TEH. BEST. GAMES. EVAR.
By Andr'e Swartley
Holiday Buyers' Guide to Video Games
Even if you aren't one of the many determined lunatics who rise at 4:00 a.m. on Black Friday to fight turkey comas and mall crowds, you probably still have some holiday purchases to make in the next month. And chances are, you have a gamer or two on your list this year. But what if you don't know Zelda from a Zippo? Fear not! This guide will help you out with a new entry every day for the next four days, beginning with Nintendo today, and proceeding alphabetically through PC, Playstation, and Xbox.
First, however, let's a get a few terms out of the way. This guide is organized by platform (the type of gaming rig you own) and genre of game. You probably know what platform you're shopping for, but the genres may need some explanation. Keep in mind there is a lot of crossover between all of these, but they're a good place to start.
Action Game-a mixture of combat, puzzles, and platforming (see below); a well-known example is Metroid
Adventure Game-travel around the world collecting items, talking to people, and solving puzzles; a well-known example is Grim Fandango
Fighting Game-two muscle-bound weirdos in skimpy clothing smack each other around until one of them passes out; a well-known example is Street Fighter
First-Person Shooter (FPS)-shoot everything that moves with very big guns; a well-known example is Halo
Platformer-the focus here is on running, jumping, and split-second timing; a well-known example is Super Mario Brothers
Puzzle Game-use your mind to solve a crossword, Sudoku, riddle, or visual enigma; a well-known example is Tetris
Racer-drive fast cars, boats, or spaceships on a linear track to beat other vehicles or the clock; a well-known example is Need for Speed
Roleplaying Game (RPG)-follow a single character through a very long story, building up skills, statistics, and wardrobe until you eventually save the world; a well-known example is Diablo
Simulator (Sim)-build a city, farm, or person from the ground up and keep it functioning for as long as possible; a well-known example is The Sims
Sports Game-football, basketball, ping pong, soccer, beach volleyball...if a sport exists in real life, there's a video game based on it; a well-known example is Madden
Strategy Game-command entire armies through long wars or campaigns; a well-known example is StarCraft
Survival Horror-one character running around a big, dark, scary house or town with only a flashlight or torch for protection; a well-known example is Silent Hill
Okay, now that we're all on the same page, let's see what Nintendo's two current consoles have to offer this year. The Nintendo DS is a small, handheld system with two touch-sensitive screens and a stylus (a plastic stick you use to poke at the screens), whereas the Wii plugs into your television and uses motion-sensitive controllers.
Nintendo DS
Professor Layton and the Curious Village-Puzzle Game, $29.99, rated E for Everyone
Layton is a character akin to Sherlock Homes, with a little boy named Luke filling the role of Dr. Watson. There is an overarching mystery to solve, but the meat of the game is actually hundreds of minigames-brief puzzles you can solve in a minute or two. The puzzles are varied, running the gamut from painfully easy to frustratingly difficult. But the story is fun, the characters are endearing, and there's already a sequel if one game isn't enough.
Scribblnauts-Puzzle/Platformer, $29.99, rated E for Everyone
Scribblenauts presents you with several hundred puzzles, and offers you over 20,000 nouns you can use to solve them. For example, you need to swim to the bottom of a pool, but there is a shark in the pool. What can you do? Type in "toaster," and one will appear. Toss the toaster into the water to stun the shark with electricity, and swim to your objective. The best part of Scribblenauts is that there's no single way to solve a puzzle. In fact, you must solve each level three times without repeating any words from the previous completions.
The World Ends with You-RPG, $19.99, rated T for Teen
Ever wished you could be a moody and fashionable Japanese teenager living in Tokyo? Well now you can, at least on your DS. A group of young people begin to receive cryptic instructions on their cell phones to complete increasingly complicated psychic tasks in Tokyo's Shibuya district. For much of the game, you play on both screens simultaneously, which will certainly test your reflexes until you get used to it.
Nintendo Wii
Okami-Adventure Game, $19.99, rated T for Teen
Okami Amaterasu is the goddess of creation. On earth she takes the shape of a white wolf and uses the tip of her tail as a calligraphy paintbrush. What Amaterasu draws becomes reality. Draw a bloom around a dead tree and the tree flowers into life at once. Draw a crescent in the sky and day becomes night. Three horizontal slashes bring a wind storm. You get the idea. The world of Okami is designed to look like ancient Japanese watercolor paintings. It begins as a dark and dead wasteland, and it's your job to fill it with life and beauty.
Trauma Center: New Blood-Puzzle Game, $29.99, rated T for Teen
The Trauma Center series began on DS, but fits comfortably on Wii. You spend the game using the Wii's motion controller to perform surgeries, remove tumors, mend bones, and suture large wounds. Every once in a while your skills as a surgeon won't be up to the patient's injury, so it's lucky that you are also some kind of medical magician who can perform healing spells.
Wii Sports Resort-Sports game, $49.99, rated E for Everyone
If you own a Wii, you almost certainly own Wii Sports. Resort comes packaged with the Wii Motion Plus add-on for your controller, which basically adds another gyroscope or two for more accurate motion capture. Resort also adds an entertaining fencing game, akin to Wii Sports's boxing, a much more realistic (and consequently difficult) golf simulator, archery, and an excellent ping pong game, to name a few.
Happy shopping, Nintendo owners! Be sure to check back tomorrow for the PC edition of the Icon's Holiday Buyers' Guide to Video Games.
