While Sony didn't dominate the console space as much with the PlayStation 3 compared to its previous piece of home hardware (the PlayStation 2, of course), there was still an outstanding list of games released for it during the PS3's long lifecycle.
Which is what makes choosing the best games released on the console so, so difficult. The list below aims to give you the gaming highlights for the PS3, and includes huge AAA hits, small and personal experiences, exclusive titles, and much more.
Do you agree with our choices? Read on and tell us in the comments below.
See Also
- All PS3 Games by Average GameSpot Score
- All PS3 Games by Average Member Score
- Best PS3 Action Games
- Best PS3 Driving/Racing Games
- Best PS3 Role-Playing Games
- Best PS3 Shooters
- Best PS3 Sports Games
Assassin's Creed II
"Assassin's Creed II might seem as if it has added more than its foundation was meant to handle, but once all the new features are completely introduced, it develops that magic that so few games can cast. This is the rare sequel that offers fans of the original the basics they would expect, while adding and changing so many other aspects that even those who didn't appreciate the first should take the plunge, without hesitation." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Batman: Arkham Asylum
"Regardless of whether you're getting sucked into the Story mode or competing for high scores in the Challenge mode, Batman: Arkham Asylum does an outstanding job of letting you be Batman. Everything about this game--the impressive visuals, stirring soundtrack, superb voice acting, fiendish puzzles, hard-hitting combat--feels like it has been lovingly crafted by a development team that's both knowledgeable and passionate about the source material. Miss out on this one and the joke's on you." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
BioShock
"While on the surface it might look like little more than a very pretty first-person shooter, BioShock is much, much more than that. Sure, the action is fine, but its primary focus is its story, a sci-fi mystery that manages to feel retro and futuristic at the same time, and its characters, who convey most of the story via radio transmissions and audio logs that you're constantly stumbling upon as you wander around. All of it blends together to form a rich, interesting world that sucks you in right away and won't let go until you've figured out what, exactly, is going on in the undersea city of Rapture." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Braid
"It serves as the contemplative companion to the typical Mario adventure while embracing the unbridled fun found in the best platformers. Clever gameplay mechanics are the driving force, pushing you toward your inevitable confrontation with the woman you've lost, but it's the engrossing story that cements this as something really special." -- Read our Review
Burnout: Paradise
"Developer Criterion has invented a world wonderfully suited to Burnout's nature, a city built exclusively to cater to your destructive whims. And while a few design hitches here and there get in the way now and again, by and large Burnout Paradise delivers an experience that is both true to the Burnout name and wonderfully fresh-feeling all at once." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Call of Duty Black Ops II
"The campaign hits the same satisfying rhythms, the multiplayer captures the same frenetic intensity, and the cooperative zombies mode delivers the same stale undead-massacring action. Caught between striving for the future and remaining rooted in the past, Black Ops II finds solid footing, providing another great ride on the Call of Duty rollercoaster." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Dark Souls
"Any game can deliver a few cheap scares. It takes a special one to terrify you. Dark Souls is such a game. It's a thoughtful, atmospheric, and mysterious role-playing adventure that challenges your mind and your mettle." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Dishonored
"Yet even though it allows you to wipe the recent slate clean, Dishonored still begs to be replayed from the beginning. Unlocking different powers, finishing missions in different ways, striving to be more or less murderous, and seeing a different endgame all offer appealing incentives to give it another go. It's a rare game that feels so compulsively replayable, but Dishonored is such a game." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Grand Theft Auto V
"GTA V is a complicated and fascinating game, one that fumbles here and there and has an unnecessary strain of misogynistic nastiness running through it. But it also does amazing things no other open-world game has attempted before, using multiple perspectives to put you in the thick of cinematic heist sequences and other exhilarating, multi-layered missions like no open-world game before." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Heavy Rain
"Though it suffers from its share of plot and technical problems, Heavy Rain is nonetheless a bold and visionary step forward in the medium of interactive storytelling. Part adventure game and part psychological thriller, Heavy Rain is far from the quick-time-event-powered movie that it may appear to be at first glance. Every action you perform or decision you make--from the simple and mundane to the dark and disturbing--brings you closer to the flawed but realistic characters you manipulate." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
inFamous
"One of the most remarkable aspects of Infamous is how it continually improves throughout the quest. The pacing is excellent. It doles out new abilities, introduces powerful story twists, and concocts exhilarating missions at a steady rate, which means the game never loses steam during the course of the lengthy adventure." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Journey
"It's a real accomplishment that Journey draws together so many conventional game elements, and so well, and still feels like the art piece we expect from the makers of Flow and Flower: intriguing, ambiguous, and experimental. The game's length, two or three hours on the outside, is exactly right, letting you take in the whole experience in one session." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Killzone 2
"No one could have suspected that the sequel to 2004's Killzone would be this good. Killzone 2 is a tremendous package, offering an exciting campaign and terrific competitive online play, neither of which create new paradigms for first-person shooters, but rather set new standards in subtle but significant ways." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
L.A. Noire
"L.A. Noire is a unique game with a terrific sense of period atmosphere, absorbing investigation mechanics, and a haunting tale with plenty of moments that would be right at home in a classic film noir. Those smoky nights spent listening to jazz at the Blue Room, and the price you paid for them, will stay with you long after you've retired your badge and gun." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
LittleBigPlanet 2
"This isn't just a superbly presented game that incorporates multiple genres and comes packaged with a powerful creation suite, it's your doorway into a wonderfully charming, vibrant, and ever-changing universe where almost anything is possible. Even if you're not interested in designing and creating games yourself, LittleBigPlanet 2 is not to be missed." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Metro: Last Light
"Last Light is notably superior to its predecessor, merging storytelling, shooting, and sneaking into a remarkable and cohesive whole. And through this harmony of game design comes the caustic dissonance of a world so torn asunder that a single possibility can bring with it endless hope." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
"For anyone who appreciates games that rise above the simple act of pushing a few buttons and pulling a few triggers, Metal Gear Solid 4 is a stimulating ride that you won't soon forget. You'll want to see what happens next, yet when its long campaign draws to a close, you'll wish it would continue." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Portal 2
"As you journey through the massive Aperture facility, it becomes clear that Portal 2 does not merely come after Portal. Instead, it radiates outward from its predecessor, simultaneously illuminating the world that gave rise to Portal and continuing the adventure that began there. The sense of novelty is diminished, but the thrill of exploration and puzzle-solving is still intoxicating, and it's amazing how Portal 2 manages to tell a better story with disembodied voices and spherical robots than most games can with full-on humans." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Red Dead Redemption
"This is an outstanding game that tells a great story with memorable and occasionally laugh-out-loud-funny characters. Think about great moments that you remember from spaghetti Western movies, put them all into one 20- to 40-hour epic feature, and picture yourself in the starring role. Now you have some idea of what's waiting for you in Red Dead Redemption." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Rogue Legacy
"It's almost unfair to compare Rogue Legacy to other games that emphasize permanent death. It doesn't have the secrets of Spelunky and it's more predictable than The Binding of Isaac, yet at the end of every game comes a desire to hop right back in, spend your gold on some upgrades and rack up more monster kills, something the game encourages with a challenging new-game-plus option that appears after the credits roll." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Spelunky
"Spelunky doesn't extend a helping hand when you're down. It doesn't have mercy. And that stubbornness is one of the main reasons it's so hard to pull away from the game. When you finally conquer something that has been hounding you for hours, you feel like the best darn explorer on the planet, and that feeling overshadows all the hardships you overcame down the troubled path you traveled." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Rock Band 3
"Rock Band 3 not only introduces new and exciting things to the world of rhythm games, but it does almost everything better than those that have come before it. When it comes to accessible, inventive, and immensely entertaining music video games, nobody does it better than Rock Band 3." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Super Street Fighter IV
"While the game expands on the solid base established by its precursor, Street Fighter IV, brawlers who dismiss this as merely a lick of paint and a roster update will do themselves a major disservice by passing on its excellent features and gameplay." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
The Last of Us
"Ellie's uplifting nature stands in sharp contrast to the people and events surrounding her, compelling you to protect her, shepherd her, and cherish her. The Last of Us is a singular adventure that looks the downfall of humanity in the eyes and doesn't blink." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
"Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is a complete package. The perfectly paced campaign is pure joy from beginning to end, seamlessly combining top-notch shooting, smooth platforming, clever puzzles, and a playful story into one of the most engaging and satisfying adventures around. Competitive multiplayer is just as compelling." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
Vanquish
"Pure entertainment: that's Vanquish in a nutshell. This speedy and thrilling third-person cover-based shooter is all madness, overwhelming you with gigantic robots, flurries of gunfire, and explosions so powerful and colorful that you might think you feel the heat. There are a lot of things to love about Vanquish, but its most impressive feat is that while it uses mechanics you've seen in other shooters, it feels nothing like them." -- Read our Review or Watch the Trailer
* GameSpot's Best Of Lists will updated periodically as new games worthy of inclusion are released on their respective platforms.
