Hot PlayStation3 Games

Little Big Planet (Sony) $59.99

Little Big Planet offers more cute and cuddly, side-scrolling, platform-hopping, puzzle-solving whimsy than Nintendo could ever dream of. Seriously. This thanks in no small part to the processing power of the PlayStation3 which brings it all that much closer to imagination incarnate, but also because the PS3 is innately capable of delivering Little Big Planet's other "new generation" feature, a "create your own game" module whereby users create their own levels and share them online, making LittleBigPlanet, essentially, a game that never ends. Rated Everyone (6+) for Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence


Resistance 2 (Sony) $59.99

Catering to its "base" has always been Sony's forte, and Resistance 2 certainly delivers more alien invasion, "core" warfare than you can shake a Rossmore236 shotgun at. Though the action can get repetitive, it's harrowing action through and through, a testament to the PS3's ability to deliver great gobs of explosive detail without breaking a sweat. Smells like... mayhem. Rated Mature (17+) for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language


Motorstorm Pacific Rift (Sony) $59.99

Take the instant familiarity of the ubiquitous racing genre, throw in 8 pages of Chaos Theory and a gallon of testosterone and you've got Motorstorm Pacific Rift. The second in PS3's flagship racing franchise, Pacific Rift brings to life the unlikelihood of having Mack trucks tearing up off-road courses of deadly extravagance right along side dirt bikes and dune buggies, monster trucks and muscle cars. Surprisingly balanced considering anything goes. The online multi-player modes have you death-racing against real competitors, making it all the more magnificently malicious. Rated Teen (13+) for Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Violence


Buzz Quiz TV (Sony) $59.99

Proof positive that Sony really does have the casual/social gamer in mind, Buzz Quiz TV for PlayStation3 offers super-cheezy, game show-style trivia, complete with wireless button bonkers (4 bulbous button controllers included). It's the stuff of house parties and drinking games all by itself, but serious trivia goons can also play against others online -- other house parties, for that matter -- in "sofa vs sofa" mode as well as download fresh "question packs" or even create their own Q&(multiple)As to share with others. Rated Teen (13+) for Alcohol Reference, Mild Blood, Mild Suggestive Themes, Mild Violence



SingStar Vol2 (Sony) $29.99 or $59.99 w/2 mics (bundle)

For better or worse, karaoke is a global phenomenon. As it happens, no one has a better Karaoke game than Sony. SingStar 2 offers pretty much all a delusional crooner could possibly want (or, heaven help us, a room full of delusion crooners could ever want) as they sing over (and are scored on) the original recordings and videos of original artists -- as opposed to "cover versions" of original artists. With 30 tunes at the ready, SingStar 2 also lets users download one or many more karaoke tracks from a selection of hundreds online in the "SingStore," which is like iTunes for delusional crooners. Rated Teen (13+) for Lyrics, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco

PlayStation3 Duds

Hellboy: Science of Evil (Konami)
Typical movie/comic tie-in cash grab. Typically bad.

Facebreaker (EA Sports)
Great, gorgeous, goofball boxing premise but just dumb, shallow, button-mashing nonsense in the end.

Monopoly (EA)
Not a particularly bad game per se, but paying twice as much for the virtual version of a board game that you can't take with you on vacation seems silly.

Haze (Ubisoft)
Unpolished, glitchy, derivative sci-fi shooter with lots of undelivered promise.

Hail to the Chimp (Gamecock)
Mundane mini-game collection trying to appear all family-friendly and teenager edgy; ultimately fails to deliver on both fronts.