2008 has been a good year for PlayStation 3 owners.  We saw the release of big time exclusives such as Resistance 2 , LittleBigPlanet and Metal Gear Solid 4.  Sony also showed us that there is still a good reason to invest in the PS3 even though big names such as Grand Theft Auto and Final Fantasy have gone multi-platform.  2009 looks to be another big year for the PlayStation.  With the release of PlayStation Home, the implementation of the new trophy system and another big year of games, the PS3 has its eye set on the future.  Here is a countdown of the top 5 PS3 exclusive games that will be released in the coming year.

7) White Knight Chronicles

Developer Level-5 first got my attention with the turn based PSP game “Jeanne D’Arc”.  Last week I called for the creation of a second Final Fantasy Tactics game and Jeanne D’Arc is the closest thing we have had,  not to mention that it was surprisingly good.  Level-5 is more widely recognized for its Dragon Quest and Dark Cloud series.  Known for their story telling ability, White Knight Chronicles should be no exception.  While the story follows a tired “save the princess” model, the way you go about doing it is what should be focused on.  Not only should the single player campaign rival a Final Fantasy game in scale, but users are going to have the chance to take their adventure online and do quests with up to 3 other players.  For RPG fans that are upset that the Final Fantasy series jumped ship to Xbox as well, this PS3 exclusive gem should help ease your pain.

6) Infamous

While comic book based movies have done very well at the box office as of late, their video game counterparts have never really turned out well.  Developers burdened by the license have not been able to use their creativity to create a super hero worth playing.  Infamous gives players a home grown super hero that isn’t burdened by a license and unleashes him on a open-world style city.  Being the only survivor of a blast that destroys 6 blocks of Empire City, Cole finds that he has developed electricity based super powers.  Whether he uses them for good or for fun is up to the player.  Just don’t forget that every hero needs an arch nemesis.  This non-comic book based super hero game should boost the genre and let gamers finally get a good taste of life with super powers. 

5) Uncharted 2: Among Thieves

Naughty Dog’s “Uncharted” games are turning out to be quite the series!  Uncharted 2: Among Thieves looks to build on the first installment and give us one of the best third person action games of 2009.  Naughty Dog is working hard on expanding Drake’s array of movements, eliminating loading times and creating a powerful narrative that will suck gamers in to a quest to discover what happened to 13 of the 14 ships Marco Polo set out to explore the world with.  More then just a jungle adventure, Drake will trudge through swamps, fight through cities, battle aboard trains and climb the Himalayas.  Where the original Uncharted game only utilized about 30% of the PS3’s power, Naughty Dog hopes to push the cell processor to its limits in this upcoming installment.  Uncharted is pushing the boundaries of gaming where the Tomb Raider series has unfortunately dropped the ball.

4) Final Fantasy Versus XIII 

3) Killzone 2

In 2005, a Killzone 2 trailer made a bold claim to the world about the power potential of the PS3.   This February, gamers are going to finally see if the game will live up to the hype.  When I made my list last week of games that should have been released this Holiday, the response was overwhelming that Killzone 2 should have made the list.  With an intricate cover system in what appears to be a very difficult game, Killzone looks to answer and trump Microsoft’s “Gears of Bore”.  Paired with the recent release of Resistance 2, the PS3 is making a big statement about which system is home to the shooter genre.

2) God of War 3

Due to its title alone, this game is going to sell like hotcakes.  The Epic hack and slash from SCE is finally getting released on the PS3.  Not a lot is known about the game yet other then it will run on full 1080p HD resolution and utilize the Sixaxis tilt and vibrate functions.  It can be assumed that since this is supposed to be the final installment of the series, Kratos is gonna be one pissed off ex-Spartan.  The more powerful system will mean more baddies on the screen, more fluid movements and an overall button mashing good time.  With IGN having the release date set for December 30, 2009, we are all going to have to wait a bit for this one.

1) Gran Turismo 5 

I agree... actually, GT5 is the one real big PS3 exclusive that I am looking forward to.

You know, you might have a point here... maybe GT5 is getting pushed to 2010, and Sony just hasn't told us yet?

Sony (I think somone from Polyphony Digital) has stated that it will be released in 09 in Japan. I'm not sure if it will make it in Europe and NA before 2010, but it should as there shouldn't be that much localization needed in the game.

 Famitsu's review scores are at times laughable. Remember when they gave Haze 34/40?

I hope so.  It seems like anything that comes from Sony this gen gets pushed off over and over again. 

I remember hearing in the forum that they were having issues with some of the car manufacturers over damage to cars in the game?  Or something like that?