Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

The PS3 is sharing in the harvest of games heading into the holiday shopping season. Let’s dive right into them like they’re a big pile of autumn leaves!

Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (10/30) is one of the flagship franchises for the PlayStation brand and it lands on the PS3 with a bang, bringing an offline-only high-definition fun and action-packed platforming game from the folks at Insomniac games responsible for four successful Ratchet and Clank games on the PS2. PSM3 has already given this game a 93% review and previews to date have been very good.

Folklore (10/9) is a brand new IP from Sony and CheapyD’s comments on the most recent CAGcast on the Asian version indicate that the demo is an accurate measure of the game. I enjoyed the demo, think the game looks and sounds great, and has a unique setting. The PSM preview this month indicated there’s a mode where you can create and share dungeons — they must mean levels — online and they estimated about 20 hours of gameplay for the single player game.

Eye of Judgment (10/23) brings the PlayStation Eye camera to the console along with a solo, multiplayer, and online collectible card game from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. The buzz from most quarters about the game as it was shown during the most recent trade shows has been very positive. I’m more interested in the camera than the card game along with long-promised software that would let you make and share videos and photos but that software hasn’t been heard from in quite some time. If the Eye sells for not too much less than the game, I may just pick it up to get it overwith.

See the non-exclusive titles which are looking quite good as well after the jump.

Sega Rally Revo (10/9) has a nice demo available and the online play should be very good. I have to agree with some of the grumbling I’ve heard about this game on the PS3 in that until the Dual Shock 3 comes out I’ll feel like I’m missing something by not being able to feel the bumpy road surface, especially with the much-touted terrain deformation features of this game where cars wear ruts in the dirt roads, changing the racing experience in each game. Our friends with Xbox 360′s will have no such trouble.

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Game of the Year Edition (10/16) is a new version of Oblivion that includes all of the expansions released to date. I own the first release of the game and while I think it’s beautiful to look at and fun to play, I doubt I’ll finish everything that has to offer and want to pick up this new version at full price. However, you can take your old saved games with you, so if you rented or borrowed Oblivion and wanted to own it down the road, this is the version to get.

Conan (10/23) has slipped in under the radar as a melee brawler in the combo-focused vein of Ninja Gaiden and God of War but even heavier on the gore. Gamespot’s preview notes it is single player only, and on the upside it was demoed on the PS3 and features all of the same achievements in game that the 360 does with the obvious exception that the PS3 version’s achievements never leave the confines of the save game — sad, really. Recent comments on the GamersWithJobs podcast wonder if this one, even if very good, will be lost in the rising tide of fall games.

John Woo Presents Stranglehold (10/29) drops this month after a few delays and with the reviews on the PC and 360 versions being good overall, I’m hoping the final game looks better than the demo. The gunplay in the demo was fun, don’t get me wrong, and our own Joe liked the PC version more than he thought he would, but I think the PS3 version’s graphics in the demo looked a little worse than they should have. A collector’s edition of this game will come with a Blu-ray version of Hard Boiled.

Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (10/29) struts onstage ahead of newcomer Rock Band‘s November debut and is boasting a good song set. This is the first PS3-native version of the Guitar Hero franchise and should be welcomed by the PS2 version’s fans who have been frustrated with clunky ways (like the Pelican USB adapter) to use their PS2 guitar on the PS3.

The Simpsons Game is mentioned this far down on the list only because of how late in the month it launches. This one looks like it’ll be a great game for folks who love the TV show. With its excellent parodies of various video games built into the levels of the game itself capped off by Comic Book Guy pointing out every video game cliche as you experience it, it looks like it’ll give those of us who have been playing games for a while even more to laugh about. Offline only, it seems, but I’m pretty sure this will be the best Simpsons game to date.

Other titles:
NBA 2k8 (10/1)
NBA 08 (10/2)
NBA Live 08 (10/2)
FIFA Soccer 08 (10/8)
Juiced 2: Hot Import Nights (10/8)
Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground (10/15) – Would this be the ninth Tony Hawk game on PlayStation consoles?
Clive Barker’s Jericho (10/23) – An occult shooter to start up a new franchise.
Ratatouille (10/23) – The mouse cook movie tie-in finally shows up on the PS3.

And that’s not even covering the possible downloadable PSN titles coming soon to the system. Those could include the flOw expansion, Everyday Shooter, and Snakeball, among others.