Alright, boys. I got this one
Assassin's Creed 1, 2 and Brotherhood obviously... 1 gets a little repetitive, but is worth beating to get the storyline and the controls, and it's still a really fun game. 2 is miles better because you always feel like the missions are new and different, along with the deeper characters, etc, but has low replayability. Brotherhood is, IMO, damn near the perfect game. They tossed in a multiplayer that's actually well thought out and enjoyable, the storyline is excellent, the characters are fantastic, After you finish the main storyline there are tons of side-missions that are absolutely excellent and really add depth to characters... I could go on... I loved the game.
CoD Black Ops got mixed reviews... I think the Story Line of MW2 was better (but only by a little), and that the Multiplayer maps of MW2 were better (Black Ops maps are all pretty much run and gun with a few camping spots... If I ever snipe, I use a sniper with an Acog sight... that gives you the gist of the map size). However, it has one massive improvement - You can now play split-screen multiplayer. That may not mean much to you, but I live in a dorm and it's a blast to play with my roommate. At least then someone listens when I say "watch my back"... It's worth getting, IMO, but I kept MW2, too.
Borderlands is a fantastic First Person Shooter. The game has a gun randomizing system so there are, literally, billions of different guns in the game. They all look different, have different stats, some have elemental attributes, etc. The same goes for equipment (shields and "Class Attachments"). There's a pretty nice leveling system, 3 trees for different stats. The weapons break down into SMG, Assault Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Revolver, Repeater (automatic pistol), Shotgun, Rocket Launcher and Eridian (alien technology), and have nigh infinite variation within the categories. There are 4 characters that specialize in certain weapons, but anyone can use anything, it's just that the leveling tree boosts those weapons in particular. Another game that can be played split screen with a real life friend, or you can play the Campaign online with a random player. I've been playing this one for about 2 years solid. Between the weapon variation, the downloadable content and the multiplayer, I haven't put it down.
Little Big Planet 2 - This game doesn't do much for me alone, but when my girlfriend is over it's a ton of fun. The basic premise is a game made from a metric ****ton of mini-games of every variety and type... It's a great game to play with your significant other if she isn't a hardcore gamer, or, when your kids express interest in video games, it's extremely easy to pick up and play with them. Up to 4 people can play on the same TV, provided you have 4 controllers, and it has online multiplayer so you can team up with people you know, or people you don't.
Infamous 2 isn't out yet, but it will be soon. It looks like it's going to be excellent
Uncharted 1 and 2 are out, and number 3 is coming soon... They were sublime games, with a perfect balance of gunning, storyline and platforming... Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (the first one) scored a perfect ten, as did Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which was better than the first, so the third (Uncharted 3: Drake's Betrayal) should be, for lack of a better word, epic. The storylines are engaging, the characters are deep and enjoyable, it has betrayal, big guns, small guns, grenades, platforming, puzzle solving, and everything in between... If you could only pick up 2 games from this list, It would be AC: Brotherhood, and Uncharted 2. Also, UC2 has online multiplayer a lot like Call of Duty in 3rd person.
God of War 3. Shouldn't need an introduction for this one... The game was stunning. Nice and bloody (so don't play around the kids) and of absolutely massive, stunning scale. Great game.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 was pretty awesome. Ninja Platforming, tons of different weapons, great combo system, etc.
Dante's Inferno - Tells the story of The Divine Comedy by Dante Alligheri, with creative license (Dante is now a demon slaying badass). The combat system is a lot like God of War, only with more moves, variations and combos... There is a lot of blood and screaming (You're in hell... go figure) so not good around children.
Dead Space and Dead Space 2 were both excellent. They're third person shooters thoroughly entrenched in the Horror genre. They didn't get much talk, but they scored excellent on reviews and were a ton of fun... And I guarantee that, at least twice in each game, you
will scream like a little girl. Just expect it to happen, and enjoy the phenomenal ride.
Bioshock 1 and 2 were excellent, they were mostly run and gun, but there was a great variation of weaponry and "magic" (Genetic enhancements that let you shoot fire, ice, lighting, poison bugs, mind-control juice, etc), and the storyline was mindblowing for both... Like, head popped clean off your shoulders.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head... That should help you get started.
Go to the PSN Store and look through the Demos section, you can find a demo for 9/10, if not all of those games, so you can see if they're good for you... And if anything else catches your eye, you can get the demo for it too.
Cheers,
Jeremy
