3. Beyond: Two Souls
Have you ever wanted to literally play a movie? To make that one decision which completely alters the plot? To literally be the character and feel what they feel? Well now you can...again. Quantic Dream first revolutionised the gaming scene with its release of Fahrenheit in 2005. It was the first game to feature complex round characters and combine interactive cinematics with multiple plot lines based on the decisions players make. The French company then improved on its signature game style with its release of Heavy Rain in 2010. Heavy Rain was critically acclaimed, not only for its stunning graphics, but also for its completely immersing story and character interactions. And now, come 8th October 2013, you can experience all that and more. Think of Beyond: Two Souls as the perfect marriage of cinema and gaming. Take the trailer for example. It was so brilliantly depicted, I honestly thought I was watching a movie! The gameplay? Even better. Sure, it doesn't really keep you guessing over how it is going to feel playing the game, which some may consider a major spoiler, but the truth is I was so immersed in the video that the time just flew by. I simply could not stop watching it, despite the fact the gameplay was a whopping 30 minutes long. If you did just watch the video or have watched it prior, you would be wondering how on earth Quantic Dream managed to surpass the standard of the graphics of even Heavy Rain,on a console which is considered outdated; Movements are life-like and characters are almost identical to their real-life counterparts. Well according to CEO, Guillaume de Fondaumière, Quantic Dream were among the first batch of developers to have full access to PS4 Devkits. Now while this seems completely unrelated, it's not. What the guys did back there was to adapt engine ideas from the PS4, and then implement them into the PS3. So essentially what they did was scaling next-gen down for the PS3. This is sort of how PS2 games look far better than they should on our PS3.
In any case, aside from amazing cinematics and graphics, Beyond: Two Souls features a star-studded cast. Both Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe put up an oscar-worthy performance. This is coupled with the plot, lead to a truly immersing experience. The plot follows Jodie Holmes through 15 years of her life. She is born with a supernatural entity named Aiden that is linked to her. Jodie is forced to endure loss, pain and suffering throughout the period. What she really is looking for though, is herself. The game is said to feature a supernatural-thriller feel, with spiritual, supernatural and psychological elements making up gameplay. The gameplay is almost identical to Heavy Rain. This may seem like a bad thing at first but if you consider how good Heavy Rain was despite the simplicity of the gameplay, the realisation that Beyond: Two Souls is going to be even better, hits you. I would love to put this game to the top of this list. It has brilliant graphics, an amazing plot, it is something relatively different from other upcoming games, the list goes on. The one thing that does prevent it from stealing the number 1 spot though, is that it is a Playstation exclusive. Even though I love the exclusives that I get with my PS3, I do feel that this game is so good, it needed to be shared with other platforms. That then, is the only reason why I won't give it top place. That being said though, considering that prices of PS3 games and consoles will be dropping soon due to stock clearances to make way for PS4, I would actually go far as to say to buy a console and the game if you don't already have one and do have the means. Quantic Dream have created a game so well crafted, with its brilliant acting, amazing graphics and plot, that playing and then replaying it again, is a must. Beyond: Two Souls is due for a October 8th 2013 release date, and exclusively on PlayStation 3.