The 2008 holiday season is upon us! This means that the malls are overcrowded, Ebay prices are soaring, and the average gamer’s shelf is stacked to the ceiling with titles that haven’t yet been opened. Soon enough, millions of you lucky gamer folk will be waking up to that new console smell on your holiday morning of choice, and all of you fortunate souls will need to know which games are worth your time.
Don’t worry, TGR has you covered. We present to you our 2008 New Console Buyer’s Guide, where we will cover 5 must-have exclusive retail titles for each of the current-gen consoles as well as 5 games available on multiple consoles that are in need of your immediate attention. We’ll be featuring one console (or multi-console) a day through Wednesday the 17th, so get your wishlists ready.
Don’t miss our other 2008 Buyer’s Guides!
Nintendo DS
Nintendo Wii
Sony PS3
Microsoft Xbox 360
Multiplatform
Sony PSP
Sony’s media-centric portable might not have many new games hitting shelves this holiday season, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of fantastic titles out there for you to play. Here are five that you are guaranteed to enjoy.
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
(Square-Enix, 2008, Metacritic Score: 83)
A fully fleshed-out side story to Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core takes the ragtag cast of characters that fans have loved for over a decade and drops them and some new faces into a real-time RPG/action title which sets up the events that transpired during the original game. The fighting system is solid and the story will keep loyalists enthralled, but the game also manages to be accessible to someone who has never played a Final Fantasy title.
God of War: Chains of Olympus
(Sony, 2008, Metacritic Score: 91)
Kratos brings his Blades of Chaos to the PSP in a chapter that bridges the gap between God of War II and the upcoming PS3-quel. The series maintains all of its epic scale in transition to the portable, as you still run around huge environments, solve complex puzzles, and battle gargantuan bosses during your quest to find someone from your past. If you want blockbuster action on the go, look no further than Chains of Olympus.
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories
(Rockstar, 2005, Metacritic Score: 88)
Journey back to Liberty City and take on the mob with an all-new Grand Theft Auto game built specifically for the PSP. While a bit outdated now that GTAIV has rewritten the rules, Liberty City Stories still provides a massive city, a ton of missions, and enough extra activities and side quests to keep you busy for a long time. The game also includes a full multiplayer suite to keep you and your buddies occupied, and there is always Vice City Stories on PSP to keep you busy after you finish this one.
Lumines II
(Ubisoft, 2006, Metacritic Score: 81)
One of the most additive and original puzzle games to come out this decade, Lumines became a huge smash after landing on the PSP at launch, and was eventually ported to every other system out there. Lumines II provides all of the music-infused puzzle gameplay that people loved about the original and adds new songs, skins, colors, modes, mechanics, and multiplayer options to round out the package. Very addictive and highly recommended.
Patapon
(Sony, 2008, Metacritic Score: 86)
With stunning visuals and terrific music, Patapon is the unusual result of merging a real-time strategy title with the rhythm genre. Guide your Patapon to victory in battle by timing button presses and inputting commands that tell them when to attack, defend, or march. Warning: the music in the game is so addictive that it will consume your thoughts for days…maybe months.
Don’t miss our other 2008 Buyer’s Guides!
Nintendo DS
Nintendo Wii
Sony PS3
Microsoft Xbox 360
Multiplatform
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