Gameplay Today - Because You're Always Gaming

No one can argue that Sony's PS3 is packed with some of the best games that have ever been released, much less released this generation. It looks like the library and variety is only getting better with every passing day. Let’s be honest though, not every title that hits the PS3 exclusively in North America smells like roses. A few of the games released here and there have blemished the reputation of the powerful PS3. We’ve compiled a list of the worst games exclusive to North American PS3 consoles that you should avoid. Sure you might wander into a GameStop or some Mom and Pop used game store and see one of these for less than ten bucks, but do yourself a favor and just keep walking. These are the games that no PS3 owner should have to deal with.

SOCOM: Confrontation

Who could’ve imagined that a SOCOM title would fall flat? The series itself is such an established line of hits that many gamers walked into this one clueless and for the most part ready for more SOCOM goodness. Handled by Slant Six, known best for Fire Team Bravo on the PSP, Confrontation was plagued by glitches and bugs and did a horrible job of debuting the popular series on the PS3. SOCOM ate up tons of time in players’ lives on the PS2, but this title blemished the franchise. Luckily the series is recovering, but the term “Avoid confrontation” took on a whole new meaning thanks to this game.

A bunch of patches later and things have smoothed out for Confrontation, but the sad fact is that SOCOM is about multiplayer. By the time they fixed this broken mess, everyone had traded it in or threw it up on the shelf - never to be thought of again.

Lair

Lair was supposed to be a ground-breaking blockbuster, but ended up just another buggy title that hit PS3s back in the late summer of 2007. Adding fuel to fanboy fire, this game was packed with FMVs that looked great, but horrible visual errors like pop-in, tearing, and jaggies which instantly pulled most level-headed gamers right out of the gameplay. In addition to the dreadfully bad visuals, there was the issue o the Sixaxis controls that were just plain bad. You had no option, but to use these horrible controls because you couldn’t turn them off. The game even caused a black-eye for Sony PR when they tried to tell people they were reviewing it wrong. Luckily most of us have forgotten this dreadful title. If you see it though, stay far away.

Haze

This one word titled game was set to be another Halo killer and had everyone hyped up. Once the game was essentially canceled on the Xbox 360, we were ready to crown Haze as Halo on the PS3. It had the minds at Free Radical behind it, so it had to be good. Team members who worked on hits at RARE like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark on top of the TimeSplitters franchise had the tools to make a megahit. What could go wrong? A lot in the case of the super-human, steroid juicing soldiers in the game. Bad AI combined with a bad story (unrealized story actually) and rough gameplay mechanics resulted in this game being more of fun killer than a Halo killer.

Genji: Days of the Blade

Genji: Days of the Blade is one of those games where you can’t understand how it was released being so bad. It has no redeeming features, there’s no plot points of any interest, the all-important combat is as dumb as is possible with the Sixaxis, and you’re rarely given an opportunity to enjoy the game, as it has all the depth and complexity of Track And Field. It’s rubbish, and you’re unlikely to find anyone of sound mind who disagrees. We’re nothing if not objective, and from a purely technical point of view Days Of The Blade fails in almost every aspect of game design; shoddy combat, irritating viewpoints and mindless puzzles Honestly, we’d rather be eating our own shit.

Last Rebellion

This game, aptly title Last Rebellion, almost became the last hooray for Hitmaker  because it was just plain bad. Suffering from the hype surrounding it almost as much as the bad gameplay, this title stunk. There’s almost nothing good to say about this title to supply anything close to a positive spin. Even the menus in this game were bad. Last Rebellion would have come off nearly as bad if it were a PS2 RPG, but the fact that is was released on the PS3 made every flaw and antiquated gameplay mechanic that much more obvious. Unless you love to sit through horrible stories that are told through still images of the characters, you’re better off with just about any other RPG on the PS3.