Which games have impressed your friends most?

[Touring Mars]

Now that the PS3 is maturing a bit, and our games (and demos) collections are growing to a level beyond "pathetic", which games are winning the public relations battle to impress your non-PS3 owning friends?

The results so far have been a bit of a surprise, maybe reflecting the different nature of the games themselves...

I'd say of the 6 games I own so far, the current favourites amongst those of my mates who have had a go are MotorStorm and Call of Duty: 4. And although only tested on two people so far, GTA:IV promises to be a popular choice too, but strangely the motorsport games haven't fared so well, F1:CE and GT5. Indeed, I suspect it is in the nature of Gran Turismo games that they lack the fun factor that makes a game instantly "popular"...

MotorStorm has so far not failed to do what GT5 has consistently failed to do... 1) Foster the urge to play again 2) Make people laugh out loud and 3) Illicit vocal praise for the graphics, sound and gameplay... GT5 has gained compliments on the beauty of the cars in the Dealership, but not so much during actual gameplay. Similarly, COD:4 seems to have a similar effect.

I suppose talking about which games your mates have enjoyed the most really comes down to "initial playability"... GTA has never suffered from the lack of the "instant hit", and MotorStorm certainly seems to bring the new player straight into the action. In this respect, Call of Duty: 4 has also shown that it is capable of giving the uninitiated a real treat on their very first go. Ironically, I think the very same factors that make my friends enjoy these games so much are the very same reasons why games like Gran Turismo win in the longer term, since it is essentially a "slow burner", easing the player in gradually and increasing the rewards as time goes by. However, of the mates I am trying to persuade to get PS3's, I'd be surprised in GT will make it on to their shopping lists, and MotorStorm probably will - a shame, in my opinion, since I prefer GT overall, arguably with alot more to offer in the long run than the instant hit of MotorStorm...

Anyway, which games are currently turning out to be most popular among your friends/family?

 

[Scaff]

Two games have sold the PS3 to friend (as they have then actually gone out and bought one).

The first was Warhawk, a friend of mine came around while I was playing and watched for around 10 minutes (it was a large multiplayer match) before asking if it was on-line. He was surprised by the lack of lag given the number of players, he purchased a PS3 within the week.

The second was COD4, a game that 'grabs' most people who see it running, again the on-line in particular. Once again a quick purchase after seeing it up and running.

Regards

Scaff

 

[TheCracker]

Not having had the PS3 for long, i think it's only my wife who has really seen any PS3 action. Of the four games i have, GT5 and F1:CE hold no interest to her. Of the other two, she has also commented on the quality of the graphics on CoD4 - enough for her to have attempted to play it (although as a fan of the original Doom games, she's found the extra up/down axis movement hard to get used to). The one game that she has played and enjoyed is Drakes Fortune which she likes because of the Tomb Raider style game play. When i get round to purchasing GTA4 she'll no doubt be impressed by the high quality rendition of 'New York' - although like most games, she'll probably prefer to watch me play than play herself.

 

[legroom]

Playing COD4 online at a friends house convinced me to bring my purchase of a PS3 forward. Had I not tried that at Christmas I wouldn't have got it until GT5P arrived at the end of March.


Despite the fact that I had left my PS3 at home, my praise of GT5P, showing a couple of screenshots and videos to a friend at uni meant that he went out and bought the GT5P bundle. Again with the PS3 at home, my dad bought another one for the living room after playing a bit og GT5P and also having watched Casino Royale on BD! So there's now 2 PS3s in my house!

Not having had the PS3 for long, i think it's only my wife who has really seen any PS3 action. she has also commented on the quality of the graphics on CoD4 - enough for her to have attempted to play it (although as a fan of the original Doom games, she's found the extra up/down axis movement hard to get used to).

Good work Cracker for finding a games playing girl! Can you bottle some of whatever your wife drank to enjoy gaming and send it to me?! I'd love it if my girlfriend wanted to play games! Instead she prefers to fall asleep with the telly on, so i fire up the PS3 and start playing and then she moans that i turned over!

 

[DeathJesta]

I don't have any friends , im to busy playing games

 

[Casio]

Good work Cracker for finding a games playing girl! Can you bottle some of whatever your wife drank to enjoy gaming and send it to me?! I'd love it if my girlfriend wanted to play games! Instead she prefers to fall asleep with the telly on, so i fire up the PS3 and start playing and then she moans that i turned over!

Most nights I fall asleep while my girlfriend is playing PS3, only to wake up at 4am and she's still at it. She's further into most games than I am!

 

[TheCracker]

Good work Cracker for finding a games playing girl! Can you bottle some of whatever your wife drank to enjoy gaming and send it to me?! I'd love it if my girlfriend wanted to play games! Instead she prefers to fall asleep with the telly on, so i fire up the PS3 and start playing and then she moans that i turned over!

To be honest with you, i can probably count on one hand the amount of times my wife has actually sat in the same room as a switched on PS3. Usually i get to play it when she's out, in the kitchen or having a bath.

 

[Pako]

I would say COD: 4 also, although I wouldn't necessarily limit it to the PS3 wow factor as it has captivated audiences from the PS3, 360, and PC. PS3 exclusives that have impressed people that I have shown are Heavenly Sword, Drakes Fortune, and Motor Storm.

 

[kikie]

MotorStorm and GT5p

 

[WallRunner]

Well, the only other people who have played my PS3 are my cousins, and they like: CoD4, Motorstorm, Burnout Paradise demo (Still haven't bought the full game yet..), and they will most likely have a fondness for GRiD next time I'm at their house and bring the PS3.


From,
Chris.

 

[Beerz]

In my case it was mainly COD4 (everyone was in awe looking at the game, (even on my SD-TV), commenting on how awesome and realistics the overall sounds were and wanting to try it out or just watching me play online and cheering for me. 👍

Also, GT5P Demo got high praise at the time, though it was the fact that driving a car with a controller that made a few of my friends not like it as much as they were not used to it and it required some more getting used to. But graphically and all, everyone loved it.

 

[peeweegary]

GT5 hands down...friends were like in awe and drooling over the graphics but they suck at the playing hte actual game

 

[Speedster502]

Motorstorm, hands down. I mean, most my friends are 360 owners thus making it hard to impress them. So when I show them GT5P, they say that PGR4 or Forza is better. Show them CoD4 they say that its better on the 360. Infact show them any game which is a multiplatform game and you pretty much be sure that they'll think its better on 360. I mean its their opinion but still.

As for Motorstorm, this is a game which there is nothing, to my mind anyway, that is anything like it. So the my friends can't compare it, they love the graphics and gameplay of it all. Making them want it, it's currently the only game they are jealous over. But I'm sure when Motorstorm 2 comes out....

 

[Digital-Nitrate]

strangely the motorsport games haven't fared so well, F1:CE and GT5. Indeed, I suspect it is in the nature of Gran Turismo games that they lack the fun factor that makes a game instantly "popular"...

MotorStorm has so far not failed to do what GT5 has consistently failed to do... 1) Foster the urge to play again 2) Make people laugh out loud and 3) Illicit vocal praise for the graphics, sound and gameplay... GT5 has gained compliments on the beauty of the cars in the Dealership, but not so much during actual gameplay. Similarly, COD:4 seems to have a similar effect.

This is a great example of the definitive difference between "fun" games and "serious" games.

Serious games generally require a decent amount of commitment from the player to get reasonably good at, and rarely will you find yourself laughing out loud while playing them, thus are generally played alone (in person that is)... but the pay off is often a very rewarding experience in terms realism and distinguishing your abilities from the masses.

"Fun" games on the other hand generally are very easy to pick up and play with little to no learning curve. They are intended to make one laugh, and as such are generally played with others you know and enjoy having fun with.

Both types of games have their advantages and disadvantages, and personally I love playing both types depending on my mood and if I'm playing alone or who I am playing with.

Given that, if I were to asses what games are most popular with my friends and family, it's going to be mostly the "fun" games because if I'm there seeing what they like to play, that usually means we are playing social fun games, and not the serious single player games.

I'd say, currently the most popular game among our friends when ever they come over for game night is easily Operation Creature Feature. Never have I seen more adults act so much like kids (in a good way) than playing this game.

Not only is the interface brilliant... using nothing more than your body, but there is no limit to your imagination in terms of coming up with different rules and gameplay modes (having to play with both hands tied behind your back is especially entertaining ).

For instance, we often play as teams of two instead of just one person at a time, and when we really want to make it crazy and competitive; we play against each other at the same time. In other words when it's one person or one teams turn, the other person or team tries to prevent them from moving the blurbs through each obstacle course... this can often result in some pretty hilarious "Twister" like moments.

In general, all the PS Eye games are a big hit with friends and family, and especially the kids and their friends, but Operation Creature Feature seems to be everyone's favorite.

Like you, MotorStorm is still one of my friends favorite games, but less so now because of it's lack of an offline multi-player mode, and when you have a few people over, it means less playing time when having to take turns.

In fact, the driving game that has become a favorite in terms of fun social gaming has been MX vs ATV Untamed, which, although not as fun as MotorStorm, definitely has its moments. 👍

A game that has been fun for both the kids and adults among our friends and family has been The Simpsons Game and Ratchet & Clank Future: ToD - both can illecit some serious laughter while at the same time can be challenging as well. 👍

Lately echochrome has become a big hit, at least among the adults. I have one friend who is having a blast creating new levels for me to struggle over.

The kids and their friends are still big fans of Calling All Cars and Super Rub-a-dub, but lately their favorite game is Hot Shots Golf: OOB... which is good, because both my wife and I love playing that game as well, and by adjusting the handicap, and difficulty levels for each player individually, we can have a fun 4-person game where everyone is pretty evenly matched... and it really is a fun game! 👍

The game though that many of my friends after hearing about and seeing trailers for are most excited about playing is easily LittleBigPlanet.

 

[icelt]

For me the most consistent stunner has been F1:CE. Then again I have a few friends who are big sim driver/racers. Predictably these same people also found their way to acquiring CoD4.

 

[mmsi1002]

I swore i wouldn't spend $400 on a ps3, that was until i played GTA4............i went out & bought it within an hour of playing it. It's been 5 days & 2 friends of mine have done the same. 1 bc of gta4 & the other bc of cod4.

 

[Touring Mars]

One year on and a few more games are out, and a few more friends have been given the full "tour" of the PS3, so here's an update!

COD:4 is still impressing, but the big hit (indeed the only game that hasn't failed to impress/stun) is, to my surprise, GTA:IV - one friend loved it so much, he bought an Xbox 360 and GTA:IV the following day... sadly, my PS3 sales pitch fell on deaf ears . GT5 continues to get compliments on the sheer beauty of the cars, but almost without exception it has failed to impress, even when I'm giving a "hot lap" demo of how it "should be done" And although I am quick to point out that GT5 will be epic, it still doesn't have anything like the pulling power of GTA:IV. WipEout HD gets a big 👍, but Little Big Planet also fell into the category of "meh" with my friends - one mate described it as childish, although I think he meant "geared towards a younger demographic" FIFA '09 and F1:CE are solid bankers too... So here's a list of my most played games and each game gets a thumbs up/down rating based on actual feedback from various friends... (and my agreement with them as a smiley!)

GTA:IV 👍👍👍
COD:4 👍👍👍
Motorstorm 👍👍👍
WipEout HD 👍👍 (I'd say it was better)
FIFA '09 👍👍
F1:CE 👍👍
High Stakes Poker 👎 👍👍
GT5 👎 👍 (I'd say alot better!)
Little Big Planet 👎 👎 👍
Echochrome 👎

 

[Ardius]

Its not really limited to PS3 but it does impress anyway - Rock Band, for the sheer amusement factor of forcing people to sing Eye of the Tiger (badly) or Cool for Cats.
I managed to convince one friend to get it for PS3 so I suppose it does count.

Generally, GT5P does the job I find, don't even have to make people play it, just look at the graphics, sadly people care more about the graphics than the gameplay on first glance, so GT5P wins very quickly in this area.

 

[Squasher]

Hands down COD4 and COD:W@W, playing multiscreen with about 6 or so friends and they absolutely love it and want to play it all the time whenever theres a few of us around my place.

3 of these non gaming friends have actually gone out and since bought ps3s just so they can play COD online with me.

Only one friend (an X360 guy) went out and bought a ps3 just because how good GT5P looked. However he is a car nut.

 

[Boffin]

My friend didn't believe that GTAIV wasmuch different than the others in the way the physics and gameplay worked. He was amazingly impressed when I gave him a go and was then completely sold when I got into a huge battle online at the airport.

 

[Zathra5_]

I bought my ps3 when I was visiting family over Christmas 2007. At that time everyone was thrilled with uncharted. They even liked just watching the game since it was kind of like a movie.

Recently I've had a couple of people over visiting. They seemed to like LBP but no one has asked to play it after seeing it. One didn't like pacific rift (had problems determining where to go) but loved wipeout. another liked pacific rift but really fell for killzone 2.

 

[Mad94d]

Normally Race Driver GRID is a favourite with my friends(14yo aussies). They don't play it to be serious though, they play it for the good crash physics. Entertains my mates for hours.

GTA IV also entertains them for hours. Just doing stupid things like shooting AI people or jumping out of helicopters trying to have the funniest death possible will entertain my friends. Sad I know.

These two games are always the two games that are played the most.👍

 

[ZANELE]

UNCHARTED had my friends impressed but the UNCHARTED 2 trailer had them going wow . RESIDENT EVIL 5 had them hyped a bit , well GTp topped the cake it blew their minds away.

 

[Pako]

I need to update my entry with Metal Gear Solid 4. I couldn't get enough of it!

 

[J-PaP]

I have so far convinced 5 people to buy a PS3.

There are a few games that have won over a few people
WipeoutHD
LittleBigPlanet
Uncharted (most feedback of the lot)
Flower
GTA4
GT5p

One actually was won over by the media functions. He hardly uses his ps3 for games just streaming video.

 

[Stavingo]

Probably GTA IV with my friends, just watching Niko go head on into a car and then watching him fly out just gave us all laughs. But I feel like I need to put this game on the shelf, been playing it too much.

 

[Legendary]

Thats sad to hear Stavingo...

 

[Touring Mars]

One actually was won over by the media functions. He hardly uses his ps3 for games just streaming video.

I haven't managed to convince a single person to buy a PS3 yet, although two people in recent weeks were seriously impressed by the amount of stuff the PS3 has, particularly Blu-ray. Annoyingly, games like GTA:IV are just as good on the Xbox, and so my best mate (who I really wanted to buy a PS3, so we could play FIFA and GTA online) went out and bought a 360. That said, this means I'll probably get to play Forza - especially if I buy it for him as a birthday present

 

[Stavingo]

Thats sad to hear Stavingo...

Your the one who makes me play GTA IV......

Message received From Legendary724: GTA?
Message received From Legendary724: GTA nooowwwwwwww
Message received From Legendary724: GTA Broooooooooo

The only reason I play GTA is because of you.

 

[Legendary]

Lol...ok?

You make that sound like a bad thing? You have another friend so it isnt just me...