8 Best PS3 Launch Games

Crossfire was released in Japan on November 11, 2006, and in North America on November 17, 2006, so it was there on day one in both places. Japan liked it. Famitsu gave it a 32 out of 40, and on the day of the PlayStation 3 launch in Japan, Crossfire sold 33,000 units.

The American release was not nearly as well received. Reviewers complained about bland, outdated graphics and constant framerate issues, and X-Play gave it 1/5. It is the weakest game here by a distance. It still makes the list because a giant robot on a brand-new console was a hard thing to say no to in 2006, and because the launch shelf did not leave a lot of other choices.

Dark Kingdom is a third-person dungeon crawling action RPG from Sony Online Entertainment, released as a launch title for the console. It is the third game in the Untold Legends series, but it is unrelated in story to the first two games, so you can start here without homework. The game was retailed 2 days ahead of the PlayStation 3 release in North America, which is a funny way to be a launch game.

Health, essence and mana only come back from orbs that enemies drop, so the game keeps you swinging. Critics gave it "mixed or average" reviews. Players remember it more fondly than that, and it still turns up on their lists of PS3 games worth tracking down.

Days of the Blade is the sequel to Genji: Dawn of the Samurai and the first game released under the newly rebranded Japan Studio. Like the first game, it is loosely based on The Tale of the Heike. The Heishi clan is back, and this time its soldiers use unholy magic to turn into hulking demons. It was also one of the first PS3 games to use the built-in hard drive.

You may know it without ever playing it. At E3 2006 the producer said the game was "based on famous battles, which actually took place in ancient Japan" and then fought what he described as a "giant enemy crab". That line went viral and has outlived the game by years. Players who did buy it still name it next to Heavenly Sword and the Gran Turismo games.

Call of Duty 3 was a launch title for the PlayStation 3 and Wii in North America, Europe and Australia. It is a World War II game, and the campaign moves through France with your squad, from clearing out the Forêt d'Écouves to a desperate retreat with Polish soldiers towards the summit of Hill 262. It was the first game in the series to introduce two different game modes, and it was the only major installment not to come out on PC.

The game received positive reviews on release. Retrospective assessments have been harsher, and critics now say it lacked innovation after the games before it. Some also point out that it tried ideas later Call of Duty games picked up. Players still recommend it to anyone working through the PS3's shooters.

Raven Software made the first versions, which came out on October 24, 2006. A few weeks later Ultimate Alliance was a launch title for both the PlayStation 3 and the Wii. The PS3 version was one of three launch games for the system, along with NBA 07 and Ridge Racer 7, to run at 1080p resolution.

Critics praised its simple but entertaining gameplay and its impressive selection of Marvel characters. Along the way you collect concept art and "simulator discs" that unlock extra comic book missions. It got a sequel in 2009 and a re-release in 2016 on Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Players still recommend the PS3 version, and it is the most relaxed game on this list.

Carbon came out in North America on the PS2, Xbox 360 and PC on October 31, 2006, and the PS3 version followed on November 17, 2006. The story takes place during a fixed period at night. When you start Career mode you choose a class of car, and that choice is permanent: it decides which of the first three districts you begin in. The new idea was Canyon events, races on canyon roads styled after Japanese Tōge racing.

Carbon received positive reviews, though some critics missed the police chases of the game before it. The soundtrack mixed licensed tracks with electronica from artists like Gary Numan and Ladytron for the Tuner crews. Players still put it next to Burnout Paradise when they talk about PS3 racing.

Ridge Racer 7 is an enhanced version of Ridge Racer 6, which had been an Xbox 360 exclusive, with more content. It has around 40 cars and 22 courses, each one in forward, reverse and mirror mode. It runs at 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second, and it had free online play through the PlayStation Network from the start. Like many other games in the series, it opens with a full motion video starring Reiko Nagase.

In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of all four nines for a total of 36 out of 40, and the game got "generally favorable reviews" elsewhere too. A 2010 patch even let you play it in 3D. Players still recommend it, and it is the launch game that has aged best. Drifting through a corner at 60 frames per second still feels great.

Insomniac Games first called it I-8, because it was the eighth game the studio had in production. It is a first-person shooter set in an alternate 1951. By 1949, all of Europe has fallen to the Chimera, an alien army that infects people and turns them into monsters. You play Sgt. Nathan Hale, the only survivor of his unit, who discovers that he has an innate resistance to full infection.

Critics praised it, all the more because it was a launch title, and it won several awards. As of 2007, the game sold more than 2.1 million copies. It also picked a fight it did not plan for: the Church of England objected to its use of Manchester Cathedral. The online servers shut down on April 8, 2014. Players name it more than any other PS3 launch game.