The Sony PlayStation 3 is arguably the most powerful home console ever made and as expected the games at the top end of the scale have not disappointed. With beautiful full HD graphics, compelling stories and some unique experiences, the PS3 has firmly staked it’s place in history as one of the best consoles of all time.

One of the most important and most anticipated game on the PS3 was the ever popular franchise Metal Gear Solid. In it’s fourth iteration on the PS3, the game had huge demand before any details were released and it’s large fan-base were clamoring for information. Released worldwide in June 2008 to critical acclaim the game became the PS3s best selling game in a few short weeks of release.

Metal Gear Solid is a stealth-based action game, heavy on cut scene and a twisting turning plot. It was these last two points which were expanded upon in MGS4, with cut scenes at some points running to over an hour at times and the plot being even more extravagant than previous games. With some of the best graphics ever seen on a home console and a lengthy campaign to boot, head developer Hideo Kojima stated that they nearly ran out of space on the PS3s huge blue ray discs which themselves total up to 50gbs each. However, when playing the game and being immersed in the story and those cut scenes, you can see why.

To all intents and purposes the game lived up the fans and critics high expectations, quickly being denoted as the best of the Metal Gear series and as a must buy for any self respecting PS3 owner.

A game which is completely at the opposite end of the scale from MGS4 is that of Pixel Junk Eden, a game available only on the Playstation Network. A game of simple graphics and gameplay but in some ways more addictive and ultimately satisfying than it’s “on disc”, big budget cousins. In the game players control a small creature called a Grimp who using a seris of jumping and swinging skills must collect objects called “spectra”, essentially pollen to grow flowers from seeds dotted around each garden or level. The game is played on a two dimensional plane and each level is simple yet beautiful in it’s art direction, each garden becoming more colorful as more flowers are grown.

The game shows how amazing simple and affordable games can be, and also what a great delivery system the PSN and its Xbox 360 and Wii equivalents can be for games like this.

One game on the PS3 has shown how to tell a compelling and unique story the best, and that game is BioShock. Set in the underwater city of Rapture, you play a airplane crash victim who finds his way there out of sheer luck, or in some cases you would call it misfortune. As the game progresses you are led through different areas of rapture by a distant voice on your radio located somewhere else in Rapture and through logs picked up along the way with chilling stories of what happened in the now derelict city.

One of the most striking things about BioShock is it’s amazing art direction. With a 1950s art deco look, the world of Rapture is stunning and at the same time incredibly creepy and atmospheric, and that’s before you meet any enemies. Most of the “bad guys” in BioShock are deformed or mutated citizens of the once glorious habitat under the sea, but your main and most dangerous foes are those of the “Big Daddies”. The game features a substance called ADAM which is in most cases gained from either rescuing or killing creatures called “Little Sisters”, who are protected by the near indestructible “Big Daddies”.

BioShock is a game of twists and turns which will keep you on your toes all the way to the end, and the PS3 edition is set to have new downloadable content released to further the enjoyment of the game. Careful though… it’s rated M for Mature.

The PlayStation 3 (like the Xbox 360) does have an image of being only for older gamers, but there are several family-friendly titles out there for you to put on your radar screen. Let’s review two of them…

The first of these would the fantastic platforming action of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. The PS3′s premier platforming game has been critically acclaimed as the best in the series so far and boasts all the usual things you get from a PS3 titles – such as HD graphics and high presentation values. But, thankfully, it also manages to be a game nearly all ages can enjoy. The game follows the exploits of Ratchet a Lombax mechanic and his trusty robot sidekick Clank. The game features crazy weaponry a good sense of humor and great level design, all things which have become a hallmark of the series.

For this PS3 iteration the game has, of course, had the expected update in the looks department, but also uses the capacity of the PS3s Blue-Ray disc drive to create bigger environments and stunning locales. At the heart of the matter the game is fun in it’s truest sense and should appeal to everyone.

One of the most anticipated games for the PS3 and generally any console has been Little Big Planet (LBP). The game is on first glance could be shrugged off as a nice looking and cute two dimensional platformer but the game’s real selling point is the fact that it’s basically a huge sandbox to play in.

Players are given total freedom to create levels and even whole game’s if they like using LBP’s special “rope and pulley” building mechanic. Basically anything sort of thing, from cars to calculators can be created using ropes, string, wood and cogs. Of course to create complicated things, it will take a lot of time and some planning, however if you just want a fun game to play about with and help bring out your kids creativity you could do no better. You only need to take a look on YouTube to see the huge amount of things already created by other players if you need any inspiration.

If the variety of player made ideas on both YouTube and the PSN don’t help you think of anything to make LBP also comes with a full single player game where you take control of Sackboy, the game’s main character and what may become the PS3′s new mascot in time, to run through a series of unique and really special platforming levels. The most amazing thing about the single player game, is that every level has been crafted using the game’s editor itself, with only certain complicated things being independently made by the developers.

The true scope for fun and creativity is overwhelming and I’m sure any family would have a great time spending hours creating and playing on all sorts of different levels and contraptions. A sure thing if ever there was one.