Kiwi Christmas Guide 2008

Stuck for Xmas gaming ideas? We're here to help!

Christmas. It’s the time to be jolly. It’s the time for the bells to be a-swinging. And it’s also the time to pick up a sweet gift for that special gamer in your life. Forget diamonds, forget cars, games are the new currency of the season and NZGamer.com is here to help you chose a game to fit the right person.

We've compiled a list of what we think will be the most wanted games for each platform this Christmas. Print it out! Send it to friends! Maybe even turn it into a collection checklist for yourself.


Gears of War 2
One for the Gamer With a Bad Attitude
[Game Hub]
RRP: $109.95 (360)
NZG Review: 9.0/10 [Read Review]
One of the year’s biggest action games, Gears of War 2, has finally landed, and we’ve taken on the Locust with Delta squad to see how it fares. Straight off the bat, you’ll recognise this as a Gears of War title. The game looks, feels, and plays the same as the original Gears – and that’s not a bad thing.

Gears of War, when it arrived on Xbox 360, was the best looking title to date, and Gears of War 2 does the same. From shooting chunks off of the Brumak, to the close-ups of Delta squad in the cut-scenes, you can tell a lot of time and care has been taken to make the game look polished.

It’s an understatement to say Gears of War 2 is the epitome of action. This game defines the genre. Gears of War 2 is one of the highlights of the year, and for all Xbox 360 owners, this deserves to be in your collection.

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts
One for the Gamer Who’s a Big Kid
[Game Hub]
RRP: $99.95 (360)
NZG Review: 9.0/10 [Read Review]
A new platform to play on, new worlds, a fresh hub world to explore and all with better graphics. But could Rare have safely made such a game? And would Microsoft allow it? Probably not. There had to be some way of separating the original games out from Nuts & Bolts – and their answer, it seems, was vehicles.

With so many vehicle parts, places to go and people to see, Nuts & Bolts is going to be a game you keep going back to. Just getting to the end will require hours of commitment, but, it’s not like you need an excuse, right? This game is a massive success.



LittleBigPlanet
One for the Creative Gamer
[Game Hub]
RRP: $119.95 (PS3)
NZG Review: 9.5/10 [Read Review]
At some point during each generation of game consoles there comes a game that exemplifies what before was impossible. For today’s consoles, LittleBigPlanet is that game.

Media Molecule’s first project is a platformer that takes a YouTube approach to playing a video game. A freeform editor let's a community of players create, share, and rate levels in a surprisingly simple interface.

LittleBigPlanet is just one of those instances where a brilliant idea - a product of the times - combines with smart, polished game design to create something that should be a marker for things to come.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
One for the Cinema Loving Gamer
[Game Hub]
RRP: $119.95 (PS3)
NZG Review: 8.5/10 [Read Review]
Set in 2014, five years after the “Big Shell Incident” that took place in Metal Gear Solid 2, Guns of the Patriot is the first game in the long-running franchise to appear on the next-gen PS3 console.

Overall Metal Gear Solid 4 will be a particular taste, but this latest instalment is more likely to please a bigger audience than previous titles in the series. Thanks to the pain-staking attention to detail by the Kojima team, no PS3 owner should go without seeing this beautifully presented game in action. Just be prepared for long periods of no gameplay as you are forced (though you can skip the movies if you wish - ed) to watch a large number of mini-movies.

PS3 Platinum Range
Ones for the Gamer Who Just Picked up a PS3
These games came out last year but were re-released recently for sixty bucks a pop. Couple that with the consideration that they’re some of the best games on the PlayStation 3 and you’ve got yourself a situation you can’t say no to picking them up.



Wii Fit
One for the Expanding Gamer
[Game Hub]
RRP: $199.95 (Wii)
NZG Review: 8.5/10 [Read Review]
Wii Fit is about getting you exercising and it succeeds. But not only on the level of engaging the type of person who wants to exercise, no, Wii Fit can also capture the minds and bodies of your stereotypical gamer. And that's no mean feat.

If you’re able to motivate yourself to exercise you can do no wrong in getting Wii Fit. Granted it’s not for everyone, but the ones it is for will be able to take a lot away from it. If it does the job well there, then what more does it need? Wii Fit is a novel approach to exercise and as a result makes it a little more fun. Again, it’s not for everyone but it’s hard not to recommend Wii Fit if you’re able to dedicate $199 and your body to it.

Zack & Wiki: The Quest For Barbaros' Treasure
One for the Thinking Gamer
[Game Hub]
RRP: $109.95 (Wii)
NZG Review: 8.8/10 [Read Review]
The premise is quite simple and fairly derivative but Zack & Wiki never puts its story-foot forward – Zack & Wiki is all about the gameplay. Zack is a young silent pirate with a love for chocolate bars and treasure; he’s what everyone was at some point in their childhood imagination. Wiki is a light-hearted golden flying monkey with the strange ability to transform into a bell. The duo is party to the Sea Rabbits, a pirate gang faring the sea, land and skies for fame and fortune in true pirate fashion.

The puzzles are often devilishly clever and have no business being around young kids – some of these will stump even master adventure gamers. If you know someone who likes to be challenged intellectually then you can do wrong with getting them Zack & Wiki.



Crysis: Warhead
One for the Gamer with a Super-Computer
[Game Hub]
RRP: $49.95 (PC)
NZG Review: 9.0/10 [Read Review]
Warhead provides all the thrills and special moments that seemed to be absent in the original game at a fraction of the price. A decent computer system is still required but the game has been altered to look just as pretty but run better on lower-end systems.

Crysis Warhead also comes with an extra disc containing a standalone multiplayer variant of Crysis known as 'Crysis Wars'. This multiplayer extension carries with it twenty-one maps, extra weapons, vehicles, and game modes. The focus is still primarily on the 'Power Struggle' game variant but with a stronger demand for teamwork to capture the objectives. It's a nice little multiplayer feature the developers have added in and all still wraped up in the $50 bundle.

Spore
One for the Inventive Gamer
[Game Hub]
RRP: $99.95 (PC)
NZG Review: 8.9/10 [Read Review]
Once you get into the game you can either pick a planet to inhabit or choose from one of the creators on hand, including the creature, building, spaceship and other assorted vehicle creators. After you have selected your planet you can begin inhabiting it, starting with cellular level organisms that must pick between herbivore and carnivore. Evolution and breeding play a big role in Spore; each creature will grow from cellular to creature, then tribe, civilization and eventually space.

In the end Spore is one of those titles that jumps genres with ease, while not dipping too far into any one genre, leaving players with a very diverse gameplay experience, and odds are, there will be a lot more content such as monsters and vehicles to expand on the huge worlds already available. If someone wanted to stick a genre label on Spore it would be an ‘evolution sim’ with RTS and action RPG elements.



The World Ends With You
One for the Gamer Who Thinks They’ve Tried Everything
[Game Hub]
RRP: $79.95 (NDS)
NZG Review: N/A
It becomes quickly apparent that TWEWY is one of the best NDS titles around. Everything about it is fresh and exciting. The art is excellent, the music catchy, the story exciting, the combat fancy and the characters engaging. TWEWY won us over on all accounts.

The game tells a story of a kid named Neku who wakes up without any memory of himself in a game whereby losing forfeits his life. Not knowing who to trust, or who to believe, his character is tested to the point that the Neku that you know in chapter 1 of the game is quite a different Neku by the end of the game.

The beauty of this mysterious story is in the unravelling so we won't say more, but know this, it's a techno/supernatural-semi-spiritual-hip-game-of-death. You've got to be interested after that.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates
One for the Adventure Loving Gamer
[Game Hub]
RRP: $79.95 (NDS)
NZG Review: 9.0/10 [Read Review]
Though many were looking forward to the release of Square’s other DS games, it is the latest title in the Nintendo exclusive Crystal Chronicles series that has been anticipated the most. After three long years of waiting, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is finally here. And the wait was worth it.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates is easily the best Square title on the DS available now, and possibly the best value for money title on the system too. Taking the role-playing game which started on the GameCube, refining it, rebuilding it and offering a surfeit amount of content in a portable package, Square have made a classic for all DS owners.



God of War: Chains of Olympus
One for the Ultra-Masculine Gamer
[Game Hub]
RRP: $34.95 (PSP)
NZG Review: 9.5/10 [Read Review]
Yes, it’s customary to hand in your Man Card if you don’t dig God of War, but more effeminate gamers might find the experience just a little obtuse. With the excellent graphics and intact and improved gameplay, Chains of Olympus is easily the best God of War title in the series. Indeed, not only is it the best title in the series, it’s also the most fun one can have with a PSP and it’s definitely worth purchasing a system for.

God of War: Chains of Olympus is a masterpiece. The bastion of both technical achievements and engrossing cinematic gameplay, it would be difficult to find a game, let alone a PSP title, that accomplishes as much as God of War does.

Patapon
One for the Gamer Who Wants Something Different
[Game Hub]
RRP: $79.95 (PSP)
NZG Review: 9.0/10 [Read Review]
People have referred to Patapon as being similar to Locoroco, and though the art style and developer may lend itself to this opinion, any other comparisons to that game are defunct. In fact, were you to liken Patapon to any other PSP title your best bet would be Puzzle Quest. Like Quest, Patapon represents an amalgam of multiple genres, taking from them their best ingredients to concoct its own wicked little recipe. Patapon is a side-scrolling real-time strategy game infused with rhythm-based controls and a dash of role-playing game elements. Are you salivating yet?



There are also a large number of titles available on multiple platforms which deserve the attention of your shopping list. Know someone who enjoys a good scare? Dead Space is perhaps the best new survival horror game since Silent Hill hit the scene so many years ago. That special gamer a big fan of adventure? Mirror's Edge's you-in-the-shoes take on parkour should go down a treat, as will the gorgeous new Prince of Persia.

Other worthwhile mentions go out to Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto IV & Resistance 2.