The games that will define PlayStation 3

WARHAWK

What is it?
Warhawk's checkered past has left many confused, but at the moment it looks like it'll be a multiplayer-only online game, with a mix of footsoldier, tank and aircraft combat.

Why should you care?
PS2 veterans should recall Twisted Metal: Black Online, a game purely designed for multiplayer blast-athons. If you remember it as a freebie, sent out when you bought a PS2 Online Adaptor, that you then ignored, you missed out on what was arguably one of the PS2's most enjoyable online games.

There's little real info on Warhawk's gameplay, besides it being a no-holds-barred shooting match, but we're of the opinion that it'll be PS3's answer toTwisted Metal - in other words, it's going to be a chaotic, explosively fun mess of deathmatch action.

With such a defined focus, Warhawk should provide PS Network's first must-have asset, and put Sony's online service through its paces as thousands of gamers log on to play.

When can you play it?
Sony can't seem to decide if Warhawk will be Network distributed or available on disc - but, for our part, we're hoping it'll be sent out as a free welcome present, just like Twisted Metal. Or, at least, appear for a budget price. Expect a release this year.

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.