The 10th Hour 10.17.08: Top 10 Holiday Season Games

Posted by Derek Robbins on 10.17.2008

We're at that special time of year. The stores get more crowded and quality games start coming out of the wood work. Which games should you spend your money on though? Never to fear, 411's Derek Robbins breaks down the top 10 games of this holiday season!

Hello and welcome to the 10th hour! As always, there are a couple of things that I would like to touch on before I get started.

-Thanks to Rod Oracheski for filling in for me last week. I needed the time off and the dude stepped in for me. So let's see…who do I want to do it next? Jordan Williams or Theo Fraser from the top of my head. Williams likes the Big Bang Theory so that's some bonus points. Really…why is that show so critically panned? I think it's good.

-Cubs suck.

-So I finished my latest anime series, Cromartie High School. I have to say that it pretty much the best anime ever. It's like if you animated Seinfeld, which is the best television show of all time (inarguable), and took out Elaine. You really can't lose. If you're in the mood for some humor, check it out. I was quite upset that I was late to the party. Plus, it has Freddie Mercury. Freddy Mercury

-Mother 3? What's that? There's a fan translation coming out for it this week probably? Oh, that's nice…but who would play a mom simulator? Seems boring, just get a real kid.

Well let's see…Rod manned up and responded to comments that weren't addressed to him…will I do the same? No. I'm not a man, just a miserable pile of secrets. I will respond to one guy who seemed to be addressing me personally though (and no, not you Cardinal fan!)

RavenTazECW gets the lone comments spotlight this week.

Oooh, I wanna play too!

Must
End
The
Season!

Solid list, I have no qualms about what's on there or the order. I'm sure there are a ton of games I haven't played that have awesome intros as well. I loved the Fallout games and I'm hoping Fallout 3 isn't too powerful for my PC.

I'll add a few more intros in that I always liked:

Here's one that Drewek would not approve of. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon, although I wished for better endings and the fatality system pissed me off, had an awesome intro that featured many of its biggest characters, all brawling at once. Definitely got me in the mood for some ass kicking.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62ZNww4H8E8
I was rooting for Shang Tsung to kill Liu Kang again.

One of my favorite hockey games ever and my only PC hockey game, NHL 2000, also had one of the best intros for a sports game. Definitely helped pump me up for the violence that was to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jACLnezfbfk
Love the Nashville Predator that got checked along the bench and his ass just glided across it like a skateboarder for 15 feet or so.

After Drewek got pissed off at me for my first suggestion, and probably doesn't care for the second one, I'll make it up to him with FFIX's intro. This intro was much more for the looks than really telling the story of how the game will get underway, but I had always liked the cinematic movies of FFIX.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBw_TX63TZQ

And lastly, a wrestling game that gives me fond memories. Sure, the control scheme sucked, and I basically just used CAW's because it would be a pain in the ass to memorize all of the crazy combos of the WWF wrestlers, but WWF Attitude had one of the best wrestling career modes ever. I wish they kept this career mode going in the new games. I don't need the lousy storytelling with the wrestlers saying their own lines, I just want long career modes that make me feel like I'm moving up in the ranks. Here's the video for the WWF Attitude intro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2lDioC2L7I

Wow, you spelled the Mets! Though to be honest, at least your team was nice enough to miss the playoffs via collapse as opposed to my team who made it to the playoffs and figured they were now playing golf. Sorry guys, the lowest score won't net you a win here. OH WELL.

As for the Mortal Kombat introduction…it looks interesting at the very least. I would tell you that, you know, MK sucks (because it does)…but like I know that I loved Soul Calibur 4's intro and I figure if you're a fan of the series, Mortal Kombat: Armageddon probably was worthy of your acclaim…at least as far as intros are concerned. There, I praised Mortal Kombat? Are you happy? Hurgh.

NHL man…is that really one of the best? I figure the only sports game that would have had a shot at my list would be the Gamecube Mario Baseball game. It got me pumped to play baseball. Of course, I approach that game much like Smash Bros Melee tournament players attack that game. I choose the one level with no gimmicks that requires actual skill (in this case Mario Stadium) and only play that one. To be fair, the game degenerates to pure luck if you play on other levels.

FF IX's intro was beautiful, and you have no successfully appealed to my human side. I had one? Yes, apparently, it surprises me as well. I recently started FF IX again and thought the ending was simply breath taking .Sadly, I quickly quit due to the knowledge that the Mother 3 translation could be out any day now…and an immediate replay of Earthbound "for the hell of it" was needed. I don't know, I figure 12-something times isn't enough. Needed to go for the thirteen!

The Attitude Intro looks interesting…and speaking of career modes SvR 2009's appears to be more like Smackdown 2. You can challenge for EVERY belt, not just the heavyweight title. So it should be interesting. I wonder if you'd like that better than the…Road to Wrestlemania mode?

Well, okay, now that the one comment is out of the way let's move on to the actual list.



Top-10 games for this holiday season

This week I'll break down which games I think are the best, or at the very least most interesting, of this holiday season. I say "most interesting" because one of the games on this list may not be good…at all…but may be worth checking out to see how much of a mess said company made out of it. So what are the rules for this list? The game can't be out yet. So the release has to be after October 17th 2008 (In America). I'm also not including games that are new to a console but are considered a port from another console. This is primarily for Bioshock, Chrono Trigger DS, Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix (Assuming it's actually released this year) and Eternal Sonata. Just to re-iterate, the release date has to be after October 17th. Alright, let's go!

Just so you guys know: I am not looking forward to EITHER Gears 2. So before you say: "Gears 2????"…it's just not gonna be there.

Also, hurr, Mother 3 English translation doesn't count. That would probably be my number one.

10-) Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts n' Bolts (360) - Boy, it's hard to be optimistic towards this game. I mean, even for me, the self-described Captain Optimistic. On the Nintendo 64 Banjo-Kazooie totally owned my life. It was my favorite platformer of all time for a long while, at least until I played the Prince of Persia, Sands of Time. Kazooie and Tooie were the epitome of platforming on the N64 and when I heard that there was going to be a third Banjo game I was really excited. Could I take yet another nostalgic trip through childhood locales? Would this be a successful revive?

The answer? No. This isn't Banjo Kazooie as some of you will remember it. Gone is the emphasis on platforming. Remember the days when you had to collect music notes and hand them to bottles for power ups? That's gone. Nope! Now you go around and find parts to your vehicle, upgrade that, and roll around the environment. All the elements that made Banjo-Kazooie a serviceable platformer are gone. It by all means appears to be just another soul-less vehicular combat game. Even your combat moves are gone, Banjo and Kazooie are practically useless outside of your vehicles. Gruntilda apparently "took away" your move set. Yeah, okay, did she also take away Banjo's soul?

Why did Rare decide to go with such a drastic change? There are several possibilities, but it's my opinion that they decided to try to appeal to a broader audience. The "in" thing now seems to be more focused on shooting, vehicles, and vehicles that can shoot…so if you can garner a few extra people by turning your beloved platformer into a…much ridiculed vehicular shooter why not do that? Obviously it's a bit of a shift from Banjo's appeal as a "kinda hardcore platformer", but it's appealing to some people, dammit!

So, if it's garnering so many complaints…why is it on this list? The answer is simple. As much as I want to hop on the bandwagon and proclaim this game to be sacrilege to the highest degree I just can't. I have too much faith in Banjo as a brand and believe that RARE wouldn't just frivolously attach his name to something that could be other-wise described as shovelware. Is it a spit in the face to longtime fans of the series? You bet'cha. It's ridiculous that Kazooie is pretty much delegated to swinging a wrench around. It's stupid that all the platforming elements are gone…The thing is, I haven't played the game yet. Different isn't always a bad thing! I mean, I can just go back to my N64 and play Banjo-Kazooie or Tooie again if I so desired to. It's something different with the same lovable characters so it at least has a chance, right?

This is a bit of a biased choice. Most other franchises try to pull off shit like this…it doesn't even sniff this list, but I have faith in Banjo. I want to believe, so I will, perhaps blindly…follow RARE into the abyss. The company is a shell of what it used to be, but perhaps that shell has one more use…here's hoping. Although videos like this…



Make it hard to believe. Whatever, I'm turning my blinders on and praying that this won't end up being a pile of shit. That doesn't even look fun though! Ugh. Well on the bright side if you reserve this…questionable title you'll get Banjo Kazooie from X-Box LIVE Arcade with Stop n' Swap features. Yay!

- Nobody said it would be pretty.

9-) Farcry 2 (PC/PS3/360) - It seems that I keep forgetting that Farcry 2 isn't exactly…far away. It seems to get buried in the hype surrounding games like Fallout 3 and Fable 2 but this one is worthy of acclaim as well. Farcry 2 claims to be a realistic, open-ended shooter with a billed gameplay time of 100+ hours. That's right 100+! When you're busy paying 60 of your hard-earned dollars for a game that you'll play for about five hours…Ubisoft has released a game that you pay the same amount for with 20x more gameplay hours. You're welcome!

As opposed to Farcry 1, this title is more realistic. You primarily maneuver around a war-torn fictional African Nation known as Mwanzo. Apparently the main character of the previous game, Jack Carver, won't be in the game at all. Does this mean that the game won't be related to the last game? I'm not so sure, but at least that guy is out of the picture. He was pretty lame for a lead character. In his stead you have the ability to control one of nine characters. Whoever you don't use will become NPCs that you can interact with.

Back on the realism front, Farcry 2 will force you to navigate around using a map and navigation system to get around. This seems kind of like…Metal Gear Solid 3-ish to me? On top of that, you'll also have to remove bullets from your body using a knife, which also seems very MGS 3-like. I'm not implying anything here, I'm just saying sometimes familiar territory can make a game experience all the better.

The player can also interact with the environment in this game. You have all sorts of African wildlife to deal with, all of which are herbivores because Ubisoft elected not to implement carnivores due to balancing fears. What if a carnivore hunted out a herbivore and then the carnivores had nothing left to eat so they just die out? Kind of a minor complaint, but it should still be interesting. You can also deal with various plant life. Like if you shoot out tree limbs…they can grow back later, which is pretty realistic. I mean, they don't just pop back in minutes which is cool.

Another neat thing about this game is the weather system. It kind of departs from the realism I mentioned earlier, but it's still pretty neat. When things are going well, the sun is shining, the sky is clear…things couldn't be better! But when you're in trouble? The sky gets dark, it's cloudy, and it's just horrid, horrid weather. It may not seem like all that much, but that atmosphere could create a unique experience.

Farcry 2, believe it or not, could be a SLEEPER game this year. That's how much it is over-looked, in my eyes at least. Well, don't over-look anymore. The game is due out in the states next week. Make sure to give it a try. Me? Recommend a shooter? World must be insane.



8-) Left 4 Dead (X-Box 360/PC) - Can you believe that about ten years ago Valve un-veiled a little game to the world called Half-Life? It seems shocking, but one of the most legendary games to come out for the PC is now…pretty much old. I mean, I was ELEVEN when that game came out. Now I feel old! Well, on the 10th Anniversary (in Europe at least), Valve will unveil their latest shooting game to the public, Left 4 Dead.

Left 4 Dead is a shooter that requires you play cooperatively. Your characters, known as the "survivors" live in a world where everybody else has been infected by some mysterious disease. For whatever reason your characters are immune to the disease so you're okay. Except for one thing – every one of the infected wants to kill you. Oh those zombie-like-creatures! Always trying to kill everything that isn't like them!

What do I mean you need to play cooperatively you ask? Why can't you just pick up your gun and Rambo everything like you apparently could in World War II? It's simple! You need your partners to survive, you're facing what is essentially an entire world and the only people you have to rely on are your three comrades. If you get knocked down, only they can lift you up…to carve through the hordes of infected, you need those guys! That's what makes this game so appealing to me. Instead of just going at it by yourself like you can in every FPS ever, you actually need to work as a cohesive unit. That's cool.

I also have to admit, the genre of "zombie" first person shooters is deliciously under-used. Hell, survival horror games where zombies are the primary focus are now kind of at a premium. Nothing is scarier than a group of "humans" hunting you down to feast on your flesh.

Apparently the ultimate goal of the game will be to defeat the five infected which have more power than the rest…so…the bosses? I wonder what kind of people the bosses were before they became infected? I wonder if there were people who voluntarily became infected? I suppose it's something I'll have to wait to find out, but luckily the wait isn't too long. Valve unloads another (should be) quality game in November and I just can't wait to try this baby over steam.



7-) Metal Slug 7 (DS) - Metal Slug is one of my favorite side-scrollers of all time. It just screams arcadey-fun. Metal Slugs 1-6 just screamed arcadey fun. While number six may have been a bit disappointing, it still had the charm that we have come to expect from the series. Plus, Fio. Lots and lots of Fio. So with Metal Slug 7 coming out, it's only natural that we be excited right?

This game plays a lot like the sixth Metal Slug in that each character you choose not only has their default weapon but they also have backup weapons you can easily switch to on the fly. These do not have infinite ammo, but it's a pretty handy system and much preferred over simply finding a weapon and totally losing the ability to switch to the weapon you switched from.

That's not where the similarities to six end though. The cast of characters are the exact same and they have the exact same abilities. Ralf can still take two hits before he dies, Fio still gets a little extra ammo, and Marco still packs that extra punch. Not much has changed, really.

So why pay for this game? Why pay for this game which has essentially the same features as the worst game in the series? The answer is simple! Now that Metal Slug Anthology is out, you probably own all of the Metal Slug games. You know what you're getting into, and unless you're a cruel, heartless man…you really enjoy the series. Why would you want to leave your collection incomplete? Do you really wanna go through life saying: "Well, I can play the first six Metal Slugs but Seven? Nah dude, can't play it. Didn't wanna pay thirty bucks because I thought it was going to be like 6." I didn't think so.

Another thing going for it is, I believe, that it's the first Nintendo DS Metal Slug title so for those of you who don't own PSPs this may be your first chance to actually play the game on the road. I don't need to explain to you how much fun a game like this is when you're stranded somewhere and have nothing to do for a while. It's a serious time waster that is worthy of your cash.

Having played this game, I can assure you that it's better than Metal Slug 6. Maybe it's the portability that makes it so – I didn't buy Anthology on the PSP so I was forced to sit still and take it all in – but I really enjoyed my time with the game and full-heartedly recommend this one to fans of the series. You can never get enough of Fio. Never.



6-) Mirror's Edge (PS3/360) - It's well known that I am not the biggest proponent of first-person games. A matter of fact, one of the things people get onto me about is the fact that I like to dislike games that are popular. No, I just dislike generic shooting I can play anywhere at anytime. (isn't it odd that three games that I have listed so far are from the first-person perspective?) What I like about Mirror's Edge is that it appears to be something different, a breath of fresh air in a relatively stagnant genre.

A lot of times with shooters, your limbs aren't visible. You are holding your gun with invisible hands, you move with invisible legs…Obviously people on the opposing team can see you, but can you? Nah. One of Mirror's Edge's most interesting features is that you are never disillusioned. You are indeed controlling a person. The reason why you can see these appendages is fairly obvious…your character can do various things, some of which you'd be more quick to associate with the Prince of Persia than a shooter. Your character can run alongside walls, slide under stuff, etc…

This is interesting because it can create a myriad of puzzles. Platforming puzzles! You need to learn when to do specific moves to get through certain obstacles. Like you'll see an environment terrain that you can't just run through and you'll have to actually think how to get through the area. That's right, think! Who got platformer in my shooter, because I think I like the mix.

It appears that the creators of the game agree with me. The game's producer Owen O'Brien had the following to say: "this is an action adventure. We're not positioning this as a shooter - the focus isn't on the gun, it's on the person." I really like that approach. It would certainly get me more compelled to play the game. Now that there is anything WRONG with simply shooting at things, but it's rather easy to get disconnected with what's going on. A matter of fact, O'Brien even said that combat is secondary. You're trying not to fight, there's even an achievement for not firing a single bullet! It's nice to know that this may not be an issue with Mirror's Edge. It just feels more personable!

On a quick tangent, have I mentioned that the game looks stylish? Because it looks fucking stylish.

The last first person title that the creators actively called an action-adventure, I think at least (and I can be wrong, often!), would be the Metroid Prime franchise. I think we all know how well that turned out. If EA, which looks to be having quite the year given their excellent Dead Space and their less-than-excellent but still popular Spore, can pull this one off right we could have a game that we remember for years.



5-) Fable 2 - The original Fable had to be one of the most disappointing games of all time. Peter Molyneux promised the world. We were supposed to use generations of families, we were supposed to have an experience that we could conceivably be playing to this day. So, what was the deal? I guess Peter forgot to tell us that apparently our "lifetime" is only 15-20 hours. I beat the original Fable, I did…and after I did, I never played it again. No replay value, the game just fell flat on its face.

So Fable 2 delivers several questions. Can this game do what its predecessor failed to do? Can it give us a game that will last for more than hours…but for perhaps months at a time? Well obviously, if you believe Molyneux this game will do just that…but we can't trust him, so I suppose it's time to judge for ourselves. What has been promised? Is it more subdued than last time?

Well, let's get this out of the way first. You will not have the ability to play as your child upon your death. This was experimented with initially to un-favorable results. People were just breeding as a means to have extra lives. Seemed kind of pointless. So there, that promise is gone. You'll be focusing on one here the entire time. The families though HAVE been expanded upon. You're actually able to start a family, you know, have kids. Fable 1 was just about getting married and getting them to get "norty" with you. Now you can do a bit more. Your kids even look up to you and take similar mannerisms to you. They follow your alignment and what not, it seems pretty in depth…which is nice.

Another nice thing is that your character fights depending on the environment. Like, if you're fighting by the edge of a cliff or something your character can throw the enemy off of it. It seems more realistic, especially considering most games just give you one moveset to tool around that doesn't change no matter what. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just how things are…but it's nice to see things be different. Not to say it's the first game to do this, but it's something I can appreciate.

It's also of interest to note that the world in Fable 2 is apparently 10 times as large as the world in Fable 1. This is pretty nice because, like in Fallout 3, you can just roam about the land. It truly feels like you are in a world and, you know, it feels nice. You're also promised quality combat, one of the few things the original Fable did correctly, which means I am not worried about this game at all. The icing on top of this cake? You can mess around in this huge world with someone else. That's right! There's online co-op! You just download a patch and boom, you can play with someone else. Seems nice and could add a lot of replay value to the package.

The original Fable may be a mixed bag, but Fable 2 is arguably the 360's strongest exclusive this holiday season…let's hope that it can richly deliver on the promises that they offered.



4-) Fallout 3 (PS3/360/PC) - Outside of Banjo 3, there is only one other game that I question whether I will enjoy or not that appears on this list. No, silly, it's not Farcry 2! It's Fallout 3, the other "F" game. (Man, what's with F's this year? Three of the games on this list start with it, are one word, and have a number afterwards) There is no question about it, this game will be amazing in every single aspect. From the story to the gameplay, I know that reviewers and fans will think it's one of the best games released in years, and definitely a GOTY candidate. What's the problem then? What could I possibly worry about a game with such possible credentials?

It's a WRPG. My kryptonite. You think I'm joking? Once I was having a pretty good day, Drew pulls out Oblivion to show me his latest purpose, and immediately afterwards my dog drops dead, the clocks in my house start running in reverse, and the ground opened beneath my feet to reveal Beelzebub himself. It just wasn't pretty.

That's what has me worried. This worry is quickly over-shadowed when I look at all the things that the game has to offer. First, you know that it's going to have a good story. The brief amount of time I spent with the first two Fallout games I could tell that the story was impressive. It was well written, had a sense of humor…and was just glorious. I imagine that the same thing will be the case here. Honestly, if the story is good enough – which is not the case with Oblivion but WAS the case with KOTOR – I will stick it out and play the course of the game. Fallout 3 could very well deliver this.

As if that wasn't enough though, Fallout 3 is addressing one of the chief concerns that I have had with the WRPG genre. They give you an open-ended world, they say: "Do what you want"…but when you reach the end, for the most part, you get one simple ending. That's it! Look, I'd like to imagine that my "do anything, go anywhere" attitude at least had an impact on the ending. Fallout 3 addresses this by having, get this, 200 different versions of the final cutscene. What you get depends on the actions you take throughout the game. Originally the number was 16, which would have been fine by me, but 200!? That sure sounds good by me. I'm glad to know that I control my fate.

I also like the idea that it's got a huge game world similar to that of Oblivion. It is reported that Fallout 3 will have 16 square miles of total ground for you to cover. That's pretty massive for a game world. Like in other RPGs you can just wonder around the land…it's your world, you live in it.

The only thing that has me worried is the combat. Yes, I know, everything about the game screams quality but the game is being developed under the Oblivion engine, a game I didn't think was very fun at all. Can my mind be changed this time under the context of a plot I'm more apt to care about? I can't say for sure…but I do know this. Even if it is, allegedly, "Oblivion with Guns", I am looking forward to this game.

This game would be higher if it wasn't for my pre-conceived bias of WRPGs. Feel free to complain to me about it, it probably deserves even more credit than I give it…I just fear whether I can truly enjoy the game.



3-) Persona 4 (PS2) - I very rarely pick up games on a whim. The last time I did so was with Sudeki and was let down very, very badly. Imagine my surprise when I find myself in an EB games purchasing a game I know very little about outside of the hype. This was un-expected and perhaps un-wise. I get home and actually play the game…and fall in love. Persona 3 was one of my favorite games of last year and perhaps one of my favorite games on the PS2. It featured a nice mixture of story, dating sim, JRPG combat, music, and style. It was really special to me.

So it's only natural that I would be excited for the fourth game in the Persona lineage. From the looks of things Persona 4 continues what Persona 3 did so well. Still in tact are the social links, the combat, but with a twist. In persona 3 one of the big complaints was that you couldn't take control of your party, you just had to issue them orders. In Persona 4 now you can command the entire party, which is great…especially when you absolutely loathe your characters physically attacking their way to certain death.

It seems that Persona 4 is taking a very Pokemon-esque approach of not changing what works, but slightly fixing it. On top of the new combat, social links have changed. Your character in Persona 3 had three different social attributes while in this one you have five. So now you probably won't run out of stats to train with a couple of months left of game time…which was kind of annoying because for a while there I just seemed to be waking up, going to school, upping a social link, and going to bed.

As annoying as that was, probably the most annoying thing about Persona 3 was the fatigue. You'd be exploring a dungeon for a while and all of a sudden your characters would get tired and be unable to fight as well. It was kind of hindering and often times kept you from going as far as you would like. Now? Fatigue is gone and you can just grind to your heart's content.

Another interesting aspect is the fact that Persona 4 is a continuance of Persona 3. This is interesting to me because it appeared that Persona 3 was pretty definitive in how it ended…so to see how the writers wrapped things up in this one intrigues me greatly. I know that the first two persona titles were intertwined, so it's kinda neat to see that be the case here as well.

Persona 4 looks like more of the same, but when you're expounding on the fantastic Persona 3…that's a good thing. Plus if you reserve now you get an art book. Yay! Art book!



2-) Prince of Persia (360/PS3) - If you haven't played last generation's Prince of Persia: Sands of Time do yourself a favor and drop what you are doing at this very moment and play it. You'll find yourself playing through a game that many would define as platforming excellence. Though the second one would go on to become a disappointment, what with the edgier prince, the original was a shining example of how to make a game well. If first impressions are worth anything, the new Prince of Persia could very well live up to those lofty precedents set up by the last generation.

Unlike Persona, this title seems to be doing some things different than its most recent predecessors. Gone are the sands of time. Did you like rewinding? Well, you can't anymore. How ever will you reverse those times you miss-jump then? It's simple! There is a new character by the name of Elika who will extend her hand to you in an effort to keep you from falling to your doom. A lot of people complained about this, I mean, not being able to fall down a cliff? Easy mode. This is no different than rewinding time with the sands though. I actually say that this title will take more skill because now if you were to die? You can't rewind.

Speaking of Elika, helping you from falling isn't the only thing that she can do. Elika also can boost how far the Prince jumps, can provide him support in battle – like pushing away the enemy as you are trying to heal – and even fight a little. You can summon Elika by pressing a designated "Elika" button. It seems that she'll be adding a whole new element to this game which is pretty neat and more than one could ask for. I would have been fine with a next-gen sands of time.

That's not the only difference to the past trilogy though. The combat in this title is more centered on one-v-one combat as opposed to the one-v-many combat of the sands trilogy. Generally speaking you'll use your sword to attack, your gauntlet to guard and throw enemies, and Elika to provide additional support. Most likely you'll be combining your acrobatics with combat, which as we know…is pretty cool.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this new Prince of Persia is that it is cel-shaded. Now cel-shading will immediately bring to mind the cartoony visuals of "The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker"…but that isn't the case here. The cel-shading helps add details to the characters and makes the game that much more stylized. From the footage and screens that I have seen, this game can hang graphically with most anything of this generation. The thing about cel-shaded games is that, even years down the road…they will look good. Windwaker, for instance, twenty years from now will still look like a cartoon. Will the new Prince of Persia achieve such a feat? Perhaps.

In a year full of sequels, it is my belief that the prince will shine the most. Platforming at its finest.



1-) Little Big Planet (PS3) - Allow me to simply copy over what I wrote in the "One Man Water Cooler" this week. It applies here. It's primarily focusing on LBP's replay value.

Replay value. It's often something that we overlook when we evaluate a game. There are some games that are 40 hours long that you probably won't touch again after playing…but there are also games that run five or so hours that you'll go right back to after you finish. Call me crazy, but if I had to choose between experiences almost every time I would go with the "five hour" option. Oh sure, odds are the campaign…or whatever you want to call it…is less epic in scope but when all is said and done the odds are in favor I'll be playing the shorter game more.

This might be primarily why I enjoy fighting games so much. Any day of the week I can go and play a fighter. I'll play for an hour or two, get tired…and move on. I can do this at any time. Yeah, sure, you can breeze through the single player modes but what is the fun in that? Fighting is about perfecting one's art, getting better and better each time you play. I really can't do that with a role playing game. Oh sure, I love to play them. As many of you know my favorite game of all time is Earthbound. The thing is, with those games it's hard to just pick up and enjoy at any time. If you were to add up the time I've spent on Earthbound in my life and compare it to the time I've spent with Capcom vs. SNK 2, I bet the latter wins out.

As sad as that may seem.

This reason…this reason is why I am so excited for Little Big Planet. On the surface, if you were to just judge the game by the single player campaign you'll just see a short little gameplay world. Something that will take you probably between five and ten hours to beat. After that five or ten hours? I guess you would move on. It would be a shame if the game were to just end right there. If it were to go: "Well, hope you liked the hype…grind it out in space for a while!" "Thanks for playing!" and just end there it'd be one of the biggest flops in history.

The thing is…it doesn't do that. Little Big Planet offers nearly unlimited replay value. It all starts with the level creation. By the look and feel of it...you can create almost any sort of world you see fit. Do you want to create a level similar to Super Mario Brothers level 1-1? You got it. Want to create something similar to Green Hill Zone? Look no further. Want to make a side-scrolling Shadow Moses Island? Join the club! Want to show off your creativity and prove to the world that you are a platforming genius? Go right ahead. It's your world, build in it.

It would have been one thing if Little Big Planet attacked this creation system the wrong way. It can hamper the way some feel about the game. Look at Super Smash Brothers Brawl. As much as I may enjoy the game, and believe you me, I enjoy it, I can't help but feel that the emphasis on stage creation could have been so much more. I would probably go back to that game every day of the week if I could create levels that actually look like they come from Nintendo games. The thing is, the worlds you create have no life…they are just…flat. While Smash Brothers has enough to keep people coming back ,the people who really wanted to…create…are left out.

Little Big Planet isn't like this though and I guess that's why I'm so excited. You don't get simplistic levels that, while fun…lack life. You get the option to make huge worlds that are vibrant with personality. You really can put yourself into your work in this game and I believe that goes a rather long way. There may even spurt renown level creators and when you play a level you just know its theirs. Like a good piece of music, a good piece of game designing is something to cherish and perhaps LBP can deliver that point in all of us.

Ah, but creating alone…we can do that anytime. Why right now I am compiling word after word with not a soul in the room. Just the Chrono Cross OST to soothe my jangled nerves. (See? Told you that OST was catchy!) Little Big Planet allows you to get together in a group and create stuff together. You do not have to simply toil away at your laborious creations, you can have others help you. Imagine all the neat things you can create with a group of people? Wouldn't it be neat if you knew someone who moved away from you…and you created a level the two of you can share together? Sure that sounds unbelievably corny but the option is open to you.

Simplistic but deep. It's something that very few games, very few companies have down to a T. Sure, Nintendo can crank out "simplistic" but it very rarely can master the "deep". To be deep is to have something that goes beyond the gameplay, that goes beyond simply hopping and bopping in a horizontal environment. Little Big Planet isn't the first and it certainly won't be the last, but it seems to be the next game to do this. Easy to access, infinite possibilities.

Replay value is a thing that should be cherished more in this industry. In a world full of epic RPGs…it's nice to take a break from that and do something more light-hearted. More fun! It may never reach the esteem where I hold Earthbound or Capcom vs. SNK 2, but I can assure you that when all is said and done I hope that LBP will have been in my Playstation 3 for a long, long time.

Simply put, LBP is something the game industry needs and that is why it is my number one game of this holiday season. No matter how loosely that season is defined by me. A GOTY contender for sure.



Honorable Mentions: Animal Crossing: Cityfolk, Tales of Symphonia 2, Resistance 2

Well that's it for this week. As always, if you wish to contact me send an e-mail to [e-mail] or simply leave a comment below. Even if you don't agree with what I say I appreciate your feedback. Please, submit your own list so I can see what you think of this holiday season's releases.

Well, I'm running short on time so I will very briefly link to other articles around our gaming section:

Theo Fraser writes the Nintendophiles.

Jordan Williams writes an excellent piece on gaming pet peeves in The Working Title

Vincent Chiucchi writes the Select and Start News Report

Joe Roche writes the Full Circle News Report

I write B3yond the Report

Chris Vicari brings us the PC-spotlight

Chris Evans writes the PC-centric Extravaganza

Rod Oracheski writes Achievement Unlocked

Drew writes Coming Attractions

AJ and Mike Minotti are the voices of the Exploding Barrel Podcast

Well that's it. I'm out.

'til the crossroads