Anyway, IGN.com is this website I work for, and it’s the Internet’s No. 1 source for video game news, previews, reviews and videos. My Podcast Beyond cohost Colin Moriarty and I sat down not too long ago, and hashed out the 25 PSN games we’d recommend to folks with a PS3. Gameplay, graphics, story – it all factored in here. But there’s something different about this iteration of the list.

Namely: this is the last year we’re going to make it.

We’re not done covering PlayStation Network, we’re not saying nothing’s coming out this year – we’re saying that PSN games are so good that there’s no point in treating them differently. There’s no point in not letting them compete with the biggest boxed games. Journey was IGN’s 2012 Game of the Year; clearly, these titles are good enough to just be considered “PlayStation 3 games.” Plus, it goes the other way; PS3 games are available digitally now on PSN, so what’s the point in differentiating? Great games are great games.

So, this list is it. The best PSN games you can possibly buy. Did your favorites make the cut? Click on over, read the article, and leave an insightful comment. If you do, you’re entered to win a PSN voucher code that will get you all 25 games. That’s right: go comment on the IGN article and you have a chance at walking away with all 25 PSN games.

I am also told that leaving a comment on this here PlayStation.Blog post before 11:59pm Pacific Time tonight will enter you in a random drawing to score the same 25 PSN games. Not bad, right? The giveaway has ended and the winner has been contacted!

Beyond!

In that moment, an idea was born.

A few days later, Greg asked if I was interested in getting a bunch of Peace Walker fans together to tackle the hardest levels – the ones that are best handled cooperatively. Sounded good to me. As we began to plan it, we realized that such a group is already going to assemble… next week at Penny Arcade Expo.

So here we are, doing this thing, and you’re invited. We’re renting out Top Pot Donuts in downtown Seattle next Thursday evening and will fill it with new and upcoming PSP games such as Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Valkyria Chronicles II, Split/Second, and God of War: Ghost of Sparta.

Also, we have ordered 34 dozen donuts. They’re tasty. Very tasty.

While it’ll no doubt be fun to try out those games, we also strongly encourage you to bring your own PSP for friendly competitive or cooperative matches in games like Hot Shots Tennis, SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3, and, of course, MGS: Peace Walker. We’ll even lend you a copy if you wanna jump in but don’t already have one.

Are you sold on this yet? Wait, there’s more!

As you sample the games, we’ll be keeping track of the best players, and the top performers will get a special behind-the-scenes tour of our media-only area, where you’ll be able to check out games that won’t be on the show floor like inFAMOUS 2 and the recently announced Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One.

And every attendee will walk out with a voucher to download the demo for God of War: Ghost of Sparta – before anyone else gets to play it. Please tell me this is reason enough to attend.

Still want more? Ok, I’ll give: Greg Miller will autograph your bare chest if you ask politely.

Here’s what you need to know:

• Thursday, September 2, 2010
• Top Pot Donuts (2124 5th Ave., 
Seattle, WA 98121)


• Time: 7:30 – 9:30 p.m.
• RSVP here

RSVP today, and don’t forget to bring your appetite for fried dough – we’ve got 408 donuts and we’re going to make Rey eat any leftovers.

Here at SCEA, we contributed a number of rare, collectable items to the cause, including a bad-ass Ratchet vinyl figure set, a signed God of War Collection and Guide, a signed Infamous Bundle, and the ever popular (and rare) UNCHARTED 2 Fortune Hunter’s Edition.

Even if you don’t win any of those items, you can always bid on “Hayden Panettiere’s autographed bed sheets.” Seriously. It’s for a good cause!

Check out the IGN for Haiti info page to find out more, or donate now. Let it never be said that we gamers don’t look up from their monitors to take note of the world around us. Help us help IGN make a difference.