system that will involve players having to perform actions such as tilting their pad or pressing buttons as they appear on the screen. Failure to do so will lead to their character’s reactions being performed incorrectly or their character saying something in the wrong way and take the story in a different direction. If the events lead to your character dying, they will no longer be a part of the story. The game won’t end, though, as players will take control of another character to continue the hunt. This is a fantastic prospect for replay value as there’s the distinct possibility that the game will be different every time you play it. Heavy Rain is set for release in the first quarter of 2010.