Editorials December 29, 2011
Kenny's Thoughts: After Christmas Shopping!
Written By: Kenneth Seward Jr.
Date: 12/29/2011
It’s that time of the year again. You know…the time when you thank God grandma gave you a gift receipt for that horrible argyle sweater she got you for Christmas. If you’re a gamer, the main thing on your mind will be what games I could get after returning said sweater. What…don’t look at me that way! We’ve all done it once or twice. Besides, Grandma knew we were a gamer and that we have more sweaters than we could possibly wear. With that being said, I am sure you'd want to know what titles you could pick up during your “after” Holiday’s shopping. Well, I wanted to help in that endeavor by talking about some titles that need to be purchased. Warning, this list is made up of games that I have had some experience with. If one of your favorite titles has a sequel that doesn’t make the cut, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pick it up. Also, a lot of early titles will be missing due to the fact that most people would have bought them already. While you can buy LBP 2, Dead Space 2, ect. at cheaper prices now, we are focusing more on the newer titles (with a few exceptions based on the type of game). Well, don’t just sit there…read on!
The Obvious: (This list features the no-brainer titles released this year.)
• Batman: Arkham City (Rated T) multi-console – The best licensed game ever!
• Saints Row: The Third (Rate M) multi-console – If you love your sandbox title with crazy humor, over the top action, and fancy co-op, this is for you!
• The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Rated M) multi-console – One of the best Action RPG’s around!
• Dance Central 2 (Rated T) Xbox 360 – You can’t find a better game that allows you to wiggle your hips to a beat!
• Forza Motorsport 4 (Rated E) Xbox 360 – Awesome racing title that rivals Gran Turismo 5!
• NHL 12 (Rated E) multi-console – The best (and only) offering for great NHL gameplay!
• NBA 2K12 (Rated E) multi-console – Your only NBA option!
• Gears of War 3 (Rated M) Xbox 360 – Everything about this sequel screams “improved”. You’ll be hard pressed to find a better action title…with chainsaw bayonets!
• Dead Island (Rated M) multi-console – Are you pissed that RE doesn’t feature zombies anymore? Want to play one of the first real survival horror titles in a long time? Well, here you go!
• Mortal Kombat (Rated M) multi-console – A great comeback for a fighting series. Also, you don’t have to buy a new game to get its updates and new characters!
• Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (Rated T) multi-console – Even though we feel this is a rip…um…not the greatest deal fighting fans will find (all of the extra content could have been DLC), it’s still a decent fighter!
• Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters (Rated E) multi-console – Best Golf game that doesn’t feature cute avatars or power-ups. No golf clubs were swung at moving cars either…what, too soon?
• DC Universe Online (Rated T) PS3/PC – We know this title is old. However, Sony’s decision to make it Free-to-Play makes it one of the best titles you never bought for the PS3!
• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition (Rated M) Xbox 360 – One of the best re-releases of the year…with TRUE HD graphics!
• The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Rated E10) Wii – Possibly the best Legend of Zelda ever? Nuff said!
• Super Mario 3D Land (Rated E) 3DS – Possible the best/only reason to own a 3DS right now!
• Dark Souls (Rated M) multi-console – Super hard, yet rewarding action adventure/hack and slash/RPG gameplay. Better than Demon Souls. Nothing like it really!
• Uncharted 3 (Rated T) PS3 – One of the main reasons the PS3 is selling. Naughty Dog knows how to make an action title!
• Infamous 2 (Rated T) PS3 – A nice follow up to a good title.
• Call of Duty: MW3 (Rated M) multi-console – If your into FPS, you probably love/hate this series. Still, defiantly a title to watch out for!
• Battlefield 3 (Rated M) multi-console – Same as MW3!
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Rated M) – A good RPG/FPS from a classic series.
• Assassin’s Creed: Revelations (Rate M) multi-console – It’s one of Ubisoft’s biggest franchises for a reason!
• Metal Gear Solid HD Collection (Rated M) multi-console – It’s Metal Gear…nuff said!
• FIFA 12 (Rated E) multi-console – One of the best resources for Soccer!
• WWE 12 (Rated T) multi-console – Same as FIFA (only wrestling).
• Bastion (Rated E10) Xbox 360/PC – Awesome digital title with awesome graphics, awesome gameplay, and awesome story! Did we mention it’s awesome?
• Resistance 3 (Rated M) PS3 – Great conclusion to an awesome series!
• RAGE (Rated M) multi-console – id knows how to make a shooter. Even if it wasn’t what you thought it would be, you should at least experience RAGE!
• NCAA Football 12 (Rated E) multi-console – One of the best football games around.
Slept on Hits: (These are the titles you might have missed…shame on you!)
• Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster (Rated E) Xbox 360 – One of the best family friendly Kinect games. If you don’t have kids yet, buy it. Save it for when you have them!
• King of Fighters XIII (Rated T) multi-console – SNK fans already know that this title should be among the bigger releases in the fighting genre!
• Dungeon Defenders (Rated E) Xbox 360/PC – One of the best digitally released titles…period!
• Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken (Rated M) PS3/PC – Decent platformer with an awesome soundtrack, cool graphics, and a good sense of humor!
• Back to the Future: The Game (Rated T) multi-console – Awesome licensed title that features Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd!
• SkyDrift (Rated E) multi-console – Cool racing game in the vein of titles like Wipeout.
• Rochard (Rated T) PS3 – Wait…another good platformer. Who Knew!
• Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (Rated T) multi-console – Mindless arcade shooting fun. Yes please!
• Rayman Origins (Rated E) multi-console – Finally, Rayman has come back to his platforming roots. This title is packed with 60 levels, 4 player co-op, great music, awesome graphics, unlockable characters, epic boss fights, and more. Get this game!
• Bloodrayne: Betrayal (Rated M) multi-console – Looking for a tough platformer that doesn’t involve the Blue Bomber…look no further!
• Catherine (Rated M) multi-console – This is defiantly a unique title. It features tough puzzle/platforming gameplay along side a mysterious story.
• Dead Block (Rated T) multi-console – This is a fun, inexpensive, zombie title. Get it!
• Puzzle Agent 2 (N/A) PC – A good follow up to this hit series from Telltale!
• Guardian Heroes (Rated T) – A classic title comes to XBLA with new features? And a Beat’em up no doubt. Yup, you should buy it!
• Orcs Must Die (Rated M) multi-console – A great tower defense/action hybrid!
• Serious Sam Double D (Rated M) PC – Serious Sam would be proud of this Indie interpretation!
• Trine 2 (Rated E) multi-console – One of the best games released this year. Also, one of the best looking titles…period!
• Serious Sam 3: BFE (Rated M) PC – Not stop, old school, FPS fun! Noobs will die…a lot. Vet’s will have a blast (literally)!
There are more titles out there that should be bought by gamers. Unfortunately, I haven’t played everything to know whether or not they should be purchased. That’s not to say I won’t be hitting up my local gaming spots going into the new year. Who knows, I may get to play them all before next year’s AAA titles start fighting for my cash. Happy Holidays Gamers!