It has been some time since I have had the opportunity to write for Around the Controller. Like many gamers I have been overwhelmed with the bountiful supply of great titles arriving on all of the next generation consoles. Today, in particular, I wanted to write about a hand full of titles I have had the opportunity to play on the PS3.

Across the nations, PS3 owners are beginning to rejoice as new A-list titles are emerging for the PS3. As a PS3 owner I was excited to have the chance to see my console do something other than fold @ home. During the past six weeks I have had the opportunity to play Warhawk, Heavenly sword, Ratchet & Clank: Future tools of destruction, Folklore and Uncharted: Drakes fortune.

Since the holidays are quickly approaching, I decided that instead of writing in-depth reviews on each game, I would instead write a quick overview for each and rank each game. This article will be posted to two parts, for the first, let me tell you about the first two PS3 games.

Folklore:
I must start off by saying that of the five titles I recently played, there is not a single game that I did not enjoy. Unfortunately between these titles, Folklore came in at the bottom of the pile. Folklore is an Action/RPG with beautiful graphics and outstanding music. The game can be played as one of two characters; the first is Ellen, a young female who is search of her deceased mother. The other is Keats, a young adult male who is a writer for an occult magazine. For different reasons the two individuals are lead to the small village of Doolin. It is here where the adventure begins.

The overall game play is good and the use of Sixaxis control is not difficult to grasp. At the beginning of each level the player has the option to play as the female or male character. The main drawback to this game however is once you complete the majority of the game as one player; you must complete the same levels as the other character. To many this may come as quite a disappointment. My other problem with this title is the way you interact with other characters in the cut scenes. The game contains two types of cut scenes. There are traditional rendered video & voice acted cut scenes and then there are cut scenes which are displayed in the form of a graphic novel and require the player to read through them. Switching back and forth between the two types of cut scenes became very distracting for me.

While the games contains some dark subject matter and may not be suitable for younger gamers, the story was also good. Overall I enjoyed the game and would recommend the game to any action/RPG fan. However I would recommend renting this game before buying.

Warhawk:
The eagerly anticipated Warhawk is an online multiplayer only game that focuses on air combat, but also incorporates on ground and in vehicle combat. When the game was released, most individuals were not disappointed with the finished product. Available in store or via download, Warhawk is a quick paced shooter that will have you and your friends on the edge of your seat. Warhawk claims it can put up to 32 players in a match together at the same time via the PlayStation Network; however the majority of matches I was able to connect to had a max of 16 players.

The graphics in the game have a stylized look to them, but it allows for smooth game play. The controls can be a bit cumbersome to learn at first, but with a bit of practice anyone can jump in and maneuver the vehicles. Being that this is a multiplayer online game that has been on the market for a while; this will certainly be a game that can become frustrating very quickly for many new players. The skill level of many individuals presently playing online is honed to a fine edge

For individuals who have enjoyed the Battlefield series of games, Warhawk is a must have.

The final three selections for this holiday will be coming shortly.
Stay tuned for part two of this article…

I have to admit last spring when I started reading that the PS3 was going to support the Fold@Home project I thought this was going to be more empty promises similar to the PS3 supporting two HDMI outputs and support for six controllers at once.  But when Sony announced that the 1.60 firmware update had the client built into it I was very happy. 

So if you do not have a team to belong to we would welcome you to our team.  The Around the Controller Network is happy to have you help the smart people at Stanford and other research facilities find a cure for some of the terrible diseases that are plaguing mankind today.

I will post a You Tube video of how to get this working on the PS3 and how to get signed up for our team or any other team.  But for the rest of you it is very easy to get started.  Our team number is 61882.

Let’s get folding.