Opinion: The Top 5 Games That Define PlayStation

A nostalgic tour through five incredible PlayStation games ahead of the PS4's reveal next week...
It's been quite a ride. No matter what your preference of console, there's no beating around the fact that Sony have always held a prized place in the realms of video gaming, consistently bringing us a series of powerful and innovative pieces of hardware that offered their own strengths and merits to stand up as ambitious technological feats within the industry.

Next week, we'll see for sure where the PlayStation's future lies, with the PS4 console looking all-but-certain now that teasers involving the PSOne and PS2 are starting to be released. Before then, though, I wanted to look back at five games that, for me, have defined the time that I've spent with the three main PlayStation consoles and their portable derivatives. Some of my choices will, I'm sure, be unexpected, as will be the case when I run a similar article ahead of the Xbox 720's reveal, yet they're all nostalgic reminders for this writer of the thrills and shocks that Sony helped produce for this gamer in years gone by. Here's my guide to the Top 5 Games That Define PlayStation...
1. HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE (2001, PSOne)- Has it really been twelve years since I wandered into Comet, unable to find the cash to buy a shiny new PS2 title for my PlayStation 2, and so heading for the PSOne aisle and picking up the video game version of the magical film that I had so adored? It appears so, yet that startling realization doesn't hamper my memories of this little gem one bit- the idea of playing through the Boy Who Lived's first year at Hogwarts was just as magical as the novel and film themselves to my 6-year old self, and in spite of the glitches, the quirky yet dated visuals and the haphazard expanded storyline, this, my first PSOne game, seemed to fully live up to its promise. One of the rare instances where the magic really did seem to be in my living room, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone remains a defining highlight simply because it was the first PlayStation game that I ever owned.
2. GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS (2004, PS2)- The Grand Theft Auto franchise really has gone from strength to strength, the huge anticipation for this September's GTA V standing testament to that fact. Nevertheless, we must recall that it was with San Andreas that the true foundations of the franchise were built, moreso than any of the top-down shooters, thanks to an incredible open-world, brilliant satire throughout its layered narrative, and best of all a fantastically refined gameplay engine that gave a sense of freedom the likes of which couldn't be found anywhere else in the video gaming industry. Well, until Grand Theft Auto IV came along, that is!
3. KINGDOM HEARTS II (2006, PS2)- Following up on one of the biggest breakout successes of recent times with Kingdom Hearts II couldn't have been an 'easy' prospect for Disney Interactive and Square Enix. Yet what makes this superb sequel such a hit is that it doesn't let the original game's flaws (poor pacing, weak combat and platforming) weigh it down, instead refining upon each weakness of its predecessor and ultimately coming out with a brilliant storyline that most films to this day would be completely jealous of missing out on. The meshing of Disney and Final Fantasy elements into one core narrative was impressive enough, let alone that this game managed to pay homage to so many classic animated movies while also pushing forward some of the greatest boss battles of all time. Now, teams, where's our HD Collection and Kingdom Hearts III? The PS4 and 720 will be waiting...
4. PURSUIT FORCE: EXTREME JUSTICE (2007, PSP)- Perhaps a little bit more of an 'indie' choice here, as just about any release on the little-known PlayStation Portable would have been. Admittedly, I ended up traded in my PSP for a Nintendo DS when Mario Kart reared its mushroom-shaped head too. However, before that, I played Pursuit Force: Extreme Justice, a game that took a few notable cues from Just Cause and ran with them, featuring over-the-top car jumping mechanics and a blistering sense of action that still rivals films like The Expendables and A Good Day To Die Hard even today. Once again, this was representative of the kind of unique innovation present at Sony Interactive Entertainment's studios, a success which I'm sure we'll see replicated in some form when the PlayStation 4 comes along.
5. UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES (2009, PS3)- My final choice may seem like a more obvious one, given that Uncharted 2 scooped up various Game Of The Year awards four years back. Nevertheless, regardless of the hype, this is simply a fantastic movie-like experience. I still reckon that one playthrough is about as much as this blazing sequel can really offer you, so there's little major replay value, and yet what a first playthrough that is for fans. The visuals are pretty much photo-realistic, the storyline a great action romp, and above all the gameplay is amongst the most smooth and inventive we've ever seen in any video game, full stop. Uncharted 2 certainly has its shortcomings, yet that's true of just about any video game on the market whatsoever- what makes it a defining moment for PlayStation is that it excels in spite of any errors or miscalculations, and flourishes as an iconic adventure as a result of such startling ambition. Roll on the future!