Gaming Holiday Hit Lists

[Brasil]

With Black Friday, the start of December, and my finals for the Fall semester all breathing down my neck, I figured it was that time of year again for...

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Now, I asked James if posting this thread was Kosher, given that there's a Christmas List thread in OL right now, and he was cool with it. So what's at the top of everyone's "Hit" lists? What games in particular? What systems, perhaps? Peripherals?

Originally, I was asking for a Nintendo DS this year, but then I realized that the likelihood of getting the Mario Kart/DS bundle in the upcoming months was probably going to be incredibly, incredibly slim.

I hear of Gamestops being sold out (of just the MKDS game itself, no less) and that really sucks. So...I pre-ordered the bundle from Gamestop.com and with any luck, I'll have my DS the week after Thanksgiving. I suppose I'm thankful for my credit card and Gamestop.com? ~_^

With the DS off my list, that freed up my options a lot, but I'm finding that there are only a few new releases that I [i]really[/i] want; other titles are older, some over a year.

The new releases are almost entirely DS titles. I've always been a fan of RTS and turn-based strategy games, and feel right at home with Shining Force on Genesis. I dig tactical stuff like that, with the exception of Final Fantasy Tactics. Same format, but I couldn't stand it. Go figure.

I suppose the bad taste from FFT is really what made me leery of jumping into [i]Advance Wars: Dual Strike[/i], and even though it had gotten stellar reviews and recommendations from both the industry and my friends around here, I never felt confident enough to take the plunge, as it were.

The Gamestop demo of Advance Wars: Dual Strike changed that. ^_^ The game is amazing and incredibly engaging. The use of the stylus to control units was second nature and I could see a Command & Conquer game working very well, especially given the Wi-Fi capabilities of the DS.

Advance Wars was unbelievable, largely due to how intuitive the stylus control was. In a matter of seconds, I was directing the carnage without a second thought as to "how" I move that unit. The "why" and "to where" I move that unit were still critical decisions, of course, because the A.I. was pretty solid. Actually having to plan a strategy of attack and coordinate a strike as to avoid my forces getting decimated was lovely.

All around, the game is worth it, and after having finally played it a few weeks ago, I kick myself for not getting in on a DS sooner, because I think Advance Wars is one of those titles that really demonstrates how the DS' features can be utilized.

Also on my list is [i]Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney[/i]. I love lame humor, and from what I've seen in previews, commercials, reviews, and from Charles and Tony online, the game is hilarious. The premise itself is so bizarre and quirky that it seems the game is almost guaranteed to be entertaining.

"HOLD IT!" and "OBJECTION!" from the commercials have stuck in my head for months now, because it's just so unexpected, particularly the over-dramaticized reactions. It's a game that I hear everyone should at least try, and I've been told it's right up my alley, so I'm hoping to get litigious come December 25th.

I had heard that the [i]Megaman X Collection[/i] was going to appear on Xbox in December, but I only see PS2 and Gamecube editions listed now. Buggers. I had bought a SNES this past summer, and got about a dozen games with it (good deal!), including Megaman X.

I've always been a fan of the Megaman games; I probably was the one responsible for wearing out the copies at a local rental place back in the early 90s, lol. But being a Genesis Kid, I never experienced the X series (or really, anything on SNES).

When I played Megaman X, I was really impressed. The game mechanics were very schway, and the originals seem terribly basic in comparison. The wall jumps, the slides, and the suit upgrades all made X something different. Granted, there were various additions like those in the later NES entries, but X utilized them much better, I think. The gameplay felt great in X, and I'd love to play the other X titles without having to root through the dirty underbelly of eBay, heh.

In some respects, Megaman X is fun because it still is classic Megaman at its core. The fundamental gameplay hasn't changed, and you can't go wrong with classic Megaman. Here's hoping the X Collection gets an Xbox edition.

Two titles that for too long, I've held off on getting are [i]Pikmin 2[/i] and [i]Viewtiful Joe 1[/i]. I recently rented VJ and my experience with it was much more delightful than a year or two ago. I'm not exactly sure why, but I can only guess I was in the right mood when I played it the second time. First time, I enjoyed it, but something didn't click.

But when it does click, sweet zombie Jesus. The game kind of opens up for you and the innovation and just downright originality slap you in the face. It's an incredible title and you can find it for 10 bucks in some places.

The sense of humor is really lame and cheesy in a film noir, superhero-gone-wrong pulp type of way, so nerds certainly feel right at home. I know I did. lol. VJ is basically a film nerd's wet dream, especially if you're a fan of true post-modern humor. The game is very aware of itself the entire time, but avoids making a huge spectacle of it to the point of just being annoying. It's very refreshing.

I had played Pikmin 2 a while back and loved it. It expanded and improved upon the original in just about every way possible, I think. The new Pikmin were fantastic (feeding the white ones to an enemy...very satisfying). The "cooperative" gameplay opened up new strategies. Pikmin 2 should have owned my soul. Come Christmas, it hopefully will.

Last on my list so far is [i]Ninja Gaiden: Black[/i], which is a weird choice for me, given that I couldn't really stand the original version from a few years ago. I'm thinking it was similar to Viewtiful Joe, that I just wasn't in the mood for the gameplay type.

Of course, the lame camera might have had something to do with it, too. I probably would have enjoyed Ninja Gaiden a lot more had the camera not zoomed in on Ryu's head whenever possible. From what I hear, Black addresses that by including the manual camera control option found in the Hurricane Pack update, in addition to loads of new content, so that'll give me plenty to do.

I played Black at an EB Games a few weeks ago, and it was fun as hell. I was actually enjoying myself, and that pretty much clinched it. The controls were tight as hell, the visuals were still amazing, the combat was fast and bloody...a solid gaming experience.

Ninja Gaiden Black isn't for everyone (Xbox Ninja Gaiden 1 was barely for me, lol), but it's hard, it's brutal, it's fast, and most importantly, it's damn fun. Highly recommend it.
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[BlueYoshi]

[color=darkred]I only have two wants really. The first is Mario Kart DS which I've pre-ordered, and have the cash comfortably sitting in my room in the box on my shelf along with the £5 voucher HMV gave me. :cool:

Aside from that, I guess the only main thing I want is ACWW. I'm getting the American version off lik-sang.com, and I've already pre-ordered it, so I [i]hope, hope, hope[/i] that that pulls through. I seriously can't wait till March 31st for it. It just won't happen.

I suppose the only want which I won't be getting is Kirby's Canvas Course, or whatever the UK title is. I'm just sceptical about it, and don't see the need to spend £35 on it when there are other things I can buy. Besides, I have MKDS (at least) to keep me busy until the next best thing.[/color]

[Semjaza]

I did a list of games that interested me awhile back... but most of them are strictly rentals. I already have the games I wanted most this year: Digital Devil Saga 1 and 2, Mario Kart DS and Dragon Warrior VIII. I was interested in Taito Legends as well, which I picked up.

I'm still looking forward to Animal Crossing: Wild World for this year. I'm kind of considering Tony Hawk's Sk8land as well. Kirby's Canvas Curse, from what I've played, was great. It got great reviews here. I might pick it up eventually.

I'm considering that GameCube Fire Emblem as well. I really enjoy the GBA ones and it has gotten some great scores despite the lackluster graphics. We'll see.

The only for sure, then, is Animal Crossing. Oh, and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time... if that comes out this year.

I'm looking forward to Electroplankton and Super Princess Peach in February as well.

[Shinmaru]

Mario Kart: DS for sure. My uncle's giving me a gift card for Best Buy or Fry's, so I'll be using that to get MK: DS. I'd rather not wait a month to be able to race online with everyone else here lol.

Animal Crossing: Wild World is definitely on my list, as well. I love the original Animal Crossing, and I don't see any reason why I wouldn't enjoy the DS version as well. Finally being able to take AC online makes it all even better. :D

Stuff like Kirby's Canvas Curse, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, etc. are lower on the totem pole. Most of the games I want seem to be for the DS lol. Man is the DS ever kicking *** right now. :)

[WW2]

Well I would really like alot of games that I've been too cheap to buy. Which is what makes Christmas so great...others can buy or give you the money to buy games!

Well my list so far is made up of: Shadow of the Colosus (Because it looks friggin' awsome), Dragon Quest VIII (Because the demo was really fun), Resident Evil 4 (Also looks friggin' awsome), and Burnout Revenge (Because Burnout 3 was great).

Hopefully I'll be able to get a few of these. But then again...they might just end up distracting me from my college work.

[Goodbye, Face]

[font=trebuchet ms]Here's how it goes. My plan is to buy myself the red DS bundle and ask my parents for a PSP for Christmas.

Other than that, I'd really like to pick up the Katamari games (addicting as hell), Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (yeah, i rented it a while ago), SMT: Digital Devil Saga 2, Shadow of the Colossus (very very cool, especially after playing a level), and some racing games (F Zero and Burnout 3) so my dad will play games with me, lol.

As far as PSP games go, I'm looking at Dynasty Warriors and WipeOut Pure.

DS... well, for now I'd be happy with only Mario Kart, but I'd also like Kirby: Canvas Curse.[/font]