Best PS3 Games of 2014

It's been a funny year for the PlayStation 3. While the system has received plenty of support in 2014, it feels like the attention of the industry has moved on. Cross-generation titles like Destiny and Far Cry 4 have all been advertised with the PlayStation 4 in mind, and sales have taken a tumble as a consequence. Despite what many of you may think, though, we haven't forgotten about Sony's ageing appliance, and in order to prove it, we've put together a list of our top four PS3 titles from the past twelve months. For this, we decided to focus on forays that didn't come to next-gen machines, purely because they all went into a separate internal poll. Please understand.

Bronze Trophy: Tales of Xillia 2

Ludger love

The follow up to the fantastic Tales of Xillia, this sequel returns you to the RPG's colourful world and reunites you with many of the cast from the first game. Putting you in the shoes of the silent, stylish protagonist Ludger, it's a slightly more personal quest, but it's still packed full of action and adventure, topped off with a brilliant battle system. Together with the original, Tales of Xillia 2 marks one of the best Japanese-made sagas on the PS3.

Silver Trophy: Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Super skag

Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel may seem like more of the same – and, on a certain level, you'd not be wrong – but the interesting spin that 2K Australia put on the series' humour makes this dive into the origins of Handsome Jack's hatred for Vault Hunters a fun ride. Transporting the action to Pandora's moon of Elpis adds a few new mechanics, but it's the ability to play as series favourite Claptrap for the first time that had us well and truly hooked.

Gold Trophy: South Park: The Stick of Truth

Ermahgerd

Good licensed games don't come along every day, so when South Park: The Stick of Truth proved to not only be a good RPG, but a fantastic representation of everything South Park as well, there was much rejoicing. In retrospect, there really shouldn't have been any doubt, as creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone were heavily involved in the title's development. It certainly shows, too, as the release pulls no punches, taking shots at everything from gaming clichés to Nazi Zombies.

Best PS3 Games of 2014 2

Platinum Trophy: Dark Souls II

Dark Souls II is one of the darkest, toughest, hurt-iest, and most rewarding titles released this year. Hell, if there was an award for making grown men and women cry with frustration one minute, and praise the sun in the wake of sweet victory the next, it would probably take that as well. Indeed, when From Software's latest offering released earlier this year, various Push Square scribes spent almost two weeks locked away, enduring constant deaths while secretly searching for hints and rare item locations online.

In that sense, the exploration, limited as it was, reminded us of an Elder Scrolls title. Sure, it was risky going in search of an item that you read about on NeoGAF, but the possibility of losing precious souls is part of the title's masochistic appeal – especially when you finally triumph against the many massive beast men that roam the world. This is an easy pick for our PS3 game of the year – roll on Bloodborne.

What was your favourite PS3 game of 2014? Do you agree with our winners, or would you have selected something else? Cast your vote in our poll, and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

What was your favourite PS3 game of 2014? (24 votes)

  1. Assassin's Creed Rogue  0%
  2. Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel4%
  3. Dark Souls II13%
  4. Dynasty Warriors: Gundam Reborn8%
  5. Hatsune Miku Project Diva F 2nd  0%
  6. JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle4%
  7. Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII17%
  8. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution8%
  9. South Park: The Stick of Truth33%
  10. Tales of Xillia 24%
  11. Other8%

Please login to vote in this poll.

[ Words: Alex Stinton, Ben Potter, Robert Ramsey, and Sammy Barker ]