Your Black Friday Reference Guide To Game Shopping [Shopping Gift Guide]

It’s Black Friday and many of you are probably already in the shopping trenches, elbow-deep in hysterical deal-hunters and holiday shoppers. Over the week we’ve compiled a number of platform specific reference guides for you to use to help decide which games to buy and which to avoid when shopping for gaming friends and family this year. Here’s how you use the guides: Click on the platform link. Sort through the alphabetical listing for the game you are considering. Read the summary, perhaps go to the full review. Use the delicious brains in your head to decide whether to purchase said game as a gift. We’ll be updating the guide with more games as we continue to review titles through the remainder of the year. Now have at it! The iPhone Gamer’s Gift Guide The DS and DSi Gift Guide The PlayStation Portable Buyer’s Guide The Wii Buyer’s Guide The PC Buyer’s Guide The Xbox 360 Buyer’s Guide The PlayStation 3 Buyer’s Guide

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Your Black Friday Reference Guide To Game Shopping [Shopping Gift Guide]

The PlayStation 3 Buyer’s Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

With at least one potential game of the year exclusively nesting on the Playstation 3 and a price drop under its belt, the PS3 has had a pretty darn good year. My favorite among the games listed is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, which probably isn’t surprising. What is yours? Anything we didn’t review that you would suggest? Remember, the games listed aren’t all recommendations. Instead we’re providing this as a quick reference guide to help you decide if a game is a good gift or not. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Third-person hip-hop shooter Subject Matter: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand tells the unintentionally(?) amusing tale of rapper 50 Cent as he struggles to reclaim his diamond encrusted skull from a Middle Eastern bad guy. He’s assisted by his G Unit hangers on and some laughably outlandish moments. Value: An adequately long adventure, made seemingly longer by endlessly looping 50 Cent songs. There are much better games to give this holiday season. Buy it for: someone as a gag. Or a die hard 50 Cent fan fresh from a six month coma. Read the Full Review Assassin’s Creed II Price: $59.99 Rating: M Genre: Free-running platforming adventure game Subject Matter: Assassinations and conspiracy spent mostly in 15th century Renaissance Italy. Value: Lots more content than the first game had, probably lasting gamers at least double the time they spent with the first Assassin’s Creed. Buy it for: People who were let down by the first game, people who like history, beautiful scenery, dynamic platforming, solving mysteries and games that might be the Game of the Year. Read the Full Review Batman: Arkham Asylum Price: $59.99 Rating: T Genre: Action/Adventure Subject Matter: Join one of comic books’ most iconic heroes on an adventure in Gotham City’s insane asylum, where The Joker is on the loose. Value: With character ability customization, bonus challenge maps and tons of riddles courtesy of The Riddler, Arkham Asylum offers at least three playthroughs’ worth of fun. Buy it for: Batman fans and anybody jonesing for a Mark Hamill voice over fix. Read the full review The Beatles: Rock Band Price: The stand-alone game sells for $59.99, the Limited Edition Premium Bundle sell for $249.99, the Rickenbacker 325 Standalone Guitar and the Gretsch Duo Jet Standalone Guitar sells for $99.99. Rating: Teen Genre: Rhythm music game Subject Matter: The Beatles: Rock Band is a musical journey through the history of one of the world’s most popular bands. Value: For those new to the Rock Band phenomenon and fans of The Beatles, this 45-track game is well worth a purchase because this is the only way you’ll play The Beatles music in a Rock Band game. If you’re not into the band, give this a pass. Buy it for: huge Beatles fans. Read the Full Review Borderlands Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: First-person shooter RPG Subject Matter: Borderlands targets the loot-hungry region of the brain, offering four classes with which to stalk the planet Pandora, shoot things and level up, acquiring cool guns, sweet armor and totally rad superpowers. As role-playing games go, it’s shallow, but offers a constant stream of junk food gaming. Value: Seeing all that Borderlands has to offer could take hundreds of hours. But the real value comes in the form of being able to play with friends on PlayStation Network or via splitscreen. Buy it for: the loot glutton with an itchy trigger finger and a history of playing Diablo. Read the Full Review Brutal Legend Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre : Action Adventure Subject Matter: Brutal Legend is a heavy metal-themed action game that combines racing, shooting, real-time strategy, and hack and slash into one slightly disjointed mix. Value: Brutal Legend is a game from Tim Schafer, one of gaming’s greatest comedy minds, and the absurd humor carries the game a long way. It’s the story of a roadie who gets transported to a heavy metal world where he must raise an army to free the oppressed inhabitants. There’s plenty to do, though the odd mix of genres might be too much for some players. Buy it for : Anyone with a strong affection for heavy metal music or sa twisted sense of humor. Read the Full Review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Price: $59.99 to $149.99 Rating: Mature Genre: First-person military shooter Subject Matter: Lead a team of elite commandoes in Modern Warfare 2 as they try to prevent a Russian invasion and global thermonuclear war. Then take the action online, going head to head against other well-armed gamers. It’s loud, violent and a hell of a lot of fun to play. Value: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s single-player storyline may be short, but the package more than makes up for it with ample cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Near endless replayability will be stoked with future downloadable content. Buy it for: the Michael Bay action movie fan who likes his shooters bombastic and nearly devoid of a comprehensible story, one who doesn’t shy away from ultra-violent fare. Read the Full Review Critter Crunch Price: $6.99 Rating: Everyone Genre : Puzzle Subject Matter: A puzzle game with bug eating, cute critters and sorta cut, sorta gross tecnicolor yarn. Value: The good puzzle game mechanic is strong and addictive — add to that beautiful graphics, a lengthy adventure mode and super fun multiplayer and you have a good time. With barf. Buy it for : Gamers with a strong like of puzzle titles and no fear of cute puke. Read the Full Review Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Price: $39.99 Rating: Mature Genre: First-person shooter Subject Matter: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a Civil War era first-person shooter. Value: With an engaging story, wide open maps and plenty of mulitplayer options, this game will take up quite a bit of your time. Buy it for: First-person shooter enthusiasts, fans of the Wild West and Civil War buffs. Read the Full Review DJ Hero Price: $119.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Rhythm Subject Matter: DJ Hero is a rhythm game featuring a replica DJ turntable so players can mix and scratch to the beat of original music mash-ups. Value: DJ Hero features upwards fo 100 different DJ-driven mash-ups featuring songs from the 70’s on up to present-day hits. Unlike the latest Guitar Hero or Rock Band games, however, it’s only good for one or two players, so the party element just isn’t there. The innovative turntable-based gameplay makes it a breath of fresh air in the currently band-centric music genre, but it certainly isn’t as social. Buy it for : Fans of eclectic music mixes and lonely Guitar Hero fans. Read the Full Review Dragon Age: Origins Price: $49.99 Rating: Mature Genre : Roleplaying Subject Matter: An epic action roleplaying game set in a world besieged by evil inside and out. Value: Dragon Age: Origins packs more than 100 hours of gameplay into this action RPG, with branching story paths that encourage multiple play throughs in order to experience it all. BioWare designed the game so it can be played by RPG gamers of any skill level, but mature content and strong sexual situations mean you might want to keep it in the high teens. Buy it for : Anyone who has ever conversationally mentioned hit points. Read the Full Review EyePet Price: £20 game only, £35 with PlayStation Eye (game currently only available in PAL territories) Rating: E Genre: Virtual Pet Management Subject Matter: Using the PlayStation Eye, “directly” interact with a digital pet on your TV screen. Value: Smaller kids won’t mind the game lacks any real direction, they’ll be happy to play it every few days just to check on their pet. Buy it for: Kids who think Tamagotchi is so 20th century. Read the Full Review Fallout 3: Broken Steel Price: $10 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3) Rating: M Genre: Post-apocalyptic role-playing game Subject Matter: Fallout 3 expansion involving missions with a high-powered fighting force. Value: High because it extends the level cap to Fallout 3, changes the game’s ending and allows the adventure to be played infinitely once the story has “ended” Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans who want to play more; essential for anyone getting any Fallout 3 downloadable content Read the Full Review Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta Price: $10.00 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3) Rating: Mature Genre : Still a post-apocalyptic RPG Subject Matter: It’s Fallout 3 in space! Value: Mothership Zeta gives the Fallout 3 player an entire spaceship to explore and make their own, some futuristic new weapons, and tacks a good five hours onto the regular campaign, making it a relatively fair value for your money. Buy it for : Fallout 3 fans. Read the Full Review Fallout 3: Point Lookout Price: $10 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3) Rating: M Genre: Post-apocalyptic role-playing game Subject Matter: Fallout 3 in microcosm, set on a spooky island. Value: Tons of content, and widely seen as the Fallout 3 downloadable content that best shares the strengths of the base game. Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans. Read the Full Review Fat Princess Price: $14.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action Subject Matter: Capture the flag? No, capture the princess. And feed her cake, so she’s fat and hard for enemies to cart her off. Value: Single player weakness aside, the main draw here is multiplayer. That, and cake. Cake’s always a draw. Always. Buy it for : Gamers with a sweet tooth for multiplayer. Read the Full Review FIFA Soccer 2010 Price: $49.99 Rating: E Genre: Round-Ball Football Subject Matter: The best football game on the market. Value: Almost endless. There are so many leagues and cups, and such a deep singleplayer experience, that it can be played to death until FIFA 11 is released. And that’s before we even get to the 10v10 multiplayer… Buy it for: Anyone who has even a passing interest in the world game. Read the Full Review Fight Night Round 4 Price: $59.99 Rating: T Genre: Boxing Subject Matter: Boxing Value: Tons of fighters, good online options and no real competition. Buy it for: Boxing fans or people looking for a fighting-based game that has longer-lasting fights. Read the Full Review G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Price: $49.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action Subject Matter: A arcade-style shooter loosely based on the live-action G.I. Joe movie. Value: G.I. Joe is a movie tie-in strangely reminiscent of Konami’s Contra series. One or two players take control of their favorite Joes from the movie and take on Cobra across multiple levels of run-and-gun action. There are a few unlockables catering to fans of the old cartoon series, but other than that this is strictly a movie-lover’s affair. Buy it for : Really, really big fans of the G.I. Joe live-action movie. Read the Full Review Guitar Hero 5 Price: $59.99 for the game, $99.99 with a guitar controller included Rating: Teen Genre: Music/Rythym Subject Matter: It’s Guitar Hero. You play a quintet of color-coordinated “notes” as they scroll downscreen to a new selection of music. Value: Guitar Hero 5 offers a great suite of single and multiplayer modes, the most robust options yet for the series. What it doesn’t offer is the series’ most attractive soundtrack, despite an 85 song strong line up. Good for the new Guitar Hero gamer, but that money may be better spent on downloadable songs. Buy it for: for Guitar Hero noobs who have extremely eclectic taste in music. Read the Full Review inFamous Price: $59.99 Rating: T Genre: Open-world action game Subject Matter: Gritty adventures of an electricity-based super-hero from the makers of the Sly Cooper series. Value: Designed to be played through twice to explore two distinct moral paths. Buy it for: Super-hero fans and folks who like Grand-Theft-Auto style open-world games. Read the Full Review Katamari Forever Price: $49.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Planet-building action Subject Matter: Katamari Forever offers a greatest hits style package of the Katamari Damacy series’ more memorable levels. Players will roll the titular sticky katamari over objects, building bigger and bigger piles of stuff to replace the universe’s missing stars and planets and ultimately please the King of All Cosmos. Value: At $49.99, Katamari Forever is the most expensive entry yet, a high price for a game that’s largely rehashed content. But the content is vast and offers plenty to play. Sadly, there’s no online component to help extend the experience. Buy it for: the fan of quirky games who somehow missed every other Katamari Damacy game or the kid that longs to make snowballs in the summer time. Read the Full Review Killzone 2 Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Single-person shooter Subject Matter: Killzone 2 takes the fight to the Helghast, with an invading force landing on Helghan. Value: Even though this game landed back in February, you would be remiss if you forgot to check it out. Next to Uncharted 2, this is one of the top games for the Playstation 3. The chunky single-player experience backed by 32-player multiplayer matches makes this a very good deal as well. Buy it for: Anyone with a Playstation 3 who some how missed this title when it first hit. Read the Full Review The King of Fighters XII Price: $59.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Fighting Subject Matter: SNK Playmore’s latest entry in its King of Fighter series is a return to its roots with 2D fighting and hand-drawn graphics. Value: The game feels largely unfinished — though, the parts which are done should please the hardcore fans. Buy it for : Die-hard SNK fighting game fans. Read the Full Review Madden NFL 10 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Sports Subject Matter: The only video game licensed by the NFL, covering the current season. Value: For the first time on the current console generation, Madden earns its must-own status among sports gamers. The fine-tuned action is slightly slower, creating greater big play potential on both sides of the ball. Buy it for: Any sports gamer who doesn’t yet have it. Madden is a no-brainer gift that any sports fan will enjoy. Read the Full Review Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Price: $59.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action RPG Subject Matter: Tons of Marvel heroes take on tons of Marvel villains Value: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 may not quite live up to the thrill of the original, but it is a more cohesive package overall, with a storyline ripped from Marvel’s Civil War storyline and a good dozen hours of heroic fun for 1-4 players. Read the Full Review Marvel VS. Capcom 2 Price: $15.00 Rating: Teen Genre : Fighting Subject Matter: Marvel characters. Capcom characters. Fighting. Value: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 contains one of the largest roster in fighting game history, with 56 Marvel and Capcom characters to choose from. The sheer amount of variety plus online multiplayer makes this one downloadable title well worth the price. Read the Full Review Mini Ninjas Price: $49.99 Rating: E Genre: Juvenile Bush Disguise/Phantom Removal Subject Matter: Play as one of a band of adorable child ninjas on a quest to kill a bad guy and free the adorable little forest animals. Value: A somewhat short singleplayer game, but the ability to play as one of several ninjas means there’s plenty of replay value. Buy it for: Anyone. Everyone. Kids will love the straight-forward combat, adults will find there’s a great stealth and combat system lurking under the hood. Read the Full Review Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller Camo Price: $49.99 Rating: N/A Genre: N/A Subject Matter: This wireless controller features programmable buttons, better triggers and a Modern Warfare 2 theme. Value: It’s a bit pricey, but if you’re a big fan of the game and like the idea of programmable buttons, it’s probably worth the $50. Buy it for: Fans of Modern Warfare 2. Read the Full Review Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller Camo Faceplate Price: $14.99 Rating: N/A Genre: N/A Subject Matter: This faceplate snaps onto your Playstation 3 controller. Value: For $15 it’s not bad, but not a great deal. Consider it a cheaper alternative to buying a new controller. Buy it for: HUGE fans of Modern Warfare 2. Read the Full Review Modern Warfare 2 Combat Wireless Headset Price: $39.99 Rating: N/A Genre: N/A Subject Matter: This wireless headset gives weak lip-service to Modern Warfare 2. Value: The painful design and static-filled connection makes this a bad deal. Buy it for: Someone you hate. Read the Full Review NCAA Football 10 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Sports Subject Matter: The tradition and pageantry of college football’s 115 teams, plus any schools you might choose to create. Value: NCAA Football 10 is the deepest simulation of a sport, on and off the field, of any currently available sports title. Buy it for: Any sports nut with a serious helping of school pride or leftover nostalgia for college days gone by. Read the Full Review NBA 2K10 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Sports Subject Matter: NBA 2K10 celebrates the 10th anniversary of 2K Sports’ best-in-class basketball simulation. Value: NBA 2K10 offers a much more varied set of gameplay modes, both single- and multiplayer, than its challenger NBA Live 10. Its season simulation lacks the aspect of playing in this year’s league but is deeper in all other regards. My Player, in which you create and control one player on his journey from prospect to all-star, is tough but a rewarding experience. Buy it for: Serious basketball fans with some exposure to the sport in real life, either as a player or a devoted fan. Read the Full Review NBA Live 10 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Sports Subject Matter: NBA Live 10 is EA Sports’ current title covering pro basketball’s upcoming season. Value: EA Sports has poured a ton of effort into resurrecting the franchise. New controls enabling you to move players off the ball on offense and defense are easy to learn and a real plus. Dynamic DNA allows you to run your season simulation as if it were taking place among current league events in real life. Buy it for: Basketball fans who prefer singleplayer sports gaming, want a very accurate league simulation, and an easy-to-comprehend control set. Read the Full Review NHL 2K10 Price: $39.99 Rating: Everyone 10+ Genre: Sports Subject Matter: NHL 2K10 is 2K Sports’ current title covering professional hockey’s latest season. Value: NHL 2K10 is still a runner-up to EA’s NHL 10, but it is not without merit. It features the same robust multiplayer package as its NBA cousin. The action’s a little arcadey, but it also is the only NHL title with the league’s popular outdoor classic venues. Buy it for: A casual-to-moderate hockey fan who enjoys lots of scoring action. Read the Full Review Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Realistic military first-person shooter Subject Matter: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a relatively open-world tactical shooter that has players trying to take the fictional island of Skira from China. Value: Plagued with problems this shooter doesn’t deliver much for the premium price you pay. Buy it for: hardcore fans of realistic shooters that offer no chance for mistakes or do-overs. Read the Full Review Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Price: $59.99 Rating: E Genre: Sports Subject Matter: Football title encompassing international and club tournaments, manager modes and online play. Value: Pro Evo’s “Master League”, a time-devouring game mode incorporating RPG and strategy elements, is the one area fans remain devoted to this series ahead of its rival, EA Sports’ FIFA. Buy it for: Football fans who like to not only play a good game, but also roll up their sleeves and get lost in a sea of statistics and growth charts. Read the Full Review Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time Price: $59.99 Rating: E10+ Genre: Third-person shooter (Ratchet sections); Third-person time-manipulation puzzle-platformer (Clank sections). Subject Matter: The third PS3 Ratchet is still an action game, but has a stronger than normal narrative, as Ratchet discovers he’s not the last of his species, while Clank discovers his origins. Value: A bombastic single-player campaign full of spectacular cartoon visuals is designed to be replayed, with new content and missions available only after the first play-through is complete. Buy it for: Jaded Ratchet fans who were waiting for the series to feel special again; fans of cartoon visuals who don’t mind their entertainment feeling like a fun all-ages sci-fi adventure. Read the Full Review Resident Evil 5 Price: $39.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Survival Horror meets third-person shooter Subject Matter: The latest iteration in the famed survival horror game ditches a bit of the slow pacing and fear for a bit more of an action feel. Value: A worthy addition to anyone’s library, but perhaps not the sort of game you’ll keep around after it’s completed. Buy it for: fans of Resident Evil and those interested in the premise of the franchise but not in the steady pacing of the gameplay. Read the Full Review Street Fighter IV Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Fighter Subject Matter: The next iteration in the storied and fabulous fighter brings with it a dynamic new look and a death grip on classic mechanics. Value: Packed with playable characters both old and new and a mechanic that is timeless, the online play and in-room versus mode make this a great deal.. Buy it for: fighting fans, Street Fighter fans. Read the Full Review Tekken 6 Price: $59.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Fighter Subject Matter: Once you’ve mastered the moves of your favorite character, Tekken 6’s 3D fights are all about timing and tactics. Value: With 40 playable characters and a seemingly endless single-player campaign, Tekken 6 is a good deal for fans of the franchise willing to put up with some online issues. Buy it for: fighting fans, Tekken fans, and maybe as a taste of something different for Street Fighter IV fans. Read the Full Review Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Price: $59.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Action adventure third-person shooter. Subject Matter: A well-crafted story and pithy dialogue is backed by solid third-person shooter action, stunning Himalayan backdrops and a smattering of puzzles to solve and things to climb. Value: The story-driven campaign will only take up about eight hours of your time, but the plentiful and creative mulitplayer modes are sure to be a lasting time drain. Buy it for: anyone with a Playstation 3. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is destined to be one of the best games of the year. Read the Full Review WET Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Third-person acrobatic shooter. Subject Matter: Rubi Malone is a leather-pants wearing, wall-running, pole-spinning death machine. She can shoot two shotguns while flipping through the air, slide under tables to hamstring and gut with her sword, and regains health by swigging liquor. Value: The single-player only game has a sizable campaign, fantastic music and troubled controls and camera work. It’s sort of a mixed bag. Buy it for: fans of Kill Bill and fast-paced action noire games. Read the Full Review Wolfenstein Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre : First-Person Shooter Subject Matter: World War II First-Person Shooter with Occult Tendencies Value: While Wolfenstein is an excellent first-person shooter from a technical standpoint, the story is a bit far-fetched and the multiplayer is disappointing, especially in the face of games like Modern Warfare 2. Buy it for : First-person shooter fans looking for a little something different. Read the Full Review WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010 Price: $59.99 Rating: T Genre: Pro wrestling Subject Matter: WWE wrestling, with deep customization options allowing players to create and share their own characters, moves and — the big new addition — storylines. Value: High value for those who will take advantage of the online play and content creation/sharing. Buy it for: WWE fans, even those who don’t like current WWE programming, since those disgruntled fans can create the WWE of their own liking using the game’s deep editors. Read the Full Review

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The PlayStation 3 Buyer’s Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The Xbox 360 Buyer’s Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

New Halo, new downloadables for Mass Effect, Fallout 3, and Grand Theft Auto, new Forza. It was a pretty good year for Xbox 360 owners. Pick through the list to decide which games to give and get and leave a comment to point out any you would add that we didn’t review. And don’t forget, this is more reference material than it is suggestion. Just because it’s on the list doesn’t mean we’re saying you should get it. 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Third-person hip-hop shooter Subject Matter: 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand tells the unintentionally(?) amusing tale of rapper 50 Cent as he struggles to reclaim his diamond encrusted skull from a Middle Eastern bad guy. He’s assisted by his G Unit hangers on and some laughably outlandish moments. Value: An adequately long adventure, made seemingly longer by endlessly looping 50 Cent songs. There are much better games to give this holiday season. Buy it for: someone as a gag. Or a die hard 50 Cent fan fresh from a six month coma. Read the Full Review Axel & Pixel Price: 800 Microsoft Points ($10) Rating: Everyone Genre : Adventure Subject Matter: A point and click adventure game about a man and his dog escaping a dream world with small doses of action. Value: Axel & Pixel is a good couple of hours worth of relaxing adventure gaming, with a few action / racing segments tossed in to keep things interesting. It’s very simply, extremely easy, and once you are done there isn’t much reason to go back through it. Buy it for : Adventure game fans and older parents, to show them that consoles have something for them too. Read the Full Review Assassin’s Creed II Price: $59.99 Rating: M Genre: Free-running platforming adventure game Subject Matter: Assassinations and conspiracy spent mostly in 15th century Renaissance Italy. Value: Lots more content than the first game had, probably lasting gamers at least double the time they spent with the first Assassin’s Creed. Buy it for: People who were let down by the first game, people who like history, beautiful scenery, dynamic platforming, solving mysteries and games that might be the Game of the Year. Read the Full Review The Beatles: Rock Band Price: The stand-alone game sells for $59.99, the Limited Edition Premium Bundle sell for $249.99, the Rickenbacker 325 Standalone Guitar and the Gretsch Duo Jet Standalone Guitar sells for $99.99. Rating: Teen Genre: Rhythm music game Subject Matter: The Beatles: Rock Band is a musical journey through the history of one of the world’s most popular bands. Value: For those new to the Rock Band phenomenon and fans of The Beatles, this 45-track game is well worth a purchase because this is the only way you’ll play The Beatles music in a Rock Band game. If you’re not into the band, give this a pass. Buy it for: huge Beatles fans. Read the Full Review Borderlands Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: First-person shooter RPG Subject Matter: Borderlands targets the loot-hungry region of the brain, offering four classes with which to stalk the planet Pandora, shoot things and level up, acquiring cool guns, sweet armor and totally rad superpowers. As role-playing games go, it’s shallow, but offers a constant stream of junk food gaming. Value: Seeing all that Borderlands has to offer could take hundreds of hours. But the real value comes in the form of being able to play with friends on Xbox Live or via splitscreen. Buy it for: the loot glutton with an itchy trigger finger and a history of playing Diablo. Read the Full Review Brutal Legend Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre : Action Adventure Subject Matter: Brutal Legend is a heavy metal-themed action game that combines racing, shooting, real-time strategy, and hack and slash into one slightly disjointed mix. Value: Brutal Legend is a game from Tim Schafer, one of gaming’s greatest comedy minds, and the absurd humor carries the game a long way. It’s the story of a roadie who gets transported to a heavy metal world where he must raise an army to free the oppressed inhabitants. There’s plenty to do, though the odd mix of genres might be too much for some players. Buy it for : Anyone with a strong affection for heavy metal music or sa twisted sense of humor. Read the Full Review Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Price: $59.99 to $149.99 Rating: Mature Genre: First-person military shooter Subject Matter: Lead a team of elite commandoes in Modern Warfare 2 as they try to prevent a Russian invasion and global thermonuclear war. Then take the action online, going head to head against other well-armed gamers. It’s loud, violent and a hell of a lot of fun to play. Value: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2’s single-player storyline may be short, but the package more than makes up for it with ample cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Near endless replayability will be stoked with future downloadable content. Buy it for: the Michael Bay action movie fan who likes his shooters bombastic and nearly devoid of a comprehensible story, one who doesn’t shy away from ultra-violent fare. Read the Full Review Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood Price: $39.99 Rating: Mature Genre: First-person shooter Subject Matter: Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood is a Civil War era first-person shooter. Value: With an engaging story, wide open maps and plenty of mulitplayer options, this game will take up quite a bit of your time. Buy it for: First-person shooter enthusiasts, fans of the Wild West and Civil War buffs. Read the Full Review DJ Hero Price: $119.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Rhythm Subject Matter: DJ Hero is a rhythm game featuring a replica DJ turntable so players can mix and scratch to the beat of original music mash-ups. Value: DJ Hero features upwards fo 100 different DJ-driven mash-ups featuring songs from the 70’s on up to present-day hits. Unlike the latest Guitar Hero or Rock Band games, however, it’s only good for one or two players, so the party element just isn’t there. The innovative turntable-based gameplay makes it a breath of fresh air in the currently band-centric music genre, but it certainly isn’t as social. Buy it for : Fans of eclectic music mixes and lonely Guitar Hero fans. Read the Full Review Dragon Age: Origins Price: $49.99 Rating: Mature Genre : Roleplaying Subject Matter: An epic action roleplaying game set in a world besieged by evil inside and out. Value: Dragon Age: Origins packs more than 100 hours of gameplay into this action RPG, with branching story paths that encourage multiple play throughs in order to experience it all. BioWare designed the game so it can be played by RPG gamers of any skill level, but mature content and strong sexual situations mean you might want to keep it in the high teens. Buy it for : Anyone who has ever conversationally mentioned hit points. Read the Full Review Fairytale Fights Price: $59.99 Rating: M Genre: Action Subject Matter: A quartet of cutesy fairytale characters set out to regain their fame by beating the beejesus out of other cutesy things. Value: With two-player cooperative play and a four player battle royal mode, you can really let out you violent side in buckets of cartoony blood. Buy it for: People who need a healthy way to blow off steam after a bad day at work. Just don’t be standing next to them if the game happens to crash and they need an immediate alternative. Read the Full Review Fallout 3: Broken Steel Price: $10 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3) Rating: M Genre: Post-apocalyptic role-playing game Subject Matter: Fallout 3 expansion involving missions with a high-powered fighting force. Value: High because it extends the level cap to Fallout 3, changes the game’s ending and allows the adventure to be played infinitely once the story has “ended” Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans who want to play more; essential for anyone getting any Fallout 3 downloadable content Read the Full Review Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta Price: $10.00 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3) Rating: Mature Genre : Still a post-apocalyptic RPG Subject Matter: It’s Fallout 3 in space! Value: Mothership Zeta gives the Fallout 3 player an entire spaceship to explore and make their own, some futuristic new weapons, and tacks a good five hours onto the regular campaign, making it a relatively fair value for your money. Buy it for : Fallout 3 fans. Read the Full Review Fallout 3: Point Lookout Price: $10 (Requires a copy of Fallout 3) Rating: M Genre: Post-apocalyptic role-playing game Subject Matter: Fallout 3 in microcosm, set on a spooky island. Value: Tons of content, and widely seen as the Fallout 3 downloadable content that best shares the strengths of the base game. Buy it for: Fallout 3 fans. Read the Full Review FIFA Soccer 2010 Price: $49.99 Rating: E Genre: Round-Ball Football Subject Matter: The best football game on the market. Value: Almost endless. There are so many leagues and cups, and such a deep singleplayer experience, that it can be played to death until FIFA 11 is released. And that’s before we even get to the 10v10 multiplayer… Buy it for: Anyone who has even a passing interest in the world game. Read the Full Review Fight Night Round 4 Price: $59.99 Rating: T Genre: Boxing Subject Matter: Boxing Value: Tons of fighters, good online options and no real competition. Buy it for: Boxing fans or people looking for a fighting-based game that has longer-lasting fights. Read the Full Review Forza Motorsport 3 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Driving simulation Subject Matter: Forza Motorsport 3 takes the driving simulation in a new direction, making it easier than ever to get into a car, upgrade it, tune it and take if for a spin. For more advance driving game fans, there’s plenty of hardcore driving simulation to enjoy as well. Value: Hundreds of cars, dozens of tracks, thousands of upgrade possibilities and an increasing amount of user-generated content available via the game’s storefront, all purchased with in-game credits, not real money, make Forza Motorsport 3 a great driving value. Buy it for: the Xbox 360 owner who likes to go fast. Read the Full Review Gears of War 2: Dark Corners Price: 1200 Microsoft Points (about $15) Rating: Mature Genre: Third-person tactical shooter Subject Matter: This downloadable add-on for Gears of War 2 lets players run through The Road to Ruin, a campaign level original cut from the game. Value: With a new single-player level, seven new multiplayer maps and director’s commentary, you can’t go wrong for $15. Buy it for: Owners and fans of the original Gears of War 2. Read the Full Review G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Price: $49.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action Subject Matter: A arcade-style shooter loosely based on the live-action G.I. Joe movie. Value: G.I. Joe is a movie tie-in strangely reminiscent of Konami’s Contra series. One or two players take control of their favorite Joes from the movie and take on Cobra across multiple levels of run-and-gun action. There are a few unlockables catering to fans of the old cartoon series, but other than that this is strictly a movie-lover’s affair. Buy it for : Really, really big fans of the G.I. Joe live-action movie. Read the Full Review Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony Price: $20 if downloaded through Xbox Live Arcade (requires a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV) or $39.95 if purchased as one half of the Grand Theft Auto IV: Episodes From Liberty City disc (GTA IV not required; Episodes disc also includes the similarly-sized first GTA IV expansion, Grand Theft Auto: The Lost and Damned.) Rating: M Genre: Open world, third-person shooter. Subject Matter: Over-the-top modern crime drama set in a fictional New York City. Value: Offers more content per dollar than just about anything else downloadable on the Xbox 360, a 13-hour-plus campaign, numerous side activities and returning multiplayer challenges similar to what was offered with GTA IV. Buy it for: People who thought GTA IV was too tame and wished their lead character would be asked to parachute off skyscrapers, steal subway cars (with a helicopter), dance in a nightclub and cross paths with the last two protagonists in the GTA IV saga. Read the Full Review Guitar Hero 5 Price: $59.99 for the game, $99.99 with a guitar controller included Rating: Teen Genre: Music/Rythym Subject Matter: It’s Guitar Hero. You play a quintet of color-coordinated “notes” as they scroll downscreen to a new selection of music. Value: Guitar Hero 5 offers a great suite of single and multiplayer modes, the most robust options yet for the series. What it doesn’t offer is the series’ most attractive soundtrack, despite an 85 song strong line up. Good for the new Guitar Hero gamer, but that money may be better spent on downloadable songs. Buy it for: for Guitar Hero noobs who have extremely eclectic taste in music. Read the Full Review Halo 3: ODST Price: $59.99 Rating: M Genre: First-person shooter Subject Matter: Daytime sci-fi military action interspersed with noir-inspired nighttime sleuthing. Value: Varies depending on one’s Halo experience. A seven-hour campaign and the offline Firefight mode can be played with up to four players and is all-new, but only three of the game’s 24 multiplayer maps haven’t been sold — and possibly purchased by the prospective ODST consumer — before. Buy it for: Halo fans who either never bought Halo 3’s bonus maps or wouldn’t spend $60 of their own for ODST because they did. Read the Full Review The King of Fighters XII Price: $59.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Fighting Subject Matter: SNK Playmore’s latest entry in its King of Fighter series is a return to its roots with 2D fighting and hand-drawn graphics. Value: The game feels largely unfinished — though, the parts which are done should please the hardcore fans. Buy it for : Die-hard SNK fighting game fans. Read the Full Review Left 4 Dead 2 Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: First-person horror shooter Subject Matter: Four Survivors fight their way through a gory zombie apocalypse in the Southeastern United States, decapitating, dismembering and generally destroying every walking dead human in their path. Cooperative multiplayer is at the core of the Left 4 Dead 2 experience. Value: Left 4 Dead 2 is a multiplayer game with a massive amount of replayability, but requires cooperative gameplay and reliable friends to fully enjoy. There’s very little here for the lone, single-player gamer, so make sure that Live subscription is all paid up. Buy it for: the grown-up Xbox Live Gold subscriber who believes there’s no “I” in team and may be disappointed with the body count in Modern Warfare 2 and Halo 3 ODST . Read the Full Review Lucidity Price: 800 Points Rating: Everyone Genre : Platform/Puzzle Subject Matter: Little girl Sofi wanders through her dreams, looking for her lost Nana. Value: While the puzzle gameplay element is average, the art style is superb. Buy it for : Tim Burton fans. Read the Full Review Mad Catz Modern Warfare 2 Throat Communicator Price: $29.99 Rating: NA Genre: NA Subject Matter: This throat communicator is meant to replace the need for a standard Xbox 360 microphone. Value: The throat communicator does a great job of cutting down on room noise for your friends and feels pretty comfortable. If those things are important to you, you should pick this up. Buy it for: Modern Warfare 2 enthusiasts, online gamers and friends who play in noisy settings. Read the Full Review Madden NFL 10 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Sports Subject Matter: The only video game licensed by the NFL, covering the current season. Value: For the first time on the current console generation, Madden earns its must-own status among sports gamers. The fine-tuned action is slightly slower, creating greater big play potential on both sides of the ball. Buy it for: Any sports gamer who doesn’t yet have it. Madden is a no-brainer gift that any sports fan will enjoy. Read the Full Review Marvel VS. Capcom 2 Price: $15.00 Rating: Teen Genre : Fighting Subject Matter: Marvel characters. Capcom characters. Fighting. Value: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 contains one of the largest roster in fighting game history, with 56 Marvel and Capcom characters to choose from. The sheer amount of variety plus online multiplayer makes this one downloadable title well worth the price. Read the Full Review Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 Price: $59.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action RPG Subject Matter: Tons of Marvel heroes take on tons of Marvel villains Value: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 may not quite live up to the thrill of the original, but it is a more cohesive package overall, with a storyline ripped from Marvel’s Civil War storyline and a good dozen hours of heroic fun for 1-4 players. Read the Full Review Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station Price: $5 (requires a copy of Mass Effect) Rating: M Genre: Bonus missions for third-person shooter/role-playing game Subject Matter: Mass Effect gets a battle simulator to allow goal-based shooting challenges. Value: High for those looking for something new in the original Mass Effect while awaiting the January sequel; low for people looking for what made the first game popular. Buy it for: Mass Effect completists, though you’ll only be able to buy them download points for this game or give them a small check. Read the Full Review Mini Ninjas Price: $49.99 Rating: E Genre: Juvenile Bush Disguise/Phantom Removal Subject Matter: Play as one of a band of adorable child ninjas on a quest to kill a bad guy and free the adorable little forest animals. Value: A somewhat short singleplayer game, but the ability to play as one of several ninjas means there’s plenty of replay value. Buy it for: Anyone. Everyone. Kids will love the straight-forward combat, adults will find there’s a great stealth and combat system lurking under the hood. Read the Full Review Modern Warfare 2 Combat Controller Camo Price: $49.99 Rating: N/A Genre: N/A Subject Matter: This wired controller features programmable buttons, better triggers and a Modern Warfare 2 theme. Value: It’s a bit pricey, but if you’re a big fan of the game and like the idea of programmable buttons, it’s probably worth the $50. Buy it for: Fans of Modern Warfare 2. Read the Full Review NBA 2K10 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Sports Subject Matter: NBA 2K10 celebrates the 10th anniversary of 2K Sports’ best-in-class basketball simulation. Value: NBA 2K10 offers a much more varied set of gameplay modes, both single- and multiplayer, than its challenger NBA Live 10 . Its season simulation lacks the aspect of playing in this year’s league but is deeper in all other regards. My Player, in which you create and control one player on his journey from prospect to all-star, is tough but a rewarding experience. Buy it for: Serious basketball fans with some exposure to the sport in real life, either as a player or a devoted fan. Read the Full Review NBA Live 10 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Sports Subject Matter: NBA Live 10 is EA Sports’ current title covering pro basketball’s upcoming season. Value: EA Sports has poured a ton of effort into resurrecting the franchise. New controls enabling you to move players off the ball on offense and defense are easy to learn and a real plus. Dynamic DNA allows you to run your season simulation as if it were taking place among current league events in real life. Buy it for: Basketball fans who prefer singleplayer sports gaming, want a very accurate league simulation, and an easy-to-comprehend control set. Read the Full Review NCAA Football 10 Price: $59.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Sports Subject Matter: The tradition and pageantry of college football’s 115 teams, plus any schools you might choose to create. Value: NCAA Football 10 is the deepest simulation of a sport, on and off the field, of any currently available sports title. Buy it for: Any sports nut with a serious helping of school pride or leftover nostalgia for college days gone by. Read the Full Review NHL 2K10 Price: $39.99 Rating: Everyone 10+ Genre: Sports Subject Matter: NHL 2K10 is 2K Sports’ current title covering professional hockey’s latest season. Value: NHL 2K10 is still a runner-up to EA’s NHL 10, but it is not without merit. It features the same robust multiplayer package as its NBA cousin. The action’s a little arcadey, but it also is the only NHL title with the league’s popular outdoor classic venues. Buy it for: A casual-to-moderate hockey fan who enjoys lots of scoring action. Read the Full Review Pro Evolution Soccer 2010 Price: $59.99 Rating: E Genre: Sports Subject Matter: Football title encompassing international and club tournaments, manager modes and online play. Value: Pro Evo’s “Master League”, a time-devouring game mode incorporating RPG and strategy elements, is the one area fans remain devoted to this series ahead of its rival, EA Sports’ FIFA. Buy it for: Football fans who like to not only play a good game, but also roll up their sleeves and get lost in a sea of statistics and growth charts. Read the Full Review Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Realistic military first-person shooter Subject Matter: Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a relatively open-world tactical shooter that has players trying to take the fictional island of Skira from China. Value: Plagued with problems this shooter doesn’t deliver much for the premium price you pay. Buy it for: hardcore fans of realistic shooters that offer no chance for mistakes or do-overs. Read the Full Review South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! Price: 800 Microsoft Points Rating: Mature Genre : Tower Defense Subject Matter: South Park Let’s Go Tower Defense Play! has the South Park kids big towers to fend off enemies that range from gnomes to old people in an 11 mission campaign. Buy it for : Fans of South Park, fans of tower defense games, and fans of both. Value: The game features unlockable characters and challenging maps (especially the later levels), co-op and online. There are also unlockable clips from the show. Read the Full Review Tekken 6 Price: $59.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Fighter Subject Matter: Once you’ve mastered the moves of your favorite character, Tekken 6’s 3D fights are all about timing and tactics. Value: With 40 playable characters and a seemingly endless single-player campaign, Tekken 6 is a good deal for fans of the franchise willing to put up with some online issues. Buy it for: fighting fans, Tekken fans, and maybe as a taste of something different for Street Fighter IV fans. Read the Full Review Trials HD Price: 1200 Points Rating: Teen Genre : Racing/Puzzle Subject Matter: Trials HD is a twist on motorbike racing: Players must navigate trick courses and tricky in-game physics as fast as they can. Value: The game features over 50 tracks and seemingly simple, yet deep game play — offering replay value as your skills continue to get better and better. A level editor lets players make their own courses. It’s the Excite Bike of the 21st Century. Buy it for : Those who want more from their racing games than speed. Read the Full Review WET Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Third-person acrobatic shooter. Subject Matter: Rubi Malone is a leather-pants wearing, wall-running, pole-spinning death machine. She can shoot two shotguns while flipping through the air, slide under tables to hamstring and gut with her sword, and regains health by swigging liquor. Value: The single-player only game has a sizable campaign, fantastic music and troubled controls and camera work. It’s sort of a mixed bag. Buy it for: fans of Kill Bill and fast-paced action noire games. Read the Full Review Wolfenstein Price: $59.99 Rating: Mature Genre : First-Person Shooter Subject Matter: World War II First-Person Shooter with Occult Tendencies Value: While Wolfenstein is an excellent first-person shooter from a technical standpoint, the story is a bit far-fetched and the multiplayer is disappointing, especially in the face of games like Modern Warfare 2. Buy it for : First-person shooter fans looking for a little something different. Read the Full Review WWE Smackdown Vs. Raw 2010 Price: $59.99 Rating: T Genre: Pro wrestling Subject Matter: WWE wrestling, with deep customization options allowing players to create and share their own characters, moves and — the big new addition — storylines. Value: High value for those who will take advantage of the online play and content creation/sharing. Buy it for: WWE fans, even those who don’t like current WWE programming, since those disgruntled fans can create the WWE of their own liking using the game’s deep editors. Read the Full Review

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The Xbox 360 Buyer’s Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The PlayStation Portable Buyer’s Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The Playstation Portable got a fun, new little brother this year in the form of the slide-n-go, download-only PSPgo. The PSPgo launched on Oct. 1, kicking off an impressive glut of download-only games on the Playstation Store. It also marked Sony’s promised push for new, triple-A games for the Playstation Portable including MotorStorm, LittleBigPlanet and Assassin’s Creed titles. Take a gander at some of the big games that hit the PSP this year. What titles would you recommend as a gift? Fieldrunners Price: $6.99 Genre : Tower Defense Subject Matter: The popular iPhone Tower Defense game brought to the Playstation Portable. Value: This was one of my favorite downloadable minis when the PSPgo launched. It’s a great port of the original. Buy it for fans of tower defense titles. Read the Full Review G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action Subject Matter: A arcade-style shooter loosely based on the live-action G.I. Joe movie. Value: G.I. Joe is a movie tie-in strangely reminiscent of Konami’s Contra series. One or two players take control of their favorite Joes from the movie and take on Cobra across multiple levels of run-and-gun action. There are a few unlockables catering to fans of the old cartoon series, but other than that this is strictly a movie-lover’s affair. Buy it for : Really, really big fans of the G.I. Joe live-action movie. Read the Full Review Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars Price: $39.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Open world action-adventure Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game. Value: There’s a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested. Buy it for: PSP owners looking for a chunky, fun-to-pay adventure. Read the Full Preview Gran Turismo Price: $39.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Driving Simulation Subject Matter: Gran Turismo offers players over 800 cars to purchase, customize and race on more than 35 tracks in a realistic setting, testing their driving skills with real-world physics. Value: Gran Turismo offers nearly limitless replayability, thanks to the numerous cars, tracks and Driving Challenges stuffed in to the game. Long time Gran Turismo fans may be turned of by the lack of a Career Mode and Leaderboards, but this is a solid pick up and play racer. Buy it for: The car-obsessed portable gamer who prefers a passenger seat in the real-world. Read the Full Review Half-Minute Hero Price: $29.95 Rating: E10+ Genre: Across four mode: Hyper-speed role-playing game / hyper-speed scrolling shoot-em-up / hyper-speed real-time strategy game / hyper-speed top-down dungeon-crawler Subject Matter: A winning send-up to the genres and technology of 16-bit Japanese-made games, there’s actually a lengthy adventure here that spans eras and tells the comedic/dramatic tale of heroes who repeatedly face the challenge of saving the world in 30 seconds. Value: High, as the game offers short-session bites of play that combine into a lengthy adventure that has none of the brevity suggested by the game’s title. Buy it for: RPG fans, fans of the Super Nintendo era, and fans who are looking for something original and smart on the PSP. Read the Full Review LocoRoco Midnight Carnival Price: $14.99 Rating: Everyone Genre : Platformer Subject Matter: The LocoRocos are up past their bedtime and rolling and bouncing their way through a Halloween carnival-style levels. Value: The stages might be short, but they are hard . A more satisfying (and less stressful) gaming experience was found in some of the mini-games. Buy it for : Gamers looking for a challenge who get music stuck in their heads easily. Read the Full Review MotorStorm: Arctic Edge Price: $39.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Racing Subject Matter: MotorStorm: Arctic Edge is an over-the-top, semi-open world off-road racer. Buy it for : fans of arcade race games who spend a bit of time commuting or can’t afford a Playstation 3. Value: With 12 maps, two directions to race them on, multiple courses and vehicle types, MotorStorm Arctic Edge is packed with content. Online play rounds out the experience giving you a chance to test your skills against five other players at a time. Read the Full Review PixelJunk Monsters Deluxe Price: $19.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Tower defense Subject Matter: Classic tower defense mechanics and gameplay mixed with delicious PixelJunk aesthetics. Buy it for : fans of the original Playstation 3 title, tower defense games or developer Q Games. Value: Featuring new maps, enemies and towers, this is worth the cash. Read the Full preview PSPgo Price: $249 Rating: NA Genre: Hardware Subject Matter: Sony’s latest portable platform ditches the need for a UMD drive and instead gives you a 16GB harddrive and the ability to download all of the games directly to the system. Value: At $249, the portable platform is quite pricey, coming in at the cost of several home consoles. Buy it for: anyone interested in being able to load up their portable with movies, TV shows, pictures, music and games without having to carry a single disc around with them. Read the Full Review PSPgo Traveler Case Price: $19.99 Rating: NA Genre: NA Subject Matter: This fauxe leather case protects and beautifies your PSPgo. Value: For just under $20, this is a heck of a deal. Buy it for: PSPgo owners looking to protect or upgrade the look of their portable. Read the Full Review Rock Band Unplugged> /strong> Price: $19.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Rhythm game Subject Matter: Harmonix’ insanely popular Rock Band on the go. Value: For just under $20 you get a full-fledged World Tour and about 40 tracks. You also get the ability to download new tracks to your PSP. Buy it for: fans of rhythm games, Rock Band and good music. Read the Full Review Shin Megami Tensei: Persona Price: $39.99 Rating: Teen Genre : RPG Subject Matter: A remake of the original Persona for the PlayStation. Value: A more faithful translation of the original Japanese Persona has never been seen in North America, making Persona PSP the definitive first entry in a series that’s been enjoying increased popularity these past few years. Buy it for : Any Japanese RPG fan. Read the Full Review Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Adventure Subject Matter: You are X-2, a Jedi clone out to help the Rebels take down the Empire and stop your brother X-1 before it’s too late. Value: Elite Squadron mixes gameplay, story and clips from the Star Wars films as it tells the story of X-2. The real replay value comes with the game’s online multiplayer. Buy it for : Star Wars fans or those looking for a PSP multiplayer experience. Read the Full Review

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The PlayStation Portable Buyer’s Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The DS and DSi Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

This year saw the launch of not one, but two additions to the DS family. The DSi, sporting two cameras and the ability to download games, hit in April. The DSiLL (XL to folks outside of Japan) is all of that a more, well more in the sense of size, super-sizing the screen and mondo-sizing the stylus. Of course, there were also games, plenty of games. Here’s some of the top titles we reviewed on Kotaku. What DS or DSi games would you suggest picking up for friends or family? Art Style: Digidrive Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Puzzle Subject Matter: The world’s only game based on directing traffic, but fun Value: Not many modes, but very deep gameplay, Tetris-like. Buy it for: People who want an engrossing puzzle game for their commute — and the only puzzle game built well for one-handed play (good for shaky subway/bus rides.) Read the Full Review Art Style: Boxlife Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Uh, puzzle box-folding? Subject Matter: Work in a factory, fold boxes, live the American dream Value: Second-best of all DSi Art Style games, based on a clever, deep mechanic, and a bevy of modes and unlockables. Buy it for: Fans of innovative game design. Read the Full Review Art Style: Pictobits Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Block-dropping puzzle game Subject Matter: A Tetris twist with an artsy retro style Value: Highest of all downloadable DS games, offering many levels, great nostalgia for old pixel art, and a high-quality full chiptunes soundtrack that re-mixes classic Nintendo themes. Buy it for: Anyone with a DSi, anyone who is nostalgic for the Nintendo Entertainment System Read the Full Review Art Style: Precipice Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Puzzle Subject Matter: Endless Tetris-style game featuring a man climbing falling blocks Value: Doesn’t have any modes, but its core gameplay is long-lasting. Buy it for: Puzzle game fans and those who enjoy the DSi’s innovative Art Style series Read the Full Review Bakugan Battle Brawlers Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Marble-shooting, creature-battling action game. Subject Matter: Based on the wildly popular collectible toy game and cartoon series, Bakugan follows in the footsteps of Pokemon but adds transforming marbles to the mix. The game does a good job of capturing the essence of the franchise. Value: With a relatively robust single-player campaign and ability to battle up to three friends on one television in a slew of interactive arenas, this game is a pretty good deal. Buy it for: fans of Bakugan and maybe even curious fans of Pokemon. Read the Full Review Domo Games Price: $2 each (five games – download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Music, Sports Subject Matter: The NHK TV mascot, Domo, stars in five re-purposed mini-games that were originally made in 2002 Value: Low, because the games are not fun. Buy it for: Only people who love Domo and whom you don’t love. Read the Full Review Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Action/Adventure Subject Matter: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter is a relatively simple adventure game with similarly simple side-scrolling platforming levels and a touching, sometimes sad story. What makes it unique are its drawing features, which let the player customize their hero, what weapons they use and various elements of the game world all via the DS’s touch screen. Value: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter’s main adventure is brief, but the option to create new heroes, which can vary from flower people to ninjas to robots, extends the life of this charming 2D adventure. Buy it for: the creative kid who may be too young for a more challenging Nintendo DS game. Read the Full Review DSi Price: $169.99 Rating: N/A Genre: N/A Subject Matter: The next step for the DS Lite features two cameras and the ability to download games from the Nintendo store. Value: While the price isn’t exorbitant, more than half a year after launch the Nintendo Store is still lacking in quality downloadable titles. Buy it for: gadgetophiles, people who love Nintendo, children who don’t own digital cameras, anyone interested in a DS but who hasn’t taken the plunge yet. Read the Full Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Turn-based role-playing strategy Subject Matter: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a thoughtful, modern day remake of an 8-bit medieval fantasy classic, telling the turn-based tale of Marth, heir to the throne of Altea who leads a band of soldiers in a tactical revolt against the Shadow Dragon Medeus. Value: Over twenty five chapters, loads of characters, ample upgrade options, rare weapons via the online shop, and an excessive six levels of difficulty should ensure that your purchase of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is money well spent. Buy it for: the fan of fantasy, strategy and epic adventure. Read the Full Review Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars Price: $34.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Open world action-adventure Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game. Value: There’s a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested. Buy it for: the Nintendo DS owner sadly lacking in over-the-top violent content. Read the Full Review Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Price: $39.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action RPG Subject Matter: An action RPG that bridges the gap between Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Value: While those not familiar with the Kingdom Hearts franchise will find themselves a bit lost story-wise, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a lengthy game that fans will love for the back story and RPG fans will enjoy for its depth. Buy it for : Anyone who is a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series. Read the Full Review Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story Price: $34.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Action RPG Subject Matter: Mario, Luigi and their nemesis Bowser band together to fend off a common foe in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. As role-playing games go, it’s heavy on the action, light on the story and packed with memorable, humorous characters. Value: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story offers a lengthy adventure, about 20 hours worth of play time, but after the story’s complete, there’s little incentive to return to the game. Buy it for: the younger gamer looking for a long, not too challenging experience (or anyone with a Nintendo DS and a sense of humor). Read the Full Review Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again Price: $8 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Lemmings-like puzzler Subject Matter: Mainpulate girders and gadgets to enable Mario toys to march to their goals. Value: Very high due to a generous amount of levels and a level-editor that supports downloaded user-made maps. Buy it for: Fans of brain-bending puzzle games, as the solutions to some of these levels are hard to engineer. Read the Full Review Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Price: $34.99 Rating: E Genre: Adventure/Puzzle Subject Matter: The Professor and his protégé, Luke, are out to solve a mystery surrounding a man who never ages and box that kills all who open it. Value: With a crazy amount of puzzles and a new puzzles to download every week, this is one game that won’t ever be very far from your DS during those long commutes. Buy it for: Yourself and anybody you actually want to give a good gift to. Read the Full Review Rhythm Heaven Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Music/Rhythm Subject Matter: Rhythm Heaven is a loosely connected series of rhythmic and musical challenges with very simple controls, requiring little more than good timing and simple touchscreen tapping. Simplistic though it may be, Rhythm Heaven is inventive and fun. Value: There are dozens of mini-games to unlock and play, with sound toys and more serious challenges for the player who masters Rhythm Heaven’s main mode. Buy it for: anyone with Nintendo DS that can keep a beat or longs for more WarioWare style mini-game fun. Read the Full Review Scribblenauts Price: $29.99 Rating: E10+ Genre: Open world, spell-checking puzzle action game. Subject Matter: Scribblenauts brings just about anything you can spell to life in the game, backing up a stunningly large visual dictionary with a web of interactions that can surprise and amuse as you work out how to solve puzzles. Value: With 150 puzzles and 150 action levels, and the ability to use more than 22,800 words to figure out what to do, this is one of the best values this year in gaming. Buy it for: children learning to spell, people who love lateral thinking and anyone with a sense of humor. Read the Full Review

Continued here:
The DS and DSi Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The DS and DSi Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

This year saw the launch of not one, but two additions to the DS family. The DSi, sporting two cameras and the ability to download games, hit in April. The DSiLL (XL to folks outside of Japan) is all of that a more, well more in the sense of size, super-sizing the screen and mondo-sizing the stylus. Of course, there were also games, plenty of games. Here’s some of the top titles we reviewed on Kotaku. What DS or DSi games would you suggest picking up for friends or family? Art Style: Digidrive Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Puzzle Subject Matter: The world’s only game based on directing traffic, but fun Value: Not many modes, but very deep gameplay, Tetris-like. Buy it for: People who want an engrossing puzzle game for their commute — and the only puzzle game built well for one-handed play (good for shaky subway/bus rides.) Read the Full Review Art Style: Boxlife Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Uh, puzzle box-folding? Subject Matter: Work in a factory, fold boxes, live the American dream Value: Second-best of all DSi Art Style games, based on a clever, deep mechanic, and a bevy of modes and unlockables. Buy it for: Fans of innovative game design. Read the Full Review Art Style: Pictobits Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Block-dropping puzzle game Subject Matter: A Tetris twist with an artsy retro style Value: Highest of all downloadable DS games, offering many levels, great nostalgia for old pixel art, and a high-quality full chiptunes soundtrack that re-mixes classic Nintendo themes. Buy it for: Anyone with a DSi, anyone who is nostalgic for the Nintendo Entertainment System Read the Full Review Art Style: Precipice Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Puzzle Subject Matter: Endless Tetris-style game featuring a man climbing falling blocks Value: Doesn’t have any modes, but its core gameplay is long-lasting. Buy it for: Puzzle game fans and those who enjoy the DSi’s innovative Art Style series Read the Full Review Bakugan Battle Brawlers Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Marble-shooting, creature-battling action game. Subject Matter: Based on the wildly popular collectible toy game and cartoon series, Bakugan follows in the footsteps of Pokemon but adds transforming marbles to the mix. The game does a good job of capturing the essence of the franchise. Value: With a relatively robust single-player campaign and ability to battle up to three friends on one television in a slew of interactive arenas, this game is a pretty good deal. Buy it for: fans of Bakugan and maybe even curious fans of Pokemon. Read the Full Review Domo Games Price: $2 each (five games – download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Music, Sports Subject Matter: The NHK TV mascot, Domo, stars in five re-purposed mini-games that were originally made in 2002 Value: Low, because the games are not fun. Buy it for: Only people who love Domo and whom you don’t love. Read the Full Review Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Action/Adventure Subject Matter: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter is a relatively simple adventure game with similarly simple side-scrolling platforming levels and a touching, sometimes sad story. What makes it unique are its drawing features, which let the player customize their hero, what weapons they use and various elements of the game world all via the DS’s touch screen. Value: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter’s main adventure is brief, but the option to create new heroes, which can vary from flower people to ninjas to robots, extends the life of this charming 2D adventure. Buy it for: the creative kid who may be too young for a more challenging Nintendo DS game. Read the Full Review DSi Price: $169.99 Rating: N/A Genre: N/A Subject Matter: The next step for the DS Lite features two cameras and the ability to download games from the Nintendo store. Value: While the price isn’t exorbitant, more than half a year after launch the Nintendo Store is still lacking in quality downloadable titles. Buy it for: gadgetophiles, people who love Nintendo, children who don’t own digital cameras, anyone interested in a DS but who hasn’t taken the plunge yet. Read the Full Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Turn-based role-playing strategy Subject Matter: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a thoughtful, modern day remake of an 8-bit medieval fantasy classic, telling the turn-based tale of Marth, heir to the throne of Altea who leads a band of soldiers in a tactical revolt against the Shadow Dragon Medeus. Value: Over twenty five chapters, loads of characters, ample upgrade options, rare weapons via the online shop, and an excessive six levels of difficulty should ensure that your purchase of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is money well spent. Buy it for: the fan of fantasy, strategy and epic adventure. Read the Full Review Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars Price: $34.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Open world action-adventure Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game. Value: There’s a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested. Buy it for: the Nintendo DS owner sadly lacking in over-the-top violent content. Read the Full Review Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Price: $39.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action RPG Subject Matter: An action RPG that bridges the gap between Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Value: While those not familiar with the Kingdom Hearts franchise will find themselves a bit lost story-wise, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a lengthy game that fans will love for the back story and RPG fans will enjoy for its depth. Buy it for : Anyone who is a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series. Read the Full Review Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story Price: $34.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Action RPG Subject Matter: Mario, Luigi and their nemesis Bowser band together to fend off a common foe in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. As role-playing games go, it’s heavy on the action, light on the story and packed with memorable, humorous characters. Value: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story offers a lengthy adventure, about 20 hours worth of play time, but after the story’s complete, there’s little incentive to return to the game. Buy it for: the younger gamer looking for a long, not too challenging experience (or anyone with a Nintendo DS and a sense of humor). Read the Full Review Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again Price: $8 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Lemmings-like puzzler Subject Matter: Mainpulate girders and gadgets to enable Mario toys to march to their goals. Value: Very high due to a generous amount of levels and a level-editor that supports downloaded user-made maps. Buy it for: Fans of brain-bending puzzle games, as the solutions to some of these levels are hard to engineer. Read the Full Review Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Price: $34.99 Rating: E Genre: Adventure/Puzzle Subject Matter: The Professor and his protégé, Luke, are out to solve a mystery surrounding a man who never ages and box that kills all who open it. Value: With a crazy amount of puzzles and a new puzzles to download every week, this is one game that won’t ever be very far from your DS during those long commutes. Buy it for: Yourself and anybody you actually want to give a good gift to. Read the Full Review Rhythm Heaven Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Music/Rhythm Subject Matter: Rhythm Heaven is a loosely connected series of rhythmic and musical challenges with very simple controls, requiring little more than good timing and simple touchscreen tapping. Simplistic though it may be, Rhythm Heaven is inventive and fun. Value: There are dozens of mini-games to unlock and play, with sound toys and more serious challenges for the player who masters Rhythm Heaven’s main mode. Buy it for: anyone with Nintendo DS that can keep a beat or longs for more WarioWare style mini-game fun. Read the Full Review Scribblenauts Price: $29.99 Rating: E10+ Genre: Open world, spell-checking puzzle action game. Subject Matter: Scribblenauts brings just about anything you can spell to life in the game, backing up a stunningly large visual dictionary with a web of interactions that can surprise and amuse as you work out how to solve puzzles. Value: With 150 puzzles and 150 action levels, and the ability to use more than 22,800 words to figure out what to do, this is one of the best values this year in gaming. Buy it for: children learning to spell, people who love lateral thinking and anyone with a sense of humor. Read the Full Review

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The DS and DSi Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The DS and DSi Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

This year saw the launch of not one, but two additions to the DS family. The DSi, sporting two cameras and the ability to download games, hit in April. The DSiLL (XL to folks outside of Japan) is all of that a more, well more in the sense of size, super-sizing the screen and mondo-sizing the stylus. Of course, there were also games, plenty of games. Here’s some of the top titles we reviewed on Kotaku. What DS or DSi games would you suggest picking up for friends or family? Art Style: Digidrive Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Puzzle Subject Matter: The world’s only game based on directing traffic, but fun Value: Not many modes, but very deep gameplay, Tetris-like. Buy it for: People who want an engrossing puzzle game for their commute — and the only puzzle game built well for one-handed play (good for shaky subway/bus rides.) Read the Full Review Art Style: Boxlife Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Uh, puzzle box-folding? Subject Matter: Work in a factory, fold boxes, live the American dream Value: Second-best of all DSi Art Style games, based on a clever, deep mechanic, and a bevy of modes and unlockables. Buy it for: Fans of innovative game design. Read the Full Review Art Style: Pictobits Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Block-dropping puzzle game Subject Matter: A Tetris twist with an artsy retro style Value: Highest of all downloadable DS games, offering many levels, great nostalgia for old pixel art, and a high-quality full chiptunes soundtrack that re-mixes classic Nintendo themes. Buy it for: Anyone with a DSi, anyone who is nostalgic for the Nintendo Entertainment System Read the Full Review Art Style: Precipice Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Puzzle Subject Matter: Endless Tetris-style game featuring a man climbing falling blocks Value: Doesn’t have any modes, but its core gameplay is long-lasting. Buy it for: Puzzle game fans and those who enjoy the DSi’s innovative Art Style series Read the Full Review Bakugan Battle Brawlers Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Marble-shooting, creature-battling action game. Subject Matter: Based on the wildly popular collectible toy game and cartoon series, Bakugan follows in the footsteps of Pokemon but adds transforming marbles to the mix. The game does a good job of capturing the essence of the franchise. Value: With a relatively robust single-player campaign and ability to battle up to three friends on one television in a slew of interactive arenas, this game is a pretty good deal. Buy it for: fans of Bakugan and maybe even curious fans of Pokemon. Read the Full Review Domo Games Price: $2 each (five games – download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Music, Sports Subject Matter: The NHK TV mascot, Domo, stars in five re-purposed mini-games that were originally made in 2002 Value: Low, because the games are not fun. Buy it for: Only people who love Domo and whom you don’t love. Read the Full Review Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Action/Adventure Subject Matter: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter is a relatively simple adventure game with similarly simple side-scrolling platforming levels and a touching, sometimes sad story. What makes it unique are its drawing features, which let the player customize their hero, what weapons they use and various elements of the game world all via the DS’s touch screen. Value: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter’s main adventure is brief, but the option to create new heroes, which can vary from flower people to ninjas to robots, extends the life of this charming 2D adventure. Buy it for: the creative kid who may be too young for a more challenging Nintendo DS game. Read the Full Review DSi Price: $169.99 Rating: N/A Genre: N/A Subject Matter: The next step for the DS Lite features two cameras and the ability to download games from the Nintendo store. Value: While the price isn’t exorbitant, more than half a year after launch the Nintendo Store is still lacking in quality downloadable titles. Buy it for: gadgetophiles, people who love Nintendo, children who don’t own digital cameras, anyone interested in a DS but who hasn’t taken the plunge yet. Read the Full Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Turn-based role-playing strategy Subject Matter: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a thoughtful, modern day remake of an 8-bit medieval fantasy classic, telling the turn-based tale of Marth, heir to the throne of Altea who leads a band of soldiers in a tactical revolt against the Shadow Dragon Medeus. Value: Over twenty five chapters, loads of characters, ample upgrade options, rare weapons via the online shop, and an excessive six levels of difficulty should ensure that your purchase of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is money well spent. Buy it for: the fan of fantasy, strategy and epic adventure. Read the Full Review Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars Price: $34.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Open world action-adventure Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game. Value: There’s a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested. Buy it for: the Nintendo DS owner sadly lacking in over-the-top violent content. Read the Full Review Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Price: $39.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action RPG Subject Matter: An action RPG that bridges the gap between Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Value: While those not familiar with the Kingdom Hearts franchise will find themselves a bit lost story-wise, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a lengthy game that fans will love for the back story and RPG fans will enjoy for its depth. Buy it for : Anyone who is a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series. Read the Full Review Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story Price: $34.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Action RPG Subject Matter: Mario, Luigi and their nemesis Bowser band together to fend off a common foe in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. As role-playing games go, it’s heavy on the action, light on the story and packed with memorable, humorous characters. Value: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story offers a lengthy adventure, about 20 hours worth of play time, but after the story’s complete, there’s little incentive to return to the game. Buy it for: the younger gamer looking for a long, not too challenging experience (or anyone with a Nintendo DS and a sense of humor). Read the Full Review Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again Price: $8 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Lemmings-like puzzler Subject Matter: Mainpulate girders and gadgets to enable Mario toys to march to their goals. Value: Very high due to a generous amount of levels and a level-editor that supports downloaded user-made maps. Buy it for: Fans of brain-bending puzzle games, as the solutions to some of these levels are hard to engineer. Read the Full Review Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Price: $34.99 Rating: E Genre: Adventure/Puzzle Subject Matter: The Professor and his protégé, Luke, are out to solve a mystery surrounding a man who never ages and box that kills all who open it. Value: With a crazy amount of puzzles and a new puzzles to download every week, this is one game that won’t ever be very far from your DS during those long commutes. Buy it for: Yourself and anybody you actually want to give a good gift to. Read the Full Review Rhythm Heaven Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Music/Rhythm Subject Matter: Rhythm Heaven is a loosely connected series of rhythmic and musical challenges with very simple controls, requiring little more than good timing and simple touchscreen tapping. Simplistic though it may be, Rhythm Heaven is inventive and fun. Value: There are dozens of mini-games to unlock and play, with sound toys and more serious challenges for the player who masters Rhythm Heaven’s main mode. Buy it for: anyone with Nintendo DS that can keep a beat or longs for more WarioWare style mini-game fun. Read the Full Review Scribblenauts Price: $29.99 Rating: E10+ Genre: Open world, spell-checking puzzle action game. Subject Matter: Scribblenauts brings just about anything you can spell to life in the game, backing up a stunningly large visual dictionary with a web of interactions that can surprise and amuse as you work out how to solve puzzles. Value: With 150 puzzles and 150 action levels, and the ability to use more than 22,800 words to figure out what to do, this is one of the best values this year in gaming. Buy it for: children learning to spell, people who love lateral thinking and anyone with a sense of humor. Read the Full Review

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The DS and DSi Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The DS and DSi Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

This year saw the launch of not one, but two additions to the DS family. The DSi, sporting two cameras and the ability to download games, hit in April. The DSiLL (XL to folks outside of Japan) is all of that a more, well more in the sense of size, super-sizing the screen and mondo-sizing the stylus. Of course, there were also games, plenty of games. Here’s some of the top titles we reviewed on Kotaku. What DS or DSi games would you suggest picking up for friends or family? Art Style: Digidrive Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Puzzle Subject Matter: The world’s only game based on directing traffic, but fun Value: Not many modes, but very deep gameplay, Tetris-like. Buy it for: People who want an engrossing puzzle game for their commute — and the only puzzle game built well for one-handed play (good for shaky subway/bus rides.) Read the Full Review Art Style: Boxlife Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Uh, puzzle box-folding? Subject Matter: Work in a factory, fold boxes, live the American dream Value: Second-best of all DSi Art Style games, based on a clever, deep mechanic, and a bevy of modes and unlockables. Buy it for: Fans of innovative game design. Read the Full Review Art Style: Pictobits Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Block-dropping puzzle game Subject Matter: A Tetris twist with an artsy retro style Value: Highest of all downloadable DS games, offering many levels, great nostalgia for old pixel art, and a high-quality full chiptunes soundtrack that re-mixes classic Nintendo themes. Buy it for: Anyone with a DSi, anyone who is nostalgic for the Nintendo Entertainment System Read the Full Review Art Style: Precipice Price: $5 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Puzzle Subject Matter: Endless Tetris-style game featuring a man climbing falling blocks Value: Doesn’t have any modes, but its core gameplay is long-lasting. Buy it for: Puzzle game fans and those who enjoy the DSi’s innovative Art Style series Read the Full Review Bakugan Battle Brawlers Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Marble-shooting, creature-battling action game. Subject Matter: Based on the wildly popular collectible toy game and cartoon series, Bakugan follows in the footsteps of Pokemon but adds transforming marbles to the mix. The game does a good job of capturing the essence of the franchise. Value: With a relatively robust single-player campaign and ability to battle up to three friends on one television in a slew of interactive arenas, this game is a pretty good deal. Buy it for: fans of Bakugan and maybe even curious fans of Pokemon. Read the Full Review Domo Games Price: $2 each (five games – download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Music, Sports Subject Matter: The NHK TV mascot, Domo, stars in five re-purposed mini-games that were originally made in 2002 Value: Low, because the games are not fun. Buy it for: Only people who love Domo and whom you don’t love. Read the Full Review Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Action/Adventure Subject Matter: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter is a relatively simple adventure game with similarly simple side-scrolling platforming levels and a touching, sometimes sad story. What makes it unique are its drawing features, which let the player customize their hero, what weapons they use and various elements of the game world all via the DS’s touch screen. Value: Drawn To Life: The Next Chapter’s main adventure is brief, but the option to create new heroes, which can vary from flower people to ninjas to robots, extends the life of this charming 2D adventure. Buy it for: the creative kid who may be too young for a more challenging Nintendo DS game. Read the Full Review DSi Price: $169.99 Rating: N/A Genre: N/A Subject Matter: The next step for the DS Lite features two cameras and the ability to download games from the Nintendo store. Value: While the price isn’t exorbitant, more than half a year after launch the Nintendo Store is still lacking in quality downloadable titles. Buy it for: gadgetophiles, people who love Nintendo, children who don’t own digital cameras, anyone interested in a DS but who hasn’t taken the plunge yet. Read the Full Review Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Price: $29.99 Rating: Teen Genre: Turn-based role-playing strategy Subject Matter: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a thoughtful, modern day remake of an 8-bit medieval fantasy classic, telling the turn-based tale of Marth, heir to the throne of Altea who leads a band of soldiers in a tactical revolt against the Shadow Dragon Medeus. Value: Over twenty five chapters, loads of characters, ample upgrade options, rare weapons via the online shop, and an excessive six levels of difficulty should ensure that your purchase of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is money well spent. Buy it for: the fan of fantasy, strategy and epic adventure. Read the Full Review Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars Price: $34.99 Rating: Mature Genre: Open world action-adventure Subject Matter: Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars is a 3D, top-down adventure, putting players in the shoes of Huang Lee, a spoiled son of a Chinese gangster. The typical Grand Theft Auto rise to power through sex, drugs, violence and bad driving flows over the course of the game. Value: There’s a lengthy story to be told, with Grand Theft Auto Chinatown Wars throwing in plenty of side missions and mini-games to keep the player interested. Buy it for: the Nintendo DS owner sadly lacking in over-the-top violent content. Read the Full Review Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Price: $39.99 Rating: Teen Genre : Action RPG Subject Matter: An action RPG that bridges the gap between Kingdom Hearts 1 and 2. Value: While those not familiar with the Kingdom Hearts franchise will find themselves a bit lost story-wise, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days is a lengthy game that fans will love for the back story and RPG fans will enjoy for its depth. Buy it for : Anyone who is a fan of the Kingdom Hearts series. Read the Full Review Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story Price: $34.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Action RPG Subject Matter: Mario, Luigi and their nemesis Bowser band together to fend off a common foe in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. As role-playing games go, it’s heavy on the action, light on the story and packed with memorable, humorous characters. Value: Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story offers a lengthy adventure, about 20 hours worth of play time, but after the story’s complete, there’s little incentive to return to the game. Buy it for: the younger gamer looking for a long, not too challenging experience (or anyone with a Nintendo DS and a sense of humor). Read the Full Review Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again Price: $8 (download for DSi only) Rating: E Genre: Lemmings-like puzzler Subject Matter: Mainpulate girders and gadgets to enable Mario toys to march to their goals. Value: Very high due to a generous amount of levels and a level-editor that supports downloaded user-made maps. Buy it for: Fans of brain-bending puzzle games, as the solutions to some of these levels are hard to engineer. Read the Full Review Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Price: $34.99 Rating: E Genre: Adventure/Puzzle Subject Matter: The Professor and his protégé, Luke, are out to solve a mystery surrounding a man who never ages and box that kills all who open it. Value: With a crazy amount of puzzles and a new puzzles to download every week, this is one game that won’t ever be very far from your DS during those long commutes. Buy it for: Yourself and anybody you actually want to give a good gift to. Read the Full Review Rhythm Heaven Price: $29.99 Rating: Everyone Genre: Music/Rhythm Subject Matter: Rhythm Heaven is a loosely connected series of rhythmic and musical challenges with very simple controls, requiring little more than good timing and simple touchscreen tapping. Simplistic though it may be, Rhythm Heaven is inventive and fun. Value: There are dozens of mini-games to unlock and play, with sound toys and more serious challenges for the player who masters Rhythm Heaven’s main mode. Buy it for: anyone with Nintendo DS that can keep a beat or longs for more WarioWare style mini-game fun. Read the Full Review Scribblenauts Price: $29.99 Rating: E10+ Genre: Open world, spell-checking puzzle action game. Subject Matter: Scribblenauts brings just about anything you can spell to life in the game, backing up a stunningly large visual dictionary with a web of interactions that can surprise and amuse as you work out how to solve puzzles. Value: With 150 puzzles and 150 action levels, and the ability to use more than 22,800 words to figure out what to do, this is one of the best values this year in gaming. Buy it for: children learning to spell, people who love lateral thinking and anyone with a sense of humor. Read the Full Review

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The DS and DSi Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

The iPhone Gamer’s Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]

It’s been an amazing year for the iPhone and gaming. Not only have a slew of new, blockbuster titles come out for the emerging platform, Apple finally realized that maybe they should wake up and start touting the gaming benefits of their smartphone and media player. This is by no means all of the iPhone and iPod Touch games we reviewed this year, but it’s a quick look at some of the more memorable ones. Don’t forget, just because they’re download only, doesn’t mean you can’t present a list with the iTunes card you give someone. Any we missed? Any you would suggest for a friend? Asphalt 5 Price: $6.99 Rating: N/A Genre : Racing Subject Matter: Gameloft brings Burnout’s adrenaline-amping crashes and Ridge Racer’s wind-in-your-hair thrills to the iPhone with Asphalt 5. Value: A strong competitor to the PSP’s racing games, Asphalt 5 offers three modes-quick race, career, local and online multi-player, 33 cars, 12 tracks, vehicle customization, and unlockable stat-boosting babes. Buy it for : Gamers ready to go vroom. Read the Full Review Command & Conquer: Red Alert Price: $9.99 Rating: N/A Genre : Real Time Strategy Subject Matter: EA brings its over-the-top real-time strategy series to the iPhone, allowing on-the-go gamers to wage war wherever they please. Value: While things like C&C’s cheesy cinematics didn’t make the leap to the iPhone, the platform’s touch screen display is ideal for RTS style gaming. Buy it for : RTS players looking for a mobile strategy game. Read the Full Review Doom Resurrection Price: $6.99 Rating: N/A Genre: First-person touchscreen shooter Subject Matter: Loosely based on Doom 3, Resurrection is an impressive port of the demonic sci-fi FPS that’s easily controlled with the iPhone’s accelerometer. Value: As iPhone games go, Doom Resurrection is priced almost right, offering a solid campaign, but not much more. Buy it for: budding space marines who enjoy killing hellspawn between phone calls. Read the Full Review Dungeon Hunter Price: $6.99 Rating: 9+ Genre: Diablo-esque action. Subject Matter: Dungeon Hunter has gamers play as a fallen prince back from the dead to save the kingdom from his evil wife. Plenty of dungeon crawling, loot gathering and virtual button-mashing in this game. Value: A single play-through of the game can take 25 hours, and there are three character classes to play with. This is probably the best value you’ll find on the iPhone or iPod Touch. Buy it for: fans of adventure games like Diablo and light role-playing titles. Read the Full Review Madden NFL Price: $9.99 Genre: Sports Subject Matter: EA Sports delivers its bestselling Madden franchise to the iPhone for the first time. Value: Fully licensed, with all of the teams, players and game modes from the console version of the definitive NFL video game title. Buy it for: A great stocking stuffer for any football fan with an iPhone or iPod Touch. Read the Full Review Metal Gear Solid Touch Price: $0.99 to $9.99 Rating: N/A Genre: Third-person touchscreen shooter Subject Matter: Metal Gear Solid Touch brings 20 stages lifted from Metal Gear Solid 4 but focuses more on arcade-style touchscreen shooting than the stealth gameplay that Solid Snake is famous for. Value: Depending on how much you pay (the game was marked down to 99 cents recently) MGS Touch offers a decent amount of replayability and cool items to unlock. Buy it for: the serious as a heart attack Metal Gear fan who doesn’t have access to a PlayStation. Read the Full Review NBA Live Price: $9.99 Genre: Sports Subject Matter: The NBA goes mobile in EA Sports’ first port of its popular pro basketball simulation. Value: All teams, all players, plus season, playoffs, and pick-up-and-play modes, with customizable rosters. Buy it for: Any hoophead with a gadget fixation will love having a full basketball sim in his or her pocket. Read the Full Review Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition Price: $6.99 Rating: 9+ Genre: Shooter Subject Matter: Resident Evil 4 Mobile Edition is a screen-tapping, stop-and-pop, suspense shooter. Value: With a dozen settings and two dozen timed stages, this iPhone title is worth the money. Buy it for: Resident Evil fans, shooter fans, anyone interested in gaming on their phone or Touch. Read the Full Review Rock Band Price: $9.99 Rating: N/A Genre : Music Subject Matter: It’s Rock Band. It’s on the iPhone. Yeah! Value: Packed with 20 tracks, Rock Band has a set list that boasts the likes of Foo Fighters, the Pixies and Joan Jett. Players can jam on all four instruments. Multiplayer supports up to four. Buy it for : Music game lovers on the go. Read the Full Review Rolando 2 Price: $4.99 Rating: 4+ Genre: A charming side-scrolling puzzler. Subject Matter: This sequel to last-year’s must-have iPhone game, Rolando 2 introduces more story, character development and challenges. Value: This is the first time Luke has ever played an iPhone that felt truly substantial. Buy it for: fans of LocoRoco, Rolando or cute, cleverly-crafted puzzle games.. Read the Full Review Space Invaders Infinity Gene Price: $4.99 Rating: 4+ Genre: Shoot em up Subject Matter: Space Invaders Infinity Gene is a re-imagining of 70s classic arcade game Space Invaders. Value: One of the most played games on my iPhone, Space Invaders Infinity Gene offers you 19 levels with a number of interesting new weapons. But almost more importantly, the game can create levels on the fly designed around music played from your iPhone or iPod Touch’s music library. Buy it for: fans of Space Invaders, fans of shoot-em ups, fans of fun. Read the Full Review Star Defense Price: $.99 Rating: 9+ Genre: Tower defense Subject Matter: Defend a planet outpost from an amazingly orderly bunch of aliens walking there way along the paths that lead from landing port to your base. Value: It’s just a buck, and it’s a ton of fun. Buy it for: Fans of tower defense and globes. Read the Full Review Streets of Rage Price: $4.99 Rating: 12+ Genre: Genesis brawling side-scroller Subject Matter: This is a straight-up emulation of the Sega classic for the Genesis with chop-socky music and over-the-top tiny graphics. Value: Not much of a deal here even at $5. It’s a straight, troubled port. Buy it for: With a bad framerate and problematic controls, only hardcore fans of the game and nostalgia freaks should get this. Read the Full Review Waterways Price: $.99 Rating: 4+ Genre: Puzzler Subject Matter: Winner of the 2008 Japan GameGam Competition, Waterways is a puzzle game with cows, ducks and water. Value: For a penny shy of a dollar you can’t go wrong with this portable game. Buy it for: Puzzle enthusiasts who want a some brain teasing on the go. Read the Full Review Zenonia Price: $2.99 Rating: 9+ Genre: Adventure role-playing game. Subject Matter: Zenonia follows a young man named Regret as he searches for answers to the mystery surrounding his birth after the sudden death of the man who raised him. Value: With about 20 hours worth of play and the ability to choose good and evil paths, this is a no brainer. Buy it for: fans of The Legend of Zelda. Read the Full Review

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The iPhone Gamer’s Gift Guide [Shopping Gift Guide]