Holiday Video Game Buying Guide

I figured that since Christmas is almost here and some of you are still buying presents for your gamers out there I would help you in deciding which title(s) to purchase this year. This year is especially a hard one for gamers because of the vast amount of different titles available. This segment is going to also be my reviews of the game but instead of a score I am going to tell who I recommend these games for, because these are all good games in their own right. For the sake of simplicity I'm going narrow my list down to only the titles that I played this season and would recommend ; Rock Band, Guitar Hero 3, Halo 3, Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, and The Orange Box. Enough messing around, lets get to business.

Rock Band

Developer: Harmonix

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Made for: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 3

Rock Band is the project of one of the co-developers of Guitar Hero. After Activision bought Red Octane and made the subsequent three Guitar Hero titles, Harmonix teamed up with MTV and EA to make a new rhythm game which incorporates drums and singing along with the guitar playing. The song list in Rock Band is slightly shorter than Guitar Hero3 but is just as good in my opinion. There is a mix of classic songs and relatively new songs. The main gameplay difference in the Career Mode is that you don't play a set of songs and move on to the next venue never to see the songs again unless you chose to. In the venues you play the available singles but also play multiple song sets. The sets are determined by the region you're in (songs by artists from the respective region), songs in the same genre, random songs, or you can make your own set list. You progress by earning fans and stars based on how well you perform. This is done in both the solo career and the multiplayer career. The main purchase point for Rock Band is the amount of downloadable content available. As of now Rock Band has six packs of three songs and six singles available with two more singles out this week. The songs in the packs are also available for individual download. This game is for your rhythm game fan or for someone who is looking for a game that you can play with your friends or family and all have a good time rocking out.

Guitar Hero 3

Developer: Red Octane

Publisher: Activision

Made for: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2,PC, Wii

Guitar Hero 3 is not the third game in the series but the fourth. The third is the Guitar Hero Rocks the 80's but it is more of an expansion pack sold at the price of a full game. Guitar Hero 3 is the same game as in the previous titles but with different songs and an added battle mode. The game plays exactly the same as before, which is not surprising seeing how popular the previous titles were, except for the Rocks the 80's game. Co-op Career Mode is available but with that Co-op Quick Play was discarded for some unknown reason. In Battle Mode, the one real difference from GH2, star power is replaced with attacks you can use to mess up your opponent. The attacks effect how the game plays for your opponent; examples of these attacks are a string breaking making a button unusable till you repeatedly tap it and raising the difficulty one level for your opponent. The song list is slightly longer than Rock Band when you factor in the unlockable songs, but GH3 is not as consistent as Rock Band when it comes to downloadable content. Rock Band has new packages available each week while GH3 has them occasionally. This game is meant for the die hard GH fans. It doesn't bring in as many people as Rock Band simply because it only allows for two people to play, but nevertheless it is a solid game.

Halo 3

Developer: Bungie

Publisher: Microsoft Games

Made for: Xbox 360

Halo 3 is the biggest and most profitable title this year if not all time. The game takes place where it left off in Halo 2 and quickly finishes the story. I say quickly because it only takes 8-10 hours to complete depending on the difficulty level and the skill of the player. The game plays exactly the same as Halo 2 with the exception of now adding deploy able equipment that can help change the tide of battle in favor of the player. Unlike Halo 2 you play as the Master Chief the whole time through, and if you choose to play the story in Co-op mode the other players play as The Arbiter or two other Elites. The game offers four person Co-op via Xbox Live (two on two consoles or one person on four different consoles) or two players on the same screen. The multiplayer plays exactly the same too, but Bungie added a replay option which lets you view your previous games played online from the perspective of any player in the match. On top of that there is a mode called Forge which is basically a tacked on level editor. You can't design your own levels but you can alter existing levels with weapon and vehicle spawn points. You can also create your own custom gametypes that can be shared through Xbox Live. I recommend this game for any hardcore fan of the series or your casual gamer. If you're looking for more in a first person shooter I suggest you try purchasing one of the other titles I will discuss.

Assasin's Creed

Developer: Ubisoft Montreal

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Made for: Xbox 360, Playstation 3

Assasin's Creed is the new free roaming action/adventure title from Ubisoft. It centers around a member of an elite society of Assassins who is redeeming himself for his wrongdoings by killing nine people who are helping perpetuate the Crusades. The game doesn't take a stance on the Crusades, rather your targets are of both European and Arabic descent. The game features the ability to climb and explore almost any type of terrain. As you progress through the game you earn new weapons and combat abilities. The gameplay in my opinion is slow because you are constantly riding your horse back to your home base on the top of a mountain getting quests, and then redoing the same chores to gain information regarding your targets. The cinematics are long and dry and you have no ability to skip them if you choose. Although the assassinations look cool I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone other than a fan of either the Hitman or Prince of Persia series. This game has been getting mixed reviews in the media and from what I've seen talking to people online and in person this is either a love or hate game.

The Orange Box

Developer: Valve Software

Publisher: Vivendi Games(PC) and Electronic Arts(Console)

Made for: PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3

The Orange Box is the best deal for gamers in game history. For the price of one game you get three titles and two expansion packs. Half Life 2 and its two expansions are excellent examples, if not the best, of cinematic gaming. You experience the entire story through the eyes of the protagonist and never cut to a cinematic. These are excellent titles on their own but bundling them together makes this a must buy. With the first part of The Orange Box out of the way lets talk about Team Fortress 2. This game is the sequel to the original Team Fortress Classic from 1997. The game is exceptionally well balanced giving each class a role in the battlefield. The main cause of concern for TF2 is its short list of maps and gametypes. On the other hand though, Team Fortress is made to be played competitively like its brother Counterstrike and by having fewer maps it is eaiser to make strategies for the maps available. Portal is the last part of The Orange Box and my favorite. It is also the shortest, only around three hours of gameplay if you are good at solving puzzles. The gameplay is that you advance through different puzzles by using a portal gun that allows you to make portals almost anywhere on the map. What I was not expecting when I played Portal was the genius writing involved in the dialogue and the amazingly hilarious ending credits. Portal has reviewed nothing but praise from what I have seen and I can only agree with those reviewers. The Orange Box is one of the highest rated titles of all time, with the total average of all review scores at 96%. With that said this is a definite buy this holiday season.

Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare

Developer: Infinity Ward

Publisher:Activision

Made for: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC

Call of Duty 4 is in my opinon the best first person shooter on the market today. The story is short, but unlike Halo 3 which was short and more of what we saw before , Call of Duty 4 is short but it is a roller coaster of a game which offers more than its predecessors. Call of Duty 4 leaves the World War 2 setting for modern times. The main conflict is between the Americans and British versus rouge warlords in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. The game presents the story amazingly well by using the loading screens to tell story elements and brief you on the mission ahead. The Call of Duty franchise is known for its cinematic gameplay and the fourth title is no exception. Unlike Halo 3 where you have short opening sequences and a very short line of sight, Call of Duty shows you an invading force of soldiers in helicopters that make Blackhawk down look like a tea party and all from the viewpoint of the player who is manning the machine gun of his helicopter. The action is fast paced from the moment you finish loading the level. One of my favorite scenes is when the player is part of an advancing American force and you can see all the helicopters around you and the American tanks and other vehicles below you. The multiplayer offers so much with all its different gametypes and its perk system. The perk system allows you to create custom classes and customize your weapons. You can be like me with a silenced sub-machine gun, have extended stamina for running, and have your bullets do more damage or you can choose to have higher health, carry the biggest machine gun, and have more grenades if you choose so. The perks are unlocked as you level up and this does create some balance issues with people who have unlocked everything going against people playing for the first time, but the matchmaking system does a good job of putting people with high levels on your team if you're new to the game. When you hit level 55 and have unlocked everything you have the option to enter prestige mode. What prestige mode does is reset you to level one but it gives you a little symbol next to your name showing people you already maxed out and want to give it another go around. You have the option of resetting your rank ten times, and each time you do so you receive a new symbol next to your name. This helps give the online play some legs because once you hit level 55there isn't much to play for other than for the sake of winning. Prestige is completely optional and if you choose to not do it and keep your unlocked weapons and perks you can do so. My final word on Call of Duty 4 is BUY IT!!! Buy it for yourself or for a friend or loved one. This is the best game of the year in my opinion and I can only hope that game developers look to this game as the way to do shooters from now on.

I hope this has been some help, keep in mind though that these are all MY opinions on the above games and in the end you should decide for yourself what game to buy if its for your or another person.