Firstly, an apology for the delay in the publication of this article. Unsung Heroes: PLAYSTATION3 was scheduled to go live yesterday, and was ready to do so, but developments with the new Electronic Theatre, which you may have already read about in today’s Electronic Theatre Exclusive Update, meant that our team had their hands rather full, and so this article had to be pushed back. Never fear though, the next instalment, Unsung Heroes: PlayStation Portable, will be live on Sunday 12^th October, 2008, as scheduled.

            For those of you not yet familiar with the Unsung Heroes series, the rules are as follows; games eligible are those disc-based releases that Electronic Theatre feels have been underrated, or treated unfairly since launch. This time, it’s the turn of the PLAYSTATION3. Being the Current-Generation machine with the fewest titles – and fewest exclusive releases, for that matter – many of you may be wondering exactly where we’ll be dragging five missed-hits from, but as with any and every console released, there’s plenty of ways games can just slip by even the most observant radar.

BUZZ! Quiz TV

            BUZZ! is a huge franchise for SONY Computer Entertainment Europe. Along with SingStar, the series has opened avenues for new revenue that had previously been overlooked by the majority of publishers. Indeed, it’s these titles that are believed to have added weight to Nintendo’s recent turn-of-form, and that elusive Causal Gamer market. BUZZ! Quiz TV, however, arrived on the PLAYSTATION3 with not so much of a bang, as a thud. Perhaps it was too early on the Current-Generation? With hardware prices remaining out-of-reach of the Casual Gamer and the system’s installed userbase still running comparatively low, BUZZ! may well be a franchise that takes time to find it’s feet on the PLAYSTATION3.

Conan

            A title that sprung from nowhere to take even the most discerning gamer by surprise, Conan is a lot sharper then it’s license may suggest. Overshadowed by the Massively-Multiplayer title operating within the same universe, THQ’s Current-Generation Scrolling Beat-‘Em-Up comes closet to replicating the formula of the fantastic God Of War than any other “me-too” title before or since. Some fantastic set-pieces and an intelligent Combat System make Conan one of the most underrated Beat-‘Em-Ups on the Current-Generation. And the sales figures proved that not only the media, but the public too overlooked the release.

Formula One Championship Edition

            A launch title for the system, and perhaps the most misjudged of the lot. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Resistance: Fall of Man, MotorStorm and Virtua Fighter 5 couldn’t have done SONY’s in-house Racing game any good. Coming from the developers of WipEout Pure and the PlayStation2 Formula One releases since 2001, the pedigree behind the title is of no doubt. Also including the PLAYSTATION3’s first PlayStation Portable synchronisation feature, Formula One Championship Edition was a decent showcase of the technology that would be available for future releases. That the game itself, however, was considered little more than a spruce-up of the PlayStation2’s F1 2005 saw many discouraged from a day-one purchase.

Rock Band

            “Rock Band? ROCK BAND?!” I hear you cry. Yes, Rock Band. You, the Hardcore Gamer, may well be aware of it’s presence on PLAYSTATION3, but exactly how many other UK gamers are? Still to this day advertised as an Xbox360 title, the PLAYSTATION3 release slipped past many unnoticed. Only a couple of months after Rock Band arrived exclusively in the UK on Xbox360, the PLAYSTATION3 release made it’s way across the ocean – but few held-out that long. That’s not to say it hasn’t been a success on the PLAYSTATION3, but it certainly has failed to shift hardware units in the with the same impact as the Xbox360 release.

The Darkness

            Following in the footsteps of Prey, The Darkness was one of the most inspired early Current-Generation First-Person Shooter releases. An intelligently written story, inventive objectives and a Free-Roaming world coupled with some rather gruesome abilities place The Darkness as a title that is still very unique on the Current-Generation, and very highly regarded. Based on the Comic Books of the same name, The Darkness saw the player fill the shoes of one Jackie Estacado, turning twenty-one and finding himself with a power manifesting within him, a power known as “The Darkness”. Tracing the bloodline of The Darkness and seeking revenge on mob boss “Uncle” Paulie finds the player entangled in two interwoven stories that twist and turn like any good motion picture, with some believable characters and events that truly emote an emotional response from the player. Hopes for the sequel are high, though nothing has been mentioned of late.

Kev J.

06/10/08