Mercenaries 2: World of Flames [PS3/360/PC/PS2] is a must for everyone that likes FPS:es, GTA:s, war games, free-roaming games or racing games. I also recomend the older version Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction [XB/PC/PS2] which actually is the best last-gen game I've ever played!

Mercenaries is not a "ripoff" of GTA. There are similarities between the two games, however. You can hijack vehicles in Mercenaries much like you do in GTA. You also can roam the area you are in freely, like you can roam the cities in the GTA games freely. That however, is pretty much where the similarites end. The only other comparable aspect is that there are missions you can take on in Mercenaries, but those usually differ dramatically from the missions in the Grand Theft Auto games.

Here's my opinion of the first Mercenaries game (XB version):

It's a game with "never-ending action". New enemies will always appear somewhere in the city, and there's always something to do. You can basicly blow up everything, every building and vehicle etc., and if you manage to hijack a helicopter with a winch, then you can grab things you never thought you could, even fences! There are odd-job challenges to do, bounties to find, "Deck of 52" to verify, faction missions to do; it's so much of it so you'll never get bored! Even when you do "everything you should" there'll still be things to do, like "C4 Fun" (blow up a vehicle in air) etc. The graphics are extremly good for being an old-gen game. Definitly a must!

Here's a question from a FAQ:

Q: Should I get this game?
A: That is without a doubt, THE most asked question thusfar. In my
opinion, Mercenaries is a must buy. But I don't know your specific
tastes in games, so here are a few things that if they apply to you,
you should get this game:
1) If you enjoy a free-roaming experience with the ability to do just
about whatever you want to whoever or whatever you want however you
want.
2) If you want a game which has so much to do, you won't ever get bored.
3) If you like any sort of military combat game.
4) If you like GOOD GAMES!

Mercenaries 2 isn't released yet, but I'll surely get it! If you can find the PS2 or XB version of Mercenaries 1 (released 2005) and you've a BC PS3 or 360, then you really should buy it! Mercenaries 1 is now almost 3 years old, so it will be cheap to get, and it doesn't look worse than any current-gen games (at least the XB version). If you don't have a PS3 or a 360 yet, and just have a PS2, then I recomend to WAIT for the next-gen version of the game, because the graphic differences between these platforms are huge!

Here's the order I recomend you to get these games for (mostly because of better graphics and shorter loading times if any):

Mercenaries 2: World of Flames [PS3 -> 360 -> PC -> PS2]
Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction [XB -> PC -> PS2]

HOWEVER, THIS IS NOT A PS3 EXCLUSIVE, BUT THE GRAPHICS MAY BE THE BEST ON THIS PLATFORM!

By the way, everyone that got this game loved it! Really!

 I think that I formulated myself wrong here. I meant that there still are games in production only for PS3, 360 or Wii that has worse graphics. Also, I only meant the XB version then, and NOT the PS2 version!

1. Uncharted
2. Oblivion (really try it again, it's splendid)
3. Ratchet & Clank

Yeah i'm just waiting for that one thing that says to me "BUY A PS3 NOW!!!"  The thing is the only single game that truly says that is FFXIII Versus atm.  High-def movies and online arn't very attractive to me because here in Australia blu-ray movies are not available in a wide selection and my internet lags like nothing else.

I am interested in Heavenly Sword and Uncharted as rents (I hear that even uncharted is short), but I dont want to drop $AU700 just to rent a couple of games.  A couple of big deciding factors in whether I get one this year could include the lenght of the campaign in Resistance 2 (assuming its as awesome as it looks, bit worried about the short dev time though) and White Knight Story.  Also, If Sony drop the price, make rumble standard and bring back BC this year, i'm sold.

I've never palyed Rachet and Clank, but it does look like a solid game (its been advertised here so much).  Does anyone know how long it is.  It may seem a bit cynical to want to know things like game lenght, but right now all I'd play is Uncharted and HS and thats dropping nearly $AU800 for the sake of 16 hours play..... 

Uncharted is a good bit over the ten hour mark, with tons of pseudo-achievements that can be unlocked by replaying the game. Heavenly Sword, however, can be beaten in 6-7 hours on the first playthrough.

Both games are great, imo, though HS's screen tearing can get a bit annoying.

As for games I'd recommend: Uncharted, first and foremost, then Resistance, Warhawk, and you should at least rent Heavenly Sword. And the fact that I recommended both Resistance and Warhawk is saying something since I usually don't get into shooters.

Final Fantasy versus 13. Whole reason I got my PS3.

Wait till something sparks your interest. By then the system may be cheaper than it is now.

I suspect that given im mainly waiting on WKS and FFXIII versus, what will eventually tip me over will be a BC capable, rumble-enabled PS3 with a price cut. Im too impatient to actually wait till mid-2009 when Australia will get Versus. Hopefully by then things like uncharted will be budget titles.

For Ratchet,Uncharted,Unreal III,Resistance and Blu-ray

Nah unreal 3 is too much of an online title for me. Resistance two is sounding good as long as it has a long campaign. Blu-Ray is insignificant here in Australia. How long is Rachet?