By Allie Davison, Staff Writer
[dropcap]R[/dropcap]ole-playing games (RPGs) have always been my favourite video games. I like the idea of controlling this person, this hero, in the exciting adventures they take on, maneuvering them through invigorating quests, and making them fight, and hopefully win, awesome boss battles. The PlayStation (PS) game systems have been excellent sources for RPGs, and with the release of the PS3, even more excellent RPGs have come out. It was a hard task (or quest perhaps) to pick the top five RPGs that this system has produced, but here they are. Take this summer to truly experience the awesomeness of these five games, and enjoy!
5. Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland (Released in North America September 27, 2011)
Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland is the second in the Atelier series, and although I never played the first, from what I’ve heard, the game has only improved in this sequel. Our protagonist, Atelier Totori, is an alchemist on a mission to become an adventurer and find her mother. Although the game play is both fun and an enjoyable challenge, my only major complaint is the length of the game. It probably only took me about 10-15 hours to beat it. You can replay the game if you don’t like the ending you get (there are apparently a few), but who wants to spend another 10-15 hours repeating history? Overall, it’s a pretty good game, but I wish it had been longer, which in the end really does speak to its quality. The third in the series (Atelier Meruru: The Apprentice of Arland) will be released in North America on May 22.
4. Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice (Released in North America August 26, 2008)
The whole Disgaea series is has been quite successful. The games are tactical—not usually my cup of tea in comparison to turn-based or action role-playing games, but it works. The story is, as usual, very interesting and captivating; however, with the launch of the third game in the series, the developers (Nippon Ichi Software) lost a chance to update the graphics and overall look of the game. It appears outdated on the sleek and fancy PS3 system, which really does take something away from what could have been truly excellent.
3. Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten (Released in North America September 6, 2011)
The major pros of the Disgaea series have been the characters and the dialogue. The script in A Promise Unforgotten is excellently written, and the characters consistently make hilarious jokes. The battles are even more interesting and fun than in the previous games, and the adorable now updated design style just makes the game wonderful. However, it does lose some points for having a very similar storyline to the past games in the series, making it a little repetitive.
2. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Released on November 11, 2011)
The newest addition to the Elder Scrolls series does not disappoint. It offers hours of action-filled game play, hilarious jokes (arrow to the knee anyone?), and above all an exceptional and intricate story. The design makes it almost as if you are in the game yourself—it’s very easy to disappear from the real world for hours on end with this one. Unfortunately, the game does have a number of glitches. I’ve had it freeze a few times on me and it’s crashed completely for a few of my friends; super annoying when you’re in the midst of fighting a dragon!
1. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Released on February 7, 2012)
This is my favourite RPG of all time. Not just on the PS3, but on any platform—ever. The game play is filled with super interesting quests and fights, the graphics are AMAZING, and the character development gets consistently better throughout. I’ve only gotten about 20 hours of game play on this bad boy (it is finals, after all), but every time I sit down to play I’m sucked in for hours on end. The world just seems to get bigger and bigger with every session; new quests are found and new monsters are fought. It’s delightful and exciting—in fact, I want to go play right now!
