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IT'S GAMING SEASON! |
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GET READY FOR THE YEAR'S BEST RUNNING, JUMPING, FIGHTING, STRUMMING, AND MORE! |
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by Dale North |
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The best games come out over the holiday season, and the 2008 holiday season is looking to be especially bright, so much so that it will be hard to choose the best ones. That's where we come in. We've checked our lists and done our homework, picking out the season's best titles. Most should be out by mid-November, unless otherwise mentioned.
Valkyria Chronicles
War has never been so pretty. Set in a 1930s Dutch countryside, strategy game Valkyria Chronicles drops you into lush, water-colored vistas among endless fields of flowers and wooden windmills. You play as a volunteer member of the army of Gallia, suddenly thrust into war after an unexpected attack by the evil empire. Players are suddenly whisked from an overhead view to direct control of an individual volunteer, where they will actually control each character by hand, moving and fighting on their own. Thanks to Sega's Canvas technology, characters look more like colored pencil sketches and explosions look like cartoon puffs of smoke. Valkyria Chronicles is a sight to behold.
Platform: PS3
Publisher: Sega
Price: $60
Rating: Pending
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Moon
Sci-fi fans should check out Moon, a first-person shooter that pits you against an unknown force that's causing some seriously bad energy below the lunar surface. The story takes place in the year 2058, and Earth has inexplicably lost communication with a lunar research facility. Playing as Major Kane, Chief of Military Operations for the Extra Terrestrial Encounter Organization, you're sent to investigate. Luckily, you've got access to advanced weapons technology such as the Super Assault Rifle (it doesn't need physical ammo) and the Seeker Pod gravity gun. Also at your disposal are a roving robot and an all-terrain vehicle that makes a Hummer seem like a tricycle.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Mastiff
Price: $30
Expected rating: T
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Wii Music
The Wii Remote controller becomes just about any musical instrument you want it to be with Wii Music. Simply hold and move the controller like you would with any of the more than 60 real instrument selections, and your actions will automatically be transformed into mistake-free music. Song selections range from classical music to video game tunes. Players will be able to use Wii Music's WiiConnect24 feature to send recordings of musical performances to friends, who can then play along or improve upon your songs.
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Price: $50
Rating: E
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Animal Crossing: City Folk
Animal Crossing residents: No more wasting your days away doing things like picking fruit and fishing. In the upcoming fourth game of this series, Animal Crossing: City Folk, the talking animals leave town for the first time, setting out to shop at fashion boutiques, getting their shoes shined, and even getting their hair done. Much like the other Animal Crossing games, you'll aimlessly wander around, finding something new and interesting, but this one is the first to let you speak using WiiSpeak, a new speaker/microphone device that lets you chat with other Animal Crossing residents online.
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Publisher: Nintendo
Price: $50
Expected rating: E
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Mirror's Edge
Those with a fear of heights will need faith in the acrobatic skill of Faith, the main heroine of Mirror's Edge. She runs along skyscraper rooftops and skyways, all beautifully rendered by the Unreal Engine 3. Her job is to deliver messages from the world outside the city while avoiding government agents and their cameras, both of which closely monitor people and information. She now has a new job: finding her sister, who was kidnapped and framed by the government. You'll only see your hands and feet in Mirror's Edge, just as if you were looking through Faith's eyes. Take our advice: Don't look down!
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Price: $60
Rating: T
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Chrono Trigger DS
This beloved Super Nintendo role-playing classic is back after 13 years, for the first time in a portable format. Join the game's characters as they time-travel to different points in history, thanks to a teleportation device, in one of the most intricate stories to ever grace a video game. The game now takes advantage of the DS's two screens, and all can be controlled with the DS stylus. (It used to be that players would need to have both hands on a controller to traverse dungeons and fight evil.) This portable version, due out on December 20, also adds new dungeons and wireless multiplayer support for up to four players.
Platform: Nintendo DS
Publisher: Square Enix
Price: $40
Rating: E 10+
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Prince of Persia
The Prince of Persia games jump around to just about as many game consoles as its main character does to hard-to-reach platforms. Originally starting out as a side-scrolling adventure on the Apple II in the late 1980s, the games have ended up as a full 3D action-adventure on the Xbox 360 and PS3. This time around, in a new game that adopts the name of the original, you play as a high-flying Prince, who scales the walls of an ancient Persia. Players will fling themselves from buildings, fight one-on-one with pursuers, and solve puzzles, all while fighting off an evil god named Ahirman. By his side is Elika, a magical female companion who works with the Prince to perform some of the most beautiful and fluid jumps ever seen in a video game.
Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3
Publisher: Ubisoft
Price: $60
Rating: T
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Persona 4
Modern-day role-playing series Shin Megami Tensei: Persona blends dungeon-crawling game play with social and dating simulations, and then tops it off with stylistic manga-style character designs. The series' fourth chapter, Persona 4, was released earlier this summer in Japan and is due out in North America on December 9. In the game, high school students in rural Japan find themselves in the middle of a murder mystery at just about the same time a new power within them awakens, letting them enter television sets as gateways to another world. The students battle shadows in this alternate world to uncover answers behind these mysterious murders. Imagine taking control of the hero of a super-powered student anime, and you'll be on the right page.
Platform: Playstation 2
Publisher: Atlus
Price: $40
Rating: Pending
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"IT'S GAMING SEASON!" has been edited for shojobeat.com.
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