| The Panelists |
Jessica Chobot
The gorgeous Video Host and Blogger for IGN.com
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Jeff Rubin
Managing Editor and Host of Weekly Video Game Show "Bleep Bloop" on CollegeHumor.com
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Nick Chester Editor-in-Chief of hilarious gaming news and reviews blog Destructoid.com |
The Console to Buy This Holiday Season |
The type of next gen (although technically it is current gen) console you should buy this holiday season all depends on what type of gamers are in your household. For first-timers and little kids, I recommend the Nintendo Wii. Big time gamers with a taste for movies will enjoy the PS3 with the high quality built in Blu-ray player. For the straight-up dedicated gamer in your household, the Xbox 360 is the way to go. |
There's nothing exciting on the Wii horizon, so unless you're still enthralled by bowling you can probably rule out Nintendo. The majority of 360 and PS3 games are the same, so choosing between the two comes down a few exclusive titles. If you like Gran Turismo, Metal Gear Solid, or Little Big Planet grab a PS3. If you want Gears of War, Fable, or Halo, pick up a 360. |
Looking at Microsoft’s line-up of first- and third-party, coupled with their New Xbox Experience, I’d go with the Xbox 360. Plus, the price point is right; it’s hard to go wrong with the console right now. |
This Season's Must Buy Game  |
This year’s must own games are Fable 2, Fallout 3, Mirror’s Edge, Dead Space, Gears of War 2, Rock Band 2, LittleBigPLanet, Resistance 2 and, for those that haven’t picked it up yet, Grand Theft Auto 4. My wallet has already taken a heavy beating this holiday season! |
Braid, which you can download from Xbox Live Arcade, really pushes the limits of what a videogame can do. It's short, but if you take games seriously you simply must experience it. You will feel smarter for playing it. |
Without question, I think any gamer with a pulse needs to have Fallout 3 in their collection. With hours and hours worth of gameplay and exploding heads, you’d be foolish to pass. |
This Season's Must Have Sports Game  |
NHL 2009. GO WINGS! |
I have to abstain here, not my area of expertise. Unless.... is Bomberman a sport? |
Electronic Arts nailed their hockey game this year with NHL 09, because Destructoid’s sports editor will not stop talking about the game’s ambitious online modes that allow you to form teams with up to 50 players. Woah. |
This Season's Must Buy Shooter Game  |
A sure fire win for this season’s shooter must-have goes to Resistance 2. |
If you like shooters, you're in luck - no other genre has as many great games. There's lots of great choices no matter what system you own but perhaps no game has more chainsawing-monsters-in-half-vertically than Gears of War 2. |
It’s a tough call this holiday, but I’ll take a chance and say the intense, four-player cooperative zombie slaughtering action of Left 4 Dead. Hint: Don’t worry about aiming for their heads ... just shoot at them until they stop moving. |
This Season's Must Own Action Game |
One of my personal faves for this upcoming holiday season is the action-RPG, Fallout 3. This is one of those games where you sit down and the next thing you know, eight hours has gone by. |
Dead Space is probably the best horror game ever made that doesn't rhyme with President Weavil. Your weapons essentially fire shapes which you use to take aliens apart limb by limb. |
Dead Space should fill both your action and pants-peeing quota. Killer guns, scary monsters that you can dismember with well-placed shotgun blasts, and good gameplay variety make it game you’re going to want to check out this holiday. |
This Season's Must Buy Music Game  |
This year’s music rhythm game to snag is Rock Band 2. Simply because Siouxsie and the Banshees are now available for it via download (they’re my favorite band OF ALL TIME). |
The Guitar Hero World Tour/Rock Band 2 arms race has led to a hardware stalemate, so it comes down to soundtracks. Guitar Hero has the better selection out of the box, but Rock Band has a much deeper store. It's more fun to buy individual songs that you choose weekly than a new game annually, making Rock Band 2 the superior product.
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Guitar Hero might be tempting to some, simple based on the brand alone, but you can’t ignore Rock Band 2’s ridiculous library of available songs – you’re looking at close to 500 by year’s end. If you can’t find songs you like in the game, you’re brain dead or tone deaf. |
This Season's Must Have Wii Game |
I’m still holding out for Animales de la Muerte to be given a release date. However, if you simply HAVE to buy something for the holidays that is Wii related, then Wii Fit is a strong choice. Anything that tricks you into thinking working out is fun gets an automatic two thumbs up! |
There's no Marios or Zeldas this year, but Boom Blox is a great Wii game that really went unnoticed. It's got the "anyone can play!" attitude of Wii Sports or Wii Music, but with a great deal more depth. |
There’s a must have Wii game this holiday season? |
This Season's Must Buy Xbox 360 Game  |
Gears of War 2 is going to be a mega-hit for the 360 this year. Rawr. |
Gears of War was the first must-have 360 exclusive title, and so Gears of War 2 is Microsoft's heaviest hitter this Winter. |
Sticking with an exclusive, Gears of War 2 is an obvious choice. All the marketing speak – the bigger, badder, more bad ass – it’s true. Plus, if you own an Xbox 360, chances are you like shooting things. |
This Season's Must Buy PS3 Title |
If you’ve got a PS3 and can only buy one title this holiday, let it be Resistance 2. You will not be disappointed. |
LittleBigPlanet is a fun game out of the box, and as people across the world get better at playing with the deep creation tools. |
Insomniac’s Resistance 2 is out of control, with 60-player online multiplayer, 8-player cooperative modes, and a killer single-player campaign. |
The Kid's Game that You Will Still Enjoy  |
If your kids hog all the systems and buy games too young for you to deal with, a great title which will appeal to both children and adults is Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS. |
Lego Batman, Lego Indiana Jones, and Lego Star Wars are all great games. Just pick the one with your favorite characters. You might actually need a kid who thinks in videogame logic to get past a few sticky puzzles.
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Activision’s Kung-Fu Panda was surprisingly good. Think Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden II but without all of the violence, less revealing cleavage, and a spot-on Jack Black impersonator. You know what, maybe you should just play Ninja Gaiden II. |
This Season's Game to Buy Your Girlfriend  |
I find that MySims Kingdom is a tough title to resist. Its cuteness is off the charts! Plus, since it’s more about having your character out adventuring and socializing within the Sims world, rather than a lot of strategizing and gore that one finds in more hard-core titles, this game proves itself to be perfect for girls that are just beginning to get their feet wet within the videogame scene. |
A friend who knows they don't play games. |
Why would you buy a game for a girl who doesn’t play games? That’s like buying socks for someone who doesn’t have feet, or a comb for someone with no hair. |
The Older Game Still Worth Buying this Season  |
Hands down, an older title that can hold its own against the current games market is Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. |
Grand Theft Auto IV is a monumental achievement that deserves to be explored. Most people who bought it months ago still haven't seen half of it, and even if they have developer Rockstar will be dropping some new downloadable missions soon. |
If the person you’re giving a gift to wants to see what the PlayStation 3 hardware can do, pick them up a copy of Metal Gear Solid 4. Just make sure they like watching games as much as playing them. |
This Season's Handheld System to Buy |
In my opinion, you still can’t go wrong with the Nintendo DS. The available selection of games for it is phenomenal. There truly is something for everyone within their lineup. |
There's a new version of the DS (with two touch screens and a camera) coming out soon, so I wouldn't buy the soon-to-be-old model right now.
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Definitely a Nintendo DS. While the PSP has a few standout titles slated for next year (the third-person shooter Resistance Retribution, for instance), the release list is looking mighty slim. The DS on the other hand is going strong, and there’s a pretty wide range of games to choose from. |
This Season's Must Buy Portable Game  |
I’m going to choose a quirky Nintendo DS game for this one: Ninjatown. For no other reason that it involves a town full of ninjas and ninjas are cool. |
Despite a title so dorky I wouldn't say it outloud, "PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the Warlods" is this and every year's must buy portable game. It's a turbo-charged Bejeweled with RPG stats and leveling up, making it perfect for both short bursts and long-term airplane flights. It's why they invented portable systems. |
Nintendo is still the king with the Nintendo DS. Sure, looking at a wall full of DS games might turn off some men (lots of bright colors, multiple games where you pet and/or raise kittens), but there’s some solid, fun software that’s great for portable gaming. |