Kotaku: 2008 Kotaku Holiday Gift Guide

The Import Gaming Gift Guide

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:00:00 MST

Holidays are a worldwide deal — and so are Kotaku gift guides. Here it is, your window into the world with games that you can import. Some of them have full English language support. Some do not. We tried to make a note where possible to help shoppers out. Also, some of these titles will work on all consoles, while others will not. Sticky stuff, so do carefully check things out before importing. Getting a region locked game you can't play is like getting a lump of coal, but better. At least the game will have an instructional manual you can flip through.

The categories are broken down into Bargains, Essentials and Hardware. Those interested in the "Things To Buy For Bashcraft" category, feel free to email.

Bargains:

Gears of War 2 (Asia Version - Region Free)
Price: US$42.18
Rating: Mature
It's already being called Game of the Year by some. Instead of paying full price for Gears of War 2, pick up a new copy of the region free Asia region version. Title has full English support.

Aquanaut's Holiday: Hidden Memories (English/Chinese Version - Region Free)
Price: $49.90
Rating: Everyone
Hidden Memories is the latest in the entry in Aquanaut's Holiday series. Players take the role of an underwater explorer and dive into the depths of deep blue. Currently, the game does not have a Western release slated, but the "English/Chinese version" has localized language options. Better yet, it's cheaper than the Japanese original.

Fable II (Asia Version - Region Free)
Price: $38.33
Rating: Mature
One of this year's biggest action RPGs, Fable II lets players chose between being good or evil. You know what's evil? Paying full price for Fable II. You know what's good? Getting the (cheaper) region free Asia version.

Mirror's Edge (Asia Version - Region Free)
Price: $48.99 (with free international shipping)
Rating: Teen
Do you like running? What about jumping? Kicking people? Then first-person-parkour game Mirror's Edge is for you. Hate paying full price for new games? Then get the Asia version.

Hakuna Makata (Afrika) (English/Chinese Version - Region Free)
Price: $49.90
Rating: Everyone
PS3 exclusive Afrika is out this month in North America, but Sony does not have plans to bring the title to Europe. What does that mean for European PS3 owners who want to take in-game pictures of wild animals? It means they've got to import. The Asia version has full English support and a new title to boot: Hakuna Makata. Makes us want to watch The Lion King. Over and over and over again.

Essentials:
Ketsui Death Label (Region free - Bonus DVD Japanese Region Only)
$58.90
Rating: Everyone
Ketsui isn't just a shooter, but an environment shooter! Set in the global warming ravaged future, the vertical scrolling shooting game has players join a United Nations elite squad to take down a rouge arms dealer. Akira's port of bullet hell shooter from venerated Japanese arcade dev Cave . Ketsui Death Label offers different skill level modes — some ideal for pick up and play. This special box set includes a Superplay DVD as well.

Ikkitousen: Eloquent Fist [Limited Edition With Original Figure Set]
$87.99
Rating: CERO C (15 years old and up)
PSP schoolgirl beat 'em up Ikki Tousen: Eloquent Fist offers more than fan service. It offers knuckle sammiches *and* fan service. Based on the popular Ikki Tousen manga/anime, Eloquent Fist is a brawler adventure game mash-up and boasts over 4,000 animated cutscenes to boot. Cutscenes are in Japanese, but the clothes-ripping-off parts should be universal.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Cross Generation of Heroes (Japanese Nintendo Wii Only)
Rating: CERO B (12 years old and up)
$70.99
Japanese game company Capcom dishes out knuckle sandwiches to Japanese animation studio Tatsunoko in this Wii port of the arcade title Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. Think Marvel vs. Capcom but with Casshern and Yatterman! The title is not likely to get a Western release due to licensing issue, but Capcom USA is working on that. In the meantime, import, import, import.

DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black Label Extra (Japanese Xbox 360 Only)
Rating: Everyone
$65.90
The Xbox 360 port features the original arcade version of Cave's manic arcade shooter as well as the "Black Label" version — identifiable by its black title screen. There's also a beginner's mode called "X Mode," which is perfectly for those not quite accustomed to maneuvering through a blanket of projectiles. More extras for DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black Label Extra is online ranking, a replay function so you can watch your own play and a new green outfit wearing character named "Piper."

DJ Max Portable Emotional Sense — Clazziquai Edition [Special Package]
$49.90
Rating: Everyone
First question: Like DJ Max rhythm games? If yes, continue. Second question: Like Clazziquai? If yes, this is your game. (For those who do not know Clazziquai, check this and this and this. Delights!) The Korean group teamed up with developer Pentavision for this more casual DJ Max title — “casual” is not a pejorative term here. DJ Max is reason enough to own a PSP, and Clazziquai is reason enough to own this title.

Thunder Force VI (Japanese PS2 Only)
$59.90
Rating: Everyone
No doubt horizontally scrolling shmup Thunder Force VI is one of the PS2's last great swan songs. It's been a little over ten years since Thunder Force V hit the SEGA Saturn and when developer Technosoft was purchased by a pachinko company, it didn't look like we'd ever see another Thunder Force. We here we are! Thunder Force VI was directed by SEGA's Tetsu Okano, best know for Japan only title Segagaga.

Wind and Water: Puzzle Battles (Region Free - Dreamcast)
Rating: Everyone
$39.99
Would it be Christmas without a new Dreamcast game? Probably. But Costa Rican developer Yuan Works does its best to offer holiday cheer with this DC title. The puzzle game has players match elements to clear blocks from the board. Featuring English and Japanese language support, the Dreamcast release is being handled by European publisher redspotgames.

Hardware:
DISSIDIA: Final Fantasy [20th Anniversary Limited Pack]
Rating: CERO C (15 years old and up)
$349.90
Unless you are proficient in Japanese (or decent enough at navigating it), the main draw here isn’t necessarily the Japanese language fighting game, but the DISSIDIA PSP — and the pretty box it comes in! Included is a copy of the game and a limited (and classy) DISSIDIA PSP-3000.

Hori Classic Controller
$29.90
Just in time for all the GameCube games Nintendo is re-releasing for the Wii comes this Classic Controlled. Made by Japanese peripheral maker Hori, the controller features autofire switches for every button on the controller. It's available in three colors: Black, white and light blue.

Nintendo DSi (Region free for DS games, locked for DSi games)
$249.00
Nintendo's latest edition to the Nintendo DS line-up brings a 17 percent larger screen and two embedded digital cameras. It's smaller than the DS Lite and is lighter than the Lite, too! While it does not play GBA titles, the portable does have a SD card slot. It does not feature English language support, however. Comes in white and black.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Gundam vs. Gundam [PSP Bundle]
Rating: Everyone
$379.99 (with free international shipping)
One of the big, hot popular titles in Japan this fall is Namco Bandai's Gundam vs. Gundam, which brings thirty plus Gundams from various series together in one game. Originally an arcade game, the PSP version includes several bonus mechas. The PSP bundle includes the game and a Gundam vs. Gundam PSP-3000. Game is, like most things in Japan, in Japanese.

Otomedius Gorgeous + Hyper Stick Pro (Japanese Consoles Only)
Rating: CERO C (15 years old and up)
$389.90
It’s always nice to see incredibly pricey game hardware designed specially for one game. Famed Japanese peripheral maker Hori worked with Konami to created this stick designed to recreate the Otomedius arcade experience at home. The Hori hyper stick pro boasts a touch pad just like the original arcade version. The bundle includes the game as well as a set of six tin badges.

The iPhone Gaming Gift Guide

Brian Crecente — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:00:00 MST

When the App Store first went live for the iPhone and Touch, I thought that we could quickly download all of the games available and review them. And in fact even made a valiant attempt at doing just that. But as the flood of games continued, not just remaining steady, but increasing, I quickly realized that it's probably better to try and find the gems among the thousands of shovelware, rather than reviewing everything. This is meant to be just that, a quick snapshot of what I think are some of the better games out for the iPhone and Touch currently, broken down into four categories. Keep in mind that while you can certainly use this list for yourselves, you scabby bastards, you can also use this as a great way to deliver affordable presents to your friends and relatives. Just buy them a iTunes gift card and include a few solid recommendations of which games you think they would most enjoy. Heck, I'm pretty sure that's what my dad's getting this Christmas for his Touch. Now hit the list, and keep in mind some real gems, like Puzzle Quest, just aren't out yet, so I couldn't include them

Bargains:

MazeFinger Price: Free Compatible: iPhone and Touch Maybe the fact that it's free has something to do with why this game has been downloaded a million times. But my gut says the real reason is because all you need to play it is a finger, a mind for mazes and the time to go through the 200 levels mindful of the timer and all of those traps.
Frotz Price: Free Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Text adventures have a special place in my heart, and they should have one in yours as well. Frotz gives you a chance to revisit, or visit them on your iPhone or Touch free of charge. This cool little program is just a shell for running existing text adventures on. Not only does it come pre-loaded with 25games (yes, including Zork), you can browse the Interactive Fiction DataBase to load up on more. All for free.
Adventure Price: Free Compatibility: iPhone and Touch It's friggen Adventure, the Atari 2600 classic revisited with new and improved touch controls, but not new and improved graphics, or sound, or plot. Which is exactly how I like it. I haven't spent quite enough time with it yet to find out if the game also includes the Easter Egg with the original programmers names. I sure hope so.
Trace Price: Free Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Trace has you drawing lines on the screen to create a safe path for your stick figure to travel to get him, her or it to the sun-like exit hole. The graphics are something you'd expect to see in a 7-year-old's homework, in a very good way. The last of the games 100 levels, for instance, featured a fire spewing dragon and a hill of lava. So awesome. Controls are pretty simple. You draw lines, then you touch the right or left arrows to move and the triangle to jump. You can always draw lines in the middle of your walk and you can even erase stuff. Fantastic fun.
Lux Touch Price: Free Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Lux Touch is pretty much a straight copy of Risk. You play again four computer-controlled colors, all vying to take over the world through strategic troop movement. To play you tap around on the countries you've conquered, either beefing up troop placement or deciding to move them into enemy territory. The only major complaint I have about this free game is that there is no save function, so if you get a call or lose power you're going to need to restart your bid for world conquest.

Essentials:

Spore Origins Price: $5.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch I've been playing Spore: Origins on and off since the game launched. It's definitely the most played game on my iPhone. What starts out as a tilt-to-control game of flow, quickly builds into something much more like a side-scrolling platformer... without platforms. In those early levels you worry just about eating things smaller than you. Than you have to start worrying about avoiding the bigger creatures in the pool of water that the game takes place. As you make your way through the game you get to add pieces to your bit of life, giving it weapons, and things to make it swim faster. You can even use real pictures to decorate it. Giving it, for instance, the head of your son. The later levels includes ones that just have you trying to find an exit. There are even well-disguised boss battles. This is a must for owners of the iPhone or Touch.
Fieldrunners Price: $4.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Mobile gaming needs Tower Defense games, because they're so pick-up-and-play. And there are plenty to choose from for the iPhone and Touch, but only Fieldrunners gives you a PC experience that you can carry around in your pocket. Packed with detailed graphics, a nice variety of weapons and an assorted batch of bad guys, Fieldrunners is, hands down, the best Tower Defense game on the platform. With the latest patch, adding a new level, another bad guy and endless mode, Fieldrunners maybe be the best game on the iPhone hands down.
Super Monkey Ball Price: $9.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch At just under $10, Super Monkeyball may be a bit overpriced, but it does deliver a fantastic adaptation of the popular Monkeyball series to your iPhone and Touch and it does so with fun graphics, great level design and some pretty polished controls using the platform's accelerometer to allow you to tilt your way through the levels. The one draw back is that the built in angle is a bit too sharp, making it necessary to lean over the screen a tad to see what's going on as you tilt your way through the game.
Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D Price: $5.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Despite being an early release, Crash Bandicoot is still one of the best racers on the platform. In the game you guide Crash, or a slew of other unlockable drivers, around a course by tilting the iPhone back and forth. You brake the vehicles by tapping under the kart and drift by tapping above and to the right or left as you turn. You can also collect power-ups which you use by tapping their icons. The races I've run through on the game were seamless and even managed some fairly fun graphics. But still no multiplayer. Someone needs a patch.
Trism Price: $2.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Trism continues to keep me interested, despite the fact that I've owned it for month's now. Trism's slight tweak on the Bejewled game play is so profound that it changes the way you have to think about puzzle gaming. The basic premise, as with most puzzle games, is really simple. You have rows and columns of mutli-colored triangles. You slide them around to line at least three up and clear a space. The twist? The iPhone can detect which way you are holding the phone and drops the triangles into recently filled holes from the proper direction. So now you have to think carefully about which way to hold the phone before making a move. The fun basic play is backed up by five game modes, 22 unlockable achievements and an online international ranking board. They even included a colorblind mode. You can even challenge a friend in the game.

Socializers

Guitar Rock Tour Price: $7.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch It may not be licensed, but it sure feels like Guitar Hero on the iPhone. The game comes with two instruments to choose from and 17 songs, all of which I suspect are covers. To play through a game using the guitar you just tap your way through the notes on the four-fret guitar as they fall toward you down the neck of the virtual instrument. The songs drop sustained notes and lines of notes at you as well as a number of double notes. If you come across a line of notes you can slide your finger across them as they scroll down. Once you build up enough rock power you can activate the familiar power-up by sliding your finger up the gauge to go into a power-up mode that doubles your points. The drum mode isn't nearly as fun, but it's still worth a bit of time.
Galcon Price: $4.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch While Lux Touch is great for the price (that's free). Galcon gives you the full-on Risk like experience in space... and with other people. That's right Galcon lets you vie to take over other planets with hordes of spaceships both in real-time and against real opponents using WiFi. The single player mode includes five missions, and the multiplayer mode is ranked on Galcon.com. To play you tap on planets and touch where you want to send your armada. You can even send ships from all of your planets to a single target. Then watch as the screen floods with tiny colored triangles. For $5, it's absurd not to buy this game. So stop being absurd.
Ocarina Price: $.99 Compatibility: iPhone Only Maybe this isn't a game exactly, but since it features a Link-friendly Ocarina I just had to include it. For a penny shy of a buck you get a program that turns your iPhone into an honest to goodness musical instrument. By blowing into the mic and pressing buttons on the screen you can replicate the haunting music of a 12,000-year-old, or so, instrument. Tilting the iPhone changes the sounds vibrato rate and depth. Ocarina also lets you listen to others play their digital Ocarina and even identifies where in the world they are.
Uno Price: $7.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Gameloft really hit the nail on the head with this portable version of Uno. Not only does it do a good job of delivering the full Uno experience for single player gaming, including nine different rule sets and all of the action cards you remember, there's also amazing multiplayer support. First there's pass the iPhone play, where you can play with your friends on a single device. This is great for long trips with the kids or other buddies who love Uno. The game also includes WiFi multiplayer, allowing you to play Uno against people from around the world with your device. This is an absolute must have for fans of card games or people who like a bit of short pick-up-and-play fun.
Blue Defense! Price: $.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch This may not be a classic social game. It doesn't support multiplayer gaming, in any form. But it's such a great example of how accessible the iPhone can make some traditionally hardcore genres. In this case it's those screen-filling, horrifically hard bullet-hell shoot-em ups. Shmups aren't for the light of heart, but in Blue Defense! you just have to tilt the phone or Touch around to direct a constant stream of bullets at the oncoming horde of red space ships. The game lists the number of lives on your planet, starting at 6.7 billion, and drops the number whenever you let someone sneak through your stream of bullets. The super easy gameplay and silky smooth frame rate make for a game that's easy to hand off to a someone new to gaming and absorb them instantly.

Epics

Kroll Price: $4.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Kroll is the platform's first honest-to-goodness high-end action title. In it you play as Delon, a barbarian in search of Kroll, the Lord of Life. You play the game holding the iPhone sideways. To move you touch the transparent arrows at the bottom of your screen. To attack you touch one of four transparent hammer icons, two on each side of the screen. The top icon delivers a heavy attack and the bottom a regular attack. Touching the left ones attacks to your left and the right attacks to your right. I found that by tapping between the two types of attacks or repeatedly tapping the same attack you can pull off a couple of mini combos. You can also pull off a special attack, if you save up power earned through kills, by either tapping Delon or shaking the iPhone. This is a straight-up, old-school button masher, so don't expect any twists or innovation in play. But it certainly satisfies a very specific itch.
Bomberman Touch: The Legend of Mystic Bomb Price: $7.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch Bomberman, a classic looking, classic feeling Bomberman, can only be a good thing, no matter what platform it shows up on. In this case, it's a great thing. The crisp graphics, the upbeat music, the hand-drawn looking cut-scenes, it all comes together nicely on the iPhone. You control Bomberman, once he whips off his Jungle Adventurer costume, by holding a finger on the screen, anywhere on the screen, and moving it around. You drop bombs by touching a bomb icon and use special abilities, like kicking a bomb or remotely detonating a bomb, with other action buttons.
Aurora Feint II: The Arena Price: $7.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch This is essentially Puzzle Quest with a bit less plot and a bit more emphasis on character leveling, special weapons and magic. In the game you mine for elements which can later be used to build weapons or increase your skills. You also craft weapons and battling your way through a tower. Like in Puzzle Quest, everything is done by playing a varied form of Bejeweled. You have to match up like symbols and clear the screen before the symbols reach the top of your screen. New to The Arena is the ability to create a ghost version of yourself to upload to the game's server so other players can challenge you. You can also do a form of live chatting while playing and track high scores. The games certainly a step up from the original Aurora Feint and adds a lot of interesting elements for your $8, but I'm still hoping the game comes together a bit more to deliver an experience that feels a bit less disjointed. Despite that one reservation, the game is a blast to play and can certainly suck up huge chunks of your time.
Toy Bot Diaries 2 Price: $3.99 Compatibility: iPhone and Touch In Toy Bot you control a diminutive toy robot that can grapple onto metal objects and then either pull them to him or use them to swing to hard to get places or across dangerous spots. The side-scroller uses the iPhone and Touch's title controls to great effect, turning the game into more of a puzzler than a traditional platformer. The thing that makes this game such a joy to play is that the developers didn't just stop with a neat concept, they delivered it with a polished look. While both the first and second game are a bit short, they are relatively inexpensive, and the second outing does include longer levels.

The PC Gift Guide

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 10:00:00 MST

Christmas is the time for giving. Yes, yes, it's also the time for receiving, but that's a shallow, selfish outlook on this most special of holidays. Today, we're all about the giving. In particular, what you can give that special someone in your life should they happen to be a PC gamer.

To make things a little easier for you - because shopping for PC games can be hard - we've broken the guide into four categories. Bargain picks are for acquaintances, secret Santas, distant relatives or stocking stuffers. Essentials are just that. The essential PC games that everyone should own. Socialisers are...well, they're meant to be played with friends and family, but as you'll see, on the PC, that's a bit of a challenge. And finally Epics, the bread and butter of the platform, the games that will suck you in, lock you down and not let you out of their icy grip until you've ignored and alienated everyone you once held dear.

Anyway, enough with the introductions. Let's go shopping!

BARGAINS

World of Goo
Price: $19.99
Rating: Everyone
Forget the qualifier that it’s “cheap”. World of Goo was one of the best games I played all year. There’s an art to making abstract puzzles fun, and World of Goo makes abstract puzzles fun.

Audiosurf
Price: $9.99
Rating: Everyone
Yeah, at first glance, it looks like a Amplitude/Frequency clone. But on second look, you’ll see it’s for the PC, and you can use any track you want. On third look, you see it only costs a few bucks, and you’re sold.

Bionic Commando: Rearmed
Price: $14.99
Rating:Mature
A classy, classy game. Not much more I can say about it, really, except for the fact I’m sure a lot of PC gamers overlooked the fact you could get the game on PC. Time to remind them.

Peggle: Nights
Price: $9.99
Rating: Everyone
It’d be a shame if we couldn’t include a Peggle game on the list this year. Lucky Peggle Nights came along! It’s Peggle, just more of it, if you love someone who loves PC games, there’s something wrong with you if you don’t buy them this for Christmas.

Rose & Camellia
Price: Free
Rating: Not Rated
If you’re feeling stingy, and can’t spare more for a present than a link with a URL in it, you may well send this one (or the one for the sequel...or both!). Victorian-themed woman slapping is the gift that keeps on giving.

ESSENTIALS

Left 4 Dead
Price: $49.99
Rating: Mature
This game has zombies. And 4-player co-op. And is made by Valve. And has 4-player co-op. Even if you don't understand what that all means, the person you're buying this for will love you for them.

Far Cry 2
Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Don’t listen to people telling you bad things about the console versions. The PC version lets you save anywhere and everywhere, eliminating all of the annoying, death-induced repetition they'll be banging on about. Plus, with the settings cranked, it's got the best graphics we've seen this year. Seriously.

Fallout 3
Price: $49.99
Rating: Mature
Doesn’t have the quantity on offer in Bethesda's last game, Oblivion, but definitely plays a tighter, more polished game. Might want to check your loved one doesn’t already have it, though, since it's done so well at the sales register most people might have it twice.

Red Alert 3
Price: $49.99
Rating: Teen
Sure, the gameplay's more than a little rough around the edges, but that shouldn't matter. This is essential because it's essential fanservice. To make a new Red Alert game in 2008, complete with hammy (and expensive) celebrity FMV cutscenes and faithful remix of the original theme song, makes absolutely no business sense whatsoever. Which is precisely why I love it. Oh, that and the armoured fighting bears.

Spore
Price: $39.99
Rating: E for Everyone
Doesn’t deliver what it promised, but it’s still a remarkable product. Especially worth a look if you’re shopping for the kind of person who plays more Sims than Sins of a Solar Empire.

SOCIALISERS

Guitar Hero III
Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
Don't laugh! A lot of people don't realise that the rhythm-action classic was also released on PC (and Mac!). Provided you know someone who has a PC setup on or near a big TV, the same multiplayer good times that apply to the console versions apply here.

World of Warcraft Battlechest
Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
If someone has a PC, chances are they play - or have at least tried - World of Warcraft. If they haven't, though, and you think your loves ones need a game where strangers you meet on the internet slowly replace the functions your real friends once performed, you can't go past it.

Team Fortress 2
Price: $19.99
Rating: Teen
Yes, it's a competitive shooter, but you know, it's a nice one. Relatively. If a loved one likes playing shooters online, and likes killing people, and wants the best chance of not running into a pack of racist, 12 year-old assholes, Team Fortress 2 is your best bet.

EPICS

Warhammer Online
Price: $49.99
Rating: Teen
I already used World of Warcraft, so the next-best thing as far as time destroyers is probably Warhammer Online. Some nice changes to WoW's formula and the fact it uses the badass Warhammer license means if a loved one loves MMOs, but not WoW, you might want to get them WAR.

The Witcher: Enhanced Edition
Price: $39.99
Rating: Mature
Slightly left-field choice, but this is (quietly) one of the best PC role-playing games in recent years. And by "best", I mean it's a time sponge, particularly this iteration, the game's "enhanced" edition. A little rough around the edges, but if someone's been asking for a 90's PC RPG, this will be exactly what they've been looking for.

The Orange Box
Price: $29.99
Rating: Teen-Mature
It's an epic package, not an epic game. None of the included titles - Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Episode 1, Half-Life 2 Episode 2, Team Fortress 2 or Portal - are "epic" on their own. But getting all of them in one box? You'll be gone for weeks. Months, even, if you're somehow new to the Half-Life universe.

Sins Of A Solar Empire
Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
The little PC game that could. Hardcore space strategy, buttons everywhere and a small-time developer mean this game should have no business being on a list like this. But we’re oh so glad that it is. It asks a lot of you, but gives so much back.

Civilization IV: Complete
Price: $29.99
Rating: Teen
This thought was inspired by 2008's release of Civ IV: Colonization. But then, I didn't think that Civ was any good. The main game, though, it's ageing like a fine wine. The game came out 2.5 years ago and I'm still playing it regularly. Think that counts as "epic".

The Wii Holiday Gift Guide

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:30:00 MST

There's no lack of Wii games to choose from this Holiday season, but picking out the signal from the noise can be difficult when the release list is so damn loud. With a massive line up of Wii games, some retail, some Virtual Console, some WiiWare, it's often difficult to know where to drop the dollars and the Wii Points. Our gift guide will hopefully help new Wii owners and those gifting Wiis this season find the right software purchases to complement their new hardware. Don't forget those Wii Points cards and the extra Nunchuk and Wii Remote for the stockings. As for the games, we've picked some of the best titles for all ages.

Broken down into four categories — bargains for the cheap, essentials to prevent embarrassment, socializers to bring everyone together and epics to log the hours — there's something in the Wii library for all tastes. Read on to see our picks.

Bargains

LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
Price: $19.99
Rating: E 10+

Yes, you'll be playing through some of the more "memorable" moments from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones in LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, but don't let that distastefulness dissuade you. There's still a lot of fun to be had with this two-games-in-one LEGO romp. Like most Wii games, it's fun for all ages and waggling your way through the Battle of Hoth with mini-figs makes LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga worth the price of admission.

No More Heroes
Price: $19.99
Rating: M

For the action hungry otaku on your list, there's Grasshopper Manufacture's quirky No More Heroes, a stylish, beam katana (read: lightsaber) swinging adventure loaded with over-the-top violence, nutty boss fights and bizarre lowbrow humor — you'll save your game progress on the toilet, for example. It's full of oddball characters and beheadings and general weirdness, a title that will add some spice to your Wii library.

Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
Price: $19.99
Rating: E

With real pinball at Death's door, we're going to have to settle for virtual pinball to get our silver ball fix. Fortunately, Crave's collection of ten classic Williams tables is about as good as it gets. Classics like Fun House, Pin*Bot and Whirlwind help to make up for some of the more tepid choices, like the early 70s Jive Time.

Link's Crossbow Training
Price: $24.99
Rating: T

The included Wii Zapper control peripheral may not be the best investment, but the addictive arcade shooter included in the package is a hell of a lot of fun. Link's Crossbow Training is a straightforward, mostly non-violent fantasy shooter that feels more like a carnival challenge than your traditional light gun shooter. It's still well-designed and, now that you have that Zapper, you'll have reason to go pick up the also cheap, but far more wacky Ghost Squad and the gory The House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return.

World of Goo (WiiWare)
Price: $15.00
Rating: N/A

This independently developed puzzle game is one of the few real highlights from the WiiWare service. With a polished presentation that belies its list of credits, World of Goo tasks players with building structures made of little black goo people, presenting the player with a series of challenges that requires creative thinking and occasionally quick reflexes.

Essentials

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Price: $49.99
Rating: T

The ultimate Nintendo fanboy match up is one of the Wii's best fighting games. The addition of fighters like Sonic the Hedgehog and Snake from Metal Gear Solid to the Nintendo mascot packed line-up makes for an interesting mix of brawlers, which includes mainstays like Mario, Link, Donkey Kong and PIkachu. The single-player portion is an interesting diversion, but the deep roster and massive list of unlockable treasures is the real draw in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Online play doesn't hold a candle to having four folks in the same room, so make sure you have extra Wii Remotes and Classic Controllers at the ready.

Super Mario Galaxy
Price: $49.99
Rating: E

Mario goes galactic in the Wii entry into the core Super Mario Bros. franchise. With new power ups like the Boo Suit and Bee Suit and a control scheme that makes smart use of the Wii Remote, Super Mario Galaxy feels fresh and innovative — even if the core platforming gameplay remains mostly unchanged. One of the Wii's prettiest games is also one of its most charming. Super Mario Galaxy should be in every Wii library.

Mario Kart Wii
Price: $49.99
Rating: E

Mario Kart Wii doesn't do much to add to the classic kart racing series, but it presents a solid racing package for anyone looking for a quick multiplayer fix. Like many Wii releases, it feels more like a greatest hits package than a totally new sequel. The Wii entry does add a new racing option with motorbikes, brings a slew of new enjoyable tracks and introduces online play. Unfortunately, you won't be doing any trash talking online, so local multiplayer will probably feel more rewarding.

de Blob
Price: $49.99
Rating: E

THQ's de Blob is one of the few third-party titles that doesn't just fit well with the Wii's control scheme, it rivals Nintendo's own first-party software in terms of creativity, fun and polish. Using the titular blob, players must restore color to a barren city by bouncing off walls and splashing paint on buildings. There's a good local split-screen multiplayer mode attached, but the dozen hours spent repainting will probably be the most enjoyable painting you've ever done.

Super Metroid (Virtual Console)
Price: $10.00
Rating: E

It's a Super Nintendo classic — one of the best games of all time — definitely worth the Nintendo Points. Samus Aran's 16-bit adventure set the bar for 2D adventure games in 1994, spawning a host of imitators. If you have Wii Points to spend, get Super Metroid first.

Socializers

Boom Blox
Price: $39.99
Rating: E

Pay no attention to the Stephen Spielberg pedigree; Boom Blox is a fun, if flawed, block smashing puzzle game that will give little indication the director was involved. There are 300 levels to play through in single-player, multiplayer, co-op and competitive modes. There's also a level editor to extend the life of those simple, but deep puzzler. The throwing mechanics work, but the occasionally slow four-person multiplayer might might leave you .

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
Price: $39.99
Rating: E

This under-appreciated (and underperforming) puzzle adventure follows the treasure hunting adventures of the pirate Zack and his monkey thing Wiki. It's essentially a point and click adventure, typically the stuff of single-player sessions. But its collaborative puzzle solving appeal — other players can draw suggestions on-screen with the Wii Remote — makes Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure a fun cooperative group game. There are some frustrations with having to redo puzzles, but Zack and Wiki are fun to watch as are the solutions a blast to suss out.

Animal Crossing: City Folk
Price: $59.99 with WiiSpeak microphone
Rating: E

If you've already invested dozens of hours with the GameCube and Nintendo DS versions of Animal Crossing, you might not find enough new here to continue your mortgage paying, bug collecting adventures. But if you've never played an Animal Crossing game, City Folk has a lot to offer. The WiiSpeak microphone bundle lets you chat with your friends online for co-op fishing or shopping and will give you free access to the WiiSpeak channel when it launches.

Rock Band Special Edition
Price: $99.99
Rating: T

The Wii version of Rock Band may be handicapped by the system's online and storage solutions, but even with the limited track selection — which can be boosted with inexpensive "Track Pack" discs — Rock Band is still a blast. The upcoming Rock Band 2, a little delayed for the Wii but due to hit days before Christmas, will probably be your best bet in the long run, but the cheaper instrument bundle available now is a good investment for the future. Four player Rock Band can make hours disappear.

Bomberman '93 (Virtual Console)
Price: $6.00
Rating: T

Until Super Bomberman 2 for the SNES hits the Virtual Console service, your best, cheapest multiplayer option will have to be the Turbografx 16 release. Classic competitive bomb-dropping fun allows up to five players to join in on the fun. The visuals may be dated, but the gameplay is still strong.

Epics

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Price: $49.99
Rating: T

Link sheds his cel-shaded stylings from The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker for the more mature Twilight Princess. It may not be the best of the Zelda series, but the classic puzzle solving and adventuring that has made it so memorable is still intact. The GameCube version is a good alternative if you're not feeling the motion controls or want to have a better excuse for the sometimes dated visuals. It's a big, long adventure and one of the best the Wii has to offer.

Okami
Price: $24.99
Rating: T

If you happened to like that cel-shaded look, though, Clover's Okami is a capable Zelda-like alternative. You'll control wolf-goddess Amaterasu in her epic journey to purge the world of the demon Orochi. Like Twilight Princess, this is a 40-hour long adventure that's worth the investment. Smart use of motion controls — a perfect fit for painting with the game's celestial paintbrush — and stunning visuals help separate this game from its adventure competitors.

Super Paper Mario
Price: $49.99
Rating: E

The latest in the Paper Mario role-playing game series adds some clever 3D trickery to the always amusing story line to keep things interesting. The game is rife with inside jokes and bizarre characters, but some of the clunky character designs dent its visual polish. There's a lot to see and do, but not much in the way of challenge or depth to the plot. A fun diversion.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords
Price: $19.99
Rating: E 10+

Good for both short session and long session gaming, Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords combines the simplicity of color matching puzzle game play with role-playing game conventions for an addictive, deep and value-packed adventure. It may not have the length or epic production values of other RPGs, but its a fabulous blend of genre.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Virtual Console)
Price: $10.00
Rating: E

If you're looking for a rock-solid throwback to action RPGs, you can't go wrong with The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, a highlight of the Zelda series. Its SNES era sprite-work still impresses, as do the stellar gameplay mechanics. A Virtual Console essential.

The PlayStation 3 Gift Guide

Mike Fahey — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:30:00 MST

The holiday season is upon us, and PlayStation 3 owners and owner-hopefuls around the world are desperately trying to relate to their loved ones the sort of game titles they'd like to unwrap when their particular gift-giving festivity commences. Nothing says "I don't understand you" quite like a cold, unfeeling gift card, so let Kotaku be your guide to the best things to place inside your shiny Sony console. Whether you are giving or receiving, our 2008 PlayStation 3 Gift Guide is your source for festive holiday gaming.

The guide is split into four different sections. We've got your Bargains, for those of you who want to stretch their holiday dollar; essential titles that every PlayStation 3 owner has to play (it's the law); social titles to lure your friends and family around the console; and finally epic titles that will devour your very soul and spit it out in a slightly moist but terribly happy little holiday lump.

Nothing like the smell of freshly opened games on a cold winter morning...

Bargains
PixelJunk Monsters
Price: $9.99 via PlayStation Network
Rating: Everyone
Addictive tower defense gameplay meets quirky audio and visual style in Q-Games' PixelJunk Monsters. Defend your creatures from the approaching hordes by placing towers along their path. Simple and addicting. The Otograph music alone is worth the price of admission, having resulted in the soundtrack being released as the first audio album on the PlayStation Network.

PixelJunk Eden
Price: $9.99 via PlayStation Network
Rating: Everyone
Another in Q-Games' PixelJunk series, Eden is a game that is hard to put into words. Grip and swing your way through various gardens, collecting pollen to allow new plants to bloom, opening up new paths for you to explore. Challenging and relaxing, all at once.

WipeOut HD
Price: $19.99 via PlayStation Network
Rating: Everyone 10+
Take the classic gameplay of the original futuristic racing game Wipeout, crank things up to a blistering fast 60 frames per second running at full HD 1080p, tack on an excellent soundtrack in Dolby 5.1 surround and you're in for one hell of a sweet ride. With new tracks and vehicles promised by way of future DLC, WipeOut HD is the gift that keeps on giving.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - Revenge of the Plague Lord
Price: $14.99 via PlayStation Network
Rating: Everyone 10+
Ah, Puzzle Quest. We cannot escape you, nor would we want to. The PlayStation 3 version of the puzzle/RPG hybrid that originally took the Nintendo DS and Sony PSP by storm contains all the fun of the original game plus the Revenge of the Plague Lord expansion that was released on the Xbox 360 earlier this year.

Echochrome
Price: $9.99 via PlayStation Network
Rating: Everyone
Echochrome is an excellent example of the unique, creative games that are the hallmark of the PlayStation Network. In a world populated by Oscar Reutersvärd's impossible constructions, getting from point A to point B is entirely a matter of perception. Guide a wooden mannequin through bizarre pathways by rotating the shapes it walks upon. It's like an interactive brain teaser that forces you to take a new look at the way you play.

Essentials

LittleBigPlanet
Price: $59.99
Rating: Everyone
The game everyone is talking about. On the surface, LittleBigPlanet is a relatively simplistic yet challenging platformer, but once you roll up your sleeves and start realizing your own creations with its rich editing tools it becomes something altogether different. LittleBigPlanet could very well be the game that defines the PlayStation 3.

Resistance 2
Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
The follow-up to the best launch title for the PS3, Insomniac's first-person shooter continues the epic tale of man versus mutant that started in Resistance: Fall of Man. While the story mode delivers action on a scale seldom seen in a first-person shooter, the 60-player online multiplayer and MMO-style online co-op promises to keep players running and gunning for years to come.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Price: $46.99
Rating: Mature
The game that launched a million PlayStation 3 consoles. If you own a PlayStation 3 and haven't experienced the final chapter in Hideo Kojima's epic Metal Gear series, then you simply aren't getting the most out of your console. You'll be hard pressed to find a more emotionally-charged game on any platform. Just beware - intense cravings for fried eggs may occur.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
Price: $41.99
Rating: Everyone 10+
Insomniac takes their classic action platforming duo to a whole new level in Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. Along with being one fine showcase for the graphical horse[power of the PlayStation 3, Tools of Destruction stays true to the series' roots, delivering solid action and top-notch platforming while still remaining as family-friendly as ever.

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Price: $41.99
Rating: Teen
Developer Naughty Dog of Jak & Daxter and Crash Bandicoot fame show that they can work their magic on more realistic characters in Uncharted: Drakes' Fortune, an epic summer adventure movie you can play. It's got plenty of shooting, dizzying platforming elements, and some of the best-acted characters ever seen in a video game. It's Indiana Jones and the Lost Treasure of El Dorado, only without Indiana Jones.

Socializers

Rock Band 2
Price: $189.99
Rating: Teen
You can't get much more social than Rock Band 2. You can barely go to any large gathering of people these days without finding the game set up, and once you build it, the people will come. Almost as fun to watch as it is to play, Rock Band 2 snags a recommendation over the competition because of its massive song library. Still no "The Touch" by Stan Bush, but we remain hopeful.

SingStar Bundle
Price: $59.99
Rating: Teen
Say what you will about your full band games, I contend that SingStar is an even better party game than either of the major guitar and drum touting franchises. Why? Because with those, people can escape singing. SingStar doesn't play that. It's all hideous embarrassment, all the time.

Buzz! Quiz TV Bundle
Price: $59.99
Rating: Teen
Not only does Buzz! Quiz TV provide hours of family-friendly entertainment plus the ability to create and share your own quizzes with the world, it also comes bundled with four wireless Buzz buzzers, perfect for forcefully throwing at friends and family members who are just too smart for their own damn good. They should really package this game with buzzer-proof helmets.

Eye Of Judgment
Price: $66.99
Rating: Teen
The perfect gift for the collectible card game addict in your life, Eye of Judgment comes packaged with the PlayStation Eye camera, which promotes a whole different kind of social interaction as well. As an added plus, card booster packs make excellent follow-up gifts, as do the high-powered movie set lighting you need to play the game at night.

Soul Calibur IV
Price: $56.99
Rating: Teen
Fighting games, once the cornerstone of the arcade social scene, still remain an excellent way to pass the time with a horde of slightly drunk friends. Soul Calibur IV not only has a ton of characters to beat on each other with, you can add to the humiliation by pwning your pals with your custom-created fighter - naked mohawk man wearing pink diaper.

Epics

Valkyria Chronicles
Price: $56.99
Rating: Teen
Sega's beautiful take on the strategy RPG couples an gorgeous hand-sketched graphics style with one of the most innovative combat system that integrates 3rd person action with turn-based tactics. The game features more than 100 customizable characters and an epic storyline sure to keep you playing through to the very end. As an added plus, Valkyria Chronicles is a PlayStation 3 exclusive, so you can always rub that in your Xbox-owning friends' faces.

Disgaea 3 Absence of Justice
Price: $39.99
Rating: Teen
When you are talking epics, you're talking Disgaea. NIS America has been creating turn-based strategy RPG shut-ins since the original Disgaea on the PlayStation, and the third installment is no different. Class world alone features 40 stages for each of the more than 270 characters, or 10,800 different stages. Add to that the story stages, item world, and an infinite number of randomly generated battle maps, and you could play Disgaea 3 for years.

BioShock
Price: $56.99
Rating: Mature
Last year's Xbox 360 epic is this year's PlayStation 3 epic as 2K's tale decadence, delirium, and death under the sea makes the leap to Sony's console. The PS3 version of the game adds a new difficulty mode to the title, along with console-exclusive downloadable content that'll be available in plenty of time for Christmas.

Fallout 3
Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
Bethesda has proven time and time again with their Elder Scrolls series that they know epic, and their take on the Fallout universe fits the bill quite nicely. You can spend days explore the wasteland surrounding the ruins of Washington D.C., doing battle, scavaging supplies to build new weapons, making friends, killing said friends, making new friends - the possibilities are endless.

Grand Theft Auto IV
Price: $53.99
Rating: Mature
Cars to steal, prostitutes to kill out of shame after they leave your car. The Liberty City presented in Grand Theft Auto IV is truly a massive playground at your fingertips. Not only has Rockstar given us all the tools we need for months of mindless destruction, they added in highly entertaining multiplayer modes so we can share the experience with random people over the internet.

The Portable Holiday Gift Guide

Stuart Houghton — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 10:00:00 MST

All your life you have been told that it is better to give than to receive, but if someone were to put a gun to your head and DEMAND that you receive? Well, then you had better have a firm idea of what you want otherwise you are getting a lump of coal, a moldy tangerine and a copy of E.T. for the Atari 2600.

Whatever side of the giving/receiving divide you find yourself on, Kotaku can help. Givers - print out our handy gift guides and carry them with you to the shops (or just open them in another tab while you browse Amazon or whatever - this is 2008 after all). Would-be receivers - leave the guides open on the PCs of family members, stuff printouts into pockets or down the side of the sofa where your ~~prey~~ loved one can find them or just grab people by the lapels and scream the URL directly into their faces.

As before, we have split this guide to the best in PSP and DS gaming into Bargains (cheap, yet cheerful), Essentials (should already be on your to-play list), Socializers (multiplayer magnificence) and Epics (life destroying time sinks).

Bargains

Iron Chef America (DS)
Price: $19.99
Rating: Everyone

A surprise hit at Kotaku Towers. In a sense this is just an IP-licensed knock-off of 'Cooking Mama' yet somehow the sheer bluster and absurdity of the TV show carries through and makes this more fun than it has any right to be.

Metroid Prime: Hunters (DS)
Price: $16.75
Rating: Teen

Still the best portable FPS around, Metroid Prime Hunters has plenty to offer fans of the 2D series or anyone looking for an engaging 3D shmup with exploratory/puzzle elements. The intuitive controls are the next best thing to Mouse/Keyboard for 3D shooting and the boss battles require thought as well as firepower.

Lumines II (PSP)
Price: $22.70
Rating: E10+

Better than the original on every level, Lumines II is a solid, fast-paced puzzler with a great soundtrack and plenty of extra modes to keep you coming back for more. Gameplay is hard to describe, but easy to understand in practice.

Beats (PSP)
Price: $5
Rating: E

Quirky rhythm action gaming bundled with a 'music creator' toy. The ability to play levels based on tracks stored on your memory stick gives this a lot of extra life and means that - finally! - Melt Banana can have their rhythm game debut.

Puzzle Quest: Challenge Of The Warlords (DS)
Price: $19.99
Rating: E

Tacking on a 'story mode' to a puzzle game is usually an exercise in pointless dialogue and applied lameness, but in Puzzle Quest the RPG elements really do add depth and turns the already addictive Bejewelled-style gem matching into a form of combat. It sounds daft, but it works.

Essentials

God of War: Chains Of Olympus (PSP)
Price: $33.99
Rating: M

Like Jessica Alba with a dose of the Rage virus GoW:CoO is absurdly violent, but beautifully put together. This is probably the best looking PSP title yet, with detailed backgrounds and character animations that would not look out of place on a 'proper' console. Well balanced fighting and slick production make this one of the PSP standouts of 2008.

Patapon (PSP)
Price: 19.99
Rating: E

A rhythm-based RTS? Why, yes - and one with a fantastic visual style at that. Patapon is a tough little nut and an acquired taste for some but it more than lives up to its inspired art direction.

Castlevania Order Of Ecclesia (DS)
Price: $27.99
Rating:T

Yes, it is hard - bastard hard - but you wont find a more polished action platformer in the class of 2008. Intense boss battles and a brand new magic system make this a welcome addition to the series.

Bangai-O Spirits (DS)
Price: $19.99
Rating:E +10

Insane J-Shoot-em-up of the OHMYGODDNO! school of frenzied blasting. Initially bewildering to play, with practice you will become death, destroyer of flashy things. This is the kind of thing that goes on in Jeff Minter's head all the time.

Lock's Quest (DS)
Price: $27.99
Rating:E

The Tower Defense genre seems ideally suited to a touchscreen device, but Lock's Quest takes the idea and runs with it, adding layers of micromanagement and minigames. The result is a well rounded game that expands a casual time waster into something much more.

Socializers

Mario Kart DS (DS)
Price: $33.99
Rating:E

What more is there to say about Mario Kart? Nintendo managed to bottle lightning in creating this one - a masterclass in simple elements combining to be more than the sum of their parts. Still one of the most fun ways for four people to spend time together that doesn't rate an NSFW tag and a premium video stream.

GRID (DS)
Price: $19.99
Rating:E

If you prefer your DS racing experience to be a little lighter on the Mushroom Mobiles and place greater emphasis on real-world vehicles and tracks, GRID offers a well designed driving experience that never sacrifices fun in favour of realism.

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
Price: $28.99
Rating:E

The Advance Wars formula was simplified in some respects for this version but the core values remain - pitch perfect combat, accessibility and levels of addictiveness that make crack seem merely a bit moreish.

Monster Hunter Portable Freedom 2 (PSP)
Price: $44.98
Rating:T

Merely 'quite fun' as a single player game, MHPF2 takes a turn for the awesome when you get your friends involved. At the London Games Expo this year, Capcom had a special Monster Hunter chillout area where players could gather for ad-hoc group adventures. And gather they most certainly did.

Buzz! Master Quiz (PSP)
Price: $19.99
Rating:E 10+

PSP Multiplayer doesn't have to be about killing things or crashing into other things - Buzz is a quickfire quiz that will appeal to anyone wanting a quick, fun party game. Just give us more questions next time.

Epics

Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP)
Price: $27.99
Rating:T

The FF VII gang enter the Flashback Booth for more floppy-haired RPG action. Cue hours of solid gameplay within an engrossing story that stands up to the best the series has to offer. Lucky westerners get to play on 'Hard Mode' for the first time, too.

Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (DS)
Price: $29.99
Rating: E 10+

Always absorbing, Civ gets a streamlined makeover that makes the most of the DS interface and provides instantly accessible play with surprising depth. If you have never succumbed to the Civ magic, this could be the perfect introduction.

Disgaea DS (DS)
Price: $27.99
Rating: E

Deeper than a Zen master reading Kierkegaard at bottom of the Marianas Trench, Disgaea DS has cunning combat and a compelling story that will drag you into strategy hell. Or Heaven, depending on how you look at it.

Football Manager Handheld 2009 (PSP)
Price: $37.89 (£24.99)
Rating:3+ (PEGI)

(or "Worldwide Soccer Manager Handheld 2009" in the US) The fearsomely addictive stat grinding of the FM series has the power to end relationships and sap the very marrow out of bones. The 2009 incarnation features multiple leagues, better in-match displays and even more finely tuneable player statistics.

The World Ends With You (DS)
Price: $39.99
Rating: T

Setting TWEWY in the surreal real-life fantasy land of Shibuya, Tokyo was a stroke of genius - but by no means the best thing about this quirky RPG. Innovative combat that makes full use of the dual screens and an intricate device levelling system will draw you in and tickle the gameplay receptors in your brain.

The Xbox 360 Gift Guide

Owen Good — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 10:00:00 MST

Admit it, the guilty pleasure of a gift guide is looking for things that you want to get, rather than get advice on what to give. Still, there are some kind considerate souls out there with Xbox 360 gamers on their holiday shopping list, and to them we say: Welcome to Kotaku's Xbox 360 Gift Guide for 2008.

We've broken down the choices into four categories: The value picks that save you some dough, but are still very much appreciated by gamers; the essentials, the It games of 2008 that everyone's talking about; socializers, games that are more fun played among friends or online; and the epics, the whole worlds within a retail box that may take up to a month to fully explore. All prices quoted come from Amazon unless otherwise noted.

Alright, bring on the gifts!

Bargains
The Orange Box
Price: $27.99.
Rating: Teen to Mature
A gift that keeps on giving even more than a year after its release, and well more than three years since Half-Life 2 for the original Xbox. You get it, the FPS multiplayer Team Fortress 2, and Portal. All three of these titles are still strongly relevant to the ongoing conversations of serious gamers. There's also word that Valve will be delivering its TF2 class updates to the Xbox 360 sometime soon, helping The Orange Box remain a bang-for-the-buck winner going into its second year.

2000 Xbox Live Points to buy Bionic Commando: Rearmed and Castle Crashers
Price: $25 (BCR is 800 XBox Live points; Castle Crashers is 1200) Note: The 2100 points card apparently is no longer available, but you can get 2000 on Live. I suggest writing up your own gift certificate and giving cash.
Rating: BCR: Mature; Crashers: Teen
Bionic Commando: Rearmed is one of the truly great games of the year, downloadable or otherwise. A remake of 1988's 8-bit Bionic Commando, this "love note to the entire sidescrolling genre" delivers an experience that is equally nostalgic and newly entertaining. Castle Crashers is The Behemoth's highly anticipated multiplayer 2D beat-em up slam full of action and hilarity. Gift cards may seem like a cop-out, but not when they can buy these two games.

Bioshock
Price: $27.99
Rating: Mature
If you're short on coin but want to give an epic, you can't go wrong with 2007's game-of-the-year pick for many. Bioshock's dystopic future-set-in-the-past environment was well ahead of the trend for this year's Fallout 3 and Resistance 2. Mainstream media critics lined up to cover it in praise, saying that it more than holds its own with a genuinely thought-provoking story and deep gameplay.

Bully: Scholarship Edition
Price: $27.99
Rating: Teen
This finally dropped for the 360 in March, two years after it hit the PS2. No one does sandboxers like Rockstar, and Bully does not disappoint. The main story contains as much cynicism, satire and irony as you'd imagine, and is supported by a nearly endless map of side missions and collectibles. Once the carnival unlocks you'll spend days playing hooky there.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare
Price: $29.99
Rating: Mature
Another go-with-a-winner pick. If BioShock substitutes for Fallout 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare substitutes for this year's Call of Duty: World at War. And for some, 2007's top shooter surpasses this year's sequel, because it set an almost impossible standard to continue. If your gamer's shooter-inclined, maybe he has this one already, but if not — or if he's not much of a shooter — definitely make the introduction.

Essentials
Left 4 Dead
Price: $53.99
Rating: Mature
Zombies might be a bit of an overdone meme for some games (ahem, Call of Duty: World at War) but by getting back to basics — zombies versus shotgun-packing pissed-off noninfected survivors in a darkened, quarantined city — shows strong potential this one is a winner. Plus it’s Valve, and when they train their guns on something, they usually blow it right off the map.

Braid
Price: 1200 Xbox Live points (You can get 1600 for $17.99)
Rating: Everyone 10+
Roundly hailed as the best downloadable game ever, Braid is a truly novel platformer with thought-provoking storytelling that puts its retail cousins to shame. If gaming, like film or theater, has a basic level of cultural relevance expected of those who enjoy it, Braid certainly became a part of that this year. The price might make it a value, but its experience makes it essential.

Dead Space
Price: $56.99
Rating: Mature
That’s three mature titles, two of them survival horror. But this is a standard bearer not only in its genre, but for game development over all. The Electronic Arts team asked set out to make a game that they themselves would want to play. We want to play it too. Just with all the lights on. At high noon. With our backs to a wall.

Soulcalibur IV
Price: $56.99
Rating: Teen
Here's your choice in the fighter genre. Soulcalibur’s fourth installment is the first on current-gen hardware, bringing along Yoda (as a standard character, you can download Vader if you want) into the lineup of SC faves. Rated for teens, but the jigglefest makes giving it to one who’s particularly hormonal a smidge risky. Yes, Ivy, we’re looking at you. Oh, yes, we’re looking at you.

Burnout Paradise
Price: $27.99
Rating: Everyone 10+
Every console owner needs a racer, and although this one has been out for quite sometime, it gets the nod as an essential for gameplay that isn’t as intensely difficult as the later Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Need for Speed: Underground is too new, so the jury’s still out on its essential-ness. If your friend is a racer, any of these three are a strong call, but Burnout takes the flag for the overall package.

Socializers
Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe
Price: $56.99
Rating: Teen
Just out as of Sunday. The characters involved make this the fighter choice among friends — who wouldn’t want to line up and beat ass as The Joker, or the Flash? Plus Wonder Woman and Catwoman supply the requisite fighter eye candy.

Rock Band 2
Price: Game only $56.99. Instruments and game, $189.99
Rating: Teen
This and Guitar Hero form the most social experience of any single game out there right now. With the instrument set, it’s a party in a box, although you can say the same thing about the Wii for not much more in price (MSRP, anyway.) If you are buying instruments, weigh that choice very carefully. Rock Band, the originator of the four-instrument setup, gets the nod here for both set list and instrument reliability.

Madden 09
Price: $56.99
Rating: Everyone
Electronic Arts added in the Madden IQ feature to make its genre-defining sports simulation much more accessible to less sophisticated players. that feature’s a work in progress, but when you’re playing among friends, you’re glitching and goofing and going for it on 4th and 40 anyway, so the lack of realism isn’t really missed.

Lego Batman
Price: $49.99
Rating:Everyone 10+
Legos and the holidays are a decades-old partnership. Lego Batman’s cooperative gameplay, awesome minifigs and laugh-out loud cutscenes are lots of fun on your own, even better with a buddy.

Need for Speed: Undercover
Price: $59.99
Rating: Teen
The deep customization engine and fleet of real vehicles are well suited for online play. Nothing beats building your real car, or at least the one you wish you had, and dropping the hammer on your pals. NFSU features the standard online racing action as well as the “Cops and Robbers” mode, which are both cooperative and competitive.

Epics
Grand Theft Auto IV
Price: $37.99
Rating: Mature
I forget what the final time figure was, to get to 100 percent completion, but regardless of that, you’re going to want to see and experience everything in Rockstar’s beautiful, grimy, jaded land of opportunity called Liberty City. The fact that Niko Bellic walks by default, instead of running, tells you that they wanted you to take your time with it.

Fallout 3
Price: $56.99
Rating: Mature
Fallout is difficult to encapsulate in a few sentences, but it was an RPG phenomenon on PCs in the late 1990s, so this is the first introduction to it for many console players. The sprawling expanse of the annihilated wasteland presents an almost infinite set of outcomes, leaving you feeling like you completely hallucinated another life for yourself.

Fable II
Price: $59.99
Rating: Mature
The 360’s definitive fantasy role playing game, Fable II presents Albion as an immense tapestry upon which to paint the story of your character’s life. The consequence driven engine immerses a player in role playing like no other game can, while the action sequences are entertaining enough to keep a player going for hours.

Gears of War 2
Price: $56.99
Rating: Mature
If any shooter deserves this much time and attention from a gamer, it’s Gears 2, because Epic Games certainly poured more than its share of work into it. Gears 2 provides the expected ultra-level of action and carnage, but it also further develops its increasingly iconic characters, the human bulwarks against a world gone mad.

Prince of Persia
Price: $59.99
Rating: Teen
This won’t be out for another two weeks (Dec. 2), but the franchise’s history, plus what we’ve heard of the story, plus the unique cell-shaded graphic design of the game are enough get a bid in the epic department. The game introduces Elika, a supporting character who ensures the Prince never dies, meaning it shares more than just an engine in common with Assassin’s Creed. Leave it to Ubisoft to come up with a new way to save yourself from yourself.