Non-FPS PS3 game suggestions

The Game Room
1

We’re getting my 12 year old a PS3 for Christmas. He’s already getting a FPS with his own money* and I was planning on getting him Portal 2 (he really liked the first one). But I’d like a few ideas on different style games for a little variety when he’s not in the mood for a first-person experience. I’m more than willing to entertain older games and they may actually be preferable due to cost considerations. So what’s fun without staring through a sniper scope?

*Surprisingly, his mother decided that while she wasn’t okay with him stealing cars and running over prostitutes, she had no problem with him popping off headshots in a military setting. I don’t disagree with her logic but was surprised that she was drawing the line that far down the spectrum.

2

If you don’t get him LittleBIGPlanet 2, you don’t love your child. The single player isn’t as good as the first game, but the online user-created levels are absolutely amazing on LBP2. It’s truly unlimited play, with endless variety.

Demon’s Souls and/or Dark Soul is an option if you think he’d enjoy dying hundreds of times.

The Ratchet & Clank games (Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time) are really good. Slightly FPS, but cartoony with a large amount of platforming. I haven’t played All 4 One yet, but it’s a top-down coop game for up to 4 players.

3

I second those. A friend has a kid of the same age and he adored them.

4

Ratchet and Clank are good. The Sly remake collection is also pretty good. The Batman games are very good games as well. Most of the LEGO games are good, especially if he has a favorite series in the available games (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, Batman, and Pirates of the Caribbean off the top of my head.) I really liked the Ghostbusters game and it should be pretty cheap by now. He might even like Katamari Forever.

I think I just listed most of my PS3 shelf. Another possibility is letting him buy some games online through the PSN Store. There are a lot of old, good PSX games available and a number of good games that are only available online. I’ve downloaded everything from Plants vs Zombies to the Monkey Island remakes to things like Flower.

5

Don’t forget sports games like MLB: The Show, Madden, NBA, NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball, Tiger Woods, and FIFA Soccer.

6

Valkyria chronicles is good.

7

What’s the average cost on those? If I was to get him a gift card or credits or whatever, what would be enough to be useful?

8

It depends on the game. (I’m also a PS+ subscriber, so my costs are sometimes lower or even free.)

The PSX games are normally either $6 or $10 and there are some very good games available. There are RPGs like Chrono Cross and all the PSX Final Fantasy games, platformers like the Crash and Spyro games, Castlevania, Parasite Eve and early Resident Evil, and a lot more since I last looked.

They’ve just added what they call PS2 Classics (which is important, as PS3s these days can’t play PS2 games.) Not many yet, nothing I’m interested in, and $10 each.

What they call the Minis (max size 100 MB) are often the types of games you’d find on a smartphone, a cheap computer game, or sometimes a port/remake of an old arcade game or other system. They’ve even got Angry Birds. Again, it depends on the game but most of them are in the $3 to $6 range.

The PSP games generally cannot be played on the PS3. There’s a lot more variety in pricing, anywhere from about $6 to $40. But if he does have a PSP, he could download through the PS3 and load onto the PSP.

There’s what they call PSN Games, some of which are exclusive. More of a grab bag, most are in the $10 range, though a number are $15.

And they’ve just launched full PS3 games available for download. They’re anywhere from $30 to $60 and are multi-gigabyte downloads.

There will also be add-ons. Some of the ones mentioned earlier (like Little Big Planet 2) will have tons. A lot depends on what the add-on is and the game. Often things like weapons, vehicles, skins, and the like are $1-2. Others add maps or other actual content to the point of being whole new games. Those are generally $10 or less.

So one $50 card (basically the cost of a new physical game) would get him several games depending on what he likes.

9

Don’t let him download full PS3 games. They’re full price, and you can’t resell them at GameStop/Craigslist/eBay/etc. Someone upthread mentioned Flower - it’s a fantastic PSN game that just uses the controller’s motion controls (all the controllers have basically a gyroscope in them). It’s a really fun unique game, but it may or may not be up to a 12 year old’s interest. Last time I looked it was $9.99, but it’s occasionally on sale for $5.

10

Limbo is excellent. It looks really simple but it’s a thinker.

11

Aside from costumes, LBP2 doesn’t have that many add-ons.

12

I just got the ICO/Shadow of the Collossus collection in the mail yesterday, but haven’t played it. I’ve gotten into a streak of the remastered PS2 games, and they’re really well done. The Sly Collection was fantastic as well. The bonus is that you get more than 1 game for the price of a single disc (and it’s usually cheaper - the Collections are usually $40 instead of $60).

13

Rock Band is lots of fun although you will need accessories like guitars, drums, etc. If he’s interested in drums it’s a pretty good workout.

14

I don’t have LBP2 (just LBP) but you’re right. Still, though, I was 12 once and I can see myself wasting money on something like a costume. That’s what I meant when I said some add-ons are just things like skins and other things that no effect on gameplay or are actual gaming.