PS3 – The Launch Trinity

Got the hots for next gen hardware yet? Yeah, the wait’s pretty excruciating, and as both Sony and Nintendo begin their pre-launch hype it’s only bound to get even worse, well don’t worry, we’ll take care of you and make it just that much easier to hold on to your sanity for the next six months! Tag along as we preview three of the hottest games currently slated for PS3’s launch.

No one knows for sure what the final PS3 launch list is, these kinds of things are usually pretty liquid till the last minute, but we’ve got a fairly good idea, so sit back, relax and take in all the info and screens right after the jump!

Got the hots for next gen hardware yet? Yeah, the wait’s pretty excruciating, and as both Sony and Nintendo begin their pre-launch hype it’s only bound to get even worse, well don’t worry, we’ll take care of you and make it just that much easier to hold on to your sanity for the next six months! Tag along as we preview three of the hottest games currently slated for PS3’s launch.

No one knows for sure what the final PS3 launch list is, these kinds of things are usually pretty liquid till the last minute, but we’ve got a fairly good idea.

Resistance: Fall of Man – Let’s kick things off with a bang shall we? In an alternate version of the 21st century, World War 2 never happened, instead it’s 1951 and the world is under siege by hostile species of unknown origin called the Chimera and as a big damn hero it’s your job to strap on your army boots and get to kickin’ some serious tail. We do know the Chimera carry a mutagenic virus capable of infecting and transmuting creatures into more Chimera, and we know they’re not just mindless drones either, they have their own architecture, weapons, and vehicles that we’ll get to see and possibly utilise in the final game.

       

One misconception is that Resistance is really just another WWII shooter, Ted Price, President of Insomniac games has gone out of his way to assure people that there is an epic story that frames the action, and that the characters do in fact play an important role in that story. Ted’s also been vocal about letting gamers know that what we saw at E3 was just the tip of the iceberg, and what a mother of an iceberg it’s looking to be. Resistance currently runs at 720p at a rock solid frame rate of 60fps in multiplayer and 30fps in single player, and they’re looking to hit 1080p by the time the game ships! Think it stops there? Think again, expect four player split screen offline, a two player co op mode (yes!) and up to thirty two players online!

Price has also stated that this project is the most ambitious and complex in Insomniac’s history, considering their pedigree, (Spyro The Dragon, Ratchet and Clank) that’s something to whet the palette. Make no mistake though, Resistance, is a dark, brooding videogame, even the guys at Insomniac are fully prepared, and indeed are expecting an “M” rating for Mature from the ESRB.

     

Resistance and Warhawk were easily the two most polished PS3 games on display at E3, a silky frame rate, 4x anti aliasing and smooth controls have come together to make this a truly promising looking launch title.

Motorstorm – Ok, so it doesn’t look quite as good as that wicked CG demo from last year’s E3, but hey, it’s still only 50% complete, and boy is it fun!

     

The most amazing thing the boys at Evolution Studios have been able to achieve with Motorstorm is a delicate balance between all sorts and classes of vehicles, the big boys take the low road and little guys take the high road. Mud flies, paint chips and sparks fly as twenty racers battle to be king of the hill. The men behind Motorstorm also promise mud slinging mayhem with up to nineteen people in online battles.

       

We still don’t know all that much about Motorstorm’s play modes, tracks and vehicles (we’ve only seen the Coyote Rage level in screenshots thus far), but it’s early going yet, and at least we know now what the game really looks like, we’re hoping to hear more about this uniquely entertaining off road racer in the the near future.

Warhawk – Warhawk challenges you with the defense of your native country Eucadia, against the invading Chernovan armada. You’re in command of the fleet’s most advanced fighter – the titular Warhawk, and you’ll engage in epic battles with up to 800 enemy units, battleships, cruisers, fighters and foot soldiers filling the screen at any given time. (That’s a lot of fireballs Iceman).

       

I’ve a sneaky feeling Warhawk is going to be the PS3’s biggest launch surprise, lots of people who see the screenshots and watch the videos come away thinking Warhawk’s nothing but a flight combat game… couldn’t be further from the truth. If anything Warhawk looks to be more a helping of Star Wars Rogue Squadron III with a dash of Grand Theft Auto, a pinch of the 1950’s, and a healthy helping of next gen horsepower. What this means is that at any point you feel like during the game, you’ll be able to land your Warhawk aircraft and take the battle to the streets, machine guns, pistols, bazookas, and of course jeeps and tanks help form your arsenal on the ground level, allowing you to choose how you want the battle to play out, and yes, you can even choose your mission order as well.

     

 This free form “multi-modal” gameplay also carries over into Warhawk’s online thirty two player battles, and trust me, having had a chance to get my hands on Warhawk at E3 I can say with some confidence that aerial dogfights are going to be nothing short of stunning. Oh, and in case you’re already dreading tracking back and finding your shiny Warhawk after a particularly lengthy on footcapade, don’t rack your brain, you can just call it in via remote control… kinda like the Batmobile! Incog Inc also brought on the lead designer from the Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon games, so it’s a fairly safe assumption that the on foot gameplay is going to get just as much attention as the aerial combat.

       

As mentioned earlier Warhawk’s giving you the ability to jump in and out of your aircraft at will, but more than that the game will feature a completely open world for you to explore, miles of cityscapes and skyscrapers in your homeland of Eucadia, and vast open countryside, swamps, mountain ranges and islands.

So there you have it, three must have games for the PS3 launch, we hope this list makes it easier for you to make a decision come launch day, or at the very least that it gave you some new info on a title you were curious about. So what games are you guys eying to pick up with the system when it launches this fall?