Now that the PS5 launch is coming up, it's time to take a look back at the consoles of old. Traveling all the way back to 2006 and the beginning stages of the 7th generation gaming consoles, PlayStation's notorious launch tradition continues in losing fashion. Bringing the heat with quantity but disappointing on quality, the PS3's launch titles only had a few diamonds among the coal.
With a total of 14 titles at launch (and a few unofficial ones), PS3 had a large collection to pick up from the start. With a 14-year difference and two generations, the game quality has improved in leaps and bounds since the days of Xbox 360 and Wii. Only the standout PS3 titles can still compete in the current market.
10 Held Up – Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas
Rising from the ashes of a low season for Rainbow Six, Vegas steps back in the tactical shooter spotlight with one of the best locations around. Rappeling down some of Vegas's premier hotels in search of terrorists is some of the most fun players can hope for.
Servicing the realist's need for accurate gunmanship, everything is to a tee, right down to the reload time. This is also true for the player though, who is only able to receive a few hits before the game is over. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas is one of the most hardcore shooters available, giving off a different tone to its successors.
9 Didn't – Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
With the long list of incredible RPGs that have come out since Dark Kingdom's release, it's hard to market it to players of today. Not even scoring highly when it was first released, the title suffered from some fundamental errors that lead to fans wondering what happened.
These include the camera, one of the most important aspects of the game, a lot of bugs, and some poorly executed RPG features. Trying to take down a corrupt king sounds good in theory, it's the functional aspect of gameplay that lets Dark Kingdom down.
8 Held Up – The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
One of the most revered RPGs ever made from Bethesda, Oblivion would be worth playing just for its legacy. Getting to experience one of the biggest worlds in RPG history, Oblivion offers around 200 hours of playable content.
Delivering one of the most intricate and wide-ranging storylines available, Oblivion still gets played even though Skyrim, its replacement, became one of the best selling games of all time. A huge amount of mods have been released for Oblivion, constantly adding new content and keeping the graphics smooth and up to date.
7 Didn't – Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire
Taking a great premise and completely underwhelming fans with its sluggish gameplay, Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire is a technical nightmare that barely scraped by upon release and would be unplayable today. The lack of tutorial is the first issue players run into, as they are left to figure out an uncoordinated and static suit of armor.
Players are supposed to be the deciding factor in a war but it's difficult getting the suit to even draw its weapon. Even if players knew how to work this clunky machine, every fight comes across like a slow-motion parody of what it should feel like.
6 Held Up – Call Of Duty 3
Breathing some life back into the Call of Duty franchise, the third entry expands the typical World War II experience to include different countries that were involved. Players get a chance to serve under four different flags on the journey to Paris.
Though the mechanics might seem a little outdated compared to today's standards, it's not enough to leave Call of Duty 3 in the past. Fans of simpler FPS games might even prefer it, and the game also gives players a rich storyline to go along with the action-packed warzone.
5 Didn't – Ridge Racer 7
Racing is one of the most improved genres of the last couple of decades, transforming from clunky arcade titles to hyper-realistic driving simulations. On the other hand, if players are looking for a complete detachment from the real world physics of today, Ridge Racer 7 might not be too bad.
Even today's silly titles turn it up a notch though, taking the other world physics and slapping some HD graphics to make it look that much better. One of the biggest letdowns in Ridge Racer 7 is the lack of impact on collisions, causing the vehicles to feel like bumper cars instead of high-performance machines.
4 Held Up – Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Taking it back to the old school action games of the 2000s, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance allows its universe's heroes to unleash the full extent of their power on minions and bosses alike. With so many characters flowing through the storyline, the creators did an impressive job of making it through the entire game without it feeling too crowded.
Offering a surprising amount of variety that overshoots the quality of the game, players (and Marvel fans) are treated to an epic adventure. A competent battle system that shines when more than one player gets involved, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance is a great game to sit down and enjoy without too much pressure.
3 Didn't – Genji: Days Of Blade
Long before Ghost of Tsushima, players had to rely on titles like Genji: Days of the Blade for their feudal Japan fix. Hacking and slashing their way through the PS3 samurai of the time, players had to face the dreaded camera issues so common in older combat games.
From fighting enemies that are out of view to having to tackle obstacles that are nowhere to be seen, Genji grows more frustrating as it continues. Letting down the other positive aspects of the journey, Genji proves that games are only as good as their fundamentals.
2 Held Up – Motorstorm
Maybe this is one of those Mandela effect examples but most PS3 fans will remember Motorstorm as a launch title, it even being offered with the oldest version of the console as a package. However, the demolition derby rally racer was released in Japan over a month after the PS3's debut and around four months after the console's North American launch. Motorstorm was also a PS3 launch title in PAL regions.
Maybe it was the chaotic enjoyment the game brought to the system that made players forget previous titles but Motorstorm took off in a big way. Throwing aside the sleek, high-performance cars that so many made, Motorstorm gave the slow-motion crashes and dune buggy races so many players craved.
1 Didn't – Full Auto 2: Battlelines
While it's always a good time throwing machine guns on hoods, Full Auto 2: Battlelines disappoints with a myriad of control issues that take all the fun out of firing turrets. The potential of the game is the frustrating part, with players being teased with the thought of a weaponized vehicle but unable to smoothly control it.
Motorstorm took over the genre of madness racing, a game that didn't rush production just to be released at launch. A shame considering what could have been, it will serve as a warning to other series that are tempted to push forward the release date.